September 13, 2011

10 Steps for a Successful Handmade Product Launch

The Ampersand Earrings by Epheriell

As I write this post, I’m winding down from a busy day of jewelry-making after the launch of my new Punctuation Collection last week.

It was my most successful launch yet, and it got me thinking – since the product launch model that I use works so well for me, it might be something that other crafty biz owners are interested in trying.

Often, those of us who have craft businesses just add new products to our stores randomly – as we make them – but there are many benefits to a seasonal release or launch model. This is the sort of approach used by fashion houses, for example.

Today I’m going to share 10 steps that you can take to ensure the successful launch of a new handmade product range.

1. Plan your range beforehand – consider holidays or seasonality

I plan two main launches each year for my Epheriell brand – Autumn and Spring. Since I consistently make multiple sales online every day, I’m always busy with orders, and I found in the past that months would slip by without me creating any new designs because I was so busy.

I decided this year that I would commit to these two launches, at minimum, and have more if inspiration struck. This means I have to carve out the time to create new designs for each range, so my product line doesn’t stagnate.

It’s a good idea to consider seasons and holidays when releasing new lines. For example, my proper spring line, which will be out in a few weeks (remember, it’s spring down here in the Southern Hemisphere!) will be full of lovely fresh spring colours to celebrate the season.

This will be obvious to you if you make knitwear, cards, or any other product that is naturally tied into the seasons/holidays, but it’s worth remembering for everyone.

2. Release a coherent range rather than individual products

Fashion houses know the importance of this. They don’t just release bits and pieces but a coherent range of designs. There are a number of benefits to this, but one of the main ones is that you have something to talk about! It allows you to build anticipation and excitement around your brand.

While you’re planning your range you can talk about it; you can ask for suggestions and input from your audience. Launching a range of products means it’s more likely that your customers will find something they love. It means you can release your work to the world with a bang, rather than an ongoing whimper.

3. Prepare

Running a successful launch requires preparation. Not only do you have to get the products made and photographed, you also need to plan out your approach. How are you going to market your launch? Are you going to use social media? Your blog? An e-mail list? (I would suggest all of the above).

Also, don’t try to get it all done at once. Don’t be afraid to get all your products up and ready to buy in your online store before your launch. Just putting them in the shop won’t do much – it’s how you talk about them that will matter.

4. Talk it up beforehand

Don’t be shy about talking about your range! Talk about it from the beginning: share your planning, your prototypes, your thought processes. The more you can talk about it, the more anticipation you can build. Someone who does this really, really well is Elsie from A Beautiful Mess. Go check out her recent blog posts leading up to the launch of the Red Velvet Fall dress range.

5. Have excellent photos – and tell a story if you can

This goes along with number 4: You need to make sure you’ve got some awesome imagery to help launch your collection! I made the mistake this time around of not getting model shots done in time for launch, so I rushed and got that done on launch day, and had to blog about it separately. Not the best idea!

@ Symbol Earrings by Epheriell

6. Blog about it

Your blog is the home base for a product launch. This is where you can share photos, stories, and where your actual launch will be based. It’s the core around which everything rotates.

It’s also the place where you’ll be building anticipation, and getting people to sign up to your e-mail list (more about this below).

7. Tweet about it

Twitter is a HUGELY important part of launching a product for me. Once I’ve got blog posts written (or while I’m writing them) this is where I’ll share them. It’s also one of the places that I’ll chat about my upcoming range. I’ll post twitpics of my designs while I’m making them. I’ll share successes and struggles.

8. Facebook it

While twitter is a place to build buzz, Facebook allows you to share a little bit more about what you’re making. Upload your product images to albums. Put up a poll that relates to your range (for example, you could ask people to pick their favourite piece).

Also – I usually keep business separate from my personal FB profile, because that’s what a Page is for. But when I launch a new collection, I make an exception and share it with my friends on my personal profile too. This way they still get to see what I’m up to, but I’m not spamming them with constant stuff regarding my biz.

9. Have a mailing list – and give them exclusive discounts

This is possibly THE most important step. If you don’t have an e-mail list, get one right now! Head on over to Mailchimp and you can grab a fantastic, all-the-bells-and-whistles mailing list for free.

