Category Archives: Creative Entrepreneurship

Periscope for Sewists?

Does Periscope have anything to offer to modern sewists? Share your thoughts with me.

A coworker mentioned Periscope to me one day when she would be traveling during a critical workplace meeting. She asked if we could perhaps “do a Periscope“. In my need to keep everyone happy, I did some research on Periscope. The plans changed regarding that specific meeting and I never thought again about it. Then, randomly, I happened across a tweet from Rit Dye announcing someone would be trying out a technique “tomorrow on Periscope“.

I was intrigued so I downloaded the app, created an account and began to follow other “scopers”. I admit that Twitter is not my primary focus for social media especially not for my sewing and crafting business. I am much more interested in a visual media such as Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. I was unaware of any sewist tweeters much less “scopers”. Periscope is young and has a less than sophisticated search mechanism so I was unable to identify sewist accounts.

So, after receiving LOTS of notifications of live scopes and lots or Trolls and way too much video of nonsense stuff, I am in search of sewists on Periscope. I discovered the knitters of the world are all over this venue but I find the sewists are nearly nonexistent. I find it to be very interesting and exciting! Trolls are an exception. I don’t like those but they are everywhere, I guess. As I write this post, I’m watching some street musicians perform live in Times Square. The next scope I find is a live video feed from some river rapids in East Granby, Connecticutt providing a cool, fresh view and the mesmerizing sounds of running water on a Friday afternoon.

Give me your thoughts on Periscope. Do you like it? Do you use it? Do you lurk and view or do you create content? I can see all types of uses for it but if there is no one out there listening, I wonder if it is worth the effort.

Super Pants-hemmer? Not!

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As of June 1st, Fruit From My Hands became established as a business. That is, as far as the Internal Revenue is concerned. What kind of business is it, what do I do? Good question! I’ve listened to webinars, read blog posts, studied theories, meditated and everything else I could think of to do. There are some very good materials out there for creative entrepreneurs who want to go into business for themselves. I especially like the free streams from CreativeLive, but alas they never solved my major problem. What should I do?

What do I “do”? What is my craft, what is my skill? One of the first workshops I listened to informed me that I cannot do it all. I should define the single thing I do and do it. This is the one step that stymies creatives, I have found. I was frozen in place for several years on this step. My Etsy shop has many random items with no central theme other than I had a bright idea and wanted to try them. (I’ve been advised that is the sure sign of death for an Etsy shop but it is what it is.) The exercise from the speaker suggested looking at the past six months and decide what one “thing” had people paid me to do the most. Okay, so I looked back over the past six months to a year. Wow, people really love to have me hem their pants! So, by their estimation, I should be the Pants Hemmer. Be the best pants hemmer out there, market myself as that and sleep, eat and breathe pants hemming.

Um, no. I’m pretty sure that I will be paying the rent in the future with pants hemming and I am not opposed to doing it but I have too many skills to confine myself to one task, one skill. While I was looking at the past six months activities, I saw so many other things that tied for second place but they did not net me a lot of money. I’ve written articles, I’ve dabbled with an ebook, I’ve investigated my own ecourse, I’ve taught classes, I’ve advised creatives, I’ve consulted on projects. No, I can’t be the great superhero, Pants-hemmer.

So without much fanfare, I made a command decision. I choose to be a sewing and craft consultant. A Jack-of-all-crafts, so to speak, that can help, advise, teach and further spread the joy that is creativity. So whenever someone says, “Do you know anyone that does ______?” or “Is there someone that can teach me how to __________?”, my name can go in that blank.

Now to figure out how to make that into a tagline and find a market….hmmmmm.

CreativeLive – