I originally wrote these rants with arts and crafts professionals in mind. This was a period when I was educating these folks on how to run their studios as the small businesses they in fact are. Bear that in mind as you read about craft widgets and retail shows. The principles, however, are the same as with any small business, and apply whether dealing with the manufacture of art or industrial widgets or service businesses selling time and expertise instead of goods. These are practical tools to help any businessperson manage a business better.
Economists like to talk about demand curves and the elasticity of price. Phrases such as “all things being equal” or “in an equilibrium situation” abound in these dissertations. Your eyes will glaze over quickly listening to these academic discourses. However, they have a real world application, even to our lowly crafts industry. (more…)