A mailing list is the best way to keep in touch with your best customers and fans of your brand. They might not check your blog, or your twitter, or facebook… but they always check their e-mail.

But don’t just whack up a signup form and hope for the best; give people a reason to sign up, and a reason to stay subscribed. For example, I give away one piece of jewellery every month to someone on my mailing list. So as long as they stay subscribed, they’ve got a chance to win.

I also give exclusive discounts to mailing list subscribers only when I launch a new range. This is my way of thanking my loyal customers for being there.

But make sure – like any sort of discount or sale – that you don’t over-do it. It should be an uncommon occurrence, or people will just wait until your ‘next sale’ before buying from you. You should also remember to put a time-limit on any discounts/coupons.

10. Contact press/blogs and pitch your new range

It’s important to reach beyond your own network when you’re launching a range. Pinpoint the blogs and other publications that are the best fit for your new products, and send them a short, sweet little e-mail telling them about it. Remember to attach some lovely low-res pictures, too. Also – don’t pitch too many blogs at once. Start with your favourites and work down the list, contacting three to four per week.

Don’t be afraid to contact bloggers – they need to find relevant content! The worst that can happen is you won’t get mentioned. The best is that you’ll get a whole heap of traffic from new people interested in your product. This is how I managed to get the @ symbol earrings mentioned on Design for Mankind last week.

***

That’s it! I’m looking forward to learning even more about this process as I work on my next collection, and my aim is to make each and every launch more successful than the last.

Do you have any suggestions for a successful launch? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

 

Filed Under: Creative Biz Success Interviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 23 Comments
June 7, 2011

Simone Walsh ~ creative biz success

Today we meet Australian Simone Walsh, a full-time jeweller with a passion for crafting beautifully intricate pieces.

Can you take us on the journey of your creative career path so far? How did you become a jeweller?

I left school at the tender age of 16 to work in a recording studio and then a record company, achieving my ambition to work in the music industry and assuming that would be the career path I’d stick to. However, after several years I had become very disillusioned with the industry and particularly how difficult it was for females to move ahead.

At around the time I had started to consider a new career path I happened to see a very simple but striking piece of wire wrapped glass jewellery in a shop. I was intrigued to figure out how it was made, so got some wire, pliers and marbles and started to play around – more out of interest than anything else. Soon enough I was hooked and very keen to learn how to make more advanced pieces.

After teaching myself some basics and starting to sell a small, very simple range of assembled jewellery, I decided to take the plunge and study jewellery making as part of a full time visual arts course. I quit my job and studied at a technical college full time for about 18 months. I learned an enormous amount during this time and still really appreciate the technical focus of the course.

Elizabethan Pattern Cage Pendant - click for more

I then lived and worked in London for a couple of years, but had my tools sent over and was able to keep making some simple pieces. When I returned to Australia I moved to Sydney to study a Bachelor of Visual Arts at Sydney College of the Arts with a jewellery and metal major. This course was much more focused on concepts and creativity than learning technical skills, so I was grateful for having picked up the basics earlier.

I sold my work through a small number of wholesale and consignment outlets for years, but it wasn’t really a viable business until after I took it online in 2006. At the time it felt like an experiment as I felt sure people wouldn’t buy something as personal as jewellery without seeing it in person. But quickly enough that idea was turned on its head and my business took off! I’ve continued to sell through a handful of B&M outlets, but online is where my primary focus is to this day.

How long did it take for you to settle on your particular style? Do you think this is something that will always continue to evolve?

I think this is something that will always evolve. However, I do definitely have particular themes that interest me which I seem to repeatedly go back to.

I’m fascinated by pattern, ornament and decoration of very diverse types – and I’ve always been interested in how decoration is a type of language which communicates a lot about people and objects.

I also like the idea of nature being represented in jewellery and other art forms – taking something which has a short and evolving lifespan such as a flower, leaf or butterfly and making it into something more permanent and fixed which can be treasured.

Art Nouveau Arabesque Earrings - click for more info

Do you ever have doubts as to your future creative direction? Are there things you yearn to achieve, but haven’t yet found the time for?

Yes, definitely! I think most creative people probably feel this way, at least occasionally.

