Aiming High For Business Success

It's a week of meetings this week. Photographer, intern potentials, marketing and graphic designer meetings. I've been flipping between my 'maker hat' and my 'manager hat'. I'm looking at the future direction of the business and creating action plans. Working out where my time is best spent and where I can bring in other people. Getting my head around letting go of some parts of my business, while remaining the designer and creative director of the whole. Anticipating ways I can grow my business while staying true to my vision. My brain is bursting with ideas and excitement!

I am so pleased to be surrounded by such creative and talented women, whom I consider friends. By combining our skills and talents, Christina Lowry Designs is going to become the best jewellery designer, manufacturer and retailer in Australia. 

Watch this space!

xx

Two & Twenty Years

'twenty years at sea on this little paper boat...', in the front window of Paper Boat Press

A delicious display of Christmas decorations

Behind the gallery, the studio where everything is made

Three sets of hands at work filling trays and trays with ornaments

I visited Paper Boat Press this past weekend to join in their 20 year celebrations (and begin my Christmas shopping). I was so pleased to join in the festivities and support Kylie and her staff as they commemorated two decades of creativity, growth and achievement. How inspiring it is to see Kylie's talents successfully shared with so many.

As a result I found myself reflecting on the past two years, when I made the decision to turn my hobby in to a business, and how far I have come in that time. As I await the arrival of my first logo printed jewellery boxes I realised that over that two years I have crossed everything off my five year plan. From appearing at Finders Keepers Market (twice) to creating a professional logo, from making a $1,000+ sale online to orchestrating a professional photo shoot and creating a look book, from being stocked in a bricks and mortar shop to having jewellery boxes custom printed with my logo. Two years ago these were the highest goals I thought I could achieve in the next five years. They seemed so far out of reach when I made them.

I can't imagine where I will be in eighteen years time, as I am sure Kylie couldn't either. But with her inspiration as a warm, generous, welcoming member of the creative community to guide me, I am going to dream big and write another five year plan. Her positive role modeling reinforces for me that anything really is possible in the future in terms of living my creative passion.

Tips On Working From Home With Children

Threading beads while Emerson snacks on crackers and plays with shells

As a stay at home Mother with a small business, by far, the question I get asked most often is how I manage to work from home with children. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I feel that I am really lucky to be able to combine family, home and work. It's a juggling act that requires motivation, discipline, organisation, patience and flexibility for sure. But it can be done, and it can be incredibly gratifying to be able to find a balance between your work and family life that suits your family. I think it all depends upon having realistic expectations. For instance, you can't realistically work full time hours, uninterrupted, if you are working from home and are the primary care giver. Your work or your children will suffer, or both. You can work for yourself though, or work part time for an employer who is supportive of work and family balance. Your routines and available time will vary depending on the ages and number of your children.

My experience is of working for myself as a jeweller and blogger with an online store and two children, so I will speak to that. We've chosen not to use childcare for either of our children, five year old Cohen and two year old Emerson (and we have another one on the way) and have very little family assistance. Instead, I have been the primary carer while my husband works full time. I love being a stay at home Mum and I love spending these precious first years with my babes, but I am also a creative person at heart who needs to be making with her hands and challenging herself. Slowly I began to realise that I could combine mothering and silver smithing in a balanced way and grow my business as my children grew.

Thanks to the internet and platforms like blogger, bigcartel, facebook and instagram, I am able to not only run an online shop from my home, but also connect with a community of my peers and customers on a daily basis, which has helped diminish the isolation often felt by stay at home Mothers and those that work from home alone. We all have the same amount of hours in our days and what we achieve is more often than not dependent on how we spend those hours. After five years as a stay at home Mother, and four years as a small business owner, I'd love to share my tips in order to help and inspire those who are currently, or are hoping to, follow a similar path.

Be realistic - I know I will be able to achieve more in my days when the children are all in school, so I try to be as realistic as possible in setting short and long term goals for myself and not judging myself too harshly if I don't reach those goals when I had anticipated. But by setting those goals and chipping away at them, I am achieving the things I want to achieve. Little steps are all it takes. Chipping away gets things done.

