image by Unics on Etsy

In my last post I asked you if you had a heart for you business? What was your answer? Did you think about it…really think about?

Having heart is important when it comes to creating things, but it’s not always enough to build a successful business from it alone.

Let me tell you why.

When it comes to starting a business that revolves around your craft, you have to be willing to do it on a day in – day out basis, right? You never know if you’re going to do really well & if you don’t love what you’re doing, you’re going to be miserable because you’ve gotten to the point you feel you have to do it.

So the first step in starting a creative business is to center it around something you’re good at & you love.

Another thing to think about when it comes to starting a business that is based on your craft is whether or not your products are valuable, relevant, or necessary to the people they’re geared to…your target market. It doesn’t work too well to start a business doing something you love if no one else loves it. You won’t have much of a business! Like I said in the last post, if no one took notice or encouraged you, your passion & excitement may wane a bit & it may break your “heart”.

So the next step in starting a creative business is to know if your products are valuable to the market.

If you don’t have a heart for what you do, you’ll burnout.

If you have a heart for what you do, but the market doesn’t, you’ll be broke.

A business is a business. You do it to make money. If you’re not in it for the money then you have a hobby.

The point is to consider these things when you’re really thinking about growing your craft from a hobby to a business. These are some basic points to consider. Just because your mom tells you you should sell your creations doesn’t mean that other people will buy them. Be smart & think things through before diving in.

If a business isn’t for you at this point, no worries, perfect what you do, tweak it until it’s valuable, or continue on doing what you love as a hobby.

Happiness in itself is success!

So tell me…& it’s okay to disagree…do you think having a heart for your craft is enough in itself to sustain your business? Tell me why you agree or not in the comments below.

image by Paper Polaroid on Etsy

For me, life is busy! Trying to run a creative business at the same time as running a household & caring for my family can be hectic & stressful at times. Throw in my love for coaching & teaching others & there’s one more thing on my plate. I’m sure you can relate!

But ya know what? I truly love it! I find such joy & satisfaction in creating. Whether it’s creating something for my family {like the Halloween costumes I’m currently working on}, creating products for my shop, or creating great stuff for you all here on my blog…it’s still creating. I have a heart, a desire, & a passion for what I do. Even if I weren’t making any money, I’d still do a lot of what I do because my heart’s in it. Maybe not as a business, but I’d definitely keep doing it on some level.

So let me ask you a question. Is your heart in what you do?

Don’t answer “yes” right off the bat. Think about this…

As a creative business owner, you are an artist…an artist of whatever your trade or industry may be. You take individual pieces of materials & you combine them to create something beautiful whether it’s wedding invitations, ceramic plates, photos, or pillows. You are an artist!

Now most artists measure their success based on what others think of their creations. It makes sense. Everything you make will reflect you in some way. It will reflect your style & your brand even though you’re making it to please your target market or ideal customer, but if no one took notice or encouraged you, your passion & excitement may wane a bit. Am I right? It’s encouraging to make sales, to hear great feedback, & to be featured somewhere because you caught someone’s eye!

So if the sales didn’t come…if the positive feedback were nonexistent, I’m not saying that you’d lose heart about what you do. You would still feel rewarded & purposeful doing what you love, but you may not be as excited to work hard trying to make money with it.

So again, let me ask you. Do you have a heart for your business?

Are you really doing what you do, investing your time, money & energy into your craft, because you love it & are satisfied with it & it alone. Take away all the external stuff. It’s you & your craft…no money & no recognition…would you still make products for yourself, for others, as gifts, to donate, so on & so forth?

If so, this “heart” will help to keep you on task even when the going gets tough.

Come back for the next post to find out why having heart may not be enough!

Talk to me…Tell me one thing that you gain from your craft as an artist. Peace, contentment, purpose, usefulness, inspiration?

Image by Calsidyrose via Flickr

So I’m going through my Google Reader – catching up on some of my favorite blogs – & {yet again} I’m inspired by the kick in the pants that I got from Mayi Carles’ latest post on her blog, Change Is Coming.

What was the kick in the pants, you ask?

Well, Mayi is talking about how she’s making some big changes to her creative business & about how she’s revamping her business plan.

That’s where it hit me. Business plan? I’ve known about business plans for a while now, but for some reason creating one for myself is a bit overwhelming to me. It’s just one more thing that I’m supposed to do, & to be honest, a lot of the time, I’m a fly by the seat of my pants kinda gal so I skip a lot of “necessities” so to speak.

