They say that you begin to grasp a subject when you realize there is more that you don’t know than what you do. For some that’s an ego thing but I think for most of us that means we can itemize what we don’t know; we have a more specific form of measurement than just “a lot”.  That was me this week as I worked on remedying my lack of knowledge regarding online marketing combined with my complete lack of talent in that area;-)  I’ve made progress, enough to know how much I didn’t know when I thought I knew something.  (Read that last sentence fast and you’ll have some idea of how my brain is feeling right now!)

What I’ve also run into though is having to spend more time and energy finding solutions to “recommended” tools and processes that don’t violate my ethics, things like lifting content without crediting the author, etc. I don’t think I’m alone in that but right now the Internet seems to be set up for those that don’t know or don’t mind bending a few rules to succeed so their recommendations rise to the top. When I get it sorted out for myself, maybe I’ll start a website for artist marketing, who knows.

In the meantime I’ve gotten started on Christmas and left the Gallery where I had my jewelry (lack of a lot of things is closing it down shortly). Christmas is going to feel different this year without my dad but I’m confident something good will fill the void.

Technorati Tags: learning new things, Personal Growth, solopreneur, the way to happiness

Truly, I can’t think of a word or phrase that can sum up the jumble of events over the last week. Firstly, the craft show last weekend – unfortunately a massive disappointment in terms of sales.  However, I’ve come to the conclusion that even moderate success would have caused me to continue pursuing events by the same group which would not serve me in the long run. Nice people, but advertising and attracting a completely different customer base than is appropriate for what I make.  I had lots of compliments on my work which was encouraging so I think I have one half of the equation.  Now I need to find the customers!  I was disappointed and a little frustrated by the end on Sunday, but it’s also brought out my stubborn streak – not to be right at all costs but to keep searching for that successful combination.  And at least I now have a lot of pieces to post on the online shop.

I also got a long standing item on the list crossed off by creating my own CafePress shop for the Nurdle.net blog.  There’s more I could do there and eventually I’d like to create one for this site but that will have to wait a month or so. I’ve been studying up on marketing, which continues to make me feel inadequate but I think I’m beginning to learn a few things (don’t look for them to be applied just yet!)

My Thanksgiving tradition of putting a message in a bottle was also a significant part of the week – someone found it a few hours after I threw it in.  A part of me feels like I must not have done it right for it to be found so quickly, but another part says the right people find the bottles.  Out of three years and three bottle messages, two have been found and both meant a great deal to the people that found them.  It means a lot to me that such a simple thing that costs absolutely no money and was done with no expectations on my part can have such a huge impact on total strangers.  I must be doing something right…

Technorati Tags: Personal Growth, solopreneur, the way to happiness

I am definitely one of those people that likes the research and development stage far more than day to day business.  That’s not always a bad thing but this week I saw the reality of the downside.  I’ve been pushing other things aside to get jewelry done for the show this weekend but as I was packing it all up last night I realized that what went into the box didn’t  reflect the amount of time I had invested.  In short, I’ve been prototyping maybe a little too much; trying out completely new designs and styles and re-engineering when the first models didn’t come together.  So I only have about a third of what I’d hoped to have ready.  That’s ok for the first time out because I’ll get some valuable information from what people buy or don’t buy and hopefully a lot more feedback than I’ve collected so far.  But, the next time I get out my supplies, I’m going to need to build on the knowledge I’ve collected instead of exploring new territory all the time.  There are certainly people that get to live in R&D mode, but they tend to have staff and suppliers that handle replication which is where profits truly exist.  I am pleased that I have a variety of colors, prices, and styles to show and I’m really looking forward to doing something else on Monday!

There hasn’t been too much time for anything else this weekend although somehow I also fit in volunteer work and taking the car in for a recall.  Also because the recall related to the gas tank I had to drive it around extra to get the gas gauge down to a certain level.  Probably the only time in my life when using up gas was something to celebrate.

I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving week being quieter.  Time to take a day or so and re-evaluate the to-do lists and make plans to put time in on what I’ve been neglecting.

Technorati Tags: Personal Growth, solopreneur, the way to happiness, time management

I don’t know if this particular demon is genetic or environmental but I can say that the majority of my family suffers from it.  And they all know it too, which doesn’t seem to reduce it’s impact.  If it takes too great a hold you can end up sabotaging yourself in order to avoid the situation you don’t think you can handle perfectly – a new job, a new project, a first date. There’s no worse feeling than seeing that you are the worst barrier to achieving something you really, really want.

I thought I’d been doing pretty well with this one until this week when I sat down to the computer to start actually putting in work on the part-time telecommuting job and found myself procrastinating to avoid starting. I was nervous about not getting it absolutely perfect in the first three hours.  Even knowing how silly that was, particularly for something that doesn’t pay for perfection, didn’t help much, although starting to work did.  And then I battled the demon again as this first craft show approaches and I found myself saying “but I don’t know how to sell” “I’m horrible at selling”, “I’ll be fumbling all over the place” and so on.  But I also know that self-perception is usually pretty skewed and starting at the top is never a good idea because there’s only one direction to go from there.

So several deep breathes and inspirational self-talk later, I’m making progress.  I’ve got the staging ready for the craft show in terms of display and working hard on the products.  I’ve got gist of the online job figured out, and a good sense of where to focus my energy as soon as this craft show is over. I’m even starting to look forward to the holidays.

Technorati Tags: breaking bad habits, Personal Growth, self sabotage, solopreneur, the way to happiness, trusting yourself

There’s a big gap between where I want to be in two weeks for that first craft show and where I am right now – which has had me in a bit of dither all week.  Of course, that means that solder is refusing to melt and silver is not which leads to having to start those pieces all over again!  But… I got a reminder yesterday just to breathe deep and keep going. It was pouring rain off and on all day and when I happened to glance outside from the workroom windows I spotted something bright orange (at the right) so I ran out during a brief rain break and brought it in to the kitchen.  I think it’s the seedpod to a bearded iris but I’m not entirely sure.  It was definitely a reminder to slow down a little and a very cheerful surprise.

The critical things are getting done – I’m now set up to accept credit cards at the shows. I don’t know why that seems like a big deal to me but it does – maybe it feels like the difference between a hobby and a business.  Let’s hope I get a lot of practice using it!

I’ve also found a part-time online job that should help fill a few financial holes while everything else gets established. It’s pretty much  high-school pay but the advantage is that it’s completely flexible in terms of schedule so I can fit it in without shifting my priorities.  It would be nice if everything in life could fit together without these kinds of band-aids but it never seems to work out that way.

Even with impending deadlines for jewelry I’m taking today off to get my office and computer organized- too much clutter makes me nervous when I don’t know what’s in the piles (or in box) so some concentrated effort should leave me in a creative mood for the weekend. I’m hoping to be feeling ‘in the flow’ then.

Technorati Tags: getting organized, going with the flow, Personal Growth, solopreneur, the way to happiness