Ediam blog


  • dec

    Hobbies

    Posted by John23 comments

    Many of the entrepreneurs that come to us at Ediam have a dream of turning their hobby into a business. Whether it is cooking, music, writing or crafts, many have a vision to make a living doing what they love.

    There is a danger, however, in turning your hobby into a living. One big risk is that what makes many of our hobbies so pleasurable is the enjoyment they provide in contrast to the hard work we must perform in our "day jobs."

    Once we cross the threshold of turning a fun hobby into a business, that hobby suddenly becomes the very ball and chain we thought we were leaving behind.

    I speak from experience. In my colorful history I have turned my love of drawing into professional comic illustration, my love of painting into work as a full-time gallery artist, my love of design into a consulting firm and my love of writing into formal PR and communications work. I have experienced first hand the passage of turning something I love into something that is just plain hard work and sometimes even drudgery.

    It can be done though, and I have done it. So here is some advice to those who may be thinking of taking the leap.

    The first step is to learn the actual business of your hobby. You need to realize that making chocolates for your friends is not the same as manufacturing commercial grade food. Making artistic soaps for the farmer's market is not the same as the business of manufacturing a bed and bath product and distributing that product at a scale that can sustain a company and employees.

    So, if you are dreaming of quitting your job in order to write children's books, you suddenly need to learn all about the publishing industry. Making a living from writing stories means producing a quality product in a very crowded and competitive industry. You must find a wide audience of customers for your product in order to be profitable.

    Another step I advise is to think backwards for a minute. If you want to make a living from your hobby, ask yourself what kind of living? A pauper's wage or a king's? Write down your desired income.

    Next, decide for how much you will sell your product or service? Say you like to make chocolates. After you learn that you need to have a certified, commercial kitchen (ouch), you then figure out you will sell your average product for five dollars each.

    How much does it cost to produce each treat, including ingredients, equipment, and labor? The difference is your profit margin. If you make two dollars per product in profit, you can now figure out how many you will need to sale to hit your income goal. If your goal was to earn $100,000 per year, you need to be manufacturing and selling a minimum of 50,000 chocolates per year.

    Now ask, can you make that many? Do you have that many customers? How many chocolates does your average customer buy? How many new customers do you need? Where are these customers? How will they find your product? Online, in stores, or both?

    By the way, this process is called making a business plan. You are figuring out the business of creating a successful company from your hobby. Does it still sound fun? Is it even possible?

    Often, when people see true amount of work involved, they are content to keep their day job and their hobbies separate.

    read more


  • nov

    Black Friday

    Posted by John6 comments

    Regardless of whether or not it belongs in the pantheon of sacred holiday memories, shopping Black Friday deals has become a big part of this week's awaited activities for many Americans.

    Black Friday brings the retail industry into prime national spotlight. The name itself refers to something that sounds rather dark and ominous. Perhaps an event that should be more associated with Halloween rather than the time of family gathering, eating, and humble gratitude.

    Sure enough, the name "Black Friday" was actually coined back in the sixties to describe the terrible traffic snarls, congestion, and customer fights that plagued the city of Philadelphia during the holiday shopping rush the day after Thanksgiving.

    Even today in modern times there still seem to be any number of black stories that come to light each year as aggressive and competitive shoppers transform overnight from watching Charlie Brown in a peaceful food coma into cutthroat deal grabbers stampeding for cheap flat screens and Elmo dolls.

    Since the term originated in the sixties, "Black Friday" has been deliberately rebranded in business terms as the day that many retail businesses pass from the red of negative operational expenses and into the black of profits. This spin gives a much more positive portrayal of the value of the day to society and to the larger economy.

    It is almost seen now as part of our American responsibility to get out during Black Friday and contribute to the GNP. Come on America, you ate, drank, and got merry on Thursday, now get out and consume electronics and toys with equal zeal on Friday.

    From a small business perspective, how do our smaller retailers cope with the day? For many small retail shops "Black Friday" takes on a literally dark significance as the day they turn out the lights and either hide from competition or get out into the Big-Box fray themselves.

    I have consulted a number of small retailers that know they cannot compete with the kind of deals that the retail behemoths use to attract consumers. Rather than sit alone in their shops, some choose to close and go grab a few deals of their own.

    Others small shops band together to create events that focus less on markdowns and more on community.

    If shopping on Black Friday has become a movement of national duty to spur our larger economy, then equally compelling should be our commitment to shop at small businesses in order to help our local economy.

    I urge all holiday shoppers to reserve a portion of your gift budget this year to buy some presents and items at smaller, locally owned stores.

    Money spent at locally owned stores keeps our small businesses alive and circulates around our community far longer than does the money we spend in the Big-Box stores.

    I am not saying to ignore those tantalizing deals this Friday. By all means go grab them if you desire. But please remember to also shop at our smaller retailers and you can help bring Holiday cheer and a positive Black Friday result back home into our own community. 

    read more


  • oct

    Building a Powerful Brand

    Posted by John2 comments

    One of the first impressions you make as a small business is with the logo of your company. Your logo is your corporate identity and the first thing customers often see. You put your logo on your business card, on your sign, on your website. It can be a symbol, the name of your company set in a particular type face, or an illustration.

    There are millions of styles of logos out there. Some are very successful. Some, how can I put it politely, are less so.

    For many small businesses a good logo is often something that gets overlooked as business owners are starting up their company. There are so many other things to think about: sales, inventory, overhead, profit and loss, operations, bottom line, etc. As long as customers know what your company is called, that is enough right? Wrong.

    A quality logo is the first step of building a successful brand and a successful company. It can say so much. Large companies spend millions on crafting the perfect logo and turning that logo into a household brand. Apple Computer has built an empire on the principle of excellent design and visual branding.

    Small businesses have less money to spend, but it is just as important to craft a good visual identity and brand. A high quality logo can help a small company look larger and more successful than they actually are. Good design gives the impression that your company is going places.

    As a university professor in NewJersey I taught graphic design and visual branding. As I networked on campus, I soon joined forces with the business school and the consulting outreach they were doing for regional businesses. Similar to Bengal Solutions here at ISU, the university faculty in New Jersey organized student teams to do real world business consulting for local clients.

    I drafted my top design and advertising students and put them on the teams with the MBA students. These teams now had the capacity to not only crunch numbers and review financials for clients, they were also crafting new visual materials and branding campaigns as well. The program was a success.

    The lesson I learned is the hands on power of good design and the commercial value of effective branding in small business development. Once good designers were on board, clients literally transformed their small businesses from small time to big time.

    From the consumer perspective, if two companies have nearly identical products or services, but one has a professional brand and the other a visual eye sore, most consumers will choose good design.

    The power of a good logo and great brand is real, and something that small business owners and managers need to think about.

    read more