Makers Gonna Sell: A Podcast for Creative Entrepreneurs with Cheryl Ham and Nicky Avery
34 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 32 ratingsWe're bringing you behind the scenes of our handmade businesses, so you can see what it takes to turn that side hustle into a full time income. Get ready to dive in, because we're sharing our very best tips and strategies to launch, grow, and scale your creative business.
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Episodes
29: Surviving Holiday Beast Mode
December 26, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 89.2 MBWe’ve made it all the way to the end of the year and more than likely, you’re super busy right now. In my business, we call it Beast mode because inevitably this time of year we’re working our tails off with different projects and fulfilling orders to keep up with seasonal orders. It’s very easy to stress yourself out, so on this week’s podcast I’m going over what I’ve learned over the years managing stress, burnout, and rest at this time of the year. Key Takeaways: - Growth a...
BONUS: Is It Time To Hire Help? (Replay)
November 28, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 84.6 MBAre you so busy working IN your business that there’s no time left to work ON your business? We’ve all said it, “There aren’t enough hours in the day.” It really does feel that way when you’re wearing all the hats in your creative business. And it can be downright impossible to embrace the visionary role that your business requires of you when you’re bogged down with perpetual product making and never-ending to-do lists! But guess what? We all get the same 24 hours each a...
28: Find Yourself a Business Bestie
November 14, 2022 09:00 - 46 minutes - 64 MBAfter weeks apart doing solo podcast episodes, the stars have aligned, and fate has finally reunited us! It’s a double the flavor, double the fun episode with both Cheryl and Nicky back from our solo journeys and we’re happy to be together again. This happy meeting has reminded us how important it is to have a business friend to share all the feelings of running a business, and if you don’t have one yet we’re laying out everything that we’ve learned finding each other and what the difference...
27: Keeping a Healthy Work / Life Balance through the Seasons of your Life
October 31, 2022 09:00 - 36 minutes - 49.5 MBWe hear about it all the time: how do we, as creative entrepreneurs, maintain a healthy work / life balance? We want to dedicate as much time as we can to making our business successful, but how much of our personal life should we sacrifice to achieve that result? On this episode of the podcast, Cheryl’s sharing her experience building her business from the ground up while also having a professional career and a growing family, and how realizing our life is more about seasons than work and p...
26: A Behind the Scenes Look at Hiring Help While Growing Your Business (with a special guest!)
October 17, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 84.3 MBWhat happens when you’ve built your business to the point where in order to keep up with everything, you need to hire some help? What happens when you need help even though you’re still working out of your home? It might be time to find your first employee! Today Cheryl is talking about what happened when she hired her General Manager Jess to help her with the day-to-day working of her business. At the core of Cheryl and Jess’s experience working together was the idea that this wasn’t ...
BONUS: Breaking Into An Oversaturated Market (Replay)
October 03, 2022 21:15 - 54 minutes - 74.9 MBAre you worried that the market you're trying to break into is oversaturated and there’s no room for you to stand out? Or maybe you think that getting ahead means you need to outshine the competition? If you’ve ever struggled with how to get noticed and feel like you’re attempts to be seen are falling on deaf ears, it’s not your fault. It super hard to blaze your own path. And if you’ve done your fair share of Googling, you know that information on this topic is scarce. You are not alon...
025: Three Things to Help you get a Business Breakthrough
September 19, 2022 09:00 - 43 minutes - 59.2 MBAre you finding that you’re in a rut with your business? That you feel like you’re almost to that next level, but something is holding you back? This is a feeling that is way too common for first time entrepreneurs. We’ve all felt it, that feeling that something has got to give, and you just need a win to get you to that next level. That’s what today’s podcast is all about: three things that can help you get into the right mindset to get you through that rut and help you have a business brea...
25: Three Things to Help you get a Business Breakthrough
September 19, 2022 09:00 - 43 minutes - 59.2 MBAre you finding that you’re in a rut with your business? That you feel like you’re almost to that next level, but something is holding you back? This is a feeling that is way too common for first time entrepreneurs. We’ve all felt it, that feeling that something has got to give, and you just need a win to get you to that next level. That’s what today’s podcast is all about: three things that can help you get into the right mindset to get you through that rut and help you have a business brea...
