Designers, Makers, Artisans

If you’re ready to turn your craft into an exceptional business…

Let’s get you off to a great start

is this you?

You’ve been developing your craft skills for a while now and as far as fulfilling careers go you can’t imagine doing anything else. You are now seriously thinking about turning your craft into a business.

  • Perhaps you’ve received a few sales or commissions that have given you the motivation you need.
  • Maybe friends and family are encouraging you to sell your creations.
  • You can see the potential benefits of taking charge of your own income stream and workdays.
  • You want to be free to follow your creativity on your own terms.
It’s an exhilarating feeling, isn’t it?

Whatever the reason, turning your craft into a business is a big step.

With all the available information out there you are starting to realise that entering the world of entrepreneurship requires a shift from making for pleasure as and when you feel like it, to the need for greater organisation, structure, and business knowledge that comes with making for-profit.

And with all that needs to be done to make it official…

You are starting to feel a little bit lost.

This is perfectly understandable given that…

We’re not born knowing how to weave creativity and business together.

It is a fact that a large proportion of creatives are likely to be self-employed, yet despite knowing this education providers don’t offer much in the way of starting a creative business training. And whether you are self-taught or formally trained, not everyone has had access to business role models and mentors to learn from and help pave the way.

So having started with what you’ve picked up here and there you’re left trying to piece together and figure things for yourself, embarking on a laborious time-consuming process of trial & error till you find what works.

You are not alone, all entrepreneurs make mistakes, it’s a part of the process.

However, You are here because you Appreciate That

Getting the basics right from the outset will set you up for success, saving you a lot of the future heartache, struggle, and expensive start-up mistakes that come with starting and growing a business. And for that, you know you need a right-for-your-vision plan. One that does justice to your dream and talents. You understand that a plan is essential to how successfully you’ll start your business. A well-thought-out plan will serve as your roadmap guiding you through each step of this life-changing journey you are preparing to take.

So, if you are serious about transforming your craft into a thriving business

let me introduce…

The Well-Crafted Start-Up

How to successfully transform your craft into an exceptional business

The Well-Crafted Start-up guides you through the steps needed to start your craft business, so you can start earning a living doing what you love.

This thoughtfully crafted self-study course follows a proven method used by successful creative business owners to set a solid foundation upon which to get your business up and running as soon as possible. It helps you sort through your thoughts, refine your ideas and put in place an actionable plan.

The Well-Crafted Start-0Up is currently closed for enrollment
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IN THIS PROGRAMME YOU WILL LEARN…

The essential business-building steps to get your fine craft business off to the best possible start.

IMAGINE HOW IT WOULD FEEL IF…

YOU KNEW

  • How to position your work in the premium, high-end, luxury craft sector
  • How to validate the demand for your work and help you create the objects or collections your customers want
  • Exactly who your customers were and how to get your work in front of them
  • How to calculate a start-up budget with a pre-programmed spreadsheet, and avoid any nasty surprises
  • The financial and legal obligations for starting a business
  • How to bring your vision together into an ‘at-a-glance’ one-page business plan

The course modules

01.

Getting into the Right Frame Of Mind

Success starts with the state of our minds. This module is a lesson in being your own cheerleader; believing what’s possible, grounding yourself and facing and overcoming your fears.

02.

Defining your purpose and vision

Every business starts with a vision. This module will help you to clarify it. You will learn how to manage shiny object syndrome, balance your vision with realistic expectations, calculate your start-up costs, and why investing in your business is essential, by discussing the main reasons that craft businesses fail and what you can do to avoid this.

03.

Knowing Your market To position Your business

In this module, you will get to know the fine craft marketplace, and how to position your business within it.

04.

Finding Your Right Customers

Paying customers keep your business going. In this module, you test out, and validate interest and demand for your work and see if there is a demand for it. You will also identify your right customer.

05.

The Practicalities Of Turning Your Craft Into A Business

As you prepare to launch your business there are things you need to consider. In this module, you will go through your legal and financial obligations such as trading status, taxes, keeping records, and the types of insurance you need to have in place.

06.

Presenting and Packaging Your Offering

How you present your work matters. In this module, you will focus on branding your business and crafting your brand story to attract your right customers.

07.

Connecting To Your Audience To Let Them Know About Your Product

Marketing is one of the pillars of a successful business. In this module, you will explore the different ways of telling the world about your work, getting your product in front of your desired audience, and engaging and communicating with your audience.

08.

Your One Page Business Plan

In this module, you will gather all your findings together in a one-page business plan, which acts as a quick access reference for when you need reminding about your vision and goals.

09.

Monitoring Your Progress

Businesses, industries, and customers are not static they are constantly evolving. Success happens by being willing to adapt and staying relevant. This module will help you find your feet in the few months of running your business.

10.

Maintaining momentum

By now you will know that running a business is not always smooth sailing. This module loops back to mindset and is a reminder to keep focused and be open to continual learning and growth as your business grows and you master your craft.

