Such a helpful video, thank you. It took me ages to get my head around the idea of multiple income streams. I never thought I’d be able to manage them. The main learning curve is letting these things take their time and become sustainable. I’m not there yet at all, but it feels like I understand the work I need to do.
Diversity is key in business. Diversify your products and your outlets. I have 3 types of products, and different ranges within those products. 3 different outlets, wholesale to retail, online and craft fairs. I've been in the situation of only having one outlet and losing that outlet and becoming unemployed. Diversification is hard on the ADD brain though. I spend most days spinning plates whilst tapdancing and need a "do nothing" day every 4 days. Still better than working for someone else though!
"Still better than working for someone else though." You are so right! My worst days now would be a good day in my old job. I'll happily stick with the plate juggling. 😁🍽
Thanks Kim. I wasn't crafting along this time. I was eating a cream egg. Just finishing up the Easter eggs 😁I hope the sock knitting is helping you switch off. I've been doodling badgers this week to try and do the same. It beats rocking back and forwards in a corner 😆
My ears pricked up when you said you were looking at running a course re You Tube and handmade.....Im really interested in learning more and would love to be on that course!
It's not a course so much as a monthly membership I'm running on Patreon. There's a link in the description here if you want to check it out to see if it's your cup of tea? 😊👇
Not into this sort of content but came across this video randomly. Congrats on the quality of your video. Very professional and honest! Thanks 👍 and good luck!
Oooh fellow sock knitter! I'm unhappy with my current pair. I messed up the heel, dropped some stitches and now have to frog it back and start again. The heel always gets me. 😄
Barely get chance to watch your videos lately, but had a few minutes today. I have missed your rambles - Say it how it is approach and digressive ponders. Great video Kim x
@@KimBliss yeah all is good, just busy (with my various income streams 😉) I teach a few times a week, so online stuff gets put to one side, plus I have 2 teens 😀 Hope all is good with you xx
I think the multiple income streams is the best way to go when you are self employed. If something plummets others pick up the short fall and it's really important to cover yourself in these volatile times. I wish I had discovered it earlier in self employed days. :)
Whoever never made a mistake never made anything. Mistakes are essential, and as you say, just sometimes you even up with something astonishing in the process. Happened for me. Sometimes its a good thing to try say 2 things you know will be safe bets, then go all out for a marmite item. Great vid Kim :-)
I love listing to your vlogs, I cleaned up my RUclips channel but haven’t posted on there yet, I don’t know where to start ie.. editing etc! I too have a Shopify ‘log in’ but that’s as far as I got. I don’t understand the lingo and what I need to start the shop.. 😊
Not understanding the lingo or knowing where everything was, was one of the most annoying parts to creating my website. I wish I could offer a tip to make it easier, but ultimately it just comes down to jumping in and playing with it. I did find breaking things down into smaller tasks helpful though. That and giving myself plenty of time! 😁
before watching it, I just want to say that as someone who's planning on starting their own handmade business, I hope this isn't an April's fools video ;-; I already fell for too many of those today
Hi Kim, I was wondering what you think of Folksy? I'm about to give it a go (I'm an artist). Love your channel, thank you for all your pearls of wisdom 🙂
I used Folksy years ago, but was frustrated with the lack of traction there. That and the fact that it was only UK customers that found me. That being said, all of my physical sales on Etst have been to the UK (due to their obsession with localisation) so I'm now sat here wondering if I should test it out again? Hmm. 🤔 Sorry this is no help whatsoever! Good luck with your shop, I'd love to hear how it goes!
@@KimBliss Thanks so much, Kim. I'm thinking of diversifying more, thanks to your recent video, and seem to have heard Folksy mentioned a bit more lately so perhaps worth a spin. Looking forward to your next video. Have a lovely weekend (nearly there!) Amanda 🙂
I'm glad you enjoyed it John. 😁 I've watched a few videos where people have broken down their revenue streams, but no-one mentioned the danger of diversifying too much. It's a balance I'm still trying to get right. 😁
@@KimBliss I can ttally relate to that very British (in my case English although I now live in Ireland) brain. I have huge issues around accepting money, charging for my time and so on. It even extends to receiving gifts on birthdays and Xmas!
