Showing posts with label biz advice for crafters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label biz advice for crafters. Show all posts

Navigating Change for Makers Part IV - it's not a time to go historic, it's a time to have faith in ourselves

As a maker with a maker business

(or a wannabe maker business - which is an exciting, and yes, sometimes scary, place to be, too)

at a time of immense change when we do not know what to do next - when life is cracking us wide open and up is down and down is up -

it is often the time to be still and listen (ie hear and pay attention).

We hope the answers will come to us quickly - and sometimes they do - but often life wants us to have this empty space.
It's not a time to panic -
it's a time to stop.

(and sometimes the problem isn't that we don't know when to stop, but that we don't know how to get unstopped - and sometimes when we just can't get clear on where we are going it is because we are already exactly where we are supposed to be and we just haven't made full use of it yet)

Prayer and affirmations are a great way to ask for what we need, but meditation is really the best way to listen.

This listening part can take awhile.

Sometimes we have to let pieces of our life (and other people's lives - we are all connected after all) shift to allow what needs to happen to happen. We have to trust that there are lots of things going on behind the scenes - we have to have faith.

This can be the hardest part for people who like to take action. But our fallow times are there for a reason - the universe can't send us stuff - ideas, people, connections, etc - if we haven't made room in our life for it.

Fallow times can bring up alot of fear.

(Asking ourselves - is there any excitement in this fear? because there almost always is - is a good idea. We are designed to move through fear - we were not designed to play it safe)

Fear is faced with courage which means speaking one's mind by speaking one's heart. We always have to do what works for us.

(and sometimes we find out what works for us by finding out what doesn't work)

A few years ago

(after 9/11 but before the Iraq War)

I trademarked the words Homeland Security Blanket - I made a few sample blankets with the tagline "don't forget to tuck and cover".

Then the Iraq War started and almost over night this entire concept that I had put so much time and energy into just didn't work for me anymore. There were still plenty of people who would have bought my blankets, but it just wasn't in my heart to make money with them.

If I had stayed with this - I'm sure I would have made money, maybe as much money as I have made with Olive Bites, maybe more,

but I would not have made the life I have now. I let it go trusting that something better and more authentically me was waiting.

When I first started my new lines I had absolutely no idea I would be making a living with cork and car parts. I had decided to go back to school and was looking to make enough money to pay for that. I had no idea where following my heart would lead (and of course I still don't).

"This doesn't work for me" is a higher reason to not do something than "this isn't going to pay my bills".

I would not have thought I could pay my bills with my jewelry and believe me I did enough craft shows pre-Etsy with poor sales that it was only the knowledge that I knew I was speaking my heart and would find my place that kept me moving forward.

Sometimes people give up too soon and decide - "this isn't going to pay my bills" - and maybe it won't, because many things don't - but it could evolve into something or lead us to something or take us somewhere that will.

This is a time in our planet's history when we are being asked to give things up (or life is prying those things from our fingers - which is why I do not worry about broken nails anymore) - it is time to let go of what isn't working because we are meant to have so much more.

And this "more" isn't always something external because life is big and messy and complicated (and small and neat and simple - isn't that amazing!).

Sometimes the desire to create a business is more about what that "desire" does for us inside than about the thing we are trying to produce which may or may not make us money now. Maybe the desire is preparing us for something else later.

1. Give Something(s) Away (Part II)
2. Make Something (Part III)
3. Listen
4. Then Choose Wholeheartedly

As always I will wrap up this series with the disclaimer that following any advice on my blog could result in you ending up living in your parents' basement and addicted to Angry Birds, so proceed at your own risk

(unless of course this would be an improvement over your current living situation in which case I will take full credit for your success).

* released print by oreilly ink

stop waiting for THE opportunity, the one you have IS the opportunity

We may be waiting on the perfect job for the perfect customer

(the job that will make us a household name like Windex or Brillo or ... uh, wait, not them, like Martha, yeah that's better like Martha or the project that will keep us busy with something challenging for awhile)

the problem with waiting is that it leaves us ... well, waiting. It is a pretty reactive place to be.

