Savvy Entrepreneur: Gaining Perspective

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One of my favorite exercises to give clients comes when working with them on defining their strengths and benefits. We are all so close to our businesses that seeing the messages we’re sending and how it impacts our customers is sometimes impossible. It’s harder than you think to view your business, and yourself for that matter, as others see you.

So when we get to the part of coaching where we focus on communicating what sets you apart or why a customer would choose you over the competition, I don’t trust my clients to tell me what they think. I have them literally ask for that outside perspective.

The assignment is to ask friends, family and past customers to describe what you do, what you’re good at, and why they would (or did) choose to work with you. It can be an extremely illuminating experience. You will most likely hear words reflected back that you never thought of or qualities that you take for granted might be key to how people see you.

After completing this exercise I once had a client come back to me and say,  “My family and friends kept telling me how fun and quirky I am, but that doesn’t come through in the way I present myself at all.”  She was so focused on being professional that she was hiding a key quality of her personality, one that would really help her to sell both her artwork and teaching services.

However this exercise doesn’t need to be set aside only to find strengths and benefits it’s also great to help you get through those stuck times or regain focus and direction. We often hit those patches where we get bogged down in the day to day and forget why we’re doing this.

I was reminded of this exercise recently when I had a client say to me, “You must really love what you do, working with creative people to turn ideas into reality.” I was speechless for a moment taking in what she’d said. And then I replied, “Yes, I really do love what I do.” What I didn’t tell her is that for a short time I had forgotten what it is I do because I was so focused on bank balances, newsletter subscribers, and website visits. I needed to hear her perspective of what I did to remind me of where my focus should be. Instead of looking at numbers and analytics I needed to spend more time telling people what I’m good at, I needed to focus on giving the advice that wells up inside of me when anyone talks about a new business idea.

My challenge to you this week is to ask at least two people to tell you what you’re good at and what makes you different. I promise you'll appreciate the perspective.

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: Don't Let Fear Stop You

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I have a terrible habit.

When confronted with something new, an idea, suggestion, or opportunity, I look for the reason it won’t work before anything else. I acknowledge it with “Yes, but...” the but usually being a short tirade depicting how ludicrous the idea was to begin with. 

It drives my husband crazy, but more importantly it limits me. I don’t sit with the possibility. I don’t imagine how it could work. I let my fear of failure speak first and quickly say, “Yes, but...”

I declared this my year to embrace failure and this terrible habit is keeping me from my goals, but I'm tackling it head on. I’m sharing this because I suspect many of you have the same terrible habit.

So what do we do?

When you feel that sudden tightening and urge to quickly shoot down anything new; stop yourself. Take a moment and say nothing. Sit with the fear and get comfortable with it.

Then shift your mindset.

Think through the idea, is it really all that impossible? Probably not. A big task, maybe. A new direction, quite possibly. Requiring of new skills, hopefully.

I use two techniques to help me push through that fear. First I think through to the end result. What if I were to make this work? What would I gain? Where new possibilities would open up? How absolutely wonderful could it possibly be? Often that’s enough to push fear aside.

If I need a little more coaxing then I imagine the worst-case scenario, how bad would it really be? Chances are not so bad, probably something you could deal with, accept even as part of being a creative entrepreneur. Sometimes by imagining the worst-case scenario you see that you can easily avoid pitfalls by preparing for them, even better.

However, if even after taking time with the idea, imaging positive outcomes, planning for inevitable pitfalls, you still feel that deep down, gut wrenching fear. You must ask yourself if there truly is a reason you shouldn’t push through. Trust that gut instinct. Although if it’s just the “yes, but...” fear yelling louder, take a small step forward, notice that the sky hasn’t fallen, your friends and family still love you, and the world is not laughing and pointing at you. Everything is fine.

Keep taking small steps, each one will get easier.

Fear is natural, but if we let it rule we accomplish nothing. Instead we must act even though we are fearful. 

What will you tackle this year?

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 Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Savvy Entrepreneur: Push Through The Slow Times

Have sales been feeling a little stagnant lately? Have you hit the after-the-holidays-before-the-spring slump? It's normal; things tend to slow down a bit in January, February and sometimes, even March. Regardless of being normal, this may cause mild or even severe panic for some of us. I'm here to tell you to take a deep breath, take a few, and calm down. All you need is a new perspective.

The slow times do not signal the end of the world, they are temporary, just a part of the cycle and something you can use to your benefit. Instead of focusing on the amount of money coming into your bank account, look at the extra time you have since you're not filling orders.

This is the time to focus on making your business better, getting things done that will allow you to run more smoothly when sales pick up again. This is the time to focus on the things that get pushed aside when you’re busy. I promise all that hard work will pay off in sales. You just need a little patience.

Have you been meaning to update your website? Now is the perfect time to take new product shots or rewrite your product descriptions and about page. Block out an hour or two a day and within a week or so you'll have it all done.

Or maybe you've been thinking of expanding into new markets. Spend the extra time you have researching these markets. What problems can you solve, how do they get their information, what key points need to be addressed for a purchase to happen?

Keep in touch with your customers; sometimes they just need a little nudge. This slow time is perfect for reaching out with an update on your shop, new things you’re working on, or even a special sale just for them.

Collect inspiration for new products or a website refresh. Read new blogs, waste an hour or two on Pinterest (you know you can, I now give you permission), go shopping out in the real world. Your brain and creativity needs to be fed just like you do. Find some tasty vittles.

Keeping up with Facebook and Twitter is one of the first things to get neglected when you’re busy, so get back in the conversation and make some new connections. Participate in a Twitter chat, see what topics are trending, find some new competitors and “listen in” on their conversations.

Use this downtime to work on your business, give yourself a little creative refresh, or connect with customers and peers. Soon enough things will be moving again and you’ll find yourself wishing you had just a fraction of the time you have now.

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Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!