8 Reasons to organize your handmade business finances

There’s a reason people don’t take up business finance as a weekend hobby. Organizing your handmade business finances is one of those tedious business chores that’s easy to procrastinate in favor of buying more craft supplies (!), fulfilling orders, creating marketing content or good ‘ol watching Hulu.

But here’s the thing; getting your business financials together is too important to avoid or put off. Doing it right and consistently can be a game changer for your business. Here are eight reasons to show your finances some love.

1. Enjoy the fruit of your labor…i.e. make sure you’re actually making money. Running a handmade business requires a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Make sure you make it count by taking a look at whether your operation is profitable.

2. Take advantage of larger opportunities like grants, incubators or small business funding programs. Free money is always a good idea. Organizing your finances positions you to answer questions on grant applications about your revenue and profit trends without a last minute scramble.

3. Put more money in your pocket. Every business has waste and opportunities to improve. Taking a closer look as your expenses and income helps you to avoid waste, identify problems and address products that are not making money.

4. Evaluate investments like tradeshows, craft markets, software, photoshoots, etc. Craft markets are a lot of fun, but the associated expenses can add up. Looking at the numbers in totality as part of your financial process helps you make better decisions.

5. Celebrate your progress! You’ve come a long way with your handmade business. Clap for yourself and look at your numbers over time to appreciate your growth and set plans for where you want to go next.

6. Make decisions about new product introduction. This is similar to number 3, but the pre-emptive version. Launching new handmade products takes effort and resources; understanding profitability and projected sales ahead of time can help you decide if it’s worth it.

7. Make decisions about staffing and pay business taxes. On the fence about hiring help? You guessed it; understanding your cash flow from month to month can indicate whether you can afford it and how much you can afford.

8. Save time and avoid having to “cram” when you need to report earnings or loss when you file taxes at the end of the year. If you been there, you know. Pulling together 12 months worth of receipts, online expenses, sales reports, etc ahead of a tax filing deadline is NOT fun. Staying organized through out the year keeps things fun.

Struggling with your business financials? Consider getting help by hiring a bookkeeper and/or accountant. Can you relate to any of these reasons to get your finances organized? Share tips on what’s worked for you below.

Why you need processes & systems to grow your handmade business

By: Charlene Dunbar

Processes and systems are not the first things that come to mind when you think about the fun parts of running a handmade business, but they are so important to the health of your business. As your business grows, having the right processes in place can make the difference between staying stuck vs scaling your business to the next level.

We had the pleasure speaking with Cashemawo Thompson of @cashemawo on a recent IG Live about how embracing processes helped to shift her mindset and grow her online wellness business. Listen to her story here and check out her tips on simple ways to build process into your small business.

The importance of having business processes — A conversation about the power of business processes with
Cashe Thompson of Cashemawo Yoga

What processes are you currently using in your small business? How have they helped you?

How Kpelle Designs built a successful online business with Instagram

by: Charlene Dunbar

We’ve been following Gwanyan, the boss lady and designer behind Kpelle Designs for a few years now and we were thrilled when we had a chance to talk with her about how she organically grew her culturally inspired hand-crafted jewelry business by being savvy with social media. Here are our top three takeaways from our conversation:

#1 – Go to where your audience is – When she started her brand, Gwanyan took high-quality pictures of herself wearing her loc jewelry and posted them on her feed and also tagged popular loc hair community IG pages. Her pictures usually got reshared on the community page for free and those high-potential customers would follow her. She also invested in advertising with similar pages (where her target audience was already hanging out) and gained lots of customers from that exposure.

#2 – Invest in high quality images – Gwanyan worked with other creative friends who took fantastic photos or had styling skills to make sure her products images and brand put their best foot forward (and was more shareable). It’s easy to skimp on this step, but presenting high-quality, lifestyle images of your brand helps you standout from the pack, engages your audience and communicates the value of your brand.

#3 – Share your journey – The fact that Gwanyan actually cut/forms her own jewelry (she’s a proper craftswoman with milling equipment!), is a plant mom and occasionally goes into rant mode are things that have endeared her to her customers and makes then want to shop with her vs. some faceless jewelry company on the internet. Gwanyan consistently used her IG stories to share her handmade entrepreneur journey in a way that built trust and made her customers feel invested in her story and ultimately, her success.

Our talk with Gwanyan of Kpelle Designs was full of gems! Check out the full IG Live interview here and follow her now. Need a second set of eyes to look at your handmade business Instagram page? Want to find out how you can use IG to get more sales for your online business? Sign-up for our customized Instagram audit service, Up My Gram Game.

Image Credits: Kpelle Designs

7 Reasons to give your Instagram business page a second look

By: Charlene Dunbar

You probably already have an IG business page and are a pro at posting product images, interacting with customers and scoping out competitors. Here are 7 reasons to take a second look at your IG business page and invest time and energy to get it to the next level of driving sales for your small business.

# 1 – Your customers are already hanging out on IG…and they’re ready to make a purchase.

According to AdEspresso, 1 out of 3 of Instagram’s 1 billion users have purchased an item they first saw on IG. Users also spend an average of 53 minutes/day on the platform. When it comes to marketing, it’s wise to go where the people are.

#2 – Easy to build community and establish trust with your customers

People buy from people they know, like and trust. I can count at least 5 bloggers I’ve bought stuff from not because I needed it, but because they were my friends in my head. Engaging with your audience on IG can draw your tribe in, lead to referrals and help customers to trust you.

#3 – Able to attract customers who are seeking a solution to a problem

When users search for a topic or product they’re interested in, hashtags help your content to end up in their feed even if they don’t follow you. That makes it easy to build followers organically, who can eventually become paying customers.

#4 – Get clues about what customers want

IG has been helpful as a feedback channel for my clothing brand. I’ve gauged interest on new styles and selected color offerings based on IG story poll responses and engagement level to posts. Are you using your IG feed to gather insights on customer preferences and interests?

#5 – Make it easy for customers to contact you

Customers have often DM’d me on IG and then immediately made a purchase after I answered their question. Top of page contact info on IG removes the pain of having to dig through an online store for info, which makes it easier for customers to make a purchase decision.

#6 – Make a great first impression on customers and collaborators

Major brand collaboration opportunities have come to me through my Instagram feed. Beside that, then we’re evaluating vendors to accept for our in-person markets, the first place we look is their IG feed. That feed gives a snapshot of the brand and what we see (or don’t see) there can be a deciding factor in moving to the next step.

#7 – IG is a powerful storytelling tool

If marketing is all about telling stories that your audience identifies with, then IG is a storyteller’s playground. Are you leveraging your feed, stories, IG Live and IGTV to show your audience what your brand stands for and how it fits into their life?

Having an intentional presence on Instagram is a smart way to let customers discover your brand and make repeat purchases from you. How would you rate your IG business page? Are you getting the maximum effect from it, or could it be improved to grow your business? Are you tired of guessing what you need to do next to strengthen your page? Sign up now for our “Up My ‘Gram Game” IG effectiveness audit. We understand the challenge and importance of taking your IG page to the next level and want to help with that.