24: Serve Before You Sell - How to Serve Your Audience on Social Media When Selling Feels Weird
September 05, 2022 09:00 - 38 minutes - 52.4 MBToday’s podcast is about a subject that we mention frequently when we’re talking about how to be successful as a maker entrepreneur. In our type of business, we thrive when we build and develop our relationship with our audience. Without that relationship, without that trust between us and our audience, we wouldn’t have a consistent place to sell the products that we create. Understanding this relationship is so important to staying successful, and it’s something that we can’t lose sight of ...
23: Don't Let the Fear of Copying Stop You From Trying
August 22, 2022 09:00 - 36 minutes - 49.6 MBIt’s almost inevitable that if you’re a creative person, there’s going to be a time when you create something and find another thing that looks very close to what you made. We’re not talking about actively copying other people’s creations, but those coincidences when two things look similar. For creative people, this can be a real moral dilemma! Nobody wants to be seen as unoriginal, so we might tend to overcorrect to make sure that we stay on the right side of the argument. Look, we’r...
22: Invest in Your Business by Investing in Yourself
August 08, 2022 09:00 - 53 minutes - 74 MBWhen you’re starting out, every cent you make counts. Any money that you make is either put back into your business or used to keep your personal life afloat. The thought of using any extra money that you have to better yourself seems frivolous, at best. But investing in business courses or signing up to be part of a professional group, or really anything that involves bettering yourself is actually a solid investment in your future. The hard truth about starting a business is you only know ...
21: Identifying your Ideal Customer by Being True to Yourself
July 25, 2022 09:00 - 43 minutes - 59.8 MBSo, you’ve started your business by posting your crafts online and building an audience, and now you’re ready to start expanding. That’s the subject of this week’s podcast: identifying your ideal customer so that you know exactly who you’re attracting and how best to expand your reach. It’s not just a numbers game where any customer is a good customer. Trying to be everything to everyone is a good way to burn yourself out on doing what you love, so knowing exactly who you’re marketing yo...
20: Collaborating with Brands: Where to Start and What to Look Out For
July 11, 2022 09:00 - 57 minutes - 79.2 MBWhen a big brand notices you for the first time, it’s hard not to think that you’ve finally made it in the makers business! Sometimes these collaborations can come organically with them contacting you, or maybe you’ve reached out to them and now you’re communicating… either way the clout from your collaboration is worth whatever you need to do to get it, right? Y’all, we’re here to break some bad news to you: not all brand relationships are necessarily good for your business. But don’t worry...
19: The Most Important Secret to Running Your Own Business: Rest – Makers Gotta Rest!
June 27, 2022 09:00 - 36 minutes - 50.2 MBWe became business owners to have the freedom to determine our own success. Since we are now our own bosses and sometimes even our only employee, we tend to see all of our time as potential work hours. You hear about “the hustle” from influencers and how as an entrepreneur, all your time must be devoted to achieving success. Look y’all, we’re here to tell you a secret that we’ve learned the hard way: taking a break from work, and even planning out rest periods is not a bad thing at all but n...
18: Dealing with Mistakes and Shifting from “I can’t” to “How can I?”
June 13, 2022 09:00 - 48 minutes - 66.6 MBWe’re all going to run into situations when running our business where we don’t make the best decisions. The reality is, we’re going to mess up and make mistakes y’all, it’s a fact of life that we all need to come to grips with. It’s how long it takes us to get our heads back on straight and deal with those mistakes that we’re discussing and hopefully give you some perspective on this week’s podcast. The unfortunate part of making mistakes in your business is that most of the time, t...
17: Creating Effective Email Lists
May 30, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 86.3 MBSo much of our marketing is centered on posting on social media that sometimes tried and true methods of marketing are cast aside. If there’s one thing we can convince you, one thing for you to get the most out of, it’s building and maintaining and well-crafted email list. There are just so many advantages to having an effective email list for engaging with your audience and potential customers, and we’re getting into it in this week’s episode of the podcast. Crafting an effective email li...
16: Growing Your Social Media Audience with Paid Ads
May 16, 2022 09:00 - 58 minutes - 81 MBOnce you get to a certain point in your business, you’re going to have to start thinking about using paid ads to reach a wider audience. Investing money into advertising is a big step, and you want to be able to get the most bang for your buck, but where do you even start to have a strategy that is going to win for you? If these questions and worries are rolling around in your head, we have just the episode for you this week! We’re talking about what you’ll want to consider before spending y...
