Announcing! Archives - Tara Swiger

Announcing!

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!

I'm so excited to see @TaraSwiger and so many other fantastic teachers at #MidwestCraftCon!

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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!

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

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.
Map Making – Set a goal for the next three months and then make a map to get you there. (You’ll do this twice!)
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.
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.
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.
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.

I'm giving myself the gift of a fantastic biz year in 2016 with @TaraSwiger's Lift Off

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“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

Join me for a live event in Seattle!

Super exciting news guys: over the last month, I have confirmed FOUR in-person events for the next 6 months. You can see the full list here, but today I want to tell you about the closest one. (Want reminders about all upcoming events, both online and off? Sign up here!)

On October 16-17, I'll be at the School House Craft Conference in Seattle, WA! You can grab your tickets here.

I'll be teaching:

Pay Yourself – find the profit and sustainability in your business

Craft your Customer Path – how strangers find you, fall in love with you, and become raving fans

Get More Done – how to get what matters done, no matter how much time you have.

I am SUPER excited! Not only to teach on my favorite topics, in one of my favorite cities, but to get to hang out with the fabulous people who will be there! Y'all know I love Kim Werker and Marlo Miyashiro (Marlo hired me to teach my first-ever live class, for EtsyRAIN, 3 years ago. I was, uh, in need of improvement), and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to get to know the other teachers better.

And more than THAT, I'm THRILLED at the chance to see YOU! So if you're in the Seattle area, I'd love it if we can meet and hang out at the conference!

Join us here.

Can't wait to hang out with @TaraSwiger when she comes to Seattle for #schoolhousecon!

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If you're going, be sure to say hello and tell me you're a reader!

The Starship is now OPEN

Put on your red shirt and press play on the playlist – The Starship is now boarding!

You can read all about it here, but I wanted to give you a bit of a backstage pass into what it is and does. .

NOTE: The Starship only opens once a quarter*, in order to make sure everyone gets started from the same place (and to ensure that I have time to get to know everyone and their business).

*To keep it small + personal (so you can connect, collaborate and befriend each other) only 16 new Captains will beam up this quarter (to join the 70+ who are already aboard). After that, boarding closes until December!

The Starship is a place for weekly accountability, monthly review and anytime-you-want-it question-asking (and answers!). Over the last 5 years (!), it’s grown to be more awesome than I had ever imagined.

You see, The Starship is not just me. It’s a whole community of clever, hilarious business explorers who show up for you – they answer your questions, cheer you on, and celebrate (and tweet) your newest products. As it’s grown and changed, the Starship has come to do some things REALLY well:

The Starship…

reminds you of your successes. I think of The Starship (and my role in it) as a vessel of celebration (pun intended!). It holds our joys and our challenges and, when we need it most, The Starship reminds us of what we’re capable of.

shares expertise. Whether you’re writing a press release or looking for the right platform for your next product, we’ve got members that have done everything from knitwear design to public relations, from self-publishing to traditional publishing, from selling art at gallery shows to teaching at major industry events. If you’ve got a question, we’ve either got the answer, or can find a resource that does.

equips you to reach your goals. Whether your goal is about your income, your direction, or the way you work – we have a library full of tools to help you first get clear on your goal, and then work towards it. The most important thing is that you’re going where you want to go, not just where you think you should go.

holds you gently accountable. Once you’ve got your destination, we check in regularly to make sure you’re moving towards it. But this isn’t imposing or judging – you let us know what you want to accomplish in the next week, and then you show up to let us know if you did it or not. If you’ve met or exceeded your plan, we throw confetti and celebrate. If you’ve fallen short and are feeling bad, we encourage you. We remind you of your past successes.

We’ve always done the weekly group check-ins, but this quarter we started something new: Accountability Partner Pairing. If you want more personal accountability, you just sign up and I hand-match you with a partner. Together you work out when (daily, weekly, monthly?) and how (phone, text, email) you’re going to check in. The results so far have been STELLAR, with lots of progress being attributed to the new partners!

The Starship with @TaraSwiger is now OPEN and accepting new creative biz owners, woot!

