crafting an mba asks...

what would business school look like if it was geared towards crafters, designers, and makers?

What's standing in the way of you and success may not be your talent as a crafter, but rather your skills as a business person. Read more...

about megan auman...

megan auman

I'm a designer, maker, educator, and entrepreneur.

I've built a business making things I love, and I want to help you do the same. Learn more...

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crafting an mba

numbers + finances

guest post: the science of tracking profit

Today I’m excited to share this guest post from Holly of Accounting Spot.  Holly provides accounting and bookkeeping services for small and micro businesses, and she’s graciously agreed to share her tips for keeping track of profit in your business.  Thanks Holly! Hello! I was so excited when Megan asked me to guest post here [...]

why you shouldn’t pay yourself (and other myths about profit)

Part of creating a culture of profit means letting go of some of the myths we’ve been carrying around about our businesses and when and how they should make money.  Today I want to look at 5 profit theories I often hear, and why they aren’t (usually) true. Myth #1: You shouldn’t take any money [...]

more profit = more to give

For the record, I think there is nothing wrong with wanting to build a profitable business to create a comfortable living for yourself and your family.  (Provided that you are doing this in an ethically and socially responsible manner.)  But I also know that is is an area of thinking where many of us struggle. [...]

creating a culture of profit

A while back, I ran a survey for CMBA readers about which business topics they were most interested in learning about, and marketing was at the top. That’s not really surprising.  It’s easy to view marketing as the magic bullet to running a successful business.  But I don’t think lack of marketing prowess is what’s keeping most craft businesses [...]

the CMBA business growth planner

A few weeks ago, I sat down for an impromptu review of my business numbers.  I calculated monthly income based on revenue stream, monthly expenses, and net profit.  Then I set monthly sales goals for each revenue stream, and created a plan of attack to make those numbers a reality. After I was done, I [...]

accounting software review: outright.com

Well, I’ve officially given up the battle with Quickbooks.  Partly because it makes my head spin, and partly because I’ve found something better. A few wonderful readers had suggested outright.com, and after giving it a go, I have to say I’m in love.  If you’re running a small business, particularly one that relies heavily on [...]

outsourcing to help grow your business

outsourcing to help grow your business

One of the amazing things about our community is the DIY spirit.  An entire generation of makers are finding that they can jump online, sell their work, and promote their products.  And it’s opened up a lot of doors. But that same DIY spirit may now be impeding the growth of your business. If you’re [...]

question: how do you keep track of inventory?

With spring in full force, it’s really time to think about spring cleaning my office!  And the number one priority needs to be going through boxes of product, inventorying them, and making sure they’re available for sale in the shop.  (They certainly aren’t making me money just sitting in my office!)  So I thought I’d [...]

how to lower your prices without reducing your profits

I’m putting the finishes touches on my first ebook, a guide to wholesale and trade shows, so today I thought I’d share another excerpt.  While I am adamantly against artificially low prices, there may still be cases where you need to consider lowering your prices to be competitive (or find ways to maximize your profits [...]

Etsy and the culture of cheap

Etsy and the culture of cheap

Pricing may be one of the biggest challenges facing makers today.  Not only is the act of determining price difficult in and of itself, makers must also deal with market pressures outside our control that effect price. I mentioned in a previous post that Etsy recently posted a link to one of my cozy/cuffs on [...]