An Adventurous Life Archives - Page 29 of 37

An Adventurous Life

Practice

This morning, I don't feel like writing.

My nose is runny, my throat is dry and my inbox is overflowing.

But I know that if I don't write now, I won't.

Oh sure, I'll write emails, a newsletter, maybe even a blog post. But I'll miss the practice.

The daily putting-words-together that makes my day better, makes my words flow, makes my to-do list easier to navigate.

I love the word “practice”. Yes, it's a verb, but after years of answering the question “How many hours did you practice your viola?” I don't much care TO practice.

But the noun! To have A practice. A daily doing.
I don't have a ritual or even a plan. I have a practice.

I have a writing practice.
I have a yoga practice.
I have (quite a few) business practices.

A practice lets me suspend judgment.
It's not the final draft.
It doesn't have to be perfect or even non-sucky.

It can be horrible and wrong and achey and still be just fine, because it's only my practice.

But I'm starting to learn, that it can be private, it can be mine, even if I get some help with it.

This week my writing practice is much improved, much easier thanks to Amna's brilliant writing workshop.

My yoga practice began with Havi's Non-Sucky Yoga Kit. Until I got that DVD, I'd never done a lick of yoga. I've still never been to a proper class.
And yet, I have a nice, growing, streeeetching practice.

What are you practicing?
Who's helping you with it?

You make money doing…what?

It’s the first question I get when I tell strangers that I’m a full-time fiber artist:

You can make money doing that?

Yep. And I’m the “breadwinner” for our family (ugh, I hate that phrase!).

My yarny business pays the rent.
And the electricity.
It brings home the puppy chow.
It send me to New York City and Seattle and our family to weekends at the beach.

But how?

It’s another phrase I don’t love: multiple streams of income.

I make money several ways with my yarn: teaching, writing, photography, selling it in a multitude of settings.

I combine that with my Super Secret Process of Making Money Right Now.

I've said this before.

It's possible to make money making what you love.
Possible (if you want!) to make enough to quit your dayjob.

It's a combination of Right Pricing and Right People and Trying Stuff.

But is that enough?

Have I really told you everything I know about Making Rent?

I've told you all about the marketing part, but what about the what-to-offer part?
I've went on and on about making it easy to give you money, but have I really told you all the ways to make money?

Let's talk about money, baby.

Let's talk about all the different ways your crafty biz can make money.
Let's talk about what to do when rent is due in 2 days and what am I going to do?
Let's talk about getting out of that rushlastminutedoom space and into something more sustainable.

Let's talk about next Tuesday, at 3p, for around 2 hours.
Join me (and get all the gory details), right here.

And if you questions on how to do it….

Ask me in the comments!
I'll be answering your questions for the next week, on the blog!

Listastic: Craft Show Prep

I had high hopes of writing insightful posts this week about my process of getting ready for a craft show (2 days till NYC!).

But, alas, I'm knee-deep in preparations and my brain is barely functioning beyond single syllabic phrases, such as SPIN, PRINT, and What?

I had to have spell check fix the word preparations, so yeah, it's dire.

But I know that if I wait until after the show, I'll forget everything that goes into it, so I want to write something now.

So, lists. I am surrounded by lists and maybe lists provide the clearest view into the method and/or madness.

Or maybe I just need to go make another list.

Master List

This is the list that has absolutely EVERY thing that has to be done before I go. Things like driving Jay to pick up the truck he's borrowing while I'm out of town with our only car, baking gluten-free bread (so I can pack myself sammiches for the trip), shipping out the BCB orders, labeling everything, picking the last of the blueberries, etc.

(I just noticed that “paint toenails” is on this list. This is not mere vanity, I always end up taking off my shoes to spin in front of customers….and end up with three year olds saying “Your polish is messed up”. True story.)

The Master List also has a list of everything I need to gather and put in the car, it has a list of the food I want to pack, it has a list of the things I'll need money for.
The master list also has a list for Jay (things like: print X of these labels, clean car, find the screws to go with those shelves), which I assure you thrills him.

Did I mention Jay is not a list-maker? When you consider my deep and abiding love for lists, it's amazing we've lasted nearly 10 years. Shocking, really.

Daily List

I make one of these around 2 weeks out (but this becomes Super Serious by the last week).

