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Where to start with small business accounting – Ask Tara #1

Welcome to the first episode to Ask Tara!
Today I'm answering the question of where to start with accounting and bookkeeping for your small creative business. I share my clients' favorite accounting resources and walk you through what I do.

Resources

I use Google Spreadsheets
Wave
GoDaddy
Bookkeeping for Crafters class
Pay Yourself will teach you how to find your profit margins and break even points.

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These Ask Tara episodes will also go out to the Explore Your Enthusiasm podcast feed. You can subscribe to it on iTunes or on Stitcher (or whatever you use for podcasts!)
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What I’m reading: March 2015

I follow my enthusiasm by reading…a lot. And once a month, I share (some of) the books I read last month and the books I intend to read this month. You can join the informal book club by sharing your own list in the comments and find all the posts here.

What I read

Art of Asking, by Amanda Palmer – This book was recommended to me a million times, and then a thread popped up in the Starship where Captains started reading it together. Oh man, it is just so good if you're an artist or maker who has a hard time with the exchange of your art for money. Amanda built her tribe, person by person, hug by hug, at hundreds of shows and she shares in this book about how she built the relationships. I highly recommend it (if you're not easily offended!).
The Art of the Book Proposal, by Eric Maisel – I've been working on a proposal all quarter, and this book is keeping my company. Unlike a lot of other books about the parts of a proposal, he digs into how to think about it, which I love.
The 4 Hour Workweek, by Tim Ferriss – I read this waaay back in 2009 when I first left my day job. I wanted to revisit it to see if it's a good resource for my clients, and this time I took completely different lessons from it. It's a classic and bestseller for a reason.
It's Not About The Money, by Brent Kessel – I talk a lot with my students about their issues with money, and this book, which identifies different archetypes that we approach money with, provided a great new perspective at these issues we all have.

What I’m reading

Zero to One, by Peter Theil
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo
The Saga series (a comic)
Funny Girl, by Nick Hornby

What are you reading?

The usual disclaimery disclaimer applies!

Stop avoiding your marketing plan

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

How do you fit together everything you know about your people, plus your product and tools, into something that you can actually implement, and that is effective at reaching your right people? We'll cover the step by step process in this episode. We'll also talk about :

Why most makers don't have a marketing plan.
How you can stop avoiding your marketing and start taking action.
How it feels when you've got it all put together.
The results other makers have had by making a marketing plan.

We've talked a lot about bits and pieces of your marketing in past episodes:

Want to make a marketing plan you'll stick with? Join Craft Your Marketing and you'll have a finished plan by April. Click here to sign up!

How to listen

You can subscribe to it on iTunes (If you do, leave a review!)
You can listen to it using the player above or download it.
Subscribe or listen via Stitcher (or subscribe in whatever you use for podcasts – just search “Explore Your Enthusiasm” and it should pop up!).

Find all the podcast episodes here.

A plan for sharing your work (+ a peek at my first marketing plan)

Last week we talked about how to sell something:

Identify the person who will love it and buy it (I call this your Right Person).
Figure out what she cares about and why she buys your product (in the beginning you’re guessing; as you get more sales, you’ll ask her directly).
Explain how awesome your thing is, in terms she understands.
Go where she already is and talk to her there.

I heard back from lots of you that you KNOW you should be doing this, but it just feels overwhelming and like a lot to keep track of.

But it doesn't have to be. In fact, all these pieces can fit together into one plan, that you implement day in and day out, without worrying too much about it.

Yes, it takes time, energy, and commitment to set it up, but once you have it… it just works. You know what to do, every day. You'll continue to test it, improve it, and work it… but first you have to have it.

This knowing what to do thing feels AWESOME. It helps alleviate so much of the doubt and second-guessing you've been struggling with. It focuses your working time. It allows you to be consistent, which builds trust with your people, expands your reach, and – yes – leads to more sales.

A marketing plan helps alleviate the doubt and second-guessing you've been struggling with.

