Lo, these many weeks, I have been digging into what we're doing here.
What I believe. What my mission is.
What I believe about you.
And here it is, all at once:
The gist: I don't want to create ANYTHING that makes you doubt yourself.
Instead of telling you WHAT to do in your craftybiz, let's dig into your particular smartness and look at how you can apply THAT.
But I'm still figuring it out: How can I best do that?
What do you think?
Notes from the BOOK is a weeklyish peek into how the BOOK is taking shape. Lessons learned, moments of bing, and excerpts.
Last week I wrote this for the book:
“Get clear on YOUR strengths and your product's unique awesomeness before you start thinking about your customers. If you do it the other way around, you'll create something bland and not-you. Your you-ness is the main selling point when you make something by hand, so we're going to do everything we can to make sure we don't dilute it.”
And then I got stuck.
I couldn't write another word.
I outlined my next few points, the rest of the chapter…but I couldn't seem to turn my outline into coherent sentences (even the above sentences are a little murky for me, they're sure to go through a rigorous editing before they end up in the book).
A few days later (3 days of no writing! The world was caving in around me!), I recognized something else lurking, some un-book-related stuckness. I've been feeling a bit drifty about what I want to do next (I know, I know, the BOOK should be project enough). This sense of unease seeped into every other aspect of my work.
I didn't feel like my Work has a Mission. It seemed random, piece-meal and unfocused.
Many journal pages, and days, later I talked to Jay about it.
His first, uncluttered response: Isn't your Mission to Be Tara?
Oh, yeah.
I spent another few days trying to figure out what this meant for my business.
Obviously, it's not a business model. It's not a marketing plan. It might be my personal mission, but how could it lead the business?
Uh, what did I write up there?
The first job, when you're selling something so very YOU, is to get clear on what that YOU is and then make all decisions from that. Your strengths, your vision, your you-ness guides everything (in fact, my whole BOOK is about HOW you make smart marketing decisions based on your you-ness).
I've been making decisions based on what I thought I should be doing.
On other people's definitions of my business.
And other people kept thinking I was a consultant.
So I had to set up my site like a consultant.
I had to market and make offers and products like a Consultant.
(my own Tara, not other people's versions of Tara)
An explorer.
A writer.
A sharer.
A big-sister (a smidge more experienced, a little bossy, mostly goofy).
I share that here.
I create tools and spaces for you to do YOUR OWN exploring.
In those tools and spaces, I'm a silly, friendly, encouraging fellow traveler. I share my path and help you figure out yours, all while protecting and respecting YOUR experience.
Knowing that, respecting that and paying attention to that Tara-ness IS a mission.
It is a business model.
It is a marketing plan.
It guides my decisions.
It helps me focus.
It keeps everything coherent and heading the right direction.
The last week of not-writing, it was my own good sense trying to fight through the what-everyone-else-says clutter to assert itself in my life. To bring me and this place and everything I do in alignment with what I was writing.
(why yes, it is a little frustrating that I didn't recognize it before spending a week gnashing my teeth)
It's coming up time for me to get a new work computer, and there was a symmetry that pleased me in paying for the work computer with art money. So, my endpoint is to sell original art, commissions, and Etsy items equal to the money for the computer and some new software. I gave myself a 6-month timeline, from July 1-December 31, which felt reasonable to me since a lot of the work was prep in the first three months towards sales in the second three.
It really helped me see where there was specific work to be done, and when in the process it needed to happen. I used the Fairytale Map, since it was my art and idea and because I really liked the little extras I'd made for it.
First I put in my goal! I wrote the number I was going for on the pot of gold and pasted it at the very end of the path.
Second, I added the extra path-loop with the castle at the top labeled Etsy, so that the two Etsy-related milestones would be visually separated from those more focused on my fine art business.
Then, I added in the other 8 flags in the spots along the path, including some things that needed to be done right away, and some that were longer-term.
After that was done, I took the other little clip-art things {which come with the Guide!} and put them in the places that felt right. For instance, I stuck the dragon down with rewriting the copy on my sites, because copy is always a monstrous task! I put the little purple monster up with “New Online Venues” (and wrote “Scary! Rawr!” on him) because that's a hard thing for me, increasing visibility when my instincts are always to stay in the background.
I peppered the pine trees in the blank spaces, and then put the apple trees near the end and wrote “fruits of my labor” on them to represent the delicious moment when I go to the Apple store and buy my new laptop. Daily Art, which is my 6-times-a-week blogging of a new art piece every day, went near the end because while it's not the sort of milestone where you can say “there, done!” it's an ongoing part of my business that I felt deserved acknowledgement in my Map.
