Once you have your collection created or organized you can now work on information side of your collection. Assign your collection or product names, titles, or SKU numbers. Write up descriptions for each piece or group. Be as informative and descriptive as you can. Put yourself in consumer or viewer’s place and think about what information you would need to know in order to make a proper buying decision. You do not want to be vague here at all. Your description not only aids your buyer, but it also protects you as a seller. Describing your product or service honestly, prevents any likelihood of surprise to your buyer. As a result you should have less returns and refunds and more customer satisfaction.

Once you have developed your collection or product sheet, make a column for pricing. Pricing can often be most challenging task of designing a web front mainly because you are being asked to place a price on yourself and your own value. This is especially true if services you provide are rendered creative. A normal or typical marketing tactic is to research your competitors and get an idea of market value of your product. If you are working in a creative field or freelance field you can search for guilds that offer pricing guidelines.

After you get an overview or others’ pricing then you need to realistically figure out what it will cost you to perform your services. You want to consider amount of time you spend on a project, cost of materials, tax you will have to pay, and cost of shipping and or transportation. Your cost may be very different than your competitors. Pricing is a personal choice and decision, so base it on what you believe item to be worth. You want competitive prices, but worthy prices. The biggest mistake I see creative people make is under pricing themselves. Buyers believe they get what they pay for, so make your pricing valuable to them.

Develop a confidence in your work, but back that confidence with experience and knowledge. Believe that what you are creating has a value to more people than just yourself. Most importantly, be excited! Your enthusiasm will be conveyed in every area of your work. If you are not excited, then you need to go back to step 1 and reevaluate what your purpose is.

Your challenge for this month is to get organized in your personal and mental space, organize or create your collection, and then write effective descriptions for your works or products. During this process, continue to network and continue to learn and you will develop your path… your purpose.

Then you can take what's left over and assign it to whatever else you want to spend money on afterwards.

How can I tell if I can afford to lose money I invest in my Business?

Very simply estimate most that business will cost you and assume that it wont make any money at all for a month, obviously this will be a big loss, but it will give you an idea of what COULD happen if your very unlucky.

If it looks like way more than you can afford to lose, then don't do it until you are more prepared. But please remember that in business, there is no reward without risk. So if you don't risk your money, then you wont be rewarded.

Do I need finance? And Where can I get it from?

Do you have enough personal savings to start business you want to? If you don't then you will need external financing.

The place where most people will get there initial financing is bank. But there are other places and people as well.

Bank:

Mortgage for premises

Loan

Venture capitalists

Grants

And many more, but above are main ones.

I'm sure you know what mortgages and loans are, but chances are, you don't know what a venture capitalist is.

A venture capitalist is someone who contributes financing to a business in exchange for part ownership of firm. This is ideal if you are starting an expensive business which you might not be able to afford, but expect high profits from.

But be careful, when you give up part ownership you give up some profits.