Tips For Converting Your Art Into A Business

The other day, Amazon announced that it would be shipping to Kenya and Nigeria (though I thought it has been shipping to Kenya all along). Even as people celebrated this announcement, I couldn’t help but think of the opportunities there are to sell in the global market, yet we have remained mostly importers.  The web has make it possible to import a car from Japan or the UK in 2 months, to buy chicken cages from China  and to buy an out-of-print book on eBay without leaving your home.

What does this mean for us?

As we are creating businesses, we need to think beyond the Nairobi, Kenya and East African markets. We are buying stuff from the global market, we should be selling to the global market.  This last Saturday  I met a lady who is designing and producing jewelry in Kenya that is being sold in London high street competitively (not a for-charity model). We have shops like Vivo who are producing great quality clothes here in Kenya, and so on and so forth Services-wise, I have  a friend who produces animations for companies in Europe from Africa. The products are there, we just need to get them out there.

What are the factors you should have in mind when producing goods (or services) for the global market?

Quality. Quality. Quality

Unlike in the past where country of origin mattered a a lot and to sell globally you needed to be part of a corporation, the world is now (literally)  a village. The only differentiating factor between you and a similar vendor across the world is the quality of material you put out. If you want to provide services online, you must provide excellent services to compete.  Remember you are dealing with discerning consumers who have a lot more options than before. Ask yourself, “What can I be the absolute best at?”, and work towards that.

Quality also extends to how you sell your stuff online. Your website must be attractive, but also functional. If you are selling merchandise, you can go with a solution like eBay which works ok, but the risk of being crowded out by other sellers is high, or you can create your online shop using leading edge tools like LiquidBoss which has an integrated solution covering the site, payments (credit card and paypal integration), Store templates and shipping.

Visibility where it counts

While local online trading platforms are great if your market is local, you must think bigger if you hope to reach the global markets. As mentioned above, a great website which you subsequently promote on various platforms is a great starting point. The next step is building credibility. Think about an individual whose products you have bought online or whose advice you keenly follow. Chances are you do not know them personally, but because they have deliberately developed visibility and credibility in an area, you have developed trust for them. Work on increasing your credibility on other areas where potential customers are likely to be. For example, having a Twitter presence that attracts global followers, a great Facebook Page, and working to be a thought leader in your area of expertise (for those in services) by running a blog and guest posting in blogs.

Developing a reputation for excellence

We are operating at a time when reputation (and visibility) are currency. Unlike in the past where you could mess up and only one or two customers get to hear of it, now the whole world gets to hear about it. In addition to this, the customer is now in control of the narrative, thanks to social media. As a result of this, we now have professional social reputation managers (digital strategists) and such to make sure your reputation is stellar, but it has to go beyond that. You have to consistently deliver what you promise. Customers will understand if you disappoint them once and apologize, but you cannot build an international brand on apologies.

This post is brought to you by Liquid Boss.