The Maker’s Quest

Is Social Media Still Viable to Promote Your Business

Is social media still a viable way to promote your business, or is the new business model to be a content creator, making products secondary?
Today, we talk about our past successes and our future strategies for getting our products out in front of people.
Show Notes
Instagram Top 9 in the hashtags, is it still a thing
Brian says Social Media no longer sends him much passive income
Organic growth on social media is dead
You  have to sell your sole to the algorithm to grow
Social media companies have lost the importance of community
Selling on Amazon is a huge pain but can pay off
Passive income can bring in big dollars but takes time to build up.
Andy Birkey: "Some days you make art, some days you make rent."
Aprentachips will teach you a lot; do it before you have responsibilities.
SEO and blogs might make a comeback if social media totally falls apart.
At the end of the day, it's still an outlet to get your message out in the world; you just have to keep up with the changes
Hosted by
Greg Porter
https://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitars YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
Brian Benham
https://www.brianbenham.com/Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQCustom Furniture https://www.benhamdesignconcepts.com/

How to Price Your Creative Work and Avoid Pitfalls - EP19

Tonight, we talk about how to price your work so you can run a successful business and put food on your table.  Whether it is pricing a custom piece or a mass-manufactured piece, we've got you covered with a few tips you can implement today to price your work for success!
Hosted by
Brian Benham  https://www.benhamdesignconcepts.com/
Greg Porter https://skyscraperguitars.com/

The Unhealthy Pursuit of Perfection

The Unhealthy Pursuit of Perfection, we have all been there.  Every one of us who makes things tries to make it perfect, but perfection is a fool's earned and unattainable.  The more you know, the more you know you don't know.   In this episode, we talk about how the pursuit of Perfection can reach unhealthy levels and what we do to stay sane and continue our maker's quest.
Hosted by
Greg Porterhttps://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitarsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
Brian Benhamhttps://www.brianbenham.com/Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQCustom Furniture https://www.benhamdesignconcepts.com/

How Many Projects are Too Many Projects

This is a common issue for creatives that make things. We all have active imaginations; we can visualize lots of things.  Then the distractions come into play. We are drawn to the new shiny project or derailed by a project that we have to do to make money to keep the bills paid.
https://www.themakersquest.com/how-many-projects-are-too-many-projects-ep17
Greg Porterhttps://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitarsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
Brian Benhamhttps://www.brianbenham.com/Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQCustom Furniture https://www.benhamdesignconcepts.com/

How To Stay Curious to Stay Creative

In this episode, the guys talk about the power of staying curious and how it will help you stay creative in your journey as a  maker.
Show notes: https://www.themakersquest.com/how-to-stay-curious-to-stay-creative
 
Hosted by
Greg Porterhttps://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitarsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
Brian Benhamhttps://www.brianbenham.com/Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQCustom Furniture https://www.benhamdesignconcepts.com/

Gathering Inspiration For Designs - EP15

In today's episode, Brian and Greg Talk about different techniques for gathering inspiration for their designs and then iterating from basic design principles to more abstract concepts and techniques.
Show Notes:
https://www.themakersquest.com/gathering-insperation-for-designs-ep15
Hosted by
Greg Porterhttps://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitarsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
Brian Benhamhttps://www.brianbenham.com/Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQ

Lean How to Lean EP14

In this episode, Brian and Greg talk about how learning new things by learning how to learn.
Setting aside preconceived notions about what you think something is about will help you approach learning with an open mind. Then they talk about Chat GPT and how to use it to help us learn and become better critical thinkers.
 
Show notes: https://www.themakersquest.com/learn-how-to-learn-ep14
Hosted by
Greg Porterhttps://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitarsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
Brian Benhamhttps://www.brianbenham.com/Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQ

How Makers Handle Challenges - EP13

In this episode, we talk about how makers handle challenges. We talk about acquiring tools, acquiring skills, acquiring new clients, and how social media algorithms are diluting creativity.
Website: https://www.themakersquest.com/
Greg Porter https://skyscraperguitars.com/
Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitars YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
Brian Benham https://www.brianbenham.com/
Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQ
 

Building Motorcycles With Eric Gorges From The Craftsman’s Legacy - EP12

We Talked with Eric Gorges about designing and building Motorcycles and his show on PBS, The Craftsman's Legacy, where he seeks out other master craftspeople to get at a taste of their craft and learn from their experiences.
Show Notes
https://www.themakersquest.com/building-motorcycles-with-eric-gorges-from-the-craftsmans-legacy-ep12
You can find more about Eric Gorges At:
The Craftsman's Legacy on Instagram
Voodoo Choppers on Instagram
Websites http://voodoochoppers.com/ and https://www.craftsmanslegacy.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CraftsmansLegacy
Check out his book
A CRAFTSMAN’S LEGACY: WHY WORKING WITH OUR HANDS GIVES US MEANING
 
Hosted by
Greg Porterhttps://skyscraperguitars.com/Greg On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregsgaragekc/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SkyscraperGuitarsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GregsGarage
Brian Benhamhttps://www.brianbenham.com/Brian On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benham_design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO8f1IIliMKKlu5PgSpodQ

Eat Your Own Dog Food to Design Better - EP11

In this episode, we talk about the phrase by Microsoft Manager Paul Maritz. Eat Your Own Dog Food. You should use and live with your own designs to know they are good. Test your design out, and iterate on better versions.
 Full Show Notes
https://www.themakersquest.com/eat-your-own-dog-food-to-design-better-ep11