When we start a crochet business, it’s natural that we’re going to make missteps. We’re going to make decisions based on a lack of knowing, on naivete, or maybe on our fears. We make all sorts of mistakes in our business for all different reasons. But the important thing is that we recognize our mistakes, learn from them, and use what we’ve learned to move our businesses forward. Today, I’m giving you a behind-the-scenes look at mistakes I’ve made in my crochet business and sharing what I would do differently if I were starting over again.
Recognize your mistakes. Make new decisions. Make new mistakes. Gather new data. Make better decisions. Keep doing what’s working. Keep doing what feels life-giving to you, feels like it’s attracting the right audience for yourself, and making those sales for you.
– Pamela Grice, the Crochetpreneur
What Mistakes Have I Made in My Crochet Business?
If I had to go back and start my crochet business all over again, these are some of the things I would do differently.
Going It Alone
People have told me in the past that I have an independence problem, and that is very true. Not only am I an introvert, but I really enjoy just doing things on my own. And being a bit of a control freak—which we’ll get to in a second—I’m like, “Well, I’ll just figure it out and I’ll just do it.”
Independence has served me well over the years, particularly in school. I said, “I’ll just do it myself. I’ll just learn this myself. I’ll just do everything myself.” But bringing that into business has had its downsides.
Not Having a Community
When I first started my crochet business, I had no community or support system. I felt, “If you’re not invited, you’re not wanted.” In reality, you’re not being invited because people don’t know you’re there. So be brave. Get involved in the community, make some friends, and nurture those relationships with your peer groups.
Not Working with a Coach
To start, I didn’t understand the value of coaching and thought I could figure it out by watching YouTube videos and reading blog posts. But in reality, connecting with people 1-on-1 or in a group coaching setting is super valuable and helped me leap forward in my business forward. I would have
Lack of Collaboration
As a “lone wolf,” I didn’t want to work with sponsors because I didn’t want someone to tell me what to do or give me a deadline. I didn’t want someone to tell me how I have to do it. I even avoided collabs with other designers or makers. I’ve realized that participating with sponsored posts or sponsored designs can nurture business relationships that would benefit you down the road. And organizing and participating in things like blog hops or bundle sales can help you make connections in the industry.
Being a Control Freak
At first, I didn’t even know that pattern testers or tech editors were a thing. But once I knew, I was still hesitant to rely on someone else to help me with something. So I have had to overcome that and learn to rely on other people in order to really grow my business. If you tend to be a control freak, I encourage you to work with testers, tech editors, or even grow your team and have a virtual assistant. As you learn to let go of control, you will be able to scale your business in ways you never thought possible.
Giving It All Away
I’m not talking about free crochet patterns here. There is value in offering free patterns, especially for attracting an audience, gaining traffic, and getting exposure for your designs. What I’m talking about is giving away too much of yourself. This falls into a couple different categories:
- Over-delivery – I found that in my business, I was giving away so much of my time and so much free advice that it led to burnout. It also set up unrealistic expectations and led to disgruntled clients when I did begin to charge what I was worth.
- Burnout – When you give it all away and you are in your business 24 hours a day, it leads to physical and emotional burnout, disconnected relationships in your real life, and ultimately, exhaustion.
I do always recommend under-promising and over-delivering in your business. But that means things like surprisingly awesome customer service, or occasionally surprising your customers with an extra bonus. But to avoid resentment on both sides, make sure to over-deliver in a way that protects you, your time, and the expectations of your customers.
Making it Too Complicated
If I had to put together a process map of what my business looks like, it would look like a really complex blueprint. It would be huge. It would have arrows going all different ways. Since there are so many dependencies, this sometimes makes it difficult to make changes. It’s also harder to delegate tasks to someone else. If I were to design my processes over again, I would ask myself, “How can I make this easy? How can I build a more, laid back, less stressful business?“
Living in Fear and Scarcity
When you live in fear and scarcity, fear tells you there’s danger and scarcity tells you there’s not enough. I’ve found bilateral stimulation, or EMDR, to be really helpful for calming the nervous system. But I’ve also had to work through mindset issues around money, abundance, possibilities, and worth.
Fear keeps us playing small, keeps us from moving forward, and scarcity keeps us anxious that someone else is taking away our customers. So check in with messages that are based in fear and scarcity. Instead, develop a mindset of abundance. Believe that money expands to fit the space it’s given. Money will come to you and go out from you. It’s a cyclical thing and there’s enough money to go around. There’s enough sales to go around. There’s customers go around.
Holding the Reigns of Choice
One of my top value systems is freedom. I like to joke that, “Freedom is my love language.” But recently, I realized that I have taken away the freedom from my customers by saying, “You have to do it this way.” Specifically, I’m talking about the Increase! Crochet Business Summit. For so long, I was only willing to offer an in-person option because that’s what I believe is best.
But I’ve been convicted about this and I want to make it right. I will always believe that live, in-person events are the best option. The opportunity to build face-to-face connections is invaluable for your business. But at the same time, I recognize that some of you live overseas, can’t get away from your family, or don’t have the funds to travel. So now I’m offering you an opportunity for the next-best option.
Introducing the Crochet Business Summit Virtual Ticket
The All-Access pass includes access to prerecorded breakout sessions, breakout session worksheets, transcripts, and presentation slides.
Or you can upgrade to the Crochet Biz Power Pack. You’ll get everything included with the All-Access pass, plus:
- hundreds of dollars worth of resources, session replays, and courses
- recordings of the keynote presentations with Mike Michalowicz and Joey Vitale.
- “Stitching Together” E-book by Pamela Grice (coming Summer 2024)
- Three-month Membership in the Crochet Professionals Network
So if you can’t make it to Colorado, you can get your Crochet Business Summit Virtual Ticket right here! Sign up now for the best value because the prices will increase after March 19, 2024.
Sign Up for Increase! Crochet Business Summit LIVE!
If you can make it, there’s still time to sign up for the live event. Space is limited and the window to sign up will be closing on March 19th. So if you want to take advantage of this amazing learning and networking opportunity, sign up here, now, for the live event!
Avoid My Mistakes With More Crochet Business Resources
Closing Thoughts
At the end of the day, it’s all about learning from our mistakes, making changes, and moving forward with purpose. I hope my experiences and insights help guide you on your crochet business journey.
