I realize it has been almost a year since I last posted! What a crazy year it has been.

Many people barely made it through 2020, doing the basics, trying not to get overwhelmed, their businesses or jobs taking a hit. I feel so deeply for those people. Other people took it as a mandatory pause button. A time to bake more bread, read more books, nap more. No matter what category you fall into, it seems that we are not out of the woods just yet. New year, same world. That can feel overwhelming, and we all surely have Covid Fatigue, BUT- the good news is, that you can choose to pull some wisdom from the second group of people.

Many businesses are taking this time to rebrand a little, or to switch gears and try new paths that they have never had time to explore. Others are using this time to actually take a break, and spend more time with their families, or work on neglected hobbies. Whether you need someone to bounce ideas off of, and help you find the new direction for your business, a complete branding overhaul, or just someone to take over managing your social medias so that you can keep enjoying this newly found free time, I would be delighted to help you.

<3 Dawn

Image from mycustomer.com

Maybe you just started a new craft and made it a business, or maybe it’s a hobby you have had for years that you are only now trying to make money on. But either way, how the hell do you sell it?

Marketing can seem like this impossible to slay beast when you are just starting out in your business, especially when you are brand new.

According to Wikipedia “Marketing is the study and management of exchange relationships.” and I think that when you break it down like that, it seems a lot less scary!

What relationships do you already have that will help your business? Which would be beneficial to create? When you break it down in more digestible terms, it doesn’t seem as big a mountain to climb, and you realize that you are not doing it alone.

A great (and easy) place to begin your marketing, is by creating an online presence. A lot of large companies even value brand awareness over actual sales, so take the time in the beginning to really think about what your brand is. What is the style, feeling you want to evoke, or general mood of your product or service. Think about the colours, fonts, and anything else you want to use to give your brand its own personality. The sooner you nail this down, the less changes you will have to make later. Make an “inspiration board” (a post on this will follow) and see what similarities you see between the images you have chosen. Once you have this down, start building your online profiles. Choose the same username for each platform, if possible, and get that handle even on ones you think you won’t use. You never know where someone will find you, and it’s better that you have that domain name/user name now, than for someone else to grab it later and undermine your brand. If you are @xyzclothing on twitter, don’t be @xyzboutique on Instagram. (it’s confusing for customers and people trying to tag you)

Another great starting place is to find groups online that you can connect with people in. London has more than a few groups for things like moms in business, home based businesses, crafters, etc. Take some time to look for a few groups that you think you fit into, and spend time introducing yourself and your product. Start small and join one or two groups at a time, so as not to overwhelm yourself.

Ask friends and family for referrals. Post on your own page about what you are up to, or pick up the phone and call a few friends. You will be surprised who doesn’t know about your new venture, and who is willing to help get your name out once they do. Many of them may even be interested themselves in your product or service, but even if they are not, they will be sure to share a post or tow online.

Look for vendor markets or craft shows that you can be a part of, and spend time building connections with the people around you. Those people may become your best friends in business, and can tell you about other events that might be good for you to participate in. You can approach stores as well to carry your product, either by going in with samples, or by sending a well crafted email (we can with these as well) explaining what you do, and the benefits to the store to carry your items. Be wary of approaching too many places too quickly, and not being able to keep up with stock, as well as approaching them too soon when your branding is still messy. You will only have one chance with most of these places to make a good impression, so be sure to make it count.

Hopefully these tips help, and if you continue to think about marketing more like building lasting relationships with customers and other makers, it won’t seem so scary!

Image credit classroomnook.com

Jude asked: “As a person who works full time and is trying to start a small business I struggle with scheduling time and honouring that time to work on my business. Which results in late night scrambling or complete paralysis. Just can’t figure out what needs to get done so I cocoon. Any tips?”

This is a great question because it is something a lot of us struggle with, especially once you add in life responsibilities like home, children, pets, etc.

It can be super overwhelming to try to carve out enough time to build and grow your new business. If your end goal is to quit your day job to focus on your business, this can be even more of a challenge at the same time as being even more important to do. The tipping point of when your business is generating enough income to quit the day job can be really hard to get to when time is at a premium. The feeling of not knowing where to start, and so doing nothing, and “cocooning” as Jude puts it, is very real, and extremely counterproductive.

I am going to share some tips and trick that might help with this ordeal. Not all of them will apply to you, but feel free to pick and choose the ones that do, and modify ones that might to suit your needs. And of course, as always, feel free to reach out for help!

