Savvy Entrepreneur: Hobby vs. Business

found on Pinterest via shopperelias

I work with a number of clients whose goal is to take their business from something they do part-time or on the side to a level of steady, reliable income. This doesn’t necessarily mean a full-time 40-50 hour a week job that’s supporting the family, but they do want their efforts to have a level of value and they want to feel pride in saying this is my business.

They come to me because they think they need marketing and sales help and usually they do. However, the first issue I see in many of these clients is not that they haven’t embraced social media or don’t know how to approach retail accounts, but they still don’t treat their business as a business. It’s very hard to put forth an image you don’t fully embrace yourself.

How you view your business and treat the time that you spend on it makes all the difference in jumping to the next level. It’s a matter of doing things right, taking it all seriously, and giving it the respect you both deserve.

Talking About What You Do

This is often the first place this lack of faith can be seen. Clients will talk about what they do in an offhand manner, diminishing its worth. They use wishy-washy language or beat around the bush when asked what they do. Or the worst offense they don’t actually tell anyone what they’re doing, friends and family included.

Embrace this business you’re creating, tell people how excited you are, how much you love what you’re doing. It’s ok to say you’re just starting out or you’re still small, but then share where you’re going, what big plans you have. Put it all out there, let it shine.

Working In Your Business

If you don’t take your business seriously it’s often hard to find time to get things done because everything else seems more important. You need to set aside uninterrupted blocks of time to work in and on your business. It’s ok if you only have time from 8-10 in evening or Saturday afternoons, but you need to commit and let anyone know who might interrupt you that you need to do this. If you take it seriously they will too.

Hobbyists do their work in short bursts of time on the bus or in front of the TV. Not to say you can’t do that also, but as someone running a successful business you also need to have work hours, a time when things get done on a regular basis.

Giving It Space

You also need a designated work area that is yours alone. You should not be spending valuable time each day setting up and breaking down the materials you need to work. Not only should you be able to leave projects that you’re in the middle of, but you should also be able to create an area that inspires you and helps you focus on what you do.

I’m not saying you can’t work from the comfort of your bed or kitchen table, I do it at least once a week. But you also need to have an area with everything you need to run your business - materials, tools, computer, good lighting and a comfortable chair. You should want to go to this space everyday. You can’t build a successful business if you hate going to the only place you have to work on it.

These shifts in attitude take effort and time, but practice each day thinking of your business as you want it to be. Take it seriously, give it the space and dedication it deserves, and I promise it will grow into something beautiful you can be proud of.

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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: Keeping Your Priorities Straight

I had a meeting with a client recently who was feeling so bogged down with all that she felt she needed to do that she was paralyzed to do anything. I can so relate to that feeling. I get it often. My reaction to overwhelm is to shut down, curl up in a ball, and stare at the ceiling, seriously.

Luckily I’ve found a strategy that works wonders for helping me put it all into perspective and get moving again. It’s a simple process that really clears out the clutter in your head and shines a light on where to focus your energy.

First I do a serious brain dump. I write down everything I think I need to do that’s floating around in my head, no matter how urgent it is. The act of writing it down helps to clear out of my brain. I’ve written it down so I no longer need to spend energy trying to remember it.

Then I go through my list and prioritize everything high, medium or low.

Anything high priority is do or die for myself and/or my business, the things that will shut me down if they don’t get done. It’s often things like paying bills, following up with big projects or getting deliverables to clients. You must be honest with yourself, it’s very tempting to make things higher priority than they really deserve. If the business will keep running if that task doesn’t get done, then it’s not a high priority.

Medium priority means the task falls into best practice, something that makes the business better or run smoother, but isn't crucial to its existence. Things like keeping your Facebook page updated, getting photos from your last event on your website, or researching new packaging are definitely medium priorities.

Low priority items are the ones that only you will notice if they get done or not, changing the headline font on your website, reorganizing your workspace, or reading all those blog posts you've been bookmarking.

I make special note of recurring tasks like posting on the blog, sharing these posts on social media, and monthly accounting. These recurring tasks need to get on your calendar. Mark a specific chunk of time every week or month for each of these tasks and schedule it for the rest of the year.

Now that you've got everything prioritized, it’s only the high priority tasks that get your attention when you feel overwhelmed. The medium priority tasks get tackled when you have a little extra time. Yes, that does actually happen.

