Building Your Biz

Give it away to charity and get more business

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“I want to do more charity work through my business, but most of my business is done online and not locally. What can I do?”

One of my coaching clients asked me this during our email sessions. She already had a successful business, had reached previously set goals, but was ready to move forward again. She had a huge online worldwide following but few local clients. Her goal was to grow her business both on and offline and support her favorite charity.

Do you want to do good for others and your business? Here are some ideas.

If you have a brick and mortar business location, host an onsite event for a local charity. It does not have to be anything huge. You can host a big event or a simple sale. You can also include any online shop or customers you have. Remember to send out press releases and contact the charity to let them know what you are doing. These events let your local community know that you care and gives them a chance to know you.

Contact charities and let them know you are willing to donate product, time, or services to their fund raising events. This works well for home based businesses or online businesses that do not have brick and mortar locations. When you do donate, send out a press release about it. That way your current customers know about the fundraising event and potential customers learn about you. It turns the event into a win-win for you and the charity. Keep your customers up to date on the progress of the event. Have them join your mailing list that you can send them up dates and thank you notes.

Do you have some great tips for donating to charity through your business? Share them with us!

: Building Your Biz
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Done being a hobbiest and ready to start your own business?

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Start with a plan

My email box is full of emails from different artists and crafters telling me about how they are ready to start their business. Then they ask me a ton of questions. So really they are not as ready as they think. They normally want to know about where to sell and if they need a license. They almost always make the mistake of skipping the first step.

Before you set up your shop, even before you get any license or selling permits, you must have a plan. Some people get a little intimidated by the thought of writing a business plan. It really isn’t that difficult. If you don’t need to get a loan to start your business, no one but you ever needs to see it. Basically, your plan needs to state clearly what your goals are with your business, how you will accomplish those goals, who your target market is and how you will reach them. Of course you can add as much detail to your plan as you can. The more clearly you can envision your business the easier it will be to create it.

You can find free business plan templates on sites like SCORE and other places around the net. If you are only creating the plan for yourself, have a little fun with it. You may find it easier to see your plan as an art project. Once you have your plan and you know where you are going then you are ready to move on to the next step. A good business plan will help you keep your business moving in the right direction for you.

: Building Your Biz
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I got a Niche Blogger scholarship!

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I first read about the Niche Blogger scholarship on WAHM.com. It sounded like a great way to learn more about blogging. I didn’t really think I would actually get the free 3 months. The post on wahm.com said there were only 25 available.

I decided to give it a shot and headed over to Niche Blogger. I had to send them an email telling them why I wanted the 3 free month scholarship. I sent off my email and had a response the same day. I’m excited to get started with it. I’m sure it will lead to some changes and improvements to this blog and to some cool new blogs.

If you haven’t been to the Niche Blogger website go over and check it out. There are useful and inspiring posts. www.thenicheblogger.com

: Building Your Biz,writing
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Get Geared up for Craft Fair Season!

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It is time to dig out your craft booth set up! Newspapers are being filled with promoters looking for venders and if you have signed up for a service like craftlister.com you know what is happening in your area.  Seasoned fair goers probably have a good reutine for preparing for another season. Those of you that are new to the craft fair scene may feel overwhelmed. We I first began taking my handmade jewelry to craft shows, it sucked! I was lucky to sell one thing! I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t selling more or why people weren’t even stopping at my booth. I must admit for my first show I was totally unprepared and my booth was really lame. I didn’t even have a real set up. Big no no! Since then I have learned from my mistakes and the experience of others.

At my first show, I had no display stands, lights, mirrors, or customers! I signed up for the show at the last minute (bad) and had no time to prepare and I got stuck out in an over flow area that wasn’t with the rest of the vendors. There were about 5 of us stuck there, and it was a poor show for all of us. It was so bad that one shopper that happend to enter through the door where we were freaked out and only stopped at my booth long enough to ask where the rest of the show was.

Lesson Learned:

Sign up early

Create a visually interesting display

Remember lights and mirrors

There is a ton of free infomation on the net for how to set up your jewelry booth. I totally recommend googling craft fair/show booths and looking at what others are doing.  Keep in mind when you are preparing for  a show if it is inside or outside. Your outside set up will have different needs than and inside one.  Most crafter’s booths grow, change, and evolve. When you visit shows or fairs take notes on other vendors booths, the ones you love and the ones you hate.  You can write this infomation down in a little notebook. You can also make notes about your booth, what worked and what didn’t.

You can save money on displays by getting crafty and making your own. It is a great way to help your booth stand out from the crowd. When designing your own displays, think about how you are going to pack and store them. Displays the lay flat or stack together are easier to store away. Take a look around your house to see what can be recylced into a cool new display.  You can create an amazing booth that makes your jewelry stand out and shine!

Check out my other post 5 things not to forget when taking your jewelry to a craft show

: Building Your Biz
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