New FREE guide for starting a small business released!

I've released a new guide with advice on starting a small crafting business. 

It's based on the things I've come across whilst setting up and the research done when looking at how best to go about things. 

Hopefully you guys will get something from it, it's teh first of a few releases on the same subject so look out for the next one soon. 

You can get it via www.jacquib.biz and the best bit is it's FREE, so even if you already know everything in it you haven't lost anything! 

Thanks for reading 

Jacqui 

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Lets get straight to the point, I like nice things. 

I like it when things just go right and I end up making something that's got all the right stitching, everythings straight and it all looks like I had imagined it would when I started. 

I don't like it when this doesn't happen. I'm sure everyone knows what I mean when I say that sometimes its just easier to stand up from your station and walk away. 

Well that's what I did last night. Making some simple purses, nothing too fancy, something that is normally so straight forward and problem free just would not go right! 

I make one from start to finish and every step seems to go wrong, nothing lines up even though I'm certain I cut everything perfectly, even straightforward pleats look just a little off. 

Finally it's finished and despite the frustrations and rework the outcome is still great and I'm pleased with it.

Then came The Zip... 


The zip is attached and looks perfect, all the stitching looks great and the whole thing looks like I imagined it.

I close the zip, all works well. I open the zip...nothing. I pull it again and it moves a little and then....snag. 

The zip is completely broken and has no intention of moving whether I force it or not! At this point I just look at the purse, wondering why it's not playing nice and just opening. After 10 minutes of trying to furiously get the zip to work I decide that the best thing to is to put down the instigating item and walk away.

So as I sat in the living room still frustrated I came to realise that there are three ways to get the outcome I want. 

• The Good Way - Do things properly and don't rush, never think you're too good to have to think about what you're doing and always put whatever you're doing down if its not going right and come back to it later. 
• The Bad Way - Keep trying to make things work no matter how angry and frustrated you get to the point that its a battle of wills between you and the item you're making. If you're at the point of talking out loud to your sewing machine for example and telling it "you may have one this battle but I will win the war!" You may want to consider reverting to the Good Way to reach a better place. 
•  The Ugly Way - This one should be avoided at all costs. Put simple if you're at this point you're willing to get to the end whatever the result. This normally means that the item you end up with will look like its been dragged through a hedge and dropped in a puddle because you simply refused to do anything other than push on through when you really should have stopped and come back another day.

I know I'm not alone in this so let's hear your stories of frustration!

Thanks for reading 

Jacqui

Funny is Good!

Well I'm really getting into the animation thing now and using GoAnimate.com to create some fun little ad's for Jacqueline At Home but it's also useful to just see what you can come up with! 

That got me thinking about advertising for your website in general. 

Everybody wants to get their name and product out there and get a step up on the competition (unless your not that way inclined in which case you may want to check out the rest of my posts on other subjects!). 

Sitting and waiting for people to come to you is a sure fire way to go down the tube pretty quickly, so advertising is one of the ways that you can be proactive and push your brand forward. 

So how do you go about advertising on a budget, or even better, for free? Well with just a little money you can buy a months worth of advertising on a reputable site  which would with a little luck serve you well to get some decent traffic interested in your product. 

But the one thing I love about doing things on a shoestring budget is that to get things done for free you've got to be creative! 

Sure you can advertise a nice looking banner or slogan on a few sites and sit back and wait, but being creative can lead to alot more open doors to traffic that wouldn't normally be looking at what you have to offer. 

As I said at the start I've started looking at animation. With a couple of spare hours and a laptop you can create funny and informative movies that can go onto YouTube and be seen by millions of people. 

But don't forget that the best adverts are the ones that stay in your head for days after you saw it. To achieve that you need to give people something they don't see as standard advertising. 

Think of the last advert that really stuck in your head. Chances are that it would have been funny, had a catchy tune, or had a celebrity doing something you never thought you'd see them doing. 

Taking into account that it's likely most of us don't know any celebrities and we're not in the running to win an MTV award anytime soon, I'd say funny is the best place to start. 

The best example I can think of  is the drumming gorilla on the Cabury advert. I laughed hard at that for ages and still like to watch it on YouTube now and again! 

It had nothing to do with the actual product but it still makes me think of Cadbury now, and it hasn't been on the TV for a few years now. 

