Taking Mini-Risks

[#1]

Hi team!

I bumped into the most inspiring blog post today:

How to Pick Up a Stranger (or Produce Brilliant Work)
http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/how-to-pick-up-a-stranger-or-produce-brilliant-work/

The moral of the story is this: Building up your confidence by facing your fears can lead to highly productive (and creative) workdays!

So today I challenge you to take one mini-risk. Let me know what it is in this forum thread and let's face them together!

xo
Danielle

[Former_Member]

The biggest risk I can take right now is to have faith in my abilities. I have many quilts and related items to post, but have been shy about doing that. There are so many lovely, refreshing ideas out there that I don't know if I can compete. I do try to get some ideas from my 28 YO daughter.

[Bravina]

I have enjoyed all the responses to this blog....I think everyone who has posted somthing has great rewards to look forward to.

[Former_Member]

Shouldn't we all takes risks every day of our lives? I left my senior executive job last week and I would now love to focus on building a creative business..... there is nothing like the freedom I'm feeling of not having to be somewhere every minute of every day and being able to create and focus on things that I love! This is what life should be about! We are supposed to feel inner joy and happiness every single day.......

[Former_Member]

Great timing! I've been thinking of ways to take small risks each day so that they add up to more progress over time. Today was trying to amp up my FB page with more product images and making changes to item titles to see if I can pinpoint the best way to drive more traffic to my shop. I feel like the few items I have in my shop so far are things people would like but not necessarily know to look for. Risk can be many things to many people, but the best advice I've been given is that you can't be successful if you don't take risks. The first one was putting myself out there for others to judge my work and now that I've realized that wasn't so difficult, it's one step at a time. Thanks for the article!

[Bravina]

If I could say one more thing about 'taking risks". I read a book "The Artist Way' by Julia Cameron...one of the exercises was to pretend you were 80 yrs old and write yourself a letter (at your present age)..and ask yourself : "What do you wish you had done that you were afraid to do?" That question has helped me so many times over the years. I just wanted to share this. Thank you.

[STMSFurniture]

Great post. I have recently been working on a blog for my new website. It scares the crap out of me to worry that people will judge what I write or not even care enough to read it. But if even one person like what I write then it is worth it. This article also reminds me that I need to start smiling and greeting people more. I used to always do this, but have been lazy lately. You must remember that a smile goes a long way. Even if you are having a bad day, that person might be having a worse day and may really need your smile!

[Former_Member]

Mini-est risk today: struck up a conversation with someone while in line at the post office shipping out my most recent sale. Ended up handing her a business card and she's interested in getting something from me as a gift!

Bigger recent risk: Invested all the 'profits' my shop has earned in the 6 weeks I've been open to attend a 4-day workshop/networking conference for new crafty business-owners/hobbyists!

[theanimalsmagicshop]

Interesting ... Now to think of a risk - at my age it's more about mustering up the energy to carry it through ~ LOL ~ I used to be so painfully shy and had no confidence so take heart scardey-cats;the more you put yourself out there, the easier it gets!

[Wine2The9s]

I have a successful custom drapery business where clients come to me.....opening this shop on Etsy and having to find ways of getting noticed has been quite a challenge..but one that I am embracing. I am challenging myself in ways that I haven't in many,many years! I have to get people to come to me!
This morning I heard the inventor of 'spanks' (who is now a billionaire) talk about how at the supper table every night her father asked her what she failed at that day. Not what she succeeded at! She was groomed to try and fail at
something each and everyday...what a brilliant father!

[Former_Member]

Wow!!! That was amazing. I'm so shy.....that was such an inspiration for me, as a not-very-social-person!! Wow!! My mini risk shall be to talk and smile and be sweet to people, even if they are not like me, even if the turn their nose at me, and even if i feel ackward or shy around them. I've been feeling the need to be more of a people person, and this is just what i neede! thanks SOO much!! :D :D

[Former_Member]

this week ,i will make my own web continue.

