Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kiana Jones, Founder, and CEO of Happening Hands, located in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Happening Hands is a business resource and membership community for makers and creative business owners where we help them learn how to run thriving, profitable businesses. My goal with Happening Hands is that makers can come to us with their marketing questions and business needs, and we can meet them with the resources they need to find success. That means offering workshops and courses on marketing and branding, connecting with service providers and experts who can help, and creating guides and walkthroughs on achieving certain business milestones. For instance, we have an entire resource library that contains everything from how to manage inventory, what to post on social media to make more sales, and how to create a brand strategy for your business. Our customers are typically makers in the first 5 years of business and ready to grow. They know they need to learn how to market their businesses to find success but aren't sure how. They're ready to improve, ready to put themselves out there, and simply ready for the next step. Most of the makers we work with want to make their businesses profitable, if not full-time.

In addition to our membership community, we also have a podcast called The Handmade CEO Podcast, where makers and creatives can learn business success tips for free. We've had guests like marketplace founders Jon Lincoln from goimagine and Tiffany Millen from Made By Her, in addition to New York Times best-selling authors such as Sean Castrina. We also love to highlight success stories of makers and creative business owners, in addition to featuring service providers and experts who can lend advice that might not be immediately obvious to someone just getting started in the business.

Tell us about yourself

I'm Kiana Jones, Founder, and CEO of Happening Hands and the host of the Handmade CEO Podcast. I'm a serial entrepreneur, having started and run 6 businesses at this point - everything from blogging, and selling vintage jewelry, to making and selling vegan granola out of my kitchen. I'm also an artist, have been a Pinterest Marketer & Strategist for over 9 years, and have worked professionally for 5 years as a Fine Arts Librarian at a major university. In addition to my entrepreneurial and creative pursuits, I also work as the Earned Media Manager for a company called Wealth Assistants, offering done-for-you Amazon store management and Shopify brand management.

I got started in business at a young age. I sold my first paintings at a local gallery when I was 14. Two years later, I started an Etsy shop for my art and an art blog where I interviewed artists about their businesses and goals. I started making money right away from blog ads and affiliate programs. That blog really was my first profitable business. At the same time, I had started posting my art to Pinterest and making sales organically. From there, I started working for fellow Etsy sellers as a Pinterest marketer so I could help them find success too.

Fast forward to 2020; I had recently had my daughter, and the pandemic had just hit. I had been working at the art library and also planning something big for about 2 years - a new handmade marketplace that genuinely cared about the success of its makers and was handmade only. Two weeks after the pandemic hit, I launched Happening Hands as "the marketplace that does the marketing for its makers." After getting a big loan in 2021 to relaunch on a better platform, I relaunched. In 2022, I realized that a new marketplace wasn't filling the need I set out to fulfill for makers. After dozens of conversations with makers, I discovered a deeper level of their needs - that they need help with learning how to grow their businesses no matter where or how they sell their products, whether it's in a marketplace, at a craft show, wholesaling, or on their websites. I pivoted in March of 2022 to membership only to provide makers with the resources to meet these needs. Those conversations I had with makers before the pivot really were the foundation of what Happening Hands is today.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I would have to say that my biggest accomplishment as a business owner has been in learning how to guide a maker in creating a business strategy for themselves. I do this through my Business Strategy Coaching for makers. We sit down, consider all of their paint points, and plan out 3 months of strategic tasks to help them start reaching their goals. The results have been incredible. I've had makers get press features, secure grants, launch mentorship programs, and get into all of their dream craft shows.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things I would say comes with being a business owner, especially at first, is feeling alone. Being a solopreneur is great, but you must learn how to work with others and strike up strategic partnerships. It is also absolutely key to find a mentor you can rely on to push you toward your goals, whether you're a self-starter or not. And at the end of the day, if you want to grow your business, learning how to outsource, hire, and build a team is important.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

The first is to figure out what you want to do. What are you passionate about? What are your values? What do you want your business values to be, and who do you want it to serve? I think a lot of this comes back to branding and picking a niche. A lot of people start businesses without thinking about this, and then they have to backtrack and relaunch, sometimes years later, because they didn't start with branding and being true to themselves in terms of what they want out of their business.

The second is to find a mentor or two—people who can guide you to the next steps you need to take on your journey. In business, you will never be in the same exact position twice. Circumstances and goals change as you go, and having that support is key to success.

The third is to learn how to put yourself out there. Learn how to market your business. Find the resources you need to get there. Whether that's taking a course or working with someone who can guide you or even carry out the work with you or on your behalf. Remember that in business, you don't need to be all the things all the time. Set yourself up for success by finding the resources you need to build visibility for your business, loyalty to your brand, and repeat clients and customers.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://happeninghands.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/happeninghandscomunity
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happeninghands/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiana-jones-a5940b7a/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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