Be flexible and patient - Children get sick, supplies don't arrive when expected, the phone will always ring at the wrong time! It takes time to really learn how to be flexible, particularly if you have worked outside the home for a long time and are used to being able to work fairly uninterrupted at something. Expect to be interrupted. I often lay down my tools in order to drink an imaginary cup of tea, or change a nappy, or set up an activity for my youngest. Have a back up plan. Have several jobs on teh go, so if you can't work on one you can work on another. Call in help when you need it. Some days a lot gets done, some days nothing gets done, and both are ok. When you find yourself getting frustrated, and believe me it will happen at least once a day, remind yourself why you are here, what your priorities are. For me, I remind myself that Emerson is the reason I am at home and that my first priority is to respond to her needs.

Find Balance - This will be different for everyone, but I look for ways to find balance in my day and in my week. On a daily basis I figure on being able to work for a maximum of forty five minutes while my daughter plays or 'works' alongside me, and then stopping and giving her my attention for fifteen minutes. (While still being flexible and allowing for interruptions in that time.) Each Wednesday morning Emerson and I go to Playgroup and that is our time together to play and craft. On Sunday we have 'family day', as Dave works most Saturdays and I often work Saturdays and nights. Sundays mean no work and doing something together as a family - going to the beach, visiting a museum, planning a picnic. I find it is a really lovely way to finish one week and begin the next one. It might sound terrible to have to schedule family time during your day and week, but it's so important and so easily overlooked.

Plan and Priortise - Set goals for yourself. Write down your dreams. Download the 'Everest' App on your phone and take one little step each day towards your personal Everest (no really, it's really great.) Write lists and cross things off with satisfaction. As I mentioned earlier, my daughter is my first priority, followed by custom orders and sold pieces, new stock etc.

Be organised - The smoother my house runs, the smoother my days run and the more I achieve. I'm a bit of a neat freak and hate having a messy house. I have developed a rhythm to our days so that I have all the house work done before walking my son to school and am able to come home and work for the day, and then down tools at school pick up time and start the chores again. While my husband baths the children of an evening I make dinner, pack lunchboxes, pack Cohen's school bag and make overnight oats for breakfast. After dinner Dave will take care of the dishes while I put on a load of clothes and then read to the children. Once they are in bed I get to sit down after hanging out the laundry - I typically use this time to write blog posts, thread beads or knit on the couch next to my husband. In the morning after breakfast I will unload the dishwasher, wash up any dishes left to do by hand, vacuum the floor, make beds, put laundry away etc. get showered and dressed and walk Cohen to school. (It helps that my children are early risers.) Meal planning, Sunday baking for the week and cooking double batches in order to freeze left overs are other ways I save time by being organised.

Nap time is work time - If your little ones still nap, use nap time wisely. First, have a quiet cup of tea, you will have earned it! Then, plan to make phone calls during nap times. This is also the time when I do the things I like to do uninterrupted, from writing emails, newsletters, or blog posts, to setting stones and polishing finished jewellery. There is also bedtime. I will quite often head down to the studio at night after spending some time with my husband, and leave him to watch a movie I don't mind missing.

Keep them interested - Nothing worse than a bored child while Mama tries to work. I keep Emerson involved and interested with puzzles, crayons, play dough, jars of buttons, toy food, books, blocks etc. and I take time to get down to her level and play with her too, show her new things, praise her accomplishments and describe the things she is doing. She also like to examine my tools, sit at my bench and mimic me. And sometimes, just sometimes, she plays an animal noises app on my phone or watches tv.

Stay motivated - This is so much easier when you love what you do. Make note of the things that motivate you. For me it's new gems, new designs, custom pieces, a clean bench, a visit to a gallery, a great podcast like 'After the Jump'. Give yourself days off to help you stay motivated. Fill your cup, get a massage, see a movie, catch up with a friend for coffee and talk about your business. I also have what I like to call my 'craft brains trust', three creative business owners who I catch up with once a month to discuss business, craft, life, the universe and everything. We often bring a show and tell and receive feedback. I find these conversations incredibly motivating and am full of ideas and drive for days afterwards. Sharing progress photos on Instagram is another way to get feedback and stay motivated.

These are some of the things I have learnt from being a stay at home/ work from home Mother these past four years. I know it isn't for everyone, but for me, I can't think of a better way to spend time with my babies, while being rewarded creatively and financially.

