Custom Orders

We recently had a big custom order come in & as a small business who has only been operating since June 1st, we didn't really have a plan in place for this. Luckily the lady that we worked with was very understanding and patient as we asked all of our questions and worked through how this would work out best for all involved.

Through trial & error, we successfully completed our first custom order, but we wanted to share what we have learned with you!

First of all, we learned that we want a form that the customer fills out so that all of the information is in one place. It is really hard to scroll back through message communication to find what you are looking for. So we decided we needed to streamline our process through Google Forms.

We made this custom order form on Google Forms if you'd like to see the information that we are asking for, but we wanted to focus on a few major ideas -

Second, don't shortchange yourself income based on a bulk order. You can most definitely give them a discount for ordering "wholesale", but don't discount it so much that is cuts into your profits. Also take into consideration the time frame that they are giving you. If it is a short time frame to where you will be working long hours to get it shipped out, take your time into consideration. Your time is SO valuable and if you are spending more time on this order than you would spend on your shop in a normal week, make sure you charge accordingly.

Lastly, build a good relationship with this company/individual if possible so that they send future orders your way & their colleagues your way also. Ask them about sharing their designs on social media & ask for their social names so that you can tag them & get the word out about the kind of companies that you work with. Get some name recognition from their customers & yours through the tag team process.

Any other questions, we'd be happy to answer in the comments,

Marc & Barb