Early May, I attended a talk by Ms. Apol Lejano - Massebieau held at
10A Alabama about building a creative online business. Ms. Apol is the lovely lady behind
LaPommeHome, an online shop filled with delightful things for your kids' room. Her works also graced the pages of
Elle Italia as well as famous design blogs such as
Decor8 and
Poppytalk to name a few.
Aside from aspiring to have my own creative online business, what got me to sign up for this talk was the article entitled
"Why I Quit Selling Handmade"as a brief on what the talk is all about.
Ms. Apol was kind enough to share her two cents on what needs to be done when you plan to build a creative online business of your own. It was a lovely morning filled with brilliant ideas over coffee and a yummy French delicacy which name I forgot.
Let's start with the basics. In order to start up a creative business, you must first know your style. Choose what feels natural to you and stick to what you believe is beautiful, real and useful. There should be consistency in what you post or blog in order to establish your brand.
Second, you must establish a connection with your
followers which I prefer to call friends. Say something about your life story, what inspires you and what keeps you going but be careful not to over share ;)
Third, don't do it alone or else you'll feel the burn out. This part right here is in line with the article provided earlier. From what I understand and in my opinion, it all starts with you. The idea, the crafting and all the hard work. But when you feel that you need extra hands, i.e. in accounting, marketing, don't be afraid to ask around for help so that you can focus on your craft.
Fourth, Pricing. This will always and forever be my weakness. I think from a hand maker's point of view, it's hard to price something that took you countless hours to perfect of craft. Sometimes, when a potential buyer gets so appreciative of what you created, you tend to give something as a freebie. As a result, you made your heart happy but lost some pennies along the way. I am not complaining on that part, it's okay to give freebies from time to time, but let's be honest, these won't pay the bills :) What Ms. Apol suggested is to thank them for their kind words and don't sell yourself short. Ask help if you need to tap into the financial side of things.
Lastly, the lovely Ms. Apol strongly advocated to
stop the mindless consumption. Let's support crafters, handmakers and all DIYers. After all, they are selling their craft, time, talent and passion which I think is priceless :)
The talk was followed up with a mini-pop up shop that showcased the products provided on this blog. Please make sure to visit their
online shop for more hand crafted creations. If there will be another talk by Ms. Apol, I would definitely sign up! :)
Life is great, appreciate :)
Love Always,
Gelibee
