The Create & Thrive Podcast

Where does it come from? And more importantly – how do we overcome it?

That’s the topic of today’s #MakingItPodcourse lesson.

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Over four weeks in July 2018, I’ll be releasing an episode/lesson of this course every day via the Create & Thrive Podcast (30 in total) on the topics of mindset, money, marketing, and business management.

I’ve created this course specifically for makers – those who create handmade goods to sell.

To create this FREE course, I’ve drawn on my 10 years of experience running my own successful handmade business, coupled with over 5 years of teaching other makers about handmade business right here at Create & Thrive.

I wanted to create something that was actionable and practical for all makers, no matter what stage of business you are at, and that would allow you to dig deep into 4 key aspects of the crafty biz journey.

I hope it helps your handmade business to thrive!

If you want to take your learning to the next level, the course conversation is happening daily over in my private membership community for makers – the Thriver Circle.

You can find out more about the oodles of benefits of membership right here.

Jess x

Or do you constantly suffer from self-doubt? If so – you’re not alone. This is extremely common in the handmade business world – especially if you’re transitioning from being a hobby maker, and if you don’t have any business experience.

In this episode of the #MakingItPodcourse I discuss how a lack of self-confidence can hold you back, and how to build your confidence by exercising your courage muscle.

Just enter your email below…

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Over four weeks in July 2018, I’ll be releasing an episode/lesson of this course every day via the Create & Thrive Podcast (30 in total) on the topics of mindset, money, marketing, and business management.

I’ve created this course specifically for makers – those who create handmade goods to sell.

To create this FREE course, I’ve drawn on my 10 years of experience running my own successful handmade business, coupled with over 5 years of teaching other makers about handmade business right here at Create & Thrive.

I wanted to create something that was actionable and practical for all makers, no matter what stage of business you are at, and that would allow you to dig deep into 4 key aspects of the crafty biz journey.

I hope it helps your handmade business to thrive!

If you want to take your learning to the next level, the course conversation is happening daily over in my private membership community for makers – the Thriver Circle.

You can find out more about the oodles of benefits of membership right here.

Jess x

I call myself a ‘recovering perfectionist’ – because it took me a long while to realise that action is more important than perfection. That done is better than perfect. That perfect is actually the enemy of good. And that excellence is what we should really be striving for.

Does perfectionism hold you back from getting things done? From putting your work into the world? Don’t miss this lesson.

Just enter your email below…

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Over four weeks in July 2018, I’ll be releasing an episode/lesson of this course every day via the Create & Thrive Podcast (30 in total) on the topics of mindset, money, marketing, and business management.

I’ve created this course specifically for makers – those who create handmade goods to sell.

To create this FREE course, I’ve drawn on my 10 years of experience running my own successful handmade business, coupled with over 5 years of teaching other makers about handmade business right here at Create & Thrive.

I wanted to create something that was actionable and practical for all makers, no matter what stage of business you are at, and that would allow you to dig deep into 4 key aspects of the crafty biz journey.

I hope it helps your handmade business to thrive!

If you want to take your learning to the next level, the course conversation is happening daily over in my private membership community for makers – the Thriver Circle.

You can find out more about the oodles of benefits of membership right here.

Jess x

I outline a few examples of where your expectations might be tripping you up, and causing stress, and how to work on creating more realistic ideas about the trajectory of your craft business journey.

Just enter your email below…

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Over four weeks in July 2018, I’ll be releasing an episode/lesson of this course every day via the Create & Thrive Podcast (30 in total) on the topics of mindset, money, marketing, and business management.

I’ve created this course specifically for makers – those who create handmade goods to sell.

To create this FREE course, I’ve drawn on my 10 years of experience running my own successful handmade business, coupled with over 5 years of teaching other makers about handmade business right here at Create & Thrive.

I wanted to create something that was actionable and practical for all makers, no matter what stage of business you are at, and that would allow you to dig deep into 4 key aspects of the crafty biz journey.

I hope it helps your handmade business to thrive!

If you want to take your learning to the next level, the course conversation is happening daily over in my private membership community for makers – the Thriver Circle.

You can find out more about the oodles of benefits of membership right here.

Jess x

The fears we all face, the fact you’re not alone in your fear, and what to do about the irrational fears that arise around starting and growing a handmade business.

Just enter your email below…

[et_bloom_inline optin_id=”optin_8″]

Over four weeks in July 2018, I’ll be releasing an episode/lesson of this course every day via the Create & Thrive Podcast (30 in total) on the topics of mindset, money, marketing, and business management.

I’ve created this course specifically for makers – those who create handmade goods to sell.

To create this FREE course, I’ve drawn on my 10 years of experience running my own successful handmade business, coupled with over 5 years of teaching other makers about handmade business right here at Create & Thrive.

I wanted to create something that was actionable and practical for all makers, no matter what stage of business you are at, and that would allow you to dig deep into 4 key aspects of the crafty biz journey.

I hope it helps your handmade business to thrive!

If you want to take your learning to the next level, the course conversation is happening daily over in my private membership community for makers – the Thriver Circle.

You can find out more about the oodles of benefits of membership right here.