And I am not talking about going out and making it happen in this post

(although yes, we do have to do that sometimes, although maybe not as often as you might think)

but about just taking the job that you have in your hand, the one that you have done before, the one that you could do in your sleep, the one that is on your work table right now and making that job THE job.

Get out of that ego place that tells us that we are not doing enough - be joyful about that bird in hand.

*bird in the hand print by Tammy Olson

NOTE - I wrote this post several weeks ago and for some reason never posted it. I pulled it out today because I still feel it is valid and timely and hope someone will resonate with it.

The truth for me these days, is that there are so many bigger things going on in the world that talking about business right now feels very small potatoes

(as my grandma would have said - sniffle)

and I feel a certain sense of disconnect with it. At least in terms of posting about growing our businesses - what I really want to be writing about is this incredible opportunity we have as creators to be helping the world evolve into something better ... and maybe I will ....

xo

your relationship with your other ball and chain (at least if you are a jewelry maker) ...

Being a professional maker - which means making things that you sell -

no matter how many of those things you are actually selling

is kind of like having another marriage -

(or a first marriage for you singletons or another civil union for those who are unjustly unable to even get married in the first place)

a marriage - that hopefully started with the falling in love part -

maybe love at first sight

(which I am pretty sure I have never experienced with man or makings)

or maybe the love that grows on you over time until you are thinking "hey, I think I've got something here"

(which I find to be true of both man and makings ... *winks at hubs*)

And that marriage started out with passion with a capital P - it was red hot - you could have fried an egg on your brain it was working so hard

(or maybe that was when you were on drugs, I forget, but there was some egg frying at some point, I'm sure).

I mean we were up all night with this stuff - our heads and hands full of ideas. We couldn't sleep. We couldn't eat (well, except for me, I can always eat, actually). We were creating.

This is what we will call the "falling in love" part of building a business, the fun part, the part where dreams are made flesh in the form of ingenious and original little whoseewhatsees (yes, I said whoseewhatsee).

But, alas just like any marriage this honeymoon phase is destined to give way eventually to the "you must work at it - this stuff is work, did you think you were going to get to party like it's 1999 forever" part of building our business -

the part that separates the men from the boys, the one night stands from the relationships, the divorce lawyers from the 25 year anniversary dinners.


And this working part of our business is just as important as the working part of a marriage until ... well, until it just isn't working anymore ...

which is the reason you need a brand and not a business, a brand and not a product, a brand that is all about you - so when the working part isn't working for you anymore

(this is not a death til us part kind of marriage after all)

you can saunter off (yes, I said saunter) in a new direction and take your people (ie cohorts, friends, customers) with you while still staying true to your brand because you are your brand.

You are your brand, right? That is a kind of important part of my theory here because when the working part is just not working for you, you need to be able to make changes. A creative without that passionate honeymoon phase to fire 'em up once in a while (this is an open marriage after all) will find the work to be well ... work. And when your makings become just work to you, well, people can tell and most importantly you can tell.

When artists become business people who are left to be artists?

(disclaimer - I stole borrowed this line from an HBO mini series about doctors, but I think it applies equally to creatives)

Passion must come first or we are just business people who make things.

(and that sounds like an awful thing to be and would look just crappy on your business card)

And, keeping that passionate spark lit in the midst of production and business thinking can be a challenge; maybe the biggest challenge of your business.

Part II later this week - Being a Candle in the Wind

* just because I love you card by TheWallaroo

15 Craft Shows Tips & Tricks to sell more, stress less and have more fun - part deux

7. Nothing Draws a Crowd Like a Crowd - when I had carts in the mall I always had my hubby and daughter come by and ooh and aah over my stuff and make it look popular.

(maybe it's human nature to want what you think other people want and I think sometimes people hesitate to approach a booth when the only person in sight is the seller)

8. Smile

(but not one of those big creepy smiles where you show your gums and everything)

Make eye contact. Say hello and ask people how they are doing. Don't pressure people looking around in your booth. Most people like to browse. It's great to tell people interesting info about something they are looking at, but choose your approach smartly and don't be pushy.

