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Hi there, it's Sue and thanks for joining me for Tips and Talk

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Day. These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions

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and things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small

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business. If you'd like to submit a topic,

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DM e over on Instagram at Gift Biz Unwrapped.

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We've covered so many facets of a handmade product business over

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the course of the years and today is no exception.

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We've talked about how to start and grow your business stories

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from many of you who have done just that. How to choose and use social media sites,

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build your website. Oh my gosh,

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there is just so much information here for you,

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but not necessarily at your fingertips.

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So I've made a tool for you that categorizes by topic

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the episodes of this podcast, but only the ones that stay relevant over time because yes,

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let's face it, there are past shows that just don't work anymore for us

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today. The world is changing so fast,

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right? You can use this tool to zero in on whatever

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topic you need at the moment. Do you wanna hear from others in your specific industry?

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How about details on Pinterest or setting up an email strategy?

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You can now easily find the right episodes and create your

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priority listening roster. Consider this your Gift Biz resource center at a glance.

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It's a Google Sheet best viewable on your computer versus your

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phone. Make sure to look on the bottom where there are

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five separate sections for easy topic reference,

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kind of like chapters of a book. It makes finding the shows to help you with what you're

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working on right now, so much easier.

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To access this free resource, go to gift biz unwrapped.com/picks.

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Congratulations. You've started your business maybe last week or perhaps years

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ago. You were exhilarated when you made your first sale,

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and from there the focus was on getting another sale and

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then another one, and when that happens,

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then you start thinking about how you can grow even faster

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and bigger. Always looking at that next level.

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The desire to stretch for more and more has been ingrained

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in us over the decades. The thinking that bigger is better.

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Bigger meal portions gives you more deliciousness to enjoy in the

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moment, but you pay for it with your health and on

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the scale. SUVs are great when you have a lot of kids to

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cart around or for your camping and fishing weekends,

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but there are a lot more costly to fuel up.

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A big home sends the message that you've made it,

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and I agree. It's really nice to have quiet spaces to sneak off to,

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but they also come with higher prices,

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more upkeep and other pressures,

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big, bigger and then even bigger.

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We've been told it's what we're supposed to do.

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It seems to me these days we're being forced to finally

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get it and back up a bit. Due to the rising costs,

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portions are shrinking to keep the price the same.

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We're rationing our driving or considering smaller vehicles to take into

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count the costs of getting around, and I'm sure you can think of many more things that

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apply to you where you're trimming back.

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While it may feel like less initially,

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it can actually make us happier and healthier to have less.

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An article in life intelligence lists five areas that are improved

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when we focus less on more and more on quality.

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First, it increases independence,

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confidence and comfort in being who we are,

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I guess because you're focused on what's right in front of

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you without comparing yourself to others.

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Second, it increases focus on what you deem to be important

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because you've eliminated many of the distractions.

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This leads to richer experiences in both your personal and work

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activity, and along these lines, there's a greater appreciation of the little things because you're calm

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enough to be more attentive and observant.

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This can also help with increased productivity because you're not multitasking

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all the time. Four, eliminating these distractions and the continual jumping from one thing

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to another improves your mental space,

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a calmer mind, if you will, overall adding more minimalistic elements into your life decreases stress and

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anxiety, which brings greater happiness and fulfillment.

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Late last year after one of my talks,

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I had a woman come up to the booth with some

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questions. We got into this discussion about growing bigger.

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She was feeling forced to do so by those around her

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when actually she was perfectly happy just as she was.

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Her business is producing a living salary.

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She only has a couple of other people assisting her and

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it integrates into other things she likes to do outside of

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work, like spend time with her grandchildren and play golf,

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but she felt like she was failing if she wasn't growing.

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Hmm. Wonder where that idea came from.

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Given all the outside influences of bigger is better when we

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really got down to it. She just wanted confirmation that staying exactly the size she is

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now is okay, really. She asked,

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of course, I told her, that's the thing about your own business.

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You can control it so that it's right for you.

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I saw an immediate release of tension from her shoulders and

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her face seemed to lighten up too. She thanked me over and over again before she left,

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all because I gave her permission not to grow.

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Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying growing is bad.

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If that's what you want. If you have certain financial goals to achieve so that you

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can drop your nine to five, of course you need to build your business to a certain

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level, you may be energized by continual growth year over year.

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It's wonderful to have that energy and drive.

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It's just not the only way.

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Along this line of thinking, I thought it might be helpful to point out some of

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the changes that can occur in your business When you grow.

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The purpose is for you to think about how you'll manage

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these changes, so you still love what you created based on your level

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of growth. You don't want to accidentally grow your business into a burden

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versus a joy, and don't underestimate this.

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It happens when you first start a business as a maker.

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It's because you love the act of making and doing more

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of that and seeing others enjoy your products is a beautiful

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vision. Reality is slightly different,

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however, and by thinking ahead about how you'll manage the changes

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or to what level you want your business to evolve can

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keep it a business that you love. Here are six ways your role in your business may change.

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First, the amount of production time goes up.

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Of course, as orders increase, this is one unique facet of handmade.

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The more sales, the more work you've created for yourself in making.

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Not to mention the other parts of filling the order,

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like invoicing, packaging, and shipping,

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but at some point you'll reach a limit of how much

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you can physically make on your own.

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There's simply a hard stop to the hours available in a

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day. This cuts off additional growth unless you,

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and this is my second point, hire help to take some of the tasks off your plate.

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When you hire people, even if it's only one person,

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your role changes into a management position.

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They take direction and guidance from you to do their job.

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As you continue, leadership comes into play too.

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You set the tone for the business that needs to be

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communicated to your employees from the overall vision to how you

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communicate with customers online, in a phone call and in person,

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your day-to-day changes because they'll be questions and decisions to be

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made and communicated to others for things you used to handle

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yourself. Space also starts to become a consideration as you grow.

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When orders are consistent, you need more product on hand to quickly produce and ship.

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That means your stored inventory will increase actually with both your

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product components and your finished pieces.

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Product dependent, of course, this can creep into and overcome your personal space if you're

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working from home. This increase in inventory and addition of staff necessitates you put

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formal processes in place for tasks like payroll and inventory management.

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It's beneficial to get this in place in the beginning so

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it can grow with you without it being a huge project

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down the road. Sustaining and continuing to grow will also require new methods.

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Email marketing and use of social would be solid options to

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put in place. And as you can see,

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bringing all these things into your business takes up more of

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your time and gets you farther away from your vision of

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making. It's not a bad thing.

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You're building up your business. I personally love the management and leadership role,

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but it's not for everybody. As a spinoff of this fifth point to grow,

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you'll want to add in multiple sales channels.

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For example, some people do in-person shows and sell through their website.

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Some have multiple websites like Shopify and Etsy,

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some sell live inside Facebook and Instagram.

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Having multiple sales points gets you visibility to different audiences,

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so more potential for sales.

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As you can see with all of this,

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it becomes more intricate and complicated and amazing.

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If it's what you love like I do,

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but it's not for everyone, and that's the message.

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Success of your business is defined by you and you alone.

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If you need permission, like the woman I mentioned earlier,

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gosh, I wish I could remember her name. I'm giving you permission now to build your business to great

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heights. The peak being what feels best to fulfill you and

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bring happiness, balance, and pleasure to your days because you're doing what you

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love. That's a wrap.

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I'm a get to the point kind of girl, and this is what you can expect from these quick midweek

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sessions. Now it's your turn.

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Go out and fulfill that dream of yours.

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Share your handmade products with us.

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We want them and they bring us both.