Perhaps we tend to lose track of the number of hats worn in a day; mom, wife, employee, business owner, housekeeper, laundry doer, chef(well ok that's a stretch, make that food preparer), and taxi driver just to name a few. It can be completely overwhelming! Not so long ago I had a complete "I Quit!" attitude related to running my own business, the demands were too much, I was sad, I was irritable and I just gave up. While I absolutely LOVE being able to "create"! Hey! "Makers gonna Make!" as they say but I had NO PLAN for how to work full time, run a nearly full time business and still be a mom & wife. NO PLAN!! And because there was no plan, I failed..... failed myself miserably. I took the summer off (summer off - that's how I refer to it now, sounds so much nicer than I QUIT!) I did not make one single thing from June thru the end of August 2014. It felt good, I felt refreshed, we took a vacation with our kids, some of the pressure was gone, but something was missing! I had found MY passion how could I just walk away? I couldn't!!! So I regrouped with A PLAN:1. Plan what you'll do and do what you plan! - Simple huh? Should've thought of this sooner! Everyday now I review the "landscape" of what needs done that day and what is upcoming. I know every single day the list of MUST DOs! This ranges from being at my son's sports banquet, creating the grocery list to what Etsy orders must ship the following morning. Whatever it is, IT. IS. ON. THE. LIST!
2. Advance preparation - Dinner always left me feeling inadequate. I could never answer the "what are we having for dinner" question which lead to the Wendy's drive thru. Very healthy! Now, every week, typically on Sundays we plan the menu for the week and my hubz heads to the grocery store. It's no longer a point of contention and everyone always knows the "what's for dinner" answer. Another example, if I have a "hot seller" and an order pending, I always make an extra cut of vinyl so when the next order comes in, I just press & go. That old killing 2 birds with one stone analogy.
3. Learning to say No - I am still not a fan of the word no. I'm a people pleaser to some degree and I do not want anyone to be disappointed. Well, how about you tell someone YES and then find out the answer is really NO... that is 200% worse, OK may 1000% worse for the client you already told Yes only to figure out that you are overextended. Now your customer is in a lurch and I guarantee you they will not be back. They'd rather you say no so they can make other arrangements and they will probably think of you again in the future when you may be able give a resounding YES! So, now when I get approached to do custom work, I assess everything in the "plan" (See #1) and respond accordingly.
4. Review the Product Line - I assessed my "product line"; I knew what sold and what didn't for the most part. I also looked at where to get the most "bang for my buck" so to speak. For example,
I Love Jesus! (and I drink a little) is selling like hotcakes all over the country but somethings that had no activity I removed. There are some things that are great to do/make but if you spend 2 hours and make $1, that might not make good business sense. I ditched the things that either didn't get much response or that cost me more to make than I sold them for (yeah, I actually used to do that, very profitable - :) )
5. Find an order management process - Orders! Orders! Everywhere there were orders! Text! Messenger! Email! and every single thing was a custom request. I moved most everything to Etsy! It was a no brainer for me, as Etsy is designed for handmade items, the system was there, and it's easy to use, it manages my orders and I have a clear, concise picture of what needs done. It also allows my customers to request custom order and for me to post their custom listing back to them for payment. Game changer!!!
6. PRAY - I saved the best for last. If you checked out that "about me" page, you know I'm a "God girl" so prayer is a pretty big part of life for me. Sometimes I think the day is just one big prayer. I start each day with "show me where to focus" and I end each day with "thanks". If I focus on following God's lead, it works for me. I stay calm, it gets done and the need to scream "I cannot be one more thing to one more person!" becomes much less of a "thing".
I love! the above quote from Steve Jobs (I'm a Apple girl too!) "The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet. Keep looking, and don't settle. As with all matters of the heart you'll know when you find it." It's not easy, mistakes will be made but the journey is so worth it even if it looks like a beautiful mess some days!
Peace, Love & Glitter!!!
-Tammy
