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Dishin’ About Business: Getting (and Staying) Creative

July 26, 2010 by 4 Comments

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Welcome to this weeks Dishin’ About Business!  If you’re just joining in, you might want to read previous  posts first.  I was so happy to see everyone linking up last week, and hope to see more get brave and join us this week!

This week we’re talking about getting, and staying, creative.  We all obviously have creativity running through our bones, but channeling that into something productive can sometimes be a challenge right?  First, we need to talk about the space we have to create in.  Some of us have a whole room (and feel very blessed to have that!!), some have a corner, some are delegated to using the dining room table in between meals.  But no matter where it is, we need to use our space to it’s highest potential.

For me, I have a whole room in the house devoted to my sewing business, unfortunately, it’s spilled out into the dining room as well.  I have a completely ridiculous fabric stash, that inhibits my creativity alot of times just because it’s overwhelming!  That also leads to my sewing room being quite messy most of the time, which impedes being creative even further.

As Kari talks about in the book, we need to use our space to it’s highest potential.  Wherever it is, make sure things are at least moderately tidy-I know I do better in a space that is slightly disheveled-as they say “A clean desk is the sign of an empty mind”! If you need organizational inspiration, there are a few Flickr groups you can browse around here (mmm eye candy!!), here,  here, and here to get you started.  If you know of any good articles or photo inspiration, please feel free to leave a comment with the link!

Another thing Kari talks about is having an inspiration board or wire.  Do you have one?  I don’t, YET.  I have a notebook I tape pictures in, but then it gets hidden away where I don’t really see it.  I do find alot of inspiration by just hanging out with my fabric, listening to it tell me what it wants to be (I really should get out more, I know).   Another place I’ve seen chatter about online recently for keeping inspiration pics in one place is Tumblr.  I haven’t really checked it out much, because to be honest, I don’t get it!  If you use it, would you mind explaining it to me on a toddler level? HA!

Staying motivated is another challenge we all face with no boss telling us what to do, etc.  Not only for actually creating products, but the “drudgery”-taking pictures, editing pictures, doing listings, answering emails, etc.  It gets tempting to just say “Meh, I’m tired, tomorrow” all too often for me.  I TRY and take it easy on weekends, focusing on spending time with the family and such, but I have massive guilt if I let emails go too long unanswered!

OK, are we ready for this weeks assignment?  It’s a 2 part one!  First, show us your space!  No, not the pretty ones from when you just painted the walls and got everything neatly put back in the room.  The real ones, that you go and snap and then immediately blog about it (you can see mine here from last week, I was unintentionally working ahead!).  I want to not just see pictures, but know how you make it work for you.  Second, leave us your tips on how to get and/or stay motivated to do even the not so fun things.  I’ll be doing my post about it tomorrow, but I want to hear from you.  Give “the class” your tips!  You can either link up to Mr. Linky, or leave them in the comments, either way, but speak up!

Glimpse into next week: Branding!!  OOOhhhhh..it will be a good one!

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Dishin’ About Business: Preparing for Success

July 19, 2010 by 10 Comments

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Welcome to week 1 of Dishin’ About Business!  I asked on Friday “What is your biggest stumbling block to success?”, and the main answer is “Fear”.  I’m right there with you!  But remember what they say, fear can be a powerful motivator so let’s put it to good use! Hopefully with this series, we’ll all work on overcoming our fears and by the end of it, be well on the way to our own successes!

Today’s post will be focused on Chapter 1 of The Handmade Marketplace, but you don’t have to own the book to participate (although I do highly recommend it, check it out over at Amazon!).

There are so many pros and cons to owning your own business-and all of those must be taken into account .  You need to take stock of your own work ethic, the time investment (not just creating, but everything from photographing to listing to back end paperwork), your support system and so on. Running your own business is a huge investment, but one thing is that if you feel like you get in too deep, you can step back without getting fired!

For me, my biggest challenge in this area is keeping myself focused and on task.  I refer to myself as an “ADD crafter”-while I stick to sewing as my medium, the number of projects I have going on at any given time verges on ridiculous.  So many times you hear that you need to focus-on one product (or product family), on one topic, etc. and at least for me that’s always been disheartening.  As you can tell from my blog (and as I’ve posted before), I don’t focus well on one thing, and for a long time I’ve felt like that makes me “less than”.  It was really nice to see in black and white that it’s OK to not focus.  Part of creating is following the flow from within, and your flow is what makes your creations your own.  Never second guess the good that that is, following your flow will ensure that you always love what you do.

