Modish Biz Tips

Thank you Etsy!

I wrote an "etsy success newsletter" to coincide with the virtual lab I hosted a few weeks back, to help introduce my blog to etsy sellers. And much to my surprise this morning, I found that etsy re-published that newsletter piece in their Storque! Wahoo!

Thanks etsy, for helping me to spread word about this blog and letting me be a part of the etsy community. I appreciate it so much!

Check out the storque article for a little re-cap of what I think are some of the best BIZtips so far, along with links to the original articles.

Retail: Brick by Brick- Income Statement

{Photo by zen}

After your Cash Flow Statements are complete, the next step in the Business Plan Challenge is to tackle the Income Statement of your business plan.

Before we get into the nitty gritty details of the Income Statement, lets go over what an Income Statement is and what you can learn from it for you business. To start, the Income Statement (sometimes called the Profit and Loss Statement) measures the success of your business over the course of 2 years with the first year divided into quarters. The good news is it's the same information stated in the Cash Flow Statement, but it is organized into larger periods of time. Having your Cash Flow condensed as an Income Statement allows you to easily pick up on positive or negative trends in your business.

The Income Statement has 5 main sections:

Do What You Love: An interview with Janick Gravel of Nea

Today I'm pleased to have the lovely Canadian creative powerhouse, Janick Gravel here for our Do What You Love series! Janick is the designer behind Nea, creating jewelry and her iconic wall wear full time and making a living at it too! Let's get a little glimpse into what her daily life is like and see how she manages her busy etsy shop.

 
What do you do for a living?  

I started making jewelry and selling on Etsy in 2006. At the time, I was a freelance graphic designer working from home and wanted some extra money to buy handmade. Then in 2008 I started exploring embroidery and cross-stitch and launched my Wall Wear collection in June. The response was so positive and overwhelming! Since then, I've been doing this as a living!

How long have you been self-employed? What made you decide to take the leap?

I've been self-employed since 2003 for graphic design, but since 2008 for Nea. Both times, I decided to just go for it and leap into the unknown almost on a head spin, even with all the risks that it brings. Some people prefer to plan ahead, I prefer to just jump in and take the motivation and excitement with me! Then again, I don't have kids or a mortgage, so it is an easier decision for me than for many people.

Do you work from home or have a studio/office elsewhere?

Good to Know Giveaway!!

Have you seen the new Good to Know zine by Amy over at Pikaland yet? Well, now's your chance because you can win a copy right here!

Good to Know offers advice and inspiration to creative business owners and artists, and this month's theme is focused on time management. Right up the Modish BIZtips reader alley, hmm?


In the zine you'll hear from 29 fantastic creative business owners on how they manage their time, learning tips, tricks and advice along the way.

3 readers will win a copy! To enter, just leave a comment on this post about why you need some help with your time management skills (I know I do! :) Winners will be chosen randomly next Tuesday, July 21st. Good luck!

Retail: Brick by Brick- Cash Flow Questions

{Photo by Libby Loo}

Last week we covered the Cash Flow Statement in the Business Plan Challenge. There was a great question in the comments that we thought others might be interested in the answer to and a bit more information about projections. Kendra asked:

"I have a question about figuring out what are best case, worst case, and realistic sales for an online store? I can't base it on foot traffic or compare to other businesses, so I'm not sure how to estimate these sales without insider knowledge. Do you have any recommendations about how I might research this so that at least my guesses are educated (and not wild!) Thanks so much for the great guidance!"

Like we said, great question Kendra! The easiest of the three to project is the worst case scenario. Basically, you're seeing how much money you might be spending without taking in any sales at all. We projected a very slow start up without any sales for 6 months and then very slow growth. This cash flow will prepare you for the worst possible sales and prepare you for spending a lot more money then you take in.

Your best case is more of a gamble, and honestly a bit wild. This is the case we dream about for all of us! If you're making your own items to sell online, it would be interesting to know how much money you could make at full capacity without hiring employees. Also, if/when you do hire employees, how much extra income will that generate for your business? With this projection, try and find out how big you can be and still handle the work. If the best case comes true, you'll have a better understanding of what your life might look like!

For your realistic cash flow here are a few things that can help:

Photo Styling Tips on Mint!

Mint design blog played host to an awesome photo styling tutorial by Kim Ludy of Trampoline last week that I thought you'd be interested in. I LOVE Kim's product photos and featured her on Modish the moment I found her shop because I thought they were so fantastic (not to mention her selection of goods is equally fantastic!)

I guarantee that her photos are a huge part of her success in selling online as I know they make me want to purchase everything. Honestly! And good news is, she's not a pro photographer- she taught herself how to take these gorgeous photos after lots of practice. So yep, you can teach yourself too.

If you're interested in learning tips on how to take well-styled, blog-feature worthy photos for your own shop, hop on over to Mint to check out Kim's tutorial.

*And for more photo-taking inspiration, take a peek at the "picture perfect" category on Modish- it features examples of unique and compelling product photography to help give you some ideas on making your photos stand out.