Transcripts
1. Introduction: Have a creative hobby that you'd like to turn into
a small business? In this class, I'm
going to give you insight into how I stay motivated in my
business and how I keep my customers happy
and coming back for more. My name is Mora Mark. I design and sew
vacation style shirts out of vintage fabrics. I didn't used to do this
as my full time gig. I used to be a
marketing manager, and after about eight years, I really started
to feel the urge to do something
creative for myself. I started sewing
here and there on the side and I started
selling my products. After a while, it became
my full time position. In this class, I'm
going to share with you the essential items
that I found to be the most important along the way in turning my hobby
into a profession.
2. Overview: Breaking Down the Essentials: We're going to be breaking down the essentials of crafting
your small business. There are six elements that
are important to consider. One is establishing your
routine Organization while on the go and not
just in your home base, communication, and
that's going to be with clients and about you
and your business. Marketing your brand and maintaining your
brand all the time. We're going to go over pricing your product and your time. Managing expectations for
you and your clients.
3. Establishing Your Routine: One of the first things that
you should do when you're getting set up is to
establish a routine. When do you like to create? You're going to
want to determine a schedule that
clients can rely on. This is super helpful, so clients know when they
can reach out to you or when they can rely on you
to answer their questions. Getting your basic needs
in place is essential, so you don't stop
work because you're uncomfortable or you're hungry or you're thirsty
or you're cold. You want to have everything
in place so you can really settle in and
not get distracted. You want your music
or your podcasts, backup equipment, any materials you're going to need for the project you're
going to be doing. After you get your
basic needs in place, you're going to start to decide on a routine for when
you want to work. For me, I maintain a kind of a basic
Monday through Friday, not nine to five because
that was the part about my full time job that was
really challenging to me was actually getting
going at 9:00 P.M. So I like to come in to my
studio spase around 1030. And by that point,
I've had breakfast. I'm dressed for the day. I feel ready to get started, and I can come in and
really get going. And so my clients know that I'm available from about 10:30 to about five or 6:00 P.M. And those times might be totally different from you,
and that's fine. But I think it's important
to maintain a routine, so you know when you
are going to be busy, and it'll help you with
getting distracted by invites to go hang out from friends or maybe
going on trips. If you know that you're going to be held responsible
for some work, and you have a routine set up, you'll start to feel
the discipline, which is important because
working for yourself, you're going to really need to get your work taken care of. Okay, part of your routine is you're going to want
to get something done. I know it can really
drag on a day if you feel like you
have so much to do, and it can be very frustrating. So what I like to do is
to create a done list. And instead of looking at what I've got to do and feeling
stressed about that, I like to reflect
and look back on what I actually did get done. It's a little more uplifting, and I think it really helps
to look ahead to the future. And speaking of looking
ahead to the future, instead of seeing what you
have to do as a daunting task, I like to think about it
in manageable pieces. And so I like to call this
looking ahead thoughtfully. You know, you can
see that tomorrow, you have to get something done, but in a month from now, you have really big market or web drop or something
like that that you need to get a lot of
products taken care of. So, if you look ahead
more thoughtfully, you can maybe work out what your next few weeks will
look like so you know you're not going to get really swamped by the end of the month when you have this big task do. So when you have a lot to do and you feel that
daunted feeling, I like to add motivation
and figure out what it is that really perks me up and gets me excited
to get some work done. And you know, I find this
through exciting materials. If you look at my products, you probably see
that not a lot of them are made out
of the same fabric. That's because I find inspiration and motivation
through the fabrics. I like to, you know, if I'm feeling like
the equivalent of a writer's block or sewers block, I'm not
sure what to make. I like to go through and look at all my fabrics and
see which one is, like, speaking to me that day. So Maybe you work with
Yarn, go ahead and, like, sift through what you've got and see what's speaking
to you that day, and that'll help
you get motivated to get started on a new project. Another way to keep going and keep feeling
motivated is to, you know, set up
some appointments to visit other studios of people doing similar
things to you. You might get some
added inspiration and get excited to
get back to work. I find that having some
accountability with either a meet up
if someone's going to come and take a look
at what I've got going, or maybe I have a market setup, and I know I need to
get some products finished and out
the door for that, or even just a self imposed deadline
that you give yourself, okay, I want to get these
