At the end of the week, I often take a minute to reflect on the state of my business and how I feel about it currently and how I feel about it’s future. It isn’t always pretty. What helps me to sort through my thoughts are staying focused on my overall goals with Kentucky Pop-Ups.

What is your overall goal with your craft/makers business? Do you want to make a little side money? Do you want to network and slowly grow your business? Do you want your business to be your main source of income? Knowing where you WANT to go should guide the steps you take toward your business.

My sister and I often talk about business ideas - we brainstorm, we imagine, we dream. Inevitably we arrive at the question - can this scale? If the idea relies on the limitations of our labor and time, then it likely will have a cap on how big it can become.

Not all businesses have to scale or grow! They can be an outlet for your creativity, a means to fund your crafting habit, or simply just a way to make a few extra dollars. Even in these cases, you should have goals for your business. And every day you should do something, no matter how small, to move towards those goals. Live your life with intention.

I challenge you all to get out a notebook and write down business goals for:

1 year, 5 years, and 10 years.

Want to know mine?

Taking Professional-Looking Product Photos

If you have a craft business, then you will be taking pictures of your products. If you have an online shop attached to your business then you know the importance of quality professional-looking photos. Even if you don’t have an online store, you do (or definitely should) have a social media presence. The pictures you post let buyers not only see what you have to offer but can also tell if you are a serious business owner by the quality of your photos.

Taking great pictures does not have to be expensive or require professional training. Our phones can do it all! Check out the tutorial below!

I have been an art teacher and counselor for the past 20+ years. Before that, I owned Art Company, Inc. - a full service art supply store, gallery of art, and frame shop.

I have been making and selling my pottery for the past 2 and a half years. I use only the clays from Kentucky Mudworks (primarily the Turtle clays and the Brown Bear clays). I also get all of my raw materials from them, to blend my own custom glaze recipes.

I make functional pottery to sup from - mugs, steins, wine glasses, dog mugs, espresso cups, and tumblers. In addition to standard pieces, I create unique and stamps and relieve molds to produce specialty works. From roses and mushrooms, to Santa Clause, I can design unique custom pieces for anyone. Logos, names, and more, can be incorporated into a series of tailored pieces. I sell directly to the public through the golden opportunities provided by event hosts, and I can sell through retail via wholesale or consignment pricing.

I am eager to learn more about developing my website beyond the historical value it has for my travels.

We often talk about ways to have a successful market which usually focuses on things you can do to increase sales. We should also think about how each market is a community of vendors each trying to grow their own business. None of us at the event is an island, rather we are Pangaea! What we do for each other at event is as important as what we do for ourselves. I think this article about vendor event etiquette is great! I would say that most of my vendors do ALL of these things MOST of the time. However, we all need some reminders from time to time. What should we include that isn’t in this list?

Do you like podcasts?

Here is one I recently stumbled on and am enjoying!

Or are you more of a YouTuber?