Especially now with the creation of Etsy, DIY businesses are plentiful! So many shop owners have the exact some thing, either because they stole the idea or didn't do the necessary research to make their product stand out.
I chose to make my handbags vegan. I'm not saying that this was some novel concept, but in 2003, it was a selling point.
I learned -- especially when it came around to tax time -- that a filing system really is your best friend. You don't even have to own a business for this to be true. You should always save any bills, receipts, invoices -- all of it -- in case you need it later.
Especially now with the creation of Etsy, DIY businesses are plentiful! So many shop owners have the exact some thing, either because they stole the idea or didn't do the necessary research to make their product stand out.
I chose to make my handbags vegan. I'm not saying that this was some novel concept, but in 2003, it was a selling point.
I still have a hard time with this one even when I'm pitching idea to editors who are my friends. However, you can't get anywhere if you don't know how to sell yourself -- both professionally and personally.
I like to think that my very first pitch for a story was because I forced myself to walk into stores and show them my product -- covered in hives and stuttering over my words.
Again, another difficult one for me.
No one is going to decide in that moment that they're interested; they're going to "get back to you." And just because you spent a couple hundred on an ad in the back of Bust Magazine -- which I did a few issues in a row -- you can't expect everyone to come running immediately.
Sit back, have some tea and wait.
Photo: YouTube
Whether you give your product to a friend as a gift or cut them a break when they want to buy something, do it. The more people running around with your goods, the better.
And we all know it didn't cost you $75 to make that bag, so it's not like you're fucking yourself over financially.
I think this is where my OCD kicked into high-gear. I can either give something my 120% or 0%, but nowhere in the middle. I learned that if you're going to half-ass something, you shouldn't even bother.
It's really hard to be the only one designing and handmaking bags! I was forced to actually rack my brain of the few business classes I attended to really grasp this concept.
I think it finally did, just before I closed down shop.
No matter how obsessed you are with the project at hand, sleep. Doing anything with less than adequate sleep will make both you and others look at your final result and wonder if you had a brain tumor for breakfast.
Although I didn't make much money with my handbag business, it was still important to me to give to charity. Even when I first moved to NYC and was living on pickles for dinner, I never stopped my monthly donation to the ASPCA. Why? Because it feels good to give.
At the time, I gave 10% of everything I made from the handbag line to equality/AIDS-related charities. I was volunteering at an AIDS clinic in Portsmouth, NH, and there's no way I'd be able to sleep at night, if I didn't do at least a little something besides donating my time.
I'm not going to say this in a cheesy way that will invoke the idea of inspirational sayings plastered against rainbows and shooting star; but yes, if you think you can, you can.
Maybe you won't be the next Kate Spade (I don't like her bags anyway), but you'll make use of your time, be proud of what you've accomplished and have added some color to the lives of those around and complete strangers, too.
Basically, you'll be like a Care Bear. Everyone loves the Care Bears.
