The Boss of You – Book Review

The HandmadeMarketing.org team came across “The Boss of You” in the Etsy.com forums and fell in love with the book and website!  The book and blog are wonderful sources of information for women selling handmade online.  From business advice to profiles of other women in business, there is a lot to learn!

Lauren and Emira wrote a book called “The Boss of You – Everything a Woman Needs to Know to Start, Run, and Maintain Her Own Business”.  The book outlines the basic rules of business – whether you are selling your craft online or thinking about a brick and mortar shop.   Our team thinks many sellers could benefit from the book for business goal setting and getting new ideas for how to make their shop more targeted, appealing to potential customers, and priced appropriately (without the guilt!)  In essence, “The Boss of You” gives you the knowledge to help your shop run smooth, without much extra effort.

Don’t think you’ll be stuck reading about how a business should run.  Lauren and Emira include exercises for readers to help shape the ideas discussed to fit your industry and your style.

This book is also helpful for the long-run.  Later chapters in the book discuss hiring practices, which may be down the road for the average handmade seller right now.  However, it’s great to know the book can grow with your business and help you anticipate challenges you may not have expected.

Here’s a criticism of the read:  Why didn’t the authors speak to all the simple marketing techniques business owners can use on the Internet?  Those who sell online are often somewhat dependent on web marketing, so skimming the subject may not have been such a great idea.  Some businesses may not depend so heavily on the Internet, so we can see how this subject wasn’t the center of the book.

Have you read “The Boss of You”?  What do you think are major challenges facing women sellers online?  Do you recommend other resources for women in business?

We want to hear from you!  Tell us your thoughts by commenting on this article or submitting your ideas to HandmadeMarketing.org.  If our editors think your tips to sell handmade products would be of benefit to the readers of this site, we will feature you in a HandmadeMarketing.org article!

Comment From The Authors:

Thanks so much for mentioning our book — we appreciate the mention!

You asked why we didn’t speak more to online marketing, and that’s a fair question. One answer is that the timeline for publishing a book is quite long, and we knew that whatever information we provided would lose relevance by the time the book hit shelves; we wanted our book to stand the test of time and not appear old before its time.

We also feel that our blog is the more appropriate space for addressing ongoing questions such as this one, and we’ve tried to provide lots of information there that’s both timely and free of charge.

One correction: “Soapboxgirls” is the name of our now-defunct e-zine. You can refer to us as “The Boss of You” or by our names, Lauren & Emira.

Thanks again for your kind words and thoughtful comments.