today’s first biz ladies post comes courtesy of artist, craft inc. author, and modern economy founder, meg mateo ilasco. meg will be joining us every month to share her small-business advice and today she’s starting at the beginning: how to start a business in tough times. she’s created a fantastic 5-month plan for getting your business momentum going that’s easy to follow and perfect for those of you looking to start a business despite the less-than-desirable economic climate. i hope it will be helpful and remind everyone that it’s always a great time to start your own business- as long as you plan ahead.
CLICK HERE for meg’s full post after the jump!
With every media outlet announcing the apocalypse of financial ruin, I can only imagine how hard it must be for someone to consider starting a business now. I think it’s natural for people to shy away from taking risks in a “bad economy” and to equate a “good economy” with being the optimal time to launch a new venture. Though it’s sensible to be wary of economic conditions—for me, there is simply no good or bad time to begin a business. If you are excited about your ideas and motivated to put in the legwork, then the time is now!
So let’s all collectively snap out of the debby-downer spirit—reboot, and start fresh with a new perspective.
For one thing, I think it’s a pretty good time to start a side business. If you’ve been laid off, this misfortune may really be an opportunity for you to jump into your dream business. Or if you’re a new grad on the job hunt, you probably have plenty of extra time you can dedicate to a business. Or if you’re currently employed, considering it’s probably not the best time to ask for a raise, starting a side venture can be a great way for you to earn some additional income.
The good thing about starting a business during a down economy is that you will do it with DIY ethos based on a foundation of frugality. Building a business foundation based on excess is never good—just look at a majority of those dot-com businesses back in the day. And when the economy finally rebounds, your business will be in great shape to handle all the opportunities and challenges that come its way.
So let’s say you want to start a creative manufacturing business on the side. This would be my kick-off plan for you in the next five months (yes, you are starting today!). And you can accomplish all this by simply devoting only a couple hours a day.
April: Create your product line.
Start with a few of your strongest products (between one and five) because we don’t want to commit limited funds to too much inventory right now. Strong products would be ones that reflect your signature style, as well as products that have editorial range and depth. By editorial range, I mean a product that would fit into a variety of publication categories (for instance, a wooden mobile could fit into at least three categories: home décor, lifestyle, and children). Editorial depth means that it helps if your product has a story to tell. And of course, don’t forget to ask people, whom you trust and respect for feedback on your products.
May: Photograph your products and create marketing literature.
After you’ve made prototypes of your debut line, study how products like yours are styled in catalogs or magazines. Practice styling your products and spend a good amount of time taking and re-taking pictures. (If your photography skills are weak, you can consider bartering with a photographer, or finding a student photographer interested in pro bono work to build their portfolio.) Use these images to create a catalog for wholesale orders, as well as product information sheets for press kits.
June: Create an on-line presence.
Build an on-line storefront or company Web site to feature your products. Spend time creating some inventory to fulfill orders.
July: Marketing outreach.
Tell everyone about the great stuff you’re working on! Create a list of five target blogs and five target magazines in which to feature your products. Do your research—read publications and blogs to find out which ones would be a good fit for your product. Begin contacting them one-at-a-time, and carefully put together emails and press kits to send out.
August: Store outreach
Choose three shopping districts, at least two from metropolitan cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco, or Los Angeles in addition to a city close to you. Create a list of about ten stores (look in magazines and on-line shopping guides for store names) in each city where you could see your products being sold. Contact each store for the buyer’s name and address and send them an email or package introducing your business. Make sure to include links to products or a copy of your catalog.
These are just some of the basic guidelines you will need to jump-start this endeavor. If you want more in-depth information about press kits, catalogs, and how to go about contacting editors and buyers—and of course, the licenses and paperwork you need to file in order to be a legal business, check out 