When I’m designing a new range of work it’s very easy to start doubting what I’m doing, especially during the early stages. Often I just have to walk away for a while and do something else! However, eventually things start to gel and I have more confidence in it, so I keep working until it’s all finally figured out and it feels right.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that sometimes what seems to be a great design idea simply won’t work as you’d like when you get to the stage of making it – and it really is fine to accept that, put it aside and move on.

In terms of what I’d like to achieve but haven’t yet, there’s a huge amount – which is probably a good thing! Especially because my jewellery making education came from a visual arts background (rather than a trade background with an apprenticeship), I feel that there is a huge amount I could still learn to do in a technical sense. I’d like to be better at making the time for simply developing new skills – it’s definitely something I’d like to do more often!

Plus I’d like to have a much more comprehensive studio set up than I do currently. I’m renting and it’s not possible to have all of the equipment that I’d like. Fingers crossed that gets sorted out very soon!

What has been your most successful marketing strategy – the best way that you have found to get you and your work noticed? And have you ever tried something that just did not work at all?

I think doing my best to engage with customers and provide good customer service is probably one of the best marketing strategies. It can be difficult when you’re in a single person business to have the time to do this well, but I try my hardest! I always feel that my customers have the potential to be the best advertisement for what I do.

However, also being involved in the indie design community can be helpful as all sorts of opportunities arise. It’s a two way street though and requires genuine involvement and interest. I wouldn’t advise people do this with marketing being the primary purpose or people will see straight through it!

In terms of what hasn’t worked, I’ve certainly run some ads which have turned out to achieve very little, but each time that happens it’s always been a learning experience.

Circles Etched Ring - click for more info

Could you ever see yourself having a ‘normal’ 9-5 job? Why/why not?

I think it would be a struggle for me to go back to doing that sort of work. In part it’s because I’ve always been a night person and being self-employed has meant that I naturally go to bed when I’m tired and get up when I’ve had enough sleep – late on both counts! So the idea of having to be dressed, at another location and ready for work by 9am sounds absolutely terrifying these days!

However, I’m also very used to running my own schedule and making my own decisions about what I do and how I do it. It doesn’t happen often, but if I really don’t feel like working one day then provided there are no deadlines looming I can just go and do something else entirely. Or if I feel like doing my bookkeeping at 11pm at night, then that’s just fine too!

On the other hand, I’ve realised lately that the lack of structure and routine in my life can be a challenge in itself and this is something that a regular job provides without you even having to think about it. It also provides a fairly fixed number of working hours – working too many hours and too many days without a break is an issue for me too. These are problems I’m still working on ironing out!

What is one piece of advice you’d like to give fellow makers about running a successful handmade business?

Probably the best advice is to keep as much control over your own business as you can, particularly when it comes to selling online and dealing with other businesses that you rely upon. Always try to think of the worst case scenario and how you can protect your business from it.

Selling through an online venue can be great to get started with, but it’s so easy for problems to crop up which seem out of your control. It’s far from impossible for the enormous amount of effort you’ve put into marketing your venue shop to all become worthless one day and you have to start all over again. Or maybe you’ll simply decide your business has grown enough that you need your own shop.

A few years ago I set up my own independently run shop using my own domain name. At that point I wished that I had always used a web address using my own domain name to promote my venue shop which I could then have switched to my own shop when I was ready to take that step.

Filed Under: Creative Biz Success Interviews, creative thinkers Tagged With: , , 1 Comment
May 24, 2011

leigh-ann of freckled nest: creative biz success

Today we meet the dynamo that is Leigh-Ann (many of you might already know her as LA) of Freckled Nest! LA is the lady behind the Indie Biz courses, and she has heaps to share with us today about how she’s gone from having a crafty hobby business to now running an 11-person creative business!

Can you take us on the journey of your creative career path so far? You’ve done so many different things already…

I’ve always run Freckled Nest with one personal motto, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” (Nest pun!). As you mentioned, there is a variety of things I’ve made under the umbrella of Freckled Nest but because my style has been fairly consistent, no matter how diverse my products are, they seem to naturally go well together and offer a nice range of my ideas and abilities. Almost all my goods started as a gift that I made for someone or something I made myself for fun. I almost never intentionally sit down and make something just so I can sell it. I like that it was originally something my heart developed, or that I got obsessed with making and thought others would enjoy also.

