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Food For Thought

Handmade Loves E-book Review

By | Food For Thought, Product Reviews, Small Business Tips, What's Trending? | No Comments
Hi, Friends!

I am so thrilled to write this blog post dedicated to the new e-book called, The Handmade Loves’ Guide to Instagram Success: How to Build an Audience and Make Sales, written by our founder Emily Strom!  As an artist and small business owner, I have similar concerns and questions as many of the makers in this community. And like many of you, I use Instagram as my main source of marketing. I LOVE Instagram! I Love taking pictures of my products, staging the perfect photo, and editing the color just right. I love creative writing and coming up with silly captions and picking the perfect emojis to go along with it. But after all that fun stuff is done, it’s time for the marketing and hashtagging. If I am honest, marketing, in general, seems extremely inauthentic to me. That is why this e-book is SO helpful. It gives marketing advice that does not seem pandering or cheesy. I am going to list a few of my favorite takeaways from the book that got me motivated to make some marketing changes in my business. Hopefully,  they click with you, too!

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Creative Burnout

By | Food For Thought, Thoughtful Thursday, Uncategorized | No Comments
Last week, I finished my 4th quarter of graduate school. I was so excited for a three-week break. I was planning on doing some painting, writing, and other fun crafty things. But when my last final was turned in, and the first school free Monday came around, I felt like doing nothing! I didn’t want to write. I didn’t want to paint. I didn’t want to do anything creative. All I wanted to do was lounge around and watch Netflix. I was experiencing the dreaded creative burnout!!

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Why You Should Give

By | Food For Thought, Tips & Tricks | No Comments
I started Handmade Loves because I am passionate about shopping small, buying handmade, and supporting artisans. When Handmade Loves turned the ripe old age of one, I reflected upon my business. There was something missing. I knew I loved the business. I knew that I wanted to continue to build it. But, I also knew I wasn’t feeling completely fulfilled. I took a serious look at what I needed to do to keep the business growing in a positive direction.  After some reflecting,  the answer was clear to me: I wasn’t giving for the sake of giving!

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Three Tips for Managing Stress

By | Food For Thought, Tips & Tricks, Treat Yourself, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Ever let the stress of running a business get the best of you? As small business owners, we are constantly pulled in several directions. If things are not kept in perspective, it can become overwhelming very quickly.

As you may or may not know, Handmade Loves is going through a huge growth spurt and we are going to be offering a variety of new (and free) resources for makers. In preparing for the changes, I was becoming more and more stressed. Then it dawned on me. I have been setting false deadlines. Of course, I want to keep things moving, but I had to step back and realize: I’m just one person. No one is expecting me to get things done today. I was putting pressure on myself.

Always in search of ways to remain calm, happy, and healthy, I found these strategies helpful:

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