What advice would you give to a friend starting their new business?

[maxpete]

Hey everyone! 

Hope that your week is off to a great start. 2024 brings a lot of new energy and with that I was thinking, if a friend of yours was launching their new business today, what is one piece of advice that you would share with them?

Excited to hear your advice!

[maxpete]

Tagging some members to get their insights on this 🙂 

@estrenger, @annmatzas, @MJD & @Silverfox 

[sugarlab]

Know your numbers inside and out, especially if you create a product. Sooo many people "fall into" a business because they're good at making something (thinking of my baking community). But being in business means you need to sell; you need to know how much things cost you to make so that you are pricing for profit and not just from feelings. It's something I didn't look into nearly as soon as I should have. It was an eye opener to realize how I was actually losing money every time someone purchased a brownie from me. 

[maxpete]

@sugarlab This is such sage advice! Great tip! 

[Lovewell]

@sugarlab and always send your invoices out! 😉

[rtfulk]

Starting out you don't have to buy everything new, check for used equipment, don't over extend yourself starting out. Make a business plan if purchasing high dollar equipment.

[maxpete]

@rtfulk smart! Thank you so much for these valuable tips!

[Crazyjamlife]

Find a mentor - Score.org

Find a good bank/credit union

Keep business expenses separate from your personal expenses

If you need a patent or trademark - pay a REPUTABLE attorney to get one.

Don't use cheap raw materials

Separate your personal social media from business - your posts will either grow or drown your business.

Know where your money is coming from and where it is going - income and expense.

You don't have to sign up for every software that promises to provide a hack - a basic Excel sheet will do wonders for you.

Good luck - entrepreneurship is a marathon not a sprint. There are highs and lows but the highs always outweigh the lows 🙂

[maxpete]

@Crazyjamlife this is all such great advice! Appreciate you sharing this!

[rtfulk]

@Crazyjamlife I agree with the trademark, It's a long process took us about 14 months to get ours.

[TCSlaguna]

Yep, we definitely appreciate having our trademark, but it's well worth it. 

[Doran]

Get a business plan done.  If you can't write one yourself head to Fiverr and get a consultant to help you.  Know your numbers.  What will that building really cost?  NNN?  Insurance? Know your market and your niche inside out.  Take an accounting class at your local SBA or community college.  Even if you don't do your own books you should know how to read the reports.  If this is your actual career--- like you are paying your mortgage/rent from this--know your numbers.  

[maxpete]

Spot on with all of this!

[TCSlaguna]

Be a part of your community and give back to the community. It is amazing how supportive the community can be. 

[maxpete]

Amen!

[SeabunCrafts]

I would say to start slow. Growing organically usually leads to repeat customers and connecting with them. So often, you see social media cash grabs touting "get 10k followers in a week!" I just launched last year, but the thought of that makes me anxious, particularly that I handmade my pieces and can only produce what my two hands allow me to produce.

The other is to look for free resources, especially starting out. You may need to upgrade as you grow, but no need to shell out money on platforms that have a free option to test.

Lastly, to my fellow crafters, knowing the difference between having a hobby with someone exclaiming that you should sell them, and then actually running a business, building a brand, admin, marketing, creating, selling, etc. It's WAY more involved than some may think. I would want them to *really* want to be sure this is what they are prepared to do. (True story: This happened with my younger sister. She decided to stick to making her things as a hobby after seeing what I have to do - ha!)

[maxpete]

@SeabunCrafts thank you so much for sharing this! Such a good point about knowing what you're getting into by running a business, because you're right, it's always more work than you think!

[whysprs]

Domt give up, network with other people, take advantage of google and bing business listings (they are free, dont let those scam calls about your listing drag you in). A lot of good info here, but don't get overwhelmed with it, I started with Etsy, but had a fair to sell my goods at about 2 months later, so I started with square to have acess to using a card reader. So glad I did because had i not, then I wouldnt have gotten the sales that I got. Seems that people dont carry much cash with them anymore. Dirst year ia always the hardest, so just keep at it.

[maxpete]

Love the advice to keep going! That is so important 🙂 

[JUYBoutique20]

Don't be easily discouraged.  Everything is not going to work out all the time.  Remember your why.  Surround yourself with other likeminded people.  Enjoy the journey.  

[maxpete]

All great reminders! Thank you @JUYBoutique20!