Do you work from home with children?
Do you have any other tips you would add?

-

Originally shared on Bespoke zine blog, I wanted to share it with my readers here too, for now and in the future.

Etsy, Madeit or Bigcartel?

It's a question I have been asked several times recently by crafters interested in opening their own online stores. As you probably know, I have a Bigcartel shop. What you may not know is that I also have an Etsy and Madeit shop too, as part of an experiment I have been doing. Several makers I know keep more than one shop. Others commit to one and have had great success with whichever marketplace or platform they sell from. The following are my thoughts and experiences on the matter, and hopefully they will be of use to other creatives making a decision about how to host their online store. These are my opinions and I don't wish to disparage any of these platforms; these are, as I said, my thoughts and experiences. (This is not a sponsored post.)

There are so many online marketplaces now. My experience as an Australian maker who has been blogging for over five years now is with Etsy, Madeit and Bigcartel. The reasons I chose Bigcartel as my main shop are many. Firstly, it's just a personal thing, but I think it looks more professional to have an independent shop in your chosen name. Secondly, it is just one flat fee each month. You don't pay to list each item and they don't take a percentage of your sale. I like knowing what my business costs to run each month - Bigcartel fee, oxygen bottle fee, consumables etc = my monthly running costs. No surprises.

I don't like that there are so many re-sellers on the more popular handmade market places now. People who buy cheap items off overseas websites, then resell them claiming they made them. I have come across this personally several times. No one can compete with this sort of thing and it isn't fair business practice and I don't want to be associated with it. With bigger platforms you are a very very small fish in a HUGE pond. There are sooooo many items, the chances of anyone finding your item seem pretty slim, unless you keep listing or re-listing items - paying each time. The chances of them buying it seem slimmer. Unless you have sent them to your site from your blog. Then they know your designs, know your story, feel a connection to you and are more likely to purchase. But if I am solely responsible for directing traffic to my site, I want to send that traffic just to my shop, rather than risk having a potential customer searching the rest of the site for a similar item and buying something similar but cheaper, or a re-sale. I have also found that there is more freedom with how you want your shop to look. There are no rules to breach. And I have found it a lot less time consuming than trying to compete in the bigger marketplaces. You can also choose to keep five items in your store without any fees at all, which is great for those starting out and testing the water, or for when you go off and have a baby... :)

But, curious as to whether I had made the right decision by choosing Bigcartel, I embarked upon an experiment and opened a Madeit and Etsy shop, while I had my Bigcartel shop running too. I wanted to see if my products alone and the selling power and advertising power of these sites would be enough to sell my items, without telling my audience. So I didn't tell anyone. I just quietly opened the shops and didn't direct any traffic to them. I can tell you, of the two months that I actively did all the things you are supposed to do on Etsy - list or re-list a new item each day to stay in the first few pages, pay for advertising, etc. - I did not make a single sale. In the same time period I did the same on Madeit and I sold one piece. Meanwhile, I just did my normal blog posts and posted pics to instagram and I had two of my best months on my Bigcartel shop. So that pretty much cemented it for me, which is why I have decided to close the other two stores when the listings expire, focusing all my energy on my Bigcartel shop instead.

I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences on the matter, or how you as a customer think about the online shops you purchase from? I know I find some of the bigger sites frustrating and overwhelming.
If you do have an online shop, please leave us a link in the comments so we can check it out!

My Top Ten Small Business Tips

Originally shared on the Bespoke zine blog, I wanted to post these here for you too, my lovely readers.

Oh, the many things I have learnt since I first opened my bigcartel store four years ago and started selling my pieces of jewellery. While there are all the nitty gritty things to learn about business, like keeping books, applying for an ABN and invoices that you will learn as you go, the following are ten tips, drawn from my experience as a jeweller with an online store, that I think will make your business better. Whether you are just starting or have been in business a long time, these ten areas are worth consideration and energy.

Write down your goals
Know why you are doing what you are doing and what your goals are. Write it down. Talk about it to friends and family until it is clear to you. It's easy to go off track, be asked to do something you're not sure you are comfortable with, or be offered an opportunity that you aren't sure fits. Go back to the reason you started the business, what your goals were, then see if it fits with them. Trust your gut and stay true to yourself. Anyone can run a business, but no one can run your business the way you can.