15: Growing Your Social Media Audience by Building Community – Part 1
May 02, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 89.3 MBIt’s one of the biggest mysteries to entrepreneurs when they’re first starting out: how do I build an effective social media community? We’ve all been there, creating content and sending out posts into the wild hoping beyond hope that someone will see it and give it a like. It can be disheartening when our posts don’t get the likes you were hoping for, or the views you think it deserves. This is our topic this week: we’re going to share with you what we’ve learned building our own social med...
15: Growing Your Social Media Audience by Building Community
May 02, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 89.3 MBIt’s one of the biggest mysteries to entrepreneurs when they’re first starting out: how do I build an effective social media community? We’ve all been there, creating content and sending out posts into the wild hoping beyond hope that someone will see it and give it a like. It can be disheartening when our posts don’t get the likes you were hoping for, or the views you think it deserves. This is our topic this week: we’re going to share with you what we’ve learned building our own social med...
14: How to Build Your Business and Push Past Perfectionism - Perfection is the Enemy of Progress
April 18, 2022 09:00 - 39 minutes - 54.6 MBThis week we’re talking about something I’m sure we’ve all felt at one time or another. You’ve started your own business, you have a great idea or craft that you’re ready to share with the world, but then the details on how to share or get your idea out there paralyze you. We want our content to be perfect and compare ourselves against other entrepreneurs who have been at it for a while, not realizing that nobody thinks their content is perfect, at least not the first time! The truth i...
13: How to Make More Sales Creating the Products You WANT to Create
April 04, 2022 09:00 - 58 minutes - 80.4 MBThis week we’re rolling up our sleeves and welcoming Erica from the Lopsided Crafter on to the podcast for a little up close and personal coaching. When you’re first starting out, you might have more ideas for new products than you have space or money. So as a business owner, you have to be able to sell any product that you make. But how do you know that the ideas that you have, and the products that you create, are going to click with your audience? If you’ve been wondering how you’re going...
12: How We Manage Our Money as Motivated Makers
March 21, 2022 09:00 - 49 minutes - 68.3 MBIn today's episode, we are sharing a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most important topics of creative entrepreneurship: MANAGING THE MONEY. So much of what we do as makers is DIY and scrappy, but don't neglect your money management! This week we are sharing some of our best tips about keeping track of dollars in and dollars out. Don’t forget to share YOUR Needle Mover with us on Instagram by posting it to your Stories and tagging us, or shoot us a DM. Together, let’s make a BIG ...
11: Defining what success looks like for YOUR business
March 07, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 83.3 MBMeeting self-set goals help grow your business. However, to set goals, you first need to define what your success looks like. The definition will vary from small business to small business and even change year to year. Defining what success looks like for your small business will help you, well…be successful! Topics discussed in this episode: 2:35: Defining what success looks like for you 10:19: Your goals and definition will be individualized 16:06: Take actions to make yourse...
10: 5 Top Tips We Almost Forgot to Tell You About
February 21, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 93.6 MBEpisode 10 ALREADY? Say what?! We've covered a ton of awesome content in the first 10 episodes, so we decided to dive deeper on some of the bigger concepts so far. Make sure to find us on social media and let us know what YOU want to hear more of on the podcast! Don’t forget to share YOUR Needle Mover with us on Instagram by posting it to your Stories and tagging us, or shoot us a DM. Together, let’s make a BIG impact in our businesses over the next 2 weeks! Come find us on socia...
09: Is It Time To Hire Help?
February 07, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 84.6 MBAre you so busy working IN your business that there’s no time left to work ON your business? We’ve all said it, “There aren’t enough hours in the day.” It really does feel that way when you’re wearing all the hats in your creative business. And it can be downright impossible to embrace the visionary role that your business requires of you when you’re bogged down with perpetual product making and never-ending to-do lists! But guess what? We all get the same 24 hours each a...