five things done by Friday. Examples like that
really help you clear your mind and get focused. I like to make documentation
part of my routine. So I've set up a corner of
my studio space that is usually almost always
clear and ready for me to put a piece
down to take photos of. So what I like to
do is make a piece, and it's usually what I do is a day to day item like
I'll make one item in a day. And by the end of the day, it's time for photos. So I take a finished product shot almost every time
I make something. I just make it a routine
that way it's done. And I like to have a folder, you know, I use Dropbox. You might have a
different maybe cloud, some other sort of
online folder that you just automatically
put your images because it'll really come in handy
later when you're making a social media post or
somebody asks a question, and you want to reference
quickly something that you've made If you just do this every
time you make something, you take a photo of it,
you put it in this folder. It's just going to make
your life so much easier. I like to take finished photos, and what I wish I was doing
a little bit more of is documenting my progress
and my processes. So if you just kind of have a camera bopping around
or maybe your phone, you know, put it on
a tripod and maybe take a photo every now and
again, throughout your day. You know, it gives you a
lot of great material to work with if you're going
to do a social media post, Instagram reel,
something like that. It really keeps your
clients excited for you that you're creating and it takes them on the
journey with you. So we talked a little bit about motivation
and inspiration. I really like to make
this part of my routine. What I've done is
actually followed a lot of other makers that do
similar items to me, and I see what they're up to, and I really find just
inspiration with them. So I've shown some Instagram
pages here from Franklin J. She makes really
beautiful dresses out of character bed sheets. And I just find her social
media presence very fun and engaging and she's
just really doing a great job. So I love to follow her
and see what she is up to. The other person I
have that I love to see what she's making
is Lorian Stern. She has these characters that
she creates out of pottery, and she's moved on to taking those images and putting them on clothing and rugs
and stuff like that. So she just has a really
lighthearted Instagram page. It's really fun to follow her. And I always get a little bit of joy and inspiration
from following her.
4. Organization: Okay. Let's talk
about organization. Okay. Setting up your work
space is pretty important. Now, you're going to
want to be able to take a half done project and not have to put it all the way away if you're that
type of person. So a place where it's
not going to get disturbed by a cat or a child or just the wind somewhere that you can call your own to be
just for your workspace. And that's not always possible if you're sharing spaces with
other people or with pets. But as long as you know, when it's work time and you have your partially done
project, You know, whatever the setup needs to be, whether that's setting up in theory by asking other people to not touch it or actually having it
behind closed doors, you just want to really
focus and with intention, set up this work
space for yourself. You're going to want
to use some shelves and other
organizational products to keep everything organized. But it can cost a lot of money to do this if
you're buying things new. So I like to keep an eye on Facebook, marketplace, or bay, other online or
discounted locations to find these storage devices. So, you know, garage sales or even just talking about your business and asking around. So once you're organized
physically in your workspace, it's also super important to stay organized when
you're on the go. And you're going to want to find your preferred
method to do this. I like to use an app. It's just Google sheets. I can use it on my phone or
I can use it in my laptop. And what I really like
about this is I can be as organized as I need to
be to make my products, and I do a lot of custom
clothing for people. So there's a lot of details
that I need to keep track of. So I have this app handy. It's right on my
phone, and you know, I can plug in things
like customers size, how much we talked about
the price would be, what kind of fabric
they're interested in. And I have it all at a glance. And when I have more time and I can sit
down really like you know, look at it on my laptop, I can add more details as I go. But as long as I jot down all the essential
information when I get it, then I'm usually good to go. So it's really important, I find to not have to re
ask a client a question. So if, you know, you'd start a sale with
a person and you get their size info mailing address, phone number, that
kind of thing. Make sure that you write
it down digitally or physically and put it somewhere safe that you're going
to be able to access. Because I just think
the transaction is going to go a lot
smoother if you're not chasing the
customer to be like, what did we talk about for your size or how much did
I say I would charge you? It's really professional
if you can take all the information at once
and never have to ask again. So my Google sheets
app also helps me with deadlines and
maintaining you know, a series of progress. So I know what maybe
what I've discussed with a client is to have their
piece done by a certain date, and I'll put that information
