(In an attempt to have these be smaller posts I am going to break this up into a few posts…)Book Title: Crafty Superstar
Author: Grace Dobush
ISBN-13: 987-1-60061-320-3
ISBN-10: 1-60061-320-9
US $17.99 / CAN $21.99
At some point I decided that my Etsy shop needed to be more then just a hobby. The actual creation of items I make stemmed out of a hobby, but I was treating the business side of my craft that way too. I was maintaining a small inventory. I wasn’t listing new items frequently. And, in honesty I wasn’t very worried about getting my name out there. So I wasn’t very surprised when it never went anywhere. But, one day I created the first blossom ring. The attention I got was overwhelming. So I went down to my local bookstore, and started looking for a book to help me.
I ran across two and after reading a bit in both went with Crafty Superstar. Grace Dobush’s writing style is clever, honest, and seems more like someone having a conversation with you. The book has the following chapters: 1: DIY, 2: Business Basics, 3: Selling Opportunities, 4: Craft Shows, 5: Self Promotion, 6: Time Management. Each chapter has a listing of things you should keep in mind, questions that someone should be asking you, and tips for getting what you want. She also ten appendixes that have a list of questions, resources, and forms that will help you accomplish your goals.
In general the first chapter helps to establish your personal style of creating and selling. It also introduces a person to the basics of the crafting community, what you should expect, and an honest look at what is involved with starting an online craft oriented business. Even if you already have a store, I suggest reading this chapter. There were several tidbits that I would not have taken into consideration.
In the second chapter you discuss the information you will need in getting a business up and running. It covers self branding, setting business goals, pricing your goods, hiring on help when you need to boost production, creating a functional workspace, record keeping, and legally protecting your name and brand. This is the chapter I tend to spend the most time reading. In many ways this chapter made me break a few of my own preconceived notions. It never accorded to me that some of the shops that can produce so much quickly might have more then one person working it. In retrospect it makes sense that they would have to have at least 2-3 people, one running the shop and two making. In a perfect world this is generally what I would like to have in the future when I get to a point where I can support it.
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