Press release from Mountain BizWorks:
Craft Your Commerce, a Mountain BizWorks entrepreneurial program in partnership with Center for Craft and UNC Asheville, announced today dates for their spring workshop series, March 15 – April 12, 2021. The spring series will feature workshops focusing on the Craft of Selling and will explore a variety of skill development to help artists, makers and creative businesses understand how to create sales strategies, develop diverse revenue streams, and sell without having to feel “salesy.”
The series consists of five interactive workshops, which can be taken separately, as well as a five-week business-development course beginning on March 17. Presenters include Casey Nifong, CEO of Mountain Laurel Digital; Julio Chavez, Strategic Executive at Copy Identity; Sarah Benoit, co-founder of Asheville-based JB Media Group; Derrick Duplessy, the founder of Duplessy Foundation; and Alyssa Phillips, owner of the Asheville-based branding and graphic design firm Amp’d Designs.
“The spring series of Craft Your Commerce workshops focuses on the Craft of Selling as our sales techniques, channels, and focus has changed because our world has changed,” said Gwynne Rukenbrod Smith, Craft Your Commerce Project Manager. “These five workshops intentionally teach you to stand out in all of the noise, sell with authenticity, and grow your customer loyalty.”
Recognizing that the economic realities of the pandemic has put a financial strain on households, Mountain BizWorks is offering the spring series as a Pay What You Wish(PWYW) option. “We do not want price to be a limiting factor in order for creative entrepreneurs to benefit from our programs,” said Kareen Boncales, Entrepreneurship Program Manager at Mountain BizWorks. “In effect, we are trusting attendees to pay what they consider to be a fair price given their economic situation”. Mountain BizWorks is requesting a minimum donation of $5.
In preparation for the workshop series, Craft Your Commerce is inviting interested creative businesses and craft artists to attend the Makers Mixer on Friday, March 12. This informal virtual gathering will serve as a networking event and will begin with a brief introduction and presentation that will provide a glimpse of the upcoming workshop series. The event will also feature a guest presenter, Emma Churchman, on Selling from Soul without Selling Your Soul. After the presentation, Emma will “hotseat” four volunteers about how to increase sales in your business.
For more information about the workshops and to save your spot, please visit CraftYourCommerce.com.
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