Get your craft self on over to Handmade Detroit’s website and check out this awesome contest they are sponsoring!

Handmade Detroit »

What? THAT’S RIGHT. The Handmade Detroit folks are looking to see just what everyone is doing for Mother’s Day this year, and more importantly, what you’re making. We’re looking for the most creative Mother’s Day gift a set of hands can make. There’s no theme, no requirements… Just a super awesome gift that will knock your mom’s socks off.

Yep, you’ll be the proud owner of a brand-spanking-new 4GB silver iPod Nano. And not only will you receive this fabulous iPod (I hear putting your music on the computer is all the rage these days!), you’ll get a cute gift set along with it, complete with bitty chocolates and a polka dot box. That’s right, Handmade Detroit really does love you that much.

If you want in on this, simply e-mail lishdorset706 [at] yahoo [dot] com with a photo of your finished product, and a wee description of what you did, by Monday, May 14. We’ll post some of our favorite entries next week, as well as the winner.

So there you go! Get to it! There’s an iPod at stake!

What are you waiting for? Get crafting!

I frequently visit The Switchboards forum, a wonderful location for anyone who owns an independent business. Today,Trade Show Booth Design was the subject of discussion, a topic I’m very interested in.

Denise from Akemi Design shared this information,”Rag and Bone created a pdf of their tradeshow booth, including where they got everything and how much it cost: http://ragandbone.com/bloggerimages/2007_02_11_booth/trade_show_booth.pdf.”

In addition, the owner of Mohop Shoes shared this resource:

“I went to a seminar a couple months ago that Bruce Baker spoke at - he has excellent advice for trade shows, both selling and booth design. I recommend the 2 CD package. I’m positive the CD’s will pay for themselves - if it’s anything like his seminars, there’s tons of great information, and you might even get excited about what we all dread: selling.“

These are stellar links for anyone who does shows and I highly recommend you check them out!

For more information:
Akemi designs for life’s occasions | etsy | blog
Mohop.com - *sandals* handmade in Chicago

One of the major problems I find in my business is that I feel like I’m working from the time I wake up until I go to bed and yet I get very little accomplished. Luckily I’m not the only one who feels this way so people have written about it! I’ll share…

A major challenge for many home-based business people is managing time. In some businesses, work can be performed when time permits or during brief periods of time in spite of recurrent interruptions.

One problem for an individual with a home business is friends often telephone or drop by unexpectedly. They do not always realize you have time commitments. Inform them of your set working times and ask that they stop back later. If they phone, ask them to call back after a certain time or tell them you will return their call at that time.

Some guidelines to free up more time through wiser use of time:

You can find a list of those tips here!

TO DO WELL IN SELLING ONLINE, you need to get the word out about your product. That is not as easy as it sounds, especially if you are new to online marketing. Crafts are mainly a hobby for me, however, I do have an online business where I promote other products and services. I will share with you here what methods I use for online marketing that have worked very well for me.

Here’s a great resource I found for starting your home based craft business. It covers everything from setting up your website to figuring out who your customers are and how they can pay you.

This website is a great way to learn more if you’re interested in going from a hobbyist to a professional crafter.