More on Growing your Baby Footprint and Handprint Ceramic Business

There are many avenues to market your baby clay handprint business. One way to find new clients is to do baby and kids fairs and craft shows. These shows can be excellent ways to market your product as well as take your prints right at the show. You are able to find out about the locations of the shows by searching on line as well as contacting your local chamber of commerce and recreation departments. Often times these birth and baby fairs, craft shows and kids fairs are sponsored by your local moms groups, community groups and hospitals.

The benefits of doing these shows are many. It gives you a chance to meet new clients and introduce and show your product. It is always a good idea to have a brochure with all your current contact information as well as sample pictures of your clay handprint and footprints. Have your prices next to your pictures and make it easy for your customers to see what they are buying and how much it costs. Giving your clients a discount coupon for their order is always a good incentive for them to buy. Plus, it helps your business as well.

Taking prints at the show is a true benefit. While you are meeting new clients you have those customers that are wanting prints that day. Taking a clay handprint will generate interest from the crowd and this usually encourages others to get their child's prints done as well. You might want to offer those taking prints the day of the show a discount to show appreciation for their business. This discount may also encourage them to purchase more prints for other family members. It is a win-win situation. You are making money and your clients are happy.

This clay handprint business is a year round business with unlimited potential. Doing these craft and baby fairs is an excellent way to add new clients to your business and it can be very profitable and fun too.

Growing your Ceramic Handprint Business Step-by-Step

Once you have your ceramic handprint training program you are ready to start practicing making your hand and foot prints and at the same time start developing your network of resources to market them to. It is one thing to know how to make a beautiful product, but, you must market your product to make yourself an income. There are several ways to find avenues to market yourself. First, of course is to let all your family and friends know that you are now in the clay hand and foot print business. Make a few samples of your friends babies and children's handprints and give them to them. They will show them to their friends and you will be amazed at how word of mouth will work for you. Be sure to have cards and brochures with pictures of your samples. Have all your contact information on the front page that can be read easily. No need to spend lots of money on printing. You can do this on your home computer and get them printed at a copy shop. A good idea is to contact your local Chamber of Commerce and local newspaper to let them know about you as well. Look up online local mom's groups and contact them. Let them know that you are now in business and would like to network with them. Networking with local mom's groups, community groups and local businesses will be helpful with building your business. Successful marketing takes time and energy. Being accountable to all you clients and new markets will build a loyal base for you year after year. More on marketing on our next blog.

Building Loyal Customers For Your Clay Handprint Business

Builiding loyal customers is the key to repeat business. What has allowed us in part to have our business for the past 36 years is the excellent customer service we offer our families that have their kids clay handprints made. We are now creating handprints for second generations. We have built our business by making each client feel special. It is our policy to let each family know how much we appreciate their business and to take time with them. We do special things for our clients. For instance, we gift wrap every gift certficate and take the time to personalize each one. We have customers come back for these baby gifts just because of the unique handmade gift wrap that we do. If a parent isn't sure how the print is going to look, we take the time to draw the hands on paper in different ways so they can choose what they want. This way they can see it and this gives them a choice. We often will take a late appointment for those clients that work all day and want their family to come with them in the evening. We offer a discount on large orders. This is always helpful to their wallets. We go out of our way to personalize our business to show our clients that they are most important to us. Being good to your clients is what will have them be coming back to you year after year. Go the extra mile, spoil them and you will create loyal customers for generations.

How we started our ceramic handprint business.

When Ross and I came to Morro Bay, we opened up our pottery studio. That was in January 1974. We made our living by making functional pottery items and one-of-a-kind Raku and stoneware sculpture pieces. We showed in galleries nationwide and also did many local shows.

When our friends began to have babies, we made them clay hand and footprints of their newborns for gifts. Our business of making baby prints started as a gift from our heart. When their friends saw these prints, they called us and wanted them as well. We made them for everyone who wanted one. Soon thereafter, mostly moms and women asked us if we would train them to have their own baby ceramic handprint business.