Yeah it's a whole thing eh? I still feel all kinds of awkward promoting my business. I made a promise to myself that I'd push myself to do it more this year though to try and unlearn some things and get more comfortable with it. I'll let you know how that goes! 😁
*SPENDING MONEY SMARTLY IS LIKE GROWING A FINANCIAL GARDEN: IT REQUIRES PATIENCE, CARE AND THE WISDOM TO SOW THE RIGHT SEEDS IN THE RIGHT PLACES, THUS HARVESTING FINANCIAL FRUITS THAT LAST BEYOND A SINGLE SEASON* 💸💸💸
It is expensive so it'll really depend if you're making enough to cover the costs. It took me a while to reach that point and a little longer to gather the courage to make the leap even when I had hit that financial milestone. But by this point, the only sales I made on Etsy were ones I had drummed up myself through promoting on social media, here on RUclips, or with my mailing list, so it became less a question of was a website worth it and more a question of could I afford not to build one. Sorry that's a lot of rambling. I love my site and it was hands down the best decision I've made in my business last year, but it's not for everyone so I wanted my answer to be as balanced and unbiased as possible. I hope it helps. 💚
It's called Beech Tree Handmade. I don't link to it here because I don't want to attract an audience of people who aren't interested in knitting/crochet/embroidery etc. Happy to share when asked though. 😊
@@KimBlissyou should link to it. There are more people interested than you would think, myself included. I do not do any of those handmade crafts but my daughter does. I myself do other handmades so handmade does interest me, and I would be happy to share your other channel with my daughter too, whom I know would be interested as well. You should use this channel for all it's worth. Sharing is a wonderful thing! It's about you, your interests, and who you are. We are all interested in what you do or we wouldn't be here. Hugs!
Hey hey 👋🏼 I would love to learn more about how a handmade business can make money with RUclips. I am a painter mostly 😅 and do wish to attract new clients or inquiries even from folks who may come to my channel
This one is a hard one to answer because tax rules differ from country to country and are dependant on so many things. To avoid giving out incorrect information that could possibly get someone in trouble, I don't touch tax or legalities as topics other than to recommend everyone seeks advice from a qualified and registered professional in the relevant field. 💚
I'd say weeeeeeee is a pretty good opposite to prrrrr 😂 Thank you for being such a good company while I knit some tardy easter bunnies 😅Please feel free to completely ignore my question if it's too personal or whatever, but how do you feel about talking to other creators/ business owners when it comes to actually making craft sales, whether it's finished items or patterns? After some serious burnout, I'm trying to rebuild my whole business strategy from the ground up. Making content to connect with other makers sounds fun, but I wonder if it actually translates into sales for those who don't offer a business course... 🙃
Do you mean collaborations? They can certainly work if you find someone who is the right fit, but they can take up a lot of time, so it's not something I do personally.
@@KimBliss Yes collabs, and even just making content for other creators like what you do on this channel. I see it a lot on instagram too, lots of makers making mostly content targetting other makers, and I can't really make it make sense: it doesn't feel like it would be the right target market to sell handmade stuff to, but for some reason it seems to work. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on collabs! And for the great work you're doing here!
I think if we're talking about collaborations in video content, like here on RUclips it can work really well if both creators have similar audiences and it makes sense for the channel. Otherwise it would just confuse the viewers and no one would watch. As for makers on Instagram, I can't really see the benefit to making content for other creators unless they were pivoting into that niche. But it wouldn't necessarily help with sales of their handmade products unless there was a crossover in audiences. There's a lot of ifs, buts and maybes!
@@KimBliss Sure, every business is so different, there can't be one rule to rule them all 😅But you confirmed what I thought and sparked a few new ideas on how to rebuild mine and I'm so thankful you took the time to chat with me! Thank you so much, and have a fantastic day!
