We've interviewed thousands of successful founders at Starter Story and asked what advice they would give to entrepreneurs who are just getting started.

Here's the best advice we discovered for starting a handmade goods business:

#1: Marcello De Lio, founder of Just Artisan:

We chatted with with Marcello, founder of Just Artisan ($10K/month). In our interview, Marcello says:

In our quest to help every artist and customer on our platform, we made the error of making it a priority to add every feature requested by our users, believing that we were improving Just Artisan.

Additionally:

We have found that sending an email one hour, 24 hours, and 48 hours after a customer abandoned their cart is a very effective way to turn the cart into a sale.

Read the full interview ➜

#2: Christopher Sofia, founder of Humble Blades:

We chatted with with Christopher, founder of Humble Blades ($2K/month). In our interview, Christopher says:

Of all the efforts, I’ve found the most return on Social Media. I think my narrative is more visual, so photos are the way to do that. I’ve sold my process, and my development as part of the overall tone just as much as each piece of inventory.

Additionally:

Often I feel that What I did 2 weeks ago is affecting how my brand operates today, so a lot of forward-thinking and preparation scenario thinking will help you adapt and grow.

Read the full interview ➜

#3: Sunny Choudhary, founder of PortraitFlip LLC:

We chatted with with Sunny, founder of PortraitFlip LLC ($45K/month). In our interview, Sunny says:

SEO is a slow therapy but it works wonders. After three years we hardly have to invest in ads and most of our results come from SEO that we practiced two years back.

Additionally:

It is very important to invest your funds in the right place, a place that will help the business grow. I thought it was better to pay a decent salary to one professional person than to try fitting in two average employees in that payroll.

Read the full interview ➜

#4: Samuel Davidson, founder of Batch:

We chatted with with Samuel, founder of Batch ($150K/month). In our interview, Samuel says:

Lo and behold, we actually hit the 200 mark our first month. The local media covered what we were doing and sales jumped to 600 for the second month and then 1,000 or month three (well beyond our original goal!).

Additionally:

As an entrepreneur, the beginning can be really fun and sexy. Working long hours and doing hard work is a joy because you’re bootstrapping and chasing a big dream. But, even in the early days, that time is money and your sweat equity won’t scale long term.

Read the full interview ➜

#5: Samuel Davidson, founder of Batch:

We chatted with with Samuel, founder of Batch ($150K/month). In our interview, Samuel says:

Build your network before you need it. Even if your venture has stalled right now due to the pandemic, you can keep building your network.

Read the full interview ➜

#6: Samuel Davidson, founder of Batch:

We chatted with with Samuel, founder of Batch ($150K/month). In our interview, Samuel says:

Remind yourself of why you started. If you’re no longer in love with the mission, name that, close up shop, and move on. Or, fall back in love with the bigger picture and use that as motivation to keep grinding.

Read the full interview ➜

#7: Sunny Choudhary, founder of PortraitFlip LLC:

We chatted with with Sunny, founder of PortraitFlip LLC ($45K/month). In our interview, Sunny says:

Funding is not always an option but bootstrapping is.

Additionally:

You are not an expert in everything. Outsourcing can make a lot of things simple for you. By the time you learn and implement something, the time will be gone.

Read the full interview ➜

Part of

Starting A Handmade Goods Business: Everything You Need To Know

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