Weekly-ish notes on navigating big change

tara

How to be “authentic” without being a hot mess

In today's episode, we'll talk about how to be authentic in your marketing without coming across like a hot mess. On TaraSwiger.com

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How can you be a real person  and not be a hot mess, on social media?

In this episode, inspired by something Caitlin Bacher said at Schoolhouse Craft, I'm going to give you three questions to answer, so you can figure it out once and for all. These questions will help you develop your strategy and connect with your customers, without sounding like either a robot (boring!) or oversharing (ew!). 

How to listen

Find all the podcast episodes here.

Bring more authenticity into YOUR marketing messages with my free e-course! Sign up below to get it!

What I’m Reading: November 2015

I 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.
"The last of human freedoms- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." -Victor Frankl #whatimreading #airplanemode

What I read

  • Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert. This is this quarter’s Starship Book Club pick. I LOVED it. I highlighted it like crazy. If you're a creative, get it and read it. Please.
  • Steal the Show, by Michael Port – Pre-ordered it on my Kindle, to read before my teaching gigs, and I learned a few things I implemented in my recent classes.
  • Why Not Me, by Mindy Kaling. Funny + quick!
  • You're Never Weird on the Internet, by Felicia Day. Super encouraging autobiography, for internet-nerd gals.
  • The Confidence Code by Katty Kay. This book is inspiring my current #BizConfidenceChallenge! I learned a lot, and it cleared up a lot that I've experienced with my clients (and myself)!
  • Man's Search for Meaning, by Victor Frankl. This is part of my #greatbooksproject (reading all the books I missed in high school and college) and it was just beyond description. It begins as the story of Frankl's experiences in the concentration camps during WWII. But it's somehow not dark, but completely hopeful. As the book continues, he begins to tease apart what pushed some people to survive and find peace during the atrocities.

The quote that will stick with me:

“The last of human freedoms – to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”

-Victor Frankl

What I’m reading

 

What I read last November
And the November before that

What are you reading?

 

 

The usual disclaimery disclaimer applies! 

 

Laureen Marchand, artist: an interview

Today I'm interviewing Laureen Marchand, full-time artist and Starship Captain. She shares her biz journey with us at TaraSwiger.com.

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Today I'm delighted to be talking to Laureen Marchand, a painter and a Starship Captain. She shares a great resource for Canadian artists (Carfac), how she keeps the faith when she feels disappointed and how she built a gallery on her back porch. You can her beautiful art on her website.

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 Power of Confidence + your invitation to a free e-course

What would you do in your biz if self doubt weren't holding you back? Join me for a FREE 6-week e-course to build your biz confidence, at TaraSwiger.com.

 

This week on the podcast, I'm talking about how to Defeat Self Doubt. This is a question that comes up for so many makers:

How do I keep my self-doubt from holding me back?

How do I move forward even when I don't feel like it?

The answer is: Confidence.

Not “just force yourself to do it.” Not “just wait until you feel ready.”

The answer is: Identify the doubt, build your confidence in that area, and then move forward, bit by bit.

Oh, I know, it's more fun to focus on the tactical stuff, like growing your Instagram followers or learning Periscope, but remember, none of the tactics (and no amount of followers) will matter if you don't know where your business is going….and beyond that, none of the tactics in the world matter if you don't DO them.

When I talk to makers about their businesses (and when I look at my own), what I discover 99% of the time is that we all know a BUNCH of stuff we COULD do, but we feel held back from actually DOING it.

To be totally honest, I know about a million things I could be doing for my business, but I don't do them because … I don't have the confidence. An example: Last week a friend (who is in the industry and knows a lot of great people) sent me a request from a journalist looking for an expert in exactly what I teach. And I hesitated to reply to it, for over an hour, because I thought: I'm not an expert enough.

I finally did it, but afterward I realized how much a lack of confidence could have cost me in that moment, and how much it's cost me over the life of my business.

I bet, if I asked you to, you could tell me a similar story in your own business, from just this month.

So I ask: What would less self-doubt and more confidence do for your business? How would you act? What would change?

In the podcast episode, I lay out 7 ways to defeat self-doubt (and build your confidence), but just knowing these things is different than DOING them. Doing them takes time, and focus, and dedication.

 

So let's do it, eh?

Let's take the actions, together (because, yeah, I need it too).

Over the next 6 weeks, I'm going to challenge us both to take one action, each week, to move forward, build our biz confidence, and step into our own awesomeness. And I’ll be playing along too, and sharing my own progress.

Here's how it'll work:

Each Monday, I'll post a challenge on Instagram. (Be sure you're following me!) This will be one action you can take during the week, that will build your confidence. When you complete the challenge, snap a picture and share it with the hashtag #bizconfidencechallenge

Each Thursday,I'll send a lesson (you must be signed up here to get it) to build on the challenge and explore it deeper.

