Hey Etsy shop owners (and shop owners of all sorts really... ;) Take a peek at some of my favorite tips from the Modish BIZtips blog so far published over on the Etsy Storque today! And thank you Etsy, for the fantastic shout-out!
Hey Etsy shop owners (and shop owners of all sorts really... ;) Take a peek at some of my favorite tips from the Modish BIZtips blog so far published over on the Etsy Storque today! And thank you Etsy, for the fantastic shout-out!
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I'm hosting a little chat in the Etsy Virtual Labs later today. If you're an etsy shop owner who'd like some tips on how to approach bloggers (like me!) for a write-up, join me there!
It's happening live, this afternoon at 12:00pm pst/3:00pm est.
You'll be able to see and hear me live on webcam (uh, scarrrryyyy!) I'd love to "see" you there. Please come say hello and feel free to get your questions ready- I'll do my best to answer them and give you some practical advice on how to get some exposure.
Hope to see you soon!
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As some of you may know, I'm in the process of starting up a letterpress stationery line. Since a large number of you have already commented saying these articles have helped you in your own pursuits or have inspired you to consider going out on your own. I thought it would help for me to share what I've been going through getting prepared. This first installment is about the all-important goal list.
I admit it: if I don't have a deadline, I procrastinate. It wasn't a problem in school, and clearly isn't a problem at work - but when it's just me, with no one to answer to but myself, I'm certainly slower. Either it's one of the kitties being cute, or something good on TV, or the laundry has to get done. Suddenly, the day is gone and I've gotten nothing done. I know I'm not the only one who is like this, and if you don't set goals for yourself without real time lines, you may find that your dreams of your own small business will be pushed back indefinitely into the future.
Sit down and write a list of important milestones in getting yourself off the ground. If you can't get started without doing it, put it on the list - including acquiring a EIN, buying supplies, and attaining any necessary licenses. When you've got a completed list of "to dos", number them according to where in the time line they belong. For example, if you can't start purchasing supplies without a business bank account, opening a bank account would clearly come earlier in your numbering. With your numbering complete, group your goals by what's achievable at the same time, then assign due dates to each group. Make sure they are achievable in the time period you're allowing between groups, but you don't want to give yourself too much time either.
Here's a simplified version of the one I made for myself when preparing for my opening:
February 15
- complete designs
- acquire press, Boxcar Base, registration quoins
- have FEIN and Minnesota EIN
- have a valid DBA (Assumed Name)
End of February
- have a business bank account
- order inks, paper
- order and set up Quickbooks
- begin printing
- research advertising
March Week 3
- register website
- design website
End of April/May Week 1
- website up
- advertise
Realistically, you're going to run behind because of things that are out of your control. I'm currently two weeks behind for reasons that are out of my hands. The only thing you have to do in cases such as these is take a deep breath and take another look at your timing. If you want to keep your launch date, are there any areas where you may have overestimated how much time you'll need for it? Add that to whatever group of goals is held up.
-Maddy
Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and
artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period
pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a
number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and
corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the
way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This
at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper
goods.
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[ photo by Maddy ]
If the idea of craft circles inspires you to think of your Grandma and her nearest and dearest and, say, a hundred balls of yarn, you're not alone. Having a creative full time job while also seeking out others, who like me enjoy creating outside of the office, made me think: if the "make it / make it mine" attitude is becoming such a huge culture trend now, can't we redefine the idea of the craft circle?
Certainly Etsy is helping to change the face of crafting from the ground up. With more buyers and sellers registering daily, I can't help but think of the new "craft circle" as a tool for the crafter that works similarly to the group critique of a fine artist. It's an opportunity to explore ways to improve your work and bounce ideas off of each other while in a relaxed social atmosphere. Why not bite the bullet and ask some creative buddies over for some relaxing arts and crafts time?
Here are some ideas for starting your own group:
See you next week!
