2010 - Page 5 of 12 - Tara Swiger

Year: 2010

Love Letter to…you?

I wrote you a letter.

Well, maybe it's for you.
But I don't know yet!

Huh?

Sometimes, when I'm working on sharing a thing, I write a letter. Sometimes the letter is to the THING (like, to a specific class) and sometimes it's to a person; the Person the Thing is for (like, to an IdeaStormer).
This is a super-useful practice I learned from Havi.

This morning (ok, it was 3am, I was awake with this crazy idea), I realized that I have time to do three IdeaStorming sessions live, face to face, when I'm in New York City.

I've never done an in-person session (although I've taught hundreds of live knitting lessons), and I got SO excited thinking about how awesome it would be to do my favorite thing with the Person right there.

I got all atwitter and couldn't get my thoughts clear, so I wrote this letter. I wrote it as if you scheduled a session and I am welcoming you, telling you a little about what you can expect.

I don't usually share these letters (I wrote it in my journal, as you can see from the pictures), but I just feel like it today.

If the letter is meant for you, I hope you love it.

IMAG0805

Darling,

Hello! I am SO excited to get to IdeaStorm with you!

Did you know that IdeaStorming is my MOST favorite part of my work?

It's true! I adore thinking about another business (or a yet-to-be-hatched business) and looking at all the ways it could grow.

And this isn't empty gushing.
IdeaStorming is my Great Work.
It's the thing that makes my heart sing.
It's the work that everything has been leading to.

My ideal day has an IdeaStorming session, as the first work I do.
My dream job is a day full of writing and IdeaStorming.

And you! You, my darling crafter!
You are full of possibilities.

You may be a little confused now…or a little overwhelmed.

But that's ok.
Because I can see clearly.
See your strengths, see your path and see your success.

I have hope.
Clear, unfettered, feathery hope.

For you.
For your craft.
For our work together.

Restricting that hope or trying to ignore it…I've tried that.
And it made me small, constricted, hesitant.

Letting that hope out of the cage; it freed me, inspired me, stretched me.
In a delightful, delirious way.

That's why I'm writing you, darling crafter, to let you know that I have a table at a cafe.
There's a seat for you, for me and one for Hope. I'm saving our seats, delighted to have you join us.

Here's how it works: you bring your baby business, with all its uncertainties and worries.
I'll bring Hope and clarity and the space for us to play.

IMAG0809

See you soon!
Maybe in NYC?

Tara

PS. If this isn't the time for you, I understand. Know that I'm here, with basketfull of hope muffins and a thermos of clarity (on the blog, for free) that you're welcome to.

——-

And that's it!

I have no idea what “clear, unfettered, feathery hope” is, but I like it!

If the letter was written to you, you can get an IdeaStorming session right here. If you want to have it face-to-face in NYC, the weekend of 9/24, I'll email you (after you buy it) and we'll figure out the details!

NYC or Bust

I am so super excited to be planning a trip to New York City!
I'll be in town from September 24 – 26 (for the Bust Craftacular at the Maker Faire) and I would love to hang out with you, my fellow crafty biz people!

(This is only some of the yarn I'll be bringing)

I'm still trying to figure out the wheres and whens, so I still get it all figured out I'm collecting info about who wants to hang out.

If you think you'll be in town and you might want to meet other crafty people or get together for a one-on-one IdeaStorming, let me know by signing up here.

I have no ideas yet on where we might meet, so if you have any ideas, please share them in the comments.

I hope to see you soon!

Good Shtuff: Sparkles + Unicorns Edition

Good Shtuff is a weekly(ish) snippet of the stuff I’m reading, listening to or watching.

This week, it’s all about the sparkles, glitter and culture.

Last week (I think it was Friday), I read three posts, all in a row, all about the SAME thing.
There's something in the air.
Or something is changing.
Or, you know, maybe this is just really good advice.

Unicorns

David Crandall wrote about How unicorns improve your business. It's true! Show your love for unicorns (or pink hair or blueberries) and you suddenly become a real person and can connect with other real people

Glitter

Naomi discussed Glitter (uh, not the movie, the sparkly stuff) and the amazingness of creating a brand. But ew, the word “brand” sounds so…intentional or manipulative. But that's not what she's talking about. Go read it.
(As always with Naomi: language alert!)

