First, I think you do have to spend money on advertising. And, yes, your website is your biggest ad. So if you don’t have a website that should be at the top of your list. And, it needs to be more than your business card.

How much to spend will vary by each individual. I can give you a range that I have seen for marketing for small fiber-arts related businesses, and that’s 3% to 10% of your gross revenue. That’s for marketing, so it includes more than advertising. Marketing is your overall plan for promoting, pricing, and placement of your product, and advertising is part of the promotional strategy. The U.S. Small Business Administration suggests that businesses that generate less than $5 million in revenue allocate between 7 and 8 percent of revenues for marketing. They base these on gross margins in the 10 to 12 percent range. The National Federation of Independent Business suggests that small businesses allocate between 2 and 5 percent of sales specifically for advertising. They don’t consider the whole marketing budget. You could take both guidelines and end up with 5% for advertising and another 2% for other marketing. Of course, the larger your business, the more funds you have to allocate. If you expect to spend 5% for advertising in your business that will gross $100,000 this year, be sure you’ve set aside or have access to $5,000 for ads.

Regardless of the amount you spend, be sure that your advertising includes a “call to action” or CTA. It is a waste of money if you don’t tell people what you want them to do as a result of reading your ad. It could be as simple asking them to go to your website to sign up for your newsletter and get your free irresistible offer. It could be letting them know about a sale you are having. The idea is that they will take action from seeing your ad.

Look for places to advertise where large numbers of your ideal clients, not just interested parties, hang out. For example, companies advertise in The Professional Quilter or at the Creative Arts Business Summit because they know that our members are professionals and have more influence with a larger audience of quilters. They are “connectors” and the advertiser gets more from the expenditure.

When crafting your ad, remember that people tend to read in a “Z,” starting at the top left, across the top, down to the bottom left and then across the bottom. Focus on benefits and put that at the top of your ad. You want your customer to realize that you are the solution to their problem. Once you have them looking at your ad, realizing that you are the answer, they will follow the “Z” to see your name and contact info at the bottom.

Last, track your results. You need to figure out which ads are working for you and which are not. Then make adjustments to your marketing and advertising strategy.

Please share your experiences on advertising spending below.

Before the fall starts, show season is in full force and you start thinking about the holidays, try to set aside some time in the next week or two to work “on” your business. I think the business retreat is a great way to do this.

All of us find it really easy to work in our businesses but do you work “on” our businesses? I’d always heard about this concept, but didn’t really understand it as much in the early days of my business. Well, that was because I was spending all my time working “in” my business. Much of what I learned about this concept came from the E-Myth people, particularly Michael Gerber’s book The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It. The premise is that we can’t grow our business if we spend all our time doing the work in the business; i.e., being the technicians or doers. We have to learn and utilize management and entrepreneurial skills to build the business. Your goal should be to have your business work for you, not you working for it.

So, is all your time spent “doing” the business?

Here are four ways to strive toward working on your business:

1. Develop a clear vision about the path your company will take. This clarity is critical for you and for any people that you hire, whether full-time or on a project basis.
2. Take time to work on your business. I’ve heard from numerous quilters in business – longarm quilters to commission art quilters – that you need to spend two-to three hours marketing your business for every hour you spend fabricating your art. The best approach here is to set aside the time that works for you to do this. It could be three hours every morning or it could be every Monday and Tuesday. Sometimes you need to try working on your business in a different surrounding. I have a friend who goes to the local café each week to work on her business. The goal is set a time consistently to do this.
3. Look for ways to create systems in your business. This could be anything from a system to contact potential buyers to a system to process orders. Systems make a difference in how much time you don’t spend as a technician or doer. I’m continually looking at what I do to see if a system could be initiated.
4. Work on yourself. In addition to spending time working on your business, you need to work on yourself. The late Jim Rohn said, “Work harder on yourself than you do on your job. The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become.” And, who you become as a person spills over into your business.

I’ve blocked a couple days for this and am thinking about going somewhere outside my home. It’s easier to do this without distractions. Good luck with your retreat and the plans you come up with.

Please share your best business lesson on the blog.

As a creative entrepreneur you probably struggle with a large to-do list. I know I do. Even as your business grows and you have assistance, it can still seem overwhelming to get everything done in the allotted time you have.

The key is to put money generating activities (MGAs) at the top of the list. If you look at the last five things you did in your business, how many were related to sales or marketing in your business? You need to prioritize those activities if you are going to bring income into your business. Here are some tips to do that.

• Capture all the things that you need to get done in one place. No more sticky notes or little pieces of paper. You can create one master to-do list or one for each project. Just the act of getting the tasks out of your head frees up thinking and working energy. I like to use a sheet of paper in a three-ring binder.
• Go back and decide what you need to do today. You will probably have other tasks to add each day that may not be on your master list. Rank the activities so you can see how many are really money-generating activities. You can use A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, C, etc., ranking system to prioritize them. “A” tasks are those which will make you money.
• Get going and finish your A1 task before moving to your A2 task. It will take disciple to stay focused on those A tasks, and that’s what you need to do to generate an income.
• Look at the tasks you are doing with the thought that maybe someone else can do them. Consider taking one of these and train someone else to do it. You’ll be able to spend your time on MGAs while your team can handle other work. You’ll actually be happier and more productive.
• Watch getting sidetracked by little tasks. It’s easy to look at the list and think you can winnow the list down by doing some quick items, e.g., the phone call, answering email, checking your Pinterest page. I’ve tried that and what happens is that I don’t get to the big stuff because I did the little stuff.
• At the end of the day, look at what you accomplished. Ta-da!