-Maddy
Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and
artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period
pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a
number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and
corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the
way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This
at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper
goods.
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[ This necklace I made for myself was a guinea pig for price formula testing. From different formulas, it would be worth anywhere from $10 (too low) to $40 (too high!). It's all in finding what's good for you and your product and sticking to it - it might take time to find the right formula, but it's worth it! ]
Probably the most frequently asked question I see when going on Craft Community boards is the question of how to price items for wholesale and retail. I've never found comparison pricing particularly effective; one can look to certain areas of Etsy where that method has created an environment where products seem underpriced which gives new businesses with a fair profit margin a hard time competitively and also makes prospective buyers sometimes think that the quality is just as cheap as the price (whether or not it may be!). After hundreds of browser bookmarks and notes to myself in my "business plan" binder, along with hours of calculating out different formulas to see which really works the best the most consistently, I've come to realize there is no definitive answer. It's a matter of personal preference (which sort of puts all of us back at square one, eh?).
I guess my point in this preface is that this post is not meant to provide you with the Golden Rule for your pricing, but give you some options for formulas I've accumulated over the past months. Since this all comes from a notebook I've kept but (silly me!) did not attribute to anyone in particular, I'm not sure where I found these specifically; however, in my experience, the following formulas are generally commonplace and only differ in the wording rather than the core math itself.
When you're ready to test these formulas, my suggestion is you set aside some time to actually start producing the product in question. Carefully time yourself and determine how long it takes to make one item (if it's something like candles or soap, which is generally made in quantity, divide the time it takes to make the batch by how many were in the batch). I generally find that charging about $8-10 an hour for labor usually creates a fair price range for most products; if more skill is involved than your average craft (say, glassblowing, for example) you should knock the labor rate up a bit. Itemize exactly how much of all your supplies you used and determine how much money you personally spent making the product to the penny. If you have your own domain name, use overhead to account for your hosting fees and registration fees, as well as any other paid fees you have. If you use Etsy and PayPal, use overhead to account for what you pay there. Make sure you write down all those monetary values, then plug them in to the different formulas. Whichever one comes out with the price you think is the most reasonable should be tested again with another product. If it still comes out with a reasonable price, you've found yourself a winner!
The Basic Retail Formula
Supply Cost + Labor + Overhead + Desired Profit = Retail Price or Supply Cost + Labor + Overhead + (Desired Profit x 1.5) = Retail Consignment Price
Assuming you have no intention to sell wholesale, or you only plan on selling consignment, this formula is pretty basic and can get everyone started quickly. Note the base formula as well as the consignment formula. The consignment formula adjusts slightly higher to compensate for the normally 40% fee taken by consignment shops, giving you a similar profit to what you would normally make. Don't feel frightened to do this, or to adjust slightly off of the consigment formula - the high volume of traffic and shoppers usually generated by consignment shops makes slightly higher prices justified.
The Basic Wholesale to Retail Conversion
Supplies + Labor + Overhead + Desired Profit = Wholesale Price
Wholesale Price x 2 = Retail Price
This one isn't that much more complicated. If you're looking to build a price with a wholesale base in mind, it's always good to consider what you're willing to sell your product to resellers for while still making the sales worth your while. You may decide to go for less money on the wholesale side simply to get your name out, or more because of the time and love put in. Whichever end you choose, plug it into the "Desired Profit", and you've got yourself a wholesale number.
It's important to also note here that while doubling wholesale is a generally accepted method of getting a retail price, I've also seen some multiply by 1.5 and 1.75, depending on the product. Just make sure to give enough markup room for your wholesale accounts!
The Fixed Wholesale to Retail Conversion
(Supplies + Labor + Overhead) x 2.25 = Wholesale Price
Wholesale Price x 2 = Retail Price
Instead of assigning an arbitrary profit amount to the item in question, this gives a fixed margin and can be applied to multiple items without having to toil over what you consider to be "fair". Like the previous formula, your wholesale can be multiplied by either 1.5 or 1.75 to suit your business.
