More Than WE Know

Most entrepreneurs will tell you that they are interested in success. But as I frequently remind Women Entrepreneurs - even more important than achieving success, is achieving success that is sustainable.

Sustainable success requires the ability :

• to plan your business and then stick to that plan
• to keep a financial safety net and a realistic growth plan
• to say yes to intelligent risks and say no to foolish ones
• to focus on your strengths and rely on others to contribute theirs
• to ask for help when you need it and to help others when they need it
• to keep an eye on long-term gains and not worry too much over short term challenges

Beth Falk, owner of Stone Soup - Jewelry for the Real World, has built a business that is based in the real world. Her business goals focus on sure, steady growth that enables her to remain true to her artisan self.

Beth, tell me about your business

I’m a jewelry designer and silversmith. I sell my handcrafted jewelry online in my shops at Etsy and Smashing Darling, through several retail shops, and in person at craft shows in New England. My company name is “Stone Soup Jewelry,” inspired by the classic folk tale.

What is your best holiday item?

My sterling Snowflake Pendant has been popular; my best seller year round is my Lotus Blossom Pendant.

What inspired or motivated you to start your business?

I’m a stay at home mom, and while I love being with my kids, I need to have something that’s “mine.” I’ve been involved in several small entrepreneurial ventures throughout my career, and I’ve hit on something that I truly love to do, that feeds my creativity.

What keeps you motivated?

The fun that I have working with metal – that and the fact that I love, love, love quiet time to myself in my workshop.

How did you fund your business?

My funding so far has been relatively small scale. I used some personal savings to buy my first rounds of supplies and tools, and now I put the proceeds from my jewelry sales right back into the business.

Good tools are so critical to my work that I know they’re a worthwhile investment, and I’m giving myself a couple of years to turn a significant profit.

Who is your target market?

Women age 18-50, for the most part.

What percentage of your business is online? What is your ideal percentage?

At the moment, I’d say that no more than 20% of my sales come from my online shops.

The bulk of my sales are through my wholesale accounts with other retailers and direct sales at shows.

But my website is critical in promoting my business, because I have a photo gallery and lots of information about my work there. Ideally, I’d like to get to the point where at least 50% of my business is conducted online.

Where do you get most of your customers?

Word of mouth – I have some loyal repeat customers who have brought me lots of other sales, and I often hear from people who’ve seen my work in a retail shop and then come directly to me to buy more jewelry.

I find that paid advertising is probably my least effective marketing tool.

Networking and making sure I have a presence in my community (whether that means the town where I live or the online communities in which I participate) have been critical.

Even if you’re a one-woman show, you need to think about developing your brand and getting people to recognize it. I don’t expect immediate returns from some of the networking that I do; I expect that people will remember my name, and that often generates a sale far down the road.

What is the biggest challenge you faced and how did you overcome it?

Finding the time to learn my craft and to keep up with my work. For the most part, I overcome that obstacle by sacrificing sleep, unfortunately. Lately, I’ve become better about asking friends for help, whether that means watching my kids or promoting my work for me.

What was the best unexpected thing that happened to you?

Developing a wholesale relationship with a large national retailer. I submitted photos of my work on a whim, and thought I’d never hear back, and now I’m working on a line of jewelry that will be exclusive to that retailer. It was such a great boost for me to have someone significant appreciate and respond to my designs!

How do you manage a wholesale distribution as a one-woman business?

My relationship with the retailer is a work in progress, really. It’s a company that works with quite a few individual artisans, so the buyer understands the limitations of a one-woman show - and the company’s repeat customers also understand that items aren’t always available because they’re not dealing with mass producers.

I’ll be creating all the pieces myself (I don’t have any plans to create a production line, as that would take a great deal of the fun out of this for me). At the moment, neither of us is concerned about supply. My plan is to produce a few samples, and then to set aside blocks of time to produce the pieces, but I feel comfortable that I won’t get in over my head.

When I first started talking to the jewelry buyer for this company, I gave her some numbers that felt realistic to me, and she was OK with them. My goal for the relationship is to create a solid wholesale account that will give me some guaranteed income. It won’t be enough to supercede everything else that I do, but if it can cover my supply costs for a year, that would mean some significant progress for me.


How do you see your business growing over the next few years?

The question of scale is such a critical one for entrepreneurs. The actual metalwork that I do is something I love, and I’m not currently interested in giving that up in order to grow the business. I know that means I’ll have some limitations - I have only two hands and only so much time - but that’s OK with me for now. At the end of this year, when I sit down and look at my sales figures, I’m planning to re-visit some of my business goals so that I understand what I can expect from my work and whether I need to make
sacrifices to get it.

This business is never going to be our family’s primary source of income, but it’s also very much a part-time job, and so that’s OK.

But I would advise women in business to think carefully about what they can accomplish as a one-person company, and what it means to start hiring employees or subcontractors, and to get advice about the costs and benefits of all that as they begin to draft a business plan. It’s hard to figure out some of this stuff on the run, though one learns a lot that way.

What do you wish you had known when you started?

I wish I hadn’t been so hesitant to ask for help and advice. I’ve found that almost every “expert” I’ve approached has been quite generous in providing information.

When I was new to wholesale marketing, a shop owner sat down and explained the whole process to me, and gave me lots of advice about how to structure wholesale contracts, how to approach stores, how to think about pricing my work, etc.

Do you have kids? Do you work at home?

I have two daughters, ages six and three. My six year old is in school all day, and my little one goes to preschool two days a week. My workshop is in my home.

What is the biggest challenge of being a work-at-home mom?

Time, as one would expect. I need time and space to myself to maintain my sanity, but I don’t want to feel as if I’m shortchanging my kids. The reason I decided to give up work outside the home was so that I could focus on them, and sometimes I have to remind myself of that.

How have they helped you be a better entrepreneur?

My older daughter often talks about how “cool” it is that I make things, and she loves to come to craft shows and help me. She’s so proud of what I do that it makes me realize it’s OK to have some work of my own. And I do think it’s a good model for her to watch me work.

How has being an entrepreneur helped you be a better mom?

When I take the time to focus on my own work, I find that I’m better able to give back to my kids and appreciate the time with them. The balance that my business provides gives me more energy for parenting.

What advice do you have for other Women Entrepreneurs, or Entrepreneur-wannabe’s?

Don’t be afraid to actively seek out help and advice from other business owners. Don’t assume that your competition won’t share anything with you – and remember that the best way to learn is to ask questions. And don’t dismiss your own abilities and talents!

To see more of Beth’s hand-crafted silver jewelry, visit Stone Soup.

To get my special report on 7 Steps to Sustainable Success for Women Entrepreneurs -> Click Here.

If you have a business that sells gifts online and would like to be profiled on More Than WE Know this holiday season, please contact me at Liz (at) Morethanweknow (dot) com.

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(click on this picture to enlarge - see Sarah’s “blurred hands” hard at work!)

One of the challenges of building a new business is getting noticed in a crowded marketplace. You want to put all of your energy into creating your products and learning the ins and outs of business, but instead you seem to spend all of your time trying to market and sell.

One short-cut to increased exposure is to leverage an online marketplace like etsy.com.

Etsy is a site with a large web presence that draws potential customers seeking unusual, one of a kind, hand-crafted goods.

When Sarah Natividad wanted to expand her business, Curious Workmanship, she immediately saw the advantage of setting up a shop on etsy.

Sarah was able to augment her in-person sales and the sales from her own website, with her “online store at etsy.” She leveraged their drawing power and their target market. She also benefited from networking in the community of artisans who sell their goods on etsy.

By leveraging etsy, Sarah has been able to expand her business into wholesale and outsource some development to contractors. This has freed Sarah up to focus on strategic planning, design and financial management.

Here is her story.

Sarah, tell me about your business.

Curious Workmanship is a home-based business. I make and sell hand-crocheted baby booties and other items for retail and wholesale.

What is your best holiday item?

Definitely the booties! Sneaker booties and cowboy booties accounted for 45% of my sales last holiday season.

What inspired or motivated you to start your business?

I was getting sick of my “day job” and I’ve been wanting to quit doing it for the last few years. At my “day job” there isn’t always work, and when there is work you have to commit to it before you see the schedule, and it lasts for months at a time with no flexibility whatsoever to the schedule.

I wanted to have work that I could do from home that I wouldn’t have to quit for half a year every time I needed to go through a round of doctor visits or potty-train a difficult child.