I'll post a discussion thread on the Facebook page (be sure you've liked it, and that you like a few posts, so Facebook actually shows it to you!), so that after you've read the lesson, we can discuss your experience with the challenge and what you've learned.

 

Are you in?

Ok! Here are the steps you need to take:

  1. Sign up for the weekly lessons here
  2. Be sure you're following me on Instagram
  3. Share this page with your friends
  4. Like the Facebook page and join the discussion. Answer the question here: What specific action has self-doubt kept you from taking, in just the last month?
  5. Take a picture that represents something you'd do in your biz, if you had more confidence. Share it on Instagram and tag it #bizconfidencechallenge.
I'm joining @TaraSwiger for a FREE 6-week e-course – the #bizconfidencechallenge:

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Defeat Self Doubt

defeatselfdoubt

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Are you NOT working on your business because of self doubt? Do you lack the confidence to take the steps you know you need to take? If so, you are not alone.

“Every time I go to do something, I am stopped by self-doubt.”

“I’m not sure I’m good enough.”

“I’m not big enough for that yet.”

“Oh, they probably won’t accept me, or buy from me, or want my thing.”

I hear this all the time from the makers I work with. This is self-doubt.
And this is a HUGE problem for your business.

In today's episode, I share 6 ways to defeat self-doubt in your business and your life.

Resources

 

How to listen

Find all the podcast episodes here.

Why I Love Conferences

loveconferences

 

I'll let you in on a little secret.

I love the internet. I LOVE that I can help makers + artists in China, Europe and North America, all from my coffee shop in the mountains of East Tennessee.

As an introvert, I love that I can be talking to and serving thousands with my weekly emails, without worrying about what my hair looks like.

But, as much as I love talking to you each week, there is nothing comparable to live, person to person, interaction.

(This is why I built a live weekly chat into the Starship, even though all of my biz-friends think it's unsustainable and unscalable and frankly, a little nuts. (I remind them that I've been showing up to 50 chats/year for over 4 years, so it IS sustainable!) The LIVE interaction, even if we can't be face to face, provides a kind of encouragement and accountability that time-shifted communication (like this blog post) can't.

But even a live chat, or Periscope, lacks the connection that comes from looking in someone's eyes and knowing they see you, too.

This is why I love doing in-person events, like last weekend's conference. Even if I had learned nothing from the classes themselves, I learn so much from every conversation with another maker and small business owner. I learn what works for them, what their goals are, what hasn't worked. That informs my own work, and inspires me to be bolder and braver.

The science on confidence demonstrates that we are more likely to believe something is likely for ourselves (and thus, pursue it) when we see real-life examples (ie, “models”). There is nothing as encouraging as actually meeting other women who are doing it – who are building sustainable, profitable craft businesses. This isn't just “fun” – it's vital for your own confidence, which is vital for your own accomplishment.

I promise: Meet a creative business owner in person – it will build confidence and inspire you!

Meet a #creativebiz owner in person – it will build confidence + inspire you!

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Yes, going to things in person takes time. It costs money. It takes extra time to figure out how to keep your house running while you're gone.

But you don't have to go across the country. You don't have to go to a weekend-long conference. You could take a 2 hour workshop, or go to a meet-up. You could meet another small business owner for coffee. You could invite me to teach in your town, and we'll bring 5-10 local makers together for a class!

(One of the unexpected bonuses of the Starship – meet-ups around the world with other members! This month alone 2 captains met in Germany, I had dinner with 3 Captains in Seattle, and another 2 had coffee in Michigan.)

So how about you? Do you ever meet up with other craft business owners?

If not, how can you start?

Who have you been thinking about reaching out to, but hesitating?

If you're not sure how to say hello,
share this post on Facebook and tag them and say “Hi! I'd like to have coffee with you!” I promise you, they want to meet other makers, too!

 

Grace Dobush on making the most of craft conferences

GraceDobush

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My guest today is freelance journalist and organizer of the Crafty Supermarket and Midwest Craft Con, a conference for crafty businesses, Grace Dobush.

We talk about: 
Grace's favorite part of organizing a craft show
How to talk to strangers at conferences (without feeling weird)
What she's enthusiastic about right now (and the similarity between geeky sub-cultures)

Links:

 

How to listen

Find all the podcast episodes here.

It’s OK to be an introvert in business

introvertinbusiness

The most popular blog posts on my blog are all about the same thing: How to navigate your creative business as an introvert. So I'm betting that you, dear reader, are an introvert.

As I've just undertaken a weekend of maximum-human-contact (a long flight, followed by a conference full of people I'm excited to talk to, followed by catching up with college friends), I'm thinking a lot about how to survive it all as an introvert.

