Savvy Entrepreneur: Genevieve Says Goodbye...

The time has come for me to stop writing the Savvy Entrepreneur column. It's been a great ride and I've really enjoyed all the comments and feedback. Hopefully you all enjoyed the advice and insight equally. We're still determining if someone else is going to pick up where I left off or if something new will be added to the lineup. We've got a lot of great writers on the blog team so I have no doubt you'll be plenty pleased with whatever ends up happening.

As for me I'm putting some of the extra energy into a bit of spit and polish for Lightbox SF. We're planning on reworking our services based on the last year or so of client meetings. That means some new packages need to be figured out and the much of the marketing copy retooled. We're also hoping it adds to increased client work.

I've also started a new blog, that and a book proposal in the works have me writing a lot more these days. A girls gotta rest her typing fingers sometime.

I am by no means disappearing though. I'm staying on as part of the leadership team and plan to be as much of a resource for the team as I can.

So with that I say goodbye...

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: 5 Tips for Making Your Product Descriptions Rock

When selling online, you product descriptions have to take the place of the customer holding the item in their hands or trying it on, you have to paint a picture and tell a story that brings them in and convinces them your product is for them.

Here’s a list of some key details that really help make your product descriptions stand out and relieve a customer’s doubt.

1) Use the senses

Since we can’t touch, hold, or try on items online you need to help your customers imagine those details as much as possible. What does the fabric feel like, how sturdy is the cardstock, what finish is on the metal? What is it like to hold the item or try it on? If you sell something where scent or taste is important take it a step further. Is the rose scented soap subtle and refreshing or rich and heady? Is your chocolate refined and elegant or deep and dark?

2) Describe who it’s for

Who is this item perfect for, I’m sure you have a pretty clear picture. Describe this person and how they would use your product. Is it the prefect gift for a new mother or recent college grad? Would a boyfriend score some serious extra points for bestowing your jewelry on his geeky girlfriend? Or is it an everyday accessory for that quirky, girl about town looking to make a statement?

3) Tell a bit of the why

People love to get a little peek behind the scenes, so tell them a little about what inspired you to make this item. Or better yet share a little about the mission behind your business and how this item fits in. Do you cater to eco-friendly fashionistas looking for edgy because you think the market is lacking or do you make sinfully decadent candies because you believe everyone deserves a treat?

4) Specific details

Make sure to answer any of the questions that might come up, how big is it, what materials is it made from, how is it shipped? Also make note of anything specific that the customer should know, but might not ask. Do you add an extra step to the making process to ensure a quality product? Do you offer monogramming or customization? Do you do bulk orders or offer a rush service?

5) Links to other items

Kind of like the Amazon – “Customers who bought this item also bought...” Let your customers know there are other items you sell that would compliment what they’re looking at. Or suggest other flavors or fabrics based on what they’re viewing. If customers come upon your shop because they’re browsing keep them there longer and make it easy for them to find other items they might like.

The best way to test all this is to ask a few friends to pretend to be extra picky shoppers, have them read your descriptions and tell you what questions they still have or what didn’t make sense.

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

The Savvy Entrepreneur: Does Your Business Sustain You?

At Lightbox SF we believe a sustainable business is one that supports the life you want to live and is a joy for you to work in. This refers to how much money you need the business to make, what you end up doing each day, who you’re working with, and how much time it demands. Both Shelly and I believe there should be plenty of room for friends, family and yourself. Your business should not control your life; you should control your business.

Can you imagine what that looks like? To decide how many hours you work and still make the amount of money you want. To spend the bulk of your time doing the things you love and have those tasks of pure drudgery handled by someone else. It’s hard to picture isn’t it?

Most of us don’t work in sustainable businesses. We spend more time than we want to, perform tasks we abhor, and often don’t even make the money that we should. Why?

I believe it’s because our perception is off. We may think that we have to work really hard for things that are worth it. We believe we aren’t worth what we really want to charge. We believe that no one else can do things right or we can’t afford to hire the ones who can. I’m guilty of these same thoughts.

This is why when we start a client off thinking about branding we get them to focus on their strengths and passions. They often look at us a little funny and question how turning all their attention on themselves will help them build a better brand. It’s not so much about focusing on yourself as it is building a business that allows you to use all your best qualities and put them out there in a way that customers can’t help but be drawn to.

People like to support those who are passionate and excel at what they do. Take the time to set yourself up to be in this position. If you go to work each day in a business you don’t believe in or don’t enjoy, your customers can tell. You might still do a great job, but if someone else comes along with more passion and energy you’ve lost them as customer.

Let your passion and strength shine by building a business that supports the best in you and allows you to have the life you always dreamed of. 

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: How the Big Picture Makes the Small Stuff Easier

One of the first exercises I assign to my clients is to write out the big vision of their business in the form of an ordinary, but ideal day in their life. I ask them to write out in as much detail as possible what it will look like from the time they wake up to till their head hits the pillow.

Taking the time to describe the larger vision for your business is like drawing yourself a roadmap to the future. It not only sets up goals for you to work toward, but it gives you a framework that helps guide the choices you make each day. Working on your business without having a vision of what you want it to be in 1, 2 or even 5 years is like getting in the car and driving with no destination in mind. You might have amazing experiences and visit great places, but you still won’t be any closer to where you’re going.

When I use the term vision I mean more than just having an idea of how much money you want to bring in or a clear description of your product or service. These are definitely part of the equation, but you should also be clear on your overall mission, what the business stands for, what your ideal role is, and the details of the business that you just won’t compromise on.

