so my quest for researching has begun. i managed to find 45 stationery shops- 22 which specialize in letterpress- to start researching price points, trends and sales. i feel like i'm taking on a big project, considering i've found so many great stationery designers, but i feel this is a necessary step if i want to take this business seriously. i mentioned before that i wanted my next job to be one in which i work for myself in my fantastic little studio (or work room... i'm not going to be picky), so if that's going to happen, i need to think business and not all pleasure. that may mean i stay on maternity leave... and switch it over to mid-life crisis leave... but i'm okay with that. then again, this is only the first step. some may ask why letterpress when you don't offer letterpress? why? because i love it. plain and simple. i won't be using these shops as part of my research, but design wise, they fit in the trend category.
the plan:: what i plan to do is "study" each shop... what are they selling? how is their work printed? what is their pricing structure like? i'm a big advocate of charging what something should cost, not basing it on what the market is charging (even though many people insist on "well xyz is selling for $3 cheaper and in order for me to compete, i have to lower my prices." no. stick to your guns and have pride in your work and your time spent. this is another post for another time, however.) i would like to see where my products fall in the market.
i also plan on purchasing a few products from shops i've really kept an eye on and whom i see as "direct competition"- it's important to look at craft, materials, print method and overall wow factor. to me, these are key.
i am taking notes on what is not being offered at this time as well... is there a niche i can capture now while no one or very few are offering the product? i already have a few things in the works... just little ideas waiting to grace the pages of etsy! my little notebook is fresh and ready to accept all the thoughts i have to get down on paper (yes, i'm handwriting all of this. why? because i love notebooks filled with handwritten thoughts. i'm weird- i've accepted this a long time ago.)
this is something i would encourage all shops to do every quarter or every 6 months. take inventory of what's out there and what you're up against, not just what's in your own shop. know your market and what's being offered. is the market over saturated in a particular item you offer? can you rework that piece to make it stand out? do you even want to carry that piece anymore? i'd guess that 75% or more of the design business is the the actual business side of things. there is a lot of talent out there, so you have to know how to pull yourself out of the pack and get noticed.
though i'm not the biggest cheerleader for oprah, i did watch her show with marcus buckingham. marcus is an expert on helping you take control of your career and helping you realize what it is you should really be doing with your career. i've been listening to the podcast while working and some of it is common knowledge, some of it is alot like i see oprah- forget about real life and follow your heart no matter if you go poor or you make somewhat irrational decisions doing it... at least you're following your heart and then some of it is helping you, yourself, figure out what you're good at and how to incorporate that into either the job you have or find the job you should be doing. i'm hoping this exercise will help me figure out what i should be doing with my career.
marcus has you go thru an exercise for a week at work where you write down "i loathed it" and " i loved it" for week pertaining to things you do at work. this is to help you recognized the verbs of your job, really and the strengths and weaknesses you possess. many in the exercise found that the things they were good at were things they loathed to do. his suggestion? offer to do the things you like to do over and over and then you just might get asked to keep doing them and your role switches- ta da! you've just reworked your job to work for you. of course, he makes it sound much more simple than it really is, i'm sure, but it never hurts to try and make the 8+ hours you spend at work a little more tolerable.
so i'm going to try this. next week at work i'm going to keep my loathed and loved cards and see where it gets me- for both jobs if possible (even though a majority of my own business is done at my regular job- whooops!). i'm going to see if i can figure out what my calling in life should be! this could be intereting.
have a great weekend!
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