[Former_Member]

I've decided to open myself to an entire new line of my custom designed shoes, by expanding into a new style which is quite a bit more expensive to create business models then my previous offerings. However, the creative urge and push is urging me to keep going and I expect to find my own niche. Elaine

[CapitalCityCrafts]

I'm taking a big risk, buying a new home!

[TheSilverPendant]

One mini-risk would be to truly design and make what I want to and silence the editor in me who says,

"Yeah, but will others like it, or will it sell?"

Having written that, I realize how utterly false it is. I recall this:

F False
E Evidence
A Appearing
R Real

Big oops. Not real in my world. Create according to the Universe and your soul.

Thanks for this experience!

Kris

[Sassydoodlebaby]

I opened my shop a few months ago, with an investment in materials, and time, I just sat back hoping things would sell. Which they didnt. At first I said well there are just too many items for sale here. But then I decided to invest more and bought a ebook from someone on etsy on how to improve your business here. I can look at something i've made and overly critique it, and say is it good enough. I followed the books advice, and stopped 2nd guessing everything I make, and now sell something just about every day. I am so glad that I bought the book and stopped thinking I know everything.

[Sassydoodlebaby]

Oh and just one more thing

Failure is to fail to think you will suceed.

[Former_Member]

I took 2 mini risks today. I approached 2 possible wholesale accounts with my new products. Even though people say no, sometimes you just have to go back.

[PattysPhotoShop]

Lots of great ideas here! As a newbie, I feel out of my comfort zone much of the time. I like the idea of pushing myself with mini-risks. I guess today's mini-risk was dealing with a difficult personal situation that I normally would have run away from. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right?

[Former_Member]

I recently opened my shop and am still figuring out how things work, how best to list items, whether or not to sell internationally.... I need to take the risk and invest some money in advertising.

[Former_Member]

The last two weeks of Feb. I paid for a Facebook ad, to draw people to my etsy shop app page on my Facebook page. I choose the pay per click, up to a total of $20. I've had more views and sales in Feb. than I had in any other month ever. Luckily I ended it Feb. 29 because etsy ended their app for that page on Feb. 28 or 29th. Tonight I found and set up a new one through an etsy seller tronoHUE. which I heard about in etsy team forum called Business Topics.

[Former_Member]

I have taken risks over the past two months, as I left a really fulfilling but sadly, profitless shop in Hair Accessories and decided to start making pillows and probably sometime soon start posting my Photography on here. I've now gotten a whole lot more views, but no sales, and am hoping soon to get my first sale in my pillow making business.


I've also taken steps to look at this as a legitimate business, as opposed to something that would give me some extra spending money, and have gotten a Federal Tax ID and working on getting a State Business license around in the area I'm from, Southwest Missouri.

[Former_Member]

Danielle,

Thank you so much for sharing this! I truly needed this today! Very insightful and thought provoking.... and it's simple, small steps! Oh, and add in OPTIMISM! :-)

[Former_Member]

I am taking a big risk now, and I am not sure if it will work. I started here as a supplier, and then after six month or so I decided why dont I sell the necklaces I usually make for my friends and family. So I started to list the them. But since I was a supplier I only decided to list the handmade pendants, so that those who previously bought manufactured pendants from me may also be interested in these handmade ones. But I was wrong. Nobody bought from me. Then I upgraded all my handmade pendants to necklace, and upgrade the pictures (originally I put the preview pictures of pendants, rather than pictures of a real finished necklace). Now I have more than 100 necklace listed and still on the process of replacing the pictures. But I only sell one necklace so far. I feel a little bit nervous at first. Now I am a little bit relaxed. Of course I am disappointed. But I want to believe myself. I will stick with it and work hard. I believe people will like these beautiful little things because I myself already fall in love with them when I make them. I need to give them more exposure, so that people can find them.

[TEEsox]

This article inspired me to email a local shop that I have wanted to have my quirky critters in!! We'll see what happens. I took a risk a couple of weeks ago by walking into a shop (basically doing a cold call) and the owner was actually there AND interested. I am doing an Easter Display for her shop next week!!

[Former_Member]

Great advice! My mini risk was using facebook to promote my shop.