Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts

Saturday, October 24, 2015

The Best Small Business Advice I Ever Received

The comment came at the end of my first soap show. And it came from my husband.

“If I were you, I never would of done this. You have the basics covered, but there is so much to do…  you need to add signs for your soap… create something that draw people in…”

Anger began to rise.  You’ve got to be kidding me. I retaliated,

“I‘m sorry, what?  We just had our first show.  It was successful. People liked our product. I made my booth fee times 2.  So for “testing out the market,” I think we should really make this a “thing.”  What are you talking about?”

“Slow done cowboy. Let me try this again.” He replied. “If I were you, I never would have done this because it’s not perfect.  I would have waited for the perfect moment or waited for a sign before I would do this.  Which means, I never would have done it. …  What I’m trying to say is, I’m proud of you. You got your first booth, and you did it yourself!  It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough. Most importantly, you found out you want to do this as a business.”

I often think back to this moment when I’m struggling to do things.  I often put off tasks because it’s not the right time.  But it’s never the right time.  Either you do it or you don’t.  Blogging is a perfect example of that.  I can write and write until I’m blue in the face, but I can’t hit the publish button because it’s not perfect.  Or, I can’t think of anything to write, so that when I finally do write, I don’t think it’s worthy enough to publish.  Either way, the blog doesn’t happen. 

My husband’s comments remind me that there is no perfect moment, and there is no “sign” to tell us when to act. There is just you. And by doing, by takings risks that are ‘good enough’, you learn. You may fall on your face, but you get back up, dust yourself off and revise. Be proud of that imperfect action because it may lead you on a path you least expected. 


And so, this post is good enough.  I’ll push the publish button!

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Persevering through Writer's Block

   
Today I have writer's block.  I have no idea what to blog about.  I'm day seven into the blog challenge, and I'm at a loss for words.  I have a list of topics that I can write from, but nothing is speaking to me.  All I really want to write about is how I don't know what to write.
     When I was a classroom teacher, I always had my students spend the first 15 minutes of class writing in their journals.  I has a laundry list of ideas for them to write about on the wall including: 1) what they did over the weekend, 2) the most unusual food they ate, 3) the biggest surprise they ever got etc.  And just like I'm experiencing now, my students would tell me, "Ms. Swi, I don't know what to write about!"  And my response would be, "Then write about that.  Write about how you don't know what to write, why you don't know what to write, and what would inspire you to write."  Usually their entries would look something like this....

"I don't know what to write.  I don't know what to write.   I don't know why I don't know what to write, I just don't know what to write.  Nothing would inspire me.  Why are you making me do this???"

And right now, that is how I'm feeling!  So, I'll give myself my response that I would give to them:
     "I know how you feel.  I've been there.  But by writing the five sentences you just wrote you got to practice.  You reinforced your writing skills of spelling and sentence structure.  You voiced your feelings.  You explored what the point of this 15 minute exercise is all about.  You got through a rough patch.  You persevered.  I'm proud of you!"

Yes, I got through this!  I persevered and I'm proud of myself!

Sunday, June 14, 2015

The Blogging 30-Day Challenge. Want to join me?

       Today marks the day that I begin my 30-day Blog Challenge.  For the next 30 days, I will blog about beer, soap, and my other shenanigans.  Why?  Because Donna Maria, of the Business Indie Network told me too…  Well that’s not the only reason.

      The truth of the matter is, I’ve been “social media stocking” the Indie Business Network (IBN) for the past year.  I’ve been hanging out around the fringes of this group (liking their Facebook and Instagram accounts) and going to their public site for info on how to grow my small business. I’ve participated in their Instagram chats (open to the public) on Wednesdays, and I have even had my “Master Mind” peeps, tell me to join.  I’ve learned so much from IBN within the year, but it wasn’t until Tuesday Night that I received the sign…  The sign from Donna Maria… that by joining IBN, I could get even more out of the network….  And that sign looked something like this:
 
      Hell's Yaaaa!   I was finally going to be held accountable, by a group that I knew was super awesome, for what I knew needed to be done to take my business to the next level.  And I can’t say thank you enough to Donna Maria for the sign! I’ve been wanting to blog and now I have a community of people that are doing it with me!  Most importantly, I now have a community of people to figure out this whole small business thing! 
 
     Please don’t get me wrong, about this blog challenge.  I’m wondering what the heck I am going to be blog about?  I worry about what people will think. I’m a horrible speller, and my grammar is not that correct…  but what I do know is that if I plug away at it, I’ll get better.  And all of these doubts have just stopped me in the past.  The benefits of this challenge outweighs my fears.

     By updating blog posts frequently, I know my business and my writing skills will grow.  My website will go higher in the search engine. I’ll get to know my audience and they get to know me better, and posts keep giving back (traffic continues to go to each post over time!)  So I encourage you to go on the same challenge for your small business, or another 30 day challenge such as exercising, cooking, or taking a class. I thank you ahead of time for going on this journey with me, and I hope you do it as well.  I hope to inspire you to blog (or be challenged in another way) for 30 days straight, and if you do, let me know in the comment section, as I would like to follow you on your journey!

-A

The Blogging 30-Day Challenge. Want to join me?

       Today marks the day that I begin my 30-day Blog Challenge.  For the next 30 days, I will blog about beer, soap, and my other shenanigans.  Why?  Because Donna Maria, of the Business Indie Network told me too…  Well that’s not the only reason.

      The truth of the matter is, I’ve been “social media stocking” the Indie Business Network (IBN) for the past year.  I’ve been hanging out around the fringes of this group (liking their Facebook and Instagram accounts) and going to their public site for info on how to grow my small business. I’ve participated in their Instagram chats (open to the public) on Wednesdays, and I have even had my “Master Mind” peeps, tell me to join.  I’ve learned so much from IBN within the year, but it wasn’t until Tuesday Night that I received the sign…  The sign from Donna Maria… that by joining IBN, I could get even more out of the network….  And that sign looked something like this:
   
      Hell's Yaaaa!   I was finally going to be held accountable, by a group that I knew was super awesome, for what I knew needed to be done to take my business to the next level.  And I can’t say thank you enough to Donna Maria for the sign! I’ve been wanting to blog and now I have a community of people that are doing it with me!  Most importantly, I now have a community of people to figure out this whole small business thing! 
   
     Please don’t get me wrong, about this blog challenge.  I’m wondering what the heck I am going to be blog about?  I worry about what people will think. I’m a horrible speller, and my grammar is not that correct…  but what I do know is that if I plug away at it, I’ll get better.  And all of these doubts have just stopped me in the past.  The benefits of this challenge outweighs my fears.

     By updating blog posts frequently, I know my business and my writing skills will grow.  My website will go higher in the search engine. I’ll get to know my audience and they get to know me better, and posts keep giving back (traffic continues to go to each post over time!)  So I encourage you to go on the same challenge for your small business, or another 30 day challenge such as exercising, cooking, or taking a class. I thank you ahead of time for going on this journey with me, and I hope you do it as well.  I hope to inspire you to blog (or be challenged in another way) for 30 days straight, and if you do, let me know in the comment section, as I would like to follow you on your journey!

-A
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