You might be like me, an introvert who’s friendly and chatty (and if we know each other well, VERY talkative).

Or you might be an introvert who’s shy and quiet.

Or somewhere in the middle.

As an introvert, you get filled up and energized by being alone. By being quiet (maybe reading, crafting, pinterest-ing).

Being with people can wear you out and make you feel overstimulated or frazzled.
(By contrast, extroverts get energized by being with people.)

It might feel like, as an introvert, that all the small business advice is for extroverts: Go meet people! Network! Do craft shows! BE WITH PEOPLE! TALK TO PEOPLE! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU IN BED WITH YOUR CAT?!

But I'm here to tell you, you can be an introvert and thrive in business. 

You can be an introvert and thrive in business.

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As you might know, I'm extremely enthusiastic about making your business work for you, and this introversion thing is just another opportunity to make your business fit YOU, instead of pushing yourself to fit some outside standard of acceptability.

To help you in this journey, here's a collection of suggestions I've made to introverts over the years:

I hope this helps you believe it’s OK to be an introvert and that it guides you to building a business that fits with your personality (no matter what it is!). If you’ve got an introvert friend who needs encouragement, please share it with them using the social media buttons below.

 

The Introvert’s Survival Guide for Conferences

conferencesforintroverts

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I'm about to fly across the country and teach at School House Craft, a two-day business conference for makers. I'm so excited, but this hasn't always been the case.

I used to get SO NERVOUS before something like this. I would worry that my introversion was going to sideline me. I was worried that I was going to have to sit out a huge part of the fun, or I'd miss out on all the good stuff, because I would need my alone time.

I'm not any less introverted than I was a couple of months ago, but I'm hardly worried about introversion this time, because I've learned how to handle conferences, and I've learned that I CAN handle conferences, without getting totally fried from over-stimulation. In today's episode, I'm going to share what I've learned about surviving and enjoying conferences as an introvert. 

How to listen

Find all the podcast episodes here.

 

Play Your Own Game

playyourowngame

Last week I was talking to Jay about the other comic book shop in town. He was said, “They are really good at X. Maybe my shop should get better at X.”

And I said, “But is that the game you want to play? Do you want to get good at selling X, or do something completely different? When you talk about what you love about the shop, you talk about making it inclusive, having the friendliest customer service, making it a place to spend time and feel like you belong no matter who you are. That's just a totally different game than what the other shop is doing.”

“Oh, you're right.”

(I love hearing that.)

 

I hear this from the makers I work with, all the time.

“She started classes and made a lot of money.”

Do you want to teach?

“Uh, no. “

 

“He said Periscope has done wonders for his business.”

Do you like to be on video?

“Uh, no.”

 

You see, when you look at what other people are doing and compete on their grounds, you're playing their game.

And you're always going to lose someone else's game, because THEY set the rules. They are currently holding the world record for that game. (Or else you wouldn't be checking it out, right?)

 

Instead, play your OWN game.

Make your own rules of what success is.

Play the game you care about.

Get as awesome as possible at what YOU love, not at what other people have success with.

Get as awesome at possible at what YOU love, not at what other people have success with.

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This is one of the keys to standing out in your industry – do something that you most care about, in the way you really want to, no matter what is bringing other people success.

I shared a bit of this on Periscope the other day, and a viewer said, “But people might not like you, if you do your own thing.”

I want to challenge that.

For starters, your people, the people you're serving and providing awesomeness for, they are LONGING for what you alone can offer. If you give them something no one else is doing, they are going to LOVE you. Adore you. Buy everything you make.

When you step up to being the best at your OWN game, there are going to be customers who love it.

Will everyone love it? Nope! But “everyone” doesn't love what you're doing now! “Everyone” will never all love the same thing. (See: Coke vs Pepsi.)

 

Your industry, your “competitors”, the people in your life who don't get it … they might not like it. They might not get it. They might think it's super strange, fringe, or inexplicable.

But that doesn't mean they don't like YOU.

 

Beyond that, it doesn't matter. Your business is not counting on everyone approving of it. It IS relying on some people to be so passionately enthusiastic about it that they can't wait to buy.

And that's only going to happen when you start offering something YOU are enthusiastic about, that shines out something only you could do.

 

So please, don't be troubled by anyone else. Play your own game.

 

What is your own game?

I don't know! But here are some places to ask to yourself: Am I doing this because everyone else is? or because this is what I want to be great at?

Products you offer

  • How you offer it (subscriptions, one-offs, exclusives)
  • How you launch it
  • How you describe it
  • How you photograph it
  • Where it's sold
  • How much it costs
  • Who you serve

 

What do you think? What's the game you are playing?

P.S. The game I'm playing: providing you with enthusiasm and encouragement to become  the best business expert in your own business. If you know someone who needs to hear this, share it with them.

 

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