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Starship Orientation #1: Welcome Aboard!
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How do YOU get stuff done? Find a way that works for you.
How do you actually DO what you want to do in your business?
Do you need to understand WHY you're doing it?
Do you need to be held accountable?
Or do you rebel against anyone telling you to do anything (even when you really want to do it)?
This question fascinates me, because it's at the heart of why some people build their business quickly and others struggle along without ever taking much action.
When I talk to makers and artists who are frustrated that their business hasn't grown, it's very rare that they have NO idea what they should do. Instead, it's that they aren't taking the actions they feel they need to take, they aren't doing what they want to do.
The best explanation I've ever found for WHY some people struggle to get stuff done, is in Gretchen Rubin's book Better Than Before (it's all about habit change, and working on your business really is about habits). She defines the Four Tendencies, as a reason for why some people get stuff done (or change their habits, or work on their biz) and others don't.
I've talked about this more on the podcast (listen in here), but this comes up so often, I wanted to revisit it.
According to Gretchen (and backed up by my own experience working with hundreds of makers and artists), we react to expectations (ie, people telling us to do something), in one of four ways. The way you react to expectations tends to be consistent across your life.
Upholders:
These people do everything that's expected of them, easily. They both meet external expectations (other people telling you what you should do) and internal expectations (things YOU want to do). I have met very few Upholders, and I think it's because they don't seek out biz support – once they know what to do, they just do it.
Questioners:
These people (uh, myself included) don't care to meet external expectations unless they understand WHY. But they have an easy time meeting internal expectations… if those expectations are built on understanding the rationale behind them. In other words, we questioners can do anything if we can turn it from external expectation (you telling me to do something) into an internal expectation (I understand why, and now WANT to do it, because it makes logical sense to me).
These people need to know WHY they are doing anything in their business (“because experts say so” isn't enough). Because I'm a Questioner, I create all of my classes and books for Questioners – I don't tell you what to do, I tell you why something will benefit your biz, then I give you a bunch of questions related to your business, so you can see how to do it in your OWN way. This is why I've built the Starship experience to start with you getting clear on your goals and your path – so that you decide what you want to learn and what you want to do next, and feel motivated to do the work because you can see how it fits into the bigger picture.(According my unscientific study, about 1/3 of the Starship members are Questioners)
Obligers:
These people (maybe you?) have a pretty easy time fulfilling external expectations (if someone asks you to do something, you will), but have a tough time fulfilling internal expectations (say, working on your business, just because you want to). In fact you may fill your days doing things others care about more. So you feel frustrated that you never seem to make the time to work on what matters to YOU. Ugh, this is frustrating.
The solution?
Get someone to ask you about what you really care about.
In other words, externalize those internal expectations.
You can do this with a group (like the Starship), where you tell us your goal and then check in as you work through it (this is why we have the weekly live check-in and forums) or with a single person (an accountability partner). After learning that about 2/3 of the Starship members were Obligers, I upped our accountability-providing, by creating the Accountability Partner Program – you just fill out a short form, and I match you with a partner. The two of you work together to decide when to check-in and then you simply tell the person: This is what I'm working on, I'm going to be done with it by X date. That, alone, can suddenly make you feel like you “owe” someone and so you work harder on your business!
Rebels:
These people tend to feel constrained by any kind of expectation. They tell me (we have a handful in the Starship) that “As soon as I write something down, like a goal or to do list, I suddenly do NOT want to do it.” In fact, creating a schedule or a must-do list is going to ensure that a Rebel never does anything.
The solution?
I'll be honest, I have been thinking about this for over a year and quizzing any rebels I meet. Gretchen doesn't offer any solution in her book, and I had a hard time coming up with one. Joeli is a self-described Rebel who has made MASSIVE momentum in the last year of her Starship membership (you can get her full story if you sign up here) and she says what works best is making a big list and then picking, each day, what feels fun (instead of telling yourself you HAVE to do something that day), and setting goals that are more about paying attention and learning, than about measuring. (For example, set a goal of “noticing what already works in my business.”) In other words, for Rebels, taking the pressure OFF is often a good motivator for working harder (but if you already feel bad about how little you get done, this might feel REALLY scary). This is why we focus, in the Starship, on finding what works for YOU and giving yourself permission to not do what other people tell you “have” to do.
