the journey continues

Banking. I never thought much about banking till i opened for business. the people at my bank were nice, and they always gave out dog treats at the drive-thru window, so i liked it there. but then i started thinking about getting a small loan to buy supplies for an opportunity i wanted to create, and guess what? i had no real income that a bank could point to. i had only been in business a little bit, had no real collateral they could repo, in case of default. so now what? In my area (Syracuse NY) we have a bank known as "the hippie bank." It was started in the 60's, i believe, by a couple of long-haired types that would set up a storefront to make loans to the hippies in this artsy area of town. it's now a bona fide banking co-op, that looks at the whole picture. they make loans to people who are doing social good, and the bank itself is involved with local projects that help their immediate area. they even match funds in your account. so that seemed like a no-brainer. see if there's something similar in your area. your bank should work for you. if they charge a fee for every little thing, they aren't earning your business. if they charge you a fee for not having enough money in the account, run. that is the ultimate disrespect, in my book. spend some time on this one...it's your money. and be certain they have free online banking. it's been a while since i've actually set foot in a bank, preferring the convenience of online. for me, i would rather pay $7 for a box of checks every so often, then get dinged for just thinking about the bank. there are also non-traditional, online-only banks. I would be certain they are FDIC insured, and get references from friends. you are sending your money to a faceless entity, that has no skin in the game - no brick-and-mortar structure they've built & hopefully care about. i know that sounds old fashioned, and certainly we've seen enough of the traditional banks fail, but these are my thoughts. and don't be afraid to change banks if they suddenly change their tune. Along those lines, if you're thinking about accepting credit cards at shows or fairs, etc, i strongly recommend Square. With Square, you get a free card reader for your iPhone or Android phone, there is no monthly fee, or any other fee. you can accept any/every credit or debit card, and can send an email receipt to the purchaser right on the spot. there is only 1 charge, and that's 2.75% of the sale per swipe, or 3.25% if you manually key in the number. period. they send the funds to your bank the next day, then it's up to the bank to process the deposit & put it in your account, so count on 3 business days before you see it. you can have the device figure tax for you (!) and any time you want, it will convert your sales to a spreadsheet. i am absolutely satisfied with this. most standard credit card companies charge fees for everything - $700 or more for a swiper/reader, then you pay a processing fee, then you pay a clearinghouse, then there's a monthly fee (whether you've used it or not), and a contract. and sometimes the "company" is a kid in his bedroom with a computer, routing the information to the clearinghouse and collecting a percentage. for real. try getting ahold of him on Homecoming weekend when you have the sale of a lifetime, and the reader won't read. if i wanted to work for Visa, i would have applied there. 'nuff said about that. You should have an iPhone or Android phone. you will be away a lot, if you have a studio away from the house, or do fairs. this is a good business tool to help you keep on top of emails, websites, and banking, etc. i went in to buy an iPhone, and the clerk asked me what my use was. after a very thoughtful conversation, we analyzed the 2 for my usages, and found the Motorola Droid would be better for me. basically they have all the same functionality, and available apps. if carrying your music around is important to you, then the iPhone is a better choice. i don't care much about that, so the Droid was a better choice. and I could stay with my verizon contract. (although verizon now has an iPhone contract too). I cancelled my home landline, and upgraded to an unlimited voice/text/data account. It costs $250/month for 2 phones (i have my stepson under my account with his Blackberry). I'm not sure what 1 phone would cost. but - i end up paying $80 less than i would for a 1000 minute plan + a home landline. no brainer. and the only people who called the landline were political workers looking for a donation, and the NRA, so it was a double win. your phone is part of your new office. don't cheap out. can you imagine not being able to call back a client because you've used all your free minutes, and the cost of the call would eat your profit on the potential sale? you'd lose further sales from that client because you weren't reliable. websites are a touchy subject with me. you absolutely need one. it is the thing i have put off the longest. there are a few places out there that allow you to set up a free one. my favorite is WIX. it's a drop-and-drag format, using their thousands of templates, or create your own. i recommend upgrading to the level that accepts e-commerce and does not have their ads on it. be sure you set it up so that it reflects you and your product. make it compelling, not just pretty. and make it easy to navigate. have someone try to navigate it before you go live. see where they stumble, and fix it. you need to find a good photographer who can style your product in the manner in which you want it perceived, and take an actual picture made for the web. for many months, my husband has thought he could build a light diffusion box, and do this for me. it remains undone. a good working relationship with a good photographer makes a big difference. after a few shoots, when he/she has a good feel for what you are looking for, it's possible to drop things off & pick them up later, rather than having to stick around for the whole shoot. even if the photographer is your best friend - this is business. have a written, clearly stated contract as to what work is to be done, the timeline, what you will get from it - ie: a CD of images, a thumbnail sheet of images (which is no good on it's own), what format the images will come in (hi-resolution, low-resolution, TIFF, etc), and if they will be