Your vision is the best possible future of your business, the big picture with all the details filled in. How does their work mesh with their personal life, who are you interacting with, where are you working? What types of employees do you want or do you even want any? Do you want to make everything by hand or will you manufacture multiple items or even whole lines? Does your business keep running when you take a vacation or does it shut down for a week or two?

By imagining and sketching out the big picture, the incredible dream of your creative business you’ve given yourself something to live up to and work toward. Having a clear vision allows you to take ownership of the choices that need to be made in an entirely different way. Instead of wondering if a particular project is right to take on you can measure it against your larger vision. Does it fit in? Instead of feeling beat down that sales aren’t quite what you want them to be, you look to your target market and ask how you can serve them better. A vision brings focus and clarity to what’s really important and the short-term goals become clearer when you know what it is you’re striving for.

This exercise is also one of the first in our branding e-course, Ink Yourself: Using Story to Make a Bold Impression. We’ve designed this 5-week guided e-course to help you dive deep in the big vision of your business, realize your strengths, get intimate with your ideal customer, and bring it all together into a guiding statement that makes showing off your awesomeness a breeze.

Each week you’ll receive a new lesson that you can work on at your own pace in your own time. In addition to the lessons you’ll also have access to a live forum where you can interact with the other participants getting feedback and sharing break-throughs. And we’ve scheduled a group call to encourage even more interaction and get all your questions answered. We hope you’ll make friends as well as get clear on your brand message.

The course starts May 21^st and the last email will land in your inbox on June 21^st, but you’ll have through the first week of July to access any of the materials you may have missed, ask questions about the lessons or receive responses to any of the work you’ve done.

Currently we’re giving away one spot in the course, details are on our blog. You have until Monday, May 7^th to get your name in the drawing. However, if you don’t want to leave anything to chance, you can sign up right now!

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: Hobby vs. Business

found on Pinterest via shopperelias

I work with a number of clients whose goal is to take their business from something they do part-time or on the side to a level of steady, reliable income. This doesn’t necessarily mean a full-time 40-50 hour a week job that’s supporting the family, but they do want their efforts to have a level of value and they want to feel pride in saying this is my business.

They come to me because they think they need marketing and sales help and usually they do. However, the first issue I see in many of these clients is not that they haven’t embraced social media or don’t know how to approach retail accounts, but they still don’t treat their business as a business. It’s very hard to put forth an image you don’t fully embrace yourself.

How you view your business and treat the time that you spend on it makes all the difference in jumping to the next level. It’s a matter of doing things right, taking it all seriously, and giving it the respect you both deserve.

Talking About What You Do

This is often the first place this lack of faith can be seen. Clients will talk about what they do in an offhand manner, diminishing its worth. They use wishy-washy language or beat around the bush when asked what they do. Or the worst offense they don’t actually tell anyone what they’re doing, friends and family included.

Embrace this business you’re creating, tell people how excited you are, how much you love what you’re doing. It’s ok to say you’re just starting out or you’re still small, but then share where you’re going, what big plans you have. Put it all out there, let it shine.

Working In Your Business

If you don’t take your business seriously it’s often hard to find time to get things done because everything else seems more important. You need to set aside uninterrupted blocks of time to work in and on your business. It’s ok if you only have time from 8-10 in evening or Saturday afternoons, but you need to commit and let anyone know who might interrupt you that you need to do this. If you take it seriously they will too.

Hobbyists do their work in short bursts of time on the bus or in front of the TV. Not to say you can’t do that also, but as someone running a successful business you also need to have work hours, a time when things get done on a regular basis.

Giving It Space

You also need a designated work area that is yours alone. You should not be spending valuable time each day setting up and breaking down the materials you need to work. Not only should you be able to leave projects that you’re in the middle of, but you should also be able to create an area that inspires you and helps you focus on what you do.

I’m not saying you can’t work from the comfort of your bed or kitchen table, I do it at least once a week. But you also need to have an area with everything you need to run your business - materials, tools, computer, good lighting and a comfortable chair. You should want to go to this space everyday. You can’t build a successful business if you hate going to the only place you have to work on it.

These shifts in attitude take effort and time, but practice each day thinking of your business as you want it to be. Take it seriously, give it the space and dedication it deserves, and I promise it will grow into something beautiful you can be proud of.

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: Using Twitter Lists

I was reading an article recently about filtering the input you get from others so as not to constantly compare yourself to them. A good article, but that’s actually another topic. I bring it up because the writer wished there was a way to filter Twitter like you can with Facebook lists.

Well, there is. It’s also called lists. I set up so many I actually found out Twitter has a limit. I reached it. Apparently it’s 20.

Why Would You Use Lists?

The writer had the right idea, you can filter your stream so as to get the information you really want. I have separate lists for folks who share a lot about social media, or publicity, or entrepreneurship, or handmade. I keep local artisans separate from those in other places. I keep my friends separate from those I only know from the internet.

Some days I check into multiple lists, other days I’m looking to see what the local crafty folk are talking about. I keep tabs on what my past and current clients are up to and I see what my competitors are talking about.

Using lists helps me log into Twitter and get the information I need in much less time. Some days I only spend 15 or 20 minutes on Twitter and I’m still able to connect with a few people, send out a few tweets, see what’s going on, and respond to a few interesting threads.

You can also follow other people’s lists so you don’t have to spend the time curating. Did you know @sfetsy has a list set up for all the team members on Twitter? Check it out.

How Do You Set Them Up?

