Your Handmade Business

In this episode, Isaac looks at the ways that “treating yourself” can actually undermine your well-being and a few things you can do to amp up taking care of yourself without a lot of investment of time or resources. Later on, he talks with Arrowyn Craban-Lauer of Little Gold Fox Designs about running a creative business with an auto-immune disease and how important her self-care practice is to staying productive AND healthy.

Isaac dives deeper into how the holidays are uniquely stressful for the maker community, how our desire to compare ourselves to others can backfire, and talks with Dr. Samantha Brody about how we can balance our stress with what we actually need most.

It’s time for a bonusode! In this special edition of Your Handmade Business, Isaac recaps our brand new video series, YHBTV, with 3 lessons related to our monthly theme with your hosts, Sharon and Isaac.

Isaac draws encouragement from one leader’s persistent actions and looks at how failure and rejection are not the end of your efforts. Michelle Baines (Four Letter Word Cards) joins with her thoughts on predicaments, persistence, and perfectionism.

Isaac addresses the idea that there’s one path to success as a handmade business, encourages taking action on your dreams, and interviews Nicole Stevenson from Dear Handmade Life about her own unique journey as a maker, artist, and community organizer.

Isaac emphasizes the benefits that come from knowing your numbers, from pricing to inventory to finances. He then talks with Tina Rodas of Hi Tree about how she tracks her numbers in her own unique way.

And we're back! Summer hiatus is over and Isaac's coming at you with an update on changes at Academy of Handmade's programs, some thoughts about pricing, and wise words from Kristen Pumphrey at P.F. Candle Co.

In this episode, Isaac illustrates how it can get worse before it gets better when you’re in the throes of failing, but that’s okay! It’s normal, even. He also talks introduces the power of a pre-mortem exercise when you're working on a big project.

Isaac talks about those experiences in every business where no matter what you do to prepare, things can just go south. He also interviews two very experienced women who have encountered major failures in their businesses—Jenny Hart and Lela Barker—and dives into how they cope with failure, what kinds of lessons they learn, and how they keep failure from breaking them down.

Isaac defines the best type of maker friends, jumps back to the first days of having his own handmade business, and pays homage to a woman who was a huge influence on his business and work in the community.