So having some advertising that really stick is an absolute must for your business and will get you a name as somebody that really knows how to get into the head of their customer. 

So why not have a go at something different and see what you come up with. You might produce the next great viral video, or the funniest short film in the last 10 years! 



Jacquib's Animation by Jacquib on GoAnimate

Cartoon Maker - Powered by GoAnimate. Thanks for reading 

Jacqui
www.jacquib.biz 

I tried my hand at animation, I didn't draw it myself but it was fun to make! 

If it doesn't play here you can see it here if your interested! http://goanimate.com/videos/0X7H9zNQlplM?utm_source=linkshare

Jacqueline At Home by Jacquib on GoAnimate

Video Maker - Powered by GoAnimate.  

Jacquib
www.jacquib.biz

Nothing in Life is Free

I'm sure this post will be a contentious issue and divide opinions but I think I've got to the point where I feel I have to write it. 

What ever type of crafting you are into, sewing, knitting, painting, the list goes on and on, we all have one thing in common. We all started as a hobby. 

I can't believe that there is anyone out there that decided, 'I know I'll start a business in something I have no knowledge of and see how I get on'. No, we all started because we enjoy what we do. 

Now certainly not everyone is doing this as a business, some do it to sell items to make enough for their next project, some just do it to give things to their friends and family. But whatever your reason there seems to be a growing fashion that is starting to irritate me, and I would imagine others as well. 

That fashion is...begging for free stuff. 

This free stuff takes the form of many things - free equipment, free materials, free friends on social networking, this list goes on and on. But there is one thing that I find gets to me for than most, asking for donations of money. 

Don't get me wrong if you've provided advice or services to the public free of charge then go ahead and ask for donations, you are after all, helping everyone out with your time and knowledge for example. 

An example of this would be one of the many logo creators out there on the Internet. These sites provide an excellent service that helps its clients look just a little more professional than they could do on their own. These sorts of people and groups have every right to ask for donations. 

But why would I or anyone else want to donate money to you just because you smile and ask nicely? 

How many more sites am I going to come across that think its ok to ask  for money for doing nothing more than being there and telling me nothing but how wonderful their latest creation is? 

If your creations are that good and you're after some cash why not do what the rest of use do and put in the continuous hours of effort into trying to sell what you create. I'm all for congratulating people on a job well done but when I'm putting in all the hours I can to try and promote what I am creating why would I want to give someone money for showing me a lovely picture of a cushion for example. 

Get out of your room, go to a craft fair and start selling them, you'll make money and offend less people on the whole which can only be a win win situation for all concerned. 

Now I understand that may seem a little harsh to some people but if you're one of those people that think I'm missing the community spirit of the crafting world then I put this point to you. 

When was the last time you stood in the middle of your local town asking for money? 

That's essentially what we're talking about here. I'd be more inclined to give some change to someone busking if their playing a decent tune, at least their providing me some entertainment. 

It comes down to the fact that we don't get anything for free in this life so people need to accept the fact that you need to go out and make things happen. Nobody is going to come to you and just give you things because you asked nicely. 

So in conclusion by all means give me a reason to donate, but do not expect me to just give you something for nothing. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts, both for and against so feel free to comment or contact me. 

Thanks for reading. 

Jacqui
www.jacquib.biz 

Creating eBook, looing for submission input

I'm looking to create an eBook based around sewing how to's and working through to getting a business up and running online.

I'm interested in hearing from anyone that would be interested in contributing to this project in anyway with their expertise in this area.

You would get the credit and promotion of your website within the eBook for your contribution. 

I would not be looking to make money out of this project it is purely to help others that want to get started in this industry.

If you'd like to be involved in this let me know and I'll go through any further detail with you. 

You can leave yoru details on a comment below, email at jacquelineathome@hotmail.co.uk, via ukhandmade.ning.com or on Twitter @jacquib_JAH.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Jacqui

x

www.jacquib.biz

Upcycling, Sustainable or just a Trend?

Upcycling, the fashionable version of recycling. 

A few years ago most people wouldn't be seen dead in a charity shop or walking around in something someone else had worn. 

"I don't know where its been" 

"It's going to be dirty!" 

"I don't want to be seen in there!". 

Charity shops were barely surviving and everything we wore was brand new and worn only by us. 

How times have changed. 

