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Articles related to "Craft Talk"
Welcome to Craft Talk I've been a crafter forever - I remember my Mother showing me how to color Queen Ann's Lace for bouquets by leaving the stems in washing blueing until the flowers turned blue. O.K., so, I'm a little older - but that spells experience to me! Experiences I want to share with those who click into Suite 101. craft talk • craft shows • sales tax • questions and answers
BITS & PIECES Are you contemplating a garage sale? Possibly to include unsold craft items to get them out of your inventory? Rambling on about bits and pieces This is an excellent time of year to consider learning something new. Now is the time to find new suppliers. garage sale • tag sale • future • craft items • massies
BRAIN-KNEADING In this discombobulated frame of mind, I feel like rambling. Let's look at bits and pieces.Whatever pops into mind will be listed. Get a sheet of paper and list your ideas that are triggered by mine. This can be an exercise in brain-kneading. brain-kneading • massaging • mind • thoughts • experience
THE PAINTED CRAFTS Many creative people paint just about any surface imaginable. Not all have a God-given talent that allows one to just sit and paint beautiful things. Most have learned by trial and error, by getting hints from others and by taking classes. painting • pictures • craft talk • crafts • creative people
A NEW START - Part II Take time this month to sit and think back. Look at your business, the good and the bad. Think of the things you can make better and the things to change. Challenge yourself to increase business. time • month • sit • think • back massie's
A PAINTER? A JANITOR? WHICH HAT DO YOU WEAR? Well, if you are like all other business entrepreneurs, you wear the above plus many more. You trade hats, as you move from one responsibility of the business to another. It doesn't mean that each day is a different scenario; no, it means within each day, you wear many hats. business • entrepreneurs • massie's • craft talk • you
BODY LANGUAGE SELLS The holidays are over and crafters are now gearing up to start selling again To start a new season, preparations are made by purchasing supplies and building inventory. Take time for another type of preparation. To make sales you must show a happy and helpful persona to the public holidays • crafters • massie's • craft talk • hiatus
CRAFT SHOWS - even more We continue with our hints about setting up to sell at craft shows. There are two types of shows, open and juried: An open show is one open to any crafter as long as there is booth space available. A juried show is one where the items to be sold have to be preapproved by a committee or the organization. continue • hints • setting up • massie's • craft talk
FACTORS IN PRICING When setting a price, look at several factors: what the competition charges, what a customer will pay and the cost to produce the item. Look at advertising that states prices for items similar to yours. Look at similar products sold by your competition; scout the competitors' prices. setting • price • look • massie's • craft talk
FIFTEEN SECONDS -- Part II Fifteen seconds--That count for holiday sales Do your fifteen-second homework! Roam around at a few craft shows and see what you like and what catches your eye during that first fifteen- seconds. Look at all the booths. Shop around for ideas that you can adapt into your booth. fifteen seconds • count • massie's • craft talk • holiday sales
HINTS ON PRICING - Part I of III The biggest obstacle in business is pricing product. Methods and formula are given here to help you analyze the manufacturing costs of items to set fair and profitable prices. real cost price • sale pricing • craft talk • massie's • crafts
HOMEWORK BEFORE SETTING PRICE - Part II Basic factors to consider as homework and research before setting prices for products and services. craft talk • pricing • shrink-wrap • bags • labels
KNOW YOUR WORTH... Give yourself only minimum wage if you want, but think about the person buying your handiwork. Can you imagine what the individual's monthly salary might be? Do most of your customers make only minimum wage? You are a creative person using your talents to create a livelihood give • yourself • minimum wage • massie's • craft talk
MAKING DECISIONS Don't be afraid of making decisions because you might make a mistake. Sometimes you have more of a tendency to procrastinate when you are unsure of yourself. Every day as you do any item of work, ask yourself if you are working the easiest and smartest way. set • regular • massie's • craft talk • crafts
MARKETING TOOLS - Part I A good sales letter will help attract customers no matter what kind of business you run. Here are ten points to help you write a sales letter. The verbiage in the letter should be geared to a target market. Use your marketing survey materials to help choose the target persons, then write TO them. sales letter • massie's • craft talk • attract • customers
MORE ON TIME "There never seems to be enough time to get everything done." How many people have you heard say that? Thinking about controlling time and your work, then putting a plan into action will allow you to get more done. control • massie's • craft talk • crafts • make
RECHARGING YOUR BATTERIES-1 How's your Spring Fever? To many folks, Spring fever means the Adrenalin flows faster and the desire to clean and organize runs rampant. It's time to take a break from the everyday business of crafts and recharge your batteries. spring fever • folks • crafts • massie's • craft talk
