Craft Business ~ Corporate Imaging

It is important for your business to have an image.  A style and colour scheme that reflects and accentuates your product.
You need to think carefully as it can involve some expenditure and time to come up with the correct image.
Think about your business, who is your target market? What style are your products?
setting up a mood board that reflects your business can often help at this stage by giving a cohesive feel about it.
Once you have come up with a scheme, then you need to implement it into all your business areas: web site, blogs, social networking, stall layout, publicity, packaging and stationery so that your "image" becomes recognisable.

Think ahead too.  I have made very costly mistakes in the past because I didn't look ahead to where I would want to be in the future.  Would my product line, market etc develop or change for the future?  (think carefully about your business name, can you expand your range under that name or would another one be more suitable?)

Try looking at other sites that sell similar items to you.  What is good and bad about them?

I think the easiest way to show styling is to use two examples of businesses and the styling involved.

front page of web site

My business is creative design.  I work in many media producing jewellery, tiaras, keepsakes, collage and many other things too.  My client base is a wide age range and because of the huge range of products I make, it's also got to appeal to men and women.

Product photos page of web site

 I want a cohesive look to my site, stall and social media. For me the idea is to keep things uncluttered, clear and product focused.  I use white backgrounds so that the product stands out.  (my technique for white background photography can be found here.)

facebook page

I have chosen an accent colour scheme of pastel pinks, blues and purples.  My wrapping, stationery, leaflets and stall set up ( top photo) all reflect these colours and style.

 

wrapping

leaflet

In comparison is another website I developed for Gill Tomkinson of Lavender Blue who is a friend who specialises in Lavender, pinks and floristry.  This is a very different business to mine and whilst still being creative, it's a much different feel.  The plants and flowers need to be shown in a totally different way. Gill sets her stall out with hessian and so it was natural that hessian would feature in the design.  

Header

The stall

Web page

The colour shceme would naturally be lavender blue.  It was also a cert that flowers would feature heavily in the design.  

Showing these two contrasting sites should give you something to think about with regards to your own products and suitable corporate imaging.

Craft Business Photography

Your Photographs are the first thing that will catch a perspective clients eye and real them in to look at your item on your website. There are lots of examples around and I am sure you have seen them, where blurred, badly coloured, out of focus or confusing images are pasted onto the site.  It's just really bad.  Personally I'd rather not list a product if my photo's are not up to the mark.
I am in no way trained to use a camera and I have no state of the art equipment, only a very old digital camera (Nikon coolpix 3100), but with trial & error and an awful lot of patience and a little IT interference! I have been able to produce clear photos.  It can be done.
I'm personally a fan of the all white background.  There is nothing to draw the eye away from your product, the product stands out and it all looks clean and professional. 
My method is not fool proof, I sometimes take several pictures before I get the image I want.

• I take several sheets of white printer paper and lay them flat
• Lay out the product making sure that the componants are all facing the right way, 
• Ensure there is enough space around the item.
• Set the camera onto the macro setting (Looks like a small tuplip) and the flash to Auto.
• Put elbows onto the table.  Tilt camera  so it is directly over the item at forearms length.  Take photo.

• Load photo to computer
• go to photo processing software (I use paint shop pro 6)  
• open photo
• Crop image leaving equal area all around photo (or square if using Folksy)
• Adjust brightness if required (but remember to makesure you are not changing the colour as it needs to be a true representation of your item,)
• Whiten background using colour flood tool.
• clean any grey areas with the spray can 
• Save photo. 

before

After

The little bit of time and concern shows a professional image and will look so much better.

Examples of use of the white background. By hand over your fairy cakes!

Although a white background will not be the correct corporate image for many craft businesses, the idea of comformity and quality carries through.

Marketing Your Business

Having a web site is not enough. If you design and set it up and then do nothing, you are never going to reach good positions on Google and the other search engines.

It’s like having a child, you have to feed it and care for it and encourage it.

You’ll spend a lot of time promoting your site.

• Directory listings: there are a lot of directories on the web where you can list your site. You will in most cases be required to then link back to the directory. You therefore set up on your site a links page, and this is where your reciprocal links go.

• You can link your web site with other people, in exchange for you linking to theirs.

• Social networking is also great. Be careful that you abide by the rules though or you will get banned. You can join forums relating to your product etc. 

http://www.craftsforum.co.uk/ is a great place to share about your craft and to also help other people out. There is a whole bank of knowledge and experienced crafters and craft business owners who will offer advice.

• Listing sites such as http://www.craftjuice.com/ are great show cases for your handmade items.

• Blog: Blogs are great tools for promoting your work. Google blogger is easy to use, Free and has the ability to post pictures easily. You should aim to blog regularly and to get started it takes 5 minutes!! You can link to your web sites and do anything you want:www.rarabazaar.blogspot.com  is an example of how blogs can work for your business.

• Remember that when you are on the internet, you represent your business. Be careful how you respond to people and how you show yourself. Be polite, avoid angry confrontations, avoid political and controversial view points.

• Social networking sites like twitter and face book, can be excellent promoters. Be Careful though to draw the line between business and personal use. It’s worth setting up a business identity and keeping that professional. Again, remember the image you are portraying.

