Starting an Online Business for Dummies

Pendant & long necklace

This week I had the pleasure of chatting with Michelle Harvey from Kids with Crayons.  I came across Michelle on twitter and loved the art she creates out of childrens drawings so I made contact and she was more than happy to tell us more about her business and passion.

Michelle (aka Crayon Chick) is an artist who transforms childrens’ artwork into beautiful keepsakes.  Each piece is lovingly created by hand and drawings are transformed into greeting cards, pendants, magnets, keyrings and framed masterpieces.

Kids With Crayons came about after creating a couple of pieces as gifts for family members.  The response was so overwhelming Michelle decided she could build a business from something she loved to do!  It really started just as a hobby on the kitchen table on weekends about 5 years ago and setting up stalls at markets.  “I wanted to bring art into peoples homes that is personal from their children’s drawings – celebrating squiggles and turning them into something special”, Michelle said.

Very early on Michelle realised she needed a website so that she could promote her business and pass out cards to browsers she had meet in person at markets who might want to make contact or pass on her details.  Her partner built her first website after pouring over techie magazines and teaching himself.  Neither he or Michelle are from an IT background so they were very much learning as they went along.  A couple of years ago she had the website “snazzied up” by a web designer and was lucky enough that they had chosen the right platform for the website and it was not very costly to get a professional to update it.

Kids with Crayons is promoted through face-to-face contact at markets and fundraisers and also online through their website, blog and social networks such as twitter.  Because of the personal nature of her work it is still very important for Michelle to meet face-to-face with people on a regular basis at markets to get direct feedback about her work.  But getting online was the progressive next step to allow her to have a presence and make contact with people without having to meet them in person.  Michelle loves online networking and spends alot of time reading blogs, writing her own blog and networking on online forums and sites such as twitter.

Michelle is excited that the internet allows her to sell her art to people outside of Victoria and Australia through her website and online stores with Etsy and Madeit.  One project in particular came about when she was contacted by a teacher who co-ordinates Radio Schools in Far North Queensland.  Using students drawings to create special pieces was a great way of making them feel a part of a wider community even though they were physically miles and miles apart.  Michelle personally got great satisfaction from being able to help these students out.

Financially Michelle has been able to quit her day job and does make a full time income from her business.  Her goal for Kids with Crayons is to keep growing the business and streamlining processes so she can continue to generate an income while maintaining the personal touch.  She never wants to mass produce art as each of her pieces is very personal and custom and this is part of her niche and point of difference.

When I asked Michelle how many hours per week she works on her business she laughed hysterically and said she could not possibly come up with a number because she “never switches off”!  So I guess that means A LOT!  But it is great when you enjoy what you do and are passionate about it because then it never feels like work.

Her advice to anyone starting an online business is to start within your budget but build your website with the right platform that can be expanded upon as you grow. Your first website simply needs to be able to tell your story and give details of how to contact you, you don’t have to outlay a lot.  She is also a keen advocate for blogging because of the online community you can come into contact with and seek support from – especially when you are working on your own.