Please share your tips about how you stay focused on MGAs below.

One of my favorite shops to visit when I’m at my home in St. Michaels, Md., is Take Me Home. It is quite a challenge – and one I cannot meet – to leave without a little something. This time I picked up two small treats, a gift for my sister to celebrate her new dog and a some clever napkins for my book club.

One of the joys of shopping here is the shopping experience. The owner opened her shop about five years ago and has an eclectic mix of items with quotes, whimsical designs, soaps and other household gifts and accessories. She puts herself in her customer’s place when she thinks about her merchandise mix. She is always engaging with each person who visits. And she looks for creating an experience for her customer that lasts beyond the visit to the store. One way she does this is in her packaging. It doesn’t matter how much you spend (I only spent $15); the package is special. My purchase was delivered to me in a nice toile-design paper bag with the store label. The item was wrapped in tissue paper and then two decorative papers were stuffed in the top of the bag and it was finished with a satin bow on one bag handle. It looks so good that I almost don’t want to give my sister the present!

What are you doing to create an experience for your customers? It could be in the packaging. It could be in the greeting you offer when they come into the shop. It could be the invitation to join you for a cup of tea and a sharing of your customer’s latest quilt. It could be a nice note you tuck into the shipment with your wholesale orders.

Please share how you make your customers’ experience special on the blog.

Ever wonder if anyone actually puts the slogans they spout to heart? Well, I found that to be the case during our recent Mastermind meeting at the Doubletree by Hilton BWI Airport in Baltimore, Md. The hotel’s motto is C.I.D. It stands for Consider It Done and it was the brainchild of Adam Novotny, the hotel’s general manager. The employees wear the pin shown to the right. And, when I would ask a question, I often heard “Consider It Done,” and it was. From the management to the dining room staff to the cleaning crew, everyone exhibited a friendly attitude and clearly wanted our meeting to be a good experience and it was.

The experience got me thinking again about how our customers think about our businesses. What qualities are important for you to leave with your customers: being friendly, handling orders/questions within a certain time frame, being sure your customers have a positive experience, providing extra touches? I’m sure you can come up with others.

It would be a valuable exercise to write down the values you bring or want to bring into your business and how you interact with your customers for a week.

Next, think about the systems that you could create to see that your business continues to express these values.

Please share your insights below this blog.

Are you a procrastinator? Well, who isn’t at times? I think I felt in a procrastinating mood as I started to write this ezine. Then as I was thinking about what to write about, I looked down and saw the little stickie on my computer screen. It reads “DING. Do It Now Girl.” Isn’t that a great acronym, too? DING. As in the door bell is ringing, and you are going to answer it. As in the work is calling, and you are going to do it.

Here are some tips to help you DING.

1. Have a schedule or deadline. Nothing like a deadline to spur you on to action.
2. Remove the distractions. That would be all the bright shiny objects in your field of vision or the latest issue of your favorite art publication. You’ll have time
   for them later.
3. Get clear about what you are accomplishing and why.
4. Break the task down into manageable bits if it’s really large. You don’t have  to do it all, you just have to start.
5. Set a timer. If you promise yourself to work for 15 minutes, odds are that you will keep going once you are into the project.And, if Do It Now Girl doesn’t resonate with you, try Do It Now, Go!

Please share your thoughts on how you handle procrastination on below.

With traveling so much in May, the weeds got ahead of me. Way ahead of me! Weeding is not a chore I enjoy. I’d much rather sit outside and enjoy the fresh air and read or take a walk. About this time I found a note from a young man in my neighborhood looking for work so I gave him a call. He was off from college and wanted to earn extra money. He had a big goal. He was the recipient of a 1977 Granada, a classic car. Only problem was the car needed some cosmetic work that he and his dad could do and he needed to buy insurance.

What did I learn from this young man?

1. Knowing your why is huge. Tim, that’s the young man’s name, said he needed the car because it would make the right impression. It was an impression that he wouldn’t get with the family’s old pick-up truck.
2. Create a plan and work the plan. Tim showed up at my house with calendar pages for May through August printed out. He knows how much money he needs to make to maintain the car. He has the calendar filled in with odd jobs ranging from yard work to dog walking so he can accomplish that.
3. Set deadlines so you can work toward your goals. Tim plans to take a “lovely young woman” out on on June 16th, so he’s got a deadline. He wants that good impression. He has other deadlines along the way, but that’s the first one.
4. Look for options and ask for help. Tim has outlined how much money he needs to make, only it will take the summer to make enough to pay the insurance. (That’s not counting on the money for gas!) To meet his goal, he had to look at other options. His older brother, after reviewing the plan, is loaning Tim the money for the insurance. The older brother considers it a good risk.
5. Don’t forget yourself. When Tim was setting his calendar, he put in the fun activities he had planned so that working toward his goal didn’t consume all his time. It’s easy for those of us who work for ourselves to finish one task and then jump right into the next.

