2019 By the Numbers
This week I did a deep dive into my goals and numbers in 2019 to set goals for 2020. I usually do this every year, but this year I was inspired to share it by Yardia’s year in review posts. I also get tons of questions about details in my business, so I hope this will be helpful to someone who’s getting started or just curious.
2019 by the numbers
In 2019, I:
Vended at 18 shows totaling 25 days
Hosted 1 studio warming party in conjunction with Art in the Alley (Art in the Alley was awarded a grant this year by our neighborhood association to do it again!)
Participated in my first wholesale show (Watch a short recap by Snail Mail Superstar here)
Spent 40 days out of the studio for travel and rest (this includes weekends)
Went on 1 three-day retreat to Whidbey Island for 2019 goal setting and planning
Overall 2019 Sales by Income Stream
37% Markets
15% Wholesale
14% e-Commerce
12% Fine Art Sales
12% Teaching
7% Studio Sales
3% Custom Work
Overall I’m happy with the fairly even division of income streams in 2019. :)
2019 Sales by Product Category
63.8% Greeting Cards
10.8% Fine Art
9.8% Journals
7.3% Art Prints
6.6% Stickers
1.7% Miscellaneous
Greeting cards get the most real estate in my market booth and on my website, and they’re what I started my business on, so this isn’t much of a surprise. I’d love to grow my fine art sales in 2020.
I added stickers and fine art mid-year, so I’m curious what a full year of sales in those categories looks like.
Top Greeting Card Categories
Encouragement & Everyday
Love
Holiday
This isn’t a surprise as these are my three largest card categories, so it’s a very skewed look compared to the larger greeting card industry.
Best Selling Greeting Cards
It feels amazing to see these three as the best sellers! People love sharing encouraging messages.
Best Selling Holiday Greeting Card
Sloth Holiday
This was one of my very first designs I ever made and it’s still so hot! I’d heard in the past that animals typically sell well, and this seems to support that.
Sales Growth
2019 sales grew by 75% compared to 2018! This is a big deal, but this percentage will likely be smaller as/if the business grows.
Best and Worst In-Person Events
2019 included my best and worst in-person events to date! My worst performing show of the year made 5% of sales compared to my best show of the year. I’ve learned that the nature of business isn’t always linear. It can feel like a rollercoaster and it’s about setting yourself and your business up financially and emotionally to handle the ride.
Growth or Decline in Income Streams from 2018 to 2019
In-Person Retail Sales (Markets, etc.): +66%
e-Commerce Sales: +74%
Custom Work: -77% (I’d intended to reduce the custom work I take on, so this was expected)
Consignment: +92% (I only work with one shop on a consignment basis)
Fine Art Sales: +100%
Wholesale Orders: +185%
Teaching: +289%
The biggest jumps in growth were in categories that were extremely small income streams or non-existent in 2018 (teaching, wholesale, fine art sales).
The large bump in In-Person Retail Sales, e-Commerce Sales, and Consignment are especially exciting to see. These are three categories that grew immensely while generally maintaining correlating expenses.
In-Person Retail Sales (+66%): This year I made more intentional choices about the events I vended at. I cut low-performing events and kept successful events. I tried shows in new places like Valley Made Market in Mount Vernon and Tacoma Night Market. I played around a ton with my booth set up and tested products. In-person events are the largest time and energy commitments of all of my income streams (introvert here!), so I did my best to make them worth it.
e-Commerce Sales (+74%): This huge jump was such a surprise! 2019 was my first full year of focusing my e-Commerce efforts on my shop, Cat Snapp Studio, and not worrying about Etsy and it seems to have paid off! I toiled over the decision in 2018, because I was concerned about losing the customers that find me in Etsy’s search. It was a decision I’d also consulted with my SBDC advisor about and it feels good to know that trusting my gut was the right choice!
Okay, my head is spinning, see you in Part 3, where I take everything from 2019 and set my 2020 Goals.
This is part 2 of a three-part series. Check out all the posts via the links below:
Part 2: 2019 by the numbers (You are here.)
And an extra you might like if you liked this post: Resources that helped my handmade business