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#255 When should you start selling your pottery
43 Plays2 years ago
On this episode I will be talking about the 3 indicators to look out for if you are trying to sell your pottery. These indicator can happen at any stage of your pottery journey so look out for them
The Questions we ask will determine how our pottery will look like that's why I created a Free 15 questions to help you discover your voice template go grab it here www.shapingyourpottery.com/questions
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Transcript
Will a new direction in pottery attract buyers?
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If you try to go a different direction, will other people buy it or not?
Introduction to selling pottery guidelines
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How do you know when it's time for you to start selling your pottery? There are three indicators that I have seen and interviewed people that indicate it is time to sell your pottery. If you love pottery and want to take your skills to the next level, you're in the right place. Find your own pottery style right here on Shaping Your Pottery with Nick Torres. Let's get started.
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What is up, Shaping Nation? This is Nick Torres
Finding your unique pottery voice
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here. And on this episode, I'm going to be talking about the three indicators that let you know when it's time to start selling your pottery. For those that don't know me, it is my mission to help potters discover their own unique voice and to help them give them tips to make that easier.
Clearing space: surplus as a signal to sell
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Since I have started this podcast, some things that I have noticed from people that I've interviewed
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from myself and from other people just along the way, maybe just people commenting is that there are typically three indicators to know when you are trying to sell your potter. So the first indicator here is if you are getting too full on space, right? We all hit that capacity in our studio. If we're having a home studio, maybe even elsewhere,
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We hit that capacity where we have so much work that it's not able to sell anything or we're not able to keep it all because we have so much work. And there's no point in keeping it all either. Because we have so much work, our house is really just filled with pots and pots and pots and pots and pots and pots and pots and pots and pots and pots. And that is a really, really, really, really, really, really good indicator
Passion-driven pottery: a magnet for buyers
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that your pottery should might might want to start getting rid of it or start trying to sell it. And this is the type of pottery where you don't really sell it for all that much because you have so much of it and you're probably in that beginning phase where you are keeping everything.
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But you got to get rid of those pots somehow, either break it or sell it. So these are the pots where you don't really sell your pottery for too, too much. And that is just that's just indicator number one on when to know to start selling your pottery. If you have a surplus of pots in your house, that is indicator number one. Indicator number two is
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if you have made something that you are truly proud of. So this is indicator number two because you are making something that you are truly proud of and you are able to replicate it and you still are proud of it. You're still proud of it. You're still proud of it. This is a very good indicator to start trying to sell your pottery.
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because now you have the passion into your work and people are gonna see that passion of your pottery, of your sculptures, whatever you're making. They're gonna see that passion and they're gonna wanna support you. They're gonna wanna support you along your journey. The more passion you get about something that you're making,
00:03:19
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That is a very good indicator that you can start trying to sell your pottery. Because again, you're going to get so passionate about it and then you're going to get that surplus of it. But this time, because you have a more passion for it, you more likely spent more time to make that pottery look good, make it look better.
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So you can charge a little bit more for these pieces because you are taking the time to make the pottery look better. And not only that you're probably not keeping every single piece of pottery that you're making now because now you have a standard for yourself and you are trying to hit that standard every single time you're making your pottery.
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And that is indicator number two is when you start making something that you are truly proud
Customer interest and avoiding burnout
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of. That's when you can start putting it out to the world. Start putting out to the world so they can buy it and so you can start making some money off of your pottery. That's if that's what you want to do. But I know a lot of people, they want to try to sell their pottery at least part time. Maybe just get rid of the extra pots or maybe because they actually want to do that.
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But if you all start making something that you are truly proud of, then you could definitely do that as well. You could definitely start selling your pottery. That is indicator number two. So the two indicators so far is if one, you have a surplus of pottery that you've made maybe from since you started making pottery. And so now you just have a surplus of pottery. It's a very good indicator that you should probably start selling your pottery because that is way too much pottery in your house.
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The second indicator is if you start making something that is truly, truly jazzing you up and you are very passionate about. That is the second indicator. The third indicator is if other people start asking for what you are making. And this could be the same thing if you are making something that you are passionate about or something that maybe you are kind of trying to experiment with.
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people start asking oh are you gonna sell these or are or where can I get these is so cool that's a very great indicator that's like a that's like a hundred percent true indicator that you could start selling your pottery but be careful with this indicator because you don't want to fall into the trap of making for other potters and not for yourself first
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because what happens is people start saying, oh, that looks so great. And you're like, oh, I could do this. I can start selling my pottery. And you start making the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over again. And then eventually what happens is.
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you get burnt out of making that and now you feel stuck you feel stuck making the same thing over and over and over again and you don't know what to do you don't know if you should continue making that pottery or go a different direction and you know if you keep making that pottery then people are actually still going to buy it which is important if we're trying to sell our pottery but if you try to go a different direction will other people buy it or not?
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See, if you are in that third indicator, be very, very careful. Make sure you are liking what you are making. And then put it out for sale. And make sure you are keep on like, keep on adjusting and making improvements as well while you're in that third indicator phase. Because the more adjustments and more like phases you go through that pottery, the better your pottery is going to look like at the end.
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So don't fall into that trap of just making to sell that pottery.
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make it for yourself first. That's where the second indicator comes really important is if you have that passion for what you are making. But if people start asking, where can I buy this? That is a really good indicator.
Summary of selling indicators and resources
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So three indicators are, number one, if you have a surplus of pottery in your house, start selling it. You don't need that much pottery in your house. It's just kind of taking it to its root. Number two is if you have found something that you are truly passionate about and you want to spread it to the rest of the world,
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Indicator number three is if people start asking if you are selling this pottery or where can I get this pottery? Those are three indicators. I hope you guys enjoy this episode and I'll see you guys in the next one.
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Thanks for listening to this episode of Shaping Your Pottery with Nick Torres. If you want to start discovering your own unique voice, you must first start with the right questions. That's why I put together a free 15 question booklet for you to start discovering your own unique pottery voice. All you have to do is go to shapingyourpottery.com forward slash questions to get this free booklet.