Made on the Left KickstART Markets workshop

Join Made on the Left for a workshop and networking session as a part of the KickstART Festival! With the KickstART Markets fast approaching, the Made on the Left team will be discussing everything you need to know about selling at markets, with heaps of handy tips about developing your creative business, including;

- Pricing your products/services
- Stall aesthetics
- Tips and advice for selling at markets
- Approaching shops for wholesale

- Coming up with your business name

- Branding and packaging for handmade products;
- and much more.

You'll also have the opportunity to ask questions and network with other independent artists and small business owners.

Past stallholders at the KickstART Markets have found this workshop incredibly beneficial and useful to their business and art practice. We strongly encourage everyone who is in the early stages of building their creative business or practice to come along. Entry is free.

When: Thursday, March 13 from 6.00pm - 8.30pm

Where: Venue in central Northbridge TBA
Register through the Propel website: http://www.propel.org.au/events/1356

Presented by Propel Youth Arts WA in celebration of National Youth Week, the KickstART Festival is a massive series of events designed to spark your creativity. The KickstART Festival will be serving up an assortment of arts workshops, performances, discussion forums, live music, special events and activities from 5 - 26th April, 2014. 

Startup Weekend

Startup Weekend is a 54 hour event that brings together Western Australian designers, developers, entrepreneurs, and experts from all domains to do amazing things. It is being held from 6pm Friday 21st to 9pm Sunday 23rd November at Spacecubed, Ground Floor 45 St Georges Terrace, Perth.

Anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. Ideas are voted on with teams formed around the most popular ideas. Each idea is then thoroughly tested using lean startup principles to see if it will work and is worth pursuing with some teams having to change their business model or idea throughout the weekend. On the Sunday evening each team pitches to a panel of judges consisting of seasoned startup industry professionals with prizes awarded.

Discounted early bird tickets are available here.

Guest post: 10 Qualities That Attract Wholesale Buyers

You’ve spent years perfecting your products, they sell well at markets and you’ve built up a loyal following. But how do you know if you’re ready to start selling wholesale? 

Getting shops to take you seriously as a potential wholesaler can be an uphill battle. What do they want? What are buyers looking for but they never tell you about? Below are 10 qualities that you as a business possess which will separate your products from all the competition and show buyers that you are a brand worth taking seriously.

1. You Make Products That Will Sell In Stores: 
Seems just a little bit obvious but sometimes what sells well in a market or online will not sell well in a retail shop. Personalised items or products that do not display well (made to fit clothing or un-stretched canvases) will probably be rejected by a wholesale buyer because they won’t be able to display the products well enough to get a sale.

Before approaching a shop ensure that what you are selling is something they can display and sell on the spot.

2. You Look Like A Business – Not A ‘Hobby’: 
Shops will be less likely to take you seriously if they think this is just a phase you’re going through. Always give shops every impression that you are a business; return emails and phone calls promptly, have answers to questions they might ask you at the ready, know what kind of delivery time you’ll need, have your wholesale policies in place and stay friendly and approachable but refrain from talking about personal subjects until your relationship reaches that level.

3. Your Branding Is Cohesive: 

Make sure everything about your brand tells the same story of who you are. This includes logo, packaging, website design, business cards, brochures and more. Try this exercise to see if you have cohesive branding: grab one of everything you have that relates to you business that wholesale buyers and customers will see. Spread it all out in front of you and take a good look. What does your brand say? Does everything flow together and look like it all belongs to each other? If not, revise the aspects that do not work and redesign them so they do.

Ella & Lily Photo by Brian Hadwin

4. You Have A Unique Selling Position: 

What is it that you do that sets you apart from everyone else? Do you:

• Create eco friendly products? 
• Use materials that are locally sourced? 
• Use special/unique packaging? 
• Donate to charity with profits? 