I cleaned my painting studio while I was still working on the Map, so I added a shiny sticker and a note in one of the open spaces to commemorate unearthing my easel again. I also got some ridiculous shiny bling to go on the flagpoles as I complete things, too, so that I don't just let the Map stay static. I think that show of change as the Milestones are reached will help keep me focused on my goal.
Tons!
I actually spent a couple of weeks contemplating my Milestones & all the steps they're going to take to complete before I finished the map, and it really helped me to see where the things are that I'm avoiding or wishy-washy about.
For instance, I was totally comfortable putting Daily Art on there as a forever-milestone, because I've been doing it for over a year now and it's quite habitual at this point to keep track of it during my week. But I waffled a lot about doing some kind of birthday celebration on the blog in September, because last year's was largely unsuccessful — it really showed me that I have a hole in my knowledge of what my audience wants in a promotion.
I've really stepped up the time I spend on making and listing my art on the site — I take more photos, and I've set up a much easier-to-browse Art Shop on the site where people can find just the art that's for sale.
I also have put a higher priority on new projects and collaborations — I'm going to be doing some awesome laser-cut necklaces in collaboration with Shannon of Polymath Labs (who I met through the Starship!), and I've started a whole line of awesomely gothy fabric designs on Spoonflower. Both of these things totally count as New Online Venues, but I've managed to sneak them past the monster because they're not things like blogs or forums.
Sssh, don't tell him!
I love having the metaphor of going on an adventure to my pot of gold — it reminds me of Neil Gaiman's wonderful poem “Instructions,” and really makes my goal seem like more of a game than a job. And, weirdly, makes it feel more attainable at the same time.
Even if I am still wishy-washy about my birthday celebration.
Thanks for sharing with us Amy! My favorite part is your use of dragon and that you have an apple tree at the end to symbolize your trip to the Apple store! So cute!
If you are thinking your craftybiz could use some direction and insight, check out the Map-Making Guide and you'll get 2 full pages of Amy's art (which includes the dragon and the path she used!), along with step-by-step instructions and a friendly make-sure-you-do-it email course. Get yours here.
I am so honored to be today's guest on one of my most favorite podcasts, Creative Living with Jamie.
We talk about
It was SO fun to do the interview and I'm happy to share it with you!
You can listen or subscribe to the podcast here.
(I recommend subscribing! I'm subscribed and I listen to it weekly while I wash the dishes…talk about making a boring job more creative!)
PS. Wanna interview me for your podcast, website or newsletter? Just shoot me a note with a link to your thing!
It will be about, well, what I write about: marketing your crafty goodness.
And just like that, my tiny sweet BOOK (that's what she insists on being called) came into my life. She's small and tender and not ready to go out into the world. Or to be poked at. Or questioned.
But we're spending time together each morning, BOOK and I.
I write her letters and she tells me what she needs to grow up (since I haven't found the What To Expect When You're Expecting Guide to Raising a BOOK).
And today (with my publisher's blessing), BOOK wanted me to announce her entry to the world.
(just kidding about the gifts. sorta)
Over the next few months, as I write (er, raise) BOOK, I'll be sharing more details (she's very into story-telling and we've some pretty great stories already) but if you're anxious to hear about her release date (since she's a Southern girl, she'll probably want a debutante ball) you can sign up for Cooperative Press's newsletter.
And if you'd like a chance for your craftybiz to be featured in the BOOK, make sure you get twice-monthly SparklePointers, so you'll get our request for your stories, later this fall.
Well, that's it.
We are…mostly Too Excited. Overwhelmed with oh-my-goodnesses and Ready to Party!
Curious how I got a book contract in less than 2 months after deciding I wanted one? I used the Map-Making Guide to get clear, figure out what needed to be done, and then, yep, do it.
Why yes, it is that beautiful man's birthday.
You can join in by sharing your GK-inspired craft (all mediums welcome!) in the Flickr group. There's no deadline, there's no rules, just a bunch of crafters in love with the dancing man.
For me, the crush started the first time I saw Singin' in the Rain. I was 8 or 9 and we rented it from the library. I'm pretty sure it was the first musical I ever watched. It's definitely the first time I saw dancing like that.
I was completely transfixed…until the weird staircase scene (the woman, with the length of fabric…I just don't get it. Still.)