(note- most makers are not pushy, most makers are the opposite of pushy- most of us need a little 'push' in our delivery)

9. Talk about the benefit to the buyer.

When customers would approach my lockets, I used to say "these are made from a little recycled auto part" and they would usually go "wow" and get kind of glassy eyed -

(I still cannot understand why people do not see the benefit in having an auto part hanging around their neck)

then I would say the locket is magnetic and the lids are interchangeable - well that was when they perked up.

The problem was that in a busy show - I didn't always get to that part before their eyes wandered. It didn't take me long to realize that what I thought was the coolest part - the auto part that seemed so clever to me - was not the benefit for most customers - so I started talking about the magnetic lids first and putting them in people's hands

(the lids clicking off and on are somewhat irresistible to us fidgeters)

and my sales went way up.

I did a show with Vinnie (somethingwhimsical) who sells these little BOB (bunch of bolts) necklaces and everytime a customer approached and smiled at his necklaces he would say "they come with an instruction book".

(I heard this about a hundred times that day - I still hear it in my sleep)

Now this instruction book is really something else - it is cool and clever and witty, but maybe not the first benefit to the customer.

When his wife was nearby she would chirp in with - they are called BOB for bunch of bolts and also named as a homage to Vinnie's father BOB who made these for him as a child - well that was the grabber to people because it made it personal and a little story that they loved even more than the alien story in the instruction book and they would be hooked.

10. Make It Personal. You made it. Be proud of It.

I did a show with another maker (briefmoments) who sells these gorgeous kaleidoscope pendants.

Now as soon as a customer approached, Maribeth would immediately own her work. She would say "I make these from bits and pieces of my photographs" and then go on to explain her process. People were immediately intrigued and because she was so enthusiastic (and her work so gorgeous) she sold tons that day.

This was her first craft show and my 30th plus, but I learned something very important from watching her own her work.

So now instead of saying "these are made from a recycled auto part" (not the first thing I bring up but I do say it) - I say "I clean, drill and weld these from a recycled steel car part" - the "I" is the important part because the benefit is often the handmade part - why would the customer want my locket more than some China-made copycat necklace at their drugstore - well, because I am a talented, amazing artist (ack) and I made it! We have to own our work!

Back tomorrow to finish up these tips and tricks!

*fast crowd vinyl print by lori gordon

How to Use Polarity To Make Things Happen (you do not need a locket for this, but it might help)

I have been sitting on this series and considered not posting it because I feel like I am getting a little too heavy and serious with my blog these days

and preachy, maybe a little too preachy, but then I thought maybe someone will resonate with it and since it was mostly finished anyway, I talked myself back into posting it ... so here goes ...

(so much for 2011 and my year of deciding)

"I believe in polarity."

(not the locket here, although I believe in that, too, but the polarity that makes our thoughts into things. The non-content part of our thoughts - the energy part or at least the direction of that energy part - the part that makes things happen.)

Mostly polarity is not a thing people question -

(except maybe the same people who question human activity's impact on the environment)

but, polarity's part in the manifesting of our intentions is not something that can actually be proven.

(in the same way as melting glaciers and the depleted ozone)

I will try anyway.

Last week I talked about Cousin Daisy Mae and her amazing ability to manifest just about anything she wants through self discipline, passion and intention. There is one thing that I didn't mention about Cousin Daisy Mae.

(and I should add that her name isn't really Cousin Daisy and she may even be a he, but I can promise you this person does in fact exist and would probably never in a million years recognize themselves here or even read my blog)

Cousin Daisy Mae is a clinically diagnosed (although maybe only by me while sipping my green tea and puzzling through my sudokus) narcissist. She is the most self-absorbed, selfish person you may ever meet.

She is a master taker, a master manipulator, a master liar - well, let's just say Cousin Daisy is all about Cousin Daisy.

Since we were kids I have watched her manifest her every intention (and I would guarantee she never thinks the word manifest or intention and most likely nothing any deeper than - "hey, that's cool, I want one") - with maybe a little background thought of I deserve that.

I am truly, truly grateful though to have her in my life because she has taught me some incredibly valuable lessons about energy and manifesting.