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This plan for reaching people is called….a Marketing Plan! (Imagine that!) Remember: Marketing = any communication you have with your people. So this is just a plan for reaching your people on the regular.

My first marketing plan was scribbled in my day job office, on a post-it note I kept hidden under my keyboard, circa 2007. It said:

Post one new picture to Flickr each day + add to groups (the days before Instagram!)
Tweet picture (ask for help naming?)
Reply to 3 new people (Flickr, Twitter, knitting blogs)
One new Etsy listing/day
Blog 1x/week
Email list every month (new yarns)

You see, your marketing plan can be as big or small as you need it to be. I added new stuff to the list all the time to see what might work, but knowing the absolute minimum kept me focused when things got busy. What you can't see from the list is the time I spent finding my possible customers (knitters who knit with handspun yarn…which was harder before Ravelry!) and figuring out what groups or tags would help my yarn be found by more people. But once I did that … I just followed the plan.

To make your own marketing plan (that actually works, and isn't a waste of your time), you need to:

Know what makes you and your thing sparkle (stand out from everything else).
Identify who some of your people are, what they care about, and where they hang out.
Choose the methods you'll use to reach them.
Put it all together in a plan that you implement, day in and day out.

If you'd like guidance and a clear path for making your own plan, check out Craft Your Marketing. In this 6 week e-course you will identify your sparkle, find your people, choose your tools and then make a simple, post-it worthy marketing plan that will bring you more fans and more sales. You don’t have to do this alone. I’m here to help with audio lessons (and enhanced transcripts!), worksheets, and FUN.

If you don’t know what you’re doing TODAY to connect with your people (or who they are or what to say), I hope you’ll join me in class: https://taraswiger.com/craft-marketing/.

The Adventures

Every day is an adventure. I share the view, the gratitude and the news on Fridays – you’re invited to join in. You can find all my adventures here, or follow along via email here.

The view

I am so grateful for…

A warm house on snowy days
Work I can do anywhere (when you're snowed in and seeing no one but your husband, client calls are life-savers)
New business cards + packaging for my books!
Looking forward to warm sun and making new friends at CraftCation!
Handknit mittens!!

The Finds:

I’m reading:

I’m eating:

Spinach Artichoke Pasta

In case you missed it:

This post, on Etsy “success“, is the most popular post on my blog EVER.
Craft Your Marketing closes next Thursday. Hop on it.

What adventures have you had?

How to Choose the Right Tool

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

There are so many ways to communicate with your people – how do you choose the one that works best for you, your business, and your people? It's easy to just use what you see other people using, which means you're competing in the exact same spaces. Instead, take the time to thoughtfully choose the right communication method and set it up so you can stay consistent and effective.

In this episode you'll learn:

The many options for connecting with customers
How to choose the right tool for you (with examples!)
The tools that work best for my clients
The tools you absolutely MUST have

Want to find which tools your customers are using? We'll cover that in my class, Craft Your Marketing. It's getting ready to re-open: sign up if you want to be notified when it does (and get some help with your marketing tools right now!):

How to listen

You can subscribe to it on iTunes (If you do, leave a review!)
You can listen to it using the player above or download it.
Subscribe or listen via Stitcher (or subscribe in whatever you use for podcasts – just search “Explore Your Enthusiasm” and it should pop up!).

Find all the podcast episodes here.

How do you find your people?

The past few weeks we've been learning how to talk to your customer — but talking to her is just one part of the process. To actually SELL your goods, you need to:

Identify the person who will love it and buy it (I call this your Right Person).
Figure out what she cares about and why she buys your product (in the beginning you're guessing; as you get more sales, you'll ask her directly).
Explain how awesome your thing is, in terms she understands.
Go where she already is and talk to her there.

The thing is, the first three are all about you doing the work, alone in your studio/office/kitchen, thinking and working and guessing. You can spend hours, days, months just thinking and guessing about your Right Person. You can even put some stuff in your shop with the descriptions and photos you think will speak to her. You can write blog posts aimed at her.