Freckled Nest started as a hobby business in 2006 because I loved the process of inventing and constructing mini albums but I had made & gifted way too many and I was spending a lot of money on supplies. Freckled Nest’s shop was a way to share what I loved to do and a way to replenish supply money and keep going + going.

After a short stint in local craft fairs, I was introduced to blogging and soon found Etsy– blogging and etsy were a perfect combo for me and things really took off. By that time, I was really falling in love with small business and Freckled Nest became my dream job! I focused on made to order products and items that were made really well & existed nowhere else, including Photobooth Albums, Customized Craft Totes and eventually, Blog Design with a twist.

What was the turning-point for you… the moment when you knew it was time to put aside doubt (and the day-job!) and just go for it?

For the first two years, I concentrated on my goal to transform Freckled Nest into my career (and dream come true) and I put all my energy and extra time into making great relationships and developing my style + products. It was an incredibly exciting time in my life and in 2008, I felt prepared and ready to go full time with Freckled Nest! It was a big move and one I needed to make work– I was a single woman with a mortgage, debt and a dog.

Looking back, the move to full time was a little premature and I was oblivious about what was to come but my three greatest strengths got me through it– I’ve got passion, great problem solving skills and I’m extremely persistent (ie.stubborn). The first 5 months after I quit my job for FT Freckled Nest were extremely hard and I wasn’t selling enough to keep ontop of my bills.

I started reassessing my gameplan, met with a few business friends and knew I still wanted to move forward with my FT plan. Through that assessment, I figured out how I’d earn a full time income each month and still keep the dream alive– and it worked! The biggest change I made was to offer larger ticket items… I was a one man show originally selling products that ranged from $15-$40 and that meant I had to sell 50 to 150 pieces each month to cover my monthly obligations. That price-point was perfect when it was a hobby or part time but it was impossible (for me) to sustain, both in making and selling. The solution: alongside my original goods, I started integrating higher value items which included larger custom albums (made for a family with their photos) and Blog Design Packages.

In time, Blog Design Packages became my top seller and I had a waiting list revealing this as a viable direction and that their was an eager customer base. I had found my niche and choose to focus FN’s product range mostly on blog design and branding. Even though I no longer stock tangible products, I still share my love for innovation + handmade items on LA-TV (my live-streaming craft-a-long show), in online classes and on my blog– I come alive at the opportunity to make something with my hands, from scratch! I’d love to put handmade products back in my shop this year– I miss it!

Over the last 2 years, I’ve also co-taught a few online craft classes with Elsie and the Red Velvet girls and my biggest accomplishment– co-created Indie Business with Jill Munro. Indie is a dynamic online course that has helped over 1400 people approach their goals in small business with lessons focused on Starting, Surviving and Succeeding (Indie 4.0 will return in early 2012). I’ve also co-created Home Ec, a sewing e-course for beginners taught by myself, Rachel Denbow and Courtney Tucker. Our Home Ec course has taught over 1300 beginners and those looking to strength their existing skills and technique, how to sew with step-by-step sewing projects focused on progressive development, introducing a new skill in each project (Home Ec is available here). I love taking and teaching online classes + e-courses!

In 2010, Freckled Nest grew bigger than I could manage alone and it was time to branch out. I’d always been watching for a local person I could see sharing the company with and at the end of last year, I found her!

I partnered with Kyla Roma in January and we now co-own Freckled Nest. She’s been the best thing that has ever happened to FN and I’m so happy to have her as a partner. Soon after we joined up, we leased a studio/office in downtown Winnipeg, Canada and hired a team of designers who are amazing bloggers, exceptional designers with great vision and women we admire. We also hired 2 more formatters (4 in total) so that we could design for all blogging platforms including Blogger, Typepad, Self Hosted WordPress, Squarespace and Tumblr plus e-commerce sites like Big Cartel and Shopify!