Other Formulas and Discussions
Pricing Your Craft (Craftster)
Wholesale/Consignment Pricing (Craftster)
Craftster Business FAQ: How Do I Price My Items? (Craftster)
An Underselling Discussion (Craftster)
Professional Pricing for Craftspeople (Etsy Wiki)
-Maddy
Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and
artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period
pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a
number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and
corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the
way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This
at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper
goods.
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When you're first starting out, one of the most exciting parts (at least for me) is choosing the name you'll be working with. With the introduction of the internet, people are competing across the country as well as around the world, and finding a unique, memorable name is more important than ever. You also want to ensure you're not violating any trademarks (eek!). Here's how to find that perfect name.
I hope this was informative and helpful. If you have any more questions, I'd be happy to help you in any way I can - just let me know. Happy Name Hunting!
Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and
artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period
pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a
number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and
corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the
way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This
at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper
goods.
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I admit it - I'm a very picky web browser. As a blogger I search many sites each week, looking for great new product, and I confess that I could easily be missing a lot of great stuff simply because of my internet prejudices. I'm sure in a lot of respects I'm a pretty basic Internet user - I'd say you have about 5 seconds to capture my interest, and if it's busy or cluttered, you can pretty much count on me closing the window before I get further into the site. It sounds harsh, but it's the truth - and I know I'm not the only one.
Think about it: your web presence is a huge part of what your professional appearance is. If it looks sloppy or put together with little thought or effort, how does that reflect on your brand in your customers' eyes? There are lots of "website faux pas" that are done every day, and once you recognize them and address them, people will take your company more seriously.
Remember - having a clean, professional website does not mean it has to be devoid of personality. After all, sites like Modish: Handmade Goods and Design Sponge have a lot of it, but they're still user-friendly. The principles behind better websites are more than that - is it easy to use and legible? Is it logical? Can your visitors understand it? Does it look to visually busy or is it effectively organized? If I was a customer, could I use this site the first time I came to it?
It may be hard to answer those questions objectively if you've made it. If you find that you're not sure if you can be honest with yourself about them, I encourage you to have people test and critique it. For the most accurate feedback, try to keep it outside our circle of friends and family as much as possible - you don't want them to soften any problems or reservations they have about it to avoid possibly hurting your feelings.
-Maddy
Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and
artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period
pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a
number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and
corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the
way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This
at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper
goods.
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{Family Reunion photo by Artsy}
If you ask a lot of indie business owners, one of the most daunting tasks in getting set up is taking the ever-important product photograph. Especially on sites such as Etsy, where your product really is in a sea of competing items, you need to take great photos to capture the attention of the browser. They better they look and the more they pop, the more likely you'll get the click - and of course, the more clicks, the better the chance at the sale!
While getting a professional to take photos for you can be a great option, most businesses realistically don't have the budget for it - at the same time, nobody wants their sales to suffer because the images on their store front don't accurately reflect the commitment and pride they have for their product. So what's a small business owner to do? Start by making small changes to how you take your photos! You'd be surprised by how the tiniest detail can really make or break your photos. Here are some tips:
If you're an Etsy user, keep in mind the site will end up cropping your photos into a square when it's the feature photo - you will want to compose your photos with that in mind. If you've used natural light, I'd generally discourage bringing your photos into Photoshop unless there is color correcting that needs to be done - for example, if you have a color cast. Slight adjusting may be needed in Levels if you've used indoor lighting, which may have flattened out your product.
Good luck, and happy photo taking!
- Maddy
Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and
artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period
pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a
number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and
corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the
way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This
at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper
goods.
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For most folks, there's nothing better than a wonderful warm, relaxing bath. For the creative, there's always an added bonus knowing you made the soap. Or the bubbles and bath salts. Heck, you even made the lotion you're going to use after you come out! Does that sound like it should be you? Here's the goods to get you into crafting Bath and Body product.
