Better than the box stores? A conversation with my daughter about small businesses
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
- This was a very interesting (I think) conversation that I had with my daughter about why she won't buy from small businesses just because they're small businesses.
(Some of the following links are affiliate links)
**Get weekly emails with updates on videos and other stuff here: eepurl.com/gkWbDj
***The monthly membership and accountabilty group is here: classes-by-a-c...
**CLASSES AND FREE HOME-BASED BUSINESS TOOLS, including my Pinterest class, now on Teachable: classes-by-a-c...
**Goimagine free month referral code: Y94KVX
**JOIN THE CHANNEL:
/ @karabuntin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**SUBSCRIBE to this channel and click to get notifications about weekly RUclips lives on Home-Business and Etsy seller tips topics: / karabuntin
**WANT TO START YOUR OWN ETSY SHOP? Use my affiliate link to get 40 free listings: etsy.me/3CpeANy
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Check out my Amazon page here for a full list of the things that I use in my business (and for cats) www.amazon.com...
Get my eBooks and planners for Home-Based Business owners: www.amazon.com...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
** MY FAVORITE BUSINESS TOOLS: acaketoremembe...
**FACEBOOK GROUP: / homebasedbusinessandet...
**SUBSCRIBE HERE: / karabuntin
**PRODUCTS THAT I USE IN MY ONLINE BUSINESS:
DYMO 4x6 LABEL PRINTER: amzn.to/3rLAwt0
DYMO LABELS: amzn.to/3qS5Irh
SHIPPING SCALE: amzn.to/35iuicL
**READING LIST:
All of these are books that I have read and found valuable for one reason or another as far as my business goes. I don't follow any business "gurus" or motivational speaker types, but these are all books that I've enjoyed reading and thought they were good for business takeaways.
Audible: Free trial of Audible, plus free books: amzn.to/33MpjQZ
Freakanomics: amzn.to/32q9lvn
Think Like a Freak: amzn.to/3KzSbg2
Buy*Ology: amzn.to/3rF4yih
Steal Like an Artist amzn.to/35lvLiB
Show Your Work: amzn.to/3KAiL8I
Company of One: amzn.to/3FU92Xn
Time Management From The Inside Out: amzn.to/3fSLlUC
Organizing from the Inside Out: amzn.to/3u0hmCm
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion: amzn.to/3ImhGj0
Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade: amzn.to/356eAkG
Thinking Fast and Slow: amzn.to/343K0aP
Nudge: amzn.to/33H9yL6
This channel is for home-based creative businesses and anyone who sells products online and specifically on Etsy. I do Etsy tutorials and share Etsy tips to help small business owners get their businesses to where they want them to be. If you have questions about Etsy SEO, how the Etsy search algorithm works, selling on Etsy, or how to start an Etsy business and sell successfully on Etsy, post a comment or a question in the community tab!
100% agree with so many points that you made, Kara. I'm sure that you must be very proud of your insightful daughter. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much!
My son and his girlfriend (mid to late 20's making close to 100k together) also prefer to do things like events, big trips and eating out vs. shopping.
I think the younger generations are more self-serving vs. items that could become heirlooms like our generation. I think they also like the "expectation" of knowing what you're getting (like McDonald's).
My glass flowers don't interest them at all, but I offer a unique product that seems to be an impulse gift idea and purchasers don't necessarily think "heirloom product" its more of a feel-good gift.
I think i will try to have a similar conversation with them and my nephew next week at out annual family gathering. It will be interesting. Thank you and your daughter for this!
The idea of buying something to pass down is definitely gone at this point, I think. I just saw a post about a book called "Nobody Wants Your Sh*t" and even though that's harsh, I think it's true!
My cousin has a very successful craft shop in a small touristy area on the east coast, and she worries almost daily that nothing she makes is needed by anybody. It could change tomorrow. That said, places that sell things we do need, I live in a big city, grocery stores close near me all the time, heck, even the emission testing stations I’ve been going to for years they all closed, even though they are needed by everybody every driving adult. There’s no guarantee with anything.
That's absolutely true.
Spending has become very discretionary for this younger generation. I have daughters in their twenties too. They spend money on travel and experiences. They are not like my generation that spent on select home goods, decor and clothing. They actually will spend money on vintage clothing and accessories when they can afford designer labels, but wouldn't be caught alive ( or the other) wearing it. Gifting is always thoughtful for them and it doesn't matter where it came from. But they do like to support small businesses and friends. You are absolutely correct Kara - they are shopping for unique items that aren't readily found. The exception to all of this for them is their I phone and watch, lol... The slightly older 30 yr olds started the whole hipster thing.
That sounds exactly like what she was saying.
I love this comment, as my two boys are mid to late twenties and have much the same philosophy as your daughters. I am proud of their thoughtful choices and discretionary spending habits. But how do I use that information to better my small handmade business? I just don't know.