Right next to the follow button in relation to anyone’s name is a button with a silhouette and a down arrow. Click on that and you’ll get the option to add or remove from lists in the drop down menu. From there you’ll be able to create a new list if you need to or add them one you’ve already set up. Simple.

Lists can be public or private. If your list is public other people can follow the list and users will be notified when they are added to the list. If the list is private, no one but you will know it exists, let alone who’s in it.

You can also add people to lists without actually following them. I do this sometimes if I’m not sure I really want to see their posts in my main stream.

Go forth, create lists, keep your Twitter stream manageable and get the information you want. 

You should also follow @lightboxsf on Twitter and check out our lists.

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: Recommended Reading

Source: vi.sualize.us via Genevieve on Pinterest 

I’m a bit of an information junkie. I love to do research, gather articles and read books on whatever topic fascinates me. This trait comes in fairly handy for my clients. Not only does is provide me with a lot of information and various approaches for our coaching sessions I almost always have a book or blog article they should read to go more in depth.

So here’s a few I suggest often:

Made To Stick by Dan and Chip Heath

Written by brothers, this book is an exploration of what makes and idea sticky. Why would you want a sticky idea? These are the ideas that get passed around and retold, they’re the ideas that people clamor to find out more about, they’re the ideas that people emulate. The concepts are great to help you create taglines for your business, write press releases and marketing copy, and most of all to create a business brand that no one can forget.

Escape From Cubicle Nation by Pam Slim

Certainly not only for those trapped in a cubicle and longing to break free, but a great book for anyone just beginning to embark on the path of starting their own business. Pam Slim does a great job of balancing inspiring advice about finding your true passion with practical information on preparing to make the leap. If you’re running your Etsy shop as a side business, but long to take it full-time this is a must read.

The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau

Chris Guillebeau has started a bit of a movement with his book. He’s endearing, passionate, and inspiring. This book is for those of you longing to create a business that is about change or who have a vision of something unconventional. It’s more inspiration than practical knowledge, but it certainly sparks ideas and gives you new ways to think about what you’re doing. Even if you have no desire to travel the world for months on end there’s plenty to take away from Chris’ writing.

The Right-Brain Business Plan by Jennifer Lee

I haven’t actually read this one yet, it's waiting patiently on my bedside table. However I have been a fan of Jennifer’s approach for quite some time. I’ve also participated in both of her Right Brain Business Plan Video Summits. Jennifer breaks down writing a business plan for those of us afraid of numbers and bored to tears by market research. Her approach is about using your creativity to map out a plan for your business. The book is full of exercises that feel like craft projects and success stories that you can relate to. The best part is you'll have an actionable plan for how to make your business a success when you're done.

I’m always looking for new suggestions. What are some of your favorite business books?

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: Gaining Perspective

via inspiredbythisfeeling.tumblr.com

One of my favorite exercises to give clients comes when working with them on defining their strengths and benefits. We are all so close to our businesses that seeing the messages we’re sending and how it impacts our customers is sometimes impossible. It’s harder than you think to view your business, and yourself for that matter, as others see you.

So when we get to the part of coaching where we focus on communicating what sets you apart or why a customer would choose you over the competition, I don’t trust my clients to tell me what they think. I have them literally ask for that outside perspective.

The assignment is to ask friends, family and past customers to describe what you do, what you’re good at, and why they would (or did) choose to work with you. It can be an extremely illuminating experience. You will most likely hear words reflected back that you never thought of or qualities that you take for granted might be key to how people see you.

After completing this exercise I once had a client come back to me and say,  “My family and friends kept telling me how fun and quirky I am, but that doesn’t come through in the way I present myself at all.”  She was so focused on being professional that she was hiding a key quality of her personality, one that would really help her to sell both her artwork and teaching services.

However this exercise doesn’t need to be set aside only to find strengths and benefits it’s also great to help you get through those stuck times or regain focus and direction. We often hit those patches where we get bogged down in the day to day and forget why we’re doing this.

I was reminded of this exercise recently when I had a client say to me, “You must really love what you do, working with creative people to turn ideas into reality.” I was speechless for a moment taking in what she’d said. And then I replied, “Yes, I really do love what I do.” What I didn’t tell her is that for a short time I had forgotten what it is I do because I was so focused on bank balances, newsletter subscribers, and website visits. I needed to hear her perspective of what I did to remind me of where my focus should be. Instead of looking at numbers and analytics I needed to spend more time telling people what I’m good at, I needed to focus on giving the advice that wells up inside of me when anyone talks about a new business idea.

My challenge to you this week is to ask at least two people to tell you what you’re good at and what makes you different. I promise you'll appreciate the perspective.

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: Keeping Your Priorities Straight

I had a meeting with a client recently who was feeling so bogged down with all that she felt she needed to do that she was paralyzed to do anything. I can so relate to that feeling. I get it often. My reaction to overwhelm is to shut down, curl up in a ball, and stare at the ceiling, seriously.

Luckily I’ve found a strategy that works wonders for helping me put it all into perspective and get moving again. It’s a simple process that really clears out the clutter in your head and shines a light on where to focus your energy.

First I do a serious brain dump. I write down everything I think I need to do that’s floating around in my head, no matter how urgent it is. The act of writing it down helps to clear out of my brain. I’ve written it down so I no longer need to spend energy trying to remember it.

Then I go through my list and prioritize everything high, medium or low.

Anything high priority is do or die for myself and/or my business, the things that will shut me down if they don’t get done. It’s often things like paying bills, following up with big projects or getting deliverables to clients. You must be honest with yourself, it’s very tempting to make things higher priority than they really deserve. If the business will keep running if that task doesn’t get done, then it’s not a high priority.

