September 01, 2007
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In this month's issue of Inspiri Art and Craft Business Newsletter:
New at Inspiri Art and Craft
Better Networking for BusinessBeyond power suits and conference rooms, there must be ways to do better networking for business owners. Arts and craft business networking does not have to be the intimidating ordeal that many people assume it will be. Learn simple networking tips for real people.
Promote Your Website Wtih Backlinks
If you sell crafts online, you'll benefit from learning how to promote your website with backlinks. Backlinks are links from other sites that point back to your site. Sometimes they're also called inbound links. Developing a strategy to promote your website with backlinks is an important part of any plan to increase your online craft sales.
Handmade Jewelry Business Profile
This handmade jewelry business profile will give you some insight into the positive aspects of running a jewelry business, as well as some of the challenges.
Inspiri News
If you've been thinking about building a website for your business, now is a great time to get started. Site Build It!, my favorite set of e-business tools, is extending its $100 Back to Work Special until September 4th.
If you'll let me brag just a bit, I'm expectantly checking my mail every day. I've written an article for the Fall 2007 issue of the wonderful craft magazine, A Needle Pulling Thread.
I met Carla, the owner of ANPT, at a craft conference that I attend every year. She checked out my Inspiri website and then called to ask me to write an article on starting a craft buisness for her magazine. It's my first magazine article, so I'm pretty excited about it. I have to say, I'm just thrilled with the opportunities that have come since I've launched this site.
Feature Article
Knowing When to Tell Your
Inner Critic to Take a Hike
Know when to listen to your inner critic…and when to tell your inner critic to take a hike. The way you think about yourself and your work can have a big impact on the success of your business because it subtly, and not so subtly impacts the opportunities you will pursue, the way you come across to customers and the amount of time and money you're willing to invest in your business. Your inner critic, if you're not careful, can really slow you down.
This concept is tricky for artists and professional crafters because our work is so subjective. If you were adding two plus two for a living, you'd know you had it right when you got to four; it's the only correct answer. But you're not, you're working in a highly subjective medium, and what might be beautiful to one person is not to another. It's the nature of art that many artists feel their work can always be better. So it's important to learn the difference between truly improving a piece and allowing self doubt and perfectionism to hold you back and stifle your business.
Plenty of people have self defeating beliefs about themselves that they are not even aware of. Try to listen to your inner voice. Catch the things you say to yourself regarding your art, your business and your ability to succeed. You might be very surprised at the number of times you catch yourself in a self defeating thought.
It's very easy to let your inner critic talk you out of pursing great opportunities; self doubt can be at the root of a lot of missed possibilities. Thoughts like
- "I won't apply to that art show; it's too competitive, I'll never get accepted."
- "I won't start a website; I couldn't possibly build a site that's as good as my competitors."
- "I'm not going to send out press releases to magazines. What if I got published? How would I manage the increased demand?"
Realizing your self defeating thoughts for what they are is the first and biggest step towards stopping them. You are who you think you are, and you are not who you think you are not. Try to notice and question your assumptions about your self image and abilities. Writing down those thoughts every time you realize you've had one can go a long way towards taming your inner critic.
Negative thoughts that float around unexamined and unquestioned in your mind turn into action or inaction that limits you and causes you to lose motivation and miss great opportunities. Question those things that you have accepted as common sense and don't let your inner critic limit your business possibilities.
Online Craft Business Resource
If you love craft books like I do, you'll be a big fan of BookCloseOuts.com. They have great new books at fantastic prices. I do wish their site was a little easier to browse by keywords, I find I have to try a few keywords to find all of the books in a specific topic. It's worth the effort though because the prices are so great.
Some books there are in very limited supply. I recently missed out on getting The Craftster Guide to Nifty, Thrifty and Kitschy Crafts for $5.99 because I waited, and when I went back, it was sold out. If there's something at BookCloseOuts.com that you really want, just watch that you don't wait too long to order it if the supply is limited.
"Intuition is the clear conception of the wole at once."
Johann Kaspar Lavater
Thanks for reading the Inspiri Art and Craft Business Newsletter.
Best regards,
Lisa