AngelaTsune.com
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Filed under PERSONAL | Comment (0)A checklist of 10 things you’ll need to start selling your crafts online.
- Get yourself a separate bank account - it doesn’t have to be a business account, it should just be separate account (with cheque book and debit card) that you use for depositing money from your sales and where you draw money from for your craft business. If you keep this account separate from your personal bank accounts you will be able to clearly keep a track of what you are earning from your business, and it will make doing the accounts sooooooooooooo much easier.
- Look into what status you will be as a self employed person for accounts and tax purposes - it may not matter so much at the early stages or even if you plan to just run a low-key craft business, but if things are beginning to take off or you are looking for this to be your sole source of income than you need to look into things like tax on earnings etc. Various tax laws obviously differ from country to country. Make yourself aware of what expected of you by asking at your local Inland Revenue, IRS or whatever group of folks deal with that sort of thing. It’s best to do it now rather than get yourself into trouble later down the line! Of course if you’re a bit of an ostrich (like me) you can ask your accountant or accountant friend to sort this out for you.
- Identify who will do your accounts - and start doing them from the beginning. For my business I have enlisted the services of a friendly accountant because I’m a mathematics MORON.
- Keep every single one of your receipts for everything that you spend on your craft business - even if that receipt is just for a £0.50 D ring. It all adds up and it all counts because it will save you money in the long run. Keep your receipts in a box or file for your accounts.
- Packaging & stationary - spend a little time in thinking about how you are going package and present your craft products. Do you want to add in little treats like pins or sweets etc. Are you going to use coloured tissue paper, ribbon, bubble wrap, padded envelopes, what size boxes might you need, what size envelope or boxes might you need for larger or small orders? You’ll also need stationary like packing tape, envelopes, stamps, paper etc.
- What are you going to call your company? - When you have settled upon a name you might want to consider seeing if the internet domain names are available to purchase (indeed your choice of company name may well be determined by this). Domain names are so much cheaper if they haven’t yet been bought by someone else. If you want to buy a domain name that already exists the owner has be willing to sell that name to you and sometimes they charge crazy amounts of money for the name! If you purchase the domain name now you then have the freedom to set up your own website at a later stage. For my business I knew from the beginning that I was going to trade from my own website so my choice of business name was greatly influenced by what domain names were available. As soon as I came up with the U-Handbag name I purchased both .com and .co.uk domains.
- Get yourself a digital camera to take shots of your products - you may also want photo editing software (like photoshop) to enhance your shots as well, but if you take clear, well lit shots with your camera I wouldn’t worry too much about photo editing at the very beginning of your business.
- Branding - are you going to have business cards, labels, headed paper, compliments slips?
- Separate email - consider getting yourself a separate email address for everything concerned with your craft business - it’s easy enough to get yourself a free email account and having a separate email account will make life easier.
- Regular access to a computer and printer - I know this may sound really obvious, but last year my printer died and that really messed things up for me because I couldn’t print my order sheets and address labels so I had to hand write everything which was such a pain in the bum (I now have a back-up printer just in case). Also in the past I have had a rubbish internet connection and that gave me sleepness nights, going to an internet cafe to run my business was a nightmare, I have since changed providers.
I just came across this post written by Lisa Lam on her blog Craft Boom http://emomsathome.com/craft-boom/
She has a very nice website, filled with many ideas to help grow your craft business. Check it out for yourself.
Filed under YOUR Craft Business | Comments (2)Bookmaking Tutorial
I came across this bookmaking tutorial through Stumble Upon. I have always wanted to create blank journals using this type of stitching, also know as Coptic Binding. Below is a link to Kate’s page on Flickr. She has put together a simple step by step guild to create your own personalized books.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/katej/sets/72157603357966181/
Filed under ART & CRAFT Ideas | Comment (0)Right Brain vs Left Brain Creativity Test
Being creative or artistic doesn’t mean you know how to draw or play an instrument. Being creative is a way of thinking, a way of
viewing the world.
Creative people use the RIGHT side of their brains more than the LEFT. Take the test and find out if your brain is RIGHT for a
creative career.
Filed under PERSONAL Development | Comments (3)Side Walk Chalk Guy
Awesome, isn’t it? I came across these images, via Stumble Upon. I believe the artist name is Julian Beever, and he has made pavement drawings for over ten years. Working in places such as the U.K., Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Germany, the USA and Australia. If you know more about him, can you please share, by leaving a comment below.
Filed under ART updates | Comment (1)HOW TO: learn about business from martha, PART 2!
Below is Part 2 of the article written by Christy Petterson. These rules are vital when building a successful business.
Rule #6: Quality is everyday. Quality should be placed at the top or your list of priorities, and it should remain there. Quality is something you should strive for in every decision, every day.
For an entrepreneur to be successful they must be able to identify quality and understand what goes into producing quality. Understanding quality comes from comparing designs, materials and methods. With excellent quality comes satisfied and happy customers.
Rule #7: Build an a-team. Seek out and hire employees who are brimming with talent, energy, integrity, optimism, and generosity. Search for advisors and partners who complement your skills and understand your ideals.
