Hey guys, in this video. I'm going to share with you the top
three reasons why handmade businesses fail.
So you're aware of them and you can avoid this happening in your own business.
Hi, my name is Mei Pak and I help makers, artists
and designers make a living from selling their handmade products online.
This topic is always at the forefront of my mind
because I want to see everyone succeed with their business,
but unfortunately not everyone who wants to start a business succeeds
and there are some common patterns that I've seen between those people who haven't made it yet.
I need to preface this video by saying that everything in
this video will be related to your mindset.
Most people watching this video are going to think this doesn't apply to them.
Most people don't realize that they have mine set problems.
But the reality is we all have mine set problems.
I have it you have it even people who are already making millions of dollars have it.
The difference is most people aren't aware.
They have a problem. And so they don't think it's something that has to be managed or dealt with me.
We all have limiting beliefs unrealistic expectations lack of knowledge and you know,
most of of us were not raised from young to have this kind of mindset that's optimal for business.
For example, how many of us were raised to think that if you work hard you'll get rewarded.
That's unfortunately not what it takes to make your business work
and I'm not saying don't work hard.
You definitely should do that,
but people are often disappointed that they don't see results from working hard alone.
Your mindset is going to be the biggest component of what will make or break your business.
Because it's not some sexy topic like Instagram marketing and how to get more followers.
Most people are going to make the mistake of not paying attention to this
and that will be your biggest downfall.
If you ask me a few years ago. I would have turned my nose up at all of this mindset stuff
because it seemed really whoo,
right but take it from someone who didn't believe
it and now does from having experienced it all firsthand.
This is what will singularly make or break your business.
The first problem I see the most frequently is not wanting to take the
time to learn how all of this business stuff works.
But business just like any other subject in life.
You need to study it to know how to do it.
For example, you don't learn how to cook without either reading a book
or watching some videos or having someone else teach it to you.
You don't learn a new language without someone else speaking at you all the
time or without a dictionary or a course.
This is the same with any new thing in your life.
Whether you are learning how to play the piano how to write how to
draw how to raise a family the same is true
for business like everything else.
You can try to wing it and just figure it out yourself,
but just imagine learning without any guidance at all.
No books. No teachers no one showing you how to use a sewing machine no
videos nothing like you're given a sewing machine
and nothing else you might figure it out eventually.
Going to take a long time and you're going to make a lot of mistakes that first right?
This is exactly the same for business and then to expand on that just like any other new skill.
You want to learn the method in which you learn how to do it will dictate
the speed of being able to do that new skill,
for example, if you bought a book on how to play the guitar versus getting
one-on-one instructional help from a guitar teacher.
How quickly do you think you will be able to play a song with Either
method of learning you will obviously learn a lot
faster with a real person giving you feedback that's personalized to you.
Someone who can see what you're doing
wrong and help correct your mistakes or tell you that you're doing something right?
Because you may not even know that
so while I think that reading a book on how to start a business is
Miles better than not having any book at all.
You're going to get to where you want to go faster with a lot less figuring it out on your own If
you hired a coach if you don't have the resources to work,
Coach the definitely read books and watch YouTube videos like this one.
It's better than nothing.
But just realize that it's not going to get you there as fast which leads me to the second problem,
which is people go into starting a handmade business with unrealistic expectations.
This is in part a problem because of all the media that we're consuming,
right? There's so many videos
and blog posts and Instagram posts of people talking about
how they made millions of dollars in a month.
So it makes me feel like it's a lot Easier to do than it actually really
is but this is the problem with the media the anomalies
and The Fringe cases are what gets your attention
and then we never see that there are actually hundreds
or thousands of other businesses out there that aren't getting those kinds of results.
My point is when you don't have the bigger picture in mind,
it's very easy to think that if one person can do this successfully
than everyone can have that same easy success.
The truth is when you know that only one Person out of a hundred thousand
was able to make a million dollars in a month.
Then, you know that the likelihood of doing it is actually really really low.
