342 – Paying It Forward to New Handmade Product Entrepreneurs with Nicole Stevenson of Dear Handmade Life

Gift Biz Unwrapped

Every person's business journey is unique. But we can still learn from each other. Our guest today shares handmade business advice from lessons she's learned over her 20 years in the business. Nicole is the CEO and Creative Director of Dear Handmade Life. At 24. she turned her passion into a profession with her handcrafted clothing line called Random Nicole. She started selling at flea markets and backyard craft fairs and has grown it into a thriving, international wholesale business. Nicole's desire to help other creatives pursue their dream business and discover the joy of making led her away from her own handmade business and into teaching, consulting, and running her own workshop studio. This eventually led to co-founding Dear Handmade Life in 2007. Now, she connects, educates, and shortens the learning curve for other creatives by sharing what she's learned through the Dear Handmade Life events, blog, and podcast.

BUSINESS BUILDING INSIGHTS

• The learning curves and even mistakes in your business development will contribute to your overall knowledge and learning experience in the future.
• Challenges will not last forever. You will develop confidence and resilience each time you rise above them.
• Push yourself out of your comfort zone.
• You don’t have to post on all platforms. Just pick a platform and put out content you enjoy making.
• Keep moving, keep pushing, look for your community and reach out for help.

Tune in to the full conversation to hear all of Nicole's handmade business advice!

Handmade Business Advice

• Community over competition. Your connection with other people in your industry will help you progress and get more visibility to your customers.
• When you first start, your "put yourself out there" muscle is small and weak. But the more you do it, the stronger that muscle gets.
• "A rising tide lifts all ships" is especially true in the handmade world. Don't be afraid to collaborate and network with others in your industry. Everyone benefits when you do!
• Find someone to whom you can delegate work so you have time to focus on more important matters.
• Understand that everything in your business can be done by someone else.
• Your goal should be for your to work FOR you instead of you working for your business. <-- Pro tip!
• Find a mentor who will guide you in scaling and systems.
• Look for your community and don't be afraid to reach out for help.

Resources Mentioned

• 2021 At Home Craft & Gift Show <-- Reserve your booth here

Nicole's Contact Links

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Linkedin

---

Join Our FREE Gift Biz Breeze Facebook Community

Become a Member of Gift Biz Breeze If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe so you automatically get the next episode downloaded for your convenience. Click on your preferred platform below to get started. Also, if you'd like to do me a huge favor - please leave a review. It helps other creators like you find the show and build their businesses too. You can do so right here: Rate This Podcast Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify Thank you so much! Sue Know someone who needs to hear this episode? Click a button below to share it!