We’ve been family-owned and operated since 2007. Common Craft is really my wife, Sachi, and me. We personally produce all the videos, courses, newsletters, guides, and more.
Being small and independent, we’ve shaped Common Craft to be the kind of small company that we’d like to support. What does that mean to you?
First, it means having an authentic connection with customers. We see and respond to every email and comment. We’re flexible and ready to solve any problem you have. All you have to do is ask.
Second, we listen. Common Craft has always been shaped by your feedback. Being a small company means we can react quickly and make decisions that don’t have to go through committees. We want to know what you need.
Third, we’re focused on your goals. We don’t create explainer videos to get views or sell advertising. We don’t care about viral videos. Instead, we create videos that solve problems faced by educators. This is why we can create videos that explain topics like Academic Databases or Primary and Secondary Sources.
Fourth, we’re sharing our expertise. We want to encourage educators to become explainers and video producers like us because we believe few things are more powerful than clear communication. We’d rather collaborate than compete.
Fifth, we’re very good at what we do. Our videos and courses come from over 15 years of experience and a real passion for communication and education. We want to make learning easier and see animated videos as an underutilized tool for accomplishing that goal.
As you can see, Common Craft is not a traditional company, but we have traditional values. We create products that solve problems and those products come with a cost that educators tell us is fair. To us, every educator matters.
In this season of thanks, I want to thank you for being with us on this adventure. Many of you have been Common Craft members for many years and we are deeply grateful and dedicated to ensuring you have reasons to stay. Thank you!
My new book, Big Enough, arrives on September 15th and I can't wait to share it.
Big Enough tells the Common Craft story over a decade, with a focus on the experiments and decisions that helped us create a thriving two-person business that doesn't require an HR department. The book is for anyone interested in saner, healthier approaches to building a business that supports their values.
Pre-order the Book
Big Enough is available for pre-order in both ebook and paperback, using the links below. I hope you'll consider pre-ordering because you'll be the first to receive it and pre-orders help the book earn attention when it launches. The 90-second video below will make it clear.
Note: You can also pre-order from the book's home page and I'll send you free stickers and maybe Big Enough socks. :)
Explainer: Why Pre-Orders Help to Authors
From the Back Cover:
An eye-opening antidote to the endless-growth mindset, Big Enough offers an alternative path to career success
In this illuminating book, entrepreneur Lee LeFever gives an inside view of building a scalable, product-focused business—while never compromising on quality of life. Lee and his wife, Sachi, responded to the promise of the internet by building a home-based business, Common Craft, that was profitable yet small enough to pivot and innovate.
Lee takes you through the multiple business models they pursued—marketplace, digital product licensing, subscription services, distribution partnerships, and more—and offers his best tips for how you, too, can build a lightweight business that supports a life you love.
A must-read for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, business strategy, and e-commerce, Big Enough arms you with insights into how technology and innovation are changing the face of business—and how the science of happiness and the pursuit of values can help redefine what it means to be successful.
"A refreshing, personal guide to designing a business around the values that matter most to you. I found a lot to steal here, and I think you will, too."
—Austin Kleon, New York Times–bestselling author of Steal Like An Artist
"A practical business autobiography, approachable and useful."
—Seth Godin, founder of Akimbo.com
"If you are an entrepreneur with heart, you’ll love this book."
Thanks to the internet, a different kind of meeting is possible. Instead of attendees having to travel to meet, they can now participate in web conferences or webinars from anywhere with an internet connection. This type of meeting is becoming more popular and understanding it is an essential 21st-century skill.
This video explains the basics of web conferencing and how it’s used.
What it Teaches:
Meeting face-to-face is great, but it can be expensive and difficult to plan. That’s why web conferencing is becoming more popular. These systems allow a group to connect and share information using only an internet connection. This video explains the basics, It teaches:
Why face-to-face meetings are cumbersome and expensive
How web conferencing can be used to accomplish the same goals
How to create a web conference and invite attendees
What features are often used in web conferences
Why web conferencing can be more effective than normal meetings
Our video that explains plagiarism is one of our most popular and we saw an opportunity to improve the video's quality. Recently we created a cleaner, clearer and easier to understand version of the video. If you are a Common Craft member, you might consider switching to using the new version.
Recent Common Craft Videos
We now have 108 explainer videos in our library. Each video is designed to explain a subject so you don't have to. Common Craft videos can help save time in your classroom, course, training session or presentation. Here are the most recent additions:
Our latest video (suggested by a Common Craft member) is about flowcharts... and laundry.
New Video: Flowcharts - Explained by Common Craft
What it Teaches:
What it teaches: Using an example of washing laundry, this video walks through the process of creating a simple flowchart and discusses why flowcharts can be useful in many other contexts. It teaches:
• Why it’s important to be able to visualize a process
• How processes can be understood and improved using a flowchart
• Why organizations use flowcharts
• How to structure a simple flowchart
Using technology often means having a relationship with a company or organization. Accepting their Terms of Service agreements can be a required part of using the service. This video covers why these agreements exist, and how they can impact users. It teaches:
How Terms of Service agreements are easy to overlook
How lack of awareness about these agreements could cause problems
Why Terms of Service agreements exist
How Terms of Service can be used to understand a company’s policies
What you can do if you disagree with a Terms of Service agreement
We now have 101 explainer videos in our library. Each video is designed to explain a subject so you don't have to. Common Craft videos can help save time in your classroom, course, training session or presentation.
What if completing your goals felt more like a game, with points, competition and awards? That’s the goal of gamification - to motivate and engage people by making the completion of tasks feel like a game that you want to win.
What it Teaches
Gamification is becoming a bigger part of our lives and for good reason: it works. This video explains the concept of gamification and how game mechanics are used to motivate people to accomplish personal and professional tasks and goals. It teaches:
Why data and measurements are not enough to motivate people
Why products, services and organizations are using gamification
How an internal team uses gamification to complete a project
Why gamification is becoming a part of everyday life