{photo by mi*2}
Suppliers - Multiple Bath & Body Areas
Bramble Berry: supplies for making soap, lip balm, lotions, bath salts, and more. Includes molds, colorant, exfoliants, fragrances, and more. Just starting out and don't know what to do? They also offer kits.
Wellington Fragrance Company: despite their name, Wellington stocks various bases (including body gel, liquid hand soap, bubble bath, lotion, shampoo and conditioner bases), molds, flavor oils, and salts. Not surprisingly, they also stock fragrances (what a shock!).
Save on Scents: I love these guys. While they carry primarily fragrance oils (their selection is great, they've started to expand their collection to packaging (vials, bottles, roll-ons, and more), melt and pour soap bases, colorants, and a variety of other bases including shower gel, lip balm, scrub, lotion, and other various bases.
Sweet Cakes: if you're looking into bath and body as a business opportunity, Sweet Cakes offers bulk supplies for melt and pour soap, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion bases. They also supply packaging, lip balm bases and flavor oils, and a wide variety of fragrance and essential oils. Want to test out the scents? They also offer themed 1 ounce fragrance sampler packs.
Wholesale Supplies Plus: offering molds, fragrances, various bases, and packaging, WSP has a good selection that covers all of bath and body crafting. There's a particularly good selection of melt and pour bases to suit anyone's personal preference.
Suppliers - Soapmaking Exclusive
Creation Herbal: offering essential oils and soapmaking ingredients, Creation Herbal also offers organic alternatives for those crafting for that market. If you're interested in doing a more advanced soapmaking process than simple melt and pour, they have beginner recipe kits complete with all necessary ingredients and a step-by-step book to help you through it.
Suppliers - Fragrance Exclusive
Scent It: various fragrance oils available in various sizes, including sample sizes if you'd like to experiment before you buy a bulk size.
Suppliers - Packaging Exclusive
SKS Bottle: a really, really great variety of packaging options for bath and body products. I've used them before while I was in school developing a fictitious bath and body line for a packaging class - and I'd use them again.
Books - Soapmaking
The Soapmaker's Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch: featuring recipes and techniques, this book helps inspire new ways of making your soaps unique. Probably the best feature of all, Cavitch also offers insight on soapmaking for profit, including the hardest part for all of us - understanding the government's rules and requirements!
The Natural Soap Book by Susan Miller Cavitch: also by Ms. Cavitch, this book features soap recipes in the cold process method using all-natural ingredients. In addition to the recipes, Cavitch also discusses ideas for creative packaging and presentation.
Soapmaking for Fun and Profit by Maria Nerius: geared slightly more towards the business side of soapmaking, including pricing and marketing, it also addresses how to develop recipes and setting up a workspace.
Melt and Pour Soapmaking by Marie Browning: through great imagery and easy to follow directions, this book will help you make your melt and pour soaps even more unique with discussions on fragrance, additives, colorants, embossing, embedding and more. Though the title would suggest it's only a book about melt and pour, there are also recipes included on hand milled soaps, bath salts, bubble baths, massage oils, and bath powders.
Making Natural Liquid Soaps by Catherine Failor: in addition to all-natural recipes for shampoos, bath and shower gels, and bubble baths, this book gives insight into the chemistry behind bath and body product, and how to use different hard fats and soft oils to the best advantage. There's also information included about how to formulate your own blends, and addresses basic techniques that everyone can follow.
Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and
artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period
pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a
number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and
corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the
way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This
at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper
goods.
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Hey, it's what I went to school for! Well, sort of, but it ended up being a large part of my education. Paper arts is one of those craft categories where you can pick a project that's either really, really cheap - or really, really expensive. The best examples would probably be simple card crafting on the cheap end, and bookmaking on the "wait until your next couple of paychecks" end, but both are fun and rewarding. For a paper geek like me, it gets my heart racing. Here are some supply sites and general resources on the web I find to be really helpful. I can't offer you any tutorials on the web because I still haven't found any that I like which illustrate and explain it well for beginners; I've included some good binding books in place of any web tutorials.