But that's not enough. It's not enough to stay in your own world and hope that she finds you.

If you want to make sales, you have to go find your Person.

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But I can hear you now, you want to know: HOW?!

It's entirely dependent on what you sell and who you sell it to.

You can show up where your person is in a zillion ways:

You can write a post on her favorite blog.
Your product can be featured in her favorite magazine, blog, or TV show.
Her friend will tell her about your work or forward your email.
You'll vend at the craft show she attends.
You'll comment on HER blog or be in the forums where she chats.
Someone she follows will retweet you, or share your FB post.
You'll write an article for her favorite magazine.
She'll search for a product, and you'll show up in the search results.
You'll meet on social media, in a FB group or Twitter chat.
She'll see your ad (on a blog, on Facebook, anywhere).

You see, not every option makes sense for every business (or buyer). If you try to do them all, you'll waste your time. If you try to do everything at once, you'll be distracted and ineffective.

But if you pick the one that makes the most sense for your business and your Right Person? And you do it consistently, week after week? You are sure to find your buyer and connect with her. You'll learn so much about your person, where she is and what she wants from you. You'll also learn where she isn't and what you're wrong about.

I can't tell you exactly what will work for you.

But all of us can answer a few questions to get started:
Who is going to love and buy what I make? (You gotta know this first!)
When does she buy my thing?
What influences her decisions?
Where does she look for information? (What term does she search for?)

By answering these questions, you'll get an idea of what to try.

And then it's up to you to do it, to actually TRY something and keep trying it, with consistency.

PS. We're going to walk through this entire process+ get specific about what you actually DO in the upcoming class, Craft Your Marketing. Sign up below to be notified when it opens, and in the meantime I'll send you some free marketing goodies to make it easier for you to communicate with your Right People.

ThreeBirdNest (the Etsy “success”) has nothing to do with you.

This week I read an interesting article about how one experienced businesswoman made a heck of a lot of money selling products, on both Etsy and her own e-commerce shop. I was thrilled, because women in e-commerce who are making it aren't featured as much in the national press as tech companies are and I think there are some interesting lessons shared.
I never read internet comments, so I had no idea (but I should have guessed) the firestorm happening in the comment section – angry Etsians crying out that this isn't a “real” Etsy seller. I was unaware of this until I read Abby's great article on how this “success story” is an example of how Etsy has redefined its own goals and mission.

And here's the thing – Etsy has changed how they define “handmade” businesses. They have changed who's allowed to sell. And this is going to change the way the rest of the world defines handmade. (Also, the journalists got it wrong – this woman isn't “knitting socks, scarves, and headbands” – she clearly states she's importing them.)

But as I think about you and I think about this story, I keep coming back to one thing: Etsy is not you. Your business is NOT Etsy. Your business is its own entity. Your business is based on your products and your customers and your work. If you're hoping Etsy is the solution to all of your problems, you're going to be disappointed. It was never going to be. (It is a great solution for setting up a shop quickly. It is not a great way to find new customers.)

The many many commenters that say “I have very few Etsy sales! Etsy is ruining my business!“…well, they are missing it. Etsy is not your business.

Women have been building businesses for all of time without Etsy. If you have not built a business that you want, it has nothing to do with Etsy. You could have used Shopify or WooCommerce or the local farmer's market. Of my many clients + students who are self-employed (ie, the business is paying their bills), 100% don't rely on Etsy exclusively.

ETSY IS NOT YOUR BUSINESS.

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You should take the ThreeBirdNest story neither as a measuring stick (I know your inner voice is shouting: “Why haven't YOU done better?”) or as an outrage (“How could she?!”). It is not an example of what's possible in a truly-made-by-hand business. Instead, take it for what it is – the story of how one woman choose to build a business selling + marketing a product. It is an example of what's possible with this particular business model. It is an example of what anyone could do, if this is the kind of business they chose to build. This story in particular tells you what you need to do in order to build that kind of business (professional photographer, model, importing wholesale goods, etc).