Now everthings about upcycling. Now the growing trend is to buy everything from a t shirt to a kitchen table second hand and upcycle it into an amazing new item that has a new lease of life. 

There are many designers and creators out there who make some fantastic things out of unwanted items. The popular show 'The Apprentice' even featured upcycling and the potential for money to be made out of this. 

The question though is, will this trend continue or is it mearly a product of the current economy? 

People don't have alot of money and generally speaking there is alot to be said to spend a little less on something upcycled which in some circumstances are better than the original product. It can be quite rewarding to do it yourself and create your own upcycled masterpiece out of something you find in the back of your attic or your garage. 

There's a sense of accomplishment from turning a broken old chair into something that compliments your living room or making a new jacket out of various old clothes. 

There's certainly alot out there in the big wide world of the internet telling you how to create these things and it generally doesn't have to cost much to do it either. 

But if the economy was in a better state would we still be upcycling or would we be back to wanting the best products straight out of the packet? 

Are just making ourselves feel better about all the years we thought recycling was for hippies? Maybe we are, maybe we just want to feel like we're doing the right thing by upcycling and making the most of whats laying around. 

I've discussed the pricing issue previously but it also creeps into the upcycling point as well. Walk through any major city centre and see how many shops you see selling upcycled goods. Then take a look at the prices they are charging. 

It certainly appears to be that there is a big difference between the homemade upcycled goods and the goods coming out of highstreet stores. 

The highstreet shops certainly do sell some nice things but do they warrant the prices they charge for what are essentially secondhand products. Some of these prices being charged are more that you can buy the original item for when it came straight out of the factory. 

The items made by the couple down the road in their living room may not be the most obvious place to buy your upcycled products from but its worth considering that the care and attention is is generally going to be of a far higher standard. The price (if they are pitching it right) will also be highly competitive compared to the highstreet shops offering 100 of the same unique item. 

The point of the article is to put across two points. Firstly, we should do everything we can to keep the trend of upcycling moving forward in the mainstream. It not only serves a great purpose environmentally, but it is also opens up a door to those people that don't have the skills to build chairs and tables for example, but do have the imagination to turn them into something visual compelling and interesting for little to nothing. 


The second point is that this is the time for the small businesses out there to step up and challenge the bigger stores on upcycling products. Whilst its still seen as just another trend to pump out at high prices, the smaller businesses can keep their prices in line with their lower costs and promote their products to the masses by being true to upcycling and making unique items that stand out amongst the crowd. 


Thanks for reading.


Jacquib
www.jacquib.biz

Jubilee Competition!

As we're nearing the time of the Jubilee celebrations I figured it was a good idea to launch our first competition! 

I've created a Teapot design cushion cover that you could win and all you have to do is go to www.jacquib.biz for all the details.

 I'm hoping you'll all join the Jacuib team and me in celebrating this milestone of the monarchy so why not head over and find out more today! 

On a side note the twitter account is now up and running so if you want to keep up to date on the latest information from both me and the Jacquib team you just need to follow us @jacquib_JAH which you can do on the left of this page, via www.jacquib.biz or via the Twitter home page.

 Thanks for reading as always 

Jacquib

www.jacquib.biz

The Power of the Consumer

Let's face it...starting your own business, even just a small one for a few extra pounds in your pocket is hard work. 

If your not willing to put in the hours then this post is probably not going to be of much interest to you. 

If however you are willing to put in the work then here are just a few things that I've found useful. Keeping in mind I've only been operating a site for the past few weeks, its safe to say I am not an expert and I'm sure there's somethings I'm doing that are a big waste of time. But so far I've had more traffic than I thought i would in such a short space of time so for what its worth here are my tips on the subject of starting your own online business. 