While I could see all the specifics of a good business plan here, what was most fun for me was the joy that Tim had in telling me about the car, how he was fixing it up, and the impression he knew it would make. It was a good reminder for me about looking for the joy in my goals.

Now I’ve got to keep a lookout on the 16th to see the car tooling up the road.

Please share your thoughts below.

Yes, it’s tax time again. As a self-employed business owner, it’s important for me to have a handle on my business and know what is deductible and what isn’t. Invariably when I talk about taxes with creative entrepreneurs, someone will tell me they have an accountant. “Terrific,” I say. “But what does she know about your business in particular?” You go to an accountant because she knows taxes. She can be very knowledgeable about small businesses, but she cannot know the nuances of every type of small business. She works with what you give her. That’s why it’s important for you to do your own research, understand tax strategies and keep track of deductions to which you are entitled. Here are some tips for maximizing those deductions.

1. Keep better track of your mileage. I’ve read that when you estimate, you actually underestimate. I use the Quilt Engagement Calendar in conjunction with the trip meter in my car. I set the meter to zero at the start of my trip and then enter the mileage in the calendar at the end, along with a notation as to the purpose of the trip. The IRS doesn’t care how you track your mileage, just that you have written logs. You can also track your public transportation costs in the same log.

2. Group your errands. The IRS allows business owners to deduct business mileage. For 2012, the rate was 55.5 cents per mile. (For 2013, the rate is 56.5 cents.) If you have personal errands, do them at the same time as your business errands.

3. Use the per diem rates for meals. The IRS has established per diem, or by the day, allowances for meals that self-employed individuals can use. At your option you can use either the per diem or actual costs, depending on which gives you the greater deduction. I find that in most cases, the per diem is better. Remember, that you can only deduct 50% of the per diem or actual meal costs. For per diem rates, refer to IRS Publication 1542, Per Diem Rates.

4. If you operate as a sole proprietorship, consider hiring your children aged 18 and under. You can get a deduction for their wages (up to $5,950 in 2012), and in most cases your children do not have to pay taxes on the wages. Details: IRS Publication 15, “Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide.

5. It may not be too late to set up a retirement plan for yourself to shelter some of your income. Talk to your accountant about your options.

6. Don’t forget about professional publications and dues. All the quilt and many other magazines that you buy are deducible if you use them in your business. Your IAPQ dues are also deductible, as is your trip to the Creative Arts Business Summit.

7. And, if your books weren’t up-to-date or you are a shoebox records filer, vow to be better in 2013.

For more information, you can refer to IRS Publication 334, Tax Guide for Small Business. Also recommended is 475 Tax Deductions for Businesses and Self-Employed Individuals by Bernard Kamaroff, CPA.

Please share your favorite tax tip by leaving a reply below.

Saturday was Worldwide Quilting Day. Of course, quilters knew all along it was bigger than a national celebration, so it was nice to share with the rest of the world. The celebration got me thinking about my own quilt beginnings and why I ended up creating a business from what I love. I could actually write a lot about this, but I’ll try to be brief. After all, you’re running a business and need to focus on that!

I did not come from a tradition of quilting, and only after I began quilting did a couple of quilts find their way into my home. I did come from a tradition of sewing and art. My great-great grandmothers were professional seamstresses, and family lore has me threading their needles at the age of three. My mother was a professional watercolorist and taught the subject. So I can see my background was filled with thread and color.

After starting with sewing (and selling) Barbie clothes as a youngster, progressing through my own personal sewing and multitude of arts and crafts (knitting, crochet, embroidery, painting), I happened on a quilt show in the fall of 1976 at Queens College in Charlotte, NC. That was all it took for me to ask about classes. As I often share, I had the sewing machine and all those scraps so it couldn’t be a costly hobby.

Fast forward just a couple of years and I wanted to share my new found love of quilting and I began teaching at the local adult ed program. At that point, my accountant suggested I form a business and I did. As I look back over the past 30 plus – yikes – years, I went from teaching to creating patterns to selling my work at arts and craft shows to working in a cooperative to taking commissions. They were all ways for me to express my own creativity and share it with others.

Back in 1994, my business took a turn and I began to work with more creative entrepreneurs who wanted to know how they, too, could create a business from their passion at quilting. That was the beginning of my tenure as editor and publisher of The Professional Quilter. That led eventually to the International Association of Professional Quilters. As I look back, it’s always been about providing information for growth as creative entrepreneurs.

So why do you quilt? I quilt because I love thread and color and creating. It’s fills a deep need in me. Why do you have a quilt business? I have one because I want to empower women (OK, and cool men) who have a passion for creating and sharing that with others to craft a profitable business for themselves from that passion. It’s also about creating a legacy so that Worldwide Quilting Day continues well past the time we all celebrated it.

Please share your thoughts on your “why” below.