Our Freckled Nest Family is a team of 11 people and here’s the neat part– our staff is worldwide! Because our business is online, we included but were not limited to local options– so we put a ‘we’re hiring’ call-out on our blogs and over 40 applicants came in. We were flattered & impressed and choose 5 that were a perfect fit for Freckled Nest! We have a dream team and will soon be growing again!

You have gone from being a one-woman-show to having a staff, and office, and a hugely thriving business. I know I find the idea of hiring staff very daunting – what advice would you give people who think they may be ready to take that step?

Hiring staff was extremely exciting– Kyla and I loved that we could share our neat job and work with a team! We had a two step process– First, we put out a call amoungst our peers that briefly explained the way our company & design program works, the type of designers we’re looking for and 5 questions for applicants to submit. Narrowing down our top choices was based on 3 things: do they meet the criteria, do they fit in with FN’s aesthetic and outlook on life and lastly, do they have a personal design style somewhat different from others on the team (we’re like the Spice Girls, everyone has their own flavor).

The second step in hiring was a test– we created a fake client looking for a blog design. The process allowed the applicant to show how they interpreted the clients needs and how they apply their own style. It was really neat because each applicant had the same “client” but they all turned out very different while still suiting the client. That was such a fun way to make our final decisions and gave us proof that we were picking perfect matches.

When Hiring a New Team Member:

  • Be specific about what you’re looking for and what you have to offer.
  • Decide what’s important to you in your decision process and ask questions based on that. (For example: Positivity, heart and style are important attributes of Freckled Nest team members and we never want to lose that. Instead of trying to gather that information in an interview, we looked for in-action examples by requested links to the applicants online world (safe to ask in our case). This also gave us an impression of what clients would see when visiting their Designers blog and twitter.)
  • Make a test project similar to what the staff member will be doing in their job and have them complete it as part of their application. Give the information needed for your potential staff member to do a good job but protect the techniques and resources specific to your company until you’ve actually hired a person.
  • Lastly, be prepared to train immediately with written training materials, a resource list, and time to train your new staff members. (Kyla and I created our materials while hiring and it took longer than we expected which caused a gap in the process. We now have a rule that we don’t start anything new until we’ve got everything ready to make it happen).

Are there times when your creativity and inspiration seem to disappear? How do you handle that?

Kinda… when I get too busy, I have a really hard time being creative and I can’t enjoy the journey (that’s a big deal to me). When this happens, I take a break and do a few productive things to size down my to-do list, get a good sleep and try again the next day. This usually helps!

What has been the best marketing move you’ve ever made for your own business?

We don’t do a lot of intentional marketing… our belief is that if you do great work with all your heart and share about what you love, people will love it with you! And this has been incredibly powerful. I guess you could say my blog is my best marketing tool– but I try not to treat it like one.

What is one piece of advice you’d like to give fellow makers about running a successful handmade business?

Go above and beyond in everything you do!

Do you believe that a person needs to have a certain set of traits – or a certain way of looking at the world – to become a successful creative entrepreneur?

I’m hesitant to answer this question because I think there are lots of different recipes that can make a great entrepreneur. That being said, there are some traits I’ve seen that stand out in my mind.

I think these are especially valuable qualities:

  • a person who turns their dream into a plan, with lots of steps
  • a person who wants to learn from everything they encounter/make/experience
  • a person who can be their own cheerleader
  • a person with a can do attitude
  • a person who is resilient when something isn’t immediately successful and that is even more driven when it doesn’t come easy
  • a person who cares about their customers
  • a person who has endless ideas flowing (beyond product development, it’s superhandy in blogging, marketing, photoshoots, branding, trendsetting, etc)
  • a person who is likable and socially involved
  • a person who is patient
  • a person who adapts as things happen, rather than wanting to ‘stick to the plan’

Having a creative business means you will encounter a lot of unexpected opportunities (and maybe roadblocks). When one comes your way, figure out how to work it into the plan and keep going– some of the best ideas and products come when you have your eyes & heart open and are willing to adapt. I never knew I’d be a blog designer when I started Freckled Nest… I didn’t even know how to design– but I saw the opportunity, assessed if it was right for me, learned how to do it and went for it! Now, it’s what makes me most happy and has brought a lot of success & expansion to our company. So happy I went for it.

