Business of Craft Episode 32 Garrick Arnold

WELCOME TO EPISODE #32 OF BUSINESS CRAFT

My guest today is a serial entrepreneur with his latest venture in the yarn space. In 2015, Garrick Arnold acquired Yarn Pop, makers of canvas accessory bags made in the USA. I asked Garrick to share his knowledge and expertise in buying an existing craft business.

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#1 Some of our listeners have Yarn Pop bags which are easily recognizable by the grommet that allows the yarn to thread to the outside of the bag for easy project management. How did that innovation come about? [2:18]

#2 Can you give us a bit of your background and the other businesses you own? [4:05]

#3 What did you look for when shopping for a business and ultimately landing on Yarn Pop? [6:05]

#4 So for folks out there who might be looking at a business in the craft space, where should they start to look for opportunities? [8:53]

#5 Did you work with anyone like an accountant or a lawyer to help you evaluate the opportunity? [9:56]

#6 Are there specific metrics other than the bottom line that you point to, to someone shopping for a business that is a yes or no or red flag? [11:09]

#7 What would you say is the biggest advantage to buying an existing business? [15:08]

#8 What would you say is the biggest challenge in acquiring an existing business?[18:28]

#9 Tell us a bit more about the latest venture with Yarn Pop’s line of yarn. [22:50]

#10 I saw that you did a Kickstarter campaign for your Very Big Bag. Could you share some lessons learned from that experience? [28:55]

#11 You said you would do Kickstarter again. Is there anything you would do differently next time? [33:31]

#12 So, have you experimented with other kinds of business ideas that you think have brought you some success with Yarn Pop? [37:47]

 

#13 Since you live in Portland and they try to keep things interesting up there… What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen or heard or eaten or a place you’ve visited that our listeners might find interesting? [40:48]