So how do you get stuff done?
I hope you see that the answer lies not in forcing yourself to work in ONE way, but in finding what works best for you. No one of the above is better than the others (although I think we all secretly wish we could be Upholders!) – the key to productivity is acknowledging your tendency and then setting up your work day and expectations in a way that works for you.
If you think that more accountability, question-answering and a community of encouragers would help you in your business, check out the Starship – it's open now! The Starship opens only a few times a year and will close again on 3/25, so head here now to learn more about it!
Don’t be afraid to be a real person
This weekend I'm teaching about marketing, so I've been thinking about a lot (even more than usual, and I wrote a whole book on it…so it's a LOT).
As I say in my book: Marketing is simply communication with a purpose – the purpose is to help people who will love your thing understand that they will, in fact, love your thing.
But speaking with that purpose, sharing with that with that purpose, can make us feel awkward and stilted. So we either skip it all together (and no one knows we sell anything! And no one buys it!) or we get weird and sound like a robot.
This week on the podcast, we dove deep into how to fix this, how to sound (and feel!) like a real person online. It's not easy. I know. It's easy to feel like you have to be formal, or fancy (“professional”), or that you're NOT being genuine if you're also trying to sell something.
But I've overcome this struggle myself and worked with hundreds of makers and artists as they've overcome it. It just takes practice (lots of practice) and intention (paying attention to what you're doing and why).
If this is something you struggle with, you can listen in to the full episode (and learn the 4 steps to sounding more like a person) or you can watch my live recording here. You can also find it on iTunes, Stitcher, or just search for “Explore Your Enthusiasm” in whatever app you use for podcasts!
How about you? Do you struggle to sound like yourself online? Or do you feel good about it?
How to fit all of your marketing pieces together
Blog.
Twitter.
Facebook.
Instagram.
Pinterest.
Emails.
How are you spreading the word about your work? How are you connecting with possible customers? If you’re like nearly everyone I work with, you’re using quite a few tools, but you feel like you should be using EVEN MORE – like you can never do enough or be in enough places.
This week on the podcast I’m sharing the story of how I helped one of the Starship Captains fit her marketing puzzle together. While I was broadcasting it on Periscope (I record and broadcast these a whole week early – follow me there to catch it early!), I got comments saying: OMG, I need to do this for my own business! I need to piece it all together.
So I’m super happy to announce that I am teaching exactly this, tomorrow! In a webinar with TNNA (The National NeedleArts Association), we’ll cover your newsletter, blog and social media and come up with a plan for fitting them all together. (Webinar = online workshop, that you can attend wherever you are!)
If you're in the yarn world (you have a yarn shop, you make yarn, you design with yarn), this webinar is for you. We're going to address how to fit your blog, newsletter, and social media together into one EFFECTIVE puzzle, that brings customers to your door.
You can register here:
http://www.tnna.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=773927
Once you register, tweet me and tell me your questions – what do you hope we cover?
Join me for Midwest Craft Con!
I'm so excited to be teaching at Midwest Craft Con this week! I'll be heading back to my home state of Ohio for a whole weekend of businessy goodness.
The Details:
The organizers of Midwest Craft Con are bringing in 20 craft business experts from all over the country to Columbus, Ohio, to talk about legal and financial considerations for creative businesses, share wisdom on publicity and marketing, and discuss life-work balance, goal-setting and community.
I'll be teaching two courses on Saturday: Make a Marketing Plan and Craft Your Customer Path. There's a fabulous lineup of instructors who will be filling in the rest of the workshop time over the weekend, so you don't want to miss this!
Midwest Craft Con takes place this weekend, February 19-21, 2016. Tickets are only on sale through TODAY – February 16, so click here to get yours now! You can purchase a full weekend pass or just pick one day to come – it's up to you!
Learn more about Midwest Craft Con…
- Visit their website
- Listen to my podcast interview with Grace Dobush, one of the event's organizers
- Purchase your tickets here!
Will I see you in Columbus this weekend? Leave me a comment if you're going to be there, and be sure to say Hi!