Filed Under: Creative Biz Success Interviews Tagged With: , , , 12 Comments
May 11, 2011

The Merriweather Council: creative biz success

Danielle Spurge (a.k.a. The Merriweather Council) is a young woman committed to living the dream of being a successful, full-time artist! With a BFA degree from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, she’s one year in to running her business full-time, and she’s learnt a lot along the way.

Danielle - click for more info

Can you take us on the journey of your creative career path so far?

Turning my artsy – craftsy tendencies into a business was something I’ve wanted to do for a few years, and I am happy to report that thanks to a bunch of crap that happened to me in my senior year of College, I am now livin’ the crafty biz dream!

What was this craptastic thing that happened to me to which I owe my crafty biz? To make a very long and arduous story very short: I was set to attend an MFA program for which I was offered a full scholarship (!!!) but then a great big storm came and blew the school away! No, I made that up… truthfully, the university basically lost all my information, everyone I ever spoke to denied telling me anything and, sadly, there was no scholarship. Needless to say I decided not to go.

As this all happened approximately one minute before my college graduation – I felt a little lost as to what I was supposed to do next. The plans I had fell apart and everyone else seemed to know what they were going to do and suddenly I did not.

That’s when I decided to dive into the things I had always wanted to try - selling on Etsy, doing local art markets and being an entrepreneur. It turned out I was actually much more excited by the prospect of exploring those things than I was about enrolling in grad school.

It’s been almost one year now and in that time I’ve learned so much, and I’ve accomplished a lot more than I ever thought I would’ve and I’m so happy and grateful that the whole graduate school thing didn’t work out because I leally love what I am doing!

How did you come to settle on fibres as your favourite creative medium?

As a kid I learned to crochet and sew. These two processes allowed me to provide quite nicely for my family of four American Girl dolls. They were unbelievably spoiled with handmade gifts of clothing and crookedly stitched blankets! But at the time, I thought, “these are just hobbies, I’m meant to be a real artist, like Picasso!” and all through high school I was pretty much under the impression that unless it was painted or printed, it wasn’t “real” art and no one would ever take it seriously. So, I set my sights on a long career as a printmaker.

That lasted for about an hour and suddenly I realized that I don’t like to draw and I am actually pretty dismal at it and the printmaking program would’ve involved a lot of drawing.

When I realized that there was an entire department dedicated to the things I had always loved to do, I knew I had found my place in the world!

Fibers (the department) was full of old world charm, regal looms and shelves full of colorful cones of yarn!

These visual and emotional splendors absolutely swayed me but in the best way possible. I promptly marched on up to the registrar’s office and switched my major to Fibers!

Of course there are about a million different ways to be a fiber artist, but I’ve chosen embroidery as my main method. I love that I can bring it with me anywhere, and that it requires very few materials. I love all the variety I can achieve with just a few tools. Embroidery is extremely forgiving and versatile and I can be as detailed or broad as I’d like. The way it feels in my hands is another of my favorite things about it.

Bloom - click for more info

Do you ever have doubts as to your future creative direction? Are there things you yearn to achieve, but haven’t yet found the time for?

Of course I have my doubts from time to time, but I am happy to say it is not often. (I feel pretty obligated to myself to be my own biggest fan and that requires a positive approach!)

This whole past year I’ve been committed to this single idea: try everything and see what works. Because of this, I’ve been achieving through experimenting. This was all really new to me and so there was no point in sticking to what I was positive about – I had to take chances and spend money and learn new ways of doing things so that I could get going.

The only thing I really knew was that I wanted people to know there was a human behind my business and that I was approachable, and I made it a point to be personable and use my own voice on my blog and such.

I’m ready for year two because in year one I worked out some solid ground for building the rest of my business on.

I do remember having one pretty big meltdown where I cried for a while because I had no idea what I was doing but wanted so badly for everything to work out. The things I want to achieve but haven’t yet aren’t because I don’t have time – but because now is not the right time for those things to happen.  I am enjoying the things I am doing now, but planning for the future at the same time. I’m making the moves now so that when the time comes I will be ready and I will be able to move to the bigger and better that I have in mind!