Medium priority means the task falls into best practice, something that makes the business better or run smoother, but isn't crucial to its existence. Things like keeping your Facebook page updated, getting photos from your last event on your website, or researching new packaging are definitely medium priorities.

Low priority items are the ones that only you will notice if they get done or not, changing the headline font on your website, reorganizing your workspace, or reading all those blog posts you've been bookmarking.

I make special note of recurring tasks like posting on the blog, sharing these posts on social media, and monthly accounting. These recurring tasks need to get on your calendar. Mark a specific chunk of time every week or month for each of these tasks and schedule it for the rest of the year.

Now that you've got everything prioritized, it’s only the high priority tasks that get your attention when you feel overwhelmed. The medium priority tasks get tackled when you have a little extra time. Yes, that does actually happen.

You also need to get comfortable with the fact that those low priority tasks may never get done. Some may get tackled when you literally find yourself twiddling your thumbs. Others may suddenly get moved up in priority, but many will languish at the bottom of your list for months.

Honestly it's only realistic to think you can accomplish three tasks a day. I know that sounds like a small number, but think about how your days go, unexpected phone calls, urgent emails, you forgot you made a lunch date with an old friend... Things happen that derail you, it's a part of life.

I want you to begin to really follow those priorities, if it's not high, think life or death, you'll be ok if it doesn't get done exactly when you want it to. You will, I promise.

What do you do to keep yourself on track? Do you have a similar system that helps keep you sane when things get really busy?

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: Make Your Photos Rock!

Image from Time For Memories

Your online shop is like any storefront, you need to make it welcoming, presentable, and enticing. If your photos are blurry, busy, or dull it’s tough to get peoples attention, let alone keep it.

So here are a few of the biggest mistakes I see and quick tips to help correct them.

Out Of Focus

Blurry photos generally happen because of one of three things - you’re shooting without enough light, you moved the camera, or you’re too close to the object. If you’re shooting with a manual camera it could also be that you just haven’t adjusted the focus correctly, be super vigilant about focus.

Make sure you have enough light. If you’re using daylight put your setup as close to a window as you can, shoot during the middle of the day, and reschedule if you’ve got rain and clouds. If you’re using spotlights or a flash, make sure the blubs are strong enough or your batteries are fully charged.

Tripods are a great solution for getting rid of camera shake. You don’t need anything fancy, just sturdy. You can also try setting your camera on a solid stack of books. If you don’t have either of these options and you can’t adjust the shutter speed faster (anything slower than 1/60 of a second is hard to keep still), try leaning against a wall or bracing your arms on a tabletop for stability.

Much of the time blurry images come from trying to get closer than your camera can focus. Remember you don’t need to take the photo exactly as you want to use it. Get a good, clear shot from further back and crop in to the detail that you want. If your camera was made in the last 6 or 7 years you should still have plenty resolution even if you crop half the image away.

Busy Backgrounds

This is a personal pet peeve of mine; photos taken with your product on a favorite scarf or tablecloth that has such a busy pattern you can’t distinguish the lines of the object. Keep it simple. A neutral background, off-white or grey, with little to no texture is always a safe bet. If you want to style your images a bit, a solid color that makes your objects stand out can add some distinction or visual interest. If you do use something with texture make sure to keep it very subtle, like wood or rocks. I caution you though, err to the side of boring if you’re not sure.

Bad Lighting

Lighting small objects is one of the hardest things to do well, so don’t beat yourself for not mastering it. However there are a few things you can do that will make a big difference.

The ideal is to have a soft, even, warm light. I highly recommend using natural light. Set up your object and background as close to a window as possible. Soften your light source, i.e. window, by taping up a piece of white paper or hanging a white cloth or frosted shower curtain liner. You also want to fill in those shadows with a bounce card. A bounce card can be a piece of white poster board or foam core or even piece of cardboard covered in tin foil. Move the bounce card around to literally bounce light back into the showed areas. Depending on where everything is set up you may have to play with this a little, but the effort is well worth it.

No Context

Allowing customers to see your product in context is key since they can’t pick it up and hold it themselves. Use at least one of your available 5 images to show your product being used or worn. This makes it easier for customers to imagine wearing it themselves or how it would look in their own home. It also provides a sense of scale that listing dimensions will never give.

Spend some time on these images, set the scene and select your props carefully. This is also a great place to subtly communicate the type of customer your product is perfect for, a young girl, a career woman, or a design conscious homemaker. It’s a great way to set a “look” for your shop.

And if all that wasn’t convincing enough, the better your photographs are the better chance you have of attracting blogger’s attention or getting featured in front page treasuries. 

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Business Workshops Coming in April

I've got some great workshops coming up in April that I wanted to make sure you all knew about.

The first is a repeat of our DIY Marketing at TechShop SF with a different name, DIY Innovations in Personal Marketing. This 2-hour workshop will redefine what a business card looks like, show you why stickers and the laser cutter should be your best friend, and give you a whole new way to look at marketing materials. We'll spark your creativity and show you the tools you need to create business cards, portfolios, leave-behind gifts, and packaging that not only showcase your work in the best possible light, but express how unique you are. Armed with numerous examples, money saving tips, and firsthand experience, marketing pros Genevieve Robertson of Lightbox SF and Shana Astrachan of Shana Astrachan Jewerly will cover the basics of creative marketing and teach you how to make yourself memorable.

Saturday, April 7 2 - 4pm, register now.

