This is the first of my lessons learned articles. I’ll talk about what I do and how I plan on changing how I work in hopes that it’ll help someone else.
I draft doll clothes, maintain my own websites and am the CEO and well… chief, cook and bottle washer for the business.
What does this mean? It means that I do all my own marketing, product development on top of dealing with customers and financials.
My purpose is to give you some insight on how to deal with one issue at a time. For starters:
Starting the business: start by talking to a local Small Business Development Center to get a business plan for your business going. If the SBDC doesn’t have someone who can help you with a hobby based – not a hobby business but based on the hobby industry type business seek help online with various groups and forums for your interest. In my case it started out with miniatures. I was a college student with a major in Fashion Design. When you think of Fashion you usually thing of people clothes for me I had an interest in dressing dolls. My mother has a business that is based on dressing dolls and I was interested in helping expand my knowledge in the field. I was at the time taking a Small Business class and was assigned to write up a business plan for a business for myself. That was where Sue’s Tiny Costumes was originally born. At the time I was working on developing a website for my mother and instead got sidetracked into developing one for my designs. I was learning HTML on my own so the going was slow but my results were good for a beginner. I look back on that original site design and laugh now but for the time and my skill I was very happy with what I had.
I later moved out after graduating college and ended up married to my loving and supportive (not to mention smart hubby). When our daughter was born I decided to stay home and after a couple months was bored so I started looking around online for a miniatures group or forum. I found Small Stuff Digest in 2000 and joined up. This group is a very supportive group who encouraged me to “go for my dreams” which was starting up Sue’s Tiny Costumes and turning it into a full time business. I still haven’t achieved the full time to this day but it’s working on at least a part time job status for now.
I researched and tested and played dolls for several months and then wrote my first self-published book “Pattern Drafting for Miniatures” ©2002 From there I wrote “Pattern Making for Dolls” in between caring for 2 children and developing patterns for dozens of dolls.
I learned the value of a good business plan when I applied to have state funding for a business license. I wrote the plan and revised it daily for a month solid until I knew it inside out and backwards. I GOT THE FUNDING! Sue’s Tiny Costumes became reality.
In future installments I’ll go into detail on business plans, marketing and how to deal with various things including time management with children and a dozen appointments a week while on various state programs that don’t let you concentrate on a fledgling business!