08: Getting Started With Wholesale (part two) with Lorri from Arkansas Yarn Company
January 24, 2022 09:00 - 48 minutes - 66 MBReceiving wholesale inquiries is SOOO exciting, but once the excitement wears off it can also be a little scary. We’ve invited a special guest, Lorri Helberg of Arkansas Yarn Company, to sit down with us to discuss all things wholesale and to answer some questions like: Do I need a contract? How do I price wholesale? Is wholesale beneficial to my company? Topics discussed in this episode: 1:42: Deep dive into wholesale pricing. What ratio is right for your business? 13:04: What’s...
07: Getting Started With Wholesale (part one) with Lorri from Arkansas Yarn Company
January 10, 2022 09:00 - 43 minutes - 59.6 MBReceiving wholesale inquiries is SOOO exciting, but once the excitement wears off it can also be a little scary. We’ve invited a special guest, Lorri Helberg of Arkansas Yarn Company, to sit down with us to discuss all things wholesale and to answer some questions like: Do I need a contract? How do I price wholesale? Is wholesale beneficial to my company? Topics discussed in this episode: 3:41: Meet Lorri of Arkansas Yarn Co 23:19: What information should you provide when inquiri...
06: A Behind The Scenes Look At Our Workflows
December 27, 2021 09:00 - 56 minutes - 77.4 MBIf your business is a one person show and you find yourself struggling to get all the things done (in business and in life), then we know exactly how you feel. We all want our businesses to run like a well oiled machine - each day, week, and month set up for success with a strategy in place to conquer every task that needs doing. But sometimes that’s easier said than done! We’ve all had those moments where we’re running around like our hair is on fire, just trying to make it through the ...
05: Is Etsy the right Platform for your Business?
December 13, 2021 09:00 - 47 minutes - 65.3 MBShopify, Wordpress, Etsy, oh my! If you’ve been stressing over your businesses online forever-home, you’re not alone. It’s a big decision, and it can be scary deciding which platform is best for your business. Etsy’s ease of use makes it a popular choice when starting out, but it’s important to know the pros and cons before making this important decision. We’ve both had several businesses on and off Etsy, so join us as we discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly so you can decide if E...
04: Breaking Into An Oversaturated Market
November 29, 2021 09:00 - 54 minutes - 74.9 MBAre you worried that the market you're trying to break into is oversaturated and there’s no room for you to stand out? Or maybe you think that getting ahead means you need to outshine the competition? If you’ve ever struggled with how to get noticed and feel like you’re attempts to be seen are falling on deaf ears, it’s not your fault. It super hard to blaze your own path. And if you’ve done your fair share of Googling, you know that information on this topic is scarce. You are not alon...
03: Top Productivity Hacks to Help You Smash Your Business Goals
November 15, 2021 07:05 - 49 minutes - 68.5 MBDo you ever feel like there aren't enough hours in the day? If so, you're not alone. As business owners, we set big, lofty goals for ourselves but then struggle with being productive and accomplishing everything we need to get done. Life gets busy and there’s a lot of background noise we need to tune out if we’re gonna stay focused and concentrate on the work that will move us closer to achieving our goals. In today’s episode, we share examples from our own hand dyed ya...
02: What The Tech? Our favorite apps, softwares, and gadgets to grow your creative business
November 15, 2021 07:02 - 1 hour - 105 MBAre you addicted to trying every app, software, and gadget out there - hoping to find that perfect solution to your productivity woes? If that sounds like you, then we’ve got you covered in today's episode. We may have gotten a teeny bit carried away, spilling the beans on all our favorite things. You’ll definitely want to take notes because we cover some of the best business tools out there! From apps that keep your social media marketing on track or software that makes life easier...
01: Courage Over Confidence: Action is the cure for fear
November 15, 2021 07:00 - 51 minutes - 71.3 MBWelcome to our very first episode of the Makers Gonna Sell podcast! In this episode, we're talking about why you don't need confidence to start a business and how we can still do big, scary things, even when we're terrified. We all know that starting a business is hard. But what if you're not confident enough to start? Most people are afraid of failure, so they never take action on their dreams. This week we're discussing why fear holds us back - and what we can do about it. ...
Introducing the Makers Gonna Sell Podcast!
October 20, 2021 05:14 - 2 minutes - 2.82 MBWe're bringing you behind the scenes of our handmade businesses, so you can see what it takes to turn that side hustle into a full time income. Get ready to dive in, because we're sharing our very best tips and strategies to launch, grow, and scale your creative business.