Today I had a Facebook live session as part of Issue 3 of My Craft Biz magazine called ‘Why you need to start thinking about investing in your craft business’. I wanted to expand on that subject here on the blog, because I think there are two types of investment you always need to consider which can make a massive difference to your business.
Confucius said, “A man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble at his door.” This isn’t just true for every day life, but for business as well.
Whilst 2019 feels like a long way off, the truth is that planning now will be a game changer for you when it comes to growth. Today on the podcast we will be talking all about how to plan for the growth of your online business in 2019.
I’ve often been asked which is better as a starting platform; Etsy shop or your own website and while of course there are distinct differences in how each will work for the business owner, there isn’t a straight answer as to which is ultimately better.
Today on the podcast we are delving a little deeper into the subject to lay out the pros and cons of each choice, so that when you sit down and work out which is right for you and your customer base, you ultimately have a better understanding of what each platform can do for you.
Amazon shipped 5 billion Prime orders in 2017 according to Business Wire. Think about that for a moment and let it sink in… that’s orders from one service that one large retailer has accounted for. Can you imagine just how many parcels get shipped from retailers to consumers worldwide every year? And your parcels make up part of that number.
Today on the podcast I’m going to be taking you through what I think are the basics of shipping packages in a professional way.
If you have run your online business for a while and are familiar with good inventory management, you can immediately see the potential nightmare that can unfold if stock control gets out of hand – if you aren’t selling something you already sold elsewhere, then you run out of stock everywhere! These are just some of the obvious problems with multichannel retailing.
BUT
That doesn’t mean we should avoid this lucrative sales opportunity altogether, especially as a niche business creating unique handmade items. In fact, I wholeheartedly encourage it, because it grows your brand awareness. Today we are going to talk more about a simple system that could help you.
Most larger retailers face in excess of 30% in returns in 2018, especially now that processes have been made even easier for customers and the cost of returns have vanished according to Steve Denis in Forbes magazine. So, it’s understandable that our small business customers expect the same rights.
And of course they should!
But how do we as self-employed artists, working from our spare room create a refund policy that works for both our financial interests and our customer’s growing expectation? Today we are going to look at just that!
