Big Companies Get Ideas from Little Ones

Stackbucks rolls out reusable coffee sleeves. after small crafters have had them for years. I also noticed Keep Calm and Carry On items at Barnes and Nobles after the big trend was created online. I guess we're idea factories.

I'm still rolling this over

This post on etsy as a business incubator. I've meant to blog about this for a long time, but now I think I might take a stab at it. I wanted to say something about how I'm not seeing etsy as a little incubator for lots of little businesses, and then some businesses break out of their eggs into the bright sky of success. Instead, I see it as a growing part of the way that instead of passively watching tv in our free time, we actively seek out community- crafting, selling, and passing advice back and forth.

Maybe we won't get big. Maybe our ideal is to stay small, a hobby, to craft and sleep and eat and work all in balance. But every minute we spent crafting to a higher standard since we want to sell it or reading about how to run a business so we can keep crafting, the world improves just a little.

Is this model sustainable?

The race to the bottom for the cheapest wages, massive unemployment, and a lack of concern for the environment? We spend a lot of cash throwing it at big rich companies and people and hoping that they'll throw some of that largess back down at us. Maybe instead of trickle down, we can trickle out- share goods and services more. This system here is breaking down for many people.

Even in China, where the high educational investment[there's no mention of debt, but in the US, huge educational debts are a growing problem] and low wage model combine, there are worries about social unrest as the people thrown out by that system fight back.

Oh American Apparel!

Warning: All links have American Appeal style photos on them.

Gawker has a humorous list of their grooming standards. Also notice that the female example photos are mostly from the porno aesthetic and the male ones are not porno style.

Oh yea, and your advancement in he company is determined by how you look! I wonder if that's even legal.

American Apparel acts like it isn't trashy, and is somehow worried about getting trashy black girls[wut?] but I see you, American Apparel, with your website that had me looking at a lady's naked bum just so I can see a pair of socks!

And I agree with the commenters who bet they would be shocked if they saw some actually nappy natural hair as opposed to 'curly'. *admits that I don't have 'curly' hair- I have nappy hair, which I keep natural*

Should Work Hours Be Reduced to Increase Employment?

An interesting idea. The problem that many part timers have today is a lack of insurance, ability to pay housing and food costs, etc. Shorter work weeks would be better for our health and probably our environment, but there's also the cultural issue that Americans tend to equate having time off with being a horrible person, and of course, if the government got involved, people would be howling that someone spent an extra penny on food they didn't approve of or didn't look downtrodden enough or something.

I think the part time revolution has already come. Full time employment is getting harder to find. A lot of people are scraping by. You can downsize consumerism, but you can't downsize the need to live indoors.

A Lack of Oversight Kills Small Businesses...

BP didn't plan properly, and now their oversight is killing fisheries in America. People don't ask people to say...actually use the equipment needed to drill oil at that depth safely just to be mean. We do it since we're all connected. The men who died when the rig exploded, the fishermen who will suffer from the oil spill, and even the wildlife that will suffer are connected. It's not just grab all the cash you can without regard for everything else. We need to find ways of living that are sustainable for everyone.

The Thousand True Fans

I'm late on the thousand true fans boat, but I'd still like to discuss it. Even though it sounds like the premise of an anime- gain a thousand true friends...I mean...fans...and you'll become a real girl...I mean business... but it may have some validity to us crafters. Many people knew of the etsy famous Black Apple who even though most have never heard of her is doing alright with her fanbase.

Of course, as they say, different things are different. It's a bit easier for soapers as people consume soap and will often buy from the same soaper month to month. I like a lot of variety in my soap buying, but I will return to the same 'favorites' as well. Jewelry isn't consumable and you can only have so many earrings, but your true fans act as evangelists to the more casual types. They are the ones who retweet your tweets, advise others to go to your shop, etc. I think that more than the mere 1000 people a year giving you $100 once aspect that that is the true value of true fans.

People fall out of love with things, they move on, but before that happens, they can show your work to people who really are turned on by your art. Different methods work for different people. You don't see a lot of very very personal stuff on this blog as I am really shy, but other people display their daily life. But getting people to engage with your work, standing out from the crowd- that's something we can all relate to.

Ning's Bubble Bursts

Ning, home of such networks as WeLoveEtsy, is closing off free networks and laying off workers. Even on the rapidly growing internet, you need a way to monetize your product. Grow slow and steady. If you expand too fast, you might just be a bubble...

BTW: perhaps we should focus on companies that actually make things again. Stop giving 120 million to random dot com boom type companies and give 1 million each to 120 companies that actually do things, make things, etc, and I bet the effect on the economy would be a whole lot better for more people.

We're Wasting Supplies

H&M; Walmart waste clothing. We also have so much old clothing in the US that we've destroyed some African clothing markets because we dump our stuff there. I think soon we will have to learn to reuse things, and maybe stores could tighten inventory. Just dumping useable cloth is not the way to go.

Memphis coffee shop closes amid the recession. Another problem with small business is that they can't afford to be everywhere. I won't lie; I would go to Starbucks because while I enjoy coffee flavored milkshakes, I'm not going to drive 30 minutes for one. I'm glad that high point will continue to sell it's beans online, as that was a major part of its business.

I was listening to Here and Now and listened to the author of How the Mighty Fall. The upshot of his interview is that slow and steady attention to the core of the business keeps a business strong, and that getting greedy and losing sight of the cold hard facts are a recipe for business failure. The losing sight of cold hard facts is of course a big problem in artisan business, since artists tend to be slightly less than down to earth.

The whole interview reminded me of Deluxe. In the pursuit of growth, they forgot the importance of quality. I'm not going to be inspired to buy a $300 dress when I know they use the same poorly paid labor as the makers of a $30 dress are using.

So today's business lesson is to keep it simple. I'm trying to get my photo skills back up to pair. In my haitus, I lost my beading thread, but I think I have spotted it.

Note that the language used in the article that caused people to boycott whole foods was not our traditional anglo saxon loanwords, but stuff about how people who get sick can just eat gluten free organic cake.