Marketing Materials

Another aspect of business that was new was marketing materials.  I know many people who have their own personal business cards.  As many people have day-jobs that support their interests, the personal business cards are handy in getting freelance work and networking.  They also have their own web sites.  It seemed funny that I, someone with this much internet experience, didn't have a web site of my own.

Now that I had a storefront it pointed out what else I would need to make my business successful.  I had the product, but I needed means of selling the product.  Telling people about what I did (for now my introduction went from "I want to be an artist" to "I am an artist) and what I made, I found they were interested.  They actually wanted to see what I was talking about.

Also, in pursuing stores, craft fairs or even continuing to sell online I would need to have a professional demeanor.  

The first step would be the logo.  I looked at all of the business cards I accumulated and went to web site of designers I admired.  There were many ways I could go.  Did I want to be broad?  Did I want to have a specific niche?  Finally, I started asking people.  When asked what people thought about my work, everyone kept coming back to one item: The Pineapple Necklace.

Simple, sparkly, sophisticated and unlike anything else I realised this was the way to go.

Now the web site.  Because I'd worked in web development so long I had a complicated approach to the web.  In my realm, any site required five rounds of design approval, professional writers, professional photographers, top-end developers.  Again, I was afraid.  What if it wasn't good enough?

One afternoon, I decided to just jump in.  I was going to put something up.  If it wasn't perfect, it could change.  If I didn't like it, it would be a learning experience.  Sitting around thinking about it wasn't going to get it done.

The basics took 2 days, including some trial and error.  It's still evolving.  But it's me.  Maybe some day I'll change it or find I have new needs.  But right now, I have a web site.

In a matter of a few weeks I went from being completely lost and frustrated to making a sales, having a logo and website.  Not bad!