Small Business Tips

February 10, 2026

How to Start Selling Merch as an Artist: From Designs to Products

You've built an audience. People love your art, music, comics, or creative work. Now you're wondering: could I be selling merchandise? The answer is almost certainly yes. Merchandise represents an incredible opportunity for artists to deepen relationships with fans, create...

February 10, 2026

Print-on-Demand vs Custom Manufacturing: Why Quality Matters for Your Merch

The decision between print-on-demand and custom manufacturing is one of the first crossroads you'll face as a creator or brand considering merchandise. On the surface, print-on-demand seems like an obvious choice: no minimum orders, no upfront investment, no risk. You...

February 10, 2026

Custom Needle Minders & Stitch Markers: The Untapped Merch Opportunity for Craft Brands

The craft community is having a moment. Whether it's embroidery surging among Gen Z creators, knitting communities thriving across social platforms, or stitching becoming a meditative practice for people seeking digital detox, fiber arts are experiencing a genuine cultural renaissance....

Blog header graphic about productive strategies for discussing tariff impacts on small businesses with bold white text on dark background

April 26, 2025

Productive Strategies for Discussing the Impact of Tariffs on Your Business

In today’s climate, it is easy to get pulled into ideological debates. But when it comes to discussing how tariffs are impacting your business, that approach can quickly become counterproductive. The moment someone feels their beliefs are being challenged, they...

April 17, 2025

Chaos and its Effect on the Independent Creator Community

To Our Community of Creators, Artists, and Small Businesses Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen a wave of dismissive comments: “Just make it in America,” “You’ll figure it out,”These comments come from people who aren’t in the trenches like...

August 26, 2024

Managing and Recognizing Anxiety as a Small Business Owner

Managing and Recognizing Anxiety as a Small Business Owner Someone once told me that depression is worrying about the past, and anxiety is worrying about the future. As business owners, looking forward is ingrained in how we operate, and anxiety...

May 23, 2024

Using Merchandise as an Effective Art Marketing Tool

A shared experience amongst artists is that no one ever gave us a proper business education or tools to operate as a brand. Schools don’t teach tools to help us and unless you’ve spent the time to self-educate or have had a trial by fire experience, you are out there just trying to make it work

May 23, 2024

The Presale Model: A Recipe for Disaster for Your Business

In my experience, having seen brands rely on the pre-sale model over eight years of making custom products and more than 20 years in business, it invariably leads to issues that can damage a brand's or artist's reputation. It is wiser to ensure sufficient funding for production upfront or to communicate openly and issue refunds if necessary. Once trust is compromised, it is exceedingly difficult to restore.

February 15, 2024

Should your small business accept digital currencies?

Are you ready to accept crypto payments with your business?

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