• First of all as I said at the start, you need to put in the hours on this. If you already have a fulltime job then its going to mean even longer hours than most, but its time well spent. 
• Get your name out there. Whatever else you do, nobody is going to come to your site if they don't know it exists. I'm not going to pretend to know all the in's and out's of things like SEO's and meta tags but what I can say for sure is that a google search can do wonders for a starting point for getting you known. Try googling referral sites, link exchanges, promoting my website. All these sorts of things will come up with a wealth of information that will point you in the right direction.
• When it comes to referral sites, some people swear by submitting your website to every referral site that's out there . Admittedly that's going to get your website address on alot of referral sites books, but you need to keep in mind if someone is looking to hire a van and your selling carpets, then your submission isn't going to be helping you much. The lesson to learn is put your efforts into the right places. Choose referral sites that cater for your needs.
• You also need to make sure that any description you put into referral sites gives you the best chance of standing out. You're competing with alot of different people in a crowded market depending on what it is your selling or promoting, so you need to give people a reason to come to you.
•  Free Advertising. There are so many places to put free ad's that it makes sense to use both international, national and local classifieds to get yourself out there to the masses. It doesn't matter if its the Friday-Ad or Craigslist, classifieds are an easy and free way to get some advertising for your website.
• Don't scrimp on style. You may think its a great idea to fill your site with ad's but you'll soon become just another place that its hard to determine what your selling and whats an ad for someone else.  
• Get yourself a landline number for your website. It took me a while to figure this one out but not having a phone number that people can call you on is a big turn off to customers. Some people are fine with just being able to contact you by email but most people want to know that your contactable if there's a problem that needs resolving. There are alot of options out there to get a second number that has a business look such as 0844, 0843, 0845 etc and again google is a good place to start. Ideally you want a company that will give you a free number and provide a free forwarding service so that when customers call your number it goes through to your home phone or mobile. This way people can always get hold of you or leave a message. People may never call, but it gives buyers a alot more confidence seeing a number to call on a website. 

• If you can afford it, get a domain name. Domain names are so cheap these days you really don't have to break the bank to get one. a search for domain names will give lots of companies that are willing to provide you with a domain name for the price of a packet of biscuits. It gives a more professional look to have a website called www.jacquib.biz than a website called www.jacquib.hostname.com. There's nothing wrong with free domain names, but people will take your site more seriously if you pay a few pounds to drop the hosts name.  

I'm sure there are hundreds of other tips out there but hopefully I've given you a starting point. The biggest thing is to do your research, so get on the search engines and start making the most of the information out there to get people coming to your site and spending their hard earned cash!  


Thanks for reading 


Jacquib
www.jacquib.biz

Pricing Article

A mixed bag of random thoughts today. 

I've been lucky enough to be asked to add my views on the subject of pricing in the crafting scene by Suzy from Quilted Happiness (www.quiltedhappiness.blogspot.co.uk/).

Obviously you should go read it because I'm featured but it really is a good read that shes put together over her last few blog entries. Be sure to check out her folksy store and facebook page, the details of which are on the blog. Thanks Suzy! 

You can read the full article at the above link. 

I'm about to add a few new items to the store such as clutch purses and a new bag so take a look when you get a chance www.jacquib.biz. 

For those of you out there that like to show off what you've created I came across a great portfolio site www.behance.net  it's a great place to get inspiration from other talented crafters and artists. 

Finally, thank you for all the great comments and fantastic community over at www.ukhandmade.ning.com 

 

First Step in the Outside World Part 2

I am back from my first craft fair experience as a customer.

I feel bad saying it but...to say I was disappointed is an understatement.

I expected to walk into a vibrant room with alot of buzz from a wealth of shoppers and stalls. What I actually found myself confronted with with was a dimly lit room with around 10 stalls and all except one stall holder more interested in either their phone or something else equally as important down behind their stall, anything in fact but the customer.

As I made my way around the stalls I was met with old tea cups and plates and glasses, not things I would have associated with a craft fair as they didn't appear handmade. They didn't actually appear to be clean either!

Don't get me wrong, there were some nice items there and some real talent hidden amongst the rest of the things, but nobody seemed to want to sell anything, there was no vibe, no welcome, barely even a good morning from most people. I don't think I'm alone in saying that if you want my money the least you can do is look up from whatever it is your doing to try and make a sale.

This leads be back to part of the reason I attended the event (I won't name the place as it seems a little unfair). I wanted to see what to expect when I do my first craft stall, are my items up to scratch, do I have what it takes to face the public and sell my items? I believe the answer is yes I do.

Based on what was on sale I really do think that I can offer a better experience for a customer. I'm not going to sit here and tell you all how much better Jacqueline At Home items are and how great I am because thats not what our world is about, but what I will say is that I am willing to give this a go and go out there with the attitude of giving a good service and experience to those people that have made the effort to come out and show support to what we are all trying to do.

