{vintage toy cash register via MotherLovingVintage on Etsy}

 

Small biz how-to :
Are you starting up? Getting yourself out there

If you’ve got a burning idea to make something fabulous, that’s fantastic! All you have to do is assemble the materials and tools, and make it. Voila!

However, if you’ve got a burning idea that you want to make something fabulous to sell and make money from, well that’s a different matter. You really need to get yourself out there, in the big, wide, scary world. Not only that, you have to get yourself in front of the right people.

These days, it’s super easy to start up a small biz because there are so many avenues you can use, especially online. However, because it’s so easy, that means there are LOTS of others scrambling for attention too.

 

So how do you stand out from the crowd?

 

It’s important that you have a clear idea of who your ideal customer is likely to be. Male? Female? Age group? Likes and dislikes? Are they a lot like you, or not? Single? Married? Family? If you understand your customer, then you’ll be more likely to understand where they hang out online, and then you can spend your time wisely in the right places. Because really, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on advertising (although paid advertising definitely has its uses); there are plenty of free, or very cheap options for small businesses just starting out.

It’s also very important to remember that your branding needs to match what you are actually selling. A site selling expensive women’s clothing has to create an atmosphere that looks luxurious, and will look quite different to one selling kid’s toys.

Where do you want to sell? There are plenty of online venues – for artists/designers/makers of course there is ebay, Etsy, SaatchiOnline and Madeit, and there are many, many more. Some you need to pay for, but come with extra benefits like their advertising and promotion, and some like the Australian owned site  quicksales.com.au offer a basic version which is completely free. It definitely is worth doing your research to find out what each of them offers, and work out which style of venue is the best for you and your work.

 

Having an online venue does not guarantee you will get any customers.

 

They have to find you first! So you have to help them do that. First of all, grab yourself a Facebook page. If you’re already on Facebook, it’s a total cinch to set one up. Go to the little starry cog-thing on the top right, then click on “create page”, and follow the prompts. When you’ve got it set up, including links to your biz, you can share pics of new work, get feedback on it, share pics and ideas from other stuff that’s inspiring you, and more! The idea is to connect with your customers, and make them feel like you’re a real person who cares about who they are and what they want.

You’ll need a great picture of your work to use as the page header, and another smaller image for your profile picture.  Creative agency IYBI did a new header for me recently, using a combination of pics of my work. You can find it on tractorgirl’s Facebook page here  – it’s very fun with all the colours, don’t you think?

Twitter is another way to find your ‘tribe‘. Again, it’s very easy to set up; choose a username that suits your biz, and importantly, include a link to your website in your profile. I know if you’re not familiar with it, it might seem a bit disjointed and weird, but once you get the hang of it and connect with a few people, it’s a heap of fun – it really comes down to just joining in the conversation. Look at other people’s profiles, and follow those that you think would fit with your tribe. Of course, I follow folk who are interested in art, craft and design… and I don’t follow folk who are sports mad, because it’s just not my thing.

Don’t spam your followers with a whole bunch of links to your site or shop, just chat! I probably only throw in one or two links to my shop or blog per day; the rest is chatting…  (and yes I’m over 28,000 tweets – I chat A LOT.) When you talk with other folk, you build up relationships with them, and sooner or later, you’ll find that those people will check out your profile and follow the link to your site. I know, because that’s what I do! I’ve discovered several great artist/makers that way. They’ll probably also tweet about your work if they see something they like.

Pinterest is another very fun social media tool that can be used to drive traffic to your site. I love it because it’s so visual of course! Dannielle Cresp has written a short guide to using Pinterest over here, as well as a fabulous little e-book to growing your Pinterest followers here.

Instagram is a photo-sharing site, and another very popular way of sharing what you and your small biz are doing and making. I don’t use it myself (one’s gotta draw the line somewhere, lol!) but many of my friends swear by it, and love the instant feedback on their images.

 

I’ve really only scratched the surface here of ideas you might use for your small biz, and just focused on social media for this post. There’s so much more to talk about, but I might just save that for another post (soon, I promise)! (You can find all my social media links at the top right of the screen in the green circles – go on, I’d love to connect with you!)

PLEASE realise that not everything will work for you. Your business is unique to you; you have your own personality and set of circumstances which impacts on how your business will run. AND you will not have time to do everything. In suggesting all these avenues to you, the idea is for you to try a variety of things, and find what works best for you.

And lastly, don’t expect it to happen overnight. Running a small biz takes consistent effort over a substantial length of time. Perhaps years. But that’s OK, isn’t it? Of course! You’re in it for the long haul.

 

You can do it!! 

 

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Disclaimer : tractorgirl partnered with quicksales on this post. But rest assured I only ever share things I believe in, and think that will be genuinely useful for you!