Artists/Designers/Entrepreneurs: What to do when your sales aren’t going so well

1. Write a post where you are showing off your work and add some useful tip. (just like the post you are reading :D)

2. You already know your stuff is good, people are loving it and you sometimes have really good months in terms of sales. But then again comes a month, when nothing seems to happen’. No “notification of payment received” in your gmail… Remember, you are not the only one. Even your local drugdealer doesn’t sell the same amount of weed every month. It happens to almost all of us. Nothing is wrong with you.

3. Feel good. I know it’s sometimes really hard to maintain this, when you need cash and there’s no sign of it. Act like you are your own best friend / super supportive business coach. Pat yourself on the shoulder for every little thing you put out there. Instagram post, facebook post, pinning your Etsy items to pinterest? Daaaam, you are doing it well, go girl! You make yourself and your work visible. That’s not a waste of time on social media. It’s a real work.

4. Meditation. This is my favourite tip for all kinds of problems. It makes you feel good and when you feel good, you usually feel like doing something. If I compare my slow months without meditation and slow months now that I meditate regulary, it’s a huge difference! I used to smoke lots of cigarettes and drink lots of coffee, feeling that I’m not doing the right thing and not getting a shit done. Now I get some shit done, promote myself a little, read a book (and feeling good while reading it, not thinking that I should be working), make some plans etc.

5. Do something new, damn it. You know how you feel when you have a lot of orders, all the time, like “please slow down a bit, I want to work on new products”. Now is the time to work on new products.

6. Know that money will come again. Haha, I’m sometimes like this: I have a month when I sell things all the time. And then comes five days when I don’t sell a thing and I’m like “Will I ever get another order? What if I got lost on the internet and no search engine will ever find my things again? Maybe they’re right, I should get a job.” But sooner or later there’s another order. Don’t worry, believe me.

7. Laugh. Loose the tension. Say fuck it. Elizabeth Gilbert talks about shit sandwiches here (12:35). No stable income, slow months… Well, that’s a shit sandwich you gotta eat, if you want to be your own boss. Eat it and go forward.

P.S.: If you have a friend who runs their own little creative biz, share this with them (‘cuz we creative outsiders tend to feel alone sometimes). And check out my shop. Will also be very happy, if you share it with your friend 😉

With Love,