What keeps you motivated?

I really enjoy having a business; I need no external motivation. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve had a little business selling stuff I made. I sold little crocheted motifs and needlepoint bunnies to my friends when I was a kid.

I also am motivated by seeing the effect my business has on my kids. My daughter copied her mom and not only had a profitable little business selling sachets, she hired other neighborhood kids as salespeople.

She drives a hard bargain at allowance time!

How did you fund your business?

I started my business with a tiny plastic bin full of dishcloths made from leftover yarn, which I sold at the local farmer’s market under a canopy I borrowed from my dad. I just kept snowballing the profits back into the business.

My husband and I had financial problems that wouldn’t allow us to get any sort of credit, so I did it the old-fashioned way. Whenever I got extra work, I put that money into the business too.

Now Curious Workmanship can put on a full 10′x10′ expo or market booth, and the business has its own credit card with a small credit limit. But I still sell at the farmer’smarket sometimes, just to see my old friends and customers.

Who is your target market?

Surprisingly enough, it’s women around the age of 45. You’d think with baby items I’d be targeting moms of small babies, but they’re mostly scraping to get by. It’s Grandma who spoils the child with fancy booties, especially their first grandkids.

What percentage of your business is online? What is your ideal?

At the moment, pretty much all of it is online. I haven’t been able to do as many shows as I’d like to, because of my kids’ needs. For this year it’s been 80% online, 20% shows. I’d like it to be more like 70%/30%. I just haven’t been able to get away as often as I’d like.

Where do you get most of your customers?

Etsy has been the best advertising I’ve had. At the moment I get most of my wholesale and retail customers through Etsy. This summer, when I had my website down for revamping, I sold online exclusively through Etsy, because it got me many more sales than my website.

What is the biggest challenge you faced and how did you overcome it?

In 2005 we moved about 2 hours’ drive away from where we lived when I started Curious Workmanship. We moved for my husband’s job.

It gave me easier access to a bigger market, but at the same time it reduced the amount of time I had available to sell to that market, and I had to re-learn what worked in my area. I just had to work through the pain and the losses I incurred trying out new craft shows to see which ones worked for me.

I joined a local business networking group, and just kept my ear to the ground to find opportunities to sell.

What was the best unexpected thing that happened to you?

I started making booties again. I say “again” because I used to make and sell them when I was in high school, but I stopped when I went to college. I sold them to my mom’s friends in those pre-internet days, in pretty much the same format I sell them now (as a boxed gift, attractively presented).

I brought them back to my product line a little over a year ago to try to cross-sell my hand-dyed onesies. Booties quickly took over my life. By October I had my entire production capacity booked through April for wholesale orders. I got so sick of making the same old booties over and over. Now I have contractors making booties for the wholesale orders, so that I can have time to be creative again.

What do you wish you had known when you started?

Microsoft Excel. I’ve learned a heck of a lot of Excel since I started my business. Also PHP. I still haven’t had time to learn any PHP, and I could sure use some knowledge of it for maintaining my website.

Do you have kids? Do you work at home?

I have four kids: a girl age 10, and boys ages 7, 3, and 1. Two have Asperger’s Syndrome and two have food allergies. They are very challenging, but they are all great kids and I love them dearly. They help with the orders sometimes and fight over who gets to carry the outgoing packages. My daughter crochets the ties for the soap holders.

What is the biggest challenge of being a work-at-home mom?

Keeping my kids from unpacking my orders while I’m packing them, or dropping food or toys into the boxes. They also really, really like my yarn ball winder, so I can only wind yarn balls when the younger ones are sleeping.

They’re also very fond of dumping bins of yarn balls, just for the joy of seeing them roll across the floor. I can’t complain about that though, because I’ve often gotten a product idea from seeing various colors of yarn balls randomly sitting next to each other.

How have your kids helped you be a better entrepreneur?

My kids definitely keep me on my toes. They make entrepreneurship a relaxing escape! Their enthusiasm for my products inspires me. They absolutely adore the things I make for them.

How has being an entrepreneur helped you be a better mom?

It gives me the flexibility to work around my kids’ needs. If they get sick at school or need me to cook a special meal for them or need to be put on the potty every 10 minutes, I can make time to do that as an entrepreneur, whereas with my “day job” I can’t.

