Business Discussions

  When Joey Modica first started making bespoke jewelry pieces in her downtime, she only thought she was pursuing a fun hobby. Soon, however, she developed a loyal following in her local area — and realized that her creative pastime had the potential to be a full-fledged business.   Taking her products to craft fairs allowed Joey to reach out to clients outside of her community and learn more about her target market. And now that she’s mastered the challenging art of finding the right price point, she’s eager to connect with other folks here who can give her the tips she needs to learn and grow even more.   We spoke to Joey about why she likes working from home, the journey to finding her niche and how she defines success in her small business.   Name: Joey Modica   Business: Thursday-Born Natural Jewelry   Started: Fall 2013    What inspired you to create your business?    I worked as a bench jeweler for a year, but didn’t f

      Recently, we've been diving deep into topics like cash flow, funding your business and invoicing — all things that are often top of mind for those of us who are small business owners or self-employed professionals. After all, if you aren't managing your cash properly or getting paid... how will you know when your business is working?   In an effort to decode the financing game, we've rounded up stories and tips from our members here that you can use as a starting point when exploring how to fund your business when you're just starting out.   Let's dive in!   1. Understand your needs There are costs associated with starting up a new business (and oh boy, are they real). Before you pursue one (or many) avenues for securing financing or raising money, you need to know exactly what you need today and what you'll need in the future.   Deconstruct your needs by answering a few questions about what you require and, most importantly, *why* you need it.