This action-oriented planner is packed with advice and worksheets that guide creative entrepreneurs in their hot pursuit of profit. From big picture goals (writing a mission statement, developing marketing campaigns, launching a new line) to immediate to-dos (getting a business license, pricing products, packing for trade shows), this essential guide brims with how-to tips from industry experts.

Craft, Inc. is the hipster business primer for entrepreneurial crafters to turn what they do for fun into what they do for money. Pro crafter Meg Mateo Ilasco offers a step-by-step guide to everything from developing products and naming the company to writing a business plan, applying for licenses, and paying taxes. Chapters on sales, marketing, trade shows, and publicity round out the mix. Plus, in-depth interviews with such craft luminaries as Jonathan Adler, Lotta Jansdotter, Denyse Schmidt, and Jill Bliss provide inspiration and practical advice. Accessible, informative, and more than a little spunky, Craft, Inc. paves the way for today's creative minds to become tomorrow's trendsetters.

This revised and expanded edition of the definitive crafter’s business book covers everything from product development to social media marketing. Crafters looking to turn their hobby into a profession can rely on the tried and true advice in Craft, Inc. An author, entrepreneur, and multidisciplinary creative, Meg Mateo Ilasco offers guidance on everything from developing products and sourcing materials to writing a business plan and paying taxes. With all-new sections on opening an online shop, using social media strategically, and more—along with updated interviews from such craft luminaries as Jonathan Adler and Jill Bliss—this comprehensive primer features the most current information on starting and running a successful creative business.

Millions of artists, entrepreneurs, crafters, and solopreneurs dream of making a living doing what they love. But turning their vision into a viable business plan can feel like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Jennifer Lee knows what it’s like to make the entrepreneurial leap — and how to do it successfully. The key is showing creative types how to use — rather than stifle — the imagination and intuition that make them creative in the first place. Lee’s illustrated, colorful worksheets and step-by-step instructions are playful yet practical, enabling readers to get down to the essential business of defining their vision and nailing down plans for funding, marketing, networking, and long-term strategy. Both budding and seasoned business owners will benefit from Lee’s wonderfully original approach. Discover how to: • Develop a financial plan with fun and flair • Select your circle of support to get the work done • Clarify your business values and goals • Paint a picture of your business landscape • Understand your competition and what makes you stand out from the crowd • Identify your perfect customers and create a marketing plan to reach them • Map out concrete action steps to bring your Right-Brain Business Plan to life

Two entrepreneurial moms share the secrets to having a happy home life while running a successful business. So many women dream of having it all: being kickass mothers and running their own successful businesses. This book helps them take the leap with confidence. Authors Meg Mateo Ilasco and Cat Seto—both serial entrepreneurs and devoted moms—draw on their own successes and missteps to reveal exactly how to choose the right business, find clients, write a business plan, launch a blog and Web site, and more . . . all while staying focused at home. Insightful Q&As with enterprising mothers like fashion designer Cynthia Rowley and Style Me Pretty blogger Abby Larson demystify the many nuances of balancing work life with family time. It’s not easy. But this practical and inspiring guide helps make it possible.

Twenty-seven projects to personalize your living space: “This heartwarming craft book reminds me why I love decorating my own home so much.” —Lena Corwin, author of Printing by Hand Home is our refuge and a part of our identity. These DIY projects let us craft a space that celebrates who we are and where we’ve been. In Crafting a Meaningful Home, Meg Mateo Ilasco shares twenty-seven projects that tell personal stories and celebrate heritage, all easily created on a budget. Learn how to decoupage a plate with photos of a best friend; silkscreen upholstery with folk motifs; artfully display love notes; sew a teepee from a vintage quilt top; create family silhouettes for a festive banner; and much more. Contributed by a cast of well-known designers from across the country, the projects are, at once, nostalgic, sentimental, and modern. Clear instructions are easy to follow, even for beginning crafters.

As the hipster classic Craft, Inc. did for crafters, this book will teach all types of creatives illustrators, photographers, graphic designers, animators, and more how to build a successful business doing what they love. Freelancing pros Meg Mateo Ilasco and Joy Deangdeelert Cho explain everything from creating a standout portfolio to navigating the legal issues of starting a business. Accessible, spunky, and packed with practical advice, Creative, Inc. is an essential for anyone ready to strike out on their own.

Judging by all the hoopla surrounding business plans, you'd think the only things standing between would-be entrepreneurs and spectacular success are glossy five-color charts, bundles of meticulous-looking spreadsheets, and decades of month-by-month financial projections. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, often the more elaborately crafted a business plan, the more likely the venture is to flop. Why? Most plans waste too much ink on numbers and devote too little to information that really matters to investors. The result? Investors discount them. In How to Write a Great Business Plan, William A. Sahlman shows how to avoid this all-too-common mistake by ensuring that your plan assesses the factors critical to every new venture: The people—the individuals launching and leading the venture and outside parties providing key services or important resources The opportunity—what the business will sell and to whom, and whether the venture can grow and how fast The context—the regulatory environment, interest rates, demographic trends, and other forces shaping the venture's fate Risk and reward—what can go wrong and right, and how the entrepreneurial team will respond Timely in this age of innovation, How to Write a Great Business Plan helps you give your new venture the best possible chances for success.

Any business without a well-thought-out plan is like a ship without a rudder - you'll get somewhere, certainly, but not likely where you want to. With helpful worksheets throughout, and a summary of "next steps" this book is all you'll need to craft a practical, workable plan for your business, and put into action immediately!

Business planning has finally been simplified to One Page! Bankers require them. Business educators advocate them. Consultants make their living writing them. And venture capitalists won't give you the time of day without one...but most entrepreneurs or small business owners can't or won't write a business plan; it's just too difficult. The One Page Business Plan is designed to act as a catalyst for ideas. It's a powerful tool for building and managing a business. Entrepreneurs like to think and move fast and the concept of a traditional business plan may be out of the question. This is an innovative, fresh approach to business planning which is short, concise and delivers your plan quickly and effectively. Content on CD: Sample business plans Powerful Sales Calculators One Page Budget Worksheet Sales Budgeting System One Page Performance Scorecards Bonus Tools Some reviews: Tim Clauss, Co-Author of Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work: "The One Page Business Plan is an easy-to-use process that helps you capture your vision and translate it into concrete results. Jim has truly streamlined a tiresome, complicated chore. With a return to simple values, simple truths, planning can be fun and creative. A little chicken soup for busy minds and tired souls!" Paul and Sarah Edwards, The Self Employment Experts, Authors of Working from Home, Getting Business to Come to You and Secrets of Self Employment: "Writing a business plan is something every business guru advises but few actually do. Jim Horan's book helps the reluctant change good intentions into a plan."