Have you seen the conversation about doing design work for craft companies for free?

It started with Jenny from Craft Test Dummies, but I didn't stumble upon it until Diane of Craftypod wrote a great piece urging crafters to value your work in the marketplace. Kim Werker wrote about how working “for free” has worked for her.

I commented on both Diane's post (here) and Kim's post (here)…but I want to dig into this from a slightly different perspective.

It's all about intention.

Whether you're working for yourself (like Kim when she built CrochetMe) or you're working for a Design Team for another company, your intention will determine the value of your work.

If you're a crafter who loves to make stuff and has no intention from making any money, working on a Design Time in exchange for product might be a dream for you.

But if you, at any point, intend to make money from what you're doing or hope to be paid for your designs, you (whether know it or not) are building a business and a brand.
And if you build your brand (how people in the industry know you) on free work…you can expect to collect a lot more free work.
If you seek out publication or paying design jobs, you will absolutely collect more paying jobs.

Every project you do broadcasts your intention.

And people pay attention to that.
Future customers, partners and fans notice and take note.

Doing free work broadcasts that your intention is to do free work. 

As a potential marketing tool (which is what “building a reputation” is), you can absolutely use free work to spread the word.

But with every free project, double check: is this building MY platform? Or someone else's?

When Kim built CrochetMe, it was her platform. She owned it and she controlled it.
When you give away a free pattern or sample on your blog or newsletter, it's connecting with your customers.

But when you write guest posts for other blogs you're building their platform. However, if their's is much bigger than yours, a simple link at the end of the article might drive enough new traffic to you to be worth it.

But when you design for a company who will use your design for free, you're building their platform. Will they link back to you? Will that drive new people to you or are you driving your people to them?
(hint: if anyone asks you to tweet or FB about something, they are asking for your audience) 

Some things are just for fun

I write guest posts, do joint classes, and contribute to the World Biggest Summit because I love the people who ask me.
Not everything has to be a profit and loss analysis…but something has to be or you'll wear yourself out working for free.

It all comes back to…..

What do you want?

Like I ask at the beginnig of the Map-Making Guide: what's your endpoint? What are you working towards?
Everything else can be judged by that: will this action/project get me closer? Or further away?

And if you're still doubting, just consult this flow chart.

Oh, and I wrote about this before: Should You Do Free?
(obviously I haven't gotten any cleverer when it comes to blog titles, eh?)

And now, two tiny announcement-y things:

1. A few months ago I offered a special Map-Making Live Help session to the SparklePointers and all the spots got snapped up. I LOVED the work I did with those delightful people, so I've decided to do 5 more sessions.  You can grab yours here.
2. The Starship is going to close to new Cadets on October 1st.

If you want to get inside this year and enjoy it for the rest of 2011, make sure you sign up before then.
A few reasons to join now:

• Tomorrow, we have a Holodeck Party. You bring whatever you're dealing with RIGHT NOW and you'll get a dose of smart answers from other craftybiz smarties (and me).
• Next week we'll have a Starship-only teleclass on getting referrals (with a live chat so you can ask your questions and get superquick answers).
• Next month I'll be teaching Right People 201, on defining and finding your Right People. We're gonna cover material that's in my new book. If you're in the Starship, you're in the class, no worries if it sells out.
• In November we'll revisit Holiday Sanity (take a peek at last year's info here).
• The Starship is helping me write my book by providing me examples and insight…it's like the Council of Elrond for the book.
• I really wanna hang out with you!

Choosing is hard

Last week I walked through the Map-Making Guide with the Starship. The first step (spoiler alert!) is setting an endpoint for the map – the specific, measurable goal you want to reach in the next 3-6 months.

It was this step, the most obvious starting place, that caused the most distress.

” I have these 4 goals and I'm going to work on all of them…”

“I can't pick just one!”

You love your craftybiz.
You love it's potential and all that it can become.

You want to honor all that it can be.

You want to keep it open and available.
You want to take it in every possible direction.

The sorrow of choosing

In choosing one, you are releasing other options.

(Just like in marriage.)

When you choose just one thing to focus on, you  acknowledge your own finiteness.

You recognize all that you want to do that can't be done (all at the same time).

Choosing one place for your focus means letting go of the other options and possibilities (for now).

And often we try to skip over this step, we gloss over the inherent sorrow in all those lost chances.

But it's ok. It's ok to mourn those other things. It's ok to be bummed you can't do it all.

Choosing is hard. There's a sort of loss when you choose one opportunity over another.

There's also a risk. One of the Starshippers put it beautifully when she said, “I don't want to verbalize my goal, because then I have to acknowledge my failure if I don't reach it. It's scary!”

Choosing is necessary

I'm not asking you to choose one thing for all time.
I'm not asking you to choose one thing for the next year.

In the Map-Making Guide, I am asking you to focus on one thing, one beautiful, magical endpoint for your map for the next month (or six).

