Start a Handmade Business
Kari Chapin
Lessons
Day 1
111 Pre-Show
07:37 2Creating the Lifestyle You Want
19:44 3Benefits of Owning Your Own Business
37:11 4Setting Intentions and Goals
21:59 5Fear and Unexpected Success
42:03 6Facing Your Fears
22:28 7Knowing Your Ideal Customer
34:01Building a Customer Profile
23:06 9Ideal Customer FAQ
19:28 10Preparing for a Craft Show
35:20 11Booth Q and A
16:25 12Free Preview: Tips for Craft Shows
19:00 1311 Wrap-Up
04:36Day 2
1421 Pre-Show
13:40 15Whats in a Name?
30:23 16Selling Online
31:44 17Customer Communication
19:48 18What is Marketing?
33:21 19Engaging Marketing
28:29 20Small Object Photography
42:56 21Shoot: DIY Lightbox
27:04 22Pricing
24:13 23Packaging
18:28 24Policies and Item Descriptions
35:53 2521 Wrap-Up
06:58Day 3
2632 Pre-Show
13:30 27Blogging vs Websites
37:18 28Social Media
38:30 29Accounting and The Law
29:31 30Records are Fun
21:04 31Business Plans
12:24 32Press and Media Coverage
28:57 33Media and Press Q&A
22:10 34Venues for Press
26:08 35Thanks and Credits
10:20 36Product Development
23:03 37Crafting Success
23:21 38Defining Success
18:00 3932 Wrap-Up
04:21Class Description
Most artists and crafters are easily inspired to create new work, but getting inspired to build a business that shares that work with the world can sound like a much more daunting prospect. Kari Chapin, author of The Handmade Marketplace and Grow Your Handmade Business, is ready to teach you everything you need to know to break into the online marketplace and share your work with the world.
Kari will help you determine the online sales venue that’s best suited to your handmade goods. You’ll learn about the pros and cons of both selling through an existing online marketplace (like Supermarket or Etsy®) and setting up your own independently-operated website. You’ll also develop the optimal marketing strategy for sharing your products with the world, from social media to blogging to branding and packaging. Kari will cover essential best practices for running a successful crafting business, including confidently setting price points, creating media kids, acting as your own publicist, and much more.
No matter what you make, this course will give you the confidence to see the things you have to offer as uniquely valuable to customers, the inspiration to take your work to new heights, and the foundation you need to ensure your business’s success.
Class Materials
bonus material with purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Cathy
Kari Chapin's course, Start a Handmade Business, was a game-changer for me. Her content was presented in such an accessible, engaging, easy-to-digest, and oftentimes hilarious way. At the same time, she did not sugar-coat things. Having a handmade business is a job and requires work. I love that she emphasized that fact. Not only did she give the nut and bolts of how to start a handmade business but spent a lot of time on the emotional component of being an artist trying to sell her work. Her guests (Skype and in-studio) were well-chosen and showed the rapport she has with her community. This showed that she lives what she teaches. The interaction with the studio audience and online community was integral to the course because it showed real-life examples of business owners at varying stages in their career. (I was so lucky to be one of the studio audience members. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity!) This class was a comprehensive look at handmade businesses that everyone from fledgling businesses to more established businesses can benefit from. I highly recommend this course! Thank you Kari for sharing your mind-blowing wisdom and warm and fuzzy heart with us! And thank you CreativeLive for having this awesome resource for the creative community! --Cathy Pascual, catshycrafts.com
Domesticraft
Well, it's been a few days since the course and I am still pumped. Kari said a few things in particular that I needed to hear and I'm so grateful for that. I have been involved in the facebook group she put together and I am so happy about that. It's an awesome resource and my fellow creatives have been very helpful and encouraging. I totally recommend this course to any creative entrepreneur at any stage in their journey. Plus she is cute, funny and has just the right amount of snarkiness. I so enjoyed it!
a Creativelive Student
I loved this course with Kari Chapin! Her wealth of information delivered with such an honest and funny voice was refreshing and inspiring. I have accomplished things in the last few days that have languished on my to-do list for a year or more, largely due to this class. Kari is very down-to-earth and just plain adorable! I highly recommend this course for anyone creative who has or wants to have their own business.
Student Work
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