Necklace - click for more info

What has been your most successful marketing strategy – the best way that you have found to get you and your work noticed? And have you ever tried something that just did not work at all?

When I set out to let my personality come through and make it really obvious that I am the human behind my brand – I didn’t know if that was good or bad – I just knew it was a lot easier and more natural for me to be myself than to be anything else. I believe this has been my greatest marketing strategy.

By acting like a real person, I am able to connect with other real people who share the same interests, goals and values as I do. I am able to do business stuff right alongside silly, regular life stuff. One minute I can be tweeting about something concerning Etsy and the next minute I can be tweeting about the Backstreet Boys and I always have a friend out there somewhere who is right there with me.  I want to be approachable and help people when I can and let people see that I am happy to be doing what I am doing even if sometimes there are bumps in the road. People seem to respond to my blog where I write the same way I speak and to my products which are truly expressions of my personality.

I believe that people like to buy from and promote people who they know and trust and who they find to be likeable. By being myself, I am able to let people know me, maybe hopefully like me sometimes and trust me because I am not a robot but an actual human with actual emotions.

What key personality traits and life circumstances coalesced to lead to your success, in your opinion?

I’m one of those people who won’t sit still until they get what they want. I can’t let things go – I have to keep going after them until it’s been resolved one way or another. Mostly, I think this is good. I’m also super impulsive which I am learning to make work more in my favor. Impulsiveness has been a way for me to jump up and say yes to things – that I maybe have said no to had I given them more thought – that have turned out to be wonderful opportunities. I am also highly self-motivated, I can work alone and not lose focus, I can tell myself what to do and follow it through. I think those traits in combination with the timing of my plans for graduate school falling through have brought me to where I am right now.

Patchwork - click for more info

What is one piece of advice you’d like to give fellow makers about running a successful handmade business?

This is it:  Your own artistic vision is your most valuable resource, don’t lose track of it because without it you’re basically just drifting. Don’t let others sway you and don’t follow someone else’s path. Be proud of your own ideas and nurture them.

Filed Under: Creative Biz Success Interviews, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , 31 Comments
April 5, 2011

creative biz success: interview with Liv Lane of Choosing Beauty

Today we meet Liv Lane, of Choosing Beauty. Liv is a typical creative entrepreneur, with irons in many fires, including a thriving blog, a radio show, an upcoming e-course, and an Etsy shop (not to mention two beautiful little boys to take care of)! How did it all come to be, and how does she balance it all?

Can you take us on the journey of your creative career path so far?

Wow. It’s a path with so many twists and turns! But I feel like creativity has been my constant companion all along. And, looking back, I see some common threads: a need for autonomy, a strong entrepreneurial spirit, a desire to help others know more and be more.

I started out in radio, launched my first web site in 1998 (a made-for-kids’ entertainment and news site), moved into public relations, then created and ran a successful radio promotions company for a Fortune 500 corporation. Corporate life gave me stability and amazing learning opportunities, but it rarely felt fulfilling. I would go home and spend hours writing, scrapbooking, magnet- making, decorating – anything to keep those creative juices flowing.

I really lost my way after the birth of my first son in 2003.

You can read more about it on my blog, but those creative juices – and my interest in life itself – basically disappeared as I struggled with deep depression and post traumatic stress disorder. After a couple years of intense therapy, I launched a blog called One Year of Beauty, intending to post a photo and write my reflections every day for one year. I figured it would be healing to force myself to find the good in each day.

I truly didn’t expect it would spread so quickly and resonate with others so deeply. But within a couple of weeks, I had radio stations calling for interviews and people halfway around the world emailing me to express their gratitude. I knew I had hit a nerve – and that I wasn’t alone in my yearning to tap into the beauty of life. From there, it was like the universe just kept opening up one door after another, inviting me to really do what I love.

Was there a moment where you just knew you had to leave your day job and take the plunge into working for yourself?

I had so many moments of incredible serendipity and synchronicity.

I speak a lot about how important it is to pay attention to those nudges, to listen to your intuition. Had I ignored the little (and big) signs in my life, I’d probably still be sitting in a cubicle somewhere doing a job I was good at but didn’t make me feel good.