As another 26 year old, I agree 100%. I also rarely recreationally shop, and if I do ever splurge, its for the most unique random things I discover at a small booth at the fair (for example) I'm also an avid antique shopper, (I prefer to own dead people's things) so I get this completely. I sell digital printables, and I definitely noticed a running theme within my niche where everything pretty much looked the same, so I decided to do something different which was more my personal style and it's been profitable. Most importantly, I absolutely love my version of creativity and didn't settle to try to copy the others.
And yes, I've always been annoyed at the "I'm a small business, buy from me" mentality. The only exception to that, in my opinion, is locally grown food, I do prefer fresh vegetables as opposed to what you get at the grocery store.
I'm a vintage shopper myself, and I hand make things with either vintage supplies meant for crafts or vintage items not meant for crafts. I feel like my target market is looking in the vintage-only categories and may miss my items entirely, because it's not necessarily a thing they're seeking out. How would you market to someone like yourself? I do get hits for things like "70s style," but it has to be pretty specific.
Edited to add: Sometimes Etsy search reverts to the Vintage category if vintage is part of the search term, and the only way my things might show up is from an ad.
The problem with marketing to peopel with the message that your products are different is that they've heard that so often then found a "made in China" stamp on the bottom, tey don't believe it anymore. I'm going to do a followup to this next week, but part of the solution is to go back to sellign in person and to actually have relationships with your customers that aren't just financial transactions.
Firstly, this is so interesting and I definitely agree with the majority of this! There is quite a lot to unpack here which I won’t comment on specifically at the moment except that funny enough, her perspective makes me feel more confident with the goal to grow and scale my business! In the back of my mind, I’ve felt that growing will make my business less liked and I’m honestly happy to hear that what your daughter and possibly others are looking for isn’t necessarily a small business but businesses that look at the bigger picture in terms of creativity, value and sustainability (among other qualities)! I think this will continue to be even truer as AI becomes more and more prevalent!
I do think that people are already rebelling against AI to a certain extent. They don't seem happy about it in general.
Your daughter is very smart!
I agree!
Yet another great insightful topic. Thanks to you and your daughter for telling it like it is. 👍😍
Our pleasure!
This was really interesting. Like you I think of it as a business person with an online business and like you I do not shop for fun, so I probably miss loads of the nuance that shifts with the generations when it comes to purchase behaviour. I think that's why I am so rubbish at marketing my own business, because I am my own worst customer and I just don't get why people would shop because they 'just can'. This reminds me of your blog from the other day about why people don't care about handmade, although you did mention that your daughter said people are looking for craftmanship, so 'handmade' rather than factory made. It's helping me to shift my mind set a bit and think about how I can market more to people who want the thing (almost) no matter where it comes from.
I would say "handcrafted" rather than handmade, but yes!
Sounds like shes very insightful
She is
You should be very proud of your daughter, and the job you did!
I don’t have any 20 something’s in my circle, so I really appreciate the insight. If you listen to media, they are all in a hand basket headed somewhere warm!
Thank you for the thought provoking topic.
Yeah, what the media says about the generations doesn't usually line up with what I see with my own eyes.
I think your daughter finally hit the nail of what my beef is with POD. And it can be reduced down to this one question: “How many ‘Momma Bear’ shirts do we really need? Especially if they are all the same exact design. Hmmm folks aren’t trying to create, they just want to make money. Maybe I’m just bitter because I refuse to copy other people’s ideas. And I’ll probably always be the starving artist. lol
The thing is, there's nothing wrong with wanting to make money, but everyone has to find the way to do it that they're happy with. I'm nto happy doing it by copying people, but some jerks,--Uh, I mean people---are happy doing that.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your daughter's perspective. I've been battling with this concept for the last several years, am I helping or hurting my cause by having a small business?
I love making, so much so that I have tons of items of all genres. I opened my small to make a bit of money from my creativity. Small business "rules" say you should stay with one niche - that's not how my creative mind works. Now that could be because I was recently diagnosed with ADHD at age 50. My point is, in my case, I need to decide if I'm operating my small business to help or harm the world? I think about whether I'm creating more junk for our world or not all the time but I have such a strong need to create, it satisfies my neurodiversity extremely well. I'm probably rambling at this point, but the topic of this video is precisely what I'm on the fence about. I just don't know if I should continue making and selling or not. Perhaps I should get out of e-commerce and go back to craft shows and markets, connect with humans again. I don't have the answers and I'll keep pondering the topic.