right down there. Also, at the
beginning of the day, if I'm not sure what to do next, I like to look at
this sheet and see what you know what
I have left to do. I like to also put
down things like whether the customer
paid a deposit or not. I think it's super
important if you're not getting paid up front,
to get a deposit. This keeps the client on the hook to not cancel
for whatever reason. And it also puts the pressure on you
to get the item made. So the deposit is just an agreement that
kind of locks you both in. So another good thing about your Google sheet or
whatever you're using to keep organized is
if you do collect a deposit or if you
don't collect a deposit. Making a note that you've
done this or haven't done that is really
important when you go to collect the
remaining payment. So that way, there's
no confusion. So when I'm at a make a
physical in person market, I don't like to use my
phone to take notes. I just think it's a
little unprofessional. So I like to keep a
little notebook with me, and when I interact with a client or maybe
get a new product, a new sales started. I'll write down everything
on this notebook. And then when I get
home from the market, I almost always immediately take that notebook and transfer the information to my digital online
organizational software. That way, if for
whatever reason, I lose the notebook
or it gets damaged, I have a backup of the
information I gathered. I try to transfer my
notes to the digital app, the night after the night
of the market when I get home because the details
are still fresh in my mind. If I wait too long,
I might totally forget or maybe not be able
to read my handwriting. So I like to do it right away. It's also important
to keep track of your sales and what you're
up to for tax season. So you're going to need
depending on where you are, you're going to
need to maybe pay sales tax on your sales, and you're going to maybe
also do income tax as well.
5. Communication: So communicating with
clients is something that you're going to be doing
pre sale and post sale. So what I mean by
communication pre sale. This is talking about
what you're making and what you're working on
and documenting that. You're going to be sharing
this on social media, talking about what
you're interested in, when you chat with friends and they ask what you're up to, you can just keep
people up to date. I like to use the shirt
aromatic to talk about, you know, a shirt that
I might like to make, and it's just a little piece of cardboard with acute
graphic on the side, and it really does well
for me on Instagram. I get people excited about this potential shirt
and it gives them an idea of what it
would look like. It's just like a
fun little thing. So if you find a little
gimick that works for you, you know, try to do
it with regularity. I think it's important to not sound whiny or desperate for a sale or saying things like the algorithm
is screwing me over. It's just a bummer for
people to read that, and it is a bummer that the algorithm is
screwing you over. But I think it's important to just skim over
that and just post as you would and keep the criticisms of different social media
platforms to yourself. I think it's not too becoming of a professional business that
you're trying to portray. Another tip for communication
in presales is to make it very clear how someone
might order your product. And don't be afraid to update that method if you're
getting negative feedback. Sometimes I've tried
to do a story sale, which is like the
Instagram stories. Sometimes that kind of generates some excitement for
people to follow. Like if you're saying, Okay, Friday at 3:00 P.M. We're going
to be doing a story sale, and then you can kind
of build up momentum as you approach this time
on Friday and can get people kind of following along and getting excited for this sale because they
want to know what it is. But sometimes just having
products always for sale on your website and directing people there will
work for you as well. It really just depends and I find that I do a
little bit of both. So when someone shows
interest to buy, you want to make a note or
a reminder for yourself, and you want to be enthusiastic and keep them on the hook. So if somebody just sends you
a casual message like, Oh, I like this, you know, follow up with them
right away and try to wrap that up and
turn it into a sale. If they don't reply right away, give them a few days or maybe
a week and then follow up. I think it's very
important to follow up. Be clear and upfront about the price and your
return policy, any quality guarantees
or anything else that you can be questioned
on or challenged by. But if you deliver what
you say initially, there shouldn't be
any disappointment or frustration. Send updates. So when you're working
on something for somebody, let them
know how it's going. You know, you don't have to
send them 1 million messages, but if you're making
something for them, send them an in progress shot. Or what I like to do is say, Hey, I'm going to have
your shirt ready today. I'll send you a picture later, and then I'll send them a
photo of the final product, and maybe they're
not going to get it right away because I'm
going to be shipping it. But, you know, I just like
to keep in touch and let everybody know when they
can expect their item. I think it's also
really important to write a thank you
card in every order. It personalizes it. It makes it special,
and I think the client, really appreciates
and it reminds them that you're human and you made this product
just for them.
