There is always room for Jello and Improvement!

As Handmade Artist I know that most if not all of us second guess our work all the time.  We finish our project, list it in our shop and start the next item, waiting on the sales.  Once that sale does come you are all so excited and then comes the feeling oh I hope this is what they are expecting and they really like it.  You ship it out and hold your breath and wait anxiously until that feedback comes in.   But sometimes it never does, is it because they didn't like it, or is it because maybe they don't understand how to use the feedback tool?

In an effort to becoming a successful business owner I am always trying to improve my products, I want my items to be beautiful, well loved by the customers, and most of all I want them to return to my shop and buy again!

Knowing what items, patterns, sizes, and styles to offer is another challenge, I know what I like in my home, what kind of bag I like to carry etc, but what I like may not be what customers are looking for.  It is certainly a challenge I am sure all of us struggle with on a daily basis.

For all the above reasons I was very excited to see the assignment we received from HMC Boot Camp yesterday. Our assignment was to contact past customers and potential customers with a list of questions regarding our businesses. The people I contacted were more than happy to answer the questions and help me. And I thank them all for their help!

The following is what I learned from this:

*Overall everyone is happy with the variety of items in my shop but would like to see some more funky styles, some camouflage patterns, and some Victorian style items.

*Customer Service was rated as excellent- This made me very happy as I strive to make my customers happy!

*Past customers were very happy with their purchases and the packaging was good.

* Potential customers love Handmade items - THIS IS GREAT NEWS FOLKS!

The last one is the one I have to work the most on and is probably the hardest for me.
* Pricing! - Everyone I contacted feel my prices are too low and that I should raise them.  This is a big hurdle for me!  I will be doing some evaluation of the items in my shop and look into the pricing issue.

I am so happy I had the opportunity to see what people think because I will never grow or be successful if I don't the leap to change and improve.  There is always room for improvement, I work on it daily!

Marsha Bourquin/Head Hag- Bags By Hags

www.etsy.com/shop/bagsbyhags45

www.facebook.com/BagsbyHags

twitter.com/BagsbyHags

BagsbyHags@gmail.com