(Joanne is a member of the #CREATEKilkenny programme)
I make 3 D sculpted figures (see Double O Granny to the left!). I make them to commission from my workshop which is located on the Market Slip, Kilkenny City and I am just about to launch a new range of retail collectible 3D pictures which will be available from January next when they are launched at Showcase Ireland 2013.
Before I met my business mentor Aisling Hurley of The Small Business Fairy, my business was drifting along. I didn’t have any definite goals, my deadlines were not carved in stone and I was too easy on myself. My pricing wasn’t practical, my promotional material was non-existent and my business ideas needed to be refined. While I knew I needed to get these things in order, it just wasn’t happening. I didn’t really know where to start and I was bamboozled by the thought of having to tackle my to-do lists.
The Small Business Fairy provided me with Financial, Branding, Marketing and Social Media training. She directed me through the use of slides and worksheets, helping me to focus in a very practical way on what needed to be done. Most helpful were the one-to-one mentoring sessions with Aisling Hurley. During this time Aisling helped with everything from product ideas and promotional material layout, to even sharing her contacts in the business world. Now, I am totally keyed into the work required of me. I have a detailed timetable and set of goals. I know exactly what I need to do over the next few months. By then, I am confident I will be fully prepared to approach shop buyers, by myself, with my product.
I would highly recommend The Small Business Fairy to anyone in the early stages of developing a business. She was especially helpful to me, in that I had been focused entirely on the making of my product and hardly thinking about the business side of it. She made everything accessible and understandable to me in a creative and fun way and most importantly she believed in me and my product when I didn’t believe in myself.
Now I am on my way to Showcase Ireland 2013 with several new products being developed for it and really embracing the future with Double O Granny!
Thank you to The Small Business Fairy.
