The Studio Source helps you build an extraordinary business by focusing on approach—how you show your work, how you connect with your customers, and how you can make great marketing without selling your creative soul.
Stacey Cornelius
I'm a writer, jargon translator, idea junkie & creative entrepreneur with a Fine Art degree. I have years of professional experience in retail, theatre, fine craft and information technology. Read More
What happens when you fail?
If you do it right, you learn, sometimes a lot. You learn to suck it up and move on. You learn to trust your gut. You learn what everybody else is doing might not be right for you.
Mostly you learn your roof won’t cave in, the wheels won’t fall off your car, and embarrassment is not a fatal condition.
Here’s some insight from my other life, the one where I design and create work I sell directly to customers.
Last year, people weren’t much into gift boxes. Excess packaging wasn’t cool. This year? Just about everybody is saying yes. They’re spending less, for the most part, but they want the things they’re buying to be special. This year, a little detail like a gift box is important.
I suspect that customer mindset will stick around for a while.
That doesn’t mean dressing up a low-priced item with fancy packaging. There’s an old saying about silk purses and sow’s ears, and a good reason it’s an old saying.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you panic and drop your prices, either. You might be able to break a psychological barrier ($39.75 instead of $40.00, maybe, or breaking up services into smaller, more affordable pieces), but if a price is too low, the thing attached to it becomes cheap. You’re not selling to people who want cheap. You’re selling to people who want value.
People are thinking carefully about how much money they have to spend. They’re thinking about how they can find the best value for that money and still give a gift that will delight the recipient.
They’re getting it right without overthinking it: something thoughtful, that doesn’t break the budget, wrapped with care, because the recipient is important.
That approach should form the foundation of your marketing efforts.
Posted in: Creative marketing
Today’s post is a snark about my attempt at a brilliant Christmas gift for the fella, and the company (which shall remain nameless) that ruined it. I try to avoid writing snarky posts, but I’m pretty disappointed, and there are valuable lessons to be learned, so here goes.
A few months ago, I read a story about entrepreneurs who had a great idea and a tight budget. They turned that idea into a very successful business that sells skin care products. I liked the story, but what really grabbed me was the description of what they sell.