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If this sounds wonderfully appealing, you can read more about The Starship (and join!) here.

The process of introspection, implementation and growth

The Starship is now boarding!

You can read all about it here, but I wanted to give you a bit of a backstage pass into why the Starship is built the way it is.

The Starship only opens once a quarter*, in order to make sure everyone gets started from the same place (and to ensure that I have time to get to know everyone and their business).

*To keep it small + personal (so you can connect, collaborate and befriend each other) only 12 new Captains will beam up this quarter (to join the 70 who are already aboard). After that, boarding closes until October!

The Starship is a place for weekly accountability, monthly review and anytime-you-want-it question-asking…but I’ve learned over the last 5 years (!) that it’s not enough to have resources, you have to know where and how you want to use them. Unless you start with a plan and intention, all the resources can overwhelm you.

It's not enough to have resources, you have to know where + how you want to use them.

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Over the years, I’ve built in plan-making, intention-setting rituals + resources, into the schedule of the Starship, so that you will use it to grow and improve your business.

Here’s the process of intention-setting and implementation:

1. Get oriented in the Starship.

With a quick email series, you’ll learn how to navigate the resources available to you. You’ll also learn how to make a Clear Ask, so that you get the help you need (Captains have told me that they now use this in all their communication!)

2. Get oriented in your own business.

It’s vital to know where your business is, right now. (Not just where you want it to be, or where you think it “should” be). You'll do this by Charting Your Stars. You'll take a week-long course that helps you find your North Star, make your own Star Map for navigating your dreams, and set Destinations that actually matter to you.

This is the first step to ensuring you move forward, in the direction you really want to go (and it's exclusive to the Starship and Lift Off).

3. Make each dream do-able.

On July 6th, the entire Starship makes a Map, using this guide. With a 6 day e-course and a dedicated forum, you’ll identify your next Destination (for the next 3 months) and break it down into do-able To Dos. This is where everything you dream about doing becomes practical.

If you've never set and reached a goal in your business, this process will change your life.

4. Learn how you best work.

After you’ve got your do-able To Dos … you actually have to do them. Through forum posts and weekly check-ins you’ll identify how you best get work done, and we’ll help un-stick you when you get stuck.

5. Learn what you don't know.

Whether your goal requires you to improve your profitability, create an effective marketing plan, or become more effective with your time, The Starship Library has you covered. You'll have immediate access to over a dozen classes (find the full list here) AND you can sign up for Lift Off (for free!) and build the foundations of your business over the next 6 months

6. Stay on track.

Every month we look back and review your adventure so far in a super-quick Reassessment Log. You can see where you swerved and what you learned. We’re there to cheer on every mile marker you reach!

Grace says: “Every year I go through the entire process of Chart Your Stars and Map Making, cover to cover. The insight into what is right for me is undeniable and incredible. So helpful in fact that every month I go back through them and touch up the areas that need to be redefined – a big part of running a successful business is constantly checking in and making sure I'm staying true to my mission and myself!”

After 3 months, every quarter, we start the cycle again with Map Making and review – so that you’re always moving forward, always identifying the next Destination and going after it with the freshest information on your very own business. (This way we avoid the I forgot about my New Year’s Resolutions! problem.)

You don’t need another thing to remember.

Have you ever bought an online class and then didn’t know what to do or how to navigate the space or what happened when? I hate that! So I’ve built the entire process to come to you easily + simply.

That’s why Starship Captains don’t have to remember ANY of this. Everything I mentioned just comes to you. You don’t have to remember to check a website, or log in, or anything. Every Wednesday I send an email with a mini-lesson, reminders about what we’re doing (the Map Making, the classes), and an invitation to the weekly chat. So if you take a week (or month!) away, you have a chance to jump back in, every week.

What's new

Every quarter we add something new to the Starship, based on member's suggestions. Last quarter I created my most-thorough marketing class (Craft Your Marketing, which you'll only find in the Library!) and Wrangle Your Time.

