Grow Your Creative Business: March Theme
March is Grow Your Business Month on The Academy blog! After my trip to the Houses of Parliament I realised that more than ever we need to be proactive in growing our creative businesses.
For the rest of the month the theme will be growth strategies for your business, your blog and for you!
Growing your creative business can mean different things to different people. For you, it might mean increasing production, getting more sales, outsourcing tasks or revisiting your pricing structure. It could mean growing your audience on your social media networks or blog.
We will look at the ways you can grow that are right for you and alongside the business posts we will consider personal growth and development. A big part of creating a successful growth strategy is believing that you are capable of great things. You don’t have to stay at the same level forever.
So, over to you! Do you have plans to grow you business this year? What areas are you considering specifically?
Fab theme for the month! I’m so ready to grow! I’ve just got my first wholesale stockist, so one area I’m aiming to develop is wholesale. As part of my development I am working on a new website and am busy working on new designs or revisiting older jewellery designs of mine as I firmly stamp ‘my style’ across my work.
There are a few things I really should look at – I first thought about setting up a newsletter via mailchimp over a year ago. I even have a few subscribers, but so far not one letter has gone out. I’d like to change that.
I would also like to do some work on my blog – freshen up the design and focus it much more on my jewellery and related topics.
But first up is sorting out the new design of facebook page before I switch over! Thanks, Isa for sharing that fab FB crib sheet with the sizes of everything and sharing the rules on cover photos :)
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Thanks Isa. This is right on point for me since growing my business is basically my theme for the rest of the year!
I’m going to concentrate on adding to my range of printed products alongside my handmade ones and I think my pricing needs more attention. Basically just keep designing and blogging and keeping everyone up to date with what I’m doing on my blog, facebook and twitter.
I’m looking forward to fine tuning all of this and more with you during your Create Your Mark E-Course this month!
I love this blog and always look forward to the latest post :-)
I want to:
*Network more – I’ve already joined network for wedding professionals in London
* Set up a blog – my hobby blog takes quite a bit of my time – I’m going to have to address that
*Like Viv, start a newsletter
*Come up with new designs and establish my style
*Think of ways of passively selling my designs – ie not just through printed stationery or album designs.
:-)
Yay, I’m so excited for this theme! I think the main way that I want to grow my business this month is by increasing my efficiency. I’m totally capped on the number of hours I can put into my business each week, but there are still so many things I want to do. If I could just be more strategic with how I used my time, I’ll bet I could increase my business without just adding more and more hours to my work week. But how?
Oh, boy… Do I have big plans for March (and April)! ;)
So many changes coming to my studio.
-new products
-new designs
-new look
I’ve already made changes to my blog and plan to post 3 times each week.
I recently discovered that 62% of the exits from my online shop go to my blog. That’s terrific info and was a great motivator for me to use my blog more efficiently and effectively!
All fabulous stuff. I’m looking forward to growing to the next level of my business!
Thank you for this post :)
I look forward to following along with this series! I am a beginning web & graphic designer, and I want to learn how to better market & manage my little business as it grows.
This is a great theme, and I am so looking forward to your posts, as I was just thinking about how I plan to grow my business over the next few months. My top priorities include:
- Starting a newsletter/ezine
- Begin video marketing
- Continuing to blog on a more consistant basis
- Networking on and offline
Good luck to everyone! Here’s to us all reaching our goals :)
Yes! My business is already growing on its own, but I want to grow it as well. One thing I’d like to do is diversify a little, because if I keep making the same products I’m making now I just don’t see how it will become a full-time living (simply due to the fact that I can’t make all those things in large enough quantities to earn that much off of them even if I had the buyers for them). So I want to brainstorm ideas for new products/services I can offer that will earn me money without costing me a lot in time every day/week/month, you know? I have some ideas for ways to do that as well as growing my customer base so the things I do make will sell faster/more often, but I’d like to figure out new ideas, too.
I need to grow my business to be more consistent 12 months a year. I do a pretty decent holiday business (October-December) through my easy shop. I also have my own website that gets very little traffic and need to figure out how to grow that as well. (I separate my sales etsy vs. web so I can see where the money is coming in).
Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for this month!
Absolutely love that quote, Isa! I have been working on feeling more comfortable talking up what I do without getting horrendously embarrassed so it was great to see/ read it :)
Hi Zoe, that quote is one I often refer to when I think I’m trying to aim too high!
Like Zoe, LOVE the quote. My goal this year is to ‘get my work out there’ and I am working on it. One huge challenge is product photos that really do justice to the pieces that I make. Working on that too..LOL
I just have to say that I am so happy that I have found you and your blog, I know your advice and encouragement are going to help.
This is the year I have stopped playing at business and am working at business. Quite a different outlook. My goal is to open my sewing lounge on Mother’s Day weekend here in my small town. I have been VERY busy sewing samples and renovating my studio/sewing lounge (a 1910 cottage out here on the High Plains of Kansas). The mindset change has been very good, but challenging. As passionate about sewing as I am, it has been hard to shed the guilt of doing something I love because I am “at work” instead of doing what I’m “supposed” to be doing, like housework, etc. However, looking at the hours I am spending getting the sewing lounge ready as my “job” has really helped. I never felt guilty about leaving dirty dishes when I clocked in at the hospital I worked for. Now I’m “clocking in” at my sewing lounge.
Let’s get started! Looking forward to a month long of learning : )
Great post!
I am working on getting sponsors for the blog, learning how to use twitter more effectively and adding content that really helps our readers.
I am hoping to be moving within the next year and would like to figure out more ways to make money from home and online so I can continue to do all of the things I love no matter where I am!
What amazing timing! My biz has just grown out of my home and am setting up a warehouse as my new production space and office. But I’m terrified of having employees – I want to make sure they have enough work to fill their day and be happy. I can’t tell you how much anxiety I get from this! Weird.
I am really looking forward to reading your posts about business growth. I need lots of advice!
I am looking forward to your posts this month. I am currently working on building my own Graphic Design business but I specialized in hand made wedding invitations. I am hoping to get the word out there that I provide such a service to local brides as living in a small area most brides are left with very few options when it comes to invitation sets.
I look forward to reading your advice and tips to building a small business!!