Learning Curve

Oh Cut It Out was a classic case of one woman naively dreaming up a small business in her bedroom and thinking it would be easy...

In the 3 months since Oh Cut It Out went live on etsy I've learnt a lot, including:

• Photo quality is super important. Late night photography sessions are a terrible idea. Embrace daylight!  A month ago I was doing some facebook maintenance and was embarrassed by at least half of the photos I had uploaded... I retook the offending photos in good daylight, not a cutting mat in sight. Improving photo quality and constructing beautiful, shareable images is one of my current goals.

• Considering various product types. Oh Cut It Out launched with a range of Valentine's Day cards, and paper cut art  influenced by lyrics and quotes. It has since expanded to include: birthday cards, couples/baby name paper cuts, and cake toppers (mmm, cake!). Although there are a variety of other product types to consider, my current focus is on making the existing products the best they can be, whilst attracting a bigger audience.

• Finding my voice. The biggest learning curve of starting a small business has been figuring out my brand. What message am I communicating, and who is my target customer?

• Social media. Scheduling posts. Facebook insights. Creating beautiful images. It's not all 'likes' and 'follows', you know.  I highly recommend Mollie Makes 'Social Media' for advice on how to use facebook and instagram to your advantage.

Oh Cut It Out has a long way to go which is both exciting and scary, but let's be honest, if I'd been any less naive at the start of this process I wouldn't have begun this journey... And that would've been a shame!

Are you a designer/maker in your first year of business? What have you learnt in your first 3 months?

Until next week...

-Karen