I'm celebrating my one year anniversary of when I started my crochet business. There is so much that I could share about small business/ crochet business life, but I'm going to share my top 10 takeaways for the year. I'll share my top five successes and my top five failures in the hopes that you will save yourself the trial and error! Maybe you're trying to start a small business, or you already have one and you're looking for tips. Either way, I’m ready to dish out all the details of the last year!

Top 5 Successes

1. Finding My Voice/Style
   
   I had to finally decide to take a chance and go for it otherwise I would have been in the incubation stage forever. Constantly thinking of new ideas and wondering if this is the right one. You could question yourself for a lifetime. It could have been anything, honestly. I think at one point it was going to be baskets by Bento. I knew that I could figure things out as I went and that's exactly what happened. As I experimented, I figured out what my style was and how I could be authentic. I also built a brand that was consistent and that people could relate to. It can take some time to figure that out. So don't be too hard on yourself.
   

2. Figuring Out My Target Audience

   What helped me the most was to start putting content out there and see who gravitates towards my style, my voice, and my product. I learned really quick that it wasn't what I expected. I honestly thought that my target audience was someone who was really into sustainable fashion, who was very trendy. The more I put my content out there, the more I realized that crocheters were really gravitating towards what I do. They were asking me for patterns for my designs and admiring my work. And that changed a lot for me. Be a little bit flexible about who your target audience is in the early days, because a lot of that will work itself out as you go.
   

3. Finding the Social Media Platform that Works Best for My Business

   When I first started, it was super overwhelming trying to figure out how I would do all the different social media platforms at the same time. I decided to focus on just one. At first, I was focusing mainly on Instagram and I wasn't seeing a lot of results or growth. I started to get really disappointed and discouraged about it. I decided to try out Pinterest and see what happens. I saw success so much quicker because I found my people! Consider you type of business (pattern designer, finished products, pattern tester, etc). Also consider your skills. Are you more familiar with one of the platforms than others? For example, if you've never been on TikTok and you choose that as your main social media platform it might be more challenging to get into the swing of things.

4. Growing a Community
   At first, I approached social media as a platform for selling (which it is) but more importantly it’s a place for meeting people and networking. When I started to treat social media as more of a networking event than a market I'm selling at I started to make friends and connect with people. I saw more growth for my business and marketing on social media became a lot more fun as well!
   

5. Going Viral
   I went viral on Pinterest, TikTok, and Instagram this year, which was huge. It was so exciting! I learned a ton from the process. The first thing I learned was to really lean into the content. Share similar content and also share it on other platforms. Secondly, I watched my own content from a consumers perspective so I could learn what was relevant to my audience and what resonated with them.

Top 5 Failures

1. Overworking Myself

   I was crocheting so much that my hands were aching all of the time and my body took a while to recover from that. So I don't recommend as a crochet business owner that you hit it so hard that you're crocheting 24/7, not sleeping well, your hands are hurting all the time. That's not sustainable and it's not going to be something that you enjoy in the long run either. Eventually you will burn out. So I highly recommend that you take it easy, find a schedule that works for you and try to have good boundaries with yourself.

2. Tried to do EVERYTHING
   People couldn't really tell what my specialty was or who I was. And I was taking all kinds of custom orders for random things. I felt like I was spinning my wheels for a while. When I decided to focus on bags and accessories with my particular style I started to see a steady incline of growth for my business. I wish I would have figured this out faster!

3. Underpricing My Products

   This is such a common mistake in the crochet community. In the early days I felt so much pressure to make a sale that I undervalued my time. Now, I use a pricing worksheet which helps to make sure I account for my time, materials, overhead, and profit. You can check out the worksheet by Paper & Spark here.

4. Not Getting a Website Sooner

   I started out on Etsy. Which can be a great way to dip your toe in and see if crochet business is for you. But, I relied solely on Etsy for way too long. I got a website of my own earlier this year. My email list has grown, I have more eyes than ever on my products/patterns, and I’m able to offer free content (who doesn’t love free stuff?!).If you have the opportunity to build a website, even if it's super simple, it will help your business grow so much more than relying on a platform like Etsy that ultimately isn’t yours.

5. Wasting Time on Tasks that Don’t Make Money

   I wasted so much time/energy on tasks that ultimately didn’t matter. You have to watch out for yourself and watch out for your time. I started setting time limits for myself on certain things like reels. I don't spend more than 30 minutes on an Instagram reel because it could flop. You have no control over that and it's not directly making you money. So you really want to focus on the things that are going to grow your business and contribute to your bottom line. You can’t keep your business going without money and YOU are not an infinite source of time and energy.

So that was my year! It feels so incredible to make it to this milestone of one year in business. I am looking forward to what's going to happen in the next year and to see how my business develops and grows and changes.If you're trying to get a crochet business going, and you're feeling discouraged, give it some time to really figure out what exactly you specialize in and what makes you happy.

I really hope that you feel encouraged. I'd love to chat with you if you have questions. You can comment below, or you can email me at bagsbybento@gmail.com. Subscribe to my YouTube Channel so you don’t miss out on a free tutorial coming next Monday.

xoxo,

Taylor