How to read over 100 books in a year
In 2015, I read over 100 books. Books ranging from The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl comic to War & Peace. I read Louise Hay and Jane Austen. Business books, creativity books, a big handful of novels and even more graphic novels. I finally got caught up on Buffy. I discovered and read everything by Rainbow Rowell. (You can see all the books I read in 2015 here. Only one rule: No judgement.)
And this isn't the first time. In 2012 I read 100 books and shared my experience here.
If you've been reading my blog, this is no surprise to you. I post my reading lists every month (you can find them all here) and the question I always get is “How do you do it? How do you read so much?” So that's what I'd like to share with you today: How I read 100 books in 2015 (and how you can read more, if this is one of your New Year goals!).
Before we dive in, I don't have to convince you of the value of reading, do I?
It's not just fun and relaxing, it also teaches you a new way to look at the world and introduces you to ideas, characters, and ways of living you never would have encountered. Yes, even novels and comics.
Business and creativity books can give you insights into your own business and inspire you to grow and experiment. They can also just straight up teach you something you don't know (that's why I read a book on webinars). Fiction can open up your worldview – what do other people think? How do they live? What are you assuming is “normal”?
This helps your business too. It's easy for us to believe that everyone is like us, and therefore, the thing we do isn't special. This mistake is the #1 reason people undervalue their work. Everyone is NOT like you. Their brain works in totally different ways. They have different values. They live in different worlds. Fiction can open you up to this. (Also, and I can't stress this enough: FUN. Your business needs you to relax and refill the well of your creativity. Reading someone else's creativity is a great way to do this.)
With that in mind, here's how to read more this year:
Know your why.
Do NOT resolve to read more just because I do. Read more because you want to, because you have your own awesome reasons. Your reason can be anything, but before you pick your number, think (or write) about why you want to read more. My reasons have shifted over the years. In 2012 I wrote: “The real reason I set the goal is that I love to read. Love it! But I often tell myself not to. Instead, I should be working. Or I should be reading something better (catching up on blogs, news, the latest marketing advice). But after an intense 3 months of non-stop writing to finish the book, I decided to give myself permission to just read. As much as I wanted!”
In 2015 my reasons were a little different. I love to read (that's reason #1) and I found myself doing a lot more blog reading and Pinterest-surfing at night in bed. That just keeps me awake. Instead, I want to be reading something then (this is when I read fiction, because my brain is too tired from the day to read something think-y). And in the mornings, with my coffee, I was scrolling through Instagram, but that distracts me and gets my day focused on other people instead of my own priorities. So instead, I read (this is where the business-y, creative, and self-helpy books go).
The numbers don't matter.
Forget about the “100 books in a year” thing and focus on what YOU can do. How much did you read last year? Can you increase that by 5 books? Can you double it? (That's how I hit on 100 books – in 2011 I read 52 and I wanted to double it.)
But setting a number helps.
It doesn't matter WHAT your number is, it only matters that, if this is one of your goals, you quantify it. This will make it easier for you to celebrate your successes and make you more likely to read.
Turning simple permission (you’re allowed to read!) into a big crazy goal, lifted my passion into something important. It suddenly mattered that I get to read every day, it was a priority! If I hadn’t committed to the big number, I would have continued to question each reading session: shouldn’t I be doing something else?
Track your reading
Keep track of what you read. You'll find it comes in handy when someone asks you for a recommendation and it'll inspire you to read more. Seeing the list grow is weirdly satisfying. Also, it's the only way to know if you're meeting your goal or not! I use Goodreads for tracking my books. I only occasionally write a review or use any of the social features, I just use it to remember what I want to read (anytime I hear about a book I like, I go to GoodReads and mark it “to read”), and mark what I am reading, then move it to “read” when I finish it. And this brings us to the next tip:
Have a long To Read list.
Track what you want to read (I use GoodReads, but you could use a note on your phone or your notebook, as long as you can easily find it and add to it) and add to the list constantly. Every time you hear a great interview on a podcast, mark the book to read. Every time you hear a recommendation (next week on the podcast I'm sharing the 9 best biz books!), add it your list! Every time you come across a mention of a book in the book you're reading, at it to your list. This is why I've read so many random or woo-woo books – when more than 5 people I respect recommended a book, I read it (or at least start it). If I want to understand how smart people think, I gotta read the books they read!
(This, by the way, has led me to some really amazing insights in books with terrible titles that I wouldn't be caught dead reading. This has also led me to discover that a lot of male entrepreneurs recommend books filled with war or sports metaphors that are utter drivel.)
Have enough books
The biggest thing that slows down my reading is not having enough books in the house. It doesn't matter if I'm into what I'm reading, if I don't know what I'm reading NEXT I drag my feet. (Never mind all those books on my Kindle.) This is where the library is a beautiful thing – I take home about twice as many books as I actually read. But that gives me variety and choices.
Read short books
Ha! This isn't a real piece of advice, but it came up when I was talking to Ruth and Joeli on Twitter. Obviously, you're going to read fewer big books… but what matters is that you READ WHAT YOU WANT. If I hadn't read so many graphic novels (which take between 2-10 hours to read, depending on the book), I'm sure my numbers would be lower. That said, it's YOUR reading, it's YOUR fun. Any book you choose “counts”. If I hadn't read War & Peace and Emma, I'm sure to have read more. (I have a shelf called “comics count”, to remind myself that i'm allowed to read whatever I want. There is no reading police.)
Give yourself permission to read what you want. And stop when you want.
There are no awards for reading the right books. Or for finishing a book.
Read what you want, when you want, and quit when you want.
There’s no guilt, no pressure. Reading is something I love to do. So if I don’t love reading this book, I remember that it’s not me, it’s the book. So I stop.
This applies to everything.
These lessons aren't just for reading, they apply to every area of your business. Set goals, track them, have lots of options at the ready, and above all, give yourself permission to focus on what you enjoy and what's working, and stop doing all the stuff you think you “should” be doing.
How can you apply these lessons to your own goal this year?
If you want to read more, what tip are you going to start applying now?
50 Things I loved in 2015
Last year I shared a list of everything I loved in 2014 and it was so much fun that I decided to do it again, as part of my yearly review. It's so much fun to think back through the tools I discovered or the experiences I had that are particular to this year. What are your favorite parts of the last year?
(This is no particular order, I just started listing as things came to me.)
- By far the most favorite part of my year, of every year, is getting to work with amazing, inspiring, clever, curious makers and artists. I am honored to be part of their journey. All of the stuff on this list can't compare to the joy my job brings me.
- Periscope. If you asked me to name one tool that changed my business the most in 2015, I'd have to say Periscope. Through it, I connected deeper to my current students and (quite a surprise to me!) I found and connected with many brand-new-to-me people who became Starship Captains this year. (You can watch all recent episodes here.)
- Jess. She makes my entire life better with her feedback, editing, and smarts.
- Working with Jay (my husband) as a team member in my company. Sure, we had a lot of adjusting to do, but it's not only improved our all-the-time communication, it also built our confidence for our next business undertaking. Plus, getting his insight and skillz into my projects makes everything better! (If you like the blog images, or the visual prompts of the Biz Confidence Challenge, or the fact that I now put podcast recordings on YouTube – that's all him!)
- Asana! This project-management tool has streamlined all of the many pieces of my biz, and cuts down on back-and-forth that comes from having three hands in just about every project.
- Finally finding a planner-system that works for me, that isn't just a notebook. I've been using Filofax + Get to Workbook.
- Grants Pass + visiting my parents. For the first time in my LIFE I was able to visit my dad + second-mom three times in the same year. This is by far the best perk of my job, and the highlight of my personal life.
- The Biz Confidence Challenge! The idea came to me and I sketched it out in 10 minutes and it started the very next Monday. The reactions + results have been fantastic. The #bizconfidencechallenge hashtag is an inspiration.
- Pad Thai. Still my most-favorite dinner.
- The entire CreativeLIVE experience. I loved working with their team, and getting the chance to grab a bite with both Abby and Megan.
- My galaxy sneakers. There is nothing like having a pair of shoes that you just adore.
