We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hannah Daniel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hannah below.

Alright, Hannah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?

My business has grown so much since I first started. Originally I lived in one small room that I also ran my business out of. I had one desk and some storage under my bed. Today I have an entire room in my house (the biggest room) dedicated to art. My growth happened over the span of 4-5 years which may be slower or faster than other artists, but I’m happy with the progress.

One of the biggest issues when starting is growing too fast. When you’re excited about an idea you want to go all in. You see everyone online doing so well and having cute packaging or freebies. Don’t let that distract you! Put your time and money into actually important pieces of your business. Focus on tools and high quality materials, finance programs, hiring a tax accountant, etc.

Having custom branded envelopes to mail your orders in or having a cute bins to organize your desk are not important right now. Yes it’s nice and looks good but focusing your time on these small aspects is a form of procrastination. You have to build a strong foundation before you add the fun aesthetics.

So start with small but meaningful purchases. For me it was getting a computer program and saving up to get a drawing tablet where I could actually assemble my art. To this day I still don’t have the “cute branded packaging” I always wanted because I still have so many other things I’d rather spend money on that will eventually lead to more profit.

Hannah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have been drawing ever since I can remember. And I’ve always loved animals. In the back of my head, I always knew being an artist was not the most profitable career so I went to school for computer science. But I hated it. I couldn’t force myself to do it and I ended up switching to animal behaviorism; a topic I was way more passionate about.

Once the pandemic hit, I decided to give art a try since there were no other options for jobs. I moved to Athens, Georgia to live with my sister who makes incredible pottery. She has been running her small business for years and I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am without her guidance and support.

Today, I make all forms of art. I draw digitally, paint acrylic, paint watercolor, wood burn pieces, and more! Most of my art features animals, which are still one of my passions to this day. Nowadays, I vend at local markets in Georgia selling art prints, stickers, postcards, tote bags, greeting cards, and more! I am always looking for more unique animals to showcase and illustrate!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson I had to unlearn, which I see other seasoned artists still struggle with is: just because you made a good product does not mean you’re entitled to sales.

You can do everything right, make a perfect product, and no one will buy it. Just because YOU think it’s great, doesn’t mean everyone else will.

When I first started, I was going to make “real art” and be a “serious artist.” But people didn’t want real art from me, they wanted cute cards with cheesy puns. I felt like I was selling out at first, but I realized I was just catering to my audience!

So now I make cheesy cards with puns on them! I make time for my “serious art” and occasionally try it to sell. But I’m a business at the end of the day. If a product doesn’t sell, I change it and try to make something else people will like. Don’t get stuck in your ways and refuse to change just because YOU like what you did.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

My furthest market I’ve ever done was the most nerve wrecking. It was in a place I’d never been before and I had no vendor friends who’d been in the area to offer advice.

It was a two day market and despite having a huge crowd, sales were SLOW. This was a much different crowd than I was used to. I’d done all my usual tricks and sales pitches. I’d set up my booth the way I always do. But still no sales. So for the 2nd day I decided to completely change my booth layout. I thought, there’s gotta be something I have that someone would like, so I need to boost visibility as much as possible. I reorganized everything on my table. I got rid of all my “rules” I had given myself over how things needed to be displayed. I just thought about being a customer and what they’d want to see.

Not only am I still seeing a boost in sales from this new booth layout to this day, but I had an incredible sales day at that 2 day market. If I never struggled, I wouldn’t have tried to change and discovered this new layout!

Every struggle, uncomfortable moment, or loss is a chance for discovery and new growth!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/HandAndStem
• Instagram: hand.and.stem

Image Credits
Katerina Rebecca Creative