This quarter we're adding

Accountability Partners – want someone to check in with you via email, phone, video, Twitter or something else? You tell us your preferences and we'll hand-match you to an accountability partner.
Live Q+As – once every three months, I'll answer all of your questions, via a live video! (Yep, there's a recording!)
Every worksheet, video, and audio lesson has been newly edited! This means a more seamless experience for you!
A new, seamless payment plan with smaller monthly payments. (Details here)
A brand-new option: Warp Drive! If you want one-on-ones with me, you can get that with a Warp Drive Starship membership. And if you don't need them, there's now an option without the one-on-ones.

Any questions?

Read all the details here, then send me an email (tara@taraswiger.com) if you've got any questions!

PS. Every class, workbook, and Guide I’ve mentioned comes FREE with your Starship membership. You’ll get access to absolutely everything I do (including exclusive access to one-on-one sessions).

Where is your business? The four stages of building a business

Last week I wrote about the “flip” – the moment where you start thinking of being a Professional. That's one moment in the life of a business, but in my years of working with makers, I've noticed there are actually a few stages that come before the flip:

Thinking
Plotting
Doing
Doing it and doing it and doing it well*

*You're singing this now, aren't you?

Thinking

There’s often a looong period of time where you consider selling what you make. In this stage you may even take some “steps” like signing up for Etsy, listing a few things with hastily taken photos, or starting a blog (or maybe a whole string of un-updated blogs).
You think. You dream.

This is an important stage. But this is not a business.

Plotting.

This is different for different people. For me, it involved a crazy amount of research (mostly business books) and writing down every idea I had. For others, it involves sending emails to people who might help (like me!). Or reading the Etsy forums. Or finding some blogs.

The difference between this stage and the first?

Intention.

At this point, you know, that you will do this sell-what-you-make thing. You will.
You may not know how. Or when. But something has shifted.
It’s real.
But it’s still not a business.

This plotting may eventually lead to Doing, but many (MANY!) people get stuck on the I-need-to-learn-more train and never get off. They go around and around and don't take any action.

Doing

This is the stage where you make it happen.

If you hang out in the plotting stage too long, doubt will creep in.
Is it real?
Is it possible?

Stay in this doubt too long and you slip back into the Thinking stage.
Everything seems too hard. Too confusing. Too out-of-your-range.

So how do you move from Plotting to Doing?
By making one decision.
A decision to commit.
When you turn that surety in your heart into something tangible.

The decision can be anything.
But it must involve investing in your business (investing = risking time or money or your comfort on something that will yield returns).
It can be signing up for a class.
It can be DOING what you learned from a blog post, a class, a friend.

Anything that you can look at when doubt seeps in and say “No, this isn’t just a dream, I AM doing it.”

(Afraid of moving to Doing too soon? Think you need more Plotting before you commit? Be reassured: you will ALWAYS be plotting. You never stop Plotting. I’ve been Doing a business for over 7 years, and I've been self-employed for 5 years and I’m still Plotting and changing and experimenting.)

It's only after you start Doing that you make the flip to a Professional. It's only after you're IN it, that you can get good at it.

But here's the thing: you can be Doing and STILL not have a business. Unless you have built a foundation and systems, all of your doing will be random and ineffective.

Doing it and doing it and doing it well

This is where you'll spend the rest of your business life, and this is where what you're doing becomes an actual business. This is where you do the profitability math, develop a marketing plan, and begin to shape a business you really want, focused on your own goals. (This is where I work with people. I don't help you with the initial start-up, I help you make it more awesome and more you.)

You can move forward.

No matter where you are now, and how long you've been there, you can make progress towards your dream.

I've put everything you need in the foundations of your business into one program, so that you can shift from random action to sustained focus (and profits!). In Lift Off, you'll figure out where you want to go, set clear goals, regularly assess what you're doing (so you only do what works!), do your profit math, create a marketing plan, and learn from your own business, so that you can take your business to the next level (whatever that is for you).

Lift Off is the guidance & training you need to get your biz off the ground and into the stars! It is open now.

Marketing for Crafters

Eep! It's nearly here and I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!

