Each year we review the data and glean the facts to determine what stays and goes in our business. We experienced excitement and frustration as we embraced new tools and technology. We worked around the supply chain issues. We enjoyed the satisfaction of launching new product lines (Specialty Series) and new gift box designs. We met clients and colleagues in person to laugh and live again. And we were aware of the continued heavy news cycles layered on top. Upon reflection, our business lessons revolve around communication and marketing channel growth, time, and our mindset toward all of it.

The raw numbers we collect (opens, clicks, visits, engagement, etc.) are combined with anecdotal information (texts, comments) to celebrate the wins and decide what we need to start or stop doing. Web analytics, social media tracking, and sales stats are some of the gauges we use to evaluate a given year. And, are we having fun? This is an important metric too.

More is just more. It’s easy to get wrapped around the axel of social media and spend precious hours in the vortex of producing posts, stories, reels, videos, and feeds. Posts on social media channels were once a way to boost visibility when we had extra time. Today, with so much vying for customers’ attention, digital and social channels are a minimum point of business entry. More is not necessarily better. Weaving creativity into the message is the differentiator now.

One challenge is the sheer number of unique social platforms and products available. The vast amount of social media options that offer visibility, sales, and engagement are fantastic - and terrifying. (Do I really have to jump around and point? Ah, maybe.) Focusing on which channels to grow and our efficiency in content creation is vital. We’re an online business; however, we make a physical product, so we manage much more than the online elements.

Another lesson was the self-inflicted tension around the learning curve of digital and web-based tools. Wouldn’t it be nice if it was all short and fast? Some things took more time than was allotted, which caused frustration in scheduling. You have to be mindful of and evaluate the size of your team, your circumstances, the true time investment necessary (an eye-opener), your goal for the platform (leads, sales, visibility, engagement?), and determine what works for your business and life. For the coming year, we’ve settled on a more reasonable frequency, a better-planned process (batching and tools like Later), and an intention of embedding ease into our day (more on this below.). Everyone wins when we accomplish this.

Add ease, please. It won’t surprise you to hear that this year is about a mindset of ease. We still have deadlines and schedules to follow, and things will not always go as planned. However, we can have more patience, reduce the “hurry” mentality and be more content with the journey. There will always be new products and technologies, and some deadlines will slide from their original dates. And yet, we’ll figure it out, life will go on, and it will be amazing.

Reflecting on recent accomplishments and the “my how things have changed here” points is what we do as we transition into our next year. A lot has changed, as one would expect, moving into year three. (Will we be saying that twenty years from now?) If the first two years are like drinking water from a firehose, year three will be all about fine-tuning and learning to jettison (quickly) things that weigh us down. Here we pause for a moment of reflection.

Year one was the heavy business lift (more on that here), standing up the foundation and web platform (more here) along with selecting and defining artist relationships. A basic level of marketing was in order, (more here) while selling and fulfilling orders as we went.

Year two was about exploring gift box possibilities with our community of artists and the acceleration of outreach to corporate and hospitality. Increased outreach meant more energy went into processes and guidelines as larger clients expect such things.

I’ve noted before about one Hazard of the Job, which includes having access to so many ceramic shows and artists. We have a variety of styles, textures and colors at our fingertips, and it’s tempting to want more beautiful options on hand. We’re in this business because we appreciate the talents of these artists. I can justify buying for future gift boxes and for select clients who trust us to provide specialty individual gift boxes with hard-to-find pieces. Maybe. You can see where this leads, right? To inventory that isn’t as focused as it could be.

This coming year will be about refinement and focus, with added attention to the data. Numbers don’t lie, they can be interpreted differently perhaps, but the data is there for the taking. We researched and educated ourselves on SEO, and beefed up the analytics, paying more attention to the different reports available (for free). It’s a combination of understanding the data and analytics, while keeping a pulse on artisan design trends that will capture our clients’ hearts - and wallets. With two years of experience in our artisan community, and data in hand, we expect refinement and focus will be the name of the game in year three.

We’re excited about what we’ve accomplished in just two short years: a talented community of top-tier artists, respected globally; Fortune 500 and renowned hospitality clients; a growing platform of vibrant content (Blog, web, IG, Pinterest and this year, video!), and a rapidly increasing number of engaged, supportive newsletter subscribers, and cheering fans. It’s quite an amazing journey. Saddle up, and join us for the ride!

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