Try and refrain from simply stating “my unique selling point is that each item is handmade”. In a world full of handmade products for sale that isn’t a unique selling point. Instead find one aspect that you do that other artists aren’t doing. For example: “My cupcakes are made using only locally sourced ingredients”, “I donate one item I make to a local charity for every dozen I sell” or “My bath salts, including the packaging are 100% biodegradable”

5. Your Products Can Be Consistently Produced: 
From now on when selling to shops you need to be able to ensure that every item is the same as the last so wholesale buyers never get a shock when opening up your latest order. In some occasions you won’t be able to make identical items, necklaces featuring wood found on the beach will never be identical but customers should easily be able to tell the difference between the large wooden necklace and the small wooden necklace. Features such as clasps and wire/chain should always be consistently reproduced.

6. You Have Thought About How Your Items Will Be Displayed: 
You’ve thought long and hard about how each of your items will be displayed and worked on making changes so shops can get the best bang for their buck. Can your products be stacked on top of each other or can you use different packaging so they take up less space? Is everything eye-catching as a display? Do you need to display information with your products and is that noticeable as well?

Don’t be afraid to go back and rethink your packaging if it isn’t working for you.

Fluid Ink Letterpress

7. You Have Amazing Photos You Can Give Shops: 
Always have a collection of images you can give a shop in the chance they request one. Shops will sometimes request images so they can put them on social media, send with a press release or add to their website.

You will need at least one image per product with a plain white background and one image per product which includes props and/or people. Make sure they are crisp and clear, show special details, illustrate packaging and show who you are as a brand.

8. You Can Offer Your Products At A Price Which Allows The Shop To Add A Profitable Mark-Up: 

It may seem unfair that a shop gets to make as much if not more money than you and all they do is selling. But don’t forget the point that they are actually selling your products, without them you would have to sell the items yourself, a costly and time consuming undertaking. They also have many overheads that they need to pay in order to sell your items. If you cannot sell your products at a reasonable wholesale price then you’ll need to change some aspect of your production/costs in order to do so or forgo being able to sell your items at retail outlets.

9. You Can Deliver Your Wholesale Orders On Time: 
To do this you’ll need to perfect your manufacturing process, work consistently until the order is completed and ensure that no matter what else is happening in your professional/personal life you can fulfil the order.

10. You’re In This For The Long Haul: 
Realistically, most businesses take 2 – 3 years of wholesaling before they break even and much longer to turn a decent profit. This means you’ll spend years selling wholesale to shops before it becomes financially worthwhile for you. The personal benefits will kick in almost immediately but perseverance and hard work will get you through the long years. This is good news for retail outlets who will need to know that you will stick around and that the time and money they will invest in you will pay off for them long term.

Jacquie Hughes is a former committee member of Made on the Left. Find her here: delightsociety.com.au

Do you have an Etsy or Madeit shop?

Do you have an Etsy or Madeit shop? If you don’t have one, and you want one, then what’s stopping you? There’s no time like the present to start making your dreams a reality.

Cross Stitch Jewellery Blank - rabbit shape by osmosis on Etsy

Lots of our Made on the Left blog readers are big handmade fans that dream about selling their own designs but haven’t fully committed to taking that step of opening an online shop and filling it with what they make. So why not? What are you waiting for? Turning your craft into a thriving business is really hard work but opening an online shop and selling what you make on there is a simple step that doesn’t require masses of time and dedication.

You can just start with listing one item.

Don’t keep your amazing designs hidden from view. Get out there and show everyone what you can do to the rest of the world. Once you start you’ll see that you really can do it. Start small but dream big.

Tall Rabbit panda brooch on Etsy

And it doesn’t take much time either. Just a commitment of 15 minutes a day will get you slowly but steadily to a fantastic looking shop full of products you have made with your own two hands. The feeling of satisfaction and joy it will give you is indescribable.

Some Etsy and Madeit sellers have been able to quit their day jobs and work from home doing what they love the most. Others take it easy and sell what they make as a hobby, using the profits from each sale to buy more materials. It’s the perfect hobby, one that pays for itself.