Culture

Havi wrote about culture (not the yogurt kind, the people kind). More than anyone else I know online, Havi has this culture thing down. Spend more than 3 minutes on her site and you get it. Even though none of it is…defined. It's obvious without being stated. I've been thinking a lot about this obvious-yet-unstated thing and I still haven't figured it out, so it was a treat to read her thoughts on it.

What do you think about these three posts? Do they spark some glittery unicornish cultured ideas for you?

Your questions, answered: newslettery video edition

This is a regular-ish thing, where I answer your questions about an upcoming class. I hope it helps you decide if the class is right for you (and if it’s not, I hope the answers spark something for ya.)

Today, we're talking about tomorrow's class: Send a Delightful Newsletter. I was inspired to answer via video. If video isn't your thing, I've got a short summary of my answer under each video.

What does this class cover?

We're going to cover:

What: What should you send? What kind of information would delight your People? What's your goal for your newsletter?
Who: Who's gonna get this? How are you going to get people to sign up?
When: How often? What days + what times?
How: How do you make it irresistible?

Is this class for me?

Both classes are for the selling-your-crafty-goodness crowd. Or at least, it's for those of you who are trying to sell your crafty goodness. If your sales aren't regular, having a newsletter will help you steady those sales. In the video, I get on a tangent about WHY having a newsletter will help you steady your sales.

Let me know in the comments if you like the video answers or if you prefer text.

Rob + Sam are crafting a (photography) business

This is the third in a series of interviews with smart people who are crafting a business. Part friendly chat, part case-study, all helpfulness!
If you know someone I should interview (even you!) let me know.

Today I'm talking to my friend Rob, who has the dubious honor of being the first of these interviewees that I knew pre-Blonde Chicken Boutique. In the 6 years I've known him, he married the gorgeous Sam (who I taught to knit!), made an adorable baby (see below) + grew a photographry business.

How'd you get started in photography?

I have liked photography as far back as I can remember. I always like learning a new skill, even if I don't pursue it beyond learning the basics, and both my grandfathers were amateur photographers.

My father is a bit of a photographer, and so when my sister was old enough to start learning photography she took his camera. And he eventually bought a newer, slightly nicer camera. Once I was old enough to start really experimenting with photography I took over that camera. No doubt, in a few years my son will have his eyes on my camera.

For me, it was the first form of art where what I produced matched or approached what I had imagined. My drawings, and later my prints and sculptures, rarely end how I hoped when I started.

What led you to start the business?

I never planned on photography as business.

Photographers become known for their style and themes, and I had a hard time imagining my path to success would be a nationwide fame for documenting my parents' back yard.

My mother is a ceramic artist, and we went to a lot of craft shows. In my mind, craft show photography and gallery photography were my two choices.
Service photography, I hadn't thought about. Later I would consider
journalism, portraiture, studio, and event photography, but that all
came after my first professional work.

How it really began…

One day, I go over to my friend Westen's house. Right after I arrive,
I overhear her mother say,

“It's ok, Rob will take care of it.”
“Hey Westen, what am I going to take care of?”
“Rob, you might be a little annoyed.”
“Why don't you tell me while I make a sandwich.”

A delicious sandwichis very calming, so I started making a sandwich.

“You're going to be my wedding photographer.”
“Westen… there are normally steps, like, ‘Hey Rob, guess what, I'm
engaged' and then maybe a ‘Hey Rob, can you do my wedding photography?' and so I feel like me overhearing you already telling people I'm the photographer is kind of doing it wrong.”
“But that's not what I did. So now you're my photographer.”
“Okay then.”

And from then on I was a professional wedding photographer.

How has your business changed through the years?

What's changed the most, and continues to change, is the amount of not-photography that my wife and I do as part of the business.

We had a very unique business model for our location when we started. Sam
was my just girlfriend at the time of the first wedding, but I realized I was in over my head, and needed a partner to help me through. So we always shoot a wedding with two photographers. Not a photographer and an assistant, but two full photographers.

And does that make you different from most wedding photographers?

When we moved to Madison, what made us unique in Dayton (2 photographers) made us part of a regular subset of wedding photographers: husband and wife teams. So
as I started to realize how much more competition we had, I wondered
what would make us stand out now.