This week I'm teaching a FREE three-day class on all aspects of marketing your handmade business. From your Right People, to clarifying your message, to crafting a Customer Path that effectively connects with your people, to deciding what (of the hundreds) of tools to use, to crafting a plan you'll actually stick with…we're going to cover it all, in detail. And best yet: We're going to apply it to your business, exactly where you are right now.

Awesome, right?

In the last few weeks I've gotten a few questions more than once, so in case you have them too, I wanted to share them with you. Feel free to ask your questions in the comments, and I'll get to them as fast as I can (while flying across the country!)

How does this work?

Go here and click “RSVP”. You'll get both the syllabus and the workbook right away, so you'll be ready to start class Thursday morning. At 9am PST (Noon EST) on Thursday, July 17th, class will begin! You'll get a reminder email to log on and when you do you'll see me teaching, in real time! There's a chat room for you to ask your questions (the hosts will be lobbing your questions at me on the regular) and a hashtag (#swigerlive) so you can connect with your fellow students. Each morning you'll get a reminder email so you don't miss anything!

What's the schedule?

July 17, 2014
Goal for today: You will end class with the language you can use to talk directly to your customer (and you'll know exactly who that customer is)

9:00am – What Marketing is (and isn’t)
10:30 – 10:45 – break
10:45 – 12:00 – Crafting Your Message: Spot Your Sparkle
12:00 – 12:45 – lunch
12:45 – 2:15 – Your Right People (who they are, where to find them)
2:15 – 2:30 – break
2:30 – 4:00 – Translate your message into your Right People's language.

July 18, 2014
Goal for the day: You will understand how customers find you, fall in love with you, and buy from you – so that you can take focused, results-driven action.

9:00 – 10:30 – How to build (and improve) your Home Base
10:30 – 10:45 – break
10:45 – 12:00 – Hi! How people find you.
12:00 – 12:45 – lunch
12:45-2:15 – Come Closer! Enticing a buyer into your world
2:15 – 2:30 – break
2:30 – 4:00 – Buy! That magic moment (and what comes next)

July 19th, 2014
Goal for the day: Create a concrete plan that aligns with your goals, and learn how to filter out everything that doesn't.

9:00-10:30 -The power of knowing what you want.
10:30 – 10:45 – break
10:45 – 12:00 – Choose your tools: from Instagram to craft shows
12:00 – 12:45 – lunch
12:45 – 2:15 – How to hold an experiment (and learn what really works for you)
2:15 – 2:30 – break
2:30 – 4:00 – Make your own map: Create a do-able plan to get things done.

Keep in mind the times are approximate. Each segment might go over or under a smidge.(You can download this with a description of each segment here)

What if I can't watch live?

Watching live is free, but you can purchase anytime access. You can get the whole class here for $59 (the price will go up after class, so jump on it!) or you can buy each day separately (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3). Each Day's page tells you what we'll cover on that day, so you can pick the one that's right for you.

Whether you can watch live or not, you may want to purchase the class to get some amazing bonuses:

Anytime access to the videos (so you can refresh yourself!)
Free access to Craft an Effective Blog
Free access to Automagical Email Series
$100 off the Solo Mission

Should I take this class if I bought the book?

YES. Although I'll hit on some book bits in Day 1 (specifically, Right People and Your Message), I've updated it all based on the last two years of working with designers, makers, and artists. I now know more about what really works in businesses just like yours, since I wrote the book over 2 years ago. Also: Day 1's first segment is entirely new material (not taught in any class), and Day 2 and Day 3 aren't in the book anywhere.

Should I take this class if I took the Customer Path class?

YES! We'll cover the Customer Path in Day 2, but we'll also hit on the big piece we couldn't get to: How to build an effective Home Base (so your Customer Path leads people to someplace great). Plus, Day 1 and Day 3 will be totally new to you.

I'm bummed I missed the Customer Path class, where can I get it?

Well, you're in luck! The Customer Path material is no longer available anywhere other than the Starship or in this class! (Day 2, Segment 2-4).

I don't have a business yet, I just have ideas.