RECHARGING YOUR BATTERIES-2 How's your Spring Fever? Have you started to recharge your batteries? Let's continue where we left off last time with some answers to a couple of crafter's questions about sources of business information. spring fever • folks • crafts • massie's • craft talk
SECURITY and More Most show organizers provide security for the participants of a show. Unfortunately, you must watch people while at your booth. It is not unusual to have some shoplifting. You want to trust people and for the most part you can. Any show in which you participate will not have insurance to cover any loss. show • organizers • massie's • craft talk • security
SELL AT A CRAFT SHOW - Part 1 By now it is a possibility that the whole family has your product. You have sold a few to friends, but selling has not been a serious endeavor on your part. Now, you are ready to make some money. You know people like the product; selling at craft shows sounds like fun and it also sounds profitable. now • massie's • craft talk • possibility • whole
SELLING AT CRAFT SHOWS - Part 2 When you are out scouting craft shows to determine what is best for you, look carefully at the setup of the booths. This will help in the design of your booth. Some people set up around the outside of their booth area and leave the center open. Some set up with only an aisle down the center of the area. when • massie's • craft talk • you • scouting
SELLING AT CRAFT SHOWS - Part 3 Setting up at a show can be fun It is work, but there are no customers and other vendors are setting up. Seeing a building or an area transformed from empty space to a carnival atmosphere is invigorating setting up • show • fun • work • massie's
THE LIVING IS EASY "Summertime and the living is easy." Summertime is great, but does that make living easier? No way. You can make your living a little easier for the rest of the year by preparing for it. Now is a slower time for many crafters; it's a good time to invest in your own personal development. summertime • living • easy • music • massie's
THE LIVING IS EASY - Part II "Summertime and the living is easy." Summertime is great, but does that make living easier? No way. You can make your living a little easier for the rest of the year by preparing for it. Now is a slower time for many crafters; it's a good time to invest in your own personal development: year • massies • crafts • craft talk • illness
TIME What is it? A moment, hour, day or year as indicated by a clock or calendar, 24 hours in a day, 168 hours a week. Nothing more! Nothing less! Sounds easy, but boy, is it difficult to fit your life into those 24 hours a day, 8,736 hours in a year. This certainly does sound like more than enough time. moment • hour • massie's • craft talk • crafts
TIME FOR BUSINESS Do you "dream" of time to do everything or just to get caught up, but time isn't there? If you want to have a lucrative home-based business, you must find a way to organize. Working out of the home can be difficult at times. One must learn to balance our life and time between business and home. dream • massie's • craft talk • crafts • time
WHO TO HIRE? Take the items that could be taught to another and write a procedure of how the work should be done. Write clear instructions in a basic level of language. To write instructions, walk through the work in your mind. Record every step. Do not assume the reader knows the next step, or what you are thinking. take • items • massie's • craft talk • taught
WORKING SPACE A home-based business is assumed to be located in a home. This means using space that is probably already used for some other reason. To operate you must find an area that can be called your work area, workshop or studio. home-based • massie's • craft talk • crafts • business
YOUR BUSINESS PLAN It is wise to realize you need a business plan. Many consider a plan as necessary only when they want to borrow money. Writing a plan helps you to think through every phase of your business. Later, the plan is used as an operating guide to follow to implement your idea into the reality of having a business. people • feel • massies • craft talk • crafts
A NEW START - Part I Each year I reflect back on negative happenings of the past year and resolve to learn from them. This helps create positive thoughts and adventures to fill in the new calendar. It can be gloomy, depressing brain-kneading, but as I sit and reflect on mistakes made, planning positive ventures is easier. welcome • new year • massie's • craft talk • crafts
DEVELOP A SYSTEM Develop systems that work for you. Even the best laid plans might need adjusted. It's important to experiment with a wide range of techniques, such as scheduling errands all in one day or spreading them out throughout the week. Choose a system that best fits your lifestyle, needs and personality. develop • massie's • crafts • craft talk • systems
INVENTORY - Past, Present and Future Inventory is the basis of business. Control of it helps to clean out items that are not selling from the past, it helps you know what you must purchase in the present to make merchandise to sell in the future. Knowing your inventory of supplies purchased and items made allows you to control your money. inventory • massie's • crafts • craft talk • basis
INVENTORY - Past, Present and Future Inventory is the basis of business. Control of it helps to clean out items that are not selling from the past, it helps you know what you must purchase in the present to make merchandise to sell in the future. Knowing your inventory of supplies purchased and items made allows you to control your money. manufacturer • massie's • crafts • craft talk • retailer
INVENTORY AND SELLING TACTICS Recording Sales. Use the records created from sales to help keep track of inventory. Or use the listings on the copies of the sales receipts to determine what inventory is sold and what is left. Do keep your inventory up to date. As you sell items or make items, note it in your inventory. last • article • massie's • craft talk • talked
