Well, That Didn’t Work...
One thing I’ve learned is that sometimes, you need to get out of your head and just. start. DOING.
I figured that instead of reinventing the wheel, I’d go with what I had done in the past. I had all my paint party supplies and a lot of craft supplies. As you know, I’ve been doing paint parties since 2012, but in 2018 I also began offering craft clubs out of my house. I decided that I would return to my craft clubs and create them to go for 6-12 months. The 12-month clubs were very successful in the past because they created a collection that added to one big project. For example, as pictured, I had the Porch Sign Club where crafters would make a porch sign, and then each month, they would decorate a couple of interchangeable holiday-themed attachments that they could change out.
Since I already knew exactly how to do this club and do paint parties, this is what I thought I'd kick off my re-launch. I advertised a new porch sign club, but this time, instead of asking people to commit to a whole year, I created a 7-week weekly club.
At the same time, I also put together a paint club creating a four-week Stained Glass Painting Series that we had just added to the Artsy Art Gallery.
I had two great offerings! It was going to be great right? Well not so fast...
I reopened my Facebook Crafters Group page back up and advertised both clubs. I also advertised on all of the FB neighborhood groups that I was a part of and I waited. This is exactly how I had advertised my business in the past. Two former crafters said they’d be interested in making ANOTHER porch sign and another former crafter signed up for one of the paint nights. But other than that, it was Crickets no others signed up. I had quite a few “likes” on my posts, but no registrations. What was I doing wrong?
There are a few possibilities I came up with
1) Are people locking down on extra spending (like me, hello economy)
2) Maybe people are uncomfortable coming to my home?
3) My ideas are worthless. Naaaa, I know my ideas are great! ;)
It's important in business to understand what a weakness, opportunities, and threats are.
Option number one is a threat. I can't change the economy, it's unlikely I can change someone's mind about spending and their budget. My prices are fair and less than competitors.
I know my ideas are worthy and fun, so that leaves excuse number two as something I can work on. Could I change the location? For the craft club, the answer is no. Part of the allure of my craft clubs is that I have SO. MANY. CRAFT. SUPPLIES. My basement is essentially my art studio. My crafters come to me with an idea they want to incorporate, I can almost always accommodate their vision with my supplies so changing the craft club to an offsite location is out of the question. But I can paint anywhere - hence (Gallery on the GO!), so that leaves me with that opportunity to work. Now time to brainstorm where could I take my business. Stay tuned!
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