6. Marketing!: Okay. This is a really big essential
item, and it's marketing. When you get started
marketing your product, you're going to want to
answer a couple of questions. What is it that makes
your item special? What sets you apart from other people making
similar products? Who is your target audience? When you've answered
these questions, you're going to start to see how your brand is going to be
developed by branding, I don't mean your logo, but more of your aesthetic and what your products
say to the clients? When you find your niche, you're going to want to maintain
that brand all the time. So every time you post on
social media or every time you make a new product and wear it out or put
it on your website. Does it fit that brand aesthetic If you go in too
many different directions, it's going to be hard
for clients to actually grasp what it is that you're trying to say with
your products. These people are aesthetically
different from me, but it's the same
concept where they use recycled materials to create beautiful unique
pieces of clothing. But you can see
that they are very aesthetically and
their customer base is going to be
different from mine. But you can see that ecologic
has a certain look to I just grab four of their images just right off of
their social media. And then the soft paw vintage,
you see the other four, it's a totally different
aesthetic, but, you know, a similar process. What works for these
two companies is that they have determined
their look and their customer base and
they're very successful with maintaining this aesthetic. You should be marketing
across lots of different levels in lots of different areas,
as many as you can. What I mean is you should be
marketing online in person. If you're marketing online, find your favorite apps
that you like to use. I have a website and
I use square space. You might find
wordpress works better for you or there's lots of
different options out there. There's lots of different
selling platforms as well, like ETC and Depop. You're going to want to find the one that's the
right fit for you. A lot of these resale
sites like ETC and Depop, take a large percentage
of your sales. So for me, I prefer to pay for a website and Every
time I make a sale, most of that money goes
to me and not to the app. The fun part about making a craft is actually
selling it in person. So there's going to be a lot of different opportunities
for you in your area, or if you're willing to
travel a little bit, you're going to find
lots of markets that you might want
to participate in. If you're not ready
to commit because usually these
markets cost money, you're going to want
to maybe just go as a shopper just to
see what they're like and see if the clientele there kind of aligns
with your brand. And, you know, maybe little things that you'll
start to learn over time, the more markets that you do. So like the hours, I kind of prefer
markets that are only one day instead
of two days, you know, Saturday and Sunday
is just really physically taxing for me to
do the two days in a row. So maybe you want
to only do one. Um, there's also markets
that require you to be there regularly,
like every weekend. I find that's a little
too tough for me, but it might work out great for you because maybe you have a combination of
these weekly markets and an online presence as well, and the two of those together do really well for
sales for you. You have to find what it is, and there is going to be a little trial and error period. There definitely was for me. I've found a couple of
markets that I do really enjoy going to and that
are profitable for me. But there's definitely
ones that I've spent a whole weekend
just sitting and not having any customers
come to my booth. The other thing is your physical presence when
you are selling in person. So I said sitting, I try not to sit when I'm
at a market, actually, I try to stand and be
present when customers come, I try not to be
looking at my phone, I try to be engaging, and this is really helpful to get clients interested
in your product. If you're sitting there kind of like you know, with
your phone out. That's not really saying
anything to the customer about how excited you are to
have made these products. But if you actually act excited and keep a bright
look to your face, you might be more approachable. But sometimes even
when you're feeling full of energy and you're
engaging with customers, it might just not be the
right market for you. It might be the wrong type of customers that come
to this market, or maybe the price point for
your products don't work. So, you know, you got to really try it out and get a sense
before you really dive in. You're going to want
to try to create even more selling opportunities besides your regular
ones, you know, if you're selling on your
website or Etsy and, you know, through
Instagram or whatever, and then doing your
online markets. Every once in a while, try to spice things up a little bit, maybe do an in studio sale where customers can come
and see what you're working on and maybe you have a little rack of items for sale. Other opportunities could
be finding a business locally that you think
aligns with your clientele, maybe a bar or restaurant, see if they are willing
to do a pop up, meaning like you bring
your rack of in my case, shirts, but maybe you're
making other types of items. And for, you know,
one night only, you're going to be
selling that product at the restaurant or bar. And what's cool about the pop ups is that
all eyes are on you. It's your time. You're not in a
market with a sea of other similar people selling
the same type of thing. And they can be pretty cool. I like to advertise
potential items to be made versus just making something and selling
the final product. So I like to find ways
to show people fabrics, and maybe my ideas of mixing and matching and how they
might look as a shirt. And this is a fun way for me to market because then
if somebody wants it, then I'm making an
item specifically for them to their customization instead of exactly what I was feeling that day because maybe that's not going to sell. I like to mix it up, though, because I definitely
do like making something just the way
that I want to make it. And sometimes that sits on the shelf and sometimes
it sells right away. But as long as you're doing a mix of both types of things, I think you're going
to be profitable. I think it's important
to have fun with your marketing because
if you're having fun, people notice and associate your product with
a good feeling. So I like to find celebrities in interesting shirts that
maybe have the same alive. And just posting things like this recognizable
people, you know, it's a more
interesting post than just always posting my
product over and over again.