I have to say that that’s exactly what i was going to talk about next week, but i already did a video that’s kind of on that topic. ruclips.net/video/_90e8Z3PTdo/видео.htmlsi=85GmqYXdPkgSRC_9
I’m so happy I’m selling vintage. Still “wants” but at least they are more unique and already there (not to be produced). I often get messages from my customers telling me they are so happy they have found something that they remember from their Swedish grandmother. It makes me happy that this items I found made its way to another person. A small thing on top of me running a business making money (I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t make money). Your daughter has some interesting points. Thank you to you both for sharing
I have a few things that I've purchsed over the years just because they were things that I remembered from my own childhood. VIntage is awesome
Wow..what an interesting conversation ! There are so many valid points. My first reaction ( as a 'from scratch' journal maker), is that many of the buyers out there who are 'addicted' to shopping, don't care about value, quality or origin. They simply want to spend ( want). My buyers are predominantly gift buyers, or a 'I'm going to spoil myself for once' kind of buyers ( feedback). Quite frankly, I am not a 'shopper' either, but I do shop on Etsy as well as sell. By producing unique items , not 'flavour of the month' items, you will hopefully be that turtle and continue to thrive.
There are definitley people who love to shop for fun, I'm just not one of them!
@KaraBuntin I have a dear friend who is a 'addict shopper'. She had knee surgery and couldn't drive to the shops, but then discovered the ease of online shopping 😔.
Temu has 24/7 advertising here on all platforms...so she gave them a try....it didn't end well. ( ps...she's 82 🥰)
Oh my gosh, so true! Sometimes I find myself talking about my shop and business and they are looking for the closest exit! 😂😂 It’s hard to find people that will nerd out over all things entrepreneurship and Business Week and all that jazz. lol!
True...My husband just falls asleep.
Selling vintage.... Exactly because of that.... Tired of that all the same. I sell dreams.. i sell decors for niches, for collectors, for storytellers in films as props
I bought a POD t-shirt on amazon and after a few washes the design cracks and started to wear off, it's almost completely gone now. I usually wear a t-shirt for years, the POD t-shirts feel like they are made to be disposable! Is the "not shopping as recreation" mentality also what killed shopping malls?
I thn that online shopping had a part in the demise of shopping malls, but there's definitely some connection between malls not being as big as they were and fewer people doing shopping recreationally. It's also an economy thing, and the pandemic didn't help since people couldn't shop in person. Too many things go into every shift to be able to say that one thing was responsible, though.
all is true to what I've observed and also because I too buy for similar reason. I'm not going to buy from a small business if its the same things and same level of things. I seek out small business when I'm wanting something unique and different, but to get the larger sales number, many businesses start to make the same things mass produced to which... big box stores start to copy
That's true, too.
Not offended at all! But I understand how the maker ends up falling into the homogenization trap. I make purses from forgotten stitcheries, drapery fabrics and other cool textiles. But it feels like the women with money to spend only want Coach bags and yes, I do want to make money! So... do I try to find a "trend" to maximize for profit or do I just keep being weird? Thanks for the thought-provoking video!
That’s great and I completely agree BUT that’s not what people are buying, so another instance of what people would say they would do vs actually do? Because copies of same designs, AI generated stuff and cheap Temu crap is still sells way more then unique things. When photos of my handcrafted designed by me item got stolen by Temu they sold hundreds and I sold handful sooo 🤷♀️
This would be an example of people getting ripped off because they think they're buying something they're not getting.
People coming back to the US after living abroad noted that much of our food even tastes the same in the US. Food in the US is homogenized because most restaurants-food producers are trying to get us hooked on the perfect ratio of fat, sugar and salt to get us addicted.
Most restaurants are just serving food that fell off the food supplier truck, too, they're not cooking things from fresh ingredients. The ones that do that are so expensive people can't afford to go there on a regular basis.
@@KaraBuntin Yep... it's all from Sysco... I worked at a health food coop once... but only rich folks could ever afford to eat there.
@@produceman13 That's funny, I was going to say "they only serve food that fell off the Sysco truck" but I wasn't sure if that was a regional thing or not!
I'm a buyer and seller on Etsy, and my interest in buying handmade has dropped in the last few years. When I think I've found something unique and handmade, I'll then see the same or similar thing further down the page. I have no way of knowing who made it first, and I'm not interested in supporting Temu shoppers or someone who just came to Etsy to rip off other people's best sellers. This has changed the feel of Etsy. And even though Josh says no one cares about handmade, that is actually why I first came to Etsy as a buyer.
I'd argue that it sounds like you're not looking for handmade, you're looking for unique things that are also handcrafted. It's playing with words but the intention is different. Because you can get something that's handmade that's a direct copy of someone else's products, but you don't want that, you want "different." And yeah, Etsy has made it really hard to tease out which is really made by hand and original because of their definition of handmade being so loosey goosey.
YES! As an artist that paints on recycled stuff that is not perfect. I wholeheartedly agree. I’ve been saying this for 30 years and have resisted homogenization for 40 years.
I really like your blouse, Kara! 🩵 Then there's the whole psychology of people (generally, and in their group) wanting to fit in, thus the homogenization. Very interesting topic!