I do yes! I'd love to add more bits to be honest, more footage, little notes etc, but you'd be surprised how long even a small segment can take. I am trying to make my videos a little more interesting though. Even if it's just a little bit of text or a pop up image here and there.
Have you thought about playing with some faceless content if you're not comfortable being in front of the camera yourself? You could make a video using footage with music and/or voiceover, (as an example). That being said, if it feels like a hard no for you, then that's perfectly OK too. 💚
Such a helpful video, thank you. It took me ages to get my head around the idea of multiple income streams. I never thought I’d be able to manage them. The main learning curve is letting these things take their time and become sustainable. I’m not there yet at all, but it feels like I understand the work I need to do.
Diversity is key in business. Diversify your products and your outlets. I have 3 types of products, and different ranges within those products. 3 different outlets, wholesale to retail, online and craft fairs. I've been in the situation of only having one outlet and losing that outlet and becoming unemployed. Diversification is hard on the ADD brain though. I spend most days spinning plates whilst tapdancing and need a "do nothing" day every 4 days. Still better than working for someone else though!
"Still better than working for someone else though." You are so right! My worst days now would be a good day in my old job. I'll happily stick with the plate juggling. 😁🍽
Thanks Kim. I wasn't crafting along this time. I was eating a cream egg. Just finishing up the Easter eggs 😁I hope the sock knitting is helping you switch off. I've been doodling badgers this week to try and do the same. It beats rocking back and forwards in a corner 😆
You've just reminded me I have a creme egg stashed away. Thanks Gillian! 😊
@@KimBliss Glad to have been of assistance, Kim 😄
My ears pricked up when you said you were looking at running a course re You Tube and handmade.....Im really interested in learning more and would love to be on that course!
It's not a course so much as a monthly membership I'm running on Patreon. There's a link in the description here if you want to check it out to see if it's your cup of tea? 😊👇
Not into this sort of content but came across this video randomly. Congrats on the quality of your video. Very professional and honest! Thanks 👍 and good luck!
Cheers Ravi! 😁
So helpful! I need a comprehensive list of your groups and courses. I will poke around and find it!
I’m a sock knitter too!!! Well…not recently! But 🙌
Oooh fellow sock knitter! I'm unhappy with my current pair. I messed up the heel, dropped some stitches and now have to frog it back and start again. The heel always gets me. 😄
The last few minutes of this were EXACTLY what I needed to hear today. Great video 🙂
I'm glad it helped. 😊
Barely get chance to watch your videos lately, but had a few minutes today. I have missed your rambles - Say it how it is approach and digressive ponders. Great video Kim x
Hey Michelle, lovely to see your face again! Hope all is well with you. 😁💚💚
@@KimBliss yeah all is good, just busy (with my various income streams 😉) I teach a few times a week, so online stuff gets put to one side, plus I have 2 teens 😀 Hope all is good with you xx
I think the multiple income streams is the best way to go when you are self employed. If something plummets others pick up the short fall and it's really important to cover yourself in these volatile times. I wish I had discovered it earlier in self employed days. :)
Whoever never made a mistake never made anything. Mistakes are essential, and as you say, just sometimes you even up with something astonishing in the process. Happened for me. Sometimes its a good thing to try say 2 things you know will be safe bets, then go all out for a marmite item. Great vid Kim :-)
"Marmite item" this is the best description of this I've ever heard! 😂
Love the socks.
Thank you! They're keeping me sane right now. 😁
😀 you make me smile thanks for the info 🥰
Kim is knitting socks to keep her hands busy so she doesn't launch another business
This comment just made me do a real life 'lol'. 😄
Hey I could sell socks!
