Wow! This week has just flown by. I was hoping to have blogged before now but what with a bout of hand foot and mouth, Sell it Mama last weekend, going to see In the Night Garden Live! and trying to buy a new house I've just not found the time!
NB: Wiss is all recovered now and it seems he had hand foot and mouth very mildly, but it has been spreading quickly round nursery. We are currently keeping everything crossed for the sale of our flat and the purchase of a new house. If it all works out then I'll post all about it then! And In the Night Garden Live? What can I say? Yes, it was expensive but Wiss loved it...
Anyway, now that I am actually writing this post I should get round to what I really wanted to talk about. This is Wiss... the next step!
I've been doing craft fairs and mums and babies fairs for around a year now. I started out tentatively, mainly just wanting to gauge if there was a space in the market for my products. It seems there is (which I am over the moon about!) but now I feel that it's time to plan the next step. I want to see if This is Wiss has the potential to become a proper cottage business. I know it's the dream of many mums out there, but it really would be amazing if I could start making proper money from something I love doing (and that fits in perfectly with childcare and school terms!)
As many of you will know, I joined Twitter at the end of last year and through it I have 'met' many fantastic, inspiring, creative people. People who are pursuing their dreams, whatever they might be, and people that are happy to offer advice or simply get involved. I think Twitter is brilliant for networking and already I've made connections that I just would not have been able to do alone.
So here I am, thinking about what step to take next, where to put myself to get seen and how I should go about it all. Stacie Swift has some great posts on her blog Swift Somethings that deal directly with the practical sides of setting up and running a business. She is a fab illustrator, and her boyfriend handily is an accountant! There is information about business accounts and you can even ask her boyfriend questions, but her recent post on reviewing your business came at the perfect time for me. (Do have a look round the rest of her site as there's so much more fun stuff too.)
I'm still working through my SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) but think it's a great way to take stock of where I am and where I want to go. I have a few big plans that I hope to share with you soon, but I'd also love to hear your opinions: good or 'constructive'! If you have purchased anything from This is Wiss then let me know what you think, how you are using it and what could make it better. Where would you like to be able buy stuff: online, at a market or in a shop? Does it matter to you that all my products are handmade in the UK using the best materials possible? (All my stuff can be found in the gallery on my website)
I know this is a big ask and it's time consuming but your opinions are invaluable to me and I'd be really grateful if you would leave me a comment below.
As always, thanks for reading and I'll be back tomorrow with another #silentsunday photograph, and some more sewing projects next week.
NB: Wiss is all recovered now and it seems he had hand foot and mouth very mildly, but it has been spreading quickly round nursery. We are currently keeping everything crossed for the sale of our flat and the purchase of a new house. If it all works out then I'll post all about it then! And In the Night Garden Live? What can I say? Yes, it was expensive but Wiss loved it...
I've been doing craft fairs and mums and babies fairs for around a year now. I started out tentatively, mainly just wanting to gauge if there was a space in the market for my products. It seems there is (which I am over the moon about!) but now I feel that it's time to plan the next step. I want to see if This is Wiss has the potential to become a proper cottage business. I know it's the dream of many mums out there, but it really would be amazing if I could start making proper money from something I love doing (and that fits in perfectly with childcare and school terms!)
So here I am, thinking about what step to take next, where to put myself to get seen and how I should go about it all. Stacie Swift has some great posts on her blog Swift Somethings that deal directly with the practical sides of setting up and running a business. She is a fab illustrator, and her boyfriend handily is an accountant! There is information about business accounts and you can even ask her boyfriend questions, but her recent post on reviewing your business came at the perfect time for me. (Do have a look round the rest of her site as there's so much more fun stuff too.)
I'm still working through my SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) but think it's a great way to take stock of where I am and where I want to go. I have a few big plans that I hope to share with you soon, but I'd also love to hear your opinions: good or 'constructive'! If you have purchased anything from This is Wiss then let me know what you think, how you are using it and what could make it better. Where would you like to be able buy stuff: online, at a market or in a shop? Does it matter to you that all my products are handmade in the UK using the best materials possible? (All my stuff can be found in the gallery on my website)
As always, thanks for reading and I'll be back tomorrow with another #silentsunday photograph, and some more sewing projects next week.
V excited by your plans for This is wiss - not really answering your question but 2 products I would love are "upstairs downstairs bags" - ie you have one upstairs in which you dump throughout day all stuff that needs to go down and 1 down in which you stuff everything that needs to go back upstairs. I currently use an enormous Waitrose re-usable bag which is great but horribly ugly - would fab to have versions of this in either nice neutrals or fun fabric.
ReplyDeleteAlso smallish wallets with zips in which you could put board games whose boxes inevitably collapse - so fed up with hunting round the floor for "Red Dog, Blue Dog" or "Shopping List" cards because the boxes have collapsed again.
Thanks for your comments Alice. I love the idea of upstairs/downstairs bags! I have a friend who actually makes great bags and think she may be a little better suited to this product than me but it's a fab idea!
DeleteI've actually been thinking about games recently but hadn't thought of bags to put existing board games bits in. Thank you and I'll keep you posted of any new developments!
Great post, hope the planning is going well - and glad my blog has been of some help! Looking forward to seeing your new plans in action xx
ReplyDeleteThank you! Your blog is a great help on many levels - finance, fun and food!
DeleteGood luck with your next steps!
ReplyDeleteI was excited to see that you are featured in my fave mag Mollie Makes this month! I'm sure that will be a nice boost for the "S" and "O" parts of your analysis! :)
You saw it? I'm just finishing a post about it. Yes, it is great exposure and I am so excited to be in one of my favourite magazines too!
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