Then there's two workshops happening at Parisoma, a co-working place in, yes, SOMA.

The Brand of You will dive deep into how to find your unique story, your ideal target market and how connecting those two will help you to stand out in the marketplace. We'll talk about the big vision, your personal strengths, and how to define your ideal customer.

Tuesday, April 10 6 - 7:30pm, sign up here.

Following that is Crafting an Online Presence. This workshop will discuss how to bring your blog, website, newsletter and social networking together to present a unified brand identity online. It will assume some familiarity and experience, but not expert level with all platforms and will focus mostly on the types of content to post and how to build a strategy that will help you reach and sustain your goals.

Tuesday, April 17 6 - 7:30pm, sign up here.

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: Meetups, Business Groups, and Workshops

This past Saturday the SF Etsy Leadership team met to talk about big, bold plans for the year ahead. You’ve already seen a few things come to life, the SF Etsy Twitter chat and our first all team gallery show. We are all so excited and fired up to help build this community and support all of you in any way we can.

To that end, one of the biggest topics of conversation was what our role was in helping to organize various levels of get togethers. Here’s what we came up with, however we are totally open to suggestions and requests if you have an idea for something you wish would happen.

Meetups

We imagine meetups to be the social, community building side of SF Etsy. Our fearless leader Rochelle is the woman behind last year’s Craft Swap and will be pulling strings to make similar future events happen. We’ve got something in the works for May, but I won’t spill the beans just yet. If you have any great ideas for how all of us can get together more regularly or want to help out with meetups be sure to let Rochelle know.

As leaders we will organize a few of these a year with the intention of bringing as much of the team together as we can to meet face to face and make friends. Since we also know that many of you live outside of San Francisco we are looking for volunteers in the North, South and East bay to help us make these social events happen in your area. If this is something you’d be interested in contact one of our team co-captains, Katy or Steph.

Business Groups

A while back I wrote an article on the benefits of business groups and it motivated a lot of you reach out to one another to make something happen. That was exactly the intention. Business groups are your thing to manage and organize in whatever way helps you the most. It might be the same small group of you that get together once a month to share successes and failures or it might be a larger rotating group that meets every other week to ask questions of each other about running an Etsy shop. These can be as big or small, structured or casual as you want them to be.

However as leaders we’re here to support you in any way that we can so let us know if you need ideas on how structure one of these groups, have a group that needs more members or are in search of a group in your area. I personally would love to have a list of all the business groups that form so that I can help new members find the support they need. If you have a group you'd like me to be aware of just send a quick note with how often you meet and in what area. You are also welcome to add these meetings to our team calendar on the blog by clicking on the "Add Event" link just below the calendar.

Workshops

Yes, we also plan to have a few business success workshops for you before the year is finished. These of course are about building skills and knowledge to run your business successfully, although there may be a pre or post social hour added on.

We’re still hammering out the details of when and where, but look for one on branding to happen sometime toward the end of June and then a pre-holiday bootcamp workshop sometime in October. If we get a good response to these we’ll definitely plan more for next year.

So that’s our big plan for providing events that educate and bring you all together. As I said if you see something missing or have an idea for another type of event let Katy, Steph or I know and we’ll see what we can do.

We all look forward to meeting more of you in the coming months!

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: My Top Four Business Apps

When small business owners start talking, the conversation almost always turns to the favorite apps that keep us organized or save time. So after a few of these in the last few weeks I thought I’d share the four tools I use daily.

I’m a Mac user, but I don’t have an iPhone so I use the online version of all of these. They all have the ability to be used on an iPhone or iPad, but I can’t speak to how similar or user friendly they are. However the online versions are all free.

Teux Deux

It’s just like it sounds, a to do list, but the simplest of ones, simple and pretty. Honestly it’s not much different then writing a list on paper, but this way your doesn’t get lost because it’s stored on a server and can be accessed via the web no matter where you are.

It’s the simplicity that makes me love it. I see my whole week at a glance and slot in tasks that I want to accomplish each day. There is no scheduling a certain time and there are no reminders. But if I don’t cross a task off it just keeps moving to the next day. There’s also a section for someday in case you want to use it for a bit of brainstorming.

teuxdeux.com

Workflowy

Another extremely simple online app, that might as well be a piece of paper, but somehow manages to be so much more than that. Workflowy is a list-making app, but it works in a hierarchy or outline form. You make a top tier category like work, personal or current projects, then you can make sub-categories like this week, marketing, or groceries, to break it down even further or just list all the items, thoughts, or subjects that pertain.

I use it as a brain dump and to store all the ideas I someday hope to take action on. When my head is feeling full and loud I spend just a few minutes getting everything into Workflowy and then I can go back to what I’ve assigned myself for today. I actually populate my weekly Teuxdeux from Workflowy.

workflowy.com

Google Calendar

There are a million calendars out there and probably many more sophisticated or prettier than Google, but I like it and honestly haven’t found anything to replace it. The fact that I can set reminders, share calendars and color code everything is really all I need as I use it mostly for meetings and events.

My husband and I share a calendar so I know when we’ve made plans together and even generally what his days look like. I have a personal work calendar that I keep track of most everything on, but I also share a work calendar and events calendar with Shelly to make sure we’re both on top of all the fun, cool things we should be at. 

google.com/calendar

Boomerang

Boomerang is a plug-in for your email, Gmail or Outlook (scroll to the bottom of the page for the Outlook plugin). It allows you to mark emails to be sent back to the top of your inbox when you’re ready to deal with them.

