Hello everyone. Very often I find myself helping out one or more friends or colleagues with starting out a business, advise, or some general information on some things I do, or things I have come across in my research (I am a self proclaimed research JUNKIE!- u name it i can probably find it, heard about it, done it, or read it somewhere). I love to help people, and I have started my business myself, from the ground up, on LESS than a shoe string budget.
So I would like to use this forum on some helpful information, links, sites, etc – to share the love. While the saying is true, it takes money to make money, you don’t need allot of money, special attorneys, legal fees. subscriptions, etc- to start up a business, and idea, a long time passion, or just something to generate some extra cash in this up and down economy.
Please feel free to add on any of your own not listed. YES in advance, if there are some programs I am using that I get a refferal credit oe payment for a sign up, I am including my personal links. After all, its a win win situation, and the object of our game is to make money, get our work, our name out there, start living the lives we have always dreamed of.
Paypal:
Its free to sign up. Its one of the best, secure, and well known ways to collect money via credit card, checks, set up monthly payments, donations, etc. via the web, email, even cell phones. It makes no sense getting a merchant account that charges you a monthly minimum and a higher transaction fee. Of course later down the line, when you know you have sales coming in, but paypal, pretty much has everything an individual, entrepreneur, start up, even established business needs to accept payments online. I have a business account, you can transfer money between your paypal and your checking, get a free debit card that pays cash back, and also a way to separate business expensive, etc.
Promoting your Art and Photography…..
As an up and coming artist and photographer, exposure is vital to getting your name out there and also earning an income from your work wouldn’t hurt either. But often times, its so hard to break into the industry if you are a starving artist, or you have to pay to showcase your work in a gallery and not even gaurenteed a sale. I found a couple of places that not only can you show case your work, contact info, etc. The great thing about some of these listings- They let you promote your work, build a store, and set your price- FOR FREE! So with no investment, you can have a t-shirt or coffee book sold, and you make a profit. I have a couple of stores, and to start out I kept the prices reasonable to get my work out, and not have something overly high price. The good news is that I was able to sell and still sell some of my work on various items and have made money that way. The key is diversity. Set up as many locations you can put your work there, and start making some income from different places and they all add up in the end. Then once you have a audience and money to invest, you can always manufacture or order wholesale and make larger profits. Here are some that worked for me:
Cafepress:
Their basic account allows you to upload your artwork, create a basic store front, and select items to have your art on- AND you set the price. Very easy to use and straight forward, you can also order from your own store, and upgrade at any time. You can set your store to be private or public where it is also listed on their market place that is searchable all over the world.
I am just starting my second blog, so stay tuned, and check back for updates, I have allot! …..
Some other sites to check out:
Lulu.com -
– Self publish books, posters, calenders, E-books, and more, create a store front, even get an ISBN #, get listed on Amazon.com