Every day has a list of the things I need to do. In theory, everything from the Master List finds a place on the daily lists. This is the ONLY way I make sure everything from the Master List actually gets done.

When, like yesterday, half of the stuff doesn't get done, it gets moved over to the next day. In theory, I won't end up with everything on the last day…

List of Smartnesses

This is the list of what I read a few weeks before I start getting ready. It gets me in the right mind to do what I gotta do. It's a combination of “remember this” and “think about this” and “what a good idea!” stuff.

Check back in tomorrow for the full List of Smartnesses (with links to everything!)

PS. If this random rambling isn't at all helpful, be comforted by the fact that I thought long and hard (and in multi-syllabic sentences!) when I taught my Rock the Craft Show class.
As the holiday craft show season approaches, it's becoming a bit of resource for crafters and I'm hearing great things from everyone who is using the checklists.

Love Letter to…you?

I wrote you a letter.

Well, maybe it's for you.
But I don't know yet!

Huh?

Sometimes, when I'm working on sharing a thing, I write a letter. Sometimes the letter is to the THING (like, to a specific class) and sometimes it's to a person; the Person the Thing is for (like, to an IdeaStormer).
This is a super-useful practice I learned from Havi.

This morning (ok, it was 3am, I was awake with this crazy idea), I realized that I have time to do three IdeaStorming sessions live, face to face, when I'm in New York City.

I've never done an in-person session (although I've taught hundreds of live knitting lessons), and I got SO excited thinking about how awesome it would be to do my favorite thing with the Person right there.

I got all atwitter and couldn't get my thoughts clear, so I wrote this letter. I wrote it as if you scheduled a session and I am welcoming you, telling you a little about what you can expect.

I don't usually share these letters (I wrote it in my journal, as you can see from the pictures), but I just feel like it today.

If the letter is meant for you, I hope you love it.

IMAG0805

Darling,

Hello! I am SO excited to get to IdeaStorm with you!

Did you know that IdeaStorming is my MOST favorite part of my work?

It's true! I adore thinking about another business (or a yet-to-be-hatched business) and looking at all the ways it could grow.

And this isn't empty gushing.
IdeaStorming is my Great Work.
It's the thing that makes my heart sing.
It's the work that everything has been leading to.

My ideal day has an IdeaStorming session, as the first work I do.
My dream job is a day full of writing and IdeaStorming.

And you! You, my darling crafter!
You are full of possibilities.

You may be a little confused now…or a little overwhelmed.

But that's ok.
Because I can see clearly.
See your strengths, see your path and see your success.

I have hope.
Clear, unfettered, feathery hope.

For you.
For your craft.
For our work together.

Restricting that hope or trying to ignore it…I've tried that.
And it made me small, constricted, hesitant.

Letting that hope out of the cage; it freed me, inspired me, stretched me.
In a delightful, delirious way.

That's why I'm writing you, darling crafter, to let you know that I have a table at a cafe.
There's a seat for you, for me and one for Hope. I'm saving our seats, delighted to have you join us.

Here's how it works: you bring your baby business, with all its uncertainties and worries.
I'll bring Hope and clarity and the space for us to play.

IMAG0809

See you soon!
Maybe in NYC?

Tara

PS. If this isn't the time for you, I understand. Know that I'm here, with basketfull of hope muffins and a thermos of clarity (on the blog, for free) that you're welcome to.

——-

And that's it!

I have no idea what “clear, unfettered, feathery hope” is, but I like it!

If the letter was written to you, you can get an IdeaStorming session right here. If you want to have it face-to-face in NYC, the weekend of 9/24, I'll email you (after you buy it) and we'll figure out the details!

NYC or Bust

I am so super excited to be planning a trip to New York City!
I'll be in town from September 24 – 26 (for the Bust Craftacular at the Maker Faire) and I would love to hang out with you, my fellow crafty biz people!

(This is only some of the yarn I'll be bringing)

I'm still trying to figure out the wheres and whens, so I still get it all figured out I'm collecting info about who wants to hang out.

If you think you'll be in town and you might want to meet other crafty people or get together for a one-on-one IdeaStorming, let me know by signing up here.

I have no ideas yet on where we might meet, so if you have any ideas, please share them in the comments.

I hope to see you soon!

