Today I'm pleased to share this fantastic guest post by Joanna Petrone of Ach Ach Leibling. Joanna started her jewelry business in 2006 while also working as a freelance writer and researcher. Her business grew slowly and expanded organically over the years, and is now how she makes her full time living, with sights set on further expansion of her studio by 2010.
She has learned that despite rearing-to-go intentions to dive in head first into things, success inevitably comes from trial and error, from looking before you leap, from learning by experience. Your business simply is not going to become an overnight success, no matter how much you may wish that were the case. It takes time, patience, planning, assessing and Joanna's advice on how slow growth leads to smart success.
{photo by nelle100. Start small, grow slowly. Easy does it.}
For people who are naturally
inclined to plan and organize, it’s probably a no-brainer to look
before leaping when starting a business, but for others, myself included,
it can seem impossibly frustrating to do anything
other than roll up the shirtsleeves and just make a mess. But you can learn a lot through the trial-and-error
of experience, and there are some definite benefits to starting small,
in a part-time trial or hobby mode, and seeing where that takes you.
Starting small and growing slowly gives you the time to develop your skills, the flexibility to experiment with different styles, and the opportunity to test your products in the market. You can gauge customer response before you expose yourself to the pressure of relying on your business financially. And by growing slowly and reinvesting your fledgling business profits into tools and development, you can diffuse your startup expenses over a timeframe that is manageable within the constraints of your budget and your life.
Even if your business is only in its seed form, making the effort now to put down a groundwork capable of supporting your business as it grows can save you hours, heartache and hard-earned dough down the line while preparing your business with the best possible chances for long-term success.
Setting Long-Term Goals
One concept that may seem obvious but can’t be overstated is the value of having long-term goals. Not general ones like “be successful” or “make a living”; I’m talking about really specific, tangible aims.
It’s helpful to
visualize: In your wildest dreams, what does your business look
like? What products or services are you providing and how are
they packaged? Who are your customers? Where do you meet
with them and what does that place look like, smell like, sound like? What actions do you perform at your workplace and who is there with
you? How do you feel when you are working, how long are you there,
and what feeling do you get when you arrive home at the end of your
workday? How much money do you take home as pay? How does
your business fit into your larger vision for your life?
This isn’t fanciful daydreaming. Answering these questions is a way to visualize your success, and that vision will give you something real and concrete to work towards. Active visualizing can also help you predict where you may run into problems and can empower you to make decisions with more confidence and less angst.
(*editors note: our business plan challenge can help you get all these questions answered and on paper for you to refer to as your business progresses.)
Making a Plan
Once you know what you want
your business to be, you can start planning the nuts-and-bolts of how
you are going to make it work.
If you are a crafter you will probably
need to pay special attention to issues of capacity. How much
inventory can you actually make in a workweek versus how much will you
need to sell to cover all your bills and still pay a living wage to
yourself and any employees. And remember, you can’t—I repeat,
can not-- spend eighty hours a week at the sewing machine or the soldering
station or the band saw—not only because you doing so will likely
cause emotional burnout and possibly lead to physical injury, but also
because you need time to do all the promoting, selling, shipping, marketing,
and bookkeeping that are also integral parts of your business.
It can be hard when you are just getting going to think ahead to a time when you’ll need to pay someone to help you, but by doing so you will be building a foundation that will support your business’s growth. You want to have prices, policies and systems of producing and managing inventory that won’t fall apart or bankrupt you under the pressure and demands of success.
Getting Serious about Finances
Another thing you can do to
give your business the best possible start is be serious and honest
about all your financial transactions—really, all of them.
Separate
your business money from your personal money as early as you can. Anytime a tool is purchased or a bill paid from your personal money,
record it as an owner’s investment. Don’t steal from your
business to pay for your lifestyle or you will choke off your business’
potential to grow and nourish you in the future.
Record every transaction, no matter how tiny, and if you aren’t already familiar with basic accounting concepts and practices, then now’s the time to learn. You can save yourself a huge amount of grief and many boring hours of data-entry down the line by setting up QuickBooks as soon as you can afford to instead of waiting until you can’t afford not to. If you ever need to write a business plan for a loan, this will not only make your work putting together financial statements a million times easier, it will also greatly enhance your credibility to have real, accurate numbers to point to.
Going through the process of creating transparency in your business finances, it’s common and normal for business owners to have to confront personal issues with money and finance. As an independent business owner, financial goofs and indiscretions from your past have a way of coming back to haunt you, as do dysfunctional behaviors. Creating transparency in your personal finances and practicing good habits like living within your means, budgeting and saving have a direct and long-lasting impact on the health of your business.
Working with Trusted Advisors
Another step you can take early on that has the potential to spare you from major grief later on is putting together an advisory panel of a few people you can turn to for professional help when you need to.
Choosing a lawyer, an accountant
and tax consultant, and a technical advisor before you are actually
confronted with a situation where you need them, means you’ll have
the time to suss out individuals whose expert opinions you trust and
who are a good fit for your needs.
If your budget is extremely constrained or if you just don’t know where to begin, start with a drop-in legal or financial aid clinic or hotline. You will get the most out of your meeting or phone call if you show up with a clear and concise list of questions and issues you’d like to address, such as the best way to select a professional or how to locate and use low-cost alternatives.
Becoming Part of the Community
And finally, but importantly,
you will be giving your business the best possible chance at succeeding
if you don’t think of yourself as flying solo but rather as a member
of a larger community of people who help and support each other.
Being
an active and positive member of your community is one of the best ways
to start building goodwill for your business. Beyond that, being
involved in a community is fun and personally rewarding.
Take classes,
get involved, volunteer. Be kind and helpful to others, always. As a reader of this blog, you likely already recognize the power of
connecting with other like-minded individuals. Challenge
yourself to build on that in offline situations as well and to reach
out to people with different backgrounds and experiences from your own.
Don’t be afraid to start conversations with local business owners,
especially those whose businesses you admire or appreciate. Just
asking questions can give you a valuable perspective on what it’s
like to run a business in your neighborhood, open your eyes to local
resources you may have overlooked, and give you a sense of camaraderie
with someone embarked on a similar journey.
Check out community centers,
micro-enterprise nonprofits, community colleges, vocational schools,
trade or craft affiliations, and professional organizations and take
advantage of free and low-cost coaching, mentoring and seminars offered
through the SBA and SCORE.
Starting Small, Growing Slowly
When the big picture feels
daunting or your big goal impossibly far off, just focus on doing what
you are able to do now. Building an independent business from the ground
up is an odyssey-- challenging, slow and frequently beset by forces
outside your control. Work at creating a good journey, rather
than a speedy arrival, and you are more likely to end up in the place
you need to be. Practicing good habits, thinking ahead, minding your
processes and systems and, most of all, being transparent, authentic
and kind in all your actions will give your business the greatest possible
chance of success over the long haul.
Joanna Petrone started her
jewelry company, Ach Ach Liebling, in 2006 on a folding table in her
studio apartment while also working as a freelance writer and researcher.
In early 2008, Ach Ach Liebling graduated to a dedicated studio space
and is now Joanna’s full-time (and, she hopes,
life-long) vocation. Joanna lives in
the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco with her gentleman friend
and their three-legged cat. She is proud to be a graduate of the Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment
and an enrolled student at Revere Academy for Jewelry Arts.
