If I Start A Small Business in 2024, Here's What I'd Do // 10 things I wish I knew before starting

hi friends welcome to my channnel if you're new here hi I'm Jenna I love to crochet plushies and if you're a returning subscriber welcome back for today's video we will be talking about if I were to start my small business again in 2024 here's what I do I get so many questions on Instagram on YouTube across all platforms asking how to start a small business how I started my small business and if I have any tips and tricks so I'm excited to share with you guys the ultimate guide on if I were to do it all again in 2024 here's everything that I would do so with that let's get into today's video number one picking the correct platform so I'd say the most important decision that you can make when starting a small business is deciding what selling platform you want to use there are so many different options out there you have Etsy you have Shopify you have Big Cartel the list goes on and on and it can be really overwhelming to think about all the options and then decide ultimately which one that you want to pick back when I first started my crochet business this was back in January of 2022 so 2 years ago at this point I decided to ultimately sell my goods on Etsy mainly because Etsy had so much organic traffic and I knew that I could really ride on the coattail of etsy's organic traffic and I wouldn't really have to Market myself to be successful per se so that is ultimately why I picked Etsy but looking back if I were to do it all over again and start my business fresh in 2024 I would still pick Etsy as my selling platform but I would also have a website of my own where I could really own my audience and I would use a DOT store domain for my website and this actually brings us to today's sponsor store so what is store store is the domain name for online sellers a domain name is the link that your customers click on to go to your website a website ending in do store automatically tells your customers that your website is an online store and it instantly Associates it with selling think think of www. ran. store yes Rihanna sells her merch or even www. Michelle obab books. store the clue is all in the name and there's no guesswork behind it so why use do store over a different domain for starters you can sell more when your online store is a do store domain in a unique 12-month long study data conclusively proved that a do store domain allowed you to sell more a website on a store domain gets 87% more traffic seeing a store in the website link instantly tells users that they can buy from you more traffic ultimately equals more sales which ultimately leads to more money in your pocket an online store on a DOT store domain gets double the visibility the keyword store is more intuitive and your customers are using it while looking for your product category on Google you can also save more with do store an online store on a store domain gets 12% less cost of conversion on ads when a customer sees ads for your product category they are more likely to purchase from an ad that is a store and not just that you also get access to exclusive e-commerce deals worth up to 2500 when you purchase a DOT store domain we're talking about 50% off QuickBooks discounts on MailChimp Wix and more by just owning a DOT store domain you just need to use your dot store email address to access and then you get all of the deals at your fingertips you can buy the domain on Shopify god daddy wherever you prefer dot store is everywhere however do store is running a limited time offer just for my audience where you can get the domain for just 99s for the first year if you'd like to use this offer then head to the link in my description box and use the coupon code Jenna store to get the domain for just 99 Cents for the first year thank you do store for sponsoring today's video and with that let's get back into it with all of this being said I do plan on keeping my Etsy Shop up and running in 2024 but I'm going to follow my own advice and I'm actually going to also launch my very own website hopefully it'll be done in time for early 2024 we'll see I've honestly been working on this website in the background for a while now I really just need to like dedicate time to working on it but I would love to have both my own website and Etsy just because there are some drawbacks to Etsy you can't really customize your store the way you want it like it has a very specific layout which is great if you're a beginner and you don't want to deal with any of like the coding formatting and like the overall appearance of your website but once you start but once you start expanding and adding more products it is kind of nice to have your very own layout and really edit things the way you'd like it so that's why I'm ultimately making my own website and I'll have it supplement Etsy number two track your expenses from day one I think the biggest lessons learn for me personally is not tracking my expenses properly and like thoroughly I started my business back in January of 2022 the amount of time time that it took me to go back and track down all of my expenses from every month we're talking yarn from Joann's Michaels Premiere Hobie there was just so many yarn purchases that I made in 2022 that I had to go track down so many Supply orders that I made on Amazon or like in person it was just really hard to backtrack and find everything in 2023 I kind of learned from my mistakes I started like a Google spreadsheet with all of my expenses when whenever I made a purchase I really really try to hold myself accountable and log all of the expenses but I'm only human and I did slip up here and