@@KimBlissyes you could sell socks! I love socks myself.
lol 😂
I love listing to your vlogs, I cleaned up my RUclips channel but haven’t posted on there yet, I don’t know where to start ie.. editing etc! I too have a Shopify ‘log in’ but that’s as far as I got. I don’t understand the lingo and what I need to start the shop.. 😊
Not understanding the lingo or knowing where everything was, was one of the most annoying parts to creating my website. I wish I could offer a tip to make it easier, but ultimately it just comes down to jumping in and playing with it.
I did find breaking things down into smaller tasks helpful though. That and giving myself plenty of time! 😁
before watching it, I just want to say that as someone who's planning on starting their own handmade business, I hope this isn't an April's fools video ;-; I already fell for too many of those today
I promise you it isn't. 👍
I'm a grump when it comes to April Fool's I'm afraid. I hate it. 😁
LOVE digressions…absolutely love them.
They make me happy, because digression could be my middle name…actually…it probably is.
Hugs ❤❤❤
The best people in the world digress. That's a fact. 😁💚
@@KimBliss Absolutely!
You are totally delightful, and I always learn something useful!
Thank you for all your videos.
Aw Susan. Thank you. 😊
Hi Kim, I was wondering what you think of Folksy? I'm about to give it a go (I'm an artist). Love your channel, thank you for all your pearls of wisdom 🙂
I used Folksy years ago, but was frustrated with the lack of traction there. That and the fact that it was only UK customers that found me.
That being said, all of my physical sales on Etst have been to the UK (due to their obsession with localisation) so I'm now sat here wondering if I should test it out again? Hmm. 🤔
Sorry this is no help whatsoever! Good luck with your shop, I'd love to hear how it goes!
@@KimBliss Thanks so much, Kim. I'm thinking of diversifying more, thanks to your recent video, and seem to have heard Folksy mentioned a bit more lately so perhaps worth a spin. Looking forward to your next video. Have a lovely weekend (nearly there!) Amanda 🙂
Thank You!
Loved this coffee and craft podcast!!! Truisms from start to finish. Cheers!!!!😁👍
I'm glad you enjoyed it John. 😁 I've watched a few videos where people have broken down their revenue streams, but no-one mentioned the danger of diversifying too much. It's a balance I'm still trying to get right. 😁
Thanks!
Time for a spring coffee break. 😁
Aw mate, thank you. You didn't need to do that, but it's very kind. 💚
Now my British mind is going, "MUST MAKE A VLOG OR SOMETHING IN RETURN!" 😂🇬🇧
To funny! Just the reverse “coffee and chill” for you. Time to enjoy a cuppa ☕️😀 👍
@@KimBliss I can ttally relate to that very British (in my case English although I now live in Ireland) brain. I have huge issues around accepting money, charging for my time and so on. It even extends to receiving gifts on birthdays and Xmas!
Yeah it's a whole thing eh? I still feel all kinds of awkward promoting my business.
I made a promise to myself that I'd push myself to do it more this year though to try and unlearn some things and get more comfortable with it. I'll let you know how that goes! 😁
wish i could talk to you in real time, have loads of questions I would like to ask.
*SPENDING MONEY SMARTLY IS LIKE GROWING A FINANCIAL GARDEN: IT REQUIRES PATIENCE, CARE AND THE WISDOM TO SOW THE RIGHT SEEDS IN THE RIGHT PLACES, THUS HARVESTING FINANCIAL FRUITS THAT LAST BEYOND A SINGLE SEASON* 💸💸💸
*AGREED!* 😁👍🌿
Hi Kim, been following this channel for years now, but I can't find a link to your other one, can you link it somewhere. Pretty Please.
It's @BeechTreeHandmade but 🤫, don't tell anyone. 😉
Love this! Thank you! Do you really think Shopify is worth it? I thought about having a website but it's expensive.
It is expensive so it'll really depend if you're making enough to cover the costs. It took me a while to reach that point and a little longer to gather the courage to make the leap even when I had hit that financial milestone.
But by this point, the only sales I made on Etsy were ones I had drummed up myself through promoting on social media, here on RUclips, or with my mailing list, so it became less a question of was a website worth it and more a question of could I afford not to build one.