Share your story
People prefer to buy off someone they feel they 'know' or have a connection with, than a faceless company with mass produced items. Share your story at every opportunity - your About page, your blog posts, little by little in Facebook and Instagram updates. Let them know who you are, what inspires you, what you are doing, how you do it. Your story is unique, don't be afraid to tell it.

Brand, brand, brand
Don't underestimate the power of your brand. Research branding. Hire a graphic designer to pull it all together. Keep it cohesive across all your social media, packaging, stationary etc. Be recognisable. Ensure your packaging and logo reflect your product.

Know your market
You may think you know who you are selling to, I thought I did, until I actually sat down with pen and paper and tried to describe them. This is crucial. If your target audience is reading certain things, going to certain places and wanting certain things, you need to know what they are and pick up on those influences, advertise in those places and talk about those things with your audience. Get a pen now and ask yourself - who is my target audience, how old are they, where do they shop, what is their budget, what can I do for them, what need can I fulfill. If your audience mainly reads craft blogs and zines, there is no point advertising in the Sunday newspaper for instance.

Your budget is not their budget
It took me awhile to learn this. What I think of as 'expensive' isn't necessarily expensive to someone else. And while I may have a set budget that I would spend on say my husband or sister for special occasions, other peoples budgets may be many times that. Don't assume. Offer a range of prices and prepare to be surprised by what other people spend.

Ask for what you want
I've heard this a lot recently and I can really relate. No one knows what you want unless you ask for it. It seems simple, but so many of us are reluctant to really ask for what we want. Like our budget not being everyone's budget, what we feel may be too much to ask may be a simple matter to someone else. Always ask for what you want. Better not to get it than to get something you don't want. There will be more opportunities.

Grow without debt
This was a big one for me. I wanted to be able to grow my businesses without going in to debt. This meant growing it slowly, and reinvesting the profit from each sale back in to the business in order to buy new tools, pay for packaging, invest in advertising etc. Though frustrating at times because things had to wait, not being able to impulse purchase has it's advantages. And not having debt is certainly less stressful.

Love your clients
One of the first things I learnt working in a jewellery shop, and that has been proven to me time and time again is that it is easier to sell to someone you have already sold to than to find new clients. Yes, be working on expanding your client list for sure, but your previous clients should always come first. Give them great customer service, beautiful quality products, prompt replies to inquiries, personal follow up emails, and you will create life long customers who love what you do. What more could you want?! Offer them special discounts, keep them up to date with your collections, stay in their mind with a regular email newsletter, facebook posts or blog updates. Love your clients and they will love you.

Word of Mouth
It's an oldie but a goodie. In today's day and age, word of mouth means social media. When you send a thank you email after a purchase don't be afraid to ask your client to share photos of their purchases on their facebook page or instagram account and let them know that their word of mouth is the best advertising you have. If they are happy with your product and your service, they will be only to happy to share your details with friends and family.

Find a support network and a mentor
Your family and friends will get sick of hearing about your business. It's true. But if you can find yourself a support network of other small business owners who are at a similar stage to you, it is infinitely rewarding for all involved. Not only can you trade business tips and advice, you will have someone to bounce ideas off, show new products to and share in your successes. A mentor is one way of learning by example. You need not even know your mentor, it could be someone else in the same industry, someone you have read about or seen on tv. But it is a great idea to have someone to look up to, who inspires and encourages you to keep moving forward and aiming higher in your business.
I have three lovely friends that I call my 'craft brains trust.' While all of our businesses are completely different, we face similar situations and support and inspire one another through monthly catch ups, group emails and comments on Instagram.

Taking on an Intern

I'm blessed to have what I call my 'craft brains trust'. Three creatively clever ladies running their own businesses who I catch up with on a monthly basis. Their support and input has proven invaluable from our very first impromptu meeting on the pavement after the Big Hearted Business morning tea. It was there that these ladies, Nic, Jennie and Kylie, encouraged me to overcome my self doubt and apply for Finders Keepers. And it was at our last meeting that they encouraged me to take on an intern. 

