Designing plans for 2021

*Advertorial Feature*

In early September, I set up plans to start up a new small business. It was an idea I had wanted to do for a while, just never had the chance to set it up. On the Nice List Designs was set up, mainly as a creative outlet for me and partly to bring in some much needed funds to help up through the very-quiet blogging months thanks to the pandemic. Since September, I have learnt an incredible amount and this has lead to me thinking about the future of where I want my business to go and what products I want to create.

Successful start

Success can be measured in many ways but for me, I’m measuring my success by how many sales I have had. I cannot express the delight I feel when someone I don’t know buys one of my items. It is so exciting! I love the idea that something I’ve made is in someone’s house and they love it as much as I do. It’s such a confidence boost. Since late September, I’ve had over 200 sales and I’m incredibly proud. I’ve been able to make back the cost of the equipment I’m using to create my products and have been able to buy stock in to offer to my customers.

Thinking ahead to 2021

With Halloween and Christmas giving my business a substantial boost, I am prepared that the new year will bring new challenges. Fewer people will be buying gifts and I’ll need to come up with some new ideas for products to keep the business going. I already have lots of ideas of where I want to go with the business and have so many options about the products I will stock and sell.

New and updated product ranges

One of the options I want to explore is personalised banners. I love creating these and want to design a new range that people can buy to celebrate birthdays and milestones. I think one of the things we’ve all learnt in lockdown is how birthdays need to be celebrated with the ones we love so we’ll do anything to make them as special as can be. I already make and sell card toppers but I want to experiment with these more and offer other choices for cupcakes and other celebratory pieces.

Another idea I want to explore is a clothing range. It won’t be a huge range but something additional that may appeal to parents of babies and young children. I’ve been exploring the possibilities of introducing a range of clothing that are personalised and completely unique. I have also looked into the possibility of using Wunderlabel clothing labels in the products so that they are linked back to my business some how. Currently when an item is sent to a customer, there is no sign that I have made it on the product so I would love to introduce something that people can see came from my small business. The labels would look super professional and I cannot imagine how exciting that would be to see my own labels in my garments.

Mugs for life

I love mugs and I love creating new and interesting mug designs for people to use. Everyone has a favourite mug and I’d love to think that someone has one of my customised mugs as their new favourite mug to drink their hot drink from. As much as I love using vinyl, I don’t like that the vinyl is only as permanent as the care the mug receives. You can’t put mugs with vinyl in the microwave nor the dishwasher as inevitably the vinyl will break down. I’d love to explore creating a mug range that can be popped in the microwave (because if you’re anything like me, I am always leaving my hot drink to get far too cold and then it’s ruined).

My plans for 2021 are not extensive but I have a plan and I’d love to implement them for the new year. If this year has taught us anything it’s about adaptability so I’m hoping to adapt my small business to fit the needs of my customer. Wish me luck!