The thought of someday having a team seems totally out of reach to me at this point, but I suppose it might happen one day. And even if it doesnt, I think this rule can be applied to collaborators as well as employees. Martha says, Good employees will energize you and your business. This reminds me of something I always say, Enthusiasm is infectious.
Rule #8: So the pie isnt perfect? Cut it into wedges. When faced with a business challenge, evaluate or assess the situation, gather the good things in sight, abandon the bad, clear your mind and move on. Focus on the positive. Stay in control, and never panic.
This chapter contained my favorite story of the book. During one of her catering gigs, Martha was preparing a dinner for Paul Newman (who would have been the love of my life had I been born a little sooner and had he not met…) and Joanne Woodward. Martha had just traveled to Morocco and suggested a Moroccan buffet for the dinner theme. Shortly before serving time she discovered that one of the main dishes–dinner pies–had burned in the places that were closest to the walls of the oven. There wasnt enough time to recreate the dish so she had to think quick on her feet and decided to slice the pieces and serve the unburned pieces on platters. Instead of freaking out–most peoples initial response–she took a moment to assess the situation. Grace under fire!
Rule #9: Take risks, not chances. In business, theres a difference between a risk and a chance. A well-calculated risk may very well end up as an investment in your business. A careless chance can cause it to crumble. And when an opportunity presents itself, never assume it will be your last.
Martha suggests following a well-informed instinct or a calculated hunch. You might be the only person who sees the merit in the opportunity and you have to be ready to take the risk despite others warning against it. She describes a chance as a long shot that depends largely on luck and warns against these. I like that she reassures us that no opportunity is ever your last opportunity. Sometimes it feels like you should try everything when youre just starting out, but you dont have to do it all!
Rule #10: Make it beautiful. Listen intently, learn new things every day, be willing to innovate, and become an authority your customers will trust. As an entrepreneur, you will find great joy and satisfaction in making your customers lives easier, more meaningful, and more beautiful.
Martha repeats the mantra Make it beautiful to herself several times a day and makes it her number one goal to improve the lives of her customers, colleagues, family and friends and in doing so her life is better as well. Sounds good to me!
Filed under YOUR Craft Business | Comment (1)
HOW TO: learn about business from martha
I found this great article written by Christy Petterson on www.getcrafty.com. We are not as familiar with Martha Stewart in Australia, however her advice is valuable.
So I hear Martha Stewart’s Apprentice wasn’t such a hit. I didn’t watch it. Instead I decided to read her latest book “The Martha Rules: 10 ESSENTIALS FOR ACHIEVING SUCCESS AS YOU START, BUILD OR MANAGE A BUSINESS.” Martha, herself, gets mixed reviews. Some crafty girls like her and some don’t. I like her, I think she’s brought the art, skill and intellect of making a nice home into the forefront of our culture, which often dismisses homemaking as insignificant, easy and a waste of time. Turning these matters into a business makes it all the more impressive to me. So when my boss at my “real” job offered to loan me Martha’s book on essentials for running a business, I took her up on it.
I know many of us are interested in turning our love of craft into a business and we also need guidance so I thought I’d share Martha’s rules with everyone here. Even if you don’t like her this advice is sound and I’m saving you from having to read her book. If you do like her, read this and then go read the book,her stories are real, funny and easy to relate to. She shares antidotes from her own experience as well as other successful entrepreneurs. This is part one of a two part look at Martha’s rules.
Rule #1: What’s passion got to do with it? Build your business success around something that you love, something that is inherently and endlessly interesting to you.
Those of us interested in creating a crafty business have already found this passion and would probably agree with Martha when she states, Doing work that you enjoy gives you energy. Martha started out knowing that she loved to cook and from this developed her catering business which led to a book on entertaining and so on and so on. When you love what you do, she says, it’s not work.
She advises finding a mentor who will be honest with you. Having a mentor who only gives you positive feedback will stunt your growth. It is helpful to have someone who can tell you when an idea needs further development or isn’t based in reality.
Rule #2: Ask yourself, what’s the big idea? Focus your attention and creativity on basic things, things that people need and want. Then look for ways to enlarge, improve, and enhance your big idea.
Martha suggests that every business person take a walk in their customers shoes in order to come up with your big idea. Take time to brainstorm, compile lists of ideas, scrutinize and analyze your idea and assess it from many different perspectives including geography, affordability and expandability.
Rule #3: Get a telescope, a wide-angle lens, and a microscope. Create a business plan that allows you to stay true to your big idea but helps you focus on the details. Then remain flexible enough to zoom in or out on the vital aspects of your enterprise as your business grows.
The telescope, wide-angle lens and microscope are all essential for business success. With the telescope you should keep in mind where you are going and what the future holds. With the wide-angle lens you should evaluate the broad picture of operating your business. And with the microscope you will look at the finest details of your business.
A word to the wise: you must write a business plan.
Rule #4: Teach so you can learn. By sharing your knowledge about your product or service with your customers, you create a deep connection that will help you learn how best to build and manage your business.
