There are a few steps I have taken so far and a few more left to go to really establish myself. But I wanted to share the steps I have listed for myself and you can let me know if you think I'm forgetting something.
1-- Decide what to focus on. I did some research online and found that while there is a plethora of little girls' clothes, boys are decidedly lacking. Now I love making girls' clothes (who doesn't love ruffles and ribbons?) but I have to admit that my designs aren't going to stand out enough in an online search to garner a purchase. With boys I have a better chance of it because there isn't a lot of competition.
 |
| First set of overalls I made. |
 |
| Re-designed short overalls. |
 |
| The same as the blue pinstripes, but a close-up on the pockets made from old denim jeans. |
2-- Figure out your mission statement. When I was a communication major at college (and then with the education masters program I did) I had to learn how to write a mission statement to summarize who I was and my beliefs. This skill translates into almost any venture, business or otherwise. There needs to be a succinct way to describe what your brand is without rambling on.
3-- Design a logo/brand image. This is pretty easy actually. I used Powerpoint to merge the elements together and saved it as a jpeg. My brand name comes from a nickname from my Dad when I was in school. My mom painted it on a present to me at my high school graduation (I think it was high school) and it's always been my brand name.
4-- Create an account with an online shopping website. I chose to go with Felt because it is based in New Zealand where I live. A lot of people here in NZ use this website to sell their handmade products and I feel like it's a good place to start. I do have an Etsy account, but I'm not putting up listings there until I have my brand more established and want to expand my shipping to overseas.
5-- Get the word out. This is probably the hardest part of building a brand, I reckon. I'm signed up for a free webinar about selling crafts this weekend, so I'm looking to get some tips on marketing and using my blog to share my brand and expand who I reach. A subset of this is getting business cards made. I notice that a lot of people locally get their products picked up by shops and can always find their business cards. I think having these would help me share my name and contact information with shops and people. Of course, I don't have them yet, but it's because I don't have the money for it right now. Soon though.
6-- An ongoing part of building (and maintaining) a brand is continual research and design innovations. I'm not going to limit myself to just a few things that I master, because there is always going to be a need for children's clothes and a lot of parents who will want to have unique clothes for their little ones.
What are the reasons for this sudden jump into crafting as a business?
I turned 30 this year and am now married. I do want to have a family and when that does happen, I will be staying home for the years until everyone is in school and I can start work again. Since we have decided to go along this path, I want to still contribute to the income in whatever way I can. This is the way I can do this while staying home in the future. So I needed to get serious about this and start it now while I am working part-time so I can get established. Fingers crossed and lots of hard work may lie ahead of me, but I know I can do this.
So what have I forgotten? Any other suggestions to expand my brand and reach more people here and abroad online?
Upcoming on Debbie's Doings:
Wednesday- Creating for Christmas
Thursday- Shop Days
Saturday- Building a Happy Home
Monday- Cooking to a Healthy Home
No comments:
Post a Comment