there and currently right now I have to go back and find maybe like 6 months worth of expenses so if I were to start my business again in 2024 from scratch I would really really really get it through my brain that it is so important to log all of your expenses as you go because backtracking and really trying to catch up come tax season it is it is not the way to go I definitely recommend having like an online spreadsheet through Excel that way you can easily sum up things you can rearrange you can control find I know there's also professional websites and software that you can use for this too I think like QuickBooks is a popular one that I want to look into and I feel like some YouTubers that I watch also use QuickBooks so TB dong that number three ensure all of your social media handles have the same branding and name so this is a big one when I first started my crochet business I originally was called like crochet X plushies which is like crochet plushies I don't know I don't know what I was thinking so when you sit down and initially think about what your company wants to be called what your small business is going to be named I think it's really important to do kind of an audit on social media does that name already exist are the handles already taken I feel like it's really important to pick a name that is clear short simple and something that is easily findable if people search you on Google if people look you up on Instagram for example if you wanted to create a crochet company and you are just going to call yourself like crochet plushies there are thousands of accounts that have different variations of the name crochet plushies in their username so definitely try to make it as unique as possible but at the same time don't make it too complex where the typical person wouldn't be able to easily like Google and find you so with all that to say I did end up changing my name instead of crochet plushies I rebranded and called myself crochet by Jenna luckily my name is spelled with a G so there weren't any crochet by jennas out there so I was able to snag all of the usernames across the board so on Instagram Tik Tok YouTube you name it I was able to get crochet by Jenna also if you do decide to go the website route you also want to make sure that you can buy a domain that matches your name if you're selling on Etsy you want to make sure that your Etsy store can be called the same name it all helps in the long run because if you have different names across social media handles it gets really confusing number four creating short form video content is key so I learned this kind of not the hard way but I learned it later on on Instagram posts are kind of dead like I know the algorithm is always changing but I feel like in 2023 probably in 2024 the trend will continue but short form content is every posts aren't getting as much engagement as they used to be hashtags are becoming more irrelevant the way to get your content seen by as many people as possible especially people who don't follow your account is to post reals and videos and stories so if I were to start my business all over again in 2024 I would really prioritize making reals for my Instagram posting on Tik Tok posting on YouTube shorts the short form content is so popular nowadays and I kind of get it like I feel like everyone loves to just scroll and like watch a 30- second clip and move on to the next thing we live in a very like fast-paced world so everything has to be quick quick quick so when I first started my crochet business I was really only posting pictures and it did take me a little bit to grow I think um I think it was October or November of 2022 I hit 5,000 followers so from January 2022 which was the start of my Instagram all the way to like October November time frame it took me that long to reach 5,000 followers and then fast forward another year right now it's December 2023 and I have almost 90,000 followers on Instagram so that explosive growth from 2022 to 2023 I really attribute all of it to short formed content I posted so many more reals I started posting reels every single day I also started posting a lot on my story that helps really engage with your followers really build up your brand and it allows people to get to know you more which I love I love sharing like my day-to-day with everybody so I always post on stories and then with stories you can also link stuff so I'll link a pattern that I'm working on I'll link supplies that I use it's a really great way to interact with people and then with reals you really don't have to do anything too fancy like I literally just love filming like my end plushy and then maybe like the yarn that I used to make it as like the hook in the beginning there's definitely a lot of Instagram strategy out there I personally won't touch on it because I'm definitely no pro at it but I do know the importance of reals and short firm content so that is what I will share with you guys number five invest in marketing to build initial momentum in sales so this is really important when I first started my Etsy my shop was brand new I was a nobody I had zero reviews zero sales Etc so to really get my name out there and to get my product seen I invested in Etsy ads and with Etsy they make it really simple Le and they allow you to tailor how much you want to spend each day on ads in the beginning since my shop was brand new and I didn't know you know what the success rate would look like I think I only spent like a dollar a day but as you get more comfortable and you get more revenue and more sales and traffic you can definitely increase your ad budget but for beginners I definitely recommend to maybe just spend you know