Rob + Sam are crafting a (photography) business

This is the third in a series of interviews with smart people who are crafting a business. Part friendly chat, part case-study, all helpfulness!
If you know someone I should interview (even you!) let me know.

Today I'm talking to my friend Rob, who has the dubious honor of being the first of these interviewees that I knew pre-Blonde Chicken Boutique. In the 6 years I've known him, he married the gorgeous Sam (who I taught to knit!), made an adorable baby (see below) + grew a photographry business.

How'd you get started in photography?

I have liked photography as far back as I can remember. I always like learning a new skill, even if I don't pursue it beyond learning the basics, and both my grandfathers were amateur photographers.

My father is a bit of a photographer, and so when my sister was old enough to start learning photography she took his camera. And he eventually bought a newer, slightly nicer camera. Once I was old enough to start really experimenting with photography I took over that camera. No doubt, in a few years my son will have his eyes on my camera.

For me, it was the first form of art where what I produced matched or approached what I had imagined. My drawings, and later my prints and sculptures, rarely end how I hoped when I started.

What led you to start the business?

I never planned on photography as business.

Photographers become known for their style and themes, and I had a hard time imagining my path to success would be a nationwide fame for documenting my parents' back yard.

My mother is a ceramic artist, and we went to a lot of craft shows. In my mind, craft show photography and gallery photography were my two choices.
Service photography, I hadn't thought about. Later I would consider
journalism, portraiture, studio, and event photography, but that all
came after my first professional work.

How it really began…

One day, I go over to my friend Westen's house. Right after I arrive,
I overhear her mother say,

“It's ok, Rob will take care of it.”
“Hey Westen, what am I going to take care of?”
“Rob, you might be a little annoyed.”
“Why don't you tell me while I make a sandwich.”

A delicious sandwichis very calming, so I started making a sandwich.

“You're going to be my wedding photographer.”
“Westen… there are normally steps, like, ‘Hey Rob, guess what, I'm
engaged' and then maybe a ‘Hey Rob, can you do my wedding photography?' and so I feel like me overhearing you already telling people I'm the photographer is kind of doing it wrong.”
“But that's not what I did. So now you're my photographer.”
“Okay then.”

And from then on I was a professional wedding photographer.

How has your business changed through the years?

What's changed the most, and continues to change, is the amount of not-photography that my wife and I do as part of the business.

We had a very unique business model for our location when we started. Sam
was my just girlfriend at the time of the first wedding, but I realized I was in over my head, and needed a partner to help me through. So we always shoot a wedding with two photographers. Not a photographer and an assistant, but two full photographers.

And does that make you different from most wedding photographers?

When we moved to Madison, what made us unique in Dayton (2 photographers) made us part of a regular subset of wedding photographers: husband and wife teams. So
as I started to realize how much more competition we had, I wondered
what would make us stand out now.

What makes us stand out from photographers in the sames groups? It's our experience, and how we share it with the customer. As we learn from each wedding, we are able to share with our customers what we've learned about making the day go smoothly.

We share so much information with our customers, starting right at our
first meeting. We make sure that we're the right fit for the customer. As much as we would like everyone to hire us, we have a specific service we offer, and it's not right for everyone. It's better to make sure you really are the customer's ideal, than to have a large base of unsatisfied customers.

We start fishing out what the customers' are looking for, and giving back to them a sense of how we will be able to meet their needs. There's a balance that every artist who offers a service has to strike, between flexibility and sticking to who you are. There are services we will never offer, because that's not who we are, and there services we will do by request only.

Right away we make ourselves clear on who we are, and what we can do for you. But then we start asking questions about the plan for the whole of the day, and that's when we really start sharing our non-photography part of the business. Often our questions are met with “I don't know” and “We haven't talked about that” or “I didn't even know that happened.”

Sam and I have coached couples through cutting the cake. We've trained ushers. We've been the phone line from the girls getting ready to the guys getting ready. I often teach the guys how cuff-links work. For eight hours, we work with the couple, we work with the videographer, we work with the mc, we work with the officiant. We become part of the day. And that knowledge and involvement, grows a little with every wedding.

What has changed about the way you look at your craft, now that it's also a business?

Photography really appeals to me, not in spite of being a business,
but because of being a business.

I am able to earn part of my living capturing moments.

