Anne Secor

Photo courtesy of Hudson Valley Style Magazine Since officially launching October Design in 2011, my designs have been featured in magazines like Country Living, Equistyle, Upstate House, Horse & Style and Hudson Valley Style (cover feature), plus several blogs. I sell online, at craft shows, and I’m in a few boutiques throughout the Northeast. 10 FEATURED SELLER | OCTOBER DESIGN # HANDMADE SELLER 11 Having been in business for 8 years, I’ve learned a lot about effective sales channels, priorities, mindset, and what it takes to keep a business going. Here’s what I’ve learned from my journey: “Do what you love.” Yes, it’s a bit of a cliché, but it holds true. When deciding what you’d like to create and sell, pay attention to what you pay attention to. We all have things that we love and are attracted to. Make a list of things you love, then find a way to incorporate them into your work. It will make your business much more enjoyable for you. People laugh when I describe myself as a professional scavenger, but I was an upcycler long before it became trendy: finding ugly castoff clothing, furniture, whatnots, and making them stylish or interesting has always been a fun challenge for me. That eventually became a foundation stone for my business. setting up and working the booth at shows, finding and pitching to new sales channels, plus doing the occasional custom design or commercial contract job. I keep a pretty tight schedule every week, with designated tasks for each day. I’ve seen people try to start businesses around things they clearly didn’t care about. They didn’t last long. You have to be fundamentally excited about what you’re doing, because there will be times when you don’t love your tasks for that day. A larger purpose will keep you moving forward. Start big, then narrow it down. “DO WH AT Y OU LOV E.” I originally had a larger vision for my designs, hoping to create a globally recognized brand of décor like Todd Oldham or Jonathan Adler. I’ve had opportunities to take my business to the next level by developing broader, mass-producible designs for largeThere’s another adage: “Do what you love and scale partnerships, and wholesale you’ll never work a day in your life.” That’s inquiries. But the more I researched not exactly true. If you’re doing something you and negotiated, the more I love and you manage to make a living off of realized that I prefer keeping it – wonderful, you’re living the dream! But things on a smaller, more it’s misleading to say that it’s never frustrating personal scale, where I can or never feels like work. To get your art (or maintain higher quality and anything else) out there, you have to put in the deliver true artisan design. work. A lot of it. Working one-on-one Running a business as a one-person show with clients also affords means I’m responsible for everything: Coming me a certain level up with ideas, researching materials, producing of creative license, designs, photography and copywriting, listing which keeps my products online, marketing and selling them, work interesting processing orders, updating social media, and challenging. 12 FEATURED SELLER | OCTOBER DESIGN # HANDMADE SELLER 13 16 FEATURED SELLER | OCTOBER DESIGN # HANDMADE SELLER 17 Online Marketing: based artisan collectives. But because of the nature of my I went through a lot of trial and products (unique, one-of-aerror to eventually find a good kind designs), I was constantly mix of sales and promotions having to update my inventory channels to reach customers: across the board. If a particular Despite the power tools and item sold on one site, I would handcrafted artisan design, have to quickly pull it from all I am primarily an online the other sites before someone business, meaning I engage else purchased it. customers and offer my work I went through a lot of through my own website, TRIAL AND ERROR OctoberDesign.com. I rely to eventually find a on Google Ad Words and good mix of sales and social media direct links to drive promotions channels customers to my products. People to reach customers. have asked me if/when I will set up a brick and mortar location, For now, Etsy is the best but I honestly don’t have the time, secondary platform for my energy, or desire to run a store handcrafted wares and is on top of everything else that I fairly easy to maintain at a low do. Online marketing allows me cost. I still keep a seller page to reach far more customers all on Houzz, simply as an online over the country. business card for its users ‘‘ ‘‘ Additionally, I sell through Etsy. At one time, I sold across several other popular Marketplace platforms, including Houzz, Scoutmob, Amazon, and a few NY- 18 to find me; I don’t currently sell any product through them. Scoutmob was a great concept, but poorly executed and terribly managed (unsurprisingly, they’re FEATURED SELLER | OCTOBER DESIGN now defunct). As for the recently revamped Amazon Handmade, the verdict’s still out. I think the seller fees are still a bit high, and from what I’ve researched, there’s a reportedly high return rate from customers who like to try something, then ship it back for free via Prime. Great for them, but that can be problematic for a business owner like me. Social Media (free advertising): Take advantage of social media like Instagram and Pinterest. Post everything you sell, anywhere you can. Use lots of hashtags, include a watermark on your images, and be sure to link everything back to yourself. You never know where it will end up. Years ago, I designed a pendant lamp from a found vintage Barbicide jar (the blue liquid-filled jars found in barber shops). When I posted a photo of this lamp on Pinterest, it was re-pinned about 10,000 times and eventually ended up in front of the marketing director for Barbicide. She loved it and reached out to me, generously offering me a space on Barbicide’s website to sell the lamps. Google Ad Words (not free, but worth it): Many shoppers, contractors, and interior designers find me through Google, reaching out to me with design requests or commercial contract jobs. Occasionally, I will travel to oversee an installation, but it’s surprising how many jobs I do without meeting with the customer or client face-to-face. I’m usually able to work with them, answer questions, spec out job details, email them mock-ups, etc., all entirely online. I keep an ongoing budget each month for Google Ad Words campaigns. Having the right search words in your campaign will get your business listing in front of your demographic. Try Google-searching your own products or keywords to see what sort of listings get ranked first. Review your analytics often and adjust accordingly. # HANDMADE SELLER 19 Commercial Spaces Featuring My Lighting and Decor Products. CLO CLO 24 VE VE TIQ BOU TIQ BOU UE, R UE, R OK N ED HO OK N ED HO Y Y FEATURED SELLER | OCTOBER DESIGN GLO SPA, W OODSTOCK N GLO SPA, W OODSTOCK N Y Y NINE PIN CIDER NINE PIN CIDER WORKS, AL WORKS, AL BANY NY BANY NY PINE _ BURLI DALE BAR NGTO B N ON ER, TAR PINE _ BURLI DALE BAR NGTO N ONBER, TA R IO C ANA IO CA DA NAD A # HANDMADE SELLER 25