Blog - Page 83 of 108

Pricing is not a Benefit

Last week I shared the BOOK with its first readers and the most-beloved little segment is something that came right from the blog. Since it struck a chord with readers, I thought it might be time to re-share it:

A client recently asked:

“How am I supposed to compete with Wal-mart? They have low prices, lots of different colors, and a huge advertising budget.”

I answered them simply:

You are not competing with Wal-mart.

And not just because you can’t (really, you can’t!) but because your Right People don’t want you to be Wal-mart.

They want originality.
Personality.
Specificity.
Personal connection.

Wal-mart provides cheap, mass-produced goods, cheaply.
You make hand-crafted, high quality, one-of-a-kind goodness to people who are willing to pay for it.

As long as you think of Wal-mart as the competition, you’ll spend your time explaining how you’re better than them.
But that’s a waste of time.

Remember how your English teacher used to say “Show, don’t Tell”?

Show your personality. Show your originality. Show your Youness.
And you’ll never have to mention “low prices” or “great deals.”

Here’s a short list of general benefits (the things that make you awesomest):

You are a real person. The buyer gets to interact with a real person. And not just ANY person, a person who MADE the thing they’re buying.
Your can provide awesome, agile customer support.
You are an artist. People adore supporting artists and the artist community.
Your thing is one of a kind. The buyer will have something that no one else has.

Of course, you probably know this.

But do your customers know it?
Do you make it ultra-freaking clear that what you make is valuable?

If you’re not sure how to make it clear (or what the benefits of your specific goodness is), the Starship (and the many smart Captains aboard it) can help you with that.

Holiday Sanity and Starships

When I tweeted a link to last year's free guide and was overwhelmed with thank you tweets and emails, I realized I needed to share it again:

It's a quick-to-use, silly little guide with handdrawn lists and goofy metaphors.

Yet, it works.
It helps you get a handle on what's coming next and it makes it all more do-able.

In the Starship, we're doing weekly check-ins on ho and I'm (again) surprised by how much just a bit of planning + a dash of accountability can improve your experience of the holidays.

So much so, that I was starting to doubt closing the Starship until January.
Last night, after chatting with Starshippers, someone said “Once again, I'm surrounded by smart and understanding people” and there was a round of “yay starship!”s.
I realized: yes, it's easier for me to manage everyone's membership if I wait to reopen enrollment until January….but this is the time of year people need help. And community of like-minded friends. And encouragment.

Thus it's decided: the Starship is now open to new Cadets.

If you're feeling a little worn out, a little apprehensive about the oncoming rush of holiday sales, and holiday shopping, and holiday gift-making, the Starship is here for you:
Community, weekly check-ins, accountability partners, everything we can do to make the holidays sane.
Oh yeah, and access over $500 worth of classes + tools. For 13 months.

Come aboard here.

Podcast: Multiple Streams of Income

I'm super happy to be talking about growing your craftybiz with multiple stream of income over on the (new!) CraftyPod 2.0.

You can preview it below, or click “buy” to listen to the whole thing (it's free!)

Diane does a great job of getting to the heart of the issue: how do you fit it into your business?

If you're hoping to spice up your business with different kinds of income (ie, money!), here are a few other things I've written about it:

(the cupcakes don't really have anything to do with income…except that I'm obsessed with making them (3 batches in 2 days)…maybe if my frosting technique improved, I'd have another source of income?)

What’s unclear?

I'm deep in BOOK-mode, pouring all my focus into making sure I answer your questions.
I'm going back through my email folder of questions I've received (and answered!) over the past 3 years, to make sure the BOOK answers as many of those as makes sense.

But what else?

When you think of selling your thing, when you think of sharing it with others, when you look at your craftybiz and where you want it to go…what's still unclear?

Ask your question in the comments or privately through this form and I'll answer you right now AND in the BOOK.

And nope, it doesn't matter if your business is real or a dream. It doesn't matter if it's brand-new or 10 years old.
What do you need to know to take you where you want to go?

Thanks for helping me make the BOOK exactly what the community needs!

Right Action

You might remember that last week I asked you for your questions (I answered them and recorded it for you here!).

I love doing this because it helps me see what it is you're thinking about your business and how you're feeling about the mass quantities of business-y advice out there.
And it always sparks at least a zillion blog posts, so that's a bonus.

Today I want to talk about a question I didn't get to answer on the call, because I got it after the call was over.