Everyone can sit and complain about how slow the foot fall was, or how the weather kept people away, but in reality more people would attend this type of event if the experience was worth going for.

Certainly there are the big famous national events throughout the year and people will come from miles but they come not just for the stalls for the whole experience.

The local scene is never going to thrive and grow if the effort is not made by everyone involved. Nobody should expect to simply turn up and just sit there, everyone should be showing that handmade items are just as good, if not better than what a chain store down the road can offer.

I realise that not every craft fair is like this, but my worry is that there are more like this than there should be. I am going to attend another one next week and get a comparison before then putting my own stall into the mix, but I think the point is still valid, not just for craft fairs but for anything people want to make a success of in life. Whether you want to make a living from it or just enough money to be able to keep making items, if you don't put in the effort, don't expect people to put their money into your till. 

Thanks for reading.

Jacquib
www.jacquib.biz

First Step in the Outside World

Well today is the day that the we go to our first craft fair.

What will we find? Are we punching above our weight in terms of quality, or are we where we were hoping to be and holding our own with the regularly crafters?

We're only going to browse this time, hopfully pick up one or two things and then jump in at the deep in a couple of weeks and do our own stall.

This is the first time of thinking in a business mind that doesn't involve a keyboard and the online community but I do believe that word of mouth counts for alot. So if what I am making is up to scratch then we're good to go and we'll be getting the table out to setup a stand soon.

There's a misconception that sitting at the computer and getting people to visit your site is easier than talking to people and getting them through word of mouth.

That's not always true, Certainly in the world of handmade goods there can surely be nothing better than getting out there and showing people what you've made, letting them feel the quality and then getting them on board with what your trying to achieve.

Working to get traffic purely online is a hard task because your relying on your own words and descriptions as well as a visual impact in an image. This can be very hard to do on a small budget when everyone seems to want to charge you for submitting your URL to their directory and telling you that their the best place for you to advertise for just pennies a day, which always turn into pounds very quickly.

So here we are about to see what the competitions about and also have a nice day out. We shall see what happens and either be back to the drawing board or happy that we're on the right path with our little venture.

I shall let you know once we return!

Thanks for reading

Jacquib
www.jacquib.biz

Business v Pleasure

Google, Bing, Yahoo. 

 

These are all names virtually everyone is aware of and trusts. The first place you go to if you want to know something is pretty much going to be one of those three.

They all offer an amazing amount of services to business's and users to provide information and traffic to millions of sites across the globe.

There's no denying what they provide is invaluable to people.  But I, and maybe you, offer a different view to this. 

All the research I've completed, all the hundreds of pages I've viewed and all the advice I've received on getting a website out there and known is based around getting listed on one of the big three. 

Google Rankings being the most prominent of ways to get traffic to your site is certainly a useful way of getting people to know who you are but lets get down to the basics here....higher ranking doesn't always mean mean higher quality. 

Sure those big name stores command respect because they have a name people trust, and with that come slick, smart websites. But lets not forget those users that are creating amazing things on a shoestring budget but don't have the money to produce the dynamic fast moving graphics style website. 

There are millions of people out there creating things from clothes to wood carvings,  jewellery to cupcakes and everything inbetween. Take a look at any of the user based websites on places like dmoz.com and you'll see a difference, those that will base the look of their website on what a search engine will looks for, and those that will base it on what is right for their their image and their client base. 

We automatically think slicker is better, but just because someones website doesn't looks as slick and smart as the bigger companies that doesn't mean that  it can't offer far more in both experience and value for money. Sure nobody should compromise on security of their finances over the internet, but as long as websites have security such as paypal offer why should anything else matter?

Should a website have to have all the text, tags, meta beta and every other letter of the greek alphabet on view jsut so it can get higher on a search engine? Why can we not put the user first and provide a service or goods in such a way that the site is easy to use and have a homely feel to it? 

I for one am a little tired of seeing everything added to a site to get it a higher ranking, lets just give the user and consumer the best experience possible. 

No doubt there are the internet and coding purists who will tell me how much traffic is produced by all these differnt elements on a website, but you know what? I'd rather use Big Bob's Auto Repairs than a main dealer to fix my car because I know which one is going to give me the best customer service. The same goes for websites. 

Thanks for reading. 

Jacquib

www.jacquib.biz