Where To Learn New Skills Online
Learning how to sell vinyl decals isn’t something you can go to college for, as far as I am aware. Maybe there are courses that cover it, but I was completely self-taught through a mixture of trial and error. I have also taken in lots of information from various sources and continue to try and up my skills all the time.
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YouTube is a great place to start, and it’s where I’ve learnt a lot specifically about using my Cricut and Silhouette machines, but these are some of my other favourite places to learn new things…
Skillshare
Skillshare is my first, and not just because I now teach my own courses there. Obviously, they are a great start if you want to sell vinyl decals, but there are so many other courses on there that can level up all sorts of skills if you want to get better at design, or social media, or Etsy. These are some that I think would be great for a Vinyl decal business…
►► CRICUT DESIGN SPACE 101: This course gives you step-by-step lessons to help you through the basics.
►► DIGITIZE YOUR LETTERING: If you like to draw your designs digitally or by hand, this is one for you.
►► CREATIVE BREAKTHROUGH: This is a more general course to get your creative juices flowing.
►► 3x YOUR PRODUCTIVITY: If you are time-strapped to fit in your creative business taking this course could help you plan your week.
►► MAKE YOUR OWN MOCKUPS: It’s important to know how to make mock-ups for vinyl decals so that customers can see what their decal will look like once it is applied. I have made a video about that which you can access here.
►► GET PAID: If you are just starting to sell it is important to set the right rates and to ensure you are paying yourself enough. This course helps you to work out what you should be charging.
►► INVENTORY & SALES MANAGEMENT: If you have started selling on Ebay, Amazon or Etsy, or plan to, and want to take control of your stock management or profits etc, this course helps to put systems in place and keep track.
Other Course Platforms
Then of course there are obviously quite a few other course marketplaces.
Udemy has courses on a huge range of subjects and always has great deals.
LinkedIn, Coursera and Futurelearn have lots of more general business and design style courses, with many of them either run by or accredited by actual universities.
And then there is Phlearn which does good Photoshop tutorials and Zen Business which specifically targets small business owners.
There are also lots of people who are teaching their own self hosted courses, some of which offer free mini starter courses as well.
There are lots of courses out there if you want to learn, or level up a whole new skill, but I know it’s tough to fit that in if you’re already busy working on your business.
Blogs
I found that if I just need to learn one new thing, or figure out how to do something with my machine, or come up with a better idea for packaging or something then I turn to blogs. I usually go via Pinterest and just look up whatever I need to know, but these are some of my favourites and the ones that come up most often when I’m stuck…
►► MAKERS GONNA LEARN: Here you will find lots of ideas of what you can do with your machine, courses and membership.
►► JENNIFER MAKER: Jennifer has lots of great tutorials on YouTube and you can find lots of ideas on her website.
►► SILHOUETTE SCHOOL: This is great for lots of tutorials, free cut files and Silhouette for Business ideas.
►► CUTTING FOR BUSINESS: This site will answer lots of questions if you are thinking of starting your business using Cricut or Silhouette machine.
►► COUNTRY CHIC COTTAGE: Angela Holden has lots of craft ideas and a dedicated Cricut section with lots of resources, tutorials and trouble shooting blogs.
►► HAPPILY EVER AFTER: Aimed more at beginners, this is still a good resource if you need some inspiration.
►► OH SHE CREATES: This site is tailored for you if you are selling, or want to sell on Etsy, with lots of tips on how to get started and improve your Etsy shop listings.
If I can’t find the answer on a blog, then my next step is to search on a Facebook group. There are so many covering Cricut, Silhouette, general vinyl making, Etsy tips, and business tips - I’m in quite a few and can nearly always search in one of them to find what I need to know. They’re also great for learning tips, resources and teaching you things you wouldn’t have otherwise thought to ask.
If you’re not a Facebook fan, then I’ve also found Reddit a really helpful resource - again join the Cricut, Silhouette, Etsy or whatever sub Reddits, as there are lots of posts with people who have either had issues, or have posted what they’ve made and can give you some inspiration.
Podcasts and Books
Another great place for more general inspiration and learning things you might not otherwise is podcasts - I have listened to lots of different business related podcasts over the years and I think I’ll do my favourites in another video. And the same with books as well really. But just taking in lots of business information has given me so many new ideas and kept me motivated over the years so I do find them really helpful.
All that said, a lot of my learning has been through trial and error - I just don’t think there is any comparison to just giving something a go and seeing if it works or not. But all of the places I’ve mentioned can certainly help.
I hope that was helpful.
Do let me know in the comments if there are any good places you like to go to where you can learn new things.
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