One of the themes that has come up this week is that accelerated growth requires money. Whether it’s hiring a web designer, tackling a trade show, or simply buying materials for a new collection, everything has it’s cost. So how do you finance growth? Well, you could borrow money from friends and family, dip into [...]
One of the amazing things about our community is the DIY spirit. An entire generation of makers are finding that they can jump online, sell their work, and promote their products. And it’s opened up a lot of doors. But that same DIY spirit may now be impeding the growth of your business. If you’re [...]
Sometimes I think that many of us who are trying to make a living as makers suffer from unrealistic growth expectations (myself included). We wonder why our business isn’t growing more quickly. Why we aren’t seeing more sales or more press. It seems that most of these unrealistic expectations center around speed and reach. We [...]
I’m trying something new here on CMBA this week. I’ve had so many ideas for posts on growth – specifically growing your business – that I thought it would be great to bundle them together and do a little theme week. So welcome to growth week! To add to the fun, I asked Tara over [...]
A weekly roundup of craft, design, and business related news and links: The Future of Marketing Starts with Publishing – I love this idea that every company is a media company. The 3 Ps of Pricing: Perception – There is no absolute correlation between price and value. 10 Essential Blogs for Creative Entrepreneurs – Some [...]
On Tuesday, I talked about the idea of making a product launch into an event. In the comments, Valerie asked how to really maximize a new product launch, and I thought it was such a great question, it deserved a whole new post! The success of a new product launch is really about the time [...]
This is a great question to ask any buyer or customer that walks into your booth. It only requires a yes or no answer from the buyer, but either response gives you a starting point for conversation. If they are familiar with your line, you can ask where they’ve seen it before. This can give [...]
Yesterday, designer Shanna Murray launched her new collection of decals, and the news quickly spread around the Internet. Links to the collection and positive praise bounced around Twitter. Big name blogs wrote glowing posts. In short, it was the kind of product launch that most designers dream about. It doesn’t hurt that Shanna is an [...]
One of my students recently posed this question to a well known production jeweler: “With galleries struggling and traditional craft shows in decline, wouldn’t it be better if we all just wore lots of jewelry as a way to promote ourselves?” While I’ll leave you to ponder the first part of that statement (I can [...]
A weekly roundup of craft, design, and business related news and links: DIY USP ASAP – A really great worksheet for developing your unique selling proposition. Dear BAKERY: Profit Sharing – Some suggestions for implementing an employee profit sharing program in your small business. 10 Steps to Wholesale Success – Tips to get your wholesale [...]
Megan Auman is a designer, maker, educator, and entrepreneur who has built a multi-faceted business around her passion for great design and sustainable business. Her eponymous jewelry line is sold in stores across the US and online. In 2009, Megan founded Crafting an MBA to help designers and makers develop their business skills. In 2011, the site name was changed to Designing an MBA.
Learn more about Designing an MBA.