We knew how making these baby impressions for families had changed our lives with regard to a financial reward. After much thought, we decided that it would be to our benefit and others as well to start training moms to have their own business making clay hand prints. We have been making these handprints for over 30 years and have been training stay-at-home moms and families for over 25 years now.

We are currently making these hand and footprints for second generation families. This is a business that has kept growing year by year and decades for Ross and I. It's one that is heartwarming, fun, and profitable for us and we still enjoy it.

A story about Hedy and Ross

Hedy and Ross have been important to me, even though we don't really know each other very well. They have been clients, off and on, but more meaningful to me is that they have been friends in the little ways that count. Here's a true story that tells a lot about them.

About 4 years ago, my Dad died. He was 86 and had a good life, but that doesn't make it feel any better to me, and I know many of you have been there, so you know what I mean. Somehow, I ended up telling Hedy and Ross about it and I guess I was feeling pretty sad and showing it. Anyhow, what they did next is something that I will carry with me forever.

Dad wanted to be cremated, so I dutifully executed his will, and scattered part of his ashes on his and Mom's homestead in the Arizona White Mountains. That left me with part of his ashes and I needed a place to keep them. Hedy and Ross instantly offered to make an urn, and in fact they basically just herded me into their studio at the Full Moon Gallery and went to work.

As I watched Ross shape that pot and lid, I could see the skill earned by throwing 10,000 pots turning a lump of white clay into a beautiful vessel in what seemed like seconds, though it must have been minutes. Hedy's deep blue glaze (Dad's favorite color: he liked "any color car as long as it was blue") and inscription put the finish on it. That finished urn Hedy and Ross gave to me is an act of kindness for someone they didn't know all that well, but it really matters to me.

So, that blue urn is in sight in my house and I think of Dad when I see it. And you now know why I will always carry Hedy and Ross with me.

Key Elements for A Successful Business

We know from 36 years of being in the ceramic handprint business how important 3 key elements are to our success. They are first, having a quality product that you believe in. Second is marketing, and third is customer service. All have equal value.

You want to be accountable for your work and make sure you are producing a product of quality...one that you will feel good about putting your name on. Pay attention to the detail. Don't skip steps that effect the quality. Make your product to the best of your ability. Give your client the value of what they are paying for so you will feel good about it and so will they.

Marketing is your key to selling your product. Know who your potential clients will be and target market there. In our clay handprint training program and our local clay handprint business our market is families. Most mom's have a network of friends at their fingertips. This would be a great place to start networking. i.e. You are reading our facebook page. This is one place for moms and families to find out about our business.

Your customer service will come back to you ten fold. In our business we say there are "no problems, only solutions. Do whatever it takes to make your client's happy. If you need to refund their money, do so. If you need to remake the product, remake it. Do whatever it takes to make your customer feel that they are most important, because they are. Be sure to thank them and let them know how much you appreciate their business. This is done so rarely in today's fast paced business world.

Using these key elements daily will help you to have a successful and rewarding business. You will be proud of your product and work, your marketing skills and your excellent customer service that you offer your clients. With these key elements in place, your clients will come back to you for generations. We know this from personal experience. We are now taking clay handprints of second generations of families. It feels good for our heart and our pocketbook too.

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Making baby clay handprints.. An Ideal Home Business for Stay at Home Moms

Making clay hand and footprints for babies and children is an ideal home business for stay at home moms. This business will allow you to make money and have fun creating life time keepsakes for families and friends. You are able to work from home and create your own flexible work schedule that is comfortable for you and your family.

We know from 36 years of being in this business how rewarding and profitable it can be. We are now doing second generations. This business builds on it's own year after year. Everyone wants one. Parents always spend money on their babies and kids as well as their pets. These ceramic hand and foot prints are easy to make and market. Once your friends see them they want them too.

This is a proven home business opportunity perfect for moms and families that is easy to learn with our learn at home or personalized training. http://www.pawprintsmb.com/

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