The most quotable scene, this one! (Long people, have short faces and short people have long faces…)
It soon became my watch-when-sick movie and it's never failed to lull me to sleep or make me forget about how icky I feel.
Which is why it was tragic when it was one of the movies stolen when our house was broken into.
It was also the very first movie we replaced (just a week later Jay came home with another Singin' in the Rain. And a Wayne's World. But that's a story for a different craft-along.)
But confession:
I've never seen another Gene Kelly movie. Clearly, this is to be remedied. I've got Summer Stock and An American in Paris on hold at the library (so retro!) and Xanadu (never seen it! my child-of-the80s-cred is in question!) and (thanks to Rachel!) Anatomy of a Dancer cued up for tonight on Netflix Instant.
I'm thinking an amigurumi Gene (like my Wimpy Kid) or perhaps a series of yarn, one for each movie I watch?
PS. Wanna OD on GK? Check out this great YouTube Playlist while you read the posts from the other craft-alongers: Diane + Rachel
(share your link in the comments and I'll add you here!)
Right now (as you read this, not as I write it), I'm on a plane somewhere over the middle of the country.
Instead of waiting until I can come up with something clever or helpful to say, I'm going to share a bunch of randomness at once (much of which will be useful, I hope!)
I've had a great time looking at the maps (like Kristine‘s + Amy‘s) you're making with the Map-Making Guide.
One of the best secret magics (yes, there are several) of the Map-Making Guide is that it makes your business visible.
Not just the path to your next goal (that's obviously part of it), but your entire biz.
Did you draw your map to be a dark + scary forest?
Or a well-lit hike through the mountains?
Or a fairytale trail to a castle?
Close your eyes.
Think of your business, as it is right now.
What is it?
A place? A person?
Is it warm or cold? Dark or bright? Friendly or grumpy?
Write down the description or sketch out what you see.
Now, what's your Biz of the Future (your dream! your ideal!) look like?
Is it brighter or more abundant or more colorful or more rested?
Now you have a pile of useful things about where your business is and where it wants to go!
(If you don't, if you can't see anything, you may want to talk it out.)
We'll talk about this more next week, but think about it: what story goes along with your map?
(ex. Red Riding Hood being eaten, Rocky overcoming, the Hobbits going home to the Shire, Thor being cast from Asgard)
What can you see that you've been telling yourself about your business and where it is?
I'm thrilled to have one of the first Map-Makers sharing her story today!
Kristine designs stories into her knitting patterns and makes one of my favorite podcasts, Yarnings. You can find her at kadyellebee.com, on ravelry as kristine, and on twitter.
Last week I walked through the Map-Making Guide with the Starship. The first step (spoiler alert!) is setting an endpoint for the map – the specific, measurable goal you want to reach in the next 3-6 months.
It was this step, the most obvious starting place, that caused the most distress.
” I have these 4 goals and I'm going to work on all of them…”
“I can't pick just one!”
You love your craftybiz.
You love it's potential and all that it can become.
You want to honor all that it can be.
You want to keep it open and available.
You want to take it in every possible direction.
In choosing one, you are releasing other options.
(Just like in marriage.)
When you choose just one thing to focus on, you acknowledge your own finiteness.
You recognize all that you want to do that can't be done (all at the same time).
Choosing one place for your focus means letting go of the other options and possibilities (for now).
And often we try to skip over this step, we gloss over the inherent sorrow in all those lost chances.
But it's ok. It's ok to mourn those other things. It's ok to be bummed you can't do it all.
Choosing is hard. There's a sort of loss when you choose one opportunity over another.
There's also a risk. One of the Starshippers put it beautifully when she said, “I don't want to verbalize my goal, because then I have to acknowledge my failure if I don't reach it. It's scary!”
I'm not asking you to choose one thing for all time.
I'm not asking you to choose one thing for the next year.
In the Map-Making Guide, I am asking you to focus on one thing, one beautiful, magical endpoint for your map for the next month (or six).
In focusing like a laser, you are so much more likely to reach that place.
You are so much more likely to think creatively, overcome obstacles and just keep swimming until you get there.
It doesn't mean no other part of your business (or life) will get movement. In fact, you'll see crazy changes all over the place. When you choose one focus and work on it mindfully, everything in the periphery will transform and grow, because everything is everything.
When you choose, you're not choosing ONE success, you're choosing a ripple of successes, but you are focusing all your energy on the center of that ripple.