I believe thoughts are things and that they have both content and energy. So when we set an intention to create something - the thought that gets this creation started includes 1. the content of that thought and this content part is important - so if your intention is to create health for example - the intention: I am healthy (good) is much better than I am not sick (not so good) and you are probably aware of this and there is lots of information out there on thought content if this interests anyone, so I am not going to get into it here -

and 2. the energy of that thought - now most of our thoughts have a neutral energy because they are kind of low-level nonsense stuff

(I have to do laundry, here comes the mailman, hmmm... Olive needs her nails clipped)

and we can even spend hours holding low-energy thoughts with great content (positive daily affirmations like - I am happy, for example) and we will manifest virtually no emotion, no action, and most likely no results.

Now energy is not something we create. It simply is. It is always there. What makes us feel strong emotion is not the energy itself (which is always there) but the flow of energy moving through us.

Our intention needs to get us so fired up (and if it doesn't why are we intending it anyway) that real emotion is created (and that emotion can be joy or love and it can also be greed or lust because this stuff is non-judgemental) that we are (for example) talking so much about our new idea or concept or way of being or thingamajiggie that people are telling us to "shut up about it already" then maybe we have something real.

And speaking of  "new" (which intentions do not have to be, of course) I have read a couple posts lately suggesting that maybe there are no new ideas anymore and sometimes posts supporting taking something that is already out there and making it better and I really couldn't agree less.

I believe there are people with new ideas every day, every second of every day, and these new ideas and concepts and ways of being and thingamajiggies are being thought up by people who believed a new idea was possible -

(if we think there is no such thing as a new idea then I am pretty sure we will never have one)

and as for taking someone else's idea and making it better - well, what is better? and I am talking art here and not functional automobiles and washing machines - if someone has created something from their heart and soul and taken it from step 1 to step 10 and we bounce in and take it to step 11 to make it better than what have we really created anyway? - probaby nothing any more impressive than a possible copyright infringement.

And I am not talking about inspiration here - which we obviously take and give to each other all the time and is something that absolutely needs to flow, but that is a whole other post.

Back Wednesday with Part II - How Daisy Does It

and my legal department (ie Olive and her best friend Ruby)  likely due to the possible conflict between next week's blog title and an 80's bachelor party flick (maybe there really are no original ideas) suggest that I add my usual disclaimer.

Disclaimer - since I am not an expert in energy and cannot be said to actually know what I am talking about, I cannot be held responsible for any actions you might take from reading any of my posts - please keep this in mind if you end up in your parents' basement obsessed with sudokus and green tea.

(unless of course, this would be an improvement over your current living situation, in which case, I take full credit)

Check out my Etsy shop critique this week for a wonderful sustainable jewelry shop Nature's Art Melbourne HERE and don't miss the last few days of love, maude's giveaway HERE if you haven't entered yet.

Next week I have my biggest dollar value of any giveaway ever - it starts on Monday and you won't want to miss it! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

xo

when a hug isn't really a hug ....

I recently had a conversation about Facebook with my brother. He believes that Facebook represents the time we are living in and is not something a business person desiring 'personal' connections with people can just skip.

This is where my problem comes in becomes I can't totally silence the little voice in the back of my head

(the little voice that is often right)

that tells me something is not quite right about all of this.

I once read something like - you’re an introvert if you recharge your batteries while being alone and you’re an extrovert if you recharge in the company of others - and most people are somewhere in the middle and can do both.

When my daughter was little and I had a job in a place outside of my house, a place with other people, I definitely recharged from time spent alone.

Now, that I am alone alot - pretty much the opposite is true - I need the company of others more and more often to recharge.

Now, sometimes this 'company of others' takes place on Twitter and Facebook and Tumblr or wherever ... and these things do fill us; for a little while - the feeling just doesn't last though.

(kind of like eating Chinese food)

There's a great deal of talk about the business value of social networking.

I can't help noticing that alot of this talk is circulated by people trying to make money from it. But taking advice about how the fish are biting from the girl selling you the bait is not the best idea.

