If I Were BROKE, These Are 4 Things I Would Do

We can’t always choose our circumstances - and sometimes, we might find ourselves in a position where we’re seriously struggling financially. It’s not a great boat to be in.
I know that the recent pandemic put a lot of stress on our pockets and it might not feel like we have a way out. Believe me when I say there is hope for you and your online business - regardless of where you are financially. Today, I’m here to share some tips that can help you regain an income and get back on track financially. In short, if I were broke - here are four things I’d do to pick things up again.
I’ve been running my own businesses for 15 years now, and I’ve built these from the ground up - without much to speak of financially, when I started out. Today, my first business, Tiny Hands, makes $200k a year and that’s the smallest of the three businesses I own. So, I know firsthand how to build up from zero - and I’m happy to share my insight with you.
If for whatever reason, I found myself down on my luck financially, here are the four things I would do.
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[@CreativeHiveCo]

🚨NEW FREE WORKSHOP FOR 2022🚨 Learn how to create a PROFITABLE handmade business online without keeping up with social media 🔽 Watch the free workshop here: bit.ly/3xKnFMA

[@denisel1553]

I'm a simple woman: I see Mei and I click.

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Haha! I like that formula! 😂 Thank you for clicking and watching!

[@elianamckee]

Me too!❤❤❤

[@AmyLouiseArt]

Thank you Mei! So many people including me struggle with finances - I feel a lot of pressure at the moment to try new things, create more art, launch new products, etc, but money is tight and I don't feel I'm able to do all these things to make a success from my art. I've been working two jobs for 4 years as well to support myself so I find this video really helpful and I definitely don't want to give up! This makes me feel better knowing that I can still be successful with what I have got 💜

[@CreativeHiveCo]

It can be very frustrating, Amy, to not be able to just invest how we want to. But creatives can definitely be....creative 😉 when it comes to work-arounds.

[@mcee555]

This was really solid + dynamic advice! You considered different contexts and gave people enough options to choose from :)

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Thanks so much - I'm happy to hear that! I appreciate you watching!

[@jamiebee408]

I love this channel so much. Thanks, Mei! Your advice is always informational, as well as inspirational.

[@CreativeHiveCo]

I really appreciate that! (Love your avatar, btw!) Thank you so much for watching!

[@jamiebee408]

@@CreativeHiveCo Thanks! 😊🎨

[@emersonmeyer]

Your videos are always so informational and inspirational! Love this thumbnail, too! haha

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Haha, thank you, Emerson! I appreciate you watching! 😊

[@jazriv2949]

You have the BEST content out there for starting your business, thank you so much.

[@CreativeHiveCo]

I appreciate that so much! I really appreciate you watching!

[@cathyfarmer3691]

Thank you for doing these videos, you have been a world of help to me.

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Thank you so much, Cathy! This really made my day!! ❤️

[@RuthAnnNordin]

As soon as I heard "credit card", I could hear Dave Ramsey screaming to deliver pizzas, save up the cash, and then invest the $2,000 into the business. LOL For people who can manage credit cards well, I think this strategy could work. You really have to be good to pull it off.

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Yes, any strategy using credit cards has to be for those who are disciplined enough to use them wisely, for sure. I think of it kind of as a small loan without going through the loan processes. I recommend anyone doing this have a payback strategy in place.

[@handieworksnails1217]

your videos are always so informative and helpful thank you so much, you are such a lovely person xx

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Awww, thank you so much! I can't tell you how much I appreciate that!

[@penguin_mom]

Thank you Mei for this excellent video! My husband and I are struggling with finances. He doesn't have a job and I am a graphic designer, but since I got married haven't been working. I feel like I don't know how to start my own business. although I have a lot of ideas and designs already done! I take inspiration from videos on youtube about people that are succeeding in some area, and always there is a phrase about them that speaks to me. So I take notes always. And I am taking a course about digital marketing now.

[@CreativeHiveCo]

If you haven't seen my free workshop yet, you might be interested in it! www.creativehiveco.com/workshop/?

[@katden]

Mei ypu are absolutely adorable , I enjoy listening to you and you are a very good speaker, You've grown a fabulous business. Your advice is spot on.

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Thank you so much for the sweet words, Kat!! It really made my day! ❤️

[@lnc-to4ku]

Thank you so much for the great advice!💗

[@CreativeHiveCo]

You are so welcome! Thank you so much for watching!

