by Dana Garczewski of The Patterned Peacock
I started The
Patterned Peacock in 2011 and from the beginning I knew I wanted to make a full
time living from it. But what should you achieve before quitting your day job
and devoting all your efforts to your business? I spent the past two years
wondering exactly how one makes that
transition. Do you have 100 Etsy sales a month? Do you make thousands of
dollars at every craft show you do? Do you have 50 wholesale accounts? Does Real Simple stumble across your web site
and include you in their holiday gift guide?
All of these
things have yet to happen for me but I am happy to say that as of September 25
The Patterned Peacock is my full time job. Why did I decide the time was
finally right? Well, to paraphrase Megan Auman of Designing an MBA: it’s hard
to build a full time business on a part time schedule. At some point, if you
believe in what you do and are willing to work hard at it, then you simply need
to take the plunge. But here are a few things that I did to help ease the
transition.
Got a handle on my product line: I needed the first two years to
experiment and make a lot of mistakes. There are so many products that I’ve
tried and then discontinued for one reason or another. I’ve learned what I can
produce profitably and with consistent quality. And what items–as much as I
love them–are just too time consuming to make them worth my while. I’ve also
received a lot of feedback by doing craft shows and gotten a better understanding
of which pieces people gravitate towards and which are ignored. All of this
information has helped me refine my product line. And while there is always
room for improvement, I now feel confident about what I offer.
Got my finances in order: I paid off my debt (which would not have
been possible if I had a mortgage.) I also determined a monthly budget that included both my living and business expenses. Then I made sure I had enough money in my
savings to cover a year’s worth of expenses before I quit my day job. This is
the biggest reason why it took me so long to leave the corporate world.
Surrounded my self with supportive people: It can be hard for those who love you to
understand why you’d want to leave a steady paycheck for to pursue a dream that
has such a high failure rate. They may question your decision or try to talk
you out of it. That’s okay; not everyone is going to get it but it’s crucial to
have people who believe in you as well. I had many conversations with my
boyfriend about leaving my job. It was important that he was on board with
my decision not only as a boyfriend but also because we live together and share
household expenses. Luckily he is incredibly supportive of my dreams and even
gave up his office in our home so I could have a studio.
I don’t have many
friends who are entrepreneurs or in the creative field. So joining Boston
Handmade has made all the difference to me. Not only am I surrounded by people
who understand and support what I’m trying to do, but they are more than
willing to share their time, expertise, and hard-earned knowledge to help
another person achieve their dream.
Identified multiple revenue streams: I am a big believer in diversification.
I figured I could reduce my risk of failure by determining multiple ways to
make money with my business. If one revenue stream goes south or takes longer
than I thought to pan out, the whole business doesn’t suffer. But it’s a bit of
balancing act to identify enough avenues to make your business well-rounded but
not so many that you’re over extended. For 2014, I’ve chosen to focus on
e-commerce, wholesale, and licensing as my top priorities with craft shows and
teaching as secondary objectives.
Established long-term goals: If I only focused on the next tweet,
shipment, or product listing my business would stay exactly as it is today and
not grow into the bigger venture I want it to be. So I established some
long-term goals to help me focus on the bigger picture. I will be exhibiting at
Surtex (which is a tradeshow in NYC for surface pattern designers) in 2014.
This is a huge commitment in terms of both time and money and the thought of
doing this show scares me a little. But I know it will motivate me to raise the
bar on the work that I create. And because I have to make so much new work for
the show it will force me to stay disciplined by sticking to the strict
preparation schedule I’ve set.
Got supplemental work: In the end, I decided I couldn’t go cold
turkey. I thought the best way to make the jump from the corporate world would
be to get a part time job. It took me awhile to find the right position but I
was able to land a job close to my house, in a creative field, and working for
a small independent company.
I also asked my
fellow Boston Handmaders for their advice on this topic. “Make
yourself a routine or a schedule and stick to it. There is no time clock
anymore,” said Lynn of Prunella’s Workshop. She also added, “You are the boss
and the employee. Give yourself a day off and don’t be such a slave driver. It
can be easy to be a bad boss.” Bev of Linkouture suggested, “Find a space where
you are comfortable doing your work so that there is some separation between
home and work life. Change up your routine and get out of the house once in
awhile to do some work in a coffee shop or with some other people.”
These are GREAT tips, Dana! I am so excited for you and your business and can't wait to see it continue to grow.
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