Jess x

Today is the first episode of the course, and in it, I tell you what to expect, as well as sharing a little bit of my own story for those of you who don’t know me.

Over the next four weeks, I’ll be releasing an episode every day via the Create & Thrive Podcast – 30 in total – on the topics of mindset, money, marketing, and business management.

I’ve created this course specifically for makers – those who create handmade goods to sell.

To create this FREE course, I’ve drawn on my 10 years of experience running my own successful handmade business, coupled with over 5 years of teaching other makers about handmade business right here at Create & Thrive.

I wanted to create something that was actionable and practical for all makers, no matter what stage of business you are at: and that would allow you to dig deep into 4 key aspects of the crafty biz journey.

I hope it helps your handmade business to thrive!

If you want to take your learning to the next level, the course conversation is happening daily over in my private membership community for makers – the Thriver Circle.

You can find out more about the oodles of benefits of membership right here.

Jess x

Just enter your email below…

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Are you ready? Let’s do this!

Soak Society is one such business. It’s founder, Natalie Thorogood, started the business a few years ago when she wanted to use bath salts without any artificial colours or fragrances. She couldn’t find what she was looking for, so she created it.

Over the next few years, Soak Society has blossomed into a boutique bath product company that is stocked all over Australia and overseas, including in a huge range of stores in Tokyo.

Natalie is a brilliant example of a young woman who saw and opportunity and jumped on it. I loved chatting with her – she’s a Sunshine Coast local, so just down the road from me, and she exhibits a wonderful down-to-earth perspective on work and life.

P.S. Are you ready for the #MakingItPodcourse? It’s a FREE 30-day course for makers in business, and I’m publishing a lesson a day on the podcast. It kicks off on July 1st!

Head over to MakingItPodcourse.com to register now for email reminders and updates throughout the course.

I’ve shared my brief thoughts on this already on social, but I thought it would be helpful to put together an episode outlining my thoughts – as well as some financial comparisons so you can make an informed choice on this change.

I’ve researched and compared the fees of Etsy, Shopify, Amazon Handmade, Bigcartel, Ebay, and your own website (using wordpress and woocommerce) to give you a feel for where Etsy stands in the marketplace after these fee changes. (I’ve shared the maths below for you, as well as some comparisons of old/new fees).

In short: I don’t think this is a big deal. Considering Etsy has NEVER put their fees up in 13 years of business, and the fact that it’s a minor increase hasn’t got me worried, personally. I know that’s different for some folks (especially those who sell inexpensive items or supplies) but I share my detailed thoughts on this in the episode below.

My main point for you to take away from this episode: if your price is so low, or your margin is so tight, that this small fee increase will break your business – you need to review your pricing!

If you have feedback or thoughts to share, please do so over on Instagram (look for my post about this @createandthrive) or on Facebook. And if you find this episode useful, please do share it so other people can listen in, as well. Pin an image from the page, or take a screenshot of this post or your podcast app and share it on your IG story.

1. I am not overly bothered by the fee increase – it’s small, and still very affordable compared to other venues. It will ALWAYS cost money to do business, it’s about finding the best value for money. Etsy brings me customers. Most of my sales there come from Etsy search, so the work they do to advertise the platform and bring shoppers in works for me, and I’m happy to pay for that. Let’s do a comparison…

DON’T COMPETE ON PRICE. Be a brand, not a commodity. Competitive doesn’t mean cheapest! (Anecdote about $20 sterling rings).

Further listening on this: Episode 72 – Stop Focusing on Number of Sales and Start Focusing on the Numbers That Really Matter

I can do this as my shipping is pretty low already, so it’s been the kick in the pants I needed to make this change. If I’m paying a fee on shipping now, I may as well gain the psychological benefit of shoppers seeing ‘free shipping’. They’re still paying for it, just not in the shipping section.

If you can move your domestic fee into the item price, that then lowers your international fee, too!

3. I will be putting my prices up a little to compensate. I am lucky enough to have the margin to be able to do this, but I understand some folks with lower-priced items may find this challenging. Remember though – it’s a percentage, so you may only need to add a small amount to make up for it on the lower priced items.

Some example cost comparisons:

$5 item with $5 shipping

$50 item with $10 shipping

$100 item with $10 shipping

4. I don’t yet see any benefit to any of the ‘packages’ for me. I’ve been experimenting with promoted listings, and will keep trying that for a while. So I’m glad they aren’t (yet!) taking away any of those tools. I have – and will always have – my own website, so the .com etc. doesn’t do anything for me. I am curious as to what the premium package will offer, though!

5. One concern I heard mentioned: they are making it easier for ‘big brands’ to use the platform, so I hope they don’t go too far in that direction.

“How do I get more of my customers to leave reviews?”

I had a pretty lengthy answer on the call, and I realised… I have quite a few strategies that I use to improve the quality and quantity of customer reviews – no matter whether you sell on Etsy, your own site, or elsewhere.

In this episode, I share 7 strategies you can implement to improve the number and positivity of your customer reviews – without bugging your customers.

Once you join you’ll get access to this, and all previous premium podcast episodes, as well as:

Have a sneaky listen to part of this episode below…