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.

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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!!