archiving your images on their computer/keeping an extra disk there. the contract should have specifics about payment, and when payment is due, and if the images are not acceptable for any reason - is there still payment due for time spent setting up "sitting fee" if you will. This is important in all cases. if it is a friend, it will help keep the friendship, should something go awry. if it is not a friend, then it will detail what your expectations are, and protect you from being harassed for money they didn't earn. My friend Christine has a mantra i repeat whenever i'm headed into a business situation: contract contract contract. It doesn't need to be a huge legal document looking like the OJ trial. it is simply an agreement that includes the expectations of both parties...and be as specific as you can. if you've agreed to barter, write that into the contract. if you agree to pay 50% down, and the rest upon approval of the images, what happens to the 50% down if the images are unusable? never pay upfront. repeat: never pay upfront. ever. never. even your Uncle Morty. anyone who asks you to do that is not a professional, and you may as well send me the money for my birthday. once paid, there is no rush to get the job done, and if the job does get done, and it's a mess, you'll spend the rest of forever trying to get your money back. I use John Dowling as my photographer. he is an amazing photographer, who has many years experience in product photography, as well as landscapes and portrait. it's important to pick a photographer that specializes in product photography. I personally can shoot the daylights out of artsy, moody landscapes, but not my own necklaces. so i hire someone with a kick-ass studio & professional lighting and who knows an ISO from IPO. If you can't afford a professional (and it can be an expense), buy a good camera that's made for that type of photography, and take a course at your local BOCES or adult ed facility. This is something to take care of in the before-you-chuck-the-day-job category, if possible. also in the wish-I-woulda category. so far, we have some good resources: SBDC for small business advice Right Brain Business Plan book Banks Square Credit card swipers Wix websites Photographers I'll take a sideways trip here and talk about something you should think hard about before you decide to start a business: reality. In her book, Right Brain Business Plan, Jennifer Lee has a chapter that has you analyze the competition. this was a dual win for me. It helped me see what a potential competitor looked liked, sold like, and how successful they were, but it also made me think about the reality of my work being sustainable as an income. not to downgrade my work, but to look at it in a retail/wholesale light. is it something that could sell many many "units," (to be cold about it.) is it something that can be freshened up to be a familiar, but different product? Can i physically keep up with demand with the design the way it is? Is there a demand (outside friends & family) in the market i want to target? Do I want to reconsider the product altogether, or are their things i can tweak to make it marketable? You need to be as cold-hearted as possible when you determine these things. it is your future. if you are making teddy bears to sell at craft fairs, what sets yours apart? why would someone buy your teddy bear, as opposed to someone else's? there has to be a compelling reason for people to part with their money today. and it is your job to make your product so compelling that there is no question that they would. especially if there is a glut of your type of product on the market. you may have sold 20 scarves to your co-workers because they admired your handknit one. but if you leave your job, are you also leaving your customer base? would you have to price your scarves so high now, that the average person would go to Target and buy a $5 Mossimo instead? what separates you? and if you have a compelling product, and have done some research, would you be able to produce enough of it on time to meet a demand/deadline? I recently declined a huge opportunity because it would be my full time job just making necklaces for that 1 client. and after running the numbers, it wouldn't pay off. plus i would be at their beck-and-call to suddenly & without warning, make 50 necklaces. i am my only employee, and it's my choice not to hire anyone to help with the actual crafting of my work. (now, someone to help with shipping would be a dream). so be totally realistic. and ask a panel of people (focus group) in the demographic you want to reach. focus groups are easily formed, and should not be family members. they love everything you do. Who is your target buyer? where do they hang out? if you want to sell hand cream to senior citizens, go to a senior day center and ask the director if you can have a group try your cream. have it packaged as it will appear on the shelf. have as many scents available as you plan to sell. have a short, targeted list of questions to ask them afterwards. they may all tend to agree with one another, if giving their answers out loud, but listen to the comments, and side comments, and facial expressions - this is just as telling as answering how much they would pay for it. then give them each a small tester size for helping you. it is important to thank anyone & everyone for any help they give you. it is good mmanners, and it is respectful. follow up with a nice note to the center, and they will remember you and talk about you. and it's just the right thing to do. it's essential that your focus group include your targeted demographic. you may want to throw a few wild cards in from a group that is on the fringes of your target, just to see their reactions...maybe, with a new package and marketing, the same product can appeal to a wider audience. But - can you produce enough? so that is all i have time for this morning....later or tomorrow, i'll talk more about advertising, corporate ID, marketing. Also, backtrack a bit and talk about art festivals vs art shows vs websites etc...how you plan to sell your work. Thank you to those who have checked in, and also to those who have emailed questions. According to my statcounter, there have been over 200 people reading this. (a business tool I mentioned!) so feel free to ask questions.