How often have you read an email and thought I need to take care of that, but not till next week? Most of us end up leaving it in our inbox until we get around to it. With Boomerang you can schedule it to return next Monday morning at 8 am or whenever you want, but until then it’s gone. No distractions and no cluttered, overloaded inboxes. You can also write emails and schedule them to be sent later as well as mark an email to return to your inbox if no one responds to it in a certain amount of time. Because of Boomerang I never have more than 10 emails in my inbox at any given time.

boomeranggmail.com

Hope these help to make you a little more organized and productive!

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: How Do I Get Involved In The Twitter Chat?

We’ve been promising a Twitter chat for a few weeks now and now we’ve finally gotten all the details together. If you missed my article two weeks ago I gave you a quick rundown on what a Twitter chat is and how we hope to use it.

This time around I wanted to try to answer many of the questions I expect will come up.

What is a Twitter chat?

Read this and this to get a good background. Or just join us to see what happens.

When will it happen?

Every Tuesday morning from 10-11am (pst), starting March 13^th.

Will there be a structure?

Claire (@embergrass) will be the host most of the time, with the support of both Lisa (@tickleandsmash) and I (@lightboxsf). This means we’ll be making sure the conversation keeps flowing by asking questions of the group, retweeting great bits of info, and directly engaging participants.

We will have a theme each week that will be posted on the blog, most likely the Friday or Monday before. We also have a google doc set up that any of you can use to suggest a topic. After the chat a recap will also be posted to the blog with highlights from the chat.

How do I join?

It’s really quite simple. Log on to Twitter during the chat time and do a search for #sfetsy. You’ll see the conversation happening in real time. To jump in, just write a post as you normally would, but make sure put #sfetsy in your tweet.

To make following along a little easier there are two recommended tools. The first is tweetchat.com. Just go to the website, set up an account and then search for #sfetsy. Not only does Tweetchat.com make following along a little easier it also automatically adds #sfetsy or whatever hashtag you’re using to your tweets. You can follow new people you meet from this screen, pause the feed if you need to catch up, retweet and reply quickly.

Tweetdeck is also another great option. You can either download the program or access it directly via the web if you’re using Chrome or Safari. Again you need to set up an account that links to your Twitter account. Then you can set up a column that follows #sfetsy in addition to your full feed, mentions, or whatever else you want to keep tabs on.

Can I just say whatever I want?

We will have a topic for each chat, however we also expect the chat to flow like a normal conversation. This means other things will come up that you want to say or share. You also might “see” someone on the chat you haven’t connected with in a long time, go ahead and say hi. All we ask is that you keep it relevant to the chat or Etsy users and be nice. Also make sure to include #sfetsy with every post you want to be a part of the chat.

Do I have to say anything?

No you don’t, you can just follow along and gain the knowledge that everyone else is sharing. However, you will get more out of it by participating. Most importantly participating allows you to connect with new people who may very well become valuable connections later. We encourage you to at least introduce yourself.

Can I contact people afterwards?

Twitter chats are primarily about connecting and sharing information, so yes, you certainly can send a tweet to someone after the chat with a question or introducing yourself, just make sure to let them why you’re contacting them so it doesn’t seem spammy.

Do I need to sign up?

There is no need to sign up before hand, just say hi once you’ve joined the chat, even if you join late.

Do I have to be a part of SFEtsy?

It’s certainly not necessary, but some of the topics or information shared will be locally based. However I imagine anyone selling on Etsy will benefit a little from all of the discussions we have.

If you have any other questions feel free to post in the comments or send them directly my way.

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: Don't Let Fear Stop You

found on pinterest via icanread.tumbler.com

I have a terrible habit.

When confronted with something new, an idea, suggestion, or opportunity, I look for the reason it won’t work before anything else. I acknowledge it with “Yes, but...” the but usually being a short tirade depicting how ludicrous the idea was to begin with. 

It drives my husband crazy, but more importantly it limits me. I don’t sit with the possibility. I don’t imagine how it could work. I let my fear of failure speak first and quickly say, “Yes, but...”

I declared this my year to embrace failure and this terrible habit is keeping me from my goals, but I'm tackling it head on. I’m sharing this because I suspect many of you have the same terrible habit.

So what do we do?

When you feel that sudden tightening and urge to quickly shoot down anything new; stop yourself. Take a moment and say nothing. Sit with the fear and get comfortable with it.

Then shift your mindset.

Think through the idea, is it really all that impossible? Probably not. A big task, maybe. A new direction, quite possibly. Requiring of new skills, hopefully.

I use two techniques to help me push through that fear. First I think through to the end result. What if I were to make this work? What would I gain? Where new possibilities would open up? How absolutely wonderful could it possibly be? Often that’s enough to push fear aside.

If I need a little more coaxing then I imagine the worst-case scenario, how bad would it really be? Chances are not so bad, probably something you could deal with, accept even as part of being a creative entrepreneur. Sometimes by imagining the worst-case scenario you see that you can easily avoid pitfalls by preparing for them, even better.

However, if even after taking time with the idea, imaging positive outcomes, planning for inevitable pitfalls, you still feel that deep down, gut wrenching fear. You must ask yourself if there truly is a reason you shouldn’t push through. Trust that gut instinct. Although if it’s just the “yes, but...” fear yelling louder, take a small step forward, notice that the sky hasn’t fallen, your friends and family still love you, and the world is not laughing and pointing at you. Everything is fine.

Keep taking small steps, each one will get easier.

Fear is natural, but if we let it rule we accomplish nothing. Instead we must act even though we are fearful. 

