Weekly-ish notes on navigating big change

tara

All aboard! Lift Off is open.

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Yaaay! It's the MOST wonderful time of the year

Lift Off is now open and boarding! If you want to have the best year in your biz, join us here!


Lift Off is 
26 weeks of creative biz lessons that guide you through building the foundations of your business. The classes include

  1. Chart Your Stars – In this business-shaping, week-long course, get oriented in where you are now, and where you wanna go. Get clear about your big vision for your business and the North Stars that will guide your adventure.
  2. Map Making – Set a goal for the next three months and then make a map to get you there. (You’ll do this twice!)
  3. Pricing 101 – In this 2-day course, do the math on your actual products and make sure your price is in alignment with what you need.
  4. Pay Yourself – In this 4-week course, get clear about the entire money picture of your business. Discover your own Break-Even Point, where you’re most profitable, and exactly what you’ll need to do to reach your own profit goals.
  5. Market Yourself – You will get a signed, printed copy of my book, mailed right to your house. The accompanying email lessons will help you discover:
    1. Your message
    2. Your people
    3. The tools you’ll use to reach your people
    4. At the end of this course, you’ll create your own marketing plan, to start using right away.
  6. Wrangle Your Time – Learn when you work best, and develop your own system for being as productive (and creative) as you can be.
“I have been following the Lift Off emails and have been doing the homework.  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

 

The lessons include:

  • Audio and video lessons with full transcripts – emailed directly to you.
  • Over a two dozen worksheets to apply what you're learning directly to your own business.
  • Monthly, live group coaching calls with me (ask your questions and get them answered).

Lift Off closes on December 23rd and  won't open again until June. 

“My business has had a pricing revolution that started last year – a few months before I joined the Starship and continued in earnest when I took your Pricing class.  Not only did my business become profitable because of the new pricing, But, I started some new lines that were extensions of my existing popular lines (just like you suggest!). These lines have also become popular and added to the profitability of my business. Thank you!”

– Belinda, Belinda Lee Designs

What I’m reading: December 2015

follow my enthusiasm by reading…a lot. And once a month, I share (some of) the books I read last month and the books I intend to read this month. You can join the informal book club by sharing your own list in the comments and find all the posts here.

 

What I'm reading in December 2015

What I read

  • The Big Leap, by Gay Hendricks – Oh, this book! It had been on my list forever, but when a Starship Captain started a discussion about “Upper Limit Problems”, I decided to finally read it. I'm so glad I did. If your business is growing but you feel like you struggle to keep up, or you're holding it back, read this!
  • The Little Spark, by Carrie Bloomston – Perfect for re-sparking your flagging enthusiasm or creativity.
  • The Ultimate Webinar Marketing Guide, by Lewis Howes – Read this in preparation for today's webinar.
  • The Uncommon Reader, by Alan Bennet – I saw this slim novella at my library and picked up. So glad I did – it resulted in a very happy afternoon of reading.

What I’m reading

 

What I read last December
And the December before that

What are you reading?

 

 

The biggest challenge your creative business faces

Overwhelm. In this episode we discuss: The 3 kinds of overwhelm (which are you suffering from?), Solutions for each kind of Overwhelm, Learn to Defeat Overwhelm in this week's free Webinar. Listen to the episode at TaraSwiger.com/podcast85/

Overwhelm.

In this episode we discuss:

  • The 3 kinds of overwhelm (which are you suffering from?)
  • Solutions for each kind of Overwhelm
  • Learn to Defeat Overwhelm in this week's free Webinar. (No longer available!)
  • Get More Done
  • Map Making Guide
  • Evernote

How to listen

Find all the podcast episodes here.

Your Invitation to a free workshop

Join me on Friday, December 11 at 1pm EST for a FREE live online workshop on how to Defeat Overwhelm in your creative business and get your most important work done. Learn the only 4 things you need to focus on in your biz, and get rid of everything else that overwhelms you. Learn more at TaraSwiger.com/defeatoverwhelm

This Friday, at 1pm (EDT), I’m holding a live webinar (online video class) – for free! Usually these online workshops start at $99, but this one is entirely free.

Register for the webinar here.

In this hour-long workshop, you’ll learn:

  • How to avoid overwhelm in your creative business
  • The only 4 things that need your focus in your business
  • How to build the foundations of your business, no matter how new (or old!) it is.