at minimum a dollar a day because that will ultimately drive people to your Etsy store people will see your listings first when they type in you know crochet plushies it's really really important when you first start out to get eyes on your product it's important that people see what you're selling and are interested in your store and click on your store because that ultimately will all convert to sales so if I were to start over again I would tell myself to really invest in ads and marketing because that ultimately will help build up your reputation it'll help get you sales and it really will Propel you to success had I not used Etsy ads in the beginning I don't think think I would have been nearly as successful as I was that early on I started my shop like mid to late January of 2022 and I think it was only like 2 days later after I opened my shop that I had my first order and that first order literally came from an Etsy ad and at the time I only had like 1,000 Instagram followers so I know there's a big notion of having like a very big social media following equates to having a really successful shop but it's not necessarily true you can still be a successful seller online and have your Etsy pop off and have a small social media presence the important thing here is to just really Market yourself and invest in the ad money invest in the marketing money and get yourself out there and have your shop seen by as many people as possible a great app to use for this is # paid and do store actually offers a really great discount on this you can get $500 in ad credit if you go to www. elevate.com six prioritize building reputation and five-star reviews reputation is everything so this ties really nicely into the point that I just talked about when you first start out and you're a nobody people want to be able to trust you the number one thing that goes through people's minds or at least it goes through my mind when I'm buying from a website is is it trustworthy is it credible is this a scam that's why it's really important when you first start your business to really get as many five-star reviews as possible and build up your brand as a very trustworthy safe reliable store so when I first started my store I really prioritized Etsy ads like I mentioned earlier because that led to my first initial sales and then those sales led to reviews and then slowly my reputation started building I had some credible five-star reviews and it made buyers much more confident buying from me and that only helped Propel My Success further I used to work in retail in high school and the slogan was that the customer is always right and that is so true as much as it hurts sometimes to interact with some customers that probably aren't the nicest you do have to remember that your Shop's reputation is on the line so definitely try to cater to your customers needs I remember when I first started out and even to this day I really just make sure I treat my customers with the utmost respect and give them the benefit of the doubt and really cater to them and make them feel really supported and from the feedback that I've received people really appreciate that and really associate my Etsy shop with really great customer service and that is key so if I were to do it all again I would definitely tell myself be patient be very nice to customers and prioritize getting as many five star reviews as possible by giving them the best products and the best customer service number seven run sales and offer incentives for people to buy and this also ties into everything that I've been talking about so how do you entice people to actually buy from your shop in the beginning so I remember I would always run maybe like a 20% off sale all of the time and I know that might sound scary because you you know you ultimately start these small businesses to turn profit and make money but in the beginning sometimes you really do have to have lower profit margins to be able to build up your shop to the point where you can increase prices and you can not run sales all the time there's definitely a higher cost of startup where you might not be as profitable in the beginning but it will pay off so with that being said if I were to do it all over again I would definitely Embrace running sales almost all of the time to really entice people to pick my products over someone else's that might be you know full price ultimately people want to find the best deal so if they see that a sale is running their brain automatically is like ooh that's a good deal I should go with that shop because if it comes down to it and you're selling one item and another seller is selling kind of the same item the buyer is probably going to go to the store with a better deal so that's why it's important to run sales and really entice your customers to come shop at your Shop try not to undercut yourself too much though I wouldn't recommend running like a 50% off sale but even like 10 to 15% off it still signals to people like hey I am getting a discount I'm not paying full price let me go buy these items even to this day with my shop pretty established and I have organic sales happening I still run sales and offer discounts because I know how great of an impact it has number eight have professional branding so this kind of ties back into your Shop's appearance it's really important to have your shop look as professional as possible this just helps entice customers and again have them believe that you're shop is trustworthy credible and legitimate I definitely recommend using websites like canva or KD where you can easily mock up logos and photos and really make them all look cohesive and under one brand when I first