Starting Up Your Own Small Business

Some Advice & Tips

Starting up your own small business can either be a disaster, a true headache and financial loss, or it can pan out to be rather great and very profitable. There are definitely pros and cons to owning your own small business and it’s not for everybody, but if your heart is in it and you follow some simple guidelines it can prove to be amazing. Being your own boss and making your own schedule is really so worth it in the end. I’d like to share some of my tips and advice to those thinking about or in the midst of starting up their own biz and some things that have worked well from me in the 6 years since I started my company.

As many of you reading this might know, I had a long career in television and no background in the field of custom drapery or design. When I was almost 40, I felt like my TV career was at a bit of a dead end and I often felt I was able to offer more. It was a very stable job, with great benefits and perks, and also I got to work with a really great group of people. For a very long time, I felt the job was super fun and I worked on many fun shows with musical guests and interesting people and celebrities but the programming all changed a bit and I found myself in a rut and doing the same jobs as kids coming in right out of college and pushing buttons all day. I felt there was not much room to advance and needed a personal challenge. I then started selling headbands on Etsy for cheap and I didn’t really do it for the money but rather just to start something new up and as a side hobby. I then randomly added a roman shade I made for my house to my headband shop and the orders started flowing since many order more than 1 shade since many windows and each item was more money than one small headband. It was not overnight and took a lot of trial and error but after about 2 years of making the roman shades and feeling confident the business was going to do well, I made a risky decision to leave my 20 plus year career to pursue my own business. In the 6 years, it has been greatly increasing in sales and revenue year after year. My website, sewlovelybykelly.com, has also gained a lot of credibility on Google and is easily found when searching. Never paid a dime for pro CEO or web design. So my internet sales have reached the same number of sales as Etsy, which I used to mostly rely on.

Tip #1

Never invest a ton of money into a start up. Yes, always mentioned on Shark Tank, but it’s so true. Find other ways to dabble in the idea that doesn’t require a ton of money up front to see if the idea will work first. Start small to make sure the idea is going to work rather than take a full plunge.

Tip #2

Think outside the box when purchasing supplies for your product. Try to save money on supplies as much as you can. For instance, there are many products specifically made for roman shades. “roman shade ribs,” “roman shade tape” etc. Do you research and see if you can find alternatives bc the supplies made specifically for that might be much more money. For example, the ribs that are made for shades are twice as much as the “wooden craft dowels” I purchase on Ebay made for general crafting projects. The dowel tape I use for the pockets is much less expensive than the advertised “Roman shade Rib Tape.” I have even used zip ties on shades rather than similar expensive “roman shade” clips. It does the job just as good but since it is not used for that purpose, you can save so much money on supplies and expenses.

Tip #3

Design your own website on Squarespace. It’s a yearly fee and very inexpensive and they have nice templates to choose from. I am not very computer savvy but it is fairly easy to fill in your own information using the templates. The SEO on Squarespace sites is great and they do most of the work. No need to pay hefty fees and hire a SEO pro! SEO and web designers are very pricey.

Tip #4

And a little more about SEO… Use the name of the service or product you’re selling many times throughout the website so search engines are certain what your website is about. Don’t have just a 1 page website. Fill it up with as much information as possible. Add names to images you put on the site, for example “roman_shade.jpg.” Link credible websites on your page. Update your website rather often. Add a phone number to your website. Have a blog and update the blog if you have nothing else to update. The updates show search engines the website is active. Also on Etsy, I constantly link my regular website to get more traffic to the site, which boosts SEO. I have the website on all of my IG posts. If a customer contacts me via Etsy, I send a link with measuring instructions and fabric selection to direct them to the website… tons of hits on the website now and very good visibility in Google search. Also if a reputable business can link your website on theirs, it’s even better! This shows again that you’re a legit site and it will do well on Google.

Tip #5

Be very patient. Money won’t come flowing in over night and for me, it took about 2 years to really get into a groove. If after a year or two, the business is not making you a profit, rethink your plans and product.

Tip #6

Try to have something stable coming in while starting up your own business., or at least have a lot of money saved in the bank in case it fails. Don’t quit a stable job without knowing if there is a good chance your start up will work. If you decide to quit your full time job, make sure your significant other as steady income or you have enough money banked in case of failure or it taking longer than expected.

Tip #7

If you’re opening up a shop on Etsy, make sure your shop is full of items. Don’t just list 1 or 2 items bc this doesn’t look as impressive to the Etsy buyer as a shop filled with at least 10-20 times. Even if you only sell one thing, create listings that are pretty much the same item but a different variety (color, size etc) so it comes off that your shop is stocked with items.

Tip #8

If you’re shipping goods, try to save on shipping supplies. I use recycle boxes from customer’s fabric they send. I also get free boxes off USPS.com and I build my own boxes to make them bigger. I used to spend about $150 a month on boxes! Now I spend nothing on them! USPS priority mail is usually much cheaper than UPS or Fed Ex.

Tip #9

Try to find suppliers near you because it makes it much easier when you’re in a pinch for a supply. Many of my suppliers are local and it’s great bc I can drive over to get a supply.

Tip #10

Definitely create an IG and Facebook page for your biz and offer select free-bies. If you’re just starting up, consider collaborating with someone with a lot of cred on social media etc. and offer them a free or discounted product, in exchange for a shout out and tag. For instance, I have made a few free/discounted shades for popular design bloggers who have thousands of followers. They tag the product I made them, and suddenly 500 new Sew Lovely followers and inquires that day. It’s worth doing the free work for the exposure.

Tip #11

Find your niche and market. Do something different to make your own business stand out from the others. As a start up, you’re going to need to somehow gain customers without any reviews and experience. So you need to really stand out. For me, it is budget custom roman shades using customer supplied fabric. Sure, you can get roman shades at a big box store, but not ones in custom sizes using customer supplied fabric. Also my shades are much less expensive than most shops so I get a ton more traffic than others in the custom workroom biz. I’m able to cut pricing bc off the above, Tip #2, saving on overhead and supplies.

Tip #12

Plan on working harder than you ever have in your life, possibly to the point of shedding a lot of tears, to get your business up and going.