- Craftcation! This was such a fun experience, it totally cured my fear of conferences. And of course having days to talk about life with Kim Werker is always a good thing. Plus Abby! And Blair!
- My neon green maxi skirt. And my giant neon pink paper-thin scarf. The perfect traveling clothes!
- Raylan! He came into our life in January and almost left us in December (scary!). He was a hot mess of excitement and energy, but through patience and playdates, he's become a snuggly, sweet (still super-curious) member of the family.
- Charleston! I took a quick 2 day trip there at the last minute, with my mom and her friends, and it was lovely!
- Daiya Mac + Cheese and brussel sprouts! I ate this meal about 500 times this year.
- TNNA + teaching in Columbus. I got to see so many Starship Captains
- School House Craft. The entire conference was fun, but the highlight was getting to know Isaac and Caitlin and Sharon better (and more Kim and Marlo!). In other words, as always, the best part of anything is the people, and I'm thrilled to get to work alongside such lovely people.
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Honore Bakery is within walking distance of my friend's house in Seattle. YUM.
- Finishing the first draft of my book proposal. And then sending to an agent. It took way longer than I planned, it was super scary, I have no idea what's going to happen… and yet I'm so glad I did it.
- Discovering the perfect writing spot! There's a bookstore inside a coffe shop! I ONLY work on the book here, so it's easy for me to snap into focus when I sit down.
- Being on other podcasts. I shared my secret inner warrior (She-Ra, Princess of Power!) with Jeffrey Shaw and talked about launching and confidence with Tiffany Han.
- Writing for Yarn Market News.
- Red hair! I thought about it for over 3 months and finally pulled the trigger at the very end of the year. It's an ongoing symbol of following my gut instead of focusing on what other people will think.
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Inside Out. By far one of the best movies I've watched in years. It's sparked conversations with everyone I've talked to about it.
- Comics! Especially Jem, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (her roommate is a knitter!), B*tch Planet, and Ms. Marvel. If you don't read comics, I highly recommend getting any of these in paperback at your library and diving in.
- Knitting! I finished more knitting this year than I have in years. Mom's sweater, my Blue Sand, Boxy, mittens, Jay's hat, Mom's Pendulum.
- Knitting along to the Gilmore Girls. I re-watched it all this year.
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Going to afternoon matinees on Friday. The local movie theater does an extra-cheap movie between 4 and 5 pm. We took advantage of it at least once a month, which feels like sneaking out of work early. There were a lot of great movies this year!
- Some Starship Captains got buttons made, so they can find each other at events! I was so flabbergasted that they love the community enough to do this on their own!
- Les Mis!! For our anniversary Jay took me to see the local community theater production. I cried throughout (and I met a podcast listener, which was amazing).
- My new morning routine: Water, quiet time, reading (a book, not my phone), and working out. It's made my mornings so much calmer and more fun. I look forward to getting up!
- Taking a full week off at the end of December. I stressed about this a lot, but I knew I needed to recover from the awesomeness (and hard work) of the Lift Off launch. It didn't turn out how I imagined, but I'm glad I did it.
- Reading about fitness with the goal of loving yourself and becoming stronger, from Neghar, Jill, and Jen. I cannot recommend their programs and blogs strongly enough.
- My library. It's beautiful, has a great view, and is staffed by people I'm becoming friends with!
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The CSA – this is the first time in years that we subscribed and it was fantastic.
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Writing and recording Explore Your Enthusiasm podcast each week is still my favorite work. And connecting with the listeners via #exploreyourenthusiasm is a delight.
- Reading! I read some of my favorite books ever this year: Big Magic, Man's Search for Meaning, The Confidence Code and dozens more.
- My mastermind group. It is full of women I respect and our deepening friendships (and ongoing idea-generation) has been a huge blessing this year.
- Finally figuring out Pinterest. Caitlin said about 3 sentences at School House Craft that just shifted the whole thing for me.
- Tailwind, for scheduling my blog posts on Pinterest!
- CoSchedule for scheduling social media directly from WordPress.
- Buffer for scheduling social media from anywhere.
- Hiking! We went on a great hike through a new-to-us local mountain with friends, and then went on an amazing hike with my dad in Oregon. After every hike I remember how much I want to spend more time outdoors!
