David Condon Finds

When social media first started becoming important for businesses, I was completely sold on the idea. For a small business, it looked almost revolutionary. You could set up a Facebook page, show people what you made, talk directly to customers, build a following and reach people far beyond your local area without needing a huge advertising budget. For someone running a small independent business, that was incredibly appealing. You no longer had to rely entirely on newspaper advertising, expensive print campaigns or hoping somebody happened to walk through the door. You could take a photograph, write a few words and potentially put your work in front of hundreds or thousands of people and not just in your own country. I was genuinely excited by it. Years later, my opinion of social media is very different. I still use it because, like many small businesses, I feel I have to. But if social media disappeared tomorrow, I honestly don't think I would miss it. In fact, part of me wishes ...

Free shipping sounds fantastic. As a customer, I like it too. If I am comparing two websites and one wants €8 or €10 for delivery while the other offers free shipping, I know which one immediately looks more attractive. I have chosen the free-shipping option plenty of times myself. Occasionally I have even thought afterwards that I should probably have supported the smaller business instead of giving my hard earned money to a large faceless entity. The post purchase guilt trip is never easy. The problem is that shipping is never actually free. Somebody is paying for it. For a large retailer, absorbing that cost can be relatively easy. For a very small business, particularly one making or selling low-margin products, free shipping can quickly turn a perfectly reasonable sale into a transaction that barely makes any money at all. I know because I tried it. I Kept Increasing My Free Shipping Threshold When I first introduced free shipping on my own website, I think my threshold was somewh...

Cheap imported goods have quietly changed how people see handmade products. Many shoppers today are used to mass-produced items that cost very little, and that can make the price of handmade craft seem shocking at first glance. I see this reaction regularly when I sell my woodturning at craft fairs. One moment people admire the piece in their hands, the next moment the price changes the conversation entirely. If you have ever stopped at a craft table, picked something up, admired it, and then quietly put it back when you heard the price, this post is partly about that moment. I don’t say that to criticise anyone. I understand why it happens. But I also think years of cheap imported goods have changed the way many of us judge handmade work. My woodturning table at a craft fair in Manor West, Tralee in 2018 with handmade bowls, pens and small turned gifts on display. A quick note: This post was originally published on my main website, David Condon Woodcraft, but I have moved it here bec...

Working Out Prices for Your Craft Products Pricing your work is one of the hardest parts of running any craft business. It’s not just numbers. It’s confidence, experience, and sometimes a bit of trial and error. I’ve learned that the hard way, across two different businesses.  My First Mistake: Undervaluing My Work When I was working as a carpenter, I never really valued my time properly. Wages on site were rising steadily, but I never adjusted my own rates to match. I kept charging what I had always charged, partly out of habit and partly out of fear of losing work. If a builder asked for a slightly better price, I’d usually shave something off. Even when I was probably already cheaper than everyone else. I wasn’t a ruthless businessman, and my pocket paid for it. Starting Again as a Beginner When I moved into woodturning, I was starting from scratch again but with much bigger unknowns. In the beginning, I couldn’t even make my early products properly. I was a complete novice. Wha...