[@smomslifestyle]

Great advice Mei for shop owners just getting started too. 😊

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Thank you so much! ❤️

[@Whitedarkish]

Thanks for the advice! I’m lucky to have a great family that supports my small venture. I show them my monthly sales to gain their trust and that their investments in me is on good hands. Hope this helps to motivate me to work through this situation as well :)

[@CreativeHiveCo]

I love that, Derence! It's great to have such an amazing support system - you are very lucky!

[@melaniedyal5883]

Love your videos! Honest, practical advice! Thank you

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Thank you, Melaine! I really appreciate you watching!

[@annepower3313]

Love this video and your channel. So helpful and concise. Thank you x

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Thank you so much, Anne! I appreciate that so much. I'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet! 💗

[@annepower3313]

@@CreativeHiveCo Already have, I listen to you daily at the moment! : D

[@btdarterschannel112]

Thanks for the tips, Mei! 😃📣📹👍

[@CreativeHiveCo]

You're welcome! Thank you so much for watching!

[@desleykakoulidisgallaway3382]

Mei thanks for your great advice

[@CreativeHiveCo]

My pleasure!! Thank you so much for watching!

[@naomihenry1925]

Thank you Mei.so useful and timely for me!!

[@CreativeHiveCo]

I'm so glad to hear that, Naomi! Thank you so much for watching!

[@jazriv2949]

I would love to see a video on step by step how to start a Shopify account/website.

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Hi Jaz! I have a blog post on that! www.creativehiveco.com/how-to-build-your-own-website-with-shopify-in-under-1-hour/

[@wittyk8581]

Thank you for being there for all of us. You are truly inspiring

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Aw, thanks a bunch! 🙌 Let's keep inspiring each other!

[@remj17]

Hi Mei, I am trying to get my ideas into profitable business but I have sooooo many quesrions. Specially when it comes to taxes. Where can I go to figure out tax questions. Also, did you get a tax id for each of business? Or did you get one same tax id where all your hand made itema get taxes collected? I know its likely that you wont see this but maybe someone else can jump in and guide me in the right direction. Great Job woth your channel, i have definitely learned much from you.

[@sabrinatortora6019]

I have the same questions. The tax part scares me. I believe if you don’t have a tangible product you don’t have to collect sales tax.

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Hi Reyna! I really like TaxJar for tax questions. www.taxjar.com/ You can also look at your state's Secretary of State website because they will often have specific information for your state. I did get a tax ID for each business so that I could keep information separate, but you don't have to do that if you don't want to and just use one blanket for each. (I am NOT a tax professional so you might want to check in with an accountant to do what's best for your situation.) I also have this video on setting up a business legally that you might like! kzbin.info/www/bejne/ep7chaGsqc1lptU

[@darrylgoodwin7461]

As always you so informative, thinking of setting up outside and sell some of my creations to generate $$ now that i've gotten a my vaccines and of course pratice being safe, I may make a few dollars to put into my business for a websites. 🙏🏼

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Fantastic Darryl!

[@JC-lg3ue]

Hi , great video's , I'm looking to get into digital art what will be the best tool for this ? Is the ipad pro good for this ? Kind regards

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Hi JC! I've got a video dedicated to digital art! kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6uplounna2re6c

[@JC-lg3ue]

@@CreativeHiveCo thank you.

[@liliespetals19]

Do you have a video about the financial aspects, like prepping for taxes?

[@CreativeHiveCo]

I have a blog on bookkeeping apps here: www.creativehiveco.com/review-top-bookkeeping-apps-makers/ Beyond that, I typically recommend taxjar.com for all things taxes!

[@liliespetals19]

@@CreativeHiveCo nice! Your videos make everything seem simple. I know a lot of sellers get anxious about the tax aspects, especially when it's their first time or first business. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out!

[@asiac8968]

The best thing you can do is maintaining records of all business related transactions and keeping these transactions separate from personal transactions.

[@sharamills6622]

Wo, I want to hear about your husband POD art biz doing 900k!!!

[@CreativeHiveCo]

I talk about it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZPHqXaQrLWSppY and here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpXRpqF_mpJ4ptE

[@hauwakulu6772]

I like the advice it making my life more easier thank you very very much😃😃😃😃😃😃😃

[@CreativeHiveCo]

I'm so happy to hear that!!!

