…I sell handmade craft items and handmade clothing across two stores. I try to support other small businesses when sourcing the materials. I take inspiration from Pinterest and social media for new ideas. I design a new product and usually make a few practice pieces before I am happy with my creation before it is listed in my shop.

… As far as I am concerned I would say that success comes from your after-sale service, your disponibility to reply to customers and listen to their needs.
the only negative effect I met was the fact that during holidays I did not close my shop for financial reasons and customers did not see my message that I was away which had a bad impact.

… I sell only handmade leather products. I always choose the best quality leathers in the market. When you sell something really worth the money that the customer paid for it, you see the result at the end. Customers always appreciate good quality workmanship and excellent customer service.

… I get inspired by other people’s work. Whether that’s while my wife and I are on vacation walking through a downtown shopping area or seeing what others are doing on Etsy. As an entrepreneur, my mind is always working so when I see something I like or think of a new idea I just keep working on it in my head for days until I begin to come up with a product idea. After that, I mock it up on photoshop, print it, craft it and then rework it again and again until I like the end result.

… Much of what I do is a self taught- learned from books or discovered through trial and error over years of experimentation. I received some basic training at college but methods have changed over the years. The technical aspects of screen printing and my understanding of the process have certainly improved over time and technological developments keep me on my toes. Youtube is always interesting to watch and hooray for being able to quickly lookup a method on the web.

… Success has many steps. Success is stepping out on your own for some people, for some it’s a certain amount of money. For others, it’s the liberty to travel your own path. For some, it’s a success by simply taking a risk because they aren’t risk-takers naturally. I have worked in varying types of manufacturing and engineering, success to me is more about the freedom to create a product I personally can take pride in, it’s about the ability to have something that is my own.

… Making the move to work from home as an Entrepreneur as been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. It’s still hard work, of course, but It fits into my lifestyle and personality. I like to have control over every aspect of the business to make sure it’s perfect and that there are no mistakes. The hardest part about it is trial by error. Since I’m doing this all by myself, If I make a mistake, it’s my responsibility to make it right, but I like the independence of it all.

… I consider myself a printmaker, although it’s not my main job – I still work full time, so printing takes place on whatever evenings or weekends I can spare. It might sound like a lot of work, but I love having a more creative outlet. I find printing very mindful and meditative.

… You need to have a pretty clear picture of what your business’s brand, personality, and offers will be. A few years ago I sat down and defined who Two Little Possums were, and what values and personality the business would have. Think about who you’re targeting, and how you’ll connect with them.

… My customers have always been my biggest inspiration. And in the case of wedding decals, It was totally led by my first request from a wedding planner to make simple, yet modern serif font table numbers. They are my most popular offering. Someone will come to me with an idea, and I enjoy turning that idea into a decal.