The April magazine is now live! Boy, what a crazy month this has been! Most of you have had to make adjustments to your business during the COVID-19 outbreak and we did as well. It’s ironic that this month is our special edition issue for selling handmade items in the wedding industry because most events are currently being postponed or re-arranged. However, traditional weddings will resume again eventually which is great because the wedding industry is worth 78 billion in the United States alone and brides love shopping from artisans. It makes their big day even more special when they can purchase decorations and accessories that were handcrafted with care and love, which is why we wanted to create a special edition magazine issue focusing largely on the wedding industry as the season starts to take off.
Our first featured seller, Mellisa, embodies the definition of an entrepreneur. She’s constantly evolving her business and ended up making the switch from handcrafting each item she sold to outsourcing her production. She’s learned how to order mass quantities of product, work with suppliers, manage product quality control, work with Non Disclosure Agreements (keeps her ideas from being copied), and figure out how to ramp up sales by working with vendors to reach her target audience (engaged couples).
“What I quickly came to realize is how tough custom orders can be given all the options on the mass market. Couples loved the creativity and the concepts – but not the price. And truthfully, this approach was less joyful as I had to balance my personal creativity with the requests of my clients.
In 2018, it became apparent that I needed to scale. To keep up with both my day job and grow my new business, I needed to become more efficient, grow sales, increase my margins, and do less handwork in the studio. I found myself conflicted every time an order came in – thrilled to have someone who valued the work but anxious as each order demanded hours in the studio on top of my day job.”
– MELLISA FROM THE ART OF ETIQUETTE
Our second featured seller, Medjoy, is a busy mom with two wonderful children who runs a business in the wedding industry making paper flowers for bouquets and accessories. In her story, she shares how she’s grown her business by creating a “tribe” of followers and loyal fans and what it’s been like balancing her business with motherhood.
“Everything about my success is because of my “Petal Tribe,” an exclusive group where my followers are celebrated. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to live off my passion.
– MEDJOY FROM WITH LOVE & PETALS
Here’s a quick preview of the goodies inside this magazine issue!
- Question of the Month – Read what subscribers consider to be their biggest “mistake” as business owners and what they gained from the experience.
- It Was Time to Start Outsourcing My Production – Learn how and why Mellisa switched from handcrafting her products to working with manufacturers and selling through vendors.
- Everything About My Success is Because of My Petal Tribe – Read about Medjoy’s journey starting her business in the wedding industry and creating a “tribe” of loyal followers.
- Should You Sell on Etsy or Your Own Site? Deborah addresses practical ways to determine whether it’s best to rent or own a website for your business.
- The Funnies – Read short, hilarious stories from sellers who have had crazy and goofy things happen while in business (and send in your own story!).
- How to Execute a Perfect Lifestyle Photoshoot for Instagram – Lean how to breathe balance and life into your online presence with lifestyle photos.
- Achievable Workspaces – The artisan workspaces you see all over social media in downtown, architectural buildings are beautiful, but most of us don’t have access to those unique studio locations. That gave us the idea to start a photo series where we feature attractive, functional workspaces that you can achieve in a regular, suburban home or building.
- What if Failures Were Renamed As “Near Wins?” After studying artists as a professor at Harvard, Sarah has come up with a unique perspective on failures and achievements.
- 3 Clever Ways to Capture Attention & Promote Your Business – We found three unique and humorous ads and transformed them to work for the handmade industry.
- Nichole Mustard Had to Quit in Order to Win – Read how highly successful people understand that quitting is sometimes essential to success.
- The Newsstand – Get updated on the latest industry news, shopping trends, social media changes, and more!
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