You might be making one of these four mistakes in your handmade business,
and they could hold you back from having the business of your dreams.
Don't worry.
I made these mistakes too,
so you're not alone.
And when mistakes happen,
we can actually learn from them and get better, right?
So stay tuned for the four most common mistakes
I see my fellow creatives make in their business,
so you can avoid it.
Hi, my name is Mei Pak, and I help artists, makers, and designers
make a full-time living selling their handmade products online.
Mistake Number One:
You probably don't want to hear this:
is Spending All Your Money on Supplies,
Inventory and Equipment;
and Having No Budget Left for Marketing.
So, okay, of course, your products are the stars of the show, right?
But without a proper marketing strategy,
they’re as good as invisible.
Nobody will know they even exist.
It doesn’t matter how amazing your products are
or how many products you have on your shelves,
because that's where they will stay
until you invest in marketing
and getting the word out there
that you have something for sale.
Even if your products really are the best on the market,
if another company with very similar products has invested in marketing,
all of your potential customers will go to them Instead.
That's why making sure your scene is crucial for the success of your sales.
And once you start budgeting for marketing,
you will start to see the sales rolling in.
There's a reason why so many successful business owners preach
that it's not the best product that wins,
it's the best marketed product that wins.
And did you know that you could even make sales
without having any products made?
Yes, I do talk more about how to do this in my
A Sale a Day business system program.
So if you're interested in learning more about it,
there is a link in the description
to go watch a free workshop,
so go check that out after you watch this video.
Mistake Number Two is
Thinking of the Product First,
Instead of Thinking of the Audience First.
It's tempting to do this.
I started out this way too,
as most creatives do,
but putting the product ahead of the audience will always result
in a constant struggle between
trying to find the right people to fit
what you make,
rather than tailoring your products to the right people:
the target audience that you want to sell to.
It's like the cliched saying goes,
“You don't tailor the person to fit the dress,
you tailor the dress to fit the person.”
First identify who your target audience is,
what their pain points and needs are,
and then create a product for them based on that.
This will make it so much easier to sell your products.
Mistake Number Three is
Thinking that If You Make a Wide Variety of Products
So That there's Something for Everyone,
You'll Make More Sales Overall.
I've noticed that people-pleasers like me
tend to fall into that trap.
We want to help everybody.
So we have what I call garage sale shops:
a little bit of something-something for everybody, you know what I mean?
But that's not actually helpful at all,
and there is research to back this up.
According to the Harvard Business Review.
If you offer too many choices,
consumers are less likely to buy anything at all.
And if they do buy,
they are less satisfied with their selections.
This is why that special little word Niche
has been a game changer
for many businesses.
Data is showing that the more narrowed-down.
more niched, and focused you are
on a certain demographic
in the products you provide for that demographic,
the quicker you grow,
and the more products you sell.
By being so niched down,
you become the expert and the
go-to business or brand for the products you specialize in,
and sales will flow with ease.
In case you need a bit more convincing,
there was an interesting study done in the year 2000 that demonstrates
how an excess of choices leads to
Choice Paralysis,
resulting in a significant drop in sales.
So psychologists tested to see how people would react to
two different food displays at a market.
One displaying presented twenty -four different gourmet jams,
while the other only had six jams.
When the time came to make a purchase,
they found that people who were
at the display of twenty-four jams
were only one-tenth as likely to buy a jam
as the people who were at the smaller display of six jams.
So moral of the story: less is more.
Mistake Number Four is
Not Having the Right Expectations.
This trap is so easy to fall into,
especially since social media has conditioned us to believe that
success is within our reach in a matter
of days or weeks.
But the truth is: success takes time to achieve.
We live in a culture where we crave and expect
instant gratification,
and easily become discouraged when we don't get it.
Before even starting a business,
make sure you understand that
building one doesn't happen in a few days,
or weeks,
or even months.
For most people, it takes a long time over the span of years,
so please really try to recalibrate your mindset
to really understand just how long it can take.
Once you do that, ask yourself
if you're really up for being in it
for the long haul.
Regardless of the answer, doing this will keep your expectations in check
and makes you less likely to give up on your business
before you've even had a chance to succeed at it.
Now, I know a lot of people get discouraged knowing that it takes so long,
but what I found really helps is celebrating all your wins,
no matter how small,
and not just when you make sales,
that trains your brain to feel good about the process,
which is the key to success.
You need to learn to enjoy the journey.
Let me know in the comments below
if you've ever made any of these mistakes yourself,
If you know someone who could benefit from this video,
be sure to share it so we can give them a helping hand.