Another year, more changes!

Ok...so I've managed to let almost two years go by without posting to my blog!  I am so sorry!  Life has definitely been crazy in a good way since my last post.  The biggest change being I got married on New Year's Eve 2010!  And with that marriage has come more changes.

I left my position last week with my sister's business and will now be working with my husband full-time.  He is a tax preparer and has decided after several years of working for someone else, it was time to have his own office/business.  So after meeting me and realizing that I brought the marketing/encouragement/business knowledge he didn't seem to have to the table, he took the leap and we will officially open our business next week! Check us out on facebook at www.facebook.com/wellspringtaxservice if you are looking for fast, reliable tax preparation! We work with clients nationwide!

So with these changes, I have found myself getting back in to some of my old habits...such as jewelry designing and putting my marketing skills back to use!  I hope to get this blog back up and going a little more than I have in the past and also hope to help handmade businesses, such as yours, with business marketing reviews.  I'll share more details about this later, but when I offered them before I was overwhelmed with helping create/design new marketing materials for handmade businesses! 

For now you are up to date and I promise, I'm back and will be posting more often!  Thanks and have a very blessed and wonderful new year!

Find Your Niche...Then Market

My new article has been published at www.handmadenews.org!

Please check it out....http://www.handmadenews.org/article/index.php?id=1347

Feel free to leave comments, suggestions, and vote for my articles if you find them helpful! As writers we need your feedback! ;-)

Thanks and have a great week!

Until next time...Blessings! ~ Dawn

Re-Evaluating What We Do - A Lesson Learned

Lately I've received a few emails asking me how many craft shows I do each year. The answer is....ONE! The only reason I do one anymore is because it supports the high school I graduated from and it has always been a successful show for me, mainly because its labeled as a "gift show" rather than a craft show and it happens right before the Christmas shopping season starts and most people are looking for quality gifts and are ok with spending a little more on something at this type of show than most!

I quit doing craft shows about three years ago. Not saying they aren't good events or worth doing for some artists, I've just found for me that they aren't really my target audience.

In my first two years of designing and selling jewelry, I felt this was the only way for me to get name out there and sell my jewelry. I found while doing these shows though that more and more people would walk by and look at my jewelry and say, "oh that's nice, not in my price range though," "beautiful work, don't wear jewelry," "can't afford it" and many other words of wisdom. Upon hearing those words and realizing that I was loosing money in doing this type of event, I decided it was time to stop and find a way to get my website created or find a way to sell on-line. Spending about four weekends a year or more at these shows, lugging my merchandise, tables, displays, etc. and spending 6-8 hours each day at the booth, I quickly changed my mind and thought there has to be a better way to sell my merchandise! There has to be a better way to invest my time and money!!

So I took all that energy (good and bad) and worked hard at continuing to sell my jewelry to friends and family that were familiar with my business until I had saved enough to get a website designed for me. Also during this time I did some research on-line and began absorbing all the info I could on small business marketing, jewelry business marketing and more. Once I got that site established, then I really started looking at my own marketing and advertising because having that site made me feel like I could "compete" in business. Having that site then lead me to opening my store on Etsy. My website is still up, but its now basically used for advertising and directing customers to my new store on Etsy.

My point with this post is that I took a step back from something that really wasn't working for me and decided to invest that time and energy in to other resources that I felt worked better for my business and helping me spread the word about my jewelry. I realized the craft show circut in my area wasn't a good target audience for me. They were looking for cheaper items or more bang for their buck and that's ok. There are tons of crafters and small businesses that find this IS their target audience and do amazingly well at these shows! If you are one of those people, I encourage you to stick with it and you have all my support!!

But if you've been doing these types of shows (or some other type of marketing) and you find yourself leaving at the end of the day exhausted and no money to show for it, then you might want to reconsider this. Take this time and energy and do a little research. Find other ways to market or advertise your business that are more effective in reaching your target audience.

Don't waste anymore of your time, money and good energy on things for your business that aren't working. As I've written before, spending a little time researching how you are marketing/advertise your business could be the best investment you make in it.

Remember to take a few minutes each day to "evaluate" things!

Until next time - Blessings! ~ Dawn

That's Nice! - Thanks I Made It! - Here's My Card!

How many times has that happened to you? Whether you are wearing a piece of jewelry you have created or you are wearing a scarf you have knitted, I'm sure its happened to all crafters at some point, no matter what you create or design!

I know for me this has happened a lot. I always make sure I am wearing my jewelry. Whether it's a necklace, earrings, bracelets or a combination of those items it seems I always get asked about something I'm wearing. I also make sure that my mom and two sisters are wearing my jewelry as well. They all have different tastes so this allows me to really show different styles of my jewelry through them!!

When I get comments on my jewelry I immediately say "Thanks, I made it." Which usually leads them to asking if I have a website or a store and I reply "I have an on-line store, here is my card." I immediately pull out my business card and hand it to them. And my family does the same thing for me!! They always have my cards on hand to share when they get asked as well. I've handed business cards out to ladies at the drive-thru window, to waitresses, ladies working the register at the local stores I shop in, moms on the baseball field or basketball court and more!





Making sure you always have business cards on hand when asked about your craft is always very important. This allows you to "promote" your business no matter where you are! A clear, concise business card that shows all the necessary info about your business is key. A cluttered or hard to read card won't give your business the best impression. Remember, they've seen a little of your work and are impressed, keep that impression going by handing them a good business card!

Business card ideas and printers are available everywhere these days. Your local office supply store, copy or printing store and even on-line card businesses are readily available to help you get a professional looking business card ready to pass out!!

Get your cards designed and printed and start carrying them everywhere you go so you can promote your business!! :-) Include a couple extra cards in the orders you send out as well and encourage your customers to share them with friends!

You never know where you'll be when you'll get asked for a business card, make sure you are ready!