Does this thought sound familiar: you've spent hours, days and even months creating product, really putting your heart and soul into every piece but where are the sales? Or if you are getting sales, why aren't there more? We've ALL had those thoughts.

It's easy for me to say don't panic or don't give up. The first step is to take stock of the situation you are now in. Might you have launched at the wrong time? Do you only have Christmas products and it's only March? However, it might not be down to your product, it might be your marketing strategy at fault.

Ask youself one very important question: Do I believe in my products? If you do, and I hope that you do, think long and hard about what it is you can alter. Would making your aprons available as vendor aprons help or change the fastening on bracelets?

It is also worth revisiting your pricing strategy. However do not automatically assume that you need to lower your prices, it may be that you actually need to increase them. We've covered pricing handmade items before in previous blogs and it is true that buyers of handmade items associate the product with quality and something special and so are willing to pay for it. If they see a beautiful handmade piece of jewellery but priced too low they may either question the quality of the work or how much the artist values their work.

Something similar happened to me with Butterfly-Crafts. When I first started selling I priced low assuming this was the best way to get sales. That was until a very kind Artfire seller advised me that pricing low made it look like I was a) not valuing myself and b) desperate for a sale. I revisited my pricing formula, tweaked my prices and then the sales started to come in.

Overall, it is so important to realise that having a creative business is a brave task because you are exposing yourself to other people's opinions. Don't get discouraged though, as it can take time before you are making a profit. You need to maintain a belief in yourself and your abilities because one day, you may be struggling to keep up with the demand!

On the next Business Tips blog on the 19th: Feeling exhausted?