Sunday, September 18, 2011, I attended what I hope will be the first of many Hello Etsy conferences. The Washington, DC summit was one of five such events held in the U.S. simultaneously with the two-day Hello Etsy: A Summit on Small Business and Sustainability held on September 17-18 in Berlin, Germany. The purpose of the two-day gathering was to provide a venue for small business owners to connect with their peers, learn the skills to find success and independence, and partake in the movement to build human-scale economies.
After the keynote address by Jenny Hart, I attended a Think Local First DC breakout session where the organization’s Executive Director, Stacey Price, provided information on the benefits of appealing to the local market as well as how to better tap into it. In addition to specific references and tools, one of the more compelling takeaways was how to use “local” as a unique selling point in promoting online shops.
I was pleased to have gotten an opportunity to meet Tara Gentile (http://www.taragentile.com/), creative business coach and blogging guru extraordinaire. I had read her 52 Week of Blogging and the follow-on 52 More Weeks of Blogging which have become my blogging library and are essential reading for those who are already blogging or hoping to set up a blog. Tara had lots of tidbits to share on how to bridge the philosophical gap between creating what you love and feeling justified in profiting from it. Her lecture focused on what she calls the pillars of making money: Passion, Productivity and Profit. My big takeaway from her segment was that “you don’t sell stuff; you sell experiences.” The experience is the deeper meaning behind the thing (item for sale) itself.
For more information on both presenters as well as their conceptual approaches, visit the following links:
Think Local First DC: http://www.thinklocalfirstdc.com
Tara Gentile: http://www.taragentile.com
I’m sure you’ll pick up something of value. I know I did.
4 comments:
I think you reference for thinkdc was incorrect. I clicked and got an error. A google search turned up thinklocalfirstdc.com
Thanks for this post. I'm in the DC area and I hate I missed this.
i wish there was more focus on black artists i almost never get included in my area and have a hard time finding other products i like eaoc is great and like the only one i know about, where r resources for the black design community i know we exist
Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
Thanks for your comments.
April you're right. The correct URL for Think Local First DC is: http://www.thinklocalfirstdc.com/
Anonymous, I feel your frustration, which is why EAOC is very important. Those of us in the DC area may want to create a sub-group to support one another.
Peace all!
Rabihah
RAM Jewels
Post a Comment