You also need to get comfortable with the fact that those low priority tasks may never get done. Some may get tackled when you literally find yourself twiddling your thumbs. Others may suddenly get moved up in priority, but many will languish at the bottom of your list for months.

Honestly it's only realistic to think you can accomplish three tasks a day. I know that sounds like a small number, but think about how your days go, unexpected phone calls, urgent emails, you forgot you made a lunch date with an old friend... Things happen that derail you, it's a part of life.

I want you to begin to really follow those priorities, if it's not high, think life or death, you'll be ok if it doesn't get done exactly when you want it to. You will, I promise.

What do you do to keep yourself on track? Do you have a similar system that helps keep you sane when things get really busy?

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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: You Don't Have To Be Super Woman

I'm sure many of you suffer from the same affliction I do... the need to do it all, perfectly, right now. However today I'm admitting defeat, not failure, just defeat. The holidays got the better of me, I made too many plans and promises to myself and it's just not all going to happen the way I want it to.

I'm raising the white flag of surrender, saying I just can't do it all and most importantly acknowledging this before I have any true battle wounds. I am not beat down and I didn't fail, I just bit off more than I could chew (pardon the mixing of metaphors, my brain isn't too sharp today).

I'm writing this because I had intended for a much more in-depth post on finding your rhythm to make your days more productive, but that's not happening. And after a little fighting back I realized that was ok. I don't always have to do it all, all the time, perfectly.

I'm writing this to remind you of that fact for two reasons. This is the time of year when we're most likely to overextend ourselves and pay for it in the end. It's also the time of year that we tend to reflect and turn toward what we wished had gone better.

I'm begging you not to do either. Most likely many of the promises you made over these past few weeks were only to yourself. Pick one thing, decide not to do it and relish the slightly lighter feeling your shoulders have. Then when you feel yourself starting to drift toward the "should haves" and "wish I would haves" of the past year, stop! Look instead toward all you did accomplish and what you learned that will take you further next year.

Now go enjoy your holidays knowing that even though you're not Super Woman, no one else is either and you're the smarter one for admitting it.

Happy Holidays!!!

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I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve [at] lightboxsf [dot] com

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

It's Ok To Not Want To

Last week's post about giving yourself some time away from the chaos and putting things in perspective was inspired by my personal state of feeling overwhelmed by the list of things I want to have done and general lack of motivation to do them. A couple days in Tahoe with no computer and no phone weren't enough for the motivation to kick back in. In fact I came back with a mild tension headache that hasn't left me for 5 days now.

The oddest part about my current state is that I'm not lacking inspiration. We've got some amazing projects underway and I'm getting new ideas about them all the time. I've got two new clients I'm working with and I keep seeing the light bulbs go off when we meet. I even started listening the audio version of Made To Stick by Chip and Dan Heath and my own light bulbs are sparking up all over the place. The thing is my brain is in overdrive, but I just can't seem to act on any of the inspiration. I feel unfocused and totally lacking in energy.

I'm not writing this post because I suddenly found the cure the blasé feeling, I'm writing to remind you that we all feel it. It's part of the cycle of creativity and a part of being a creative business owner. However what I will tell you is the advice I would give any of my clients... It's ok, it will pass.

When you feel any of the feelings I mentioned above or others, no motivation, no inspiration, lack of focus, or even anxious overwhelm, listen to you body. Sit with the feeling and let your mind tell you what it needs. You may want to stare into space letting all the thoughts swirl around, you may want to be distracted by a movie or book to quiet your brain, you may simply want to take a nap or hang out with a friend. Be kind and let yourself. Fighting it doesn't get you anywhere but more frustrated with how things aren't as you'd like them.

So give in and go nap in the sun or watch a few hours of hoarders and most importantly don't feel guilty. Your mind and body will repay you by bouncing back with a renewed spark after it gets the chance to cycle through and recover.

What do you crave on those hardest of days to motivate?

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I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Take a Break This Summer

These last few weeks of summer weather has had me feeling a little down. I've been sitting at home working all day feeling overwhelmed by new projects and wishing I could just skip out for the afternoon and have a few beers in the sun. I started to feel a little bitter toward friends whose salaried jobs seem to afford them the luxury of long lunches and cutting out early on Fridays.

