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leonie dawson

Your business needs a better bra

And by bra, I mean support.

(Although we don't all always wear bras, isn't it a better metaphor than…athletic supporter? Yes, I thought so)

I've been thinking about support lately, and it seems to be in the air. Last week I put aside a whole workday morning to read and take notes on Leonie's handbook for hiring a team to support you. I'm in the process of bringing in some extra help (more on that later) and I wanted Leonie's take on it.

And then, with lovely serendipity, Leonie started writing about her team on your blog (here & here), a Starship Captain started offering her own support services…and it got some Captains asking –

Does my business needs more support?

The answer is, every time, yes.

But not every business needs the same kind of support. There are so many ways to get support in your business – free or paid, temporary or permanent, deep or surface.

So, yes, your business (and you!) probably need more support than you have right now. Here's a (partial) list of where you might gather support.

Family
Your fellow business explorers
Your community of buyers
A team of professionals that work in your business

The support you need might be:

emotional
financial
administrative
domestic

Over the next few days, we'll talk about how to get support from each of these in more detail. Before we dig deeper, start thinking about it…

Where could your adventure use more support? Where could you find it?

PS. If you're thinking about hiring support for your business, Leonie is doing a live Q+A for members of her Academy. I'm a member (& affiliate) and I love the resources inside (I never use the forum and still get tons out of it), so I heartily recommend joining and asking her questions!

The Adventures

Every week is an Adventure..and this is the view and the finds that made this one special. You can see all my adventures here.

The view

The Fonz + Pinky Tuscadero

Stella crushing my arm while I try to work

Love-y wrapping for the Month of Love packages

Valjean + Javert

Planning my next class

The Finds

Love this card that Amy sent me (get yours here!)

Yay! Sat down to spin a Dr Who + TARDIS yarn...and got this @amysnotdeadyet card on the mail! #serendipity #drwho

Tammie Bennett (my new favorite artist) sketched everyday for 100 days. And then made an adorable video:

I get a lot of questions from people who haven't started their businesses quite yet. And while I answer every single one, I'm far more interested in talking about all the middle parts. So I'm delighted when I find something I can recommend that covers all those just-launching-your-site steps. Paul Jarvis's new book, Be Awesome at Online Business, is exactly that. From finding a designer to writing your content to preparing for the launch, it's got what you need. This is my new official answer to “Where do I start with a website?“

And if you wanna get started with having a business selling your art or craft, Leonie's got you covered. Her business guide has every single step from pricing to printing your prints to shipping.

What did you find this week?

Trust. Adventure. Explore. Beam. Boldly.

After working through Leonie's yearly workbook and finishing the Captain's Log (a new workbook/journal/stay-on-track-er that we'll be using in the Starship all year), I'm practically glowing with gratitude for 2012 and hope for the coming year. My favorite part is seeing how the disparate pieces fit together to create some overall themes and lessons.

2011 was the year of Yes.

Last year I wrote that I had learned (from 2011!) that saying yes even when I'm afraid led to amazingness. I practiced this consciously in 2012, saying yes to: a book party (and my first live-speaking thing…ever!); my first live workshop; following my enthusiasm; feeling good; creating what I longed to create.

Tara Swiger teaching marketing in Seattle

2012 was the year of Trust.

The thing with saying Yes? It involves a heckova lot of trust. Trust that you'll figure it out. Trust that it's all going to be ok. Trust that you've done your best, and now you need to let go. Trust that you're enough. Trust that connecting is more fulfilling and profitable than closing up.

2012 was the year of Enthusiasm.

Saying yes to my enthusiasm is something I learned this year from reading Sarah J. and idea-partnering with Kelly P. I followed my enthusiasm towards Project Life, quilting, embroidery, writing on new topics and finally, finally finding the balance between creativity and work in my daily life.

2012 was the year of Adventure.

Oh the adventures!
Publishing: writing, writing, writing, thousands and thousands of words every day; working with Shannon on the cover, title, layout; the endless tiny changes; and then! the release day! The lovely reviews, thrilling book party, guest posts, interviews, giveaways; and then! A royalty check! The magic!

Traveling: San Diego, Charleston, Boston, San Diego (again), Seattle, Asheville, Nashville, Knoxville for dates with a new baby and old friend, the heart-breakingly beautiful Oregon coast, the redwoods, the campfire pancakes.

Writing: Yes, the book, of course, the book! But I also wrote an three email mini-courses (one of them is free, here), a book read-along guide, a class (and then workbook) on blogging effectively, an all-new Holiday Sanity Guide, the Captain's Log, and the truest, most enthusiastic blog posts in my 10 year blogging life. And for the first time, writing came easy, it was a part of my life and my world and the very way I live in the world. And it's always, always an adventure.

And with these lessons, with trust and enthusiasm and adventure, I turn towards 2013, the year to…

Explore

hot air balloon

While I have fewer “traditional” explorations scheduled (I'll be traveling much less), the close-to-home approach is giving me a chance to explore deeply. Home, new projects, researching what works for others, experimenting with what works for me…all of it is about exploring. I don't know what exactly it'll mean (yet), but here's what I do know:

Last June I sat down at the beach and outlined a whole new class – the title: Explore You. Obviously, now's the time for it.
There's so much I don't know, but so much new info I close myself off from, to avoid overwhelm. Explore gives me the frame to learn more, and be open, in a focused, healthy way.
I've started listing Things To Explore, and think I'll pick a new one each month.

Beam

I don't really get this one yet, but it came to me, strong and true and..Yes, Ok, BEAM. Here's what I know about it so far:

It's my job to not just shine my little light, but to make sure it beams.
Tractor beam, sunbeam, beaming beacon, a lighthouse beams into the darkness, beaming smiles
A light beams when: it's not gunked up with stuff, it is focused in one spot.

Join me. What was 2012 the year of? And what will 2013 hold?

This is one of the (over 45 pages of) exercises in the Captain's Log. If you'd like to get support (and practical dream-reaching), beam aboard the Starship. It closes to new members tomorrow.