Starting an online business isn’t easy.

You are excited about your idea, you invest all your time, effort and money into it and most of the times you end up few months after hearing crickets.

I’ve been seeing many of my own attempts growing slowly.

My products disappearing from the Etsy results, my Instagram with barely likes…

As entrepreneur and creative I’ve started several businesses: from handmade products such as handmade soaps, clutches, kimonos or pencil cases to my graphic & web design studio & the cherry …

As a seller of custom-made products, you often have to focus on two aspects of the business at once- manufacturing and sales. Both are equally important.

If you manufacture great products but don’t have a sales funnel, your products won’t move.

If you sell very well and lose sight of manufacturing, you may end up with no products to sell.

Advancements in inventory management have today made it possible to automate one half of the process.

What do you think of when you hear the word “competitor”?

For most of us, when the word “competitor” enters the scene, all logic stays behind and we start dwelling on the frustration of the shops that are ahead of us.

But I’m here to tell you today: it doesn’t have to be this way!

Your competitors are valuable to your business for many reasons but regardless of whether you use them or not, you still need to outrun them so you can stay ahead.

How do you go about choosing a photo to promote your product? Is it your favorite photo? An image that shows your product in action? A detail shot that shows off your craftsmanship? Research shows that a product’s photo quality is the biggest driver of its sales, even more than its tags, price, or customer reviews. If there was an empirical way to learn which photo will drive more traffic — and therefore conversions — to your shop, would you use it? (Spoiler: there is.)

Take a