KIND WORDS

“You have a depth of knowledge and experience which you [are] happy to contribute to a bigger network for the good of the whole”

Lydia Campbell
Entrepreneur

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How it works

The Well-Crafted Start-Up is an immediate start, self-study course, giving you the freedom to work through each step at your own pace. You will benefit from:

Immediate Start

The first lesson is available as soon as you purchase followed by a Module released every 5 days giving you the luxury of working through the carefully crafted content at your own time and pace, meaning the course can fit around your responsibilities.

Workbooks & Materials

Where relevant the lessons in each module come with downloadable workbooks, exercises, templates, and checklists so that you can turn your ideas and thoughts into action as you work your way through the course content.

Lifetime Access

Once released you have lifetime access to all the course content as long as it is running, meaning you get updates at no extra cost to you, and can return to the content whenever you need to.

Who is this course for?

This is right for you if you…

  • Are thinking of starting a business that positions your work in the premium, high-end, luxury craft & design sector but are not sure where to start and what to do to get it up and running
  • Have just started a craft & design business (less than 6 months) and realise there are a lot of things you need to do to make it more professional to attract the type of customers willing to pay a premium for unique work
  • Dream of building a fulfilling business that enables you to make a full-time, decent living doing what you love
  • Save your precious time by shortening the learning curve of not having to figure things out for yourself, time that you could spend developing your craft and skills
  • Want to go from confused to confident in a demanding sector

This is not for you if you…

  • Prefer the challenge of doing and finding things out for yourself, no matter how long it takes you to do so
  • Are looking to build your business using shortcut solutions without putting in the work, time and effort needed to start your business on the right foot
  • Would rather follow trends by creating a business that is a copy of someone else’s rather than starting a business that truly represents your unique vision
  • Prefer to keep your craft as a hobby
  • Have already received specialist help with starting a fine craft business

You’ve devoted time to learning and perfecting your craft.

Why then let yourself down by diving straight into the business side of things without a well-thought-out plan of action? Not to mention how much money you could save yourself in the long run by doing things properly from the start.

So, if you’re tired of patchwork methods that are leading you nowhere,

It’s time to master the fundamentals of starting a fine craft business.

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MEET Your Tutor

Hello there,

I’m Tapiwa Matsinde a London-based curator, author, mentor and expert in global fine crafts and design. Multi-passionate at heart before stepping into entrepreneurship I spent 20+ years working as a brand guardian and graphic designer for some of the world’s most prestigious brands in the luxury, lifestyle, hospitality, and blue-chip sectors.

My transition into the fine crafts sector began in 2005 when I set up as a self-taught fine jewellery designer resulting in one of my pieces being showcased at a ball for President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration.

My interest in jewellery craftsmanship led to curating, researching and writing about exceptional global craft and design. For over 12 years I have been mentoring, interviewing, crafting, telling and sharing the stories of prestigious fine craftsmanship-centred brands and independent makers, designers, artisans, and crafters from around the world.

I have experienced the good, the bad, and the down-right ugly sides of starting a creative business and in this course, I pool together and share with you the insights, knowledge and hands-on expertise I have gained to help you avoid making the same mistakes I did.

Tapiwa Matsinde author curator brand visibility specialist

frequently asked questions

The Well-Crafted Start-Up is an entry-level course designed for artisans, designers, makers, crafters, artisan business owners thinking of starting a craft & design business, or who have just started and need some structured guidance.

Contemporary fine craft & design is the practice of using high-quality materials to create exceptional functional craft objects that show excellence in creativity and craftsmanship. Practitioners of fine craft are known as artisans, designer-makers, or craftspeople dedicated to mastering their craft. The work produced tends to be high-end and collectible, available as unique one-off pieces or in limited-edition collections. Fine craft is often linked to, ancient traditions and cultural heritage, utilising and adapting the skills and techniques that have been passed down through the generations. Contemporary fine craft also benefits from innovation and the use of new materials to create modern traditions.

You will have an immediate start once purchased and, to give you time to focus and work through the individual modules, a Module is released every 5 days. You will receive an email to let you know when your next Module is ready. As such, it takes a minimum of 10 weeks to complete the course, but once all the Modules are released you can take as long as you need.

You will have access to all the course content and materials for 1 year from payment.

The workbooks and materials are designed to be printed off and filled in by hand or can be filled in digitally using Acrobat Reader, which you can download here for free: https://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/

As with anything you do the more focus and attention you put in and show up to do the work the more you will get out of it and increase your chances of success. There are no guarantees and it would be remiss of me to promise otherwise.

The Well-Crafted Start-Up is presented as self-study, rather than through dedicated 1-to-1 guidance. The course is designed in such a way as to make the lessons self-explanatory . The course is designed in such a way as to make the lessons self-explanatory giving you the confidence to put what you learn into practice straight away. Support comes in the form of the Workbooks, exercises, blog posts, exclusive newsletter content, you will need to be signed up to the mailing list to receive notifications.

We occasionally offer a limited number of 1-to-1 mentoring sessions throughout the year. If you would like to find out more please refer to this page for further details.

The Well-Crafted Start-Up comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee. Should you purchase the course and find that it is not right for you, you will need to contact me to work out a resolution. You will be required to present proof showing that you have made an effort to do the work and exercises. If you are unsure if the course is right for you or if have any questions please do contact us to discuss your needs before purchasing.

I’M READY TO START MY BUSINESS

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