Ready for some tough love? If you are still just “playing around” with “some ideas”, but you really REALLY want a business (and not a hobby) – step away from the internet. Stop taking classes, stop reading books, and stop looking at what other people are doing. Go into your creation cave and create your best work. Make 5-10 of them (whether this is products, designs, artwork, whatever). Ask yourself if you enjoy this enough to make 50 more. Then, take some pictures and make it available for sale (either online or in a craft show).
THEN, you are ready to start thinking about marketing your work.
In other words, this class is going to be most useful to you if you know what you make and it's available for people to buy, somewhere. If you're not sure how to move from Idea to Business, check out Kari Chapin's class on getting started.

Got a question? Ask and I'll answer (in between traveling). Hope to see you in the class!

3 lessons for a website redesign

Welcome! Come right in and make yourself comfy!

I'm so so happy to introduce you to my redesigned site! It's been an amazing (and overwhelming) experience and I've learned SO much.
(If you're reading this via email, click through to see my brand new site!)

The changes represent a massive visual re-branding, created + implemented by Jessika Hepburn. Well, it can hardly be considered a “re”-branding, since I didn't have visual branding to begin with.
And this brings us to the lessons I learned:

Just because you have a website doesn't mean you have a visual brand.
A website designer is not the same as a visual branding specialist. (Although some do awesome visual branding, you should be clear up front on what you're looking for.) You see, a website designer will design your website – give you a cool template, and maybe make a few buttons for you. But they're not looking at the entire visual identify of your business. And for many of you graphic designers + artists – that's perfect, because you are skilled at creating your own visual identity.
But I am not. I can use Photoshop and I know what I like, but that doesn't mean I can illustrate or even come up with the ideas of what will communicate what I want to communicate. As Jessika said when we started this process: Your voice is SO clear in your words, you just need your visuals to match it.
Although there was also a change to my website's layout, the focus was on creating a cohesive visual presence, that matched with my words + my work, so that as soon as you land here, you can get it.
You are responsible for knowing what you want. But often someone else can spot your sparkle better than you can.
Whether you're working with a designer, an exploration guide, or a hairstylist – you have to know what it is you want. You need to be clear on what you do, who you serve, and how you want them to feel. So your first step is to get crystal clear on that (which is what the first 2 chapters of my book help you do.)
But then, once you're really in it, sometimes you can't see what makes you so special – that special blend of happiness and delight that you bring into your customer's life. This is where working with a professional is so important – they can see what you do well + how that's different from what other people do + how to communicate that. (This assumes you're working with someone who really *gets* you.)I hope that what I really wanted out of the redesign (for you to feel comfortable and happy and encouraged) + what Jessika spotted in my work (silliness + boldness + adventure) comes across in what you see on the page. (I think it does!)
Prioritize what you want your reader to do.
Even though I literally wrote the book on this (Chapter 4), it was still super hard. This is where knowing your customer's path comes in.* I've learned that the path most customers take is –>read blog + like it –> subscribe to email lessons –> buy book or class –> join Starship (once inside the Starship, we work together one-on-one). This leads to the best, most productive relationships, with the biggest transformations in their business, so it's my job to make that path clear + easy.

*I'll be teaching a brand-new class about this next month!

How can you make your Customer Path even easier?

Now that you know what went on behind the scenes, here's what actually changed:

I have a home page! It'll help you navigate to whatever you need.
I have a shop! Finally, all of my classes, guides, books, and adventures are in one spot. (And I have a cart! So you can buy more than one thing at a time without checking out multiple times! Magic!)
A brand-new page for new readers. If you're not sure where to start, this page will introduce you to what you can find (and where!)
Check out the new footer – no matter what page you land on, you've got a chance to meet me (hi!) + learn a bit about being an explorer.
Stars, smiling planets, and pink! Jessika did a glorious job designing my new logo (up top!) and adorable illustrations for my products.

The smiling planet is my fave. Isn't it adorable?!

A note for subscribers

If you subscribe to the blog via email, you don't have to do a thing, you'll still get the messages same as always.
If you use an RSS reader, you'll have to update it to link to taraswiger.com/blog/feed.
If you only get the weekly message but you'd like to get the blog posts too, you can always edit your subscription by heading here, putting in your info and “update subscription”

And that's it!
Do you have any questions about the process or the new site?