What advice do you have for other Women Entrepreneurs, or Entrepreneur-wannabe’s?

Do The Math. Don’t be afraid of the M-word, and don’t shy away from “crass” calculations of profit! Calculate your costs and profits, and include your labor as a cost.

Don’t sell yourself short because you’re “just a _____” or “only a _____” (fill in the blank with whatever it is you are– housewife, uneducated, female, crafter, etc.)

To see more of Sarah’s booties and lots more clever creations, visit Curious Workmanship.

To get my special report on 7 Steps to Sustainable Success for Women Entrepreneurs -> Click Here.

If you have a business that sells gifts online and would like to be profiled on More Than WE Know this holiday season, please contact me at Liz (at) Morethanweknow (dot) com.

Many businesses are jumping on the “green” bandwagon these days.  It has become fashionable and profitable to advertise a company’s “ecologically-friendly” practices. But very few companies are bold enough to make ”being green” the foundation of their company’s business model.

FeelGood Organic Hampers is different - in short, they were “green” before “green” was even cool.

When Amanda Webb realized that there were no organic hamper distributors in Ireland, she recognized it as an opportunity. 

She seized the position of “first and only” organic hamper company and then set about educating her customers as to why that made her hampers superior to the rest.

Amanda let her customers know that the advantages of buying organic and locally made products were:

• better flavour
• better health
• better animal welfare
• better environment
• better economy

She also tied several of her products to a local charity - so the recipient gets to enjoy a basket of wine and chocolate along with the knowledge that they’ve just made a donation to the local children’s hospital.

Amanda really gives her customers a lot to “feel good” about. 

Here’s her story:

Amanda, tell me about your business.

At Feelgood Organic Hampers we create gifts that will be remembered. Not only do our hampers contain the very best in certified organic gourmet foods, pampering skin care and baby clothes but they are also environmentally friendly. We pack our hampers in recyclable gift boxes, tied with string and hand stamped with our company logo so that they stand out.

What is your best holiday item?

At the moment three of our hampers are outselling the rest: The Snowman, The Midnight Feast and the Tin soldier but we sell well from our entire collection at this time of year.

What inspired or motivated you to start your business?

After spending almost 10 years in the film business, I began to realise that I wanted to be my own boss.

I have always loved being on the receiving end of hampers. As a child my Father’s company used to send one to all it’s employees and I have very warm memories of 
opening them with my family, rifling through the straw and pulling out all the items. 

I’ve always been a bit of a hippy and when I discovered that no one else in Ireland was offering exclusively organic hampers I decided to pursue that niche.

What keeps you motivated?

It’s hard to be motivated all the time and I know that I, like everyone else, have my ups and downs. I try to keep myself motivated by networking as much as possible, it really helps to share your experiences with others who have been in the same position.

At this time of year I am so busy that it is hard not to be motivated, It’s probably why I enjoy the Christmas period the most.

How did you fund your business?

I started with my savings and then worked my way up to my credit card and my family’s savings.

Who is your target market?

Within the corporate market I tend to target the marketing manager. We seem to appeal to a good cross section of businesses. The ones most enthusiastic about environmental issues and the outdoors are usually our best customers.

We also target individuals who are looking for something really special for their friends and family. We have a good strong client base who buy from us again and again.

What percentage of your business is online? What is your ideal percentage?

At the moment people in Ireland are still relatively cautious of buying on line. Although I get a lot of hits on my website people are more likely to call me to order after looking online first.

About 10% currently buy online. I would like to increase this to 50% but I would really miss chatting with my customers on the phone.

Where do you get most of your customers? (word of mouth, advertising, networking, press releases, etc.)

I do all of the above and word of mouth has always been the most effective form of advertising for us. A lot of this comes from networking so I network as much as possible.

I have recently upped my PR.  I’ve been getting a lot of press and this always shows in my webstats so it is something I will be doing more of. I generally find that advertising reaps very few rewards and at best just pays for itself.

I do think it is worth doing when your business is quite new as it helps establish your brand but as time goes on I do less and less of it.

What is the biggest challenge you faced and how did you overcome it?

I think the biggest challenge for anyone starting a business is dealing with yourself and your own fears. If you can learn to put them aside and motivate yourself you are going to be better at business.