Marketing is an ongoing thing. Remember, that everyone is a potential client. That doesn’t mean that you do the hard sell on everyone, but that the more people that know about what you do, the better. 

• Word of mouth is an incredibly powerful thing. If a friend recommends you to a friend of theirs, then it’s a real boost and they automatically have confidence in you.

• Be confident. This is often easier said than done. Always speak positively about your work. Do not point out your flaws etc. Try the approach of ~ I will only say positive things!

• Carry around samples, business cards or leaflets. Leaflets are incredibly good. They are easy to make and cheap to pint on your own computer. Use your corporate imaging, include photos and explanations of all the things you do. Contact details again must be there. 

I personally no longer use business cards. I find that people are less likely to go away and look up your web site with a business card. They will however peruse the information supplied on the leaflet. They will see examples of your work and read details of all the things you do. 

They are also great to send out with orders as they give the overall about you.

They can be updated and printed often in short runs allowing you to have the latest info each time.

• Local interest groups: like the WI and ladies circles etc are always on the look out for local speakers. They are great events to do. You basically have 45mins to an hour of self promotion, demonstration and get to hand out leaflets to a captive audience. They do tend to book a whole years events in advance, so bookings can be a long time off (and what’s more you get paid!) 

• Craft fairs: Craft fairs in the UK are on the whole a poor event. You can not just go to one and expect people to buy. Like all things, there are good and bad. Good organizers monitor the type of stalls allowed. They promote (but as a stall holder, you should also spread the word!) they make sure that there is a good footfall (that the event is not somewhere with no passing people) but they cannot make people take money from their wallets. You should always ask the following:

1. Will there be bought in products as well ? ~ Avon, Virgin Vie, Tupperware, Phoenix cards really do not belong at a craft fair. They sell mass produced good and undermine the nature of the handcrafter and handmade product.

2. How many of each craft will there be? I once attended a craft fait with 30 stall, 16 of which were jewellery and 6 were cards. That is bad organizing and means that the consumer is overwhelmed by the same items, it also means that the stall holders become very negative and the atmosphere of the fair can become unfriendly and unprofessional.

Sometimes it can be very hard to be accepted into craft fairs because of the nature of your product. It can be tempting to go for any you can get into, but it can be extremely demoralizing to attend a poor fair. There are plenty of crafters that sit in fairs all day and don’t even make their stall money back.

You should always check out the organizers by Googling their name, or going on to http://www.craftsforum.co.uk/ and asking or searching the site for details.

• Local producers markets: these are regular markets and if you can get into one then over time, you will build up a regular cliental. There are often stringent requirements and these should always be adhered to.

I attend a local farmers market and it’s not merely the sales that matter, but the potential for attracting business. It’s important to engage the people at the stall, you have to learn when to speak and when to stand back, but this comes with experience!

• I also write projects for craft magazines and it’s wonderful to see your self in print. It’s also a talking point and a selling point and gives you credibility as a crafter.

You should aim to have a corporate image even as a crafter and it should compliment your style, business etc.
Your choice of colours should be consistent and echo'd on your stall dressing, business stationery, packaging etc.  I shall write further on this in the next post.

Running A Craft Business

TAX:
Many crafters find themselves turning a hobby into a business purely because their crafting begins to attract people to buy.
In reality, the moment you sell an item you are infact trading and therefore need to inform the Inland Revenue.
In the eyes of the inland Revenue, there is no such thing as a hobby business.  In short, if you trade, take money or reward for an item then you are trading.
In the past you had upto three months to notify the inland Revenue.  Now they expect you to do it as soon as you start trading.  Failure to do this can result in fines, so you need to notify them ASAP!

You will probably be registering as self employed and you will be required to keep an accurate set of financial records.  These will include all receipts, outgoing transactions etc.  You can use your computer or hand written records to record all transactions including any income: grants, business loans, sales etc and also any outgoings: purchases for the business, electricity and heating etc, insurance, stationery, stall fees etc.
You need to be able to account for every penny coming in and going out.
At the end of the tax year the IR will send you the self employed papers or you can fill in a return online (much simpler!) Ignorance of this is no excuse!

INSURANCE:
This is not a legal requirement for crafts although it is seriously recommended.  Many of the better craft fairs will insist that you have adequate public liability insurance. (and some insist on product liability too.)   Society is now a suing culture.  If for example someone trips over your stall etc then the likelihood is they will sue and with out public liability your home etc is at risk.
You should also consider product liability insurance which protects you should your product be involved in injuring someone.  (you must make sure that all legalities of manufacture for your line of product are followed by you or your insurance will be void:  EG: toys must conform to BSEN71 1-3, toiletries have to comply to endless lists and must have been tested etc) Ignorance of this is no excuse!
You can get public liability and product liability insurance from a number of providers including Direct line, Ian Wallace and CIMITA.  You must read the small print to make sure that online sales, craft fair sales, sale or return sales etc are covered.
One thing that often gets overlooked is that your existing home and car insurance provider needs to know that you are manufacturiong, storing and selling from home.  That you car is being used to transport your goods (even taking a parcel in your car to the post office counts) failure to disclose this information may result in your insurance being void and could be very very costly.  I have found that the insurance providers are actually very understanding and have allowed me cover under standard policy.  Ignorance is no excuse.