The asker asks:

What are some actionable steps I can take to reach new customers?I have a really great base of regular customers; they like me, they like my product, they come back for more. This is awesome. But I need more people like that, b/c the few great regulars I have aren't enough business on their own. How do I find more regulars?
I just don't know for sure what I can do, and I'm tired of reading stuff about infusing my business with my personality or using my blog properly, etc. I want actual steps I can take to find and get new customers, you know? I'm just not sure how else to get my product in front of the people who will buy it and love it and come back for more.

Emphasis mine

I love this because, as you know, I'm always talking about infusing your stuff with your you-ness and I can totally understand the frustration when that doesn't feel like action.

After getting this email (and responding to her with actual action steps!), I went back to my notes for the Right People class…
And I threw it all out.
I went to my BOOK draft and I found everything that is actionable…and that's going to be tomorrow's class.

I'm going to say very little about infusing your you-ness into everything you do because although that is the foundation of everything, this is Right People 2.0.
This is for those of you who know what you make, you know a few of your Right People but you are ready to dig deeper, to get more, to stretch out and fill your capacity.

If you're ready for it, register here. The class is tomorrow, but if you can't make it, you'll get a recording if you register in time.

How Right People Changed my Business, revisited

In writing the chapter on Right People (for the BOOK!) and getting ready for the new class, I found this old post on Right People and I love it so much, I wanted to share it again (updated with what's changed)…

Last week we talked about what Right People are and how they can change your business.
Today I’d like to share what happened to Blonde Chicken Boutique when I started applying the concept of Right People to my work.

It started by Havi saying

Everyone has Right People

and

Your Right People are Right if they love what you do. That’s the only requirement.

And I wondered, what would this look like if I really believed it?

If these people love what I make, then I should make something truly ME.

Instead of worrying about the trends or what other yarnies were doing, I started focusing on yarn that I really love. Textures, colors, styles. My love of my work grew and I created a line of yarns that really went together. I began to develop a look for Blonde Chicken Boutique.

If there are people who love what I make, then I should be talking to THEM.

Instead of spending money reaching tons of new people, I turned to my current people. How can I serve them better?
For starters, I ask them. I create products they want (the Learn To Knit Kit was inspired by people who loved my yarn but didn’t knit) and I keep them up-to-date (with a customers-only newsletter + a bi-weekly Yarn-Love Note)

My Right People love my thing, so why worry with those who don’t?

When I realized I don’t have to appeal to everyone or make everyone happy, I can focus on doing what I do best and serving the people who are already happy.

This means I could stop selling online, I can focus on my Monthly Yarn Mail customers and my yarn shops.

My happy, delighted Right People are the best advertising I could ever want.

If I make it easy for them to share my stuff, they can spread the more to more Right People.
Without doing anything, yarn shops have approached me. They have customers who asked them for my yarn, so now they carry it. ALL of my wholesale business (which is now 90% of my yarn business) has come from referrals!

The more I thought about Right People, I realized I was actually thinking about Marketing.

But instead of asking “How do I tell people about my thing” (like many crafters do)
or “How do I tell my target market of 30 year old college graduates who make $40,000/year who knit about my thing” (like marketers do),
I’m asking “Who are my Right People already? What do they love? What could I do make them happier.”

This changed every part of my marketing.
(and started attracting attention of people who needed marketing help, from companies who want my advice to publishers who want me to write books)

The result?

My time is spent working with people I love, instead stressing over finding more people. My people are happy and tell their friends. My sales have greatly increased.
But best of all, I’m doing what I actually love.

A totally unexpected, non-yarny result?

When I started really listening to my people (not just my customers, but all those people who I liked and liked me, including other crafters, my online friends, other business owners), I realized they wanted something else.
They were asking me business-y questions; about marketing, about sales, about crafting a business AND a life.

So I started offering classes and tools.
Every single one of my classes (including this week’s class on Right People) have been sparked by specific questions I’ve been asked. I always answer the asker, but when the answer becomes huge, I know I have a class.

The best part?
I genuinely love teaching. I love talking about business. I love love love brainstorming for other people’s thing.
And the love is so obvious that last night Jay said, “Wow, I can see how happy this makes you. And it’s so perfect for you!” ).

Following my Right People? Led me to bliss.

What would change in your business if you focused on your Right People?

If you’d like to work with your adoring fans + find your Right People, check out the class!
Registrations close this Wednesday!

Got questions? Get ’em answered.

Oy. I just discovered that the free Q+A recordings that I used to give away for free were lost.