Customers respond best to business people who create a good experience for the customer and make it clear that they truly want their customer to have a good experience. You need them to view you and your business as their primary resource, their refuge, their reliable provider of information, products, entertainment, or inspiration, says Martha.
Rule #5: All dressed up and ready to grow. Use smart, cost-effective promotional techniques that will arrest the eye, tug at the heart, and convey what is unique and special about your business or service.
Your product has to stand out and you have to make this happen through packaging, advertising, publicity or some combination of all three. Make sure you find a way to distinguish your product from its market competitors. I have found, says Martha, that the two most important elements in your promotional strategy should be creativity and common sense. A successful business absolutely needs both.
This is just a smattering of the helpful hints in the first half of this book. Helpful hints are like gold for the young and ambitious. I hope this will help everyone’s business savvy!
Christy Petterson lives in Atlanta where she writes, sews, works in PR, organizes crafty events, roadies for her drummer-of-a-husband, eats the yummy food he cooks her, drinks coffee, goes for walks and spends time with her friends and family. Her latest exciting news is that That’s Clever is coming to film her this month! And there are just a few weeks left to apply for the Indie Craft Experience…. www.ice-atlanta.com
Filed under YOUR Craft Business | Comment (0)Best of the Art Blog
Analysts try to make sense of up-and-down sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s
On Monday, when the fall auctions kicked off in New York, the art world seemed as placid as a seascape by Canaletto. But now that same outlook has grown stormy. The sales have also raised fresh concerns about the fate of next week’s postwar and contemporary art auctions, which begin Tuesday.
Analysts, art dealers and readers of our On the Block blog (blogs.wsj.com/ontheblock) spent Friday grappling with how to interpret the week’s up-and-down sales of Impressionist and modern art at Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Christie’s had a steady start by selling $395 million worth of Impressionist art at its evening sale Tuesday. The highlight of its week was Henri Matisse’s “L’Odalisque, harmonie bleue,” a portrait of a reclining blonde that sold for $33.6 million above its $20 million high estimate. But Sotheby’s sent the art world reeling Wednesday night when a quarter of its offerings went unsold and its stock shares subsequently fell by nearly a third.
Steven Pincus, the managing director of the DeWitt Stern Group, a fine art practice specializing in risk assessment and insurance for art, isn’t predicting a total crash. “The market went from the speed of light to the speed of sound,” he says. A plateau in prices for Warhol, Basquiat, and Rothko might even be healthy over the long run, he added, since it may compel auction houses to stop giving risk-free guarantees to sellers. Such a move could “level the playing field” for private dealers, he said.
By KELLY CROW and LAUREN A.E. SCHUKER
November 10, 2007; Page W2 Wall Street Journal
The Success Factor
Ever thought, when you look around, why some people appear to be more successful?
Some may even have been in your school. They had the same teachers, the same lessons, examinations to sit. So what made the difference between then and now. Why do they appear to have achieved more in life. Could it be some sort of Success Factor!
What is this Success Factor.
Well, it’s not some sort of great secret saved for the select few. It is merely this. Successful people think and act differently. It’s how they think and what they do with their time that makes the difference.
There are, of course, different areas to be successful in, but when you talk of being successful, most people will think in terms of financial success. It’s a case of doing some research, finding mentors who are already successful, making a plan, following in their footsteps, taking action, making corrections, overcoming set backs, having determination, applying visualisation every day and never giving up.
7 POINTERS TO HELP YOU GET STARTED NOW.
“NOW” being the operative word. You can only think and do in the NOW. What you think and do NOW will make a difference to your future. Sitting and watching TV or thinking through and making a business plan. Which one has the greater potential towards success? Pretty obvious really isn’t it. It’s not just a question of being lucky.
* Research - look for and research a business, products/services that are already established and successful.
* Find a mentor(s) people who have already found the way and done what it takes to become successful in that particular business. It is easier if you already have a knowledge in or are interested in that field.
* Make a plan. How can you find a place without a map?
* Put each process, component and system into place into a mode of operation like the mentor did.
* Manage that plan. Find ways around obstacles and set backs.
* Visualisation - every day, go through a mental rehearsal. In your mind, go through the method step by step of how you will achieve the desired goal.
* Vow to never give up. If one way fails, it is not the end. Try a different approach and keep trying until you get through to the next step. Persistence is the key.
* If you enjoy what you are doing, it’s not hard work!
Mike Taylor is the author of Freedom Lifestyle 7 Ways and spends his time writing for pleasure and to help people succeed.
Filed under PERSONAL Development | Comment (0)Artists To The Rescue
Who’s your art hero? A recent YouGov survey for the Arts Council in England has named Leonardo da Vinci as the most influential artist of all time. Who else was in the top ten? Golden folkie Bob Dylan (#2), Pop Artist Andy Warhol (#3), Cartoon King Walt Disney (#4), Comedian Peter Kay (#5), Writer Jane Austin (#6), renowned English Graffiti Artist Banksy (#7), Reggae King Bob Marley (#8), Cartoonist Nick Park (#9), & at #10….Picasso! Artworker Issue 01/2007
Filed under ART & CRAFT Ideas | Comment (0)