7. Pricing: Let's talk about pricing. There are some pricing rules of thumb that don't take
everything into consideration. You got to know your worth. There's a rule of
thumb where you take your time and materials cost,
and then you double it. But the problem with
this is that it doesn't always make sense for
your market area. Does it take you longer because
you're not as practiced or is it a labor heavy art? Also, you need to
consider where you're selling and what is
your cut of this. Um, you know, if it's
consignment versus retail versus direct
sales versus Etsy. You know, these
platforms will take a cut of what your
final price is. So you might need to consider upping that price so you
get what you deserve. So my products are
at a price point that I feel comfortable
asking for, but I do want to increase that
price over time to create a more sustainable income and not an unreasonable of an ask. So you might want to make a
plan over a couple of years where you start your price a little bit on the
affordable side, but still covering your costs, and then, you know, plan a couple maybe in six months or a year
that you're going to do a price increase. And I think people will
appreciate that and it it won't be unreasonable. I think a big way
to make a business sustainable is to lower your
overhead materials cost. There's different
ways you can do this. You could share a studio space. You can make friends with
places or people that sell your materials because
maybe you can do some trade instead
of just full price. You can shop second hand. I absolutely do this. I use Bay and estate sales and just talk about my
business with friends. Then a lot of times I get free materials because people
are getting rid of things and they think of you
when they're shopping at an estate sale or
clearing out their closet. I found a product
catalog called WaWaC. This is a great company that sells discounted
sewing supplies. You might find a different
online marketplace where you can get
everything you need, but find your WAAC This
is a place where you know materials are not
heavily marked up. They're very reasonable. And so things that I use a lot like buttons and thread I get from WAAC because I can't always find these
items secondhand. So if you're primarily making products There's
other opportunities for you to make a
little bit more money, and that might be offering services related to what you do. So I make shirts. But since I can sew, I also like to offer a service, so I might do some
alterations for people, or I also offer a pocket
service where I'll sew a pocket onto a piece of
clothing that you already have. And these are just good ways to kind of create more
income for you because sometimes
you're going to have better sales seasons
than others, and this just kind of helps
to have another thing going. You could also be teaching your craft doing
private lessons, just like Skillshare or YouTube. You could be selling surplus
materials because maybe you went to an estate sale
and bought a big mystery box, and so you take what you want, and then you have extra, so you can be selling those
things on Bay. You could apply for grants. This is a great way to support your business because there
are a lot of grants out there if you search specifically for what
you are and what you do. Okay, here are some
business musts when you're self employed or you have no employees because this is
what I have experience with. So you need to determine
if your item is taxable and if you
need to pay sales tax. Usually, a state and
county take a percentage. I know that clothing
under $115 is exempt from state taxes
in New York State. But in my county, there's always a 4% sales tax. So check your county
and your state, or if you're in another country, just look up what kind
of taxes are required of you because you don't want to get bit in the butt later. New York State, you need a specific item called
a certificate of authority to sell
in marketplaces, and just Google and look up what is required of
you to sell retail items. And you know, if
you're getting stuck, find somebody that
does something similar to you and ask them. If you are set up
at a market place, they'll tell you
what you need to provide business insurance
or that kind of thing. So liability insurance is
something that I pay for. It's affordable, and it is required at a lot
of the markets that I do. You want to keep
documentation for your income and expenses
to do your income taxes. And this, of course, will differ from
country to country, but in the US, you have to pay income
tax as well as sales tax on retail handmade
items, unfortunately. Okay. Another really
important business thing is to develop a return policy, and that policy could
just be no returns. But it is important
because if you run into the situation where a client is unhappy with what
you've made them, if you've already discussed
that you do not take returns, then you've kept yourself safe in that situation
and you can decide if you feel like it's
necessary to remake the item or give them
their money back, but you're not required
legally to do this. Okay. So, banking,
it's important to keep your personal expenses and your personal life away
from your business. So this was actually
a little bit of a process for me because I kind of mixed everything
in from time to time. But eventually, I did I
made a checking account just for my business,
and, you know, I put my profits in a
checking account and then I'm able to pay for things like supplies right out
of that account. And it's good for tax
purposes as well, so you can see what
money you've made and spent and it's not blurred
by personal expenses.