January was such a busy month for me business wise, which I hadn't really been expecting. I mused over tea and cake with the girls that I would need to hire someone in the future to help me keep on top of orders, so I could focus more on hand making one off pieces. However, as I have been reinvesting the profits back in to the business in the form of logo design, advertising, packaging, stock etc, I really couldn't afford it yet. Nic suggested I look for someone interested in learning what I could teach them, in exchange for their help. It sounded a little too good to be true. An intern? I held on to the thought and pondered on it.

Self doubt is a funny creature. I couldn't help but wonder who would want to work for me, for free, and what I could offer them. The more I thought about it though, the more I realised how much I could have learnt at the beginning of my career if I had been offered the same opportunity, and how, rather than paying around $90 for a lesson at a jewellery school, I would have preferred to work for free and learn from someone actually doing what I wanted to do.

I bit the bullet. I wrote a post on instagram, and posted it to facebook and my blog too. I figured the worst that could happen was no one would respond. Nic cleverly shared my instagram post with BrisStyle, who re-posted the details to their larger audience. Over the next day or two I received seven responses.

The strongest candidate, Didi, responded with an overview of her work and study history and images of her completed jewellery pieces. After a positive phone conversation and then a meeting in the workshop, Didi has started working with me twice a week. I'm searching for a sturdy old wooden table we can up-cycle in to a bench for her, and in the meantime she is using my bench while she is here. She's now been twice now and while she's learning and practicing, I have been able to work on making new displays, sort out stock, write applications etc. I'm really excited about the process and so glad I took my brain trusts advice. After an initial training period I'm hoping to be able to step away more and leave a few things to Didi, as the birth draws closer and again after the birth. 

And should I get accepted in to Brisbane Finders Keepers in July, you might just get a chance to meet Didi there.

Preparing for the New Year - Business Goals

Satisfied Mind earrings in Onyx

I'm taking a little break from the bench at the moment, after a frenzy of work leading up to Finders Keepers, The French Market and Christmas. I do believe I have earned a little rest. But while my tools are laying quiet, my pen has been particularly busy as I plan for the year ahead. I'm carrying a notebook with me at all times, and I'm often unable to sleep due to the threads of thoughts running through my mind. I'm feeling incredibly inspired and I'm capturing as many of those ideas as I can.

There was a time where I would have scoffed at writing down my business goals and dreams for the year. It sounded like a deluded waste of time. Surely it was all quite simple, all in my head, or could be worked out as I went along. Those in the know will laugh at my naivety. Those who share my old sentiments, listen up! Grab a pen and a notebook and write yourself a little plan for your business for 2014, and you may very well most certainly will surprise yourself. As I did. There is an ah-hah! moment waiting for you. This may be the very best place to start - The New Years Revolution kit - it is free to down load and prompts you will all the questions you need to consider to start planning a successful 2014 for your business. The other place you need to visit is Jess Van Den's blog, Create and Thrive -  in particular the Planning for your Handmade business in 2014 post.

What I have learnt is that by writing it down and defining my dreams I am better able to understand what I want, where I am heading, and what the step by step process is to get there. It offers me a much greater clarity to see it in black and white, without a jostle of thoughts and distractions. What business decisions are urgent? What ideas can be left to percolate? What order shall I do things? No point getting new business cards printed right before having a logo designed! Which markets will I attend? How long do I anticipate being on 'maternity leave'? Will the shop remain open? Shall I work towards producing two collections, or three? Am I better off investing in advertising, or photography?

2013 saw a mental shift take place in me, where I no longer saw my jewellery making as a hobby, but as a business. That change inspired many others. I truly believe that I can make a profitable small business as a jeweller and a stay at home Mother, while maintaining a happy balance. The keys for me are being organised, not being afraid to ask for what I'm worth, and planning towards the future.

I have big plans for this coming year and I look forward to continuing to share this journey with you!


There are some great resources out there for small creative businesses -
Create and Thrive
Big Hearted Business (I particularly love the Inspiration Bombs)
The Collaborative Happiness Project (in particular the Career posts)
Do What You Love for Life
Business Advice From Creative Business Owners
Design Sponge Biz Ladies

So get reading, get writing and leave a comment or send me an email about your small business plans!