Problem: Article: Developing your own tea brand is one way to start your own tea business. This will involve you buying unpackaged tea leaves from suppliers and developing your own packaging and branding for your distinct product. There are a number There are also long-established brands in traditional tea-drinking countries such as the UK. Research these brands and determine what makes them successful. Some market tea as a healthy option. When you do this research look for gaps in the market or ideas that nobody has thought of yet. While you are doing research on the existing brands you should be trying to formulate a clear vision of what will distinguish your own brand of tea. It's essential to have clarity of purpose to help drive you through difficult times. Maybe you will present your tea as a healthy alternative to sugary drinks, or a tasty and perhaps slightly exotic drink that you can have throughout the day as an alternative to coffee. Once you have this clear vision you need to find the place in the market to pitch your product, and the customers you want to target. You need to be able to confidently express the distinct features of your brand. During this stage, it's also helpful to brainstorm possible names for your brand. Your brand name should be memorable, unique, and linked to your overall vision for your tea brand. An essential part of any new business is the establishment of a clear and focused business plan. This plots the core values and identity of your business as well as mapping your plan for growth and success. Typically a business plan should begin with an executive summary, and then a company summary. There are helpful online tools to help you build your business plan to a basic template, and give you examples to follow. The following should be covered in your plan: Products and services. This section details what your business will be selling, what your products are and your reasoning. Market analysis summary. Here you will record your market research and clearly identify the area in the market where you will push your product. Strategy and implementation summary. This section should give a clear outline of how you will develop your business. Start with getting your goods to market and then detail your plans for growth with a clear timeline and objectives. Management summary. This section will give details on how the business will be run, what your management style will be and how this will affect the business culture and operations. Financial plan. Finally, you will need to give detailed information about the finances. Provide a full breakdown of costs and revenues. Mark break-even points and when you will turn a profit. You can buy leaf loose, or in prepared tea bags. It's likely that you will sell it as you receive it, just re-packaged, so bear this in mind. Decanting loose tea leaves into individual tea bags would be very time consuming, but if you are going for a homemade look and feel it could be a good choice. Make sure you know exactly what you are getting and ask for samples before committing to orders. Search online at first to get a basic idea of suppliers globally and those operating in your locality. Some online databases can be useful first points of call. Think about environmentally friendly and sustainably produced tea leaves which can become a part of your brand identity as well as be an ethical way to do business. Go to trade shows, read trade publications and ask around people in the industry. This kind of specialist knowledge and experience can be invaluable. Once you have a clear supply route planned out you need to move on the next phase of your product development, namely designing the packaging and branding artwork. You may choose to hire someone with expertise in graphic and product design to help with this. It will probably have to be produced on a computer and be of high quality for any manufacturer to produce it for you. Remember in the early stages you need to start small, so get a small run for samples and promotions first. The packaging will be the main way people identify your brand so think about this very carefully. Consider running some focus groups with people you can trust to give you honest feedback. Think about function as well as form. Do some research online and ask for advice from professional designers. When you have drawn up the plan for your brand, it can be helpful to produce a sample box or two. You will need to get the tea you want to sell and package it as you like. Once you have this you can use it to promote your tea business in local stores and tea rooms to gauge interest and develop contacts before you put in any big orders with suppliers. A prototype product enables you to test it for durability as well as get a proper impression of how it looks and functions. Having a prototype will make people take you more seriously. Your product is becoming a physical reality rather than just an idea. Being able to hold and use something makes a big difference. Once you have a clear picture of the brand you want to create you need to decide how you will sell your tea. Will you be an online-only business, taking orders and shipping tea across the world? Maybe you will try to sell to local tea rooms and stores. Or perhaps both! How you sell is the major part of your business so it's important you consider this fully and have a clear plan and target audience. It is relatively easy to create a website, but there are already a large number of online tea stores so you need to think about how you will stand out. If you plan to sell face-to-face locally, ensure you survey demand in interest in advance. Visit some local tea rooms and shops and ask if they are interesting in getting a new supplier. And bring your samples! Before you start business you need to ensure you have completed all the legal and regulatory requirements in your area. This can be a complicated area so it's a good idea to consult an expert in small business start-ups to ensure all the bureaucracy is properly taken care of. You will need to officially register your business name, as well as registering with local state agencies. In the US you can do this through the government's Small Business Administration. Once you are ready to sell you need to begin marketing your tea. Your marketing plan should have taken shape when you were drawing up your business plan, and now it's time to put this into action. Try to market your brand in a way that speaks to your desired brand identity. You will need to consider how you will reach your audience and distinguish yourself from the competition. Using an social media campaign can be effective way to set yourself out from other older tea brands. Having a strong and consistent social media presence for your brand can help you to establish a distinct identity and foothold. You can consider including recipes and facts about tea to broaden your output.
Summary: Evaluate existing brands. Have a clear picture of your tea brand. Draw up your business plan. Find your tea leaf suppliers. Design and order your packaging. Create a sample box of tea. Decide how you will sell your tea. Register your business. Market your tea online and in person.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Dyeing clay can be messy. Make sure your hands and your work surface are protected from staining. Only work on disposable or washable surfaces, like a sheet of wax paper over a counter or a plastic cutting board. Wear plastic or rubber gloves, especially if you're working with oil paint or food coloring. Disposable gloves are best. Spend some time kneading and pressing the clay with your hands before you add the colorant. This will help it soften so it can absorb the color more quickly and evenly. Kneading means to repeatedly press your fingers into the clay.The time you spend kneading will depend on the temperature and altitude you're at, but it shouldn't take more than 5 minutes. You'll know it's done when the color is distributed evenly all through the clay. Be careful adding additional colorant--you shouldn't add more than a drop at a time. Be sure to knead the clay thoroughly after each drop!
Summary:
Set up your work surface. Knead the clay before adding colorant. Continue adding one drop of colorant until the clay is the color you want.