8. Managing Expectations: Okay. So managing expectations. These are going to be
your expectations, and you're going
to have good days and you're going
to have bad days. It's all part of this
self employed business. So you're going to go through different
patches of success. There's going to be days
where you are like, what am I doing? Why
am I doing this? And it's important to reflect back to your motivation
to answer that question. Well, I'm doing this because I when things are going
well, it feels great. I'm excited to make these items. I'm motivated to do this. I'm inspired to do this, and it's important to look
back at those reasons why. But you know, you're going
to feel down sometimes. So be kind to yourself. After a long market day, I just want to collapse
onto the ground. But I also sold a lot
sometimes and I had a blast, but it is physically exhausting. And sometimes you
had a low sales day, but maybe you made the most of it because
you met a lot of other makers or you made a good connection with the
market organizer and set up, you know, future
opportunities for yourself. But just be kind So another part of managing expectations is your
customer's expectations. If you're clear with
communication from the get go, they know what they're
going to get and they'll be hopefully satisfied. If you go over the price, the quality, look, feel,
materials, and timeline. If they know what to expect, then you shouldn't have
any unhappy customers. But there will be
unhappy people. But if you provide
what you promised, they don't really have
a leg to stand on. You know, you may run
into situations where you need to offer up something in exchange just to keep your sanity and maybe
avoid a negative review. Even if it means you have
to swallow your pride. I've done this on Bay
selling some fabric. Online sales can be
challenging because there's not as
much face to face, and sometimes people really are just looking for their money back and that's going
to be up to you. I think it's important to know, if you are good
at communicating, you provide a quality product, you're going to get
repeat customers. And if they've had a
pleasant experience, then they're going to come back. I made a collection of shirts
for employees at a bar, and, you know, we
did a photo shoot, and I think they all
really liked it. Each shirt was made
to fit each person. And so, you know, a year later, I found some bar shaker, bar cocktail fabric,
and I just reached out and asked if they wanted to get some more shirts made. And they did. You know, we had a good experience all around, so they'll
be back for more. Most importantly, if you are
running a small business, you need to make time for
yourself and your loved ones. So make sure that you relax and make time for
the things that you love. So make sure you're
enjoying yourself, get to work, find your routine, market your items,
take lots of pictures, talk about your items, keep on brand all the time. It's a lot to take in, but I think you're really
going to do a great job. So keep everything
I said in mind, but you're going to find your
own path in this journey.
9. Project: Make your DONE LIST!: For this project, we're going
to be making a done list. This will be a list of your
most recent finished tasks or accomplishments
from the last week. Rather than be daunted by a
never ending list of to dos. The purpose of this project
is to boost your confidence, encourage you to reflect
on your accomplishments, and also to practice your preferred method
of note taking. You can start with
a blank sheet of paper or use Google Docs or the notes app on your phone and start jotting down the things that you got done this week. No item is too small. It may have nothing to do
with your new business, but since this business
starts with you, your personal day to
day is important too. Okay. Besides feeling some pride on the task you completed, there are some other
things to consider. Did you like handwriting that? Maybe you might want to
get a fun pocket notebook to keep near your work
area and a fancy pen. Did you find the phone app
or desktop program easier. Make sure you have a way of finding notes like this again. It may be the best
method for you to keep track of client
information in the future. To share your project, simply take a screenshot of your digital note or take a photo of your
handwritten note. I'd love to see what
you got done this week.
Maura Marcks, Clothing Designer