Especially with weddings, Sam and I are able to share scenes from a day to audiences who have personal connection to the images. The bride and groom get to see what the other was up before the ceremony. Family get to see pictures of three or four generations of relatives all interacting. Invited guests who were unable to attend can watch the story of the day. We, as photographers, effect how the day will be remembered in the years to come, and that's an amazing feeling.

Isn't that delightful?

You can find more about Rob + Sam (along with even more of their gorgeous photos at their website or hang out with them on their Facebook page.

My favorite bits of Rob-wisdom:

“There's a balance that every artist who offers a service has to strike, between flexibility and sticking to who you are. There are services we will never offer, because that's not who we are.”
“It's better to make sure you are their ideal, than to have a large base of unsatisfied customers.”
“A delicious sandwich is very calming.”

You see? It's all about Right People!

Finding your People starts with paying attention to what you do + don't want to do and making sure you don't take on any clients that expect something else from you.

How do YOU make sure you are working with only your Right People?
Tell us in the comments!

Thinking about blueberries

I'm curious.

What are you doing this weekend?

I was going to write about newsletter software today, but. Well, I'm not in the mood.
The weather's beautiful and I'm ready for the weekend.
And I'd rather hear from you. What are you doing?

I picked blueberries last Monday and I plan on making jam, pies and freezing blueberries all weekend. Yeah, I got a gallon and a a half! That's a heckava lot of blueberries.

What are you doing?

PS. If yesterday's post got you thinking about newsletters, there's still a little time to sign up for next week's class. Read all about it here.

Experimentation

The CraftyBiz Kitchen is closing to new registrants.

I debated whether I should go into the whys of it all or just give you a quick heads-up. But even if you have no interest in signing up, these why-I-do-what-I-do posts may help you in your own biz.

Why?

I love the people I have in it. It's not a large group and I've talked to everybody one-on-one and gotten to know them and their businesses. I've created classes to answer their specific questions.

It feels like just the right size to start experimenting.

Experimenting?

When inspiration hit, the CraftyBiz Kitchen came to me fully-formed: I knew exactly what I offer and exactly who it would help.
It would be 2 classes a month, some one-on-one help, and a regular checking in to see what was needed. A kitchen for us craftybiz types to hang out in while we baked up tasty businesses, drank coffee and shared.

It would provide me with a group of dedicated learnes who could tell me what their businesses needed.

It would provide crafters with targeted classes, help and inspiration to keep working at it.

But I knew that I don't know what I don't know.
That there would be needs or questions or ideas for ways to improve the Kitchen that I couldn't yet imagined. So I warned (right on the sales page!) that things would be experimental.
I left myself room to play and experiment and ask questions.

A safe place to experiment

Experimenting + play requires a safe place. I want to be ultra-sure that everyone gets everything that they sign up for.
Everyone in the Kitchen gets a full month warning before anything changes, so they have time to think about it and cancel their subscription (or stick around).

Better still, everyone who's in the Kitchen gets to choose what the Kitchen becomes.

To create this safe place, I've decided to close the Kitchen to new bakers. After 9/1, I'll have my core group of guinea pigs bakers.
These bakers will vote on what they want to see me add. And for the month of September, they will get everything they signed up for PLUS a bunch of new stuff.

At the end of the month, we'll see what was the most popular new thing and make that part of the Kitchen for October. We'll get rid of the stuff that's not working (but again, with plenty of time to decide if you want to stick around for it).

Play time

We'll be in this state of play for as long as it takes. We'll add stuff, get rid of old stuff, add more stuff until we have something that makes the Kitchen sing both for the Bakers + for me.

At that point, once we have a Kitchen we all adore, I'll open it up for more Bakers.
Maye mid-October, maybe January. No matter what, it's sure to be worth more (and cost more), because I will know, for sure, that it's exactly what crafty business-bakers really want.

Wanna play?

If you want to join us for the play + experiments (and get far more than I promise here), join us! Just do it today. Or tomorrow. Or don't.
Either way, I adore you and your crafty business!

Lindsay is crafting a (generous) business

Today I'm talking to Lindsay of Simon and Ruby, a shop full of gorgeous, handmade jewelry. I was inspired to interview Lindsay after learning she gives freely and generously.

I noticed (right away!) that you give 5% of every purchase to World Vision. I love that! Can you tell us more about why?

