Yesterday was a wake-up call for so many small business owners and creators.

I mean, what are you supposed to do when the number one way that you reach followers (i.e. Instagram) goes out? What do you do when this same platform has been bent on convincing creators that theirs is the only platform that you’ll ever need?

What will be the future of your small business?

There is never a better time than now to think ahead to the future of your business and to think about how you can make it better able to respond to changes.

It’s OK if you didn’t start it yesterday, or last week, or last month – now is great!

Shore up your business

This won’t be the first time that I have talked about the need for all of us as small business owners to shore up our businesses, and it certainly won’t be the last.

And I say all of this without judgement – we have been sold on the idea that we only need one platform, one channel, one way to find customers and one way to sell to them. If you thought this too, you are not alone.

But what happens when that one platform changes the rules? Or disappears for hours? In the moment it can be cause for the twin feelings of shame and panic, but it doesn’t have to get the better of us.

We can, as a community, take this moment to reevaluate our business practices, to turn to other avenues, and to treat our businesses holistically.

Here’s a short checklist

Check out this short list of ways that you can shore up your business now so that it is built to weather changes that come your way.

Think of this as the start of your earthquake kit, your go bag for wildfires, or your back up generator:

Selling on your platform instead of Etsy

• Now is a great time to buy your domain name and pick an eCommerce platform.

  • Squarespace (aka the platform that you are reading this on) – simple to use and find good layouts, simple to upload your products from Etsy and start selling.

  • Shopify – for those focused on robust eCommerce sales, Shopify has the most powerful eCommerce platform.

  • Wix also an easy web platform, and can be customized easily

• Now is also a great time to direct traffic to your own eCommerce site rather than your Etsy site.

Adding Financial tracking to your business

Note – some of these links are affiliate links. If you use them to make a purchase, I may receive a portion of the sale.

• Now is a great time to start! Bookkeeping systems like Wave make it easy, Quickbooks and Xero are widely known and understood by pros, and inventory tracking from Benchworks and Craftybase are ideal for makers..

Build an email list

• Now is a great time to add a pop-up to your website to collect email addresses.

• Now is also a good time to put together and schedule a couple of email blasts.

(Pssssst – especially in light of the algorithm changes on social media, having a second channel like email to speak directly to your customers is vital)

Develop more than one sales channel

• If you currently mostly sell through wholesale, now is a great time to start building a roster of customers who buy at retail.

• If you only sell through your website, now is a great time to add craft shows or pop-ups.

And one last thing! (Several last things, really)

Remember that done is better than perfect:

• Building an imperfect but shoppable website is better than no website.

• Building an email list with only 40 people on it is better than no email list at all.

• Having some systems in place to track your money is better than having the perfect system.

Start from where you are and use what you have. You’ll get there and I am here to cheer you on!

What questions do you have about setting up your business for success and stability? Post it in the comments!