(this advice is kind of like the sellers on Etsy with ebooks about how to make money selling on Etsy who have never sold anything other than ebooks about how to make money selling on Etsy - now if this person wants to tell me how to make money selling ebooks on Etsy, well then, I'm listening ... but otherwise not so much)

Anyhoo, back to Facebook. Yes, it is happening right now. Yes, I am a part of this world, right now. Yes, I do not want the world to pass me by ...

(well, except for maybe that honeysuckle color that is Pantone's color of the year - I am just not feeling it, that can pass me by, I think, and Charlie Sheen he can pass me by, too)

but maybe there are ways to raise our visibility without always raising our accessibility. I just don't think this is all sustainable.

For now, I continue to update my Facebook and tweet once in a while - I am not about to jump completely out of these fast moving waters because it may be very hard to find my stroke if I have to jump back in.

(did anyone see that guy on Dr. Phil who gets off work at 3 and then runs until 6, all the while photographing his run and then spends every night after dinner updating his Facebook or blog about his run ... while his wife goes crazy with the kids and his entire life falls away from him and he doesn't even notice)

But, I think it is time for me to challenge myself socially and get out there in the real world because I don't want those muscles - that were never exactly Linda Hamilton in Terminator II anyway - to weaken to the point where upon meeting new people I immediately become their 'friend', give them a hug and a friendly poke (not too friendly) and a great big thumbs up.

(so today it's back to the library and off my Nook - a little face to face time with other readers and I think our librarians have been missing us ... baby steps)

* print #17 from HappyTownUSA

where the path of least resistance might really lead us ...

"the path of least resistance is for losers" - H.G. Wells

Now, I have no idea the context of this quote and don't know much about H.G. Wells other than that he wrote "War of the Worlds" -

which before it was a Tom Cruise blockbuster was used in a radio broadcast about a martian invasion of Grovers Mills, New Jersey -

(which I can assure you would be the first place for an invasion especially if these were desperate pizza-addicted aliens willing to sit in bumper to bumper traffic and pay high tolls to get some amazing thin crusts)

that was so believable people actually leaped to their deaths rather than face this potential calamity.

I would agree that the path of least resistance isn't a path that you can be on from birth to death and actually get anywhere - you will end up in the basement of your parent's house, with your mom doing your laundry and dad paying you in quarters to cut the grass on Sundays -

(although there are days this does not sound so bad to me)

but, I don't want to be beating my head against the wall all the time either.

(and I really can't spare the kind of brain cells this beating might endanger)

Can't the path of least resistance be the appropriate path sometimes?

Some of the best things in my life have come to me, at least in the early stages, rather effortlessly.

I met my husband on a blind date I totally did not want to go on (still married), I got the best job I ever had while using their restroom, bought the first house we looked at (still here - not sure I would recommend this one, but it has worked out for us)...

Of course at a certain point these effortless things get a bit efforty and then you get to decide just how much you want them and whether you want to push through the resistance, that is sure to come up sooner or later,

and the importance of that pushing may be more about the muscles you will get from the process than whether or not you actually get where you think you want to go or get what you think you want to get

Maybe, the start of a very good path for us could look like the path of least resistance - I am not going to climb through sticker bushes when there is a perfectly plowed path to the ocean, after all

(of course if those sticker bushes lead to a private beach, and I know the owners are in Hawaii for a week, well, I might just put on some heavy denim and plow through - not that I have ever done this)

but when that perfectly good path has some rocks and detours and sticker bushes of its own as it will sooner or later, I'm not exactly going to turn around

although sometimes when that path turns into a 10 ft brickwall we may need to find a way around it or regroup to grow the muscles we will need to climb that or decide if we even want to because how many times have we really, really pushed and moved mountains for something only to find it really wasn't what we wanted anyway - it didn't make us happy ...

I don't think the path of least resistance is for losers - sometimes it is for smart people avoiding sticker bushes and Jersey traffic.

Disclaimer - since I am not an expert in resistance and cannot be said to actually know what I am talking about I cannot be held responsible for any actions you might take from reading any of my posts - please keep this in mind if you end up in your parents' basement playing Guitar Hero in which case I would recommend a Nook and some H.G. Wells.

* a hazy stretch of grey print by leahtree photography