What makes us stand out from photographers in the sames groups? It's our experience, and how we share it with the customer. As we learn from each wedding, we are able to share with our customers what we've learned about making the day go smoothly.

We share so much information with our customers, starting right at our
first meeting. We make sure that we're the right fit for the customer. As much as we would like everyone to hire us, we have a specific service we offer, and it's not right for everyone. It's better to make sure you really are the customer's ideal, than to have a large base of unsatisfied customers.

We start fishing out what the customers' are looking for, and giving back to them a sense of how we will be able to meet their needs. There's a balance that every artist who offers a service has to strike, between flexibility and sticking to who you are. There are services we will never offer, because that's not who we are, and there services we will do by request only.

Right away we make ourselves clear on who we are, and what we can do for you. But then we start asking questions about the plan for the whole of the day, and that's when we really start sharing our non-photography part of the business. Often our questions are met with “I don't know” and “We haven't talked about that” or “I didn't even know that happened.”

Sam and I have coached couples through cutting the cake. We've trained ushers. We've been the phone line from the girls getting ready to the guys getting ready. I often teach the guys how cuff-links work. For eight hours, we work with the couple, we work with the videographer, we work with the mc, we work with the officiant. We become part of the day. And that knowledge and involvement, grows a little with every wedding.

What has changed about the way you look at your craft, now that it's also a business?

Photography really appeals to me, not in spite of being a business,
but because of being a business.

I am able to earn part of my living capturing moments.

Especially with weddings, Sam and I are able to share scenes from a day to audiences who have personal connection to the images. The bride and groom get to see what the other was up before the ceremony. Family get to see pictures of three or four generations of relatives all interacting. Invited guests who were unable to attend can watch the story of the day. We, as photographers, effect how the day will be remembered in the years to come, and that's an amazing feeling.

Isn't that delightful?

You can find more about Rob + Sam (along with even more of their gorgeous photos at their website or hang out with them on their Facebook page.

My favorite bits of Rob-wisdom:

“There's a balance that every artist who offers a service has to strike, between flexibility and sticking to who you are. There are services we will never offer, because that's not who we are.”
“It's better to make sure you are their ideal, than to have a large base of unsatisfied customers.”
“A delicious sandwich is very calming.”

You see? It's all about Right People!

Finding your People starts with paying attention to what you do + don't want to do and making sure you don't take on any clients that expect something else from you.

How do YOU make sure you are working with only your Right People?
Tell us in the comments!

Thinking about blueberries

I'm curious.

What are you doing this weekend?

I was going to write about newsletter software today, but. Well, I'm not in the mood.
The weather's beautiful and I'm ready for the weekend.
And I'd rather hear from you. What are you doing?

I picked blueberries last Monday and I plan on making jam, pies and freezing blueberries all weekend. Yeah, I got a gallon and a a half! That's a heckava lot of blueberries.

What are you doing?

PS. If yesterday's post got you thinking about newsletters, there's still a little time to sign up for next week's class. Read all about it here.

But do I HAVE to have a newsletter?

No.

There, that was easy, right?

A conversation I'm always having.

Seriously. In nearly every IdeaStorming session, we have the following conversation.
It's a good thing that so many people ask these questions because then I realize, “Hey! A lot of people have these questions!” and then I can answer y'all all at once. Nice!

Why a newsletter?

The conversation usually starts after I say (this is after we've talked about the whole make-it-easy-for-people-to-give-you-money thing) something like,

“The next step is letting people know about your thing.

It's easiest if you can let interested people know, on a regular basis. Sometimes this is a newsletter.”

Why is this easiest?

Why is it easier to talk to interested people on a regular basis than to reach people via advertising, guest posts or other marketing?

I have so many reasons I'm making a list:

If the person signed themselves up to hear about your thing, you know they want to hear about your thing. It may sound obvious, but this is all the difference between feeling like a spammy mcspamerson and feeling delightful. (This is called Permission Marketing)
Convincing new people to like your thing is a lot harder than convincing already-in-love-with-you people.
It's much easier to get a date with your husband than with the Abercrombie model.
When you contact interested people on a regular basis and you provide useful, interesting content (not just sales messages), you build trust and affection.
Your Right People want to hear about your thing. They want to buy it. When you tell them about it, they are happy.
If you doubt this, think about your favorite store. Are you ever sad when they send you something useful or interesting? (Oh, Anthropology catalog, how I love you.)
Hearing from you on a regular basis, reminds your Right People that you exist. This is a good thing.
Have you ever clicked around a website, fell in love, swore you'd come back and then promptly forgot the name of it? Yeah, that happens to everyone! Giving that new person something to do (that is lower risk than buying something) makes sure they remember you later.