What will you tackle this year?

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 Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: SF Etsy Team Twitter Chat

Yep, I said it, Twitter Chat.

What exactly is a Twitter Chat? Claire, fellow team member and mind behind Embergrass Jewelry wrote a great post you should read. But the short answer is a Twitter chat is when a bunch of people come together at the same time on Twitter and have a group conversation that's marked by the use of a common hashtag phrase. In this case we're thinking #SFEtsy or #SFEchat. They generally happen either once a week or once a month.

What this means more specifically to the team is that once a week (most likely) there will be a set time when you can join in to get advice and feedback from your local team members and maybe an expert or two on topics like using twitter, networking, building sales, advertising, etc. Basically all sorts of business advice and experience will be shared and you can follow along or join in the conversation just by using the hashtag.

Not only are Twitter chats a great way to get various solutions to problems, but they are great for networking. I'm convinced that my recent participation in various chats is one of the main factors in gaining close to 100 new followers in just 2 months. And these aren't just random followers, these are people that I've connected with and want to continue the relationship.

Claire put together a survey to find out how much interest there is and what times are most convenient for people. If you haven't filled it out, please do.

So Lisa (@tickleandsmash), Claire (@embergrass), and I (@lightboxsf) are putting our heads together to make this happen, but this is for your benefit as a team so please send us questions, suggest topics, and voice concerns. We welcome any and all ideas and will be sure to keep you updated on the when, where and how as soon we've nailed it down.

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: Push Through The Slow Times

Have sales been feeling a little stagnant lately? Have you hit the after-the-holidays-before-the-spring slump? It's normal; things tend to slow down a bit in January, February and sometimes, even March. Regardless of being normal, this may cause mild or even severe panic for some of us. I'm here to tell you to take a deep breath, take a few, and calm down. All you need is a new perspective.

The slow times do not signal the end of the world, they are temporary, just a part of the cycle and something you can use to your benefit. Instead of focusing on the amount of money coming into your bank account, look at the extra time you have since you're not filling orders.

This is the time to focus on making your business better, getting things done that will allow you to run more smoothly when sales pick up again. This is the time to focus on the things that get pushed aside when you’re busy. I promise all that hard work will pay off in sales. You just need a little patience.

Have you been meaning to update your website? Now is the perfect time to take new product shots or rewrite your product descriptions and about page. Block out an hour or two a day and within a week or so you'll have it all done.

Or maybe you've been thinking of expanding into new markets. Spend the extra time you have researching these markets. What problems can you solve, how do they get their information, what key points need to be addressed for a purchase to happen?

Keep in touch with your customers; sometimes they just need a little nudge. This slow time is perfect for reaching out with an update on your shop, new things you’re working on, or even a special sale just for them.

Collect inspiration for new products or a website refresh. Read new blogs, waste an hour or two on Pinterest (you know you can, I now give you permission), go shopping out in the real world. Your brain and creativity needs to be fed just like you do. Find some tasty vittles.

Keeping up with Facebook and Twitter is one of the first things to get neglected when you’re busy, so get back in the conversation and make some new connections. Participate in a Twitter chat, see what topics are trending, find some new competitors and “listen in” on their conversations.

Use this downtime to work on your business, give yourself a little creative refresh, or connect with customers and peers. Soon enough things will be moving again and you’ll find yourself wishing you had just a fraction of the time you have now.

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

The Savvy Entrepreneur: Business Groups Rock!

One of the 3 things I stress to all my clients is gathering a solid, supportive, and like-minded community to help you grow your business. There’s nothing like having people in your life who get it when you’re feeling overwhelmed by keeping you listings up to date on Etsy, feeling run down by craft fairs, or totally jazzed because you just made your 100^th or 300^th sale.

Today I want to share with you the importance of a business group. When Shelly and I first started Lightbox SF we asked a few of our friends who also ran their own businesses if they’d be interested in meeting once a month to talk success, struggles, and general business. We ended up gathering 7 or 8 women to start. We’d meet at someone’s house on a Sunday afternoon for nibbles and wine while we all took turns sharing the good things that had happened over the last month, where we might have hit a roadblock or two, and mining the group’s varied experience to help us solve issues. It was totally inspiring and motivating. I am still friends with all those women even though we no longer meet.

Last month I was lucky enough to be a part of a new group that is just starting up. We are 10 women strong and call ourselves the Success Squad. In our first meeting we all shared where we were at with our business, what we hoped to get out of the group, and our big goals for the year. I am not only honored to be included with such an amazing group of women, but am truly impressed by how creative, driven, and successful they all are.

I share all this with you because I firmly believe finding a group like this is one of the most valuable thing you can do for yourself. While The SF Etsy Team provides all sorts of knowledge and support, there is even more value in breaking into a smaller group that meets regularly and really forms a bond. Not only will you benefit from the collective experience and knowledge, it’s extremely rewarding to have a front row seat to witness others taking their business to a new level.

How do you find this group? Start by asking the other creative people you know, connect with and/or admire if they belong to a business group or if they’d like to start one. If you can find just two people you’re off to a good start and most likely those two people can bring one or two more and then you have a group. I would advise you to keep it around 10 people so that there really is a chance to connect with everyone and time for each person to be in the spotlight without a meeting taking more than 2-3 hours.

These people will become your supporters, confidants, cheerleaders and guinea pigs. They will pull you through the lows and toast the successes. They will be your sounding board and most importantly they will help you see your business in a whole new light.

Do you already belong to a group? How has it helped you?

