Good Shtuff is a weekly-ish look at what I’m reading and thinking about. This week, it’s all bussiness-y smarts.

Emblematic smarts

I love what Lean is doing here: testing an idea by offering it for free. Get an “embelem” for your business, for FREE, right here. Seriously. Awesome.

Do it all smarts

Leonie is my business guru. Everything she does is shiny and sparkly and awesome and hilarious and smart. Especially when it comes to explaining why you can totally do lots of different things in your business.

Confusion smarts

Business is simple. Except when it's confusing. Sometimes you don't need MORE specifics, you need to sit with the confusion. Mark says it best:

“If you’re willing to take the time needed with the concepts, not rush too fast and furious, then it all begins to click. Suddenly the relationship between your heart, your business and your clients makes sense.”

You can read more of his smarts here.

One on one smarts

Like Mark says above: Your biz doesn't need a one-size-fits-all solution, it needs personal work and learning and growing.
Which is why I do one-on-one work: so you and I can look at your business (or dream of a business) and decide what it needs more of (and what it needs less of). We bring clarity and focus, giving it time to soak in.
Even though I just announced that I'm scheduling into January and it's already filling up, you can see if it's right for you, here.

Yesterday I brunched a new shop.
And a new way-of-selling yarn.

Wait, you do know what I mean by brunch, right?

And after all the brunching, all I wanted to do was nap. And eat lunch (sadly, I've yet to figure out how to incorporate a real brunch into my brunching process).

Today is recovery-mode.
Answering emails, sharing videos of sheep-shearing, drinking as much hot chocolate as I need.

I planned for recovery-mode because I remembered (finally!) about the Cycle of Creativity and that after that much work I simply must stop.

Since today is Friday and you're probably going into your own mini-recovery weekend, I thought I'd share some of my favorite ways of recovering. The list is always changing, and I'm always looking for new things to add, so share your recoverings in the comments!

• Baking. Specifically, these gluten-free oreos. Yum.

• Or mini-apple cobbler. Remind me to share my made-up recipe next week, ok? It's DIVINE!

• Watching too many hours of TV on DVD (usually from the library), right now it's Lost, rewatching it from the start so I can (finally!) watch the last season.

• Knitting or crocheting. Right now it's crocheted fingerless gloves out of Mercedes' new (secret!) sock yarn. I got it early by being in this club, which you should totally join.

• Reading. Last night it was All Marketers are Liars, by Seth Godin. But then I had some vivid dreams of trying to figure out my story, so I think I'm laying off it for a while. Next up: Delivery Happiness.

• Writing. When the mood strikes me. No pressure, no big points, just like this list.

• Cleaning. I know. Who cleans for fun?
  A woman who has let the whole house do what it will for a solid week while she took over 600 photographs of yarn. While her husband was sick in bed with the flu. Cleaning is downright relaxing, when I remember it makes the house feel more like a naptastic cocoon.

That's it (for now).

How do you recover?

Good Shtuff is a weekly(ish) snippet of the stuff I’m reading, listening to or watching.

This week, it’s all about the sparkles, glitter and culture.

Last week (I think it was Friday), I read three posts, all in a row, all about the SAME thing.
There's something in the air.
Or something is changing.
Or, you know, maybe this is just really good advice.

Unicorns

David Crandall wrote about How unicorns improve your business. It's true! Show your love for unicorns (or pink hair or blueberries) and you suddenly become a real person and can connect with other real people

Glitter

Naomi discussed Glitter (uh, not the movie, the sparkly stuff) and the amazingness of creating a brand. But ew, the word “brand” sounds so…intentional or manipulative. But that's not what she's talking about. Go read it.
(As always with Naomi: language alert!)

Culture

Havi wrote about culture (not the yogurt kind, the people kind). More than anyone else I know online, Havi has this culture thing down. Spend more than 3 minutes on her site and you get it. Even though none of it is…defined. It's obvious without being stated. I've been thinking a lot about this obvious-yet-unstated thing and I still haven't figured it out, so it was a treat to read her thoughts on it.

What do you think about these three posts? Do they spark some glittery unicornish cultured ideas for you?

This is looking like a Wednesday ritual! (Read more Good Shtuff here)
Good Shtuff is a snippet of the stuff I'm reading, listening to or watching.

And warning: this week I'm feeling extra goofy, because I just found out I got accepted to the Bust Craftacular in Queens!
Having only been to NYC for one short 10 hour stopover (and was dragged by friends into basements selling purses, ew), I am so so so excited to get to do NYC my way: yarn shops, tea, local food.*

Now, let's get to the Shtuff:

An Extravaganza!

My darling Catherine (we just taught a class together yesterday) launched an absolutely spectacularly thorough class for anyone who doesn't have a website (or know where to get started). It's the Website Extravaganza and it's…mindblowing.

Fun fact: sign up with Team Crafty (just sign up under the “with buddies” column and put “Team Crafty” in the box) and you'll save $100. Pretty amazing.

Complicatedness Welcome

Amna's Hybrid Manifesto has been rocking my (handknit) socks off. Seriously. I tried to find a sentence to quote, but the whole thing is just perfect in it's wholeness. Go read it.

Sunshine walking

I'm walking on sunshine, whoa-oh-oh. I've been humming this song all day. Listen to it here on Pandora (if you don't know about Pandora, expect your mind to be blown.)

Whoa. That's the second time I promised something would blow your mind. I think we have the title of today's post!

I'm a hustler, baby

Chris Guillebeau has my favorite explanation EVER of what makes a successful business.  You need substance, yes. But you also need style. Your style.

Pioneering Pasta

Since giving up gluten, I've been studiously avoiding the Pioneer Woman's cooking page (formerly my very favoritist of all favorite recipe places). But this story of losing her darling dog (that looks so much like my Beau!) had me enthralled.

Oh, and her lemon pasta is super tasty on quinoa noodles with some artichoke hearts and fresh-from-the-garden tomatos added.  (Jay doesn't like it baked and it is SO GOOD you won't want to wait for the oven)

That's it for my Good Shtuff! What are you enjoying this week?

*Yo, I want to meet you, New Yorkers! Shoot me a note (or leave a comment) if you're in the area and want to show me your favorite cup of coffee/yarn shop/farmer's market.