But can't I do this without a newsletter?

Absolutely!

You can do it with your blog or with your Twitter stream or with letters. Each of these has there downside (people may not keep up with blogs, your tweets may get lost in a busy stream, letters are time-consuming), but they all work.

If you can not bear the thought of sending emails to your interested people on a regular basis, then don't!

Really.

Nothing will crash or burn or explode. Really.

They why are you always recommending it?

Because newsletters work for me.
They reach the people I want to reach and they build relationships, establish trust, and, yes, turn into sales. With startling regularity.

But it's all about experimentation

You won't know unless you try.
The good news is: it's really low-risk to try.
If you don't like it, you can stop at any time.

If you think newsletters may work for you (or you'd like to try that sales with startling regularity thing) check out my 2 new classes.

In the first one, we'll cover the hows of writing/sending/making sales with your newsletter, the how-to-make-it-delightful part.
In the second class, I turn to expert Wendy Cholbi to walk us through the setting up of newsletter software.
(A lot of people have asked about newsletter software. It is SO MUCH easier than just using your regular email and helps you ensure you don't hit spam boxes. I'll be talking more about this tomorrow).

What are YOUR questions?

Good Shtuff: Love Edition

Good Shtuff is a weekly(ish) snippet of the stuff I’m reading, listening to or watching.

This week, it's all about the love.

Love in your mailbox

The completely brilliant (and funny!) Amy is offering to send US Love Notes for HER birthday. Whether you need a little cheering or a whole year of Love, check out her Love Notes.
She's @AmysNotDeadYet on Twitter.

Love in a circle

Today is the first day Leonie's Circle and I am SO excited. Even if the word “goddess” freaks you out, click through to watch the darling baby Ostara (+ puppies!) in the adorable opening video.
She's @GoddessLeonie on Twitter

Love in MY mailbox

This week I got a beautiful card from Retinal Perspective photographer, Elizabeth Halt.

Retinal Perspective Card
Sigh.
It made my day. Not only was the card absolutely stunning, but she had written the sweetest note in it. It made me remember how much I love getting (and sending) mail, so I'm determined to bring it back. Join me in the letter-writing love by getting your cards here. *
She's @ElizabethHalt on Twitter.

Love your story

Amna believes “we write our futures into being, and write our pasts into peace.”
Man, just that one sentence clinched it for me. Her writing workshop (for working on your personal story) looks completely amazing. I've worked with Amna and her style is direct, yet gentle, and so insightful you'll hang up thinking “wha? How did that even happen?” (in a totally clarifying way).
She's @AmnaAhmad on Twitter.

Love your people

I love my people (um, that'd be you) but I could always love you better. LaVonne Ellis is challenging me (and you) to do just that in her Customer Love challenge.
If your business is new or has hit a plateau, you need this. Jump-start the flow by turning up the love.
She's @LaVonneEllis on Twitter.

Love your business

I'm closing the CraftyBiz Kitchen this afternoon (around 3pm ET or whenever my last IdeaStorming session ends). Wanna know why? Experimentation! (For a full explanation, read this.)
If you're thinking about taking the Newsletter classes, you can get them both + lots of extras for just $40 in the Kitchen.
Oh, and I'm @blondechicken on Twitter.

What's the Love-y stuff you've found (or written) this week? Share it in the comments!

*Looking for someone to send a card to? Pick me! DM or email me and I'll happily send you my mailing address and promise to be a very good penpal!

Experimentation

The CraftyBiz Kitchen is closing to new registrants.

I debated whether I should go into the whys of it all or just give you a quick heads-up. But even if you have no interest in signing up, these why-I-do-what-I-do posts may help you in your own biz.

Why?

I love the people I have in it. It's not a large group and I've talked to everybody one-on-one and gotten to know them and their businesses. I've created classes to answer their specific questions.

It feels like just the right size to start experimenting.

Experimenting?

