Why "DECIDING" Means Ditching the Get It While We Can Mentality #8 counting down to 2011, maybe this is a countback

Yes, I realize it is already 2011, somehow these posts got a wee bit behind (sigh) ....

You might know this feeling, too.

The feeling that makes you say yes to work when you really need to say no.

When I had a cart in the mall, I never sold anything in the first 2 hours of any day

and yet everyday during this period I would start to get nervous like I would never sell another thing ever again -

it is the same feeling when you start to sell regularly on Etsy and then you don't for a day or two or maybe a week.

(now sometimes this is a good feeling - well, not a good feeling, but it produces a good outcome - a little kick in the keester that we need to encourage us out of a rut and into something new)

But, it is also the feeling that leads us to take on any work, any opportunity that comes along whether it fits in with our intention for our business and our life or not because this could all end tomorrow - doomsday - get it while we can - thinking.

This mentality can be the death of us in almost a literal sense because we will run ourselves ragged, undervalue our work and make promises that will be impossible to keep -

(although we will beat ourselves up trying)

We have to trust in our process.

Saying no sometimes is about self-love. To quote Dr. Phil -

(yes, I am quoting Dr. Phil now - don't hate me - does anybody else find it really weird the way he grabs his wife's hand and practically races her out at the end of every show - very odd - imagine if Oprah did that to Stedman, people would throw a net over her)

It teaches people how to treat us and more importantly confirms to us how we want to be treated. It tells the universe that we trust it; that stuff will still be there for us later - the right stuff.

(and that little voice in your head that screams - are you crazy, you can't turn this down, you are lucky to get paid for this - you can make 10 scarves in 2 days for $150.00 and ship them to Peoria - may get a little quieter - that voice may even crack open a bottle of champagne and whisper hallelujah)

* magical cupcakes print by raceytay

Happy 1/1/11 Everyone!

I think I am going to pay all my bills today

(maybe)

just so I can write 1/1/11 over and over - it feels so much like a do-over year to me - a year when anything can happen!

We managed to be awake at midnight

(but only because a stinkbug crashed into our ceiling, sending me flying for the lightswitch and Olive running under the bed - yes, the stinkbugs are back - if anyone has any stinkbug prevention tips let me know - we can't seem to figure out where they are getting in)

and someone on our street was setting off fireworks, very brave of them with the new state trooper station across the road.

I had a couple people email me about a previous post where I said something like our businesses are either busy growing or they're busy dying.

I definitely did not mean to imply that we have to have a big business. I think a small, profitable

(and there are kinds of profit other than monetary profit although monetary profit is usually pretty important at some point in the life of a business)

business is a wonderful, miraculous thing we should all be proud of. Maybe instead of growth I should have used the word change.

Because I could see where growth might infer something getting bigger and bigger which does not have to be our intention at all with this creative thing we are growing.

(oops there is that word again)

I do think that when you create something from your heart you give it one thing and it gives you back another thing and this process is about growth even if nothing ever gets any bigger ....

Anyhoo, I hope everyone gets to write 1/1/11 at least once today!

* Year of the Rabbit calendar print by Brooke Woolley

Happy New Year's Eve Everyone!

I am making guacamole and cleaning the house

(the thrills never end here folks)

we used to have movie marathons to keep our daughter up until midnight, but now we are the ones trying to stay awake -

(sigh)

hoping everyone has an amazing and safe New Year's Eve - tomorrow starts a brand new year and I have decided that it is going to be fantabulous for all of us!

*photograph by matt allen photography

6 Business Lessons I Learned in 2010 - advice from one crafty maker to another

1. Deals with big catalog companies do not always translate into big dollars for little maker companies

(enough said)

2. Stores are not always ready to buy when we are ready to sell - repetition is a key to success with mailings and store contacts.

(maybe with everything now that I think about it)

Instead of moving on to new stores too quickly when a postcard doesn't generate any interest, I have found if I mail to the same store again (and sometimes again) I usually get the account.

(note - make sure your postcard is awesome,

< ---- mine is

the store is a good fit for your work and you mail directly to the owner, manager or buyer and follow-up with a phone call - I always call just to check in that the postcard arrived and let them know about a "special" I am having that week)

3. Store accounts need to be reminded to re-order.

When I started calling shop owners to see if they needed more stock (instead of just assuming my stuff wasn't selling because I hadn't heard from them) - my re-orders went way up.

(shop owners are as busy as we are)

4. Being in control might make us feel safe but that is pretty much the only benefit. Sometimes things fall apart so they can fall together.

We need to let go sometimes.

5. Some of this social networking has got to go. I am becoming less averse to automating certain things or just eliminating them all together.

There are only so many hours in the day.

6. I have been avoiding growth and change (partly because I want to stay small and personal, but mostly from pure exhaustion) but static, maintenance mode doesn't work - no matter how firmly we dig in and put in roots we will be uprooted -

Our business is alive.

It is changing everyday - whether we like it or not.

(we cannot stop this anymore than we can stop our toddlers from becoming preteens, although we would sometimes like to)

Static, maintenance mode will not work for long -

our income will drop, our work will become outdated, the competition will swoop in and undercut us, we will stop innovating -

for our business to survive it must be growing. The good news is we get to decide how that will happen.

It doesn't have to mean more work for us, in fact it has to mean more freedom and more creation because otherwise we might as well all get a real job with a 401K and dental insurance.

(if such things exist anymore)

There is a way to do this without putting in more hours (I don't have any), learning any more techno crap (my head will explode) or losing the personal nature of my handmade, upcycled business - I refuse to sell out.

We will find the way.

(I probably learned way more than this, but my head cold is still causing my noodle to be even foggier than usual and these are the first things that come to mind - hope someone finds them helpful)

*learn more things print by NayArts