Success Cartoon

Source

Ask yourself how serious you really want to be about this-do you want a business or a hobby that earns you a little bit of cash?  Are  you ready to make the necessary sacrifices to make it happen? For me, I want a business!  Getting to that end means we need to set out some goals.

Preparing yourself for success doesn’t just mean physically, it means mentally as well. Overcoming that mental stumbling block of fear is hard to do.  I know for me, I’m not just afraid of failing-I think I’m equally afraid of success if it comes.  Hopefully by setting goals and working steadily, I’ll be ready for the success I hope for.

Now, it’s time for your “homework”-whether it’s just a quick jot, or an entire step by step 5 year plan..take some time this week to sit down and write out your goals.  Write them up in a blog post (including a link to this series-feel free to grab the button up above), and then come back here and link it up! Next week we’ll be talking about your space, inspiration, and staying motivated-so keep coming back!!

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Dishin’ About Business: Starting next week!

July 16, 2010 by 5 Comments

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I am SO excited about this series ya’ll!  As you may remember, a few months ago I got a copy of The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin (I posted my initial review of it over on Stuff To Love, check it out!).  I’m seriously so in love with this book-my copy has notes all over the margins and bits of paper sticking out all over the place.  With all the “life crap” recently this series got pushed to the back burner, but now I’m finally ready to roll it on out!

You’re probably wondering “What the heck is she blathering on about? Dishin’ About Business?”, well let me tell you!  One of the things talked about so much in this book is community, how important working together is in order for any of us to reach success, we can’t do it alone.  That’s what blogging is about too, is it not?

My hope with this series is to dig into this book, go through bit by bit and get a serious “round table” type of discussion going-all of us talking about our successes, our tips, suggestions for one another, our struggles and SO much more.  Each week, using the book as a guide, I’ll be posting about a topic, telling a bit about my views on that area, asking questions of you all, and giving you an “assignment”.  Don’t worry, no grades, it’s purely an exercise in making our businesses more successful!

Remember, no one suggestion will work for every person, but I certainly hope that won’t stop anyone from participating.  Some of the topics will be:

  • Preparing for success-mentally, physically, etc.
  • Branding
  • Getting Legal
  • Marketing
  • and SO much more!

And just as a starter question for ya’ll to think about-what is your biggest stumbling block to success for your business? For me personally, I could point at a bunch of little things (5 small children, lack of funds to buy a great camera, husbands unemployment, etc.) or I could get to the root of it.  This is something I’ve thought about quite alot, and it boils down to low self confidence.  That affects everything, and not really in a good way.  But I’m just as afraid of success as I am of failure.  Quite the conundrum!

So hop on over to Amazon and get yourself a copy, even if you don’t participate in the series with us, I don’t think you’ll regret it if you’re even THINKING about starting your own handmade business! So come on back on Monday, ready to kick your business to the next level!  (Oh, and friend willing, I’ll even have that little bloggy button up there ready for you to grab and post on your blog as well!)

Disclosure: The book links are affiliate links through Amazon, if you choose to buy a book after going through that link I get like 1/2 a cent or something..just to be totally honest!  But even if you don’t buy it through that link, you should still buy it lol.

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Getting dragged into a good book

April 5, 2010 by 3 Comments

I’ve gotten dragged into this book tonight-The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally and Online by Kari Chapin.  When I first saw this book available, I had to get my hands on it.  I’m about a quarter of the way through so far, and I’m making tons of notes!

I’ll be doing a regular review over on Stuff to Love once I’m finished, but I’m planning to do a more in-depth and personal series over here.  I know quite a few of my readers are in the “handmade business” as well, and I have visions of some awesome discussions with this book as the jumping off point!

I’m a book lover from way back, and I’m really trying to get back to it-MAKING myself take even 15 minutes a day to read a bit.  I’m a fast reader so I plow through books like crazy (Twilight series?  Took me about 12 hours total to read all the books)..I need recommendations!!!  What are your faves (already out or coming soon)?  I love craft books, not a huge fan of traditional romance books but those in the “chick flick” vein are fine, mysteries, touch of sci fi…I’m a very eclectic girl so tell me what are YOU reading?

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