JOB APPLICATION and INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Design a job application that each applicant must fill out and sign. Write interview questions before the interview process begins. Ask each person who is interviewed the same questions. A lot can be learned about one when the question asked is open-ended. design • job • application • massie's • craft talk
MARKETING TOOLS - Part II Design a logo that shows what your business is all about. Use a web site to communicate with the people interested in your product. Business cards and stationery are a must-have item. design • logo • shows • business • massie's
MARKETING TOOLS - Part III Promoting your business takes ingenuity, creative thinking and work. A brochure to sell a business, must tell about the business; tell what the company is, what it believes, what it does, who its customers are and why it's the best. Make the brochure more exciting and different brochure • sell • massie's • craft talk • business
PLANNING YOUR BUSINESS You meet the qualifications of entrepreneurship; your product is saleable - why not start a business? This is where the homework really begins. It is easier to just rush in and "start a business," but make the future easier with extensive planning. meet • qualifications • massies • craft talk • crafts
SALES TAX AND FOOD PRODUCTS There are two ways you can charge sales tax to the customer. One is the standard way, take the percentage of the tax in the area and add it to the price of the product. The second way? Many of the public feel that they shouldn't have to pay sales tax "extra" at a craft show. So to please them two ways • massie's • craft talk • charge • sales tax
STAYING HOME Most small businesses start out and stay close to home. This means a bedroom or the kitchen table might be your office or work place. Often the "office" and "production" areas kind of take over most of the house. To avoid a takeover, you must plan and organize. small businesses • massie's • craft talk • crafts • start
TAKING CONTROL Budget your day. The to-do list helps budget your day. Plan, use self-control and know what you want to accomplish. Networking has become a cliché, but the concept is good. Keeping in contact with people who you enjoy being with and from whom you can learn is necessary. to-do list • massie's • craft talk • crafts • helps
THE 80/20 RULE OF BUSINESS The well known 80/20 rule of business states: "If all of a given category of items are sorted in order of value, 80 percent of the value will come from only 20 percent of the items." Think about that in terms of clutter. Eighty percent of the space on our shelves is occupied by stuff we don't need or use. 80/20 rule • business • massie's • craft talk • crafts
THE BIGGEST CULPRIT Usually the biggest culprit in the house is the kitchen. A home-based entrepreneur can not escape the kitchen, nor food preparation. Dirty dishes piled in the sink and the table covered with papers can make the whole kitchen look a mess. Straighten those strategic places. culprit • home-based • entrepreneur • massie's • craft talk
THE FINANCIAL SIDE - Part II Here we look at the elements necessary to the financial side of business. These will help with your planning for acquiring funding for a small business. First, you must estimate start-up costs. What will it cost to have the business up and running? Create a list of items needed to start. elements • financial-side • business • massie's • craft talk
The Money Side of Craft Shows Have new bags to give to customers. For example, white wastebasket bags are inexpensive, but used grocery bags look like used grocery bags and don't enhance the image of your company. Use your imagination, but do give the customer a safe way to get their purchases home. new • bags • massie's • craft talk • give
The Paper Side of Craft Shows Have the capability of handing out a receipt. if asked. Receipt books are very inexpensive and can be purchased at office supply and discount stores. But you can also keep track of your sales by using a sales receipt book. Good records of your sales during a show will make your life much easier. sales receipts • massie's • craft talk • crafters • customers
THREE Ps You have a reasonable idea of what and where you want to go in life.You are very serious about your home-based business. Perhaps it is actually number one in your mind, or possibly number two. That is the priority you have assigned to it. We must now go farther. working • massie's • craft talk • crafts • complex project
TIME and ATTITUDE Budget your time like you are paying for it, because you are, in personal wear and tear in precious hours you might spend doing something you enjoy more. Budget your day to accomplish what you want, but budget it loosely and don't over schedule."The hurrier I go, The behinder I get," an Amish saying. budget • massie's • crafts • craft talk • time
TIME SAVING GADGETS Few things in life are written in stone. To be in business and still have "another" life you must be flexible with your time. A pencil with an eraser can help that flexibility. It really can help you control your life and ideas. gadgets • massie's • crafts • craft talk • create
WORK SPACE DESIGN Design your work space to have things in convenient, easy to reach places. Begin to work in the space to get a feel for where the worktable should be, where lights should be placed. Don't completely design a space and have permanent shelving put in until the configuration feels right. design • work space • massie's • craft talk • crafts |
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