I'm bummed because I loved those recordings as time capsules of what it felt like 6 months and then 1 year after quitting my dayjob.

But instead of moping around about it, I just (10 seconds ago) decided to do a NEW, FREE Q+A session.

This Wednesday, October 5th.
4pm ET.
You can get the call-in details + recording by signing up here.

You can ask anything about having a craftybiz, quitting a dayjob, or having pink hair.

It will be fun, silly and to-the-point.
Get the details (and a chance to send in your questions), right here.
(If you can't make it, you'll get the recording)

I'm not selling anything, just answering your questions because it's fun and I like you.

Talk to you soon!

What are Right People, re-visited

In writing the chapter on Right People (for the BOOK!) and getting ready for the new class, I couldn't find a better way to explain it than I did in a post I wrote last year…so instead of trying to find a new way of saying it, let's just have a look at that older post:

“Your Right Price will be right for your Right People”

I said this in the Pricing class and a few people piped up to ask , “But who are these Right People? How do I find them?”

We’ll talk about the how to find the Right People and how to make them happy in this class, but before you register for that, let’s answer the basic question:

Who are Right People and why do I care?

I first heard the term from Havi, when she said:

Your Right People need whatever it is you have in whatever form you give it.

I read that and thought, yeah, ok.

But then I started to explore it (and talked to Havi about it in more depth).

As I experimented, it reframed and transformed every area of my business.

Let’s start with a definition, from Havi:

Right People = anyone you like and appreciate who likes and appreciates you.

My definition, as it relates to our crafty pursuits:

Right People = the people who love and adore your thing, the way you do it and you.

Your right people is anyone who really loves what you make.

This includes:

customers
friends
cheerleaders
mentors
partners

Not all of your Right People are going to buy from you, but even those that don’t will sing your praises to new Right People.

Without a focus on your Right People your business may be:

Unfocused: Which way should I go next? What should I make?
Uncertain: Will this sell? Where should I advertise?
Insecure: Will people like it? Is it worthless? Will anyone ever buy?

Focusing on your Right People can reverse all that.

When you’re talking to your Right People, you can be yourself:

Because that spark of YOU is what spoke to the people in the first place, it’s why they are here, checking out your thing.

When you talk to your Right People, you know what to do next:

They’ll tell you what they want either directly (I want yellow!) or indirectly (yellow sells out quickly).

When you share your thing with the Right People, you’ll make sales:

They will feel a sense of kinship or a recognition of awesomeness and it will *click*. Yes, this is for me.

It’s not about manipulation, convincing or cajoling.
In fact, it’s the opposite! When you speak to your Right People, you don’t have to persuade them that your thing is right, they will feel it.

Sound awesome?

Learn how to do it October 12th in the Right People class. We’ll cover the specific how tos of finding your Right People, talking to them, learning from them and keeping them blissfully happy.

Linchpin in a Business of One

Last time I saw my uncle, he told me he had read a life-changing book. A read-three-times-in-a-row kind of book. An everyone-should-read-this kind of book.

What is the book, I practically screamed.

(We like to tell dramatic stories in my family…ones that can go off the rails by the constant interruption of cousins/sons/brothers.)

I was completely surprised to hear the title: Linchpin, by Seth Godin.

The only Seth Godin book I haven't read.

I thought the book was about being an indispensable employee…so I had skipped it. I'm not an employee and I'm pretty darn indispensable in my business of one.

But I trust my uncle, so I got the book from the library.
And devoured it this week.

It's a great book for employees and entrepreneurs alike, but here's what blew my mind: Seth talks, at length about the need to…make your own map. (I'm sorta into you making your own map, remember?)

He has an entire chapter on There Is No Map and here's how it starts:

What does it take to lead?

The key distinction is the ability to forge your own path to discover a route from one place to another that hasn't been paved, measured, and quatified. So many times we want someone to tell us exactly what to do, and so many times that's exactly the wrong approach.

Right?

This is what I'm talking about.

This is exactly what I'm passionate about:
You, getting comfortable with your youness.
You, recognizing that your distinct talents (Seth calls it your genius), your amazing thing (or Seth likes to say, your art) are what your Right People are begging for.

You, getting clear, getting obvious, gettin' jiggy with your youness is what I want for you.

So whether you're working for the man, or your own womanly self – be honest:

Where are you looking to someone else to tell you what to do?

What area of business (life) could you be making your own map for?

Should you work for free?

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:

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.
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!

So yep, if you've been thinking about it, jump in here.

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