Best ideas for 1st yr business owners

[Khji]

Hi! My name is Nancy. I own a business that focuses on handmade artisan jewelry and diversifying into sun catchers. My husband works the ironworks side (that's the plan). Our business name is Knucklehead Jewelry and Ironworks. What have pieces of advise do you have for 1st year businesses to help make sure they're around for the long run? Also, this is a side hustle and we have 2 young kids so life plays a huge part in not being able to do the things we want to do.

[maxpete]

@Khji welcome and glad to have you here! Great question! I wanted to tag a couple of folks from the Community to potentially weigh in with their advice.

Rooting for you!

@HC_Charlie, @bonny, @SakredJoiArt, and @Maegan 

[bonny]

Hi Nancy,

To make sure you are successful in the long-term, you need a business plan. Most creative folks have a hard time putting one together so I recommend starting with "The Right Brain Business Plan" by Jennifer Lee.  You'll probably find it at your library.  It will help you visually develop a road map for where you want to go and how you are going to do it.  The benefit of going through that process is making your business intentional versus happening by chance.  It makes a big difference because you are able to measure what's working, see what isn't, and then make whatever adjustments you need.  

Since you are located in California, when you have your business plan put together, visit your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to tap into one-on-one business counseling. Most of their services are free or available for a nominal cost. Super helpful folks.  They also offer a ton of on-line courses for free that will help you at every stage of business.  

Best wishes to you and your family on your journey,
Bonny Wagoner - Artist/Illustrator

bonnywagoner.com

[HC_Charlie]

Hello @Khji thanks for your post. As a fellow handmade artist who's been selling handmade fulltime for about 6 years now, at your point in your business (starting yet not full time) I'd suggest the following:

• @bonnyhas some great advice to doing a business plan, so you'll know what decisions to make to get you to where you want to end up
• How are you selling your items right now? If you do not have an online presence, I'd make sure you have one. Set up your own Square website, and also explore maybe an Etsy site since you are handmade
• Do you sell in person? I would research some local artisan fairs, craft shows, markets and figure out which ones fit your product and start booking those events. If you get your name out in the local community, you can leverage that exposure to start getting more online sales and referrals.
• Are you posting on social media like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok? I'd have at least a small social media footprint to also help get people interested in what you make.

I would also recommend another book called Profit First (which was a recent reading selection in Square's Community Book Club). The premise of the book is that for all of the money you receive from your business, you set aside different % portions for various things like operating expenses, taxes, and your PROFIT. You need to start making money if you want to sustain your business for the long term.

I hope you find some inspiration and tools to help you in your journey. Good luck to you, and the best advice to give you is to continue to read and post in the Square Community. I think you'll find great resources in not only using Square tools, but also general business advice from fellow small business owners.

[bonny]

Profit First is an excellent book recommendation!  

[Cubanita]

If I could go back and tell myself what to do that first year....

1. Get your customers information (email, phone numbers & take notes) You do not own your social media & they can shut you down anytime. You do not own an Etsy store, they can shut you down any time & what do people say when they get something on Etsy? It usually does not include YOUR company name. Nothing wrong with etsy as a second source of income but it's not branded and you don't own it. Get your own website and start driving traffic to it with your list. You own that list. It is gold and will help you pivot every time you need to.

2. Don't be scared to email too much. People buy from people they know, like and trust. Use your emails to grow all three and convert them to buyers.

3. Take notes on your customers and use those phone numbers to serve them. What were they looking for? Did you just make something that can solve that problem or go with what they purchased? A quick text check in coming from a place of service is a huge way to convert more sales and deepen those relationships.

I could go on and on but hope a few of these tips help. Consistency is key. Enjoy the journey. It's not about the destination.

[RuckusDonuts]

What everyone else said - business plan. Take it seriously. If the plan doesn't have the right numbers for you it's FAR better to know ahead of time this is not going to work & all you are out is your time planning.

If I could give any small business owner one crucial piece of advice before opening it would be this:

Have enough working capital (cash) on hand to pay ALL your fixed expenses for 90-120 days, IE you don't sell a single piece of jewelry for 3-4 months & you can still pay your bills.

[CareyJo]

I agree with having the business plan - especially if you're going to need a loan for any reason.  Keep it updated as well.  Banks will want to see at least 3 years on a plan that's been updated as the business grows.  I also agree with paying yourself first.  Making sure your overhead is covered for 3-6 months is crucial.

I would also recommend networking.  Chambers and business groups are a great place to start.  Form some business partnerships that gets your work out locally, in businesses, where people can put their hands on it and buy it.  For example, find a local coffee shop that likes to display artwork for sale.

We have a ton of artisan fairs, vendor shows, craft shows, etc. around here but we're seasonal because it's MT.  In Cali you might find a lot you can do that aren't seasonal.  Great way to sell a lot of inventory at once and bring in higher income in batches.  Our brother and sister-in-law own a business making metal works and traveling to shows.  He was a county sheriff for about 15 years and retired because the business was taking so much of their free time.  They now do this full time and it only took them just over a year to get that busy after he retired.  Do some math... can you travel to a location that's within let's say 8 hours of you and have the potential for over 1,000 customers in a day?  What would you need to sell in order to make that profitable vs. going to a local show where you only see maybe 100-500 customers in a day.

I think the biggest thing in your line of work is marketing what you do as much as possible, on a daily basis.  There needs to be a solid focus on how much content you put out and how many people you speak to in a day.  It needs to be non-stop for more than a year.  The commitment is working full-time on this while also working full-time on your job.  A schedule of tasks is imperative to keep yourself going.  How much time after work can you devote to production and marketing?  When the time you need after work becomes more consuming than what you can do in those short hours, then you know you need to quit the job and do this full-time, provided that you've got the savings to back you up until the profit is rolling.

If this is more of a hobby right now and you don't have "definites" in any part of your business, now is the time to make them.  Set your processes in place for how you do everything.  Another great read for this is the E-Myth.  Everything in your business should be done in the same way, all the time.  When you have all of your processes in place, you're not trying to figure out how to keep your head above water.

Practice time blocking - for each day of the week, have tasks laid out that need to get done.  You cannot eat an elephant all in one bite.  Make sure you have a certain amount of time dedicated each day to the task of marketing/socials.  Do you call people on Mondays, do FB or IG on Tuesdays, go to a Chamber meeting on Wednesdays, etc.  That block doesn't have to be the same activity each time, it just needs to be that category and be consistent.

Hope this helps!  Best of luck to your family and your growing business!

[JacobfromAFN]

Hi Nancy, I fund small businesses but consult with a lot of newer business owners and my biggest piece of advice is to

1. Don't let your business bank account go negative, ever
2. Get overdraft protection if possible

Those two things are huge factors any time you get financing. Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions, those are just the two easiest things that can benefit you in the long run that I could think of off the top of my head

merry christmas!

[DinaLRosenberg]

Hi Nancy! My advice would be to get incredibly honest with yourself as to what time/resources you and your husband want to put into the business. 

Success is a self awareness game and everyone's journey is not going to look the same. I have competitors that are closed around holidays because they want to spend time with their family. We are open on many holidays because people are off- we're willing to be open, they are not. Clearly they are OK with losing that revenue- we want it.

That's just one example of knowing how much you want to put into it. So be honest with yourself really- what are your goals, how much effort will it take, and do you and your husband want to put in that effort. Once you know that (and it takes brutal. honesty)- then you can make an action plan.

With small kids you'll have to schedule and make sure you and your husband are on the same page as to expectations and non-negotiables.

There's some great advice here on the business side- and I think you should take it and run with it as well.