Dealing with Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks!

It seems like everywhere I look, someone is learning how to make wreaths. Is there any wonder that there would be such competition among creatives and women looking to make their home beautiful while at the same time, building a small business or at least making some money doing their 'hobby?'

This is why I am always telling my group that in order to stay competitive in an industry you have to expand your thinking a bit. You can't simply sit back, make a few wreaths and sell them at your local craft fairs. You may make some money but not like you could if you simply rethink who your buyers and sellers are and why there is such a difference in the prices one might pay for a wreath.

Sure you're going to have those that make them for $20-35 dollars all day long, using supplies they find at their local dollar stores, but the quality also shows. When you get into the business of wreath making at almost full time, you can see where they're cutting corners or how much they're really spending and they are selling their wreaths at a loss instead of making any profit. So what can you do to stay competitive in a highly competitive world?

You have to learn new things. I don't mean learn new techniques, but also how to find that buyer who really wants what you have to sell. To create a loyal customer base, to learn the best ways to market your wreath and how to begin to turn more than just a profit. I guess you have to ask yourself, just how much time to you have to invest in bettering yourself and your business. Trust me, some people simply want to sell $100.00 wreaths all day long, but struggle because either (1) they are pricing them way too high for what work or materials they put into them, (2) their picture quality won't sell a buyer to give them more than a casual glance, or (3) they don't care about their customers or their product, they're too excited to make money.

Now while the old saying of "in order to make money, you have to spend money is true" to a degree, you can offer high quality products by simply being savvy, but in also spending money to learn more. I am paying for a private class in teaching me more than simply how to make a wreath, but also different ways to save money, build more things like floral arrangements and garlands. I also take a monthly business class that teaches me how to use social media as a way of marketing to potential customers for free, how to manage my business, from taking great pictures to engaging my customers and viewers by stepping out of your comfort zone. I guess the real question is how much are you willing to invest to make what you're doing successful. You have to be willing to risk something. The question really is, are you ready to do whatever it takes to get you there? 

By the way if you're interested in my wreaths, you can find them at Kat's Creations!