I lived a double life for a while, running the radio promotions company during the day and being a blogger at night. And then I got the opportunity to return to the radio airwaves, hosting a weekly show in Minneapolis about living your best life. The more I did the stuff I truly loved, the more I dreaded going into work.

I knew more creative opportunities awaited me – I could just feel it – but I couldn’t pursue them while working long hours, buried in spreadsheets. My husband was a great cheerleader and we devised a plan for me to walk away from corporate life and step into my new life. My blog became the foundation for my own company, Choosing Beauty, in 2007.

How did you get into speaking (including your regular radio show)?

Truthfully, I’m an introvert. But I still love speaking to audiences – whether on the radio or at an event – about topics that are dear to my heart. I knew early on that I wanted to be a broadcaster (really, I wanted to be the next Oprah). Somewhere, there is a treasure chest full of cassette tapes featuring me as a kid, hosting fake radio shows!

After I graduated from high school, I was craving “real world” experience – particularly in broadcast journalism. I convinced my parents to let me postpone college for a year if I could find a paying job in that field. Two weeks before I was supposed to head to college, a massive dose of serendipity led me through the doors of a national radio network for kids, headquartered just blocks from the house where I’d grown up. They hired me as a part-time news writer and within a year, I was promoted to morning show co-host and chief news correspondent. The pay was horrible, but I loved every minute of every day there.

Years later, shortly after launching my blog, I had an idea for a women’s radio talk show on creating your best life and wrote a proposal for it. I swear the planets aligned, because it is really hard to get a new show on the air – and mine was green-lighted within a couple of months. I’ve co-hosted Get Real on myTalk 107.1 in Minneapolis since January 2007.

I think radio trained me to be a good public speaker – to be concise, to be a good storyteller, to be authentic.

And the concept of Choosing Beauty is one that resonates with so many people. We all long to feel purposeful and passionate in our lives, to feel like there’s magic woven into our days. I’ve never done much self-promotion as a speaker; organizations and event planners tend to hire me after being referred by someone else.

Have you ever brought other people into your business, or felt the need to?

Funny you ask! Just last weekend, I tweeted “I need a technical wizard on my staff. First, I need a staff.” Some days, I swear the thing I miss about corporate life more than a stable paycheck is a good administrative assistant and an IT guy.

I’ve been able to juggle and balance a lot over the past few years, including parenting two young boys, but the past few months – since formally putting myself out there as an artist – I’ve definitely been contemplating how I might delegate some of the things on my plate. I do have a great young woman named Jordan, whom I’ve dubbed my Vice President of Fun and Organization. She helps me with my Etsy shop, art shows and speaking gigs whenever I need it. I’ve also aligned myself with experts I trust in various support areas, from public relations to finance.

Do you ever have doubts as to your future creative direction? Are there things you yearn to achieve, but haven’t yet found the time for?

When I don’t take the time I need for reflection and to clarify my visions, especially at the beginning of each year, I start to feel doubtful and worried about where the heck I’m going, like I’m just treading water. I also get bored easily, so I love hatching new ideas. At the start of this year, the dreams I laid out for myself included launching a new web site called The Feel Good Deal of the Day, which I’ve done and am having a blast with. And I’m super-excited to launch my first e-course this spring, called How To Build a
Blog You Absolutely LOVE.

I also thought this would be the year my first book would be published. After working on it for 2 ½ years, it was due out on my birthday, 10.11.11. But a couple of weeks before going to print, my publisher cancelled everything and, for budgetary reasons,
announced it would no longer be publishing new books! That was a huge shock. But I’m choosing to see it as another one of those cosmic nudges and trust that there’s an even better publisher out there who will be eager to birth this beautiful book into the world.

Since your focus is choosing and sharing beauty, could you share 3 places you like to visit online for inspiration?

So hard to choose just three! I adore what Amanda’s doing at Kind Over Matter, cultivating and sharing all things kind and creative.

I’m kind of addicted to my daily Tut.com Notes from the Universe. Each brief but inspiring email is like a shot in the arm. I love opening it up each morning!

And I always find a nugget of wisdom or creative inspiration in Kelly Rae Robert’s blog posts.

Visit Liv on her blog, Choosing Beauty.

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