But honey, if this is not the business you are trying to build? Forget about it. It has nothing to do with you.

Remember the great Amy Poehler quote: “Good for her! Not for me.”

The trouble comes when you take the results of someone else's business model and you try to compare it to the outcomes of your (very different) business model. An importing business is going to have different results than a handmade jewelry business, which is going to have different results than a pattern-selling business. Different business model = different outcomes. This is why we use three different equations for pricing – you have different costs, time, and expectations.

I agree with the larger point in Abby's post: Etsy is changing its definition of success. The question is: Have you? How do you define success?

Be sure that what you read on the internet, the examples of success, doesn't deter you from your own definition of success. Build the business you want.

What to say when “networking”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Does it feel awkward when you meet your potential customers? Not sure what to say or how to hand them your business card? I know! It can be weird! Last week a client asked me what she should be doing at conferences and meet-ups filled with her potential clients. She loved my answer so much I decided to share it with you!

In this episode I'll teach you:

What exactly to say at an event.
When to hand the other person your business card (it's not what you think!).
How to follow up and turn the contact into a customer.

How to listen

You can subscribe to it on iTunes (If you do, leave a review!)
You can listen to it using the player above or download it.
Subscribe or listen via Stitcher (or subscribe in whatever you use for podcasts – just search “Explore Your Enthusiasm” and it should pop up!).

Find all the podcast episodes here.

Talking about your work shouldn't be scary – it should come easily. Sign up below to learn more about my class, Craft Your Marketing, where you'll learn how to make a marketing plan that fits your personality and your business. Plus, I'll send you some great lessons + tips that you can apply right away to make your next networking opportunity go smoothly!

How do you talk about your work without feeling gross?

How do I describe what it is I do? How do I talk about my work?

This is the question we nearly all have. (If you've figured this out and feel 100% confident talking about your work, send me an e-mail immediately and tell me your secret sauce – vulcan@taraswiger.com).
Even though I've been doing this for 5 years (and have been running my own business for over 8 years!), I struggle with how to talk about my work every day. In every sales page I write, in every conversation I have, and in every byline I submit to a magazine or blog.

I don't know that this question ever goes away, but you certainly can get better at talking about your work.

For starters, you want to discover what it is that you do that's special. I often refer to this as your “sparkle,” because it's the thing that catches your customer's eye and attracts them to you. You gotta get crystal-clear on this, so that you're not being general or vague, but truly standing out from everyone else. I've worked with hundreds of makers, and found a very particular sparkle in each of them, so please trust me when I say – you've got it. You've just gotta uncover it. (There are worksheets for this in Market Yourself!)

Then, once you know what makes your thing special, you want to put it into words that resonate with your customers. You want to talk about what your customers care about. This is NOT going to be the things you most care about (usually), but you can find this out with some thinking and digging. (The recent podcast episode walks you through figuring it out for your business.)

And then, you practice. You do it over and over and over. You describe your work and yourself to customers, to strangers, to your dog. You practice.

How do you get comfortable describing your work? Practice.

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When I work with a creative who is incapable of talking about what they do and sell, we are always able to solve it (so don't despair!) by focusing on one (or all!) of the above.
Either we:

Define what makes them special and who they want to work with.
Put it into words that resonate with their ideal customers.
Talk about how and where they can practice.

The fact is, feeling weird talking about yourself never goes entirely away, but it can get a heck of a lot easier.

As you review the above list, where do you think you need to focus?

PS. If you have trouble talking about your work, that is exactly what Craft Your Marketing does! This class helps you create a marketing plan and talk to the people who will love your work in their own language. Sign up below to be notified when the class opens, and in the meantime I'll send you some free marketing lessons to help you feel less awkward when you talk about your work!