{photos by bird in the hand}
Suppliers - Bookbinding
Talas: they have everything under the sun for the book arts and are the first company I went to in college for more advanced supplies. They've got a great selection of book cloth to choose from (sample swatch books available for purchase!), and their book selection is definitely worth checking out (a number of them I either own or have read).
Hollander's: I'd heard about these guys recently. Their retail storefront is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but they also sell their supplies online. If you're a beginner, they have large variety of text blocks already sewn and finished so you don't have to worry about the sometimes frustrating steps of gluing your signatures. All you have to do is add your endpapers and attach to your covers!
Suppliers - General Paper Crafts
Gocco on EBay: This little machine is super fun to use. It's an investment, but it's definitely something any serious paper geek should have.
Making Memories: Despite the fact Making Memories is traditionally seen as a scrapbooking supplies vendor, their assortment is really great to look at for card making, shadowboxing, and other crafts. I love their fabric tapes which are really handy when making books to finish off the bound edge in a professional - but colorful! - way.
Impress Rubber Stamps: In my opinion, the best, most trend-forward assortment of rubber stamps, period.
Paper Mojo: I could stare at their Contemporary Prints section all day. They've got all sorts of awesome papers to choose from, from patterned to lace to tissue.
Martha Stewart Crafts: whatever, I'm a sucker. Really beautiful ribbon, paper, punches, embellishments, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Kraft Outlet: I love brown kraft paper. I'm not sure what it is about it, but it's awesome. Kraft Outlet has a whole bunch of nifty things for packaging, stationery and other various paper-based projects in sweet, sweet kraft.
Creative Paper Crafts: I found some pretty cute rubber stamps here. They've got supplies for a variety of crafting techniques including origami, embossing, and quilling, as well as scrapbooking supplies.
Resources and Information - Letterpress
Don Black's First Press Suggestions: want to get into letterpress but you don't know which machine to start with? Here's a good page to get your started.
Briarpress: the letterpress printer's haven. Whether printing is new to you or you're been doing it for a while, there's something for everyone, including classifieds (need a printer?), help forums, and workshop / class announcements.
David Rose's Introduction to Letterpress Printing: really resource for information about the history of letterpress, printing manuals, equipment, and supplies.
Resources and Information - General Paper Crafts
Martha Stewart Crafts Projects: if you're doing paper crafts, might as well go the patron saint of all things (somewhat) crafty, Martha. There are actually a bunch of really cute projects here that can really inspire new ideas and don't necessarily utilize her product. It's well explained and illustrated, too - heck, I used to design and create place cards for a living (worked at an invitation store), but I'm not sure I could have explained the process of pop up place cards better than the way it's described in the Themed Bird Party place card instructions!
Books - Book Binding
Making Books by Hand by Mary McCarthy: I bought this book back in school during my sophomore year, when I was first getting started in bookbinding. It was a really helpful reference on alternative binds or little things I could do while constructing my book to make it special. I'd definitely say it was a worthwhile purchase, especially for a beginner, because of its clear photos and easy to follow, step-by-step instructions.
The Encyclopedia of Papermaking and Bookbinding by Heidi Reimer-Epp: this book really has a bit of everything in the process of making a finished book, from the papermaking process to several varieties of binding. It's well illustrated and explained, so anyone of any skill level in either area can easily pick up the crafts.
Maddy Susser is a graphic designer and
artist that has a soft spot for all things paper and English period
pieces (in other words, men in tights and funny vests). Armed with a
number of years in marketing for retail on a small business and
corporate scope she collects tidbits of information learned along the
way and puts it into easy terms to share, formerly on her blog Try This
at Home, and now on Modish. She's currently working on a line of paper
goods.
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