In focusing like a laser, you are so much more likely to reach that place.
You are so much more likely to think creatively, overcome obstacles and just keep swimming until you get there.

It doesn't mean no other part of your business (or life) will get movement. In fact, you'll see crazy changes all over the place. When you choose one focus and work on it mindfully, everything in the periphery will transform and grow, because everything is everything.

When you choose, you're not choosing ONE success, you're choosing a ripple of successes, but you are focusing all your energy on the center of that ripple.

What's your biggest craftybiz question?

What do you feel is the biggest thing standing between you and your independence?

For most of my adult life, I thought it was knowledge.
I thought if I knew more, read more, studied more…I could craft the life I wanted.

And I brought that to you, to what we do together…I thought the thing you were missing was knowledge.

So I taught classes and built a Starship.

But then everything shifted. After about a month in the Starship, I realized that everyone  wasn't really asking “How Do I Do This?”

They were asking,

What do I do next?

How do I get there?

Now, it's easy to answer those questions with definite I-know-what's-right answer. I can say, You do this, then this and this. I can answer with my smarts.

But doesn't address the heart of the question.
It makes you dependent on The Person With The Answers.

YOU have the answers.

You know the things to do to build a successful business.

(and if you really are new to the whole business thing, the Starship is full of classes that teach you the basics)

What you really want to know is “How do I take what I know and turn it into what I want?”

When I realized this is the real question, I knew I don't want to give you another pile of smarts; I want to help you unfold what you know.
I want to help you compose your OWN map to your independence.

I want you to take everything you've learned
and turn into a path to walk.

And so I looked at my business: what really turned all that knowledge into independence?
It was a process: taking the knowledge, focusing on one endpoint and then breaking it down into it's parts.
Turning all that into something that would hold my attention until I got to the endpoint.

I took that process and I created a Map-Making Guide.

The guide will help you unearth all that you already know.
It will help you plan it out in a smart way.
And it will help you create something visual and visible that will keep your path in your mind, even when you get distracted.

You can get the Map-Making Guide right here.

What is keeping YOU from crafting your independence?
Knowledge? Or knowing how to apply that knowledge?

————

A huge thanks to two Cadets who helped make this Map-Making Guide possible:

Amy Crook illustrated a lovely stone map, princess, dragon and other map-tastic goodies.

Lori-Ann Claerhout was editor extrodinaire. She helped me clarify, simplify, and spell right.

Yesterday I wrote a guest post for Handmade Success about how important accountability is for your business. You can read the whole post here.

Today, I want to share my recent noticings about  accountability.

The last two months, I've been part of giant experiment in accountability and what it will do for brand-new craft businesses.

The Starship.

Let's face it, it's been over 5 years since I first started my craftybiz.
It's hard to remember all the hard parts of starting up. It's even hard to remember the challenges of the 2-years-into-it (first craft shows, first wholesale orders).

The Starship and all the sweet, vulnerable sharings of the Cadets* there has reminded me.

*Cadets is what we call members, no matter how advanced their business is. Once you complete the Map-Making Guide, you become an Ensign, and after each class you earn another pip + new title. It's really goofy.
There are no red shirts.

Through them, I can see how bewildering creating an online presence can be.
Through them, I can see how easy it is to doubt yourself.
Through them, I'm learning to go deeper, to communicate clearly, to hold back and watch the daring things they'll do for themselves.

But more than anything, I'm learning how important a community of peers, cheerleaders, and clear-headed advisers can be.

Working one-on-one is transformational, but can be short-lived. It relies on you to make the transformation.

Working with a group is a slower transformation, but you're gently held throughout the process.
You're encouraged and reminded and held accountable.
It's sustainable.
It soaks in deep.

And it's vitally important for the success of your business.

In my Handmade Success post I say:

It's hard to prioritize connecting when (online at least) it looks so much like time-wasting.

Our need for accountability, to stand around the (real or virtual) water cooler and talk about what's going on is deeply human and can't be ignored.
If you have a hard time putting in the time when you think of it as self-care (and I understand that!), then think of it as a business investment.
Study after study shows that the more connected we are, the greater our success will be.

 

The Cadets who take part in the Communication Station (forums) or the weekly check-ins make far more progress than anyone else in any other form I've worked in (classes, coaching, etc).

It's not just supportive and sweet, it makes real change.

Now, this isn't really about the Starship and its wonderfulness.

It's about community and finding yours.
It's about asking (and allowing) others to hold you accountable.

How can you get started on that today?

PS. You can get that community anywhere online (and there are some good tips here), but if you're looking for something a bit more craftybiz focused, check out the Starship.

This is dedicated to the girls on the Facebook page who asked for a bit o help breaking down the “Do Some Marketing” on their To Do List.

What do you do when you know you should do “marketing” but you don't know what that is?

Get specific

What does your business need right now?

Better connection with your people?
More traffic of the right people?
More repeat business?