I’ve been involved with World Vision in various ways since 1996 or so. Consistently, this support began before I created Simon and Ruby, but I wanted to make sure that I had the means to continue to contribute to an organization that stole my heart.
My husband and I began supporting a little boy from Haiti (who is now not so little) back in 2004. His name is Blondeng and he just turned 16 years old in May. We’ve written back and forth with him for the entire time we’ve been married and we always joke that maybe one day he’ll come visit.

By using proceeds from Simon and Ruby to continue this support, we’ve also been able to give to others in our private lives as well. For a long time, I wanted to go work for World Vision. I truly believe in what they do in communities and would love to be a part of that.

To be involved, even on a small scale, is a huge pleasure for me.

Just to give a little background, World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities providing emergency and hunger relief, long-term community development programs, agricultural development assistance and leadership training. Check them out at: http://www.worldvision.org

I just recently read a quote that said, “Generous people have more to give”. Do you think this is true? How has it been true in your life?

Gosh, I’d love to have more to give than I currently do. I think that if you have a generous heart, you find ways to give, even if you don’t have the financial means. You give your time, your ear, and your energy.

I have a close friend that completely exemplifies this phrase. She’s a consistent inspiration in this regard. She opens her home, her heart, and gives more time and compassion than you can imagine. I think that if you really want to give back, you’ll find a way. Life has this funny way of working out so that you can.

I love your little descriptions about the people you've named the item after (“Rayen learned to do the hula last summer.”) Are these real people? Imaginary people?

The people in my life inspire some of my pieces and anecdotes, but many come from books I read, songs I listen to, or movies that I watch. I’m an avid reader and adore watching movies. Much of my inspiration comes from these.

Does the person inspire you first? Or do you make the item and then name it?

Most of the time, I begin with a color scheme or vague impression of what a character would wear and the design forms from there. I take the inspiration, but the name usually doesn’t come until later. Sometimes I’ll make a piece and look at it later and a friend immediately comes to mind. Then it becomes her necklace.

When I was little, I wanted to be a writer, so the anecdotes that accompany my pieces give me the chance to let out that 12 year old version of myself every once in a while. I’m no Carolyn Keene, so I’ll stick to the basics.

One of the most common questions I get is “How do you manage all the tasks involved in a business? How do you organize your time?” So…how do you?

Hahaha. Time management. I like to think I’m pretty good at it. You have to be. Juggle a full time job, a full time creative passion, your home life, and a few hobbies… you have to become good at it. Otherwise you’ll end up letting something slide. I’m not willing to do that. Each week, I take a look at what needs to be done and make my list. I love making lists. And more than that, I love checking things off my list. Then, I wake up each morning and form a game plan for that day. I’m still learning that sometimes what I think will take an hour actually takes two. Or that phone call in the middle sometimes sets me back a bit. Life finds a way of fitting itself in the cracks. Some days are better than others, luckily I have some very understanding, patient friends and family. One day, I’ll be able to pursue my creative life full time. I imagine my intense schedule won’t be left behind, but at least I won’t have the commute!

If you enjoyed this interview, let Lindsay know! She's @simonandruby on Twitter.

My favorite bits of Lindsay-wisdom:

“I think that if you have a generous heart, you find ways to give, even if you don’t have the financial means. You give your time, your ear, and your energy.”
“Life finds a way of fitting itself in the cracks.”

You can support World Vision by shopping with Lindsay or (and!) you can support Pancreatic Cancer research by shopping with any of the generous crafters in Kim Werker's Pancreatic Craftacular (even if you don't plan on shopping, read Kim's story, it's powerful.)

Generosity is hard, especially when your energy is focused on just paying the bills. But I'd like to invite you to join me in challenging ourselves to generosity.
What can you give? What would really stretch you (and your biz)?

Shannon is crafting a (publishing) business

This is the second in a series of interviews with smart people who are crafting a business. Part friendly chat, part case-study, all helpfulness! If you know someone I should interview (even you!) let me know.

Today I'm delighted to be talking to Shannon Okey of KnitGrrl.com. and Cooperative Press. Designer, author, publisher, editor; Shannon has done it all in the knit-publishing world and generously shares her expertise in her recently released book, KnitGrrl's Guide to Professional Knitwear Design.

Shannon, let's start with how you got into publishing?