Sorry that's a lot of rambling. I love my site and it was hands down the best decision I've made in my business last year, but it's not for everyone so I wanted my answer to be as balanced and unbiased as possible. I hope it helps. 💚
What is your other channel called, I like crafty vlog vids 😁
Cant seem to find that info on this channels page
It's called Beech Tree Handmade. I don't link to it here because I don't want to attract an audience of people who aren't interested in knitting/crochet/embroidery etc.
Happy to share when asked though. 😊
@@KimBliss I understand, thank you for the info. Will be visiting the other channel 😊 as well
@@KimBlissyou should link to it. There are more people interested than you would think, myself included. I do not do any of those handmade crafts but my daughter does. I myself do other handmades so handmade does interest me, and I would be happy to share your other channel with my daughter too, whom I know would be interested as well. You should use this channel for all it's worth. Sharing is a wonderful thing! It's about you, your interests, and who you are. We are all interested in what you do or we wouldn't be here. Hugs!
Hey hey 👋🏼 I would love to learn more about how a handmade business can make money with RUclips. I am a painter mostly 😅 and do wish to attract new clients or inquiries even from folks who may come to my channel
How do you handle tax collection and submission on a shopify account?
This one is a hard one to answer because tax rules differ from country to country and are dependant on so many things.
To avoid giving out incorrect information that could possibly get someone in trouble, I don't touch tax or legalities as topics other than to recommend everyone seeks advice from a qualified and registered professional in the relevant field.
💚
I'd say weeeeeeee is a pretty good opposite to prrrrr 😂 Thank you for being such a good company while I knit some tardy easter bunnies 😅Please feel free to completely ignore my question if it's too personal or whatever, but how do you feel about talking to other creators/ business owners when it comes to actually making craft sales, whether it's finished items or patterns? After some serious burnout, I'm trying to rebuild my whole business strategy from the ground up. Making content to connect with other makers sounds fun, but I wonder if it actually translates into sales for those who don't offer a business course... 🙃
Do you mean collaborations? They can certainly work if you find someone who is the right fit, but they can take up a lot of time, so it's not something I do personally.
@@KimBliss Yes collabs, and even just making content for other creators like what you do on this channel. I see it a lot on instagram too, lots of makers making mostly content targetting other makers, and I can't really make it make sense: it doesn't feel like it would be the right target market to sell handmade stuff to, but for some reason it seems to work. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on collabs! And for the great work you're doing here!
I think if we're talking about collaborations in video content, like here on RUclips it can work really well if both creators have similar audiences and it makes sense for the channel. Otherwise it would just confuse the viewers and no one would watch.
As for makers on Instagram, I can't really see the benefit to making content for other creators unless they were pivoting into that niche. But it wouldn't necessarily help with sales of their handmade products unless there was a crossover in audiences.
There's a lot of ifs, buts and maybes!
@@KimBliss Sure, every business is so different, there can't be one rule to rule them all 😅But you confirmed what I thought and sparked a few new ideas on how to rebuild mine and I'm so thankful you took the time to chat with me! Thank you so much, and have a fantastic day!
just wondering do you edit your own videos and put the bits in. if you know what i mean.
I do yes! I'd love to add more bits to be honest, more footage, little notes etc, but you'd be surprised how long even a small segment can take. I am trying to make my videos a little more interesting though. Even if it's just a little bit of text or a pop up image here and there.
Hii maam do you need Video Editor?
I can help you to save your Crucial time throughout my editing skills
No thank you.
Digressions are real and acceptable! 😂
You legend, thank you. 😁💚
I've got zero confidence to really do anything with my RUclips channel 😳
Have you thought about playing with some faceless content if you're not comfortable being in front of the camera yourself?
You could make a video using footage with music and/or voiceover, (as an example).
That being said, if it feels like a hard no for you, then that's perfectly OK too. 💚