Handmade Business: My Business Model

I've begun calling what I do a handmade business - I strive to create well-made and affordable products from quality materials and help people focus on getting back to basics and supporting local instead of shopping in cheap bulk. Maybe a little ambitious, but I'd like to think I could try. Hey, I go to Target as much as the next girl, and I buy most of my clothes there too. However, what I would really like to do is learn more about how to make my own blouses and dresses, and buy whatever else I need at Goodwill. It's not much, but it's at least one person cutting down on the made-in-China manufacturing and being a little more sustainable. I'm not an environmentalist by any means, but I love the idea of re-using and re-making things and living frugally. 

Anyway, all this to say I'm currently working on my business model and plan. Writing my ideas out clearly is quite a challenge! I found several resources on how to do this: Etsy has two great blog posts here and here that have really helped me. I'm also a huge fan of Kari Chapin's books The Handmade Marketplace and Grow Your Handmade Business.

I've also been following a creative coaching website called By Regina. It's run by Regina (who else?) and she's extremely motivational and helpful. She offers free resources and tips nearly every week, with tons of templates, downloads, and videos for bloggers. All of her resources apply to pretty much every creative freelancer or blogger, no matter what you do. Love it. She helps you write out exactly who you are, where you are, and what you want to do. Definitely helpful for someone like me, who is vague and idealistic at times.

I'm excited to keep growing my business - it's taken leaps and bounds in the last year alone. I've updated my Etsy shop announcement a bit more to reflect my business plan, if you want to take a read. This is quite a journey! I'm thankful for all the time I've had to pour into it and I'm excited to see where it goes.

For those of you who are also running or starting a handmade business - what are some resources you've found that were helpful? What are some of your goals? How do you plan to grow your business?