You see, I talk to creatives every day who are just completely overwhelmed. They don’t know if they should do X or Y. They don’t know where to spend their time and energy. They don’t know what will make a difference.

And this breaks my heart. Because I know what leads to growth in a small business: Focused, consistent action. But you can’t take focused, consistent action until you decide what action to take, and then really commit your focus to it. But if you’re overwhelmed and unsure, you’re hesitant to really commit to one action. So you do a whole bunch of stuff, all over the place, and then feel frustrated that you don’t see results from anything.

If this is what you’re struggling with, please join me for this webinar, on December 11th. To join in (and ask me any of your questions!), register here. 

Invite your friends and take it together to hold each other accountable: 

 

defeatoverwhelm

How to get traction in your creative business

How do you get traction in your creative business? How do you start making consistent sales? And what if you haven't yet and feel dejected? In this episode, I'll share 4 keys for gaining traction, connecting with customers, and making regular sales. On TaraSwiger.com

How do you get traction in your creative business? How do you start making consistent sales? And what if you haven't yet and feel dejected? 

In this episode, I'll share 4 keys for gaining traction, connecting with customers, and making regular sales.

 Links mentioned:

How to listen

  • You can subscribe to it on iTunes (If you do, leave a review!)
  • You can listen to it using the player above or download it.
  • Subscribe or listen via Stitcher (or subscribe in whatever you use for podcasts – just search “Explore Your Enthusiasm” and it should pop up!).

Find all the podcast episodes here.

The Definitive Holiday Survival Guide for Creative Businesses

A guide to everything I've written on how to balance life, work, + family during the holidays. On TaraSwiger.com

 

Over the last six years of leading Holiday Sanity (now only available aboard the Starship or Lift Off), I’ve written quite a bit on surviving – even thriving – during the holiday season. With the beginning of the season, I wanted to share a bit of what works for me.

If you're spending the holiday season planning for the new year, be sure to sign up here to learn more about my program that will guide you to the best year ever in your biz!

As we leap into Hanukkah, Solstice and Christmas, I hope this collection saves a bit of your own sanity.

Need to take an extended leave from your biz? Check out my course with Stacey Trock of FreshStitches: Take a Break (without breaking your biz!)

On other sites:

I gather all my favorite sanity-saving posts on this Pinterest board (new articles are added all the time!).

 

Enjoy the end of the year in your creative business

How to enjoy the end of the year in your business. You CAN have the kind of holiday season you want, from life + biz. It just takes a little planning! On TaraSwiger.com.

How can you enjoy the end of the year and the holidays, while maintaining your business and your sanity?

This question was asked a few weeks ago on Periscope, and I wanted to dive into a more thorough answer and share it with you here. You can follow me on Periscope to get the podcast episodes a full week before they come out; I'm TaraSwiger on Periscope or you can catch broadcasts at Katch.me/TaraSwiger.

It's the week of American Thanksgiving, which kicks off the holiday season here in the States, with Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Solstice and the New Year. If you celebrate even one of those holidays, and you're running a business, this can become a hectic time of year and soon it's already the new year, with all its new projects and excitement.

But I want you to have a sane and happy holiday season. I want you to both have the kind of time with your family or friends that you want AND see the kind of business growth you want. I don't want you to stumble into 2016 feeling fried from the last month of 2015. So here's how we do that.

  1. Decide what you want.
  2. Determine what it will require.
  3. Commit to it.
  4. Do what it takes.
  5. Review and readjust weekly.

Listen in to learn exactly how to enjoy this time and end the year strong and profitable in your business!

How to listen

  • You can subscribe to it on iTunes (If you do, leave a review!)
  • You can listen to it using the player above or download it.
  • Subscribe or listen via Stitcher (or subscribe in whatever you use for podcasts – just search “Explore Your Enthusiasm” and it should pop up!).

Find all the podcast episodes here.

Fear + Success: Not Mutually Exclusive

We think that we need to wait to feel fearless + confident before we can pursue our goals + be successful - but that just isn't true. At TaraSwiger.com.

 

Inspired by your replies to the #BizConfidenceChallenge, today we're exploring the intersection of Fear and Success. We think they're mutually exclusive. We think that we need to wait until we have confidence before we take action. We think that if we feel fear, we definitely won't be successful.

 

How to listen

Find all the podcast episodes here.

#BizConfidenceChallenge update!