But I stopped myself. That line of thinking doesn't get you anywhere and then I reminded myself of what I'm working toward. Creating your own business is hard work, but the payoff can be grand. I'm not necessarily talking money, although we all hope that comes at some point, I'm talking about having a vision and making it happen. Having the guts to fail and keep going. Being brave enough to walk the tightrope without a safety net.

So when the long days and endless to do lists have you wondering why it is you're doing this again, make sure to take a moment to focus on what you're creating. Imagine the business a year from now, three years from now and bask in the accomplishment of it all.

However it's not enough to just keep slogging along toward the light at the end of the tunnel. This is your life right and you deserve a little distance from it all, actually you require it. You need to take the time to clear your head, bring things back into focus, and give yourself a little boost to keep going. Take a 20 minute walk to enjoy the afternoon sun or an extra 15 minutes with your coffee in the morning before you turn on the computer. Build little treats into your day and your week to keep yourself sane.

When you feel most like you can't take the time is probably when you need it the most. Put yourself in a place where you can't do anything about the tasks swirling around in your head and let them swirl. When you can't jump from one to another distracted by new thoughts and ideas the most important tasks have a way of floating to the top and giving you a whole new focus for where best to spend your energies.

To that end I am off early tomorrow morning for a weekend of camping in Tahoe. No phone or computer for almost 3 days.

If you do nothing else this weekend at least take a long walk without your phone, no ipod, just you and your thoughts. Let them go and see where they take you.

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I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Are You Ready To Market Yourself?

At the beginning of a New Year a lot of small businesses make the decision to step up their marketing efforts by investing more time and money in advertising, social media marketing, and related avenues. It’s a great time to do it, the rush of Holiday sales is over, you’ve got a fresh new perspective on a brand new year, and if you do any business related reading it’s what everyone is talking about; how to get ahead in the year ahead.

I also fully support a well-planned marketing strategy. It keeps you on top of goals and ahead of the game for holiday marketing and special opportunities. Unfortunately all the buzz about getting more traffic, making more sales, and reaching more clients can get in the way of the real question. Are you ready to handle them? Are you putting your best foot forward?

First impressions are key and a customer’s first experience in your store will greatly influence whether they come back or tell their friends. So what does it mean to be ready? Here are some key areas and resources to make your website and your brand ready for the world.

Branding

- Is your logo distinct and representative of your overall vision?

- Is your logo easy to read and memorable?

- Do you have a website address that’s easy to find and easy to remember?

- Do you have a Unique Selling Proposition that is clearly stated?

- Do you have a blog that tells your story?

Website Design

- Is your website attractive and easy to navigate?

- Does your website carry through the image of your brand with colors and fonts?

- Do you have professional photos - sharp, true to life colors, details of products?

- Is key information easy to find - how to contact, store policies, payment options?

- Is important information clearly presented in readable text and easy to find pages?

- Do all your links work?

- Have you proofread your copy?

Customer Experience

- Can your customers find your contact information easily?

- Is it easy to purchase items or services?

- Is the checkout process easy to follow?

- Are there unnecessary steps or information asked for?

Built in Marketing

- Do you have an about page that tells your story?

- Do you have links to any press you’ve gotten?

- Is it easy for a blogger or magazine to share information about you - photos, links to your store or blog?

- Can I sign up for a newsletter?

- Can I find your Facebook or Twitter pages?

- Do you share any other social media networks you belong to?

The goal of marketing is to attract customers, but if you're not ready to give them the best experience then it's time and money wasted. Put your best foot forward from the beginning and your customers will keep coming back and tell their friends.

Are you ready to market yourself? Can you answer yes to all these questions?

This is part one in a 5 part series, here are links to the rest:

Branding: It's All About Experience and Benefit

What Does Your Website Say About You?

Customer Service - Do You Know What Your Customers Experience?

Is Your Website Marketing For You?

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I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Prioritizing Helps Keep You Sane

With the workshop coming up this Saturday, my to do list has gotten a little out of hand. So to give myself a bit of a break I'm going to recycle a little material from the Lightbox SF blog. This one is extremely appropriate given my current state and all the goal setting and motivation that happens at the beginning of the year.

Enjoy, I will be back with fresh content next week.

