Many of us have always dreamed about making money from our hobbies, whether it’s painting your favourite landscapes or knitting gorgeous knits for newborn babies, there are few greater accomplishments than being able to turn your creative endeavour into a viable business. You need to have faith it your talent and a whole heap of determination because starting a business isn’t easy but if you’re prepared to put the hard work in there is nothing more rewarding.
Prepare Yourself
If you’ve been told that starting your own business would be easy you have got a lot to learn, take it from us – we’ve been there put the long hours in and encountered many sleepless nights. It is definitely not easy, so be sure you can cope with the lows and well and the highs that you’ll experience when first starting out. Not everyone is cut out to run their own business so it is best to ask yourself early on whether you’re prepared to take on the challenge. You must expect a lot of preparation work up front, whether it’s sleepless nights because your mind won’t shut off or days sat in front of the computer the more time you invest now the easier it will be down the line. Sadly you may feel like you’ve traded in your craft for a desk job but to begin with admin and prep will help you launch your new venture and make your dream possible.
Generate Interest
Before you get carried away with all the excitement of creating a new business you will need to go back to basics, the most profitable small businesses are those that launch with several paying clients. In order to do this you will need create some business cards and get networking, here you can meet prospective customers and sell your product. Customers will get a true sense of you and your business and will hopefully place an order, knowing that you have some orders to fill from that start is a great boost of confidence. It a great way to see how much work you can handle and figure out the pace in which you need to be working, this will set you in good stead when your business starts to grow.
Get Your Business Online
The internet is a marvellous tool and one startup businesses should always take full advantage of. Your website and social media channels are now the online face of your business and getting this right is absolutely paramount, especially as you might not have the money to invest in advertising and costly marketing. Our website and social media must perfectly portray your business and it’s ethos – try to make them stand out. You’re in a competitive market so think outside of the box, what are your competitors doing that you could do better? Your website must include images of all of your products and their variations include attention-seeking text and description to captivate your customers. If you can’t splash out on a costly web developer to create your online store, there are some great low-cost website templates and hosting services like Shopify and WordPress.
Make It Personal
Many business owners fall into the trap of making their social networks appear more robot that human, avoid continuous product promotion as this can become rather monotonous for your followers and could work against you. Creating a personable online profile can be hugely beneficial when building awareness of your service and brand, with many social media users merely scanning their newsfeeds and not paying much attention. Your content needs to stand out, share some of your personality, inspirations, favourite quotes and connect with your followers that way, it’s far more effective than just posting about your business and what you do. Get creative!
Believe It Or Not You Have Created a Brand
It can be easy to get sucked into the digital marketing side of your business, it is relatively easy and you can reap the rewards straight away but it is important to remember that offline marketing can be just as effective. You need to keep your brand consistent, the image you portray on your website and social media must be reflective in everything you do, both digital and print. You want your customers to recognise your business as a brand and they should recognise this brand from your Instagram to your letterhead or invoice.
You cannot forget your print materials: business cards, full-colour posters, flyers and brochures all represent your brand so they must receive as much attention as your digital presence. There is nothing better than a premium paper stock that feels great and looks great and in the hand of a potential customer, it is bound to make them take note. To create eye-catching and high-quality marketing materials, we recommend choosing a distinctive colour scheme and typeface, NeedAPrint has lots of design options for you to choose from.
We wish you the best of luck and we hope that we have inspired you to head off and make your dream of turning your hobby into a business a reality.
