If you are anything like me, you LOVE podcasts and can’t get enough of them. But it can be so overwhelming and time consuming to find the information that you need. There is such a wealth of quality information out there, seemingly about any topic under the sun. For the last 6 months or so, I have been on a quest to find out how to start my own handmade business. I have had so many questions along the way, about marketing, business, organization, blogging, and everything social media. After listening to tons and tons of podcasts on these topics, I have been able to find some amazing, free information that has really helped me in getting started.
In this blog, I would like to start compiling some of my favorite episodes for you to reference. I hope that this will be helpful to you if you are struggling with the same types of questions that I have been. Some episodes that I have found are in the archives and come from shows that are no longer creating new content. Even though the episode is “old”, much of the information is timeless. Though it’s true that times are changing rapidly and I have come across episodes that are no longer relevant, there are SO MANY that are just pure GOLD. I will do my best to keep the episodes that I share here as relevant as possible.
Without further ado, let’s get into the five episodes that I am loving right now. I have re-listened to these several times to catch all the important tips, and I would recommend that you do the same and/or take notes if you can (I don’t because I usually listen to podcasts while driving to my day job).
1. BHooked Podcast Episode 20: Best Crochet Business Structures
This episode was my first introduction to Marie Segares, who is a rather successful entrepreneur in the maker world. Her own business model includes teaching, podcasting, blogging, online sales of self-published knitting and crochet patterns, magazine publications, and more. What inspires me most about Marie is that her crafting business wasn’t even her full time job, it is a side hustle (at least at the time of this episode, not sure it that has since changed). She has managed to create an amazingly diversified business, all while working a regular job as a college professor.
In this podcast episode, she provides an overview of a number of different models for a crochet or yarn-related business. The information she provides is extremely comprehensive and thorough. It was because of this episode that I began listening to many of the archives of her Creative Yarn Entrepreneur Show. What a wealth of knowledge she has to share!
2. Creative Yarn Entrepreneur Show: Episode 54 Time Management for your Part Time or Side Business
This episode really spoke to me and resulted in a dramatic shift in my own perspective, especially around facing the challenge of having a “day job” that takes up the majority of my time and energy. If you feel drained and wonder how to balance full time work with your side hustle, then this episode is definitely for you!
3. Don’t Keep Your Day Job: A Deep Dive into the Branding, Pricing & Marketing Strategies That Get Results
https://www.dontkeepyourdayjob.com/episodes/deep-dive-branding-pricing-marketing
Cathy Heller’s podcast is truly meant for creatives and that is why it really appeals to me. Cathy hits the nail on the head with her message here and I love the takeaways that she shares at the end of the episode to summarize her key points.
A few of the episode take-aways that impacted my thinking the most:
- When you do marketing and sales right, then you never ever ever have to sell again.
- We don’t think our way to answers. We feel our way to answers.
- Courage comes first. The confidence follows
4. Online Marketing Made Easy Episode 219: How to Use Instagram Stories to Grow Your Email List with Tyler McCall
This is one of those episodes that I always go back to. It has really helped me to understand how I can market my handmade business. It is extremely useful if you are wanting to increase engagement on Instagram and are curious about how to utilize Instagram stories to grow your business. Tyler and Amy’s conversation is funny, charming, and chock full of key information, examples, and statistics that drive their points home. I love their conversation about increasing accessibility to members of their audience by including text in video content so that members of the deaf community are able to enjoy and engage with the content. Tyler talks about why the use of text in video content is beneficial to all audience members and provides the stats on the percentage of users who watch video content without the sound on. Bonus- Amy provides the full transcript of their conversation at the bottom of her show notes page (linked above).
5. The Side Hustle Show: The Blogging Mixtape 10: Affiliate Marketing for Bloggers: How Michelle Makes 50,000 a Month Selling Other People’s Products.
https://play.acast.com/s/the-side-hustle-show-the-blogging-mixtape/e0a02888d83e4c77834a40e6a908b920
This episode is not specific to a handmade business entrepreneur but if you are interested in blogging, and want to be inspired, then this episode is still for you. I was completely stunned after listening to Michelle’s story about her blog, Making Sense of Cents. I had no idea that a blog can earn this much income, especially being that it is predominantly through affiliate marketing! While true, this may not be the norm, it gives me hope for what is possible.
Realistically, each and every blogger or handmade business entrepreneur’s methods and income will vary greatly. I feel strongly that numbers alone are not the definition of success, and only you can define what success looks like for you. For me, in this moment, having the courage to start this little handmade business is my success. It’s continuing on when things aren’t going well, and always giving it my best. Now I have this blog, and although I don’t really know what I am doing, I am taking steps every day to figure it out as I go. Stay tuned for more about my journey and all things crochet! Until next time…
I am not affiliated with or sponsored by any of the podcasts linked in this post.
