Why Your First Small Sale Matters More Than the Money

This week, I made my first sale on Spoonflower.

I know. Very exciting. I was doing a happy dance around the living room.

My commission was 45 cents.

That might sound like a slightly ridiculous amount of money to get excited about. It isn't going to buy me a new house. It wouldn't even buy me much at the corner shop. But I was genuinely thrilled when I opened that email, because the value of that sale wasn't really 45 cents.

It was proof that somebody had found something I made and liked it enough to buy it.

Somebody chose my pattern

If you haven't come across Spoonflower before, it's a platform where artists can upload their patterns. Customers can then buy those designs on fabric, wallpaper and home décor.

Someone bought a wallpaper swatch featuring one of my patterns. They may have wanted to check the colours, see how the pattern looks at full size or hold it up against the wall before ordering more.

I don't know whether they will come back and wallpaper an entire room with it. I hope they do, obviously. That would mean rather more than 45 cents in my pocket.

Even if they don't, the sale still matters.

A person I don't know saw my work among all the other patterns they could have chosen and thought, I want to see that one on my wall.

That is not insignificant.

Every new part of a business has to start somewhere

This doesn't only apply to artists selling patterns.

Perhaps you're starting a new business. Maybe you've added a service, made your first digital product or finally listed the handmade thing you've been working on.

The beginning will usually be small.

Your first sale might not cover the hours you spent creating the product. You may launch something and hear crickets for a while before one person buys. It can be tempting to look at that tiny number and decide the whole thing isn't working.

That first sale is doing a much bigger job than its monetary value suggests. It is showing you that somebody is willing to pay for what you created.

One 45-cent commission can become another. A swatch can become a roll of wallpaper. One customer can tell someone else or return when they need something new.

None of that can happen before the first small sale.

You still have to ask for the sale

There is another part of this that creative business owners often find uncomfortable.

You have to ask people to buy.

That might sound harsh, but a business needs to make money. If you never ask for the sale, you are making it almost impossible for your business to do its job.

I know why this feels difficult. Nobody wants to turn up online shouting, "Buy my stuff!" every five minutes. Thankfully, asking for a sale doesn't have to look like that.

Think about the next logical step for the person reading your post or watching your video.

You could invite them to look through your shop. You could point them towards the service that helps with the problem you've been talking about. You could ask whether they have questions about the thing you offer.

That isn't pushy. You have already shared something useful or interesting, and now you are showing them where they can go if they want more help.

The right offer is a doorway. You still need to point out that the doorway exists.

Selling gets easier when it becomes part of the conversation

The first few times you ask, it may feel awkward. You might hear my voice in your head and wonder why on earth I told you to do this.

I'm not telling you that you have to do anything. I am saying that if you want your creative work to make money, people need a clear opportunity to buy it.

You don't need to force a pitch into everything you share. You do need to stop assuming people will somehow find the right product, work out whether it is for them and know what to do next without you ever mentioning it.

Talk about what you make. Explain why it exists. Let people know where they can find it.

Then allow them to decide.

My first Spoonflower sale was worth 45 cents, but it meant much more than that. It was a small sign that the work is beginning to find its way into the world.

Every business starts with something small. Don't dismiss yours because it hasn't become something big yet.

What are you trying to sell at the moment, and which part of asking for the sale feels uncomfortable? Tell me in the comments. Your question might become one of my next Pretty Way Walks.