[@EngineeringFun]

Mei-Mei, this is one of the prettiest channels on YT and you are a little bee. One question, when you say it makes 200k/year, it means revenue or profit?

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Aww. Thank you so much!! ❤️ It's revenue. 😊

[@EngineeringFun]

@@CreativeHiveCo Typically, in the ballpark, what kind of profit margin percentage we are looking at on your tiny hands and your husband's store? Thanks!

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Hi! I explained about pricing (which is what my husband and I also use) in my pricing formula video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmTVaoBphs2hhLM

[@nandykats1432]

Hi sister is your course "a sale a day " useful if I plan to own a part time biz?

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Yes, it is! The course can be applied to your part time business if you want to see consistent sales from it.

[@nandykats1432]

@@CreativeHiveCo okay sis!

[@BenitaMCWCaruthers]

thank you very imformative. I am looking to start an online craft site to assist sell my product. I thonk your pricing metgod and the suggestions of how to start up with low to no cash is good except for me I have not been good at using cc in the past so I steer clear of cc and go with what I have on hand luckily I have lots of inventory matterial to use on hand.

[@CreativeHiveCo]

That is good that you know that about yourself, Benita. That way you are not putting yourself in a bad position. That is very smart.

[@emilly1987]

Now......what if you don't have a credit card, can't and don't want to get one. Any real advice?

[@CreativeHiveCo]

You can try a crowdsourcing app like Kickstarter or Kiva.

[@pokepeyy]

get a personal loan it won't hurt your credit and has a lot lower interest rate, but you should get a credit card most likely you'd start at a $500 credit limit a month (go through your bank it'll all be in the same place and make it easy) you should use between 30-10% of your credit limit and pay it off in full every month. (pretend its your debt card only use what you have and the less you spend on it the higher and faster your credit will go up) credit card make up 75% of your credit score so if you use it in the right way you will have a great credit score which allows you to have more and better options with just about anything in life, that's why you also don't want to go into debt with a credit card bc it affects your score so much. 1. get a personal loan 2. get a credit card 3. use 30-10% or less than your credit limit 4. PAY YOUR CREDIT CARD OFF IN FULL ON TIME OR(EARLIER IF YOU CAN) EVERY MONTH OR BILLING CYCLE>> IF YOU DONT THAT WILL GET SENT TO THE CREDIT BURIALS AND TANK YOUR SCORE AND WILL BE THERE FOR 7 YEARS!!!!!!! 5. always pay off your credit card first, than pay your loan. I hope this helps(:

[@thatgoose2639]

I don't understand how tiny hands makes $200,000 a year. Etsy shows your shop has 2092 sales since 2008. That's about $95 per sale since 2008. What am I missing?

[@LL-ex1gp]

She sells in other places and does wholesale. They wouldn’t show in Etsy unless someone placed an order through her Etsy shop.

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Yes, like LL said above, Etsy is just a passive income stream for me. I have my own website at tinyhandsonline.com and I do a large wholesale business.

[@thatgoose2639]

@@CreativeHiveCo I figured you would be selling somewhere else to make that sort of loot. The thing that disappoints me is that the etsy shop doesn't reflect the success of the business which would mean etsy, ultimately, is a bad place to do business.

[@CreativeHiveCo]

For Etsy, I have things listed that are reproducible, so they can auto-renew when they sell. Beyond the listings, I don't put much extra effort into Etsy. I don't drive traffic over there and I don't pay for ads. So the traffic I get there is basically set-it-and-forget-it traffic.

[@desirula]

I’m in the worst stage of my business, :( I make sales but I have too much debt, overdrafts... I cannot even afford your course it’s horrible..

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Desiree, that is so frustrating - I'm so sorry you are in that position! Is there a way you can cut down on any of your business costs so that the sales you get bring in more of a profit?

[@desirula]

@@CreativeHiveCo I’ve tried, but that would lower the quality of my candles (yes I make candles) and I’m making barely 3 orders per week

[@CreativeHiveCo]

Without seeing your site, it's hard to know which direction to point you. If you'd like to email me your shop link, feel free. [e-mail]

[@desirula]

@@CreativeHiveCo I emailed you last night... YOU ARE AWESOME! THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@diamondsngunns88]

@@CreativeHiveCo I’m in a similar situation. I’ve bootstrapped everything and am feeling overwhelmed at the slow growth. Can you help with some guidance/advice? Thank you 🙏🏽😭💜