When inspiration hit, the CraftyBiz Kitchen came to me fully-formed: I knew exactly what I offer and exactly who it would help.
It would be 2 classes a month, some one-on-one help, and a regular checking in to see what was needed. A kitchen for us craftybiz types to hang out in while we baked up tasty businesses, drank coffee and shared.

It would provide me with a group of dedicated learnes who could tell me what their businesses needed.

It would provide crafters with targeted classes, help and inspiration to keep working at it.

But I knew that I don't know what I don't know.
That there would be needs or questions or ideas for ways to improve the Kitchen that I couldn't yet imagined. So I warned (right on the sales page!) that things would be experimental.
I left myself room to play and experiment and ask questions.

A safe place to experiment

Experimenting + play requires a safe place. I want to be ultra-sure that everyone gets everything that they sign up for.
Everyone in the Kitchen gets a full month warning before anything changes, so they have time to think about it and cancel their subscription (or stick around).

Better still, everyone who's in the Kitchen gets to choose what the Kitchen becomes.

To create this safe place, I've decided to close the Kitchen to new bakers. After 9/1, I'll have my core group of guinea pigs bakers.
These bakers will vote on what they want to see me add. And for the month of September, they will get everything they signed up for PLUS a bunch of new stuff.

At the end of the month, we'll see what was the most popular new thing and make that part of the Kitchen for October. We'll get rid of the stuff that's not working (but again, with plenty of time to decide if you want to stick around for it).

Play time

We'll be in this state of play for as long as it takes. We'll add stuff, get rid of old stuff, add more stuff until we have something that makes the Kitchen sing both for the Bakers + for me.

At that point, once we have a Kitchen we all adore, I'll open it up for more Bakers.
Maye mid-October, maybe January. No matter what, it's sure to be worth more (and cost more), because I will know, for sure, that it's exactly what crafty business-bakers really want.

Wanna play?

If you want to join us for the play + experiments (and get far more than I promise here), join us! Just do it today. Or tomorrow. Or don't.
Either way, I adore you and your crafty business!

Good Shtuff – Mindblowing Edition

This is looking like a Wednesday ritual! (Read more Good Shtuff here)
Good Shtuff is a snippet of the stuff I'm reading, listening to or watching.

And warning: this week I'm feeling extra goofy, because I just found out I got accepted to the Bust Craftacular in Queens!
Having only been to NYC for one short 10 hour stopover (and was dragged by friends into basements selling purses, ew), I am so so so excited to get to do NYC my way: yarn shops, tea, local food.*

Now, let's get to the Shtuff:

An Extravaganza!

My darling Catherine (we just taught a class together yesterday) launched an absolutely spectacularly thorough class for anyone who doesn't have a website (or know where to get started). It's the Website Extravaganza and it's…mindblowing.

Fun fact: sign up with Team Crafty (just sign up under the “with buddies” column and put “Team Crafty” in the box) and you'll save $100. Pretty amazing.

Complicatedness Welcome

Amna's Hybrid Manifesto has been rocking my (handknit) socks off. Seriously. I tried to find a sentence to quote, but the whole thing is just perfect in it's wholeness. Go read it.

Sunshine walking

I'm walking on sunshine, whoa-oh-oh. I've been humming this song all day. Listen to it here on Pandora (if you don't know about Pandora, expect your mind to be blown.)

Whoa. That's the second time I promised something would blow your mind. I think we have the title of today's post!

I'm a hustler, baby

Chris Guillebeau has my favorite explanation EVER of what makes a successful business. You need substance, yes. But you also need style. Your style.

Pioneering Pasta

Since giving up gluten, I've been studiously avoiding the Pioneer Woman's cooking page (formerly my very favoritist of all favorite recipe places). But this story of losing her darling dog (that looks so much like my Beau!) had me enthralled.

Oh, and her lemon pasta is super tasty on quinoa noodles with some artichoke hearts and fresh-from-the-garden tomatos added. (Jay doesn't like it baked and it is SO GOOD you won't want to wait for the oven)

That's it for my Good Shtuff! What are you enjoying this week?

*Yo, I want to meet you, New Yorkers! Shoot me a note (or leave a comment) if you're in the area and want to show me your favorite cup of coffee/yarn shop/farmer's market.

Previous 1 … 3 4 5 6 7 … 12 Next