PS. Jessika isn't just a designer, she's also a genius community-builder + supporter. If you'd like to meet more of our community + get away from it all, check out her Maker's Retreat.

How I learned from my customers to create something new

The Starship closes for the quarter, today. If you want to join, do that here.

In April 2011, I sent a message to 10 of my most-committed students and I told them about this idea I had. There wasn't a name (they helped me name it), there wasn't a big plan. I wasn't even sure I wanted to do it for more than a year. There was just a seed of an idea, based on what I had learned from my own students.

They wanted to support each other.

At the end of each class I taught, I'd have a Q+A time where student's could ask me questions. After class, I'd get a few emails: “I really wanted to tell the question-asker THIS about my own business.” So I added chat rooms to my classes. But these felt temporary and the smarts that students shared was soon lost. The solution: a forum, where the shared smartness is searchable.

They wanted to feel less alone.

The regular refrain of my class chat? “It's so nice to know I'm not alone.” Even today, after three years of weekly live chats, someone always expresses this, every week. And you know, I feel the same way. It's lovely to be surrounded by people with the same goals, the same trials, and the same hope.

They were ready to commit.

At the heart of my new, nameless idea was commitment. If you joined, you'd be in for a year. Your participation could be ANYthing for the year, there's absolutely no guilt and no expectation. I felt that this commitment to working together on their business, for a calendar year would be the impetus for real change. Instead of taking classes and here and there and just jumping around, you could really dig in and focus on one area, or one goal.

Over the last three years, I've had push back about the year-long commitment (you should make it shorter! More people would join!), but shortening your commitment changes the nature of the relationship. Instead of feeling safe, you'd feel adrift. You'd always be deciding if it was “worth it”…and if you're busy evaluating your experience, you aren't really living it.

Why do I only open it for 10 days, once a quarter?
Because we're all in this together. When new people are drifting in all the time, they might come in during the middle of something (a class, a series) or they might not get my full attention. But when everyone new comes in at once, everyone, new and old, makes their own map at the beginning of the quarter. We're all starting at the exact same place (wherever we are in our own business path). So we go through the agony of choosing, the strain of dedication, the everydayness of continuing to work towards it, together.

From these three tenets (supporting each other, feeling not-alone, committing), has sprung everything else – the weekly chats, the 1:1 sessions, the forum, the classes. I actually write all of my new classes based on what the Starship member needs. (And it turns out my classes are better than ever..and better attended.) This quarter I'm creating a class about your customer path — all of your marketing that leads your customer closer to you.

Throughout the last three years, Captains have inspired me, challenged me, and shaped the Starship into what it is. They've named it, created the culture, and requested the classes.

If you'd like to get the new class for free, and your ready for support + commitment, join us!

PS. It really does close at 4pm today. So don't dally!

Let’s explore profit

Money. Profit. Pricing.

These are some of the hardest things to talk about in our businesses (and lives!), for a many reasons: because of our culture and its messages, because we might use it as a measure of our self-worth (and thus, it becomes a tool of self-doubt), and because it is so easy to get lost in the Comparison Game.

This is exactly why we should explore it. Not just explore the ideas of profitability or making money – but explore your actual, real-life numbers, no matter what they are.

You see, in my work with creatives I find two things that routinely get in the way of their doing what they want to do:

They don't have a plan, they don't know exactly where they want to go. (Which is why I created this.)
They don't know where they are, they don't know their actual numbers. (Which is why I created this.)

If you want to go somewhere else, you have to know where you are right now.
If you want to make more money, you need to know what your money is doing right now. You need to know your expenses, your profit margin, your minimum break-even point and your most profitable products.
With this knowledge, you can grow, build, and expand. You can spend your time on what works and stop doing what doesn't.

But this doesn't have to be hard or stressful or self-flagellating. We can pull out these numbers, run a little math, and then learn the lessons. We can explore instead of hoping, comparing, or grasping.

If you'd like to join me in this exploration, it's time to learn how to Pay Yourself.

Image by Lacey Atkinson

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