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or send her a note.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Enterepreneur: Using StumbleUpon to Drive Traffic

I’ve recently become convinced that StumbleUpon can really help drive traffic to your website if you use it somewhat regularly. I’ve been spending some time playing around and reading tips on the best way to utilize it and being the generous geek that I am I thought I’d share a few tips for those of you totally new to it all.

StumbleUpon is often described as a bookmarking site, but in my opinion it works much better as a discovery vehicle and a traffic source. It is a social network, so this means you need to interact and yes follow, not just promote. However it takes much less diligence than Facebook and Twitter to start seeing results.

Getting Started

First things first, set up an account, fill in your profile and interests and start following people - your friends, people you interact with on Twitter and Facebook, bloggers you read, etc. I also highly recommend downloading the toolbar for your browser it will make things much easier.

Once you’ve got your profile all set and are following a few people, start stumbling. This means letting StumbleUpon suggest websites, images, and video based on your interests and what the people you follow like. This is the discovery part. You will undoubtedly find some new things that interest your, articles worth reading, and just generally entertaining stuff.  The more you use it and rate things, the more you’ll find things that actually interest you.

A web page only gets into the system if a user likes it. The more a page gets liked the more it gets shown to other users. If a page gets disliked or no response it will eventually drop out of the system.

Distinguishing Yourself

If you are a helpful user you make the system better and people will take a look at what you recommend. It’s really that simple. So every time you find something on the web you appreciate, like it via your stumble bar. It’s also helpful to write a quick review and/or add tags. This will not only help you find the things you liked again, but will help other users get what they’re looking for.

Make sure to define your interests, not only will this help you find the types of things you’re looking for it will also help you establish yourself as a source for information around that topic.

Also join groups, search out new users and interact. It is a community and the more you give the more you get back.

Generating Traffic

First a word of caution, just liking your own pages can get you removed from the site and it’s simply not being a helpful user. However you certainly can like your pages, especially new blog posts, give them a quick review and get them into the system.

If you submit something new you’ll get a window that pops up congratulating you on a new discovery, take the time to fill in the tags and review, it will help your content get seen by those who are truly interested in it.

The thing about StumbleUpon is that while you can suddenly get 1,000s of new eyes on your website, most of the traffic jumps off just as quickly. So you must still have great content, striking images, or useful videos. Content that has the potential to go viral is great to submit and also helps pull users further into your website.

So take some time each week to use StumbleUpon to find new things, explore the community and submit one or two of your own pages. You will get little boosts in traffic and if your content is useful and engaging they will come back and they will share.

Now go stumble and by all means follow me!

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I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve [at] lightboxsf [dot] com

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: Build A Plan For Success

Business plans bring up all sorts of feelings of dread. We picture thick tomes full of graphs, spreadsheets, and endless paragraphs on marketing segements.

Today I want to you think about writing a different sort of business plan. This one is solely for you and will only take a couple hours of your time and will provide clear action steps for growing your business.

The Big Money Picture

Start with the big picture in money, what does your business need to make and how soon does it need to make that? There’s a time and a place for vision and mission statements, but right now I want you to get straight to the point. Focus on the business you want to build and how long you have to make it work.

 List out all your possible expenses - rent, utilities, travel, marketing, employees, etc. and what you want to pay yourself to come up with a monthly income.

This number might seem scary big, but you want this to be a sustainable business, not a hobby. You need to pay yourself well, invest in the business (marketing, rent, conferences), and still have a cushion for the unexpected.

You also need to know how long you have for the business to reach this level. Do you only have 6 months of savings or do you have a 2-year runway?

The Right Now Picture

Now let’s look at what's already coming in. List all the income you know you can count on and estimate what you’ve been averaging for all the revenue streams you have. Be as specific as you can even if you need to guess at averages.

If you’ve got revenue streams that you’re still building, but haven’t brought anything in yet, don’t forget to note those too.

What’s the difference in these two numbers? Are you thousands off or only hundreds? This will give you a better idea of how hard you need to work, how far you need to go, and how long it will take you.

Where’s The Money?

Now let’s look at your time spent to bring in that income. What are you doing right now that’s bringing in the most money? Can you devote more hours to it? What are you doing that’s bringing in the least amount of money? Is it worth the effort, do you need to charge more, or are you still working to prove a model?

You might see that custom work brings in great money when you get it, but you’re not booking much. Instead you’ve been focusing on marketing your online store. It might be time to switch your efforts toward booking more custom projects. Or you might see that for the time investment craft fairs and trunk shows just aren’t cutting it. You might need to cut the number you commit to drastically and invest your time in securing wholesale accounts instead.

Building A Plan

Now that you’ve got a clearer picture of where the money is coming from and where your time is best spent build an actionable plan to get your numbers where you need them to be. Start with modest goals, but set them high enough to challenge yourself and keep things moving forward.

You might need to slowly extract yourself from the parts of the business that aren’t making money, before you can invest more time into the areas that are. Do you need to learn more about sales or gaining retail accounts? Set goals like increasing your revenue by 20% or booking 2 new clients next month and build from there.

Numbers are hard to ignore, so taking a good look at them will give you a pretty clear picture of what’s working and what’s not. It’s easier to build on what’s already working than add new strategies, products or services that haven’t been tested.

What step can you take next month to get you closer to your goal?

This is the kind of work I do with my clients, because sometimes it’s hard to do on your own. I help them gain perspective on where they are, where they want to go, and what paths will get them there. If you’ve got big goals this year send me an email and I’ll tell you how I can help.

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I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve [at] lightboxsf [dot] com

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!