If your answer was “more sales!” you're not being specific enough.

Where do you want those sales to come from?
People who already follow you on Twitter or Facebook?
Brand new people?
Past customers?

Hint: Almost every craft business can benefit MORE (quickly and with better results) from getting in touch with past customers.

But because I promised specific help, let's look at how to get in touch with past customers.

IF that's what your business needs next, you can do it under 2 hours:

1. Set up an email newsletter list (but give it a spiffier name than “newsletter”…is it a love letter? a diatribe? a missive of magnificence? call it that!). I like MailChimp.
2. Set up your welcome message and include something interesting in your “confirm” email (that's the message they get when they confirm their subscription)…a coupon, free shipping, access to a special just-for-them product.
3. Email your past 5 customers (one by one! don't spam them!) and ask them something about what they bought (be specific!).
   Tell them you want to thank them for their support so you're putting together a sneak peek behind-the-scenes bi-weekly (or monthly, or random) email and they'll get (fill in the blank) for signing up.
   Include a direct link to the sign-up page for your newsletter (Mailchimp makes this automagically, look for it under “forms” for your list).
4. Create a draft of an email that you are going to send to EVERY new customer. In it, tell them when their item will ship and how you'll send it. Thank them! Then tell them that you've created a missive of magnificence just for past customers and they'll get  (fill in the blank) as a thank you. Send this email to every customer, as soon as you receive their order.
5. As often as you've promised, send a sweet message thanking your people, asking for their input and sharing something secretly delightful about your business (a gorgeous inspiration photo, something that triggered your latest epiphany). Make it friendly, useful or inspiring, and relevant to what you make.

Remember!

This will only work if it's suited to your business and your people. Before you move forward with ANY to-do on your marketing list, make sure that it will bring you closer to your overall goal…don't just do it because someone tells you it will work.

Want more specific yet personalize-able help for navigating your marketing space? Check out the Starship, where we have a whole class on making a non-sucky newsletters.

Your business isn’t a thing on your to do list.
And it’s not a job.
It’s not a system (although it has systems) or a struggle.

Your business is a world.
A full-formed, bursting with adventure universe.

That world comes into being the moment you made the decision, the moment you committed to creating it.
Every item you’ve crafted, every sale you’ve made has shaped your world.
Even though you are the one building it, you still need to explore it.

While you weren’t looking, it grew residents (your right people, your encouragers). It developed a currency (based on your pricing) and it developed a culture with customs, traditions and language.

It’s a lovely place, really.

It’s filled with your beautifully crafted items, your people, your money.
Have you explored it lately?
Plumbed it’s depths to see what else you can create for it?
To see how you can better serve the people (thus growing the population and the treasury)?

If you’d like to explore deeper, create your own maps and guidebooks, I invite you aboard the Starship.

To celebrate this site’s one year anniversary, I’m throwing a  launching brunch for the Starship.

I’m cracking champagne over the bow, I’m making pancakes in the replicator.

You can join me in the Starship, of course, but you can also celebrate with me in the comments, on Twitter, and in the SparklePointers.

Do you ever say that to yourself?

When you know you should be doing one thing, but instead do another?
When you know what to do to move your business forward and just don't do it?
When you feel guilty for not doing better?

In our recent Starship chat, “I'm so bad” jumped out at me.  I heard it (in some form or another) from everyone.
From hard-working, thriving mavens.
From successful, I can't fulfill demand crafters.
From just getting started, don't know where to go next adventurers.

I thought (and said): You're doing what you can. This takes time and you're on the path. You might not be there yet, but you ARE taking steps to get you there.

And then, out of town visiting my mother-in-law for her birthday this weekend, I had a seizure of panic on Sunday morning. I turned to my husband and said, “If I was only working harder, I wouldn't feel so bad about taking this weekend off. If only I got more done last week! Ugh, I just feel awful!”

Jay, wonder-hub that he is, said, “You couldn't do anymore. What you're doing is enough. And you know it. You know that longer hours and more work doesn't lead to better work or more sales. It just wears you out.”

He was convincing and I was calmed, but I got to wondering, where does this come from?

Is there some gold standard of productivity, some level of business that we're all striving for? If so, where in the heck did it come from?

More importantly,  how did it insinuate itself into my relaxed, experiment-rich, journey of a business?

I find there's a tension (for some of us) between wanting to thrive, to grow, to move AND wanting to keep a Sabbath, to respect the cycle, to grow organically.

We worry that we're not doing, being, pushing enough while also knowing we need naps, floor stretches, and novel-reading.

We embrace the tenets of self-care and rejuvination when we're tired and burnt out, but rush back to pushing and judging when we're short on cash.

Clearly, an experiment is order.

But what?

What would help YOU remember that by going slow, taking time, taking naps you are refilling the well, not shirking your duty?

Share your thoughts in the comments and we'll build an experiment together.