About this column
Illana Burk from Makeness.com and ZipandRuth.com
In this sixth episode of the Creative Solopreneur Podcast, I’m chatting with Illana Burk from Makeness. I first became aware of Illana via this in-post shout-out from Naomi Dunford. Part of Illana’s credo is that business is art, and art is business. She holds an MBA in Sustainable Enterprise and runs her own successful accessory design business, Zip & Ruth. After a career in international marketing and communications, Illana finally decided that putting her no-bull business acumen to use in helping other creative types make businesses that make sense — and cents {corny pun mine, not Illana’s}.
Here are some of the lovely people and things mentioned in our conversation:
- Pace Smith and Kyeli Smith, The Usual Error book, plus an audio interview with {who else?} Naomi Dunford called The Usual Error in Marketing
Three blogs Illana mentioned that she always reads:
Listen in as Illana gives us the lowdown on:
the faulty assumption she made as an early blogger that led to the birth of Makeness; what being a “maker” really means; the irreverent voice she writes in versus the voice she speaks and consults in; how and why she’s built her crafting business on sustainability; her take on whether everybody has a creative business inside them, and the mistakes she sees creative types making when they first go into business.
If you’re a creative person — especially one with a handcrafted business — you need to listen to this interview.
Right click here and select Save Link As to download the podcast to your hard drive, or left click to play in-browser.
P.S. The Creative Solopreneur Podcast will soon be syndicated to iTunes and RSS so that you can subscribe if you like.
P.S.S. Illana will be available for a couple days after this post goes live to respond to comments and questions. Then, word has it she’s being whisked off on a vacation!
Hello, you.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
We had so much fun during the call that I forgot to ask a question that came in via Twitter! {Sorry about that, Andy.}
Andy Dolph {@acdolph} asks:
“How does one decide what to charge for arts and crafts and how do you actually sell them?”
@acdolph – Wow, that’s a BIG question, Andy! As far as price goes, you have to take several things into consideration (costs, profit margin, time, etc…), but I always begin by looking at what the market will bear. I look at competitive items from non-established artists (presumably you are in that category, since you’re asking). You can’t look at what well-known names get for similar work, as it is skewed by their name recognition. So, I look at similar work and then work backwards, subtracting my costs, my time (do this by associating a dollar amount to your hours spent…$30-50 per hour is a good start), then see if that price is still reasonable. If it’s not, you have to find ways to either cut materials costs, do what you do faster, or realize that you are going to lost money. I am all for charging what you’re worth, but if customers won’t pay it, you’re back to square one. This is the point at which you decide if you really want to attach your livelihood to your art. Losing money is fine, when it’s not the money you pay rent with.
For the second part of your question, on how/where to sell…. LOTS of options, and I hate to be cryptic, but it really depends on what you sell, what your priorities and goals are, who your target is, etc… Without knowing more about what you do, I really can’t direct you. Feel free to contact me directly, as this is exactly the type of consulting that I do.
Hey all… Check out the post on my site about my fab interview with Abby! http://www.makeness.com/2010/10/go-out-on-limb-remind-yourself-youre.html
great interview – love to hear your voices!
Thanks, Jill! This is my favorite part of listening to podcasts — hearing the voices and getting to know the speech patterns/idiosyncracies of the people I love to read online! :)