1. The easiest way to deal with overwhelm is honestly to hire someone else. This can be scary, especially when just starting out, but when you still have income from another job is the best time to do this, to help you grow to the point where your business becomes self sufficient. A virtual assistant can be essential in this phase, as they can be a temporary or contract hire, to get you going. This will allow you to dedicate the time that you DO have, to manufacturing your product, delivering your service, or other tasks that only you can do. It also helps you learn early into the business process that you do not have to do it all alone, and can help you learn your strengths and weaknesses. Delegate the tasks you don’t like, or are not good at, and focus only on the ones only you can do.
2. Get a great planner. Find one that you like, and works for you, whether this is a sparky pink notebook, or a user-friendly app on your phone. The key to this is making sure you actually use it. (I am guilty of not doing this myself) Set yourself reminders, and write out to do lists. There is hardly anything as satisfying as crossing off items on a to-do list! Use your planner to block off chunks of time for various activities, and actually BLOCK OFF the time. Treat this time as if you were out of the house at your day job, and make sure that your family knows that you will be unavailable during this time. Little Johnny wouldn’t call Mommy at work to ask for juice, so the same rules should apply to this work.
3. Group like tasks together and complete them in batches. You will get in the groove, and things will go by more quickly. You may also find that set up and clean up for the various tasks is easier this way, since you won’t have everything out all the time. (If you make jewelry, for example, you would get out the tools you need for crafting the items, and then later you would get out the materials for packaging or labeling) This can be especially helpful if you don’t have a designated room for your business, and use the kitchen table or something similar.
4. Put away your phone! If you are in a stage of creation that does not require the use of your phone, computer etc, put them away, and focus on the craft. You will enjoy the process more, as well as get less distracted. Set aside designated times (maybe twice a day) where you check your email or messages, and the rest of the time focus on the product or service you are building your business on. If you are spending time creating content for your social media or website, then use the designated time for that, and don’t get distracted by games or facebook.
5. Use tools to your advantage. Facebook allows you to schedule posts for the future, and there are many apps that allow you to schedule posts across multiple platforms (Buffer is my favourite) or schedule posts to instagram with an app like Latergram. Using these tools will allow you to stay active on social media without always being attached to your phone or computer. Scheduling posts in batches also allows for a more consistent and cohesive brand look. Turn on auto responders on facebook letting people know their message has been received and that you will reply when possible (whether this means letting them know the specific times you have chosen during which to check messages, or just that you are busy crafting and will be back later). As always I can help craft these types of templates and responses, which are guaranteed to save you time and energy,
6. Prioritize the items that are essential to actually building your business, whatever that means for you. If you absolutely cannot function in a messy office, cleaning it before you start may be a priority for you, but do try to put the focus on the tasks that will actually GENERATE INCOME, and let the other stuff fall to the wayside if needed. Your business will become a time and money pit if it is not making you money. This will contribute to the feelings of helplessness. Do the orders first, spend the energy on the clients who have paid first. A great website can wait (or be outsourced) and no one will notice if you miss a social media post here or there. Again, make a to-do list of the tasks you feel you need to accomplish for your business, and put time sensitive or income generating items near the top.

Hopefully you found some of these tips helpful, and feel free to share with someone else you think might benefit.

Image Courtesy of Bitmoji

Sometimes, we have customers that just SUCK!

Unfortunately it is a reality of doing business of any kind. You are not alone, by any means, but sometimes, in that moment, it feels like you are, and the whole world is against you, and your business will suffer, and everyone will agree with Mr/Mrs Crazyface, and it’s all over for you!

(Yes I know that was a run-on sentence, it was meant to convey the anxiety and panic that comes with these types of people.)

Here are some tips to help you deal:

1. Take a deep breath, smile, and power through it.  

   Sometimes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and you know you just have to take a little bit of crap, and get through just one grumpy customer, and be able to get on with your day.

2. Write a nasty email. 

   But definitely don’t send it. Sometimes you just need to get the words out, so that you can feel better about the situation. Other times seeing what you think/feel about the situation may put into perspective that there is somewhere halfway that you could meet them, or maybe even that you are the one being unreasonable.

3. Outsource their business.

   If there is another company that does something similar, or there is some other way you can deal with them less, or another staff member that might have a personality style that jives better with the customer’s, feel free to pass them off. But remember to do it as seamlessly and kindly as possible.

4. Fire them.

   Yes, I said it. Sometimes there is no compromise, nothing you can do to make them happy, and you will only cause yourself more discomfort if you continue to deal with this toxic person. If they aren’t happy, and you aren’t happy, then what are either of you doing?! Find a diplomatic way to let them know that you don’t think it’s wise to continue the business relationship, so that you can both feel ok about the next transaction.

If you often find yourself struggling with difficult customer interactions, and need a bit more help, feel reach to reach out to me by email or on my Facebook Fanpage.