Build a Business Not a Following

As handmade sellers, our connection with our business is profound, because we literally pour our heart and soul into every aspect. However, there are moments when our closeness becomes a challenge, potentially hindering our progress.

In our natural inclination, we often prioritize the creative facets of our business, inadvertently sidelining the not so fun aspects.

The allure of content creation is understandable - it aligns with our strengths. It's creative, visual, social, and, above all, enjoyable. Plus, it's perceived as an easy and cost-effective strategy. Seems like a win-win, doesn't it?

Not quite. In reality, the biggest misconception about building a handmade business online is that social media is the fastest, easiest and most effective way to do it.

Social media is a valuable tool, akin to a modern-day Yellow Pages for building an online presence. However, relying solely on it to carry the weight of our business strategy, can be the very thing that keeps us stuck in one place.

The accessibility of social media often leads us to channel all our energy in that direction, hoping that consistent "content" creation will ensure the growth and success of our businesses.

Yet, the relentless production of content doesn't necessarily equate to effective progress. In fact, here's why that assumption might not be entirely accurate.

The Social Media Paradox

The belief that social media is the key to online business success, might be the very thing that is holding your business back.

Putting all of your time and energy into social media content creation can lead to inconsistent sales, burnout, and diminishing reach and engagement. Here are four reasons why this strategy may not be serving your business well:

• Influencer Strategy Misalignment: The "influencer" marketing model was designed for personal brands, not physical products.

• Dwindling Organic Growth: Organic growth on social media is becoming increasingly elusive, as platforms favor paid marketing.

• External Dependency: Relying on social media means your business success is contingent on external factors, and you don't truly own or control your audience.

• Winging It: Depending on content creation alone is akin to winging it – hoping that the content will magically drive your business.

A Paradigm Shift: Build a Business, Not a Following

Instead of viewing your business as something that happens if you do all the right things, view it as something that makes all the right things happen.

A business is a machine - it’s ONE thing, not a million different tasks or parts. When you shift your focus from working IN your business (by creating content and trying all the tips and ideas you find on Pinterest), to working ON your business (by building a machine), it completely transforms from the inside out.

To do that involves adopting a strategic framework that addresses audience building, sales, and marketing. It involves being intentional about creating systems and processes that enable your business to operate on auto-pilot.

In other words, it’s the systems and processes that make business happen (not the content or the Pinterest tips).

Why This Works: The Blueprint for Success

Our businesses don’t have to look alike, but they do have to have the same parts. Every business on the planet needs the following things: an audience, a sales system and a marketing plan.

Sure, you can build all of those separately, but you’ll constantly be running back and forth between them and wondering why they aren’t working together. If you combine them all into one machine, your life gets a whole lot easier.

As long as you are doing everything manually, every single day, you have a job. But when you build a machine that works for you, you have a business.

This is the path to reclaiming your time and energy, enabling your business to grow consistently without demanding more from you. It's the key to the freedom and flexibility you envisioned when deciding to start your own business.

Implementing the Blueprint

Building a business machine may sound complex, but rest assured, it's not. In fact, it simplifies and streamlines your business, focusing on core elements that drive results and eliminating distracting busywork.

Once you have a blueprint, understanding the key components of your business, taking action becomes straightforward, one step at a time.

To make it easy, I've distilled everytthing I’ve learned - since starting my FIRST handmade business online way back in December of 1999, into bite-sized actionable pieces, delivered straight to your inbox twice a week.

The Maker CEO shows you how to simplify, streamline and uncomplicate your handmade business with a simple and fully customizable WEEKLY SALES BLUEPRINT that teaches you how to create a new irresistible offer every Monday using my 5-STEP OFFER TEMPLATE (without resorting to discounts or flash sales), and delivers a new 5-MINUTE MINI COURSE every Friday that teaches you how to become the Maker CEO your business needs - so that you can create more stability and security in your BUSINESS, and have more freedom and flexibility in your LIFE.

The Maker CEO is the ultimate business resource. Whether you stay subscribed for six months or six years, you'll continually acquire valuable knowledge and practical skills, that will not be obsolete with the next algorithm change.

Design and Build a Life and Business You Love

Embrace an intentional strategy and implement systems and processes for a profound business transformation. Gain control over daily operations, understand your business's rhythm, and swiftly address any challenges.

The Maker CEO isn’t about quick fixes and content calendars; it's a journey toward building a profitable, sustainable and scalable BUSINESS, so that you can create a LIFE you love.