Geoffrey Franklin
Owner
Walnut Studiolo
Walnut Studiolo
Owner
I design and make leather bicycle gear.
Wake up, make breakfast, and plan the day with my wife. Go into the workshop, which is attached to my house, where I make products and tinker on new product ideas all day, taking a break for lunch with my wife and employee.
Here's the first step for professionals
Just start making and put it out there. Don't overplan your launch. The first one you make will never be perfect, so don't worry about that. It might help if you have an objective friend or partner (like my wife) who will put it out there for you. It's so hard as an artist to call something "good enough". My wife played that role for me and listed my first product on Etsy before I was ready to. Thank goodness. Once it started actually selling, I was incredibly encouraged to keep going.
"You should find another normal salaried job in your college degree profession. I mean, good for you for trying out the entrepreneur thing but you know it's not going to work. It's not going to pay your bills."