It doesn’t matter where you want to end up, now is the time to start it. Take action. Dream big and take those small steps to a creatively satisfying lifestyle.

Head over to Etsy or Madeit today and open that account.

Jacquie Hughes is on the Made on the Left committee and is the founder of delightsociety.com

The Artful Business Conference

Are you a micro business owner, entrepreneur, artist, writer, designer?
Are you incredibly creative and desperate to make a successful business out of your passion, or grow your already booming business?

Spend the 5th & 6th September learning, connecting and sharing experiences to take that next step in your business.

The Artful Business Conference is bringing together six superstar speakers to offer you skills and tools to build your business - Russell Allert (Baked Social Media), Jess Van Den (Epheriell, *bespoke* zine), Lisa Walsh (The Market Mill, Cookie Dough Biscuits), Megan Auman (Designing an MBA), Tara Gentile (Scoutie Girl), Jennifer Lee (coach, author, and artist).

They will cover topics such as social media, branding, pricing, profit and more. They will discuss, in detail, ways to get comfortable with making money from your art, what creative types need to have in their business plan and even how to set up your online shop.

The conference is being held in Brisbane but you can buy a virtual pass and watch it all live online!

See the program, buy tickets or visit the website for more information.

Melbourne Design Market applications open

Do you have a product, idea, or something savvy that should be in front of the people who matter? Do you feel like taking your products on an interstate trip (and hopefully not bringing them back)?

Well, applications for "THE Melbourne Design Market" are now open!

The market is on Sunday 29th July from 10am – 5pm at Federation Square undercover carpark for the eighth year.

The Melbourne Design Market's selection process for prospective stallholders is highly curated to ensure the quality and diversity of products on offer to shoppers maintains the highest standard.

If you have high quality design products or a design-led business, then go to www.melbournedesignmarket.com.au to apply by 30th April.


Please note that all traders are required to have credit card/eftpos facilities and stall costs start at $550. This is big time, people!

Pricing your Product workshop

If you're 18 - 30 years old and want to know more about how to price your products, then you're in luck!

Propel Youth Arts WA are presenting a series of workshops for young creative people: Amplifier 2011 – Business Workshops for Creative People!

Pricing Your Product Workshop
Who: Amplifier is recommended for 18 – 30 year olds
When: Thursday 8th September
Time: 4.30pm – 7.30pm
Where: Northbridge Piazza Community Cultural Room, cnr James and Lake Street, Northbridge (entrance to the room is on the right of the big screen)
Cost: Free

To find out more email Emiko Kinoshita, Programs Coordinator at emiko@propel.org.au or call the Propel office on (08) 9328 5855 or register online.

Free Artist Business Workshop - ABAF

Artist Business Workshop

Find out how to sell more work. Get media interested in your art. Find out more about how tax and insurance affect you. Spend more time making art, and less time working at other jobs.

Whether you work full time as an artist, or supplement your artistic career with other work, you can improve your knowledge and skills at this FREE workshop.

Topics:

1. business basics – an introduction to tax, insurance, risk management and copyright
2. building relationships with clients, commercial and community galleries and artist-run spaces
3. going to market – documenting artwork and building a client base
4. promotion and media relations

Date: Monday 16 August 2010

Time: 9.30am to 4.30pm

Venue: Freehills, Level 36, QV1 Building, 250 St Georges Terace, Perth

Cost: FREE

Presented by: Andrew Gaynor.

Register: Online at www.abaf.org.au or complete the registration form and email to skillsdev@abaf.org.au or fax to 03 9614 2550.

Places at this workshop are limited – please register early to secure your place. Each participant receives a workshop kit.

From handmade to wholesale

The Living Creatively website has a new article on how to take the step from selling directly to customers, to wholesaling to a retail outlet. There is particular reference to Etsy sellers that makes the advice in this article an interesting read:

http://www.livingcreatively.com.au/creative_business/in_business/handmade_to_wholesale