Anyway, I’ve decided that I really need to set down & create a business plan for my little creative biz. It’s time. Yes, I need one. It will help clarify a few things & keep me pointed in the right direction. I talk about the reasons you need a mission statement for your business in my branding coaching & yet, the reasons behind having a business plan for your business are very similar. I’m just now realizing that & getting to it.

So, what does that mean?

Well, it means that I’ll be working on simplifying what I’m doing & what I want to be doing here on my blog as well as in my Etsy shop. It means that change is coming to my business too. Maybe not changes as big as Mayi is making in her business, but change none-the-less.

So here’s what I’m thinking….

Right now, I have a mission statement & I have some background info up about myself. You can check those goodies out on my “About Me” page. I also think I’m pretty clear about the products & services that I offer {see “Work With Me” & “Shop Baby Swank” pages}. So all of that part of the business plan is taken care of.

What I need to focus on is the marketing part of a business plan which, from my understanding, is the who, what, when, where, & whys of my business. So for that, I’m following in the lovely Danielle Spurge’s footsteps & creating a FAQ section to add to my “About Me” page that will answer all of those questions & more!

It seems that I also need to get it together in the Financial department & get clear on how much money goes to what. I was just talking to some ladies in ARTrepreneur the other day about not having a marketing budget…which I do have now…but I don’t really have a budget for anything. I just spend what money I have for my business on whatever I think I need most at the moment. Yeah, I know, not tooooo awful smart, but hey, I’m still learning.

So, here’s my big FAT call to action.

If you know anything about developing business plans or have any advice, I sure could use it. Email me at meagan {at} meaganvisser {dot} com & I’ll love you forever for your very generous help.

And…if you have any questions for me that you’d like answered, leave them in the comments below & I’ll add them to my FAQ page!

Gracias!

Perseverance by Just Taken Pics on Flickr

Do you ever have those days where you wonder if all the hard work of having a small business is worth it?

Well the answer to that question is…it depends.
It depends on you & your goals for life.

When you close your eyes & dream of what you want out of life, what do you see? Do you picture yourself with a successful, money making business? If you do, then ask yourself these 3 questions.

1. Am I willing to work hard to achieve my goals?
2. Am I willing to give things up to make this dream happen?
3. How will I deal with setbacks?

Hard Work, Here I Come!
Anyone who has built a business from the ground up will tell you that it takes a lot of hard work, stress, & perseverance to see it through. It’s not always an easy road to travel, & you most definitely will hit potholes. The best way to deal with the work is to spread it out, try to stay organized, & get help when you need it.

Are you ambitious? Do you like a challenge? Or do you like being laid-back & not dealing with stress & pressure?

If your answers were, yes, yes, & no, then you need to get some goals laid out & work your butt off making them happen. If you don’t meet them, then you should evaluate what went wrong & change your game plan if need be.

Tara Gentile of ScoutieGirl says that when you’re in a groove working, then you should go, go, go until you burnout. What??? Burnout! Yeah, if you’ve got a good thing going, don’t stop! Stick with it & get it done. But, I’m going to add a little something to Tara’s words of wisdom here. Get burnt out, but don’t burnout. Do you hear me? Get burnt out when you’ve got something going, but don’t go so hard that you burnout all together. You need to take a break from business & relax. Do some fun stuff & do your darndest not to think about work when you’re not at work!

Give Up??
In my post, My Mission, I told you about a piece of advice that an older friend of mine gave me when I decided to start up my business. 

She said, “Any time you add something into your life, it will take away from the other things you already have. Make sure you’re willing to give up some of what you already have for what you want.”

Are you willing to give up certain things to help your business succeed? What is given up is different for everyone. For me it’s been some of my free time, an early bedtime, & my personal money to get my business going.

This is an important thing to consider when starting a business. It’s not always something you’ll know right off the bat either. Sometimes you won’t know what you’ve given up until you’re in a little ways, but eventually you’ll see. Then you’ll need to decide if you’re okay with it.

Dealing with Setbacks
Growing a business isn’t easy especially in today’s economy. You’re going to have ups & downs. You’re going to deal with joys & disappointments. Things are going to be out of your control sometimes. Can you handle that? What do you do when something doesn’t go as planned, or when you don’t meet your goals? How do you deal with stress?

These are all important things to consider. When you start to feel overwhelmed, step back, make sure you’re not going to miss anything super important, & do something that helps you relax. Go out to dinner with friends, take a bubble bath, sip some red wine, whatever does it for you.