I’m not a great saleswoman but I still push myself to do more of it and learn more about it and the better I get at it the better my business does. 

What was the best unexpected thing that happened to you?

That’s a hard question. Probably getting mentioned on a national radio station two years ago. I emailed in in answer to an item about hampers that they had run and they read out my reply. I still get sales today from people who heard about me on the show.

What do you wish you had known when you started?

Nothing. I think if I knew what I know now it might have put me off starting out in the first place. Every lesson I have learned has been even more valuable from living through it.

Do you have kids? 

I don’t have children but one of the reasons I wanted to start a home based business was that If I did have children I could be around more for them.

What is the biggest challenge of being a Woman Entrepreneur?

I don’t thing there is any disadvantage of being a female entrepreneur. There are so many resources out there for us now that we seem to be making the men jealous.

I don’t have children so the biggest challenge for me is getting out of bed every morning. If I only have to stroll through to my home office I tend to leave it  later and later. I have been known to work in my PJ’s but it’s not something I would recommend.

What advice do you have for other Women Entrepreneurs, or Entrepreneur-wannabe’s?

Don’t be scared. As long as you plan well and face one task at a time - there is nothing stopping you from becoming successful.

If you want to feel good about indulging yourself,  visit FeelGood Organic Hampers.

If you would like to learn more about the charity FeelGood Organic Hampers helps support, visit Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

To get my special report on 7 Steps to Sustainable Success for Women Entrepreneurs -> Click Here.

If you have a business that sells gifts online and would like to be profiled on More Than WE Know this holiday season, please contact me at Liz (at) Morethanweknow (dot) com.

At More Than WE Know, I frequently recommend that Women Entrepreneurs find a niche that is:

• narrow enough to be distinct
• deep enough to allow for expertise and variety
• engaging enough to tap into a customer’s passion 

 and that appeals to a target market who has demonstrated a  willingness to spend money.

Greyt Inspirations has found such a niche in their unique designer products for pets and pet owners. 

In today’s Woman Entrepreneur profile,  I talk to Joanne from Greyt Inspirations. Joanne and her husband started their business 4 years ago, after their children were grown.  It is a shared passion that they have built together. They have developed a wide variety of products, from custom dog collars to dog-embroidered fleece jackets and tote bags and one-of-a-kind stained glass art. 

Their website is more than a store - it is a community in which customers can share their own pet stories and pictures and receive free advice on pet care, first aid and more.

They are also affiliated with a charity, Hope for Hounds, that provides funding to cancer research for greyhounds through the Greyhound Health and Welfare Program at Ohio State University.

Their related links include pet adoption and pet freebies. They keep a regularly updated blog and offer a monthly chance to win a free collar to all new newsletter subscribers.

There’s a lot going on at this site and it’s no wonder that Greyt Inspirations is a success with 100% of its sales online.

Here is their story:

Joanne, tell me about your business.

At Greyt Inspirations we design, create and sell pet and people products, specializing in embroidered and personalized products. We started with dog collars and leashes and have grown from there into embroidered clothing, embroidered fleece blankets, embroidered baseball caps, stained glass art and pet-themed jewelry.

My husband is the stained glass artist. He has been doing stained glass for more than 15 years.

What is your best holiday item?

Dog collars have always been my best-selling product, year round. I have a line of Holiday collars that are quite popular at this time of year.

What inspired or motivated you to start your business?

Our 3 greyhounds were and continue to be our motivation for the business. I started by designing and creating dog collars for our dogs. Friends and family then started asking me to make their dog collars so I decided to get into designing and creating dog collars for sale and have loved it from the moment I started.

What keeps you motivated?

Our greyhounds and the many, many people we have met and become friends with. The more involved we become with the greyhound communities through common interests and business, the more we love the entire experience.

I have always been involved in crafts and have tried many different types of crafts. I always seemed to return to something that allowed me to use my creativity. Researching, thinking, designing and creating pet products allows me to fulfill my creative side and I love seeing dogs wearing my creations. It is very fulfilling to have a customer come back to me for more and more collars and leashes.

I am always looking for new and unique fabrics, fabric trims and designs that I can use for embroidery. It is so much fun when I come across something that is truly unique and adorable - that I know will look fabulous on a collar, leash or an item of clothing.

