My First Month Being a Small Business Owner
Original Publish Date: November 4, 2023
Updated: November 5, 2023
Hi, my name is Brittany, and I am a new small business owner. My business is officially one month old on November 4, 2023. I am really excited that my business has been open for one month already. However, there are still many things I am still learning about and want to continue to improve on while I am on my creative journey.
What I have learned
One of the first things I started to learn about was finances. When this comes up it can easily feel intimidating, and I definitely felt this right away. I have never sold anything before in a way like this, and what helped me not feel as nervous was making a business plan. Along the way, I was also able to learn more about pricing my products and any other equipment or materials costs my business might need. I was less confused and not as scared to get my business on track.
The next thing I learned about is whether making my own stuff at home or outsourcing was a good idea. Considering that my business is still in the early stages; making my own products has been the best choice for me, this way I have been able to decide the quality of my products as well as maintain the inventory on my own time. As soon as I want to expand on the idea of other products I will continue to learn about the idea of outsourcing more in depth as well. By making my own products right now I have also learned about the ways of shipping and mailing items to customers.
Finally, I learned about how to make my own product photos. I am currently working on making my products being seen in real-time on my website. However, at the time of opening up my online shop, I made all of my product’s photos digitally. After receiving a few orders, I was also able to learn about new ways to allow my products and artwork to be seen on video.
Next, what I would like to improve on in November is:
I want to be better at being more open and consistent with my audience. I am someone who is usually very introverted, and by being more open I hope to be able to create more connections with people, so I am not feeling like I am all alone on this creative journey. When it comes to sharing artwork online I have tried to share at a minimum of once a week or there have been other weeks where I have not shared anything, also there have been times when I have shared more than once in a week, but it has almost felt to be too random. Even when I was planning to launch my website I did not give any indication that I was working on this anywhere online, and it was a big, spontaneous announcement at the time.
Another way I would like to improve is by doing more video editing. In the past, I have made other video projects for school and work. However, knowing now that I can make new video projects based solely for my own business is a whole new experience for me.
A third part of my business I would like to improve on this month is knowing that it is okay to take things slow and take baby steps. When I knew I wanted to start selling my art I knew this experience would feel really big at times. Knowing that I would be my own boss also intimidated me because I was still trying to understand how a boss position works. Considering that I am the person who is making all of the business’s decisions for marketing, pricing, products, and much more.
I have learned a lot from the past month while opening my small online shop. When I first shared my website I was very nervous because this specific goal was the main thing I had been working on for the last several months. Since reaching this part of my journey, I would like to continue making more goals for my business, and I am so excited to see what happens next.