I set up my publishing company a few years ago because I had big plans for my own projects, but the first book we actually published was Purls Forever, by the owner of South West Trading Company, whose yarns I really loved. She was getting barraged by publishers who wanted to work with her, yet didn't want to include what she thought made her book idea so unique and valuable. It's that whole “water it down to appeal to a broader audience” conundrum… yes, you MIGHT appeal to more potential readers, but there are so many overly-general books out there already.

I want specificity and personality! I suppose those two things are what have really driven my move into independent publishing.

(Note I say “independent” and not “self” publishing, because my company Cooperative Press is not just doing books by yours truly).

Do you suggest new knitwear designers go the self-publishing route first or build a reputation through other publishers?

I think these days they might not have a choice! The economy has driven many larger publishers to scale back, and it isn't as easy to get a contract as it once was. I know that there's an argument to be made for the PR value of having a big company behind you, but after the initial release, you're pretty much on your own and it either sells or it doesn't. If you're the one in charge of making sure people know about the book (through good social media use, getting out there to events, etc), you're personally invested, and you're more likely to do a good job of it.

Don't get me wrong, you need to allocate a decent amount of time to marketing, but you'd be doing much of the same even if a big publisher put out your book. I'm not going to be quiet about my book on Twitter and Facebook and Ravelry or whatever just because Big Publisher X's PR people are out there promoting it, too.

What about writers?

The craft niche is a unique one — we have a fairly small circle of places for people to find out about things. Print knit magazines, Ravelry, Knitty, the popular knitblogs, etc. If you're a novelist, it's going to be a little more difficult, unless you are already well known or unless you have a very very very specific audience you can target. (See: Debbie Macomber and her knit-related books).

However, it really boils down to quality — if your work is good, and people like it, word will get around! Give them tools to recommend your book to other people, whether it's offering up a sample chapter they can send to their friends (with ordering info at the end, of course! think Kindle and how they offer samples of their books), or planning an interesting online event, or…?

So which comes first: building an audience or self-publishing?

It definitely helps to have SOME kind of audience going in, but as I said, if your work is good and you help people to spread the word on your behalf, you'll GET an audience.

Is this changing as the industry (both yarn industry and publishing industry) changes?

I think so. I think people are more willing to purchase independently-published work now than they once were, and I think that pattern PDFs had a lot to do with it! The convenience coupled with the large selection of items available online (thousands upon thousands more patterns than you could buy in print magazines, for example) influenced purchasing behavior for hundreds of thousands of consumers around the world. I suspect that companies who don't offer digital options will see people moving to the ones who do — it's important to assess what your customers want, after all.

Why did you self-publish your latest book?

It's a topic no big publisher would touch, it's too niche-y. Despite the fact there are 5200+ people in the Designers group on Ravelry (and if every single one of them bought a PDF copy of my book, I think I'd earn more than I've made on my 12 big publisher books combined), there's this assumption that designers — and people who want to be designers — are in the minority. Spend some time on Ravelry and then tell me that's true. (Hint: it isn't).

In addition, this book (ignore the title!) holds plenty of solid information for creative professionals of all kinds, so there's an even bigger potential audience than those 5,200 people. I don't think a book needs to sell 50,000 copies in order to be a success. It's about getting the right information to the people who need it when they need it.

What have you learned from self-publishing (marketing, business skills)?

I know a lot more know about ebook file formats than I ever thought I would! The marketing skills I already had, I was just pushing them into a different direction. My new challenge has been forming the right relationships with distributors so we can get into more of the craft chain stores, etc.

Other than the scale of the project, what has been different from publishing your own patterns, to publishing a whole book?

It's much the same — you have a lot of prep work followed by doublechecking everything over ten times, staying in touch with various people (for example, all the people I interviewed in the latter half of the book), designing the layout, figuring out how to optimize the PDF version, etc!

Thanks Shannon, for answering all my questions, I've learned tons!

My favorite bits of Shannon-wisdom, that apply to ANY business:

“I want specificity and personality!”
“It really boils down to quality — if your work is good, and people like it, word will get around!”
“I suspect that companies who don't offer digital options will see people moving to the ones who do — it's important to assess what your customers want, after all.”

If you are a knitwear designer who'd like some help getting published, definitely check out the book and Shannon's Get Published! class.

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