How did you fund your business?

We funded Greyt Inspirations from our own money. Because of this, we had to start slowly and build the business as money permitted. It has taken a few years but all the hard work is finally starting to pay off.

Who is your target market?

Pet lovers.

What percentage of your business is online? What is your ideal percentage?

Greyt Inspirations is 100% online store although we do attend a number of events/shows throughout the year in Canada and the States.

Where do you get most of your cusotmers?

Word of mouth, advertising, networking and press releases.

What is the biggest challenge you faced and how did you overcome it?

There was quite a learning curve for me with regards to “business”. My work experience is “technical” so the website creation and maintenance is fairly easy - whatever I don’t  know, I do the research and learn how to do it.

Business was a totally new experience for me. Much of what I have learned over the past 4 years is by research, trial and error, networking, discussions with other business owners, etc.

I made a number of mistakes and looked at them like “live and learn” instead of worrying about them.

I know that I will always be learning and adapting but that is one of the things that I enjoy about running Greyt Inspirations - there is always something new.

What was the best unexpected thing that happened to you?

The best, unexpected thing to happen to us is how many new people we meet every year andhow many friends we now have all over Canada and the States. We never dreamed that we would meet so many wonderful people through our business, let alone become close friends with many of them. This has been a Huge Bonus for us.

What do you wish you had known when you started?

I wish I had had more experience with business, business management and marketing/advertising.  I think that if I had more knowledge of these, I may have been able to make Greyt Inspirations successful a lot sooner.

What advice do you have for other Women Entrepreneurs or Entrepreneur-Wannabe’s?

Do your research and get experience before you start the business. Take a business course, marketing course, advertising course, bookkeeping or accounting software course before starting. Know what you are getting into and learn what you need to do to succeed.

Then have fun!

To purchase Joanne’s  fun and unique products, visit Greyt Inspirations.

If you would like to learn more about cancer research for greyhounds, visit Hope for Hounds.

If you have a business that sells gifts online and would like to be profiled on More Than WE Know this holiday season, please contact me at Liz (at) Morethanweknow (dot) com.

Many modern-day Women Entrepreneurs can relate to the following poem, first published in 1920:

My candle burns at both ends;

It will not last the night;

But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends–

It gives a lovely light!

-         Edna St Vincent Millay

It seems that in nearly 100 years, WE have not gotten any smarter when it comes to creating sustainable success.  

WE build our businesses in and around our jobs and our families.  WE sacrifice sleep, exercise and time for ourselves in order to pursue our passions.

Of course, this type of enthusiasm can be engaging. WE don’t mind the sacrifices we make because they feel worthwhile. WE are building something of our own, something that lets us be who we really are. WE feel that at last we know why we were put on this earth and what we were meant to do.

The exhilaration, passion, and energy feel good.  WE find ourselves feeling real joy and a sense of accomplishment.  WE feel that we ourselves are the ones giving off a lovely light!

The problem, as Edna points out, is that this type of effort is not sustainable – it cannot last the night. 

How long can WE survive on 4 hours of sleep, poor nutrition, and no exercise? 

Even if our health doesn’t suffer – our creativity and intellect do.  Over time, WE become less able to handle every day crises. WE become irritable, short-tempered, demanding and impatient.  WE cry more easily and get discouraged more quickly.  WE feel alone, lonely and incapable of getting off of the relentless merry-go-round that we have created.

So, what are WE to do?

The solution is to create a schedule and a system that enables us to maintain passion in a sustainable way.  It is okay to get caught up in the flow and excitement of creativity – but not all the time. It is okay to care passionately about the quality and customer service of your business – but not to demand perfection in every instance.

WE need to find balance in our lives:  

• Lose one night of sleep working on a project – but not every night.
•  Skip one nutritious meal – but not every one. 
• Miss one workout – but not every day.
• Give up some of your personal time – but not all of it.

The key is to replenish ourselves in between the tremendous demands on our energy.

It’s admirable that you want to sacrifice for your business. But you need to think of your light as coming from an oil lamp rather than a candle.
As Edna describes, in the end a candle always consumes itself and burns itself out. 

An oil lamp, as long as it is replenished on a regular basis, will continue to burn brightly forever.