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This is the time of year when the to do lists seem to grow out of control. Our work lives get cluttered with holiday sales or the at least the effort to make more of them. We see the end of the year looming and want to get just one more big project completed. And then there's the holidays in general, events, gatherings, and family seem to take over any "free" time you might have had.

I'm feeling the pressure myself just writing about it. However, if I take a step back I realize that much of the pressure is self imposed. That project that I want to get done, I'm the only one who cares that it happens next week. The extra workouts I'm trying to fit in to ward off any holiday pounds, is the stress really worth it? Yet there's still that pressing need to get things done, cross things off the list.

Here's a process my fiancé walked me through a few months ago that has worked wonders to help me put it all into perspective and calm the anxious need to accomplish everything-all-at-once-now!

Priorities, that is the key. I write a list of everything I want to do. (This works well for both personal and work lists, but I recommend keeping them separate.) Then I mark them with a High, Medium and Low priority. If you write your lists by hand try different colors, if you're using a to do software they may have an easy way already built in or again you might be able to color code them.

High, Medium and Low

For this to work you need to be honest with yourself in setting the priority of each task. To do that I use these guidelines: High priority means the business depends on it, money, life or death - paying the bills, following up on contracts, or getting a new product launched, etc. Medium priority means the task falls into best practice, something that makes the business better, but isn't crucial to its existence - keeping your Facebook page updated, getting photos from your last event on your website, or researching new packaging. Low priority items are the ones that only you will notice if they get done or not - changing your picture on your website, reorganizing your workspace, or reading all those blog posts you've been bookmarking. You may want to set up your own criteria, but I find breaking it down this simply really helps.

The I separate the tasks that are recurring like updating your Facebook page, returning emails, and keeping up on blog reading. These recurring tasks need to get on your calendar. Are they things you do monthly, weekly, or daily? Put them on your calendar at a specific time, not just with a general day and block out as much time as you need to accomplish them. You may answer email for an hour in the morning and then again in the late afternoon. You might also write in calendar an appointment to do bookkeeping or pay your bills or whatever else needs to get done regularly, but you always seem to forget about.

Putting Tasks Into Perspective

Now that you've got everything prioritized, I want you to set due dates for the High and Medium priority tasks. Be realistic with how long each task will take and when it absolutely needs to be done. I suggest you give yourself some wiggle room with those High priority tasks.

Those low priority tasks are going to wait until you find yourself sitting around twiddling your thumbs or something happens to move them up in priority. Yes, this means you may never get to them. Take a moment to accept this. If they are really worthwhile tasks you will suddenly see that they need to be raised in priority. Until then, I only want you to glance at them once a month and then put them aside yet again.

Not Too Many All At Once

Honestly it's only realistic to think you can accomplish three tasks a day. I know that sounds like a small number, but think about how your days go, unexpected phone calls, urgent emails, you forgot you made a lunch date with an old friend... Things happen that derail you, it's a part of life.

I want you to begin to really follow those priorities, if it's not High, think Life or Death, you'll be ok if it doesn't get done exactly when you want it to. You will, I promise.

Taking It Day By Day

Every High and Medium priority task should now be at least marked with a due date. Now we need to slot them into your calendar. Some may just be marked on due dates, but others may need to have a couple hours here and there set aside to get them done.

Each morning you should look at the list of activities for that day and sort them again in order of priority, but also take into account how easy it will be to check them off the list. I like to take the first two hours of my day and check off anything, High or Medium priority that takes less than 15 minutes to accomplish. Returning phone calls, sending out emails, looking something up, keeping up with social media, etc. Then I have the rest of the day to accomplish those one or two tasks that will take a few solid hours of my time.

After the quick stuff is done I go straight to the High priority task for that day. If there isn't one then I look at the Medium priorities, what has the nearest due date and which one is going to take the most time to complete. I weigh those to decide what to do next. If somehow I manage to finish everything on my list for that day, then I look forward to either try to cross off another High priority task or get a little bit of work done on bigger project that's only a medium priority.

Always Keep In Mind

This may sound like a lot of work for a to do list, but the idea is simple, whatever is most important gets done first. The more you walk through all the steps it will begin to feel like second nature. The simplicity of it is also my greatest comfort when I inevitably begin feeling overwhelmed again. What is the most important thing I need to do right now?

What do you do to keep yourself on track? Do you have a similar system that helps keep you sane when things get really busy?

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I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!