started my business I definitely didn't do this my colors were like all over the place I didn't have like a header on my Etsy store it was really like not cute and not professional looking earlier in 2023 I did a rebranding and I like really tried to make everything cohesive I made all of my profile pictures the same on like Instagram YouTube Etsy and it really made me feel better and it really made my store look more professional oh camera's dying BRB but yeah back to what I was saying if I were to do it all over again I would definitely have all of my branding all of my Logos all of my coloring my headers I would have it all set and done before I launch my store my Instagram my YouTube that way when I launch it everything thing will look really nice from the go no this battery is dying too ah okay I'm back third times the charm but yeah all that to say I am not an artsy person I could not draw a logo if you paid me so definitely take advantage of websites like canva KD Etc where they will literally like create the logo for you you just have to like drag and drop pick the colors and add font work smarter not harder number nine dedicate specific hours as if you were working a legitimate job I feel like this is so important and I think something to add to that is whenever you start your small business give it 110% of you act like it's a legitimate job that you have I feel like in the past I've had other businesses that were not nearly as successful as crochet by Jenna and I feel like a few factors went into it one of them being I didn't dedicate specific hours of the day to work on the business number two I didn't really consider it like an actual job so I didn't put as much effort into it as I probably could have and three I really just wasn't passionate about what I was doing so I think it's really important to sit down and kind of reflect and ask yourself if my business were to take off would I enjoy it would I love doing it 9 to5 you know how they say people who run a small business work 247 it's true my crochet business runs 24/7 in my mind I'm always doing something related to the business but at the end of the day I love it and I wouldn't trade it for the world I can't say the same for the other businesses that I used to have I used to do like polymer clay earrings Drop Shipping clothing boutique I would not want to do that fulltime but crochet yes so definitely ask yourself these questions and think about it when you are establishing your small business since I still work full-time I like to dedicate from like 5: to 8:00 p.m. to my small business to crochet specifically and by having that dedicated time it really makes me have the mindset that this business is legitimate and I need to think about it as a second job really so if I were to do it all over again I would definitely dedicate specific hours of the day to work on my business give it 110% and make sure it's something that I would love to do if I had the opportunity to go full-time with it number 10 have fun be genuine and don't let it take over your life this point is so important specifically for me because I think I've mentioned before to you guys my work life balance kind of is not good like I work 9 to5 then I work on my crochet business and although I like to dedicate from 5: to 8:00 p.m. to my crochet business most of the time I am working over those hours on my crochet business between like answering DMS on Instagram YouTube comments emails designing new patterns crocheting orders the list goes on and on I'm working like a ton but I love it so it's fine but I also think it's important to establish boundaries so you don't get burnt out in the corporate and small business World burnout is a killer So to avoid that definitely make sure you set up those boundaries and don't overwork yourself and at the end of the day just remember you're doing this because you love it and it's a passion project and and you just want to have fun and make some extra money so with that being said if you do pursue something and you don't find yourself feeling as happy or passionate about it maybe stop and reconsider that's personally what I did I ultimately abandoned my own businesses like the clothing business the Drop Shipping the clay earing business just because it didn't align with my passions anymore I didn't want to keep feeding into something that I wasn't really like loving and this also kind of ties into failure I know a lot of people are scared to fail so am I but without taking taking a leap of faith you will never know if you would fail if you would be successful it's really important to tell yourself that like no matter what like at the end of the day hopefully you at least are doing something that you love that you have fun with and that can bring you happiness but all right that brings us to the end of today's video I hope you guys enjoyed watching I hope this seriously helps you if you're considering starting a small business in 2024 starting my cochet business has singularly been one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life it has brought me so much happiness I found such a great Community I have my little corner on the internet I get to meet and talk with so many cool people also interested in crochet and plushies and it just makes me so happy I'm wishing you guys all the best I believe in you you can do it this is your sign to start your small business in 2024 but all right with that I'll catch you guys in my next video bye

Channel: CrochetByGenna

Views: 166,833

Keywords: amigurumi, plushies, crochet, vlog, cute, tutorials, studio

Id: hd9USHNZzjs

Length: 21min 56sec (1316 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 03 2024