How much would your business grow if you stopped letting self-doubt hold you back from doing what you most want to do? Join me for a FREE 6-week ecourse to build your confidence, crush self-doubt, and grow your business. At TaraSwiger.com/bizconfidence

Are you following along the #BizConfidenceChallenge? I have been blown away by the depth and brilliance of the replies so far. I wanted to celebrate this Confidence Journey we've started together, by highlighting a few of the replies here. You can find more on Instagram here. (If you can't see photos below, you might need to click through!)

If you haven't joined in yet, it's not too late! Just sign up here and reply to one of the past challenges (below) or start with the very next challenge! (You'll get the next lesson on Thursday and the next challenge on Monday.)

 

Challenge #1 of the BizConfidenceChallenge

 

Week 2:

Last week’s reaction to the #BizConfidenceChallenge blew me away. YOU have so much to be proud of, you have so much to build your confidence on! So…what’s up with the self-doubt? Why do you doubt you can do awesome things when you’ve already done SO MUCH? Often self-doubt (or lack of confidence) is tied to fear – we hold ourselves back (or think we're not good enough), not because we have any proof, but because we're afraid of … something. When I ask my clients and students what they're afraid of, the answer usually surprises them. (It's easy to let the fear rule you, without ever even knowing it's there!) And yet their answer never surprises me – I’ve either felt it myself, or talked to MANY makers who have! But once they identify the fear, we can work with it. We can question it, challenge it, or just allow it to hang around. (@Elizabeth_Gilbert_writer talks about letting your fear ride with your creativity in #bigmagic). That's your challenge this week: Look at WHAT lack-of-confidence is holding you back from. (Sharing your work? Social media? Sending a newsletter? Hiring help? Taking the next step?) Then ask: What am I afraid of? If I did the thing now, what am I afraid of happening? Finally ask: What's the WORST that can happen if that fear comes true? Could I survive it? And what's the REALISTIC outcome? This isn't (necessarily) going to dispel this fear forever, and that's not our goal. Our aim is to see it for what it is and RECOGNIZE THAT YOU CAN SURVIVE IT. You see, even the most confident, brave people feel fear (of being “found out”, of being judged, etc.). The difference is, they feel confident that they can handle it, and so the fear doesn’t keep them from doing what they need to do. ✨To take part in the challenge: Share a photo inspired by either *What your fear holds you back from doing in your biz *What you're afraid of *Your worst case scenario and tag it #BizConfidenceChallenge! New to the challenge? Learn more and sign up for free lessons in profile!

A photo posted by Tara Swiger (@taraswiger) on

Know some friends who could use a confidence boost?

Share the challenge!

The Advetnures

Every day is an adventure. I share the view, the gratitude and the news  on Fridays – you’re invited to join in. You can find all my adventures here, or follow along via email here.

The view

I love this time of day! Hope you're having a gorgeous day! ✨????????#widn: drinking coffee, answering emails, writing my next book, and wearing my #bluesandcardigan for the first time EVER (with my #coloraffection shawl). I'll be showing it off on #Periscope in just a minute! Follow me (TaraSwiger) or catch it here: katch

Happy Friday! Today I'm so grateful for: ????leaves and blue skies ???? the awesome replies to #bizconfidencechallenge ☕️ coffee & a good breakfast (tofu scramble) What are you grateful for this week? In about an hour we'll be s
Oh, puppy. 2 seconds alone with my knitting and ????. Over 45 min to untangle. Life's not all neon rainbows, but there's a lot to be grateful for: ????great yarn ???? puppy snuggles clean home ???? plenty of deliciousness How abou
#tbt to the gorgeous bouquets I found at a random gas station with @mcgeeandme in Seattle. Grateful for the short, but awesome visit. #taralovesadventure

I am so grateful for…

  • Warm woollen knits
  • Fantastic conversations with friends and peers
  • Fall leaves
  • The awesome response to the #BizConfidenceChallenge. 

 

The Finds:

I’m reading:

I’m eating: 

Nothing exciting, but I'm starting to pin recipe ideas for the holidays here. (I've recently become waaaay more active on Pinterest. Follow me more lots of creative biz, marketing, and knitting goodness.

In case you missed it: 

  • The #BizConfidenceChallenge is rocking people's businesses and causing massive transformation. Sign up here! 
  • I'm totally reworking the Starship to even better serve members. You can get on the list to find out more here.
  • I finnnnally put all my info together, for those who want to invite me to teach. Find it here! 

What adventures have you had?

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