So then you're not telling yourself that this is the result that you should be getting as well.
So whenever I share my successes and winds or income reports,
I always try to give context
as to why or how it happened
so that I'm not diluting you into thinking that this was necessarily easy
or fast to do a lot of what the media doesn't show you when you see other successful people.
People is how stinking hard they work and how much time and money they put into their business.
So most people don't really realize how long
or how much effort or how much money it takes to start and grow a business.
If you are working on your business every day
and you're starting completely from scratch without too much Financial strain.
So you do have some money to invest into your business.
Then I would say you can expect to make consistent sales in one to three years,
but I meet so many people who think They should already be making
consistent sales after just a few months of starting.
I mean it is possible to get there and to get there quickly,
but it's not likely to happen without any form of training
or coaching especially if you've never done it before people also have
this expectation that if they make something beautiful
and put it up on a website that they're instantly going to be bombarded with a ton of sales.
Right? Like if you build it, they will come not true not true
anymore that may have been true 15 years ago.
Go and when the internet was still very new
but there's just too much noise
and competition online these days nowadays Merit alone is not what will make you successful.
Unfortunately. You need to make a product that people actually want to buy
and that they care about their needs to be a lot of strategy
and thought and hard work that goes behind promoting your shop
and reaching out to other people to get them to come over to your website.
And I know at this point all of this songs, super depressing and almost impossible.
To do but this leads me to my next point which I hope makes you feel
a little bit better about all of this.
The third thing I want to mention in this video is your business will fail only
when you have decided it has failed if you keep showing
up for your business and working on it every day.
You have expectations that are aligned with reality.
You're constantly learning how to do better at running your business.
It is impossible for you to fail.
Okay, you will make it eventually it is only we a matter of time.
This is a huge mindset Point only you can Define what failure or success means to you.
I mean I can talk to one shop owner who thinks that having five sales a month is amazing
for them and that they're doing great
and the next day I can talk to another shop owner who thinks making five
sales a month has nothing in that there are failure.
It's your classic glass half empty or half full situation right and let me ask you this.
What do you do when you feel like you're failing? Most people give up.
And in this act that moment when you've decided to give up that your business has failed.
There is no other point in time that your business fails.
Okay, you could literally be thousands of dollars in debt
and making no sales and still be working on your business
and that is not a failure because as you keep working on your business,
eventually it has nowhere else to go
but back up it only becomes a failure
when you have decided it is
and when you walk away from it there have been Many times where I fall at closing shop,
or I felt like a failure. I have felt that way
when I was making no sales
and I've also felt that way
when I was making thousands of dollars a day success
or failure are just arbitrary labels that you define yourself.
So your task is to Define them in a way that serves you not make it impossible
for you to accomplish to some people success could mean getting their new website up,
but if you fall into the Trap
and you've decided That success is only when you've made a thousand dollars a month,
then you've set yourself up
for a lot of disappointment
and then disappointment leads to frustration which leads to feeling like giving
up and that leads to failure.
You see where I'm going with this. It really is all in your head
and just like anything mindset is something that you can improve over time.
But only if you work at it, I know people who are making millions of dollars
who still have the humility to seek out coaching
because there No end to improving yourself or your mindset but it makes sense.
Right because your mindset is going to be the biggest thing getting in your way.
I promise you. So for some actionable things you can do after
watching this video pick up some books on mindset.
Okay, check out the Law of Attraction.
There is a documentary on it called the secret on Netflix
and I've been reading a book called Super attractor by Gabby Bernstein that I also really liked
and I highly recommend as it takes the concepts of the Law of Attraction
and puts it into practical steps
and strategies that you can actually take action on Angela Duckworth book grit the power of passion
and perseverance is another good weed as well as the five second rule by Mel Robbins.
You are a badass by Jensen cero.
The war of art by Steven pressfield is a really
good one and big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert the moment that you can take control over your
lizard brain instead of you taking its lead all the time is
when everything.
Falls into place and you start to experience flow and more things going your way.