Five tips on Tuesday

I originally posted this on Skye's blog. But I wanted to share it here today.


Today I wanted to share with yall {yes I am from Texas} 5 things I have learned while having a handmade business.

1. It takes time. Lots of time if you want it to be successful. Promoting, working on shop items, editing pictures of your products, writing descriptions, getting your shop out there. I've learned to be very patient with my shop - because it's not going to grow over night, but I know if I put the time and effort into it, it will be worth it.

2. Understand that it's YOUR shop. This is one that got me for the longest time. Don't get me wrong. I obviously knew it was MY shop, but I was trying to go with a theme of things because that's what I saw in other shops. They had a theme and I thought in order for it to be successful that my shop needed a theme. I couldn't have been more wrong. My "theme" is now whatever I create that I fall in love with. Knowing that I don't have to keep it to one certain theme has let my creativity breathe again!

3. Make items you love. You think this would be an obvious one but in the beginning everything I created wasn't something I loved and it showed. I was creating things that I thought would sell. Big mistake. It finally hit me that I needed to be completely smitten with the items in my shop because it wasn't going to show in the way I promoted them and in the work themselves.

4. Believe in yourself and in your shop. If you want others to believe in your shop, you have to believe in it. You have to know this is what you want to do and that you are doing what you love, otherwise how do you expect others to love what you make if they can't see that you do?

5. Spread the word. This is a hard one for me. I'm very shy and asking someone to buy something I make, makes me want to curl into a ball and hide. But truth be told is your shop will get no where if you don't spread the word about. It has to start with YOU. You have to be the one who lights the fire for your shop and then watch it spread and then keep it going. This is something I am going to be doing a lot more.


If you own a handmade business, share with me something you have learned.