- The new Starship site is AMAZING. I LOVE IT.
- Hiring Wendy was the best decision I made. The project would never have come together without her. (Plus, she's hilarious.)
- This is the first year since I started my biz that my focus wasn't on making new stuff. Instead, I focused on going deeper for my current students and on improving everything. I became more consistent, created a new platform for the Starship, improved and refreshed every single piece of every class, and really nailed the launch of Lift Off.
- This was the best year of sales in my business ever. I can't believe I almost completely forgot that. It's just one sign of how much my biz is growing into something I love.
- Making plans for 2016! I'll be teaching nearly every month: in San Diego, Columbus, Cleveland, Atlanta, Maryland, and Western Mass. (Want to get updates when I nail down the dates and places? Sign up here!)
What were your favorite parts of 2015?
Why you should follow your next crazy idea: my story
One year ago, I had a crazy idea.
I'm going to share the story with you today, in hopes that it will inspire you to follow your own crazy ideas.
*cue flashback music*
I had spent the day working with clients, answering questions in the Starship, and replying to listeners questions via email. I told my husband, “I feel like everyone has the same questions, and they are all about the same 3-4 things. If they worked through just those things, and found the answers for their own business, they'd be able to answer 90% of their own conundrums. Then they could use something like the Starship or a business mentor to figure out the super-personalized stuff.
It's just so ineffective to talk about this foundational stuff in a personal session. Stuff like, your profit math, finding your right person, how you're using your time. It's vital stuff, but not personalized. I mean, I can ask you 5 questions and YOU come up with the answers, based on your biz.
If people could get a handle on these few things, that would make them feel a zillion times better about their business and prepare them to deal with nearly everything they're ever going to need to do in their business.”
And he said, “Ok, so…you should teach that.”
Well, I kinda already do. I have Pay Yourself, Map Making, Market Yourself….the problem is people jump into, say, marketing, before they know if they're profitable. And it's pretty detrimental to start selling MORE work if you don't even know it'll make more money. And if you do any of it before you know where you wanna go, you're going to go in circles.
And he said, “So put it together, in order. You could do that, right? You've got the technology?”
….I guess…I could figure it out… (This is the start of any business idea. You just decide to see if you could figure it out.)
So I did.
Last December I launched Lift Off, which is 6 months of weekly business lessons, delivered to your inbox.
The lessons walk you through the foundations of your business, in an order that makes sense. You get clear on your Vision and Mission, set goals, get profitable, start sharing your work, and create your own best time management system. It's not (just) facts, it's built on (your) action. You find YOUR goals, YOUR profit margins, YOUR Right People, YOUR most effective workday.
Over the last year, I have been DELIGHTED by the impact Lift Off has had in creative businesses:
“I have been following the Lift Off emails and have been doing the homeworks. I wanted to let you know, I have been learning and practicing what you have been teaching, at my pace and it's helping me a lot! It's great to have this guidance, it helps to confirm some things I already knew, but wasn't sure if they were right or wrong for my business. It feels like walking the path and seeing the sun coming up on the horizon….because I am already having good results!”
-Rossana Aponte
“I was completely scattered. I was being pulled into 50 million (or so it seemed) directions because everyone out there had a thing “I should be doing.” Lift Off made me realize, through consistent well thought out weekly lessons, that it’s OK to do what I want to be doing, and to start to form a plan to get my business to be what I want it to be and to do only the things that work for me. And it is working!”
-Karen Whooley
“Spending some time this morning on TSLiftOff. It just started and it's already making me feel better about my business!”
-Jen Lucas, on Twitter
“Took me a few hours to realize I already have the tools to de-stress, regroup & reorganize around my work thanks to #TSLiftOff!”
-Jennifer Lindroos, on Twitter
(Check out other tweets from the course here and Instagram photos here)
Lift Off is open again, right here: http://tarasiwger.com/lift
It closes tomorrow at 7pm EST.
If you would like to make 2016 the year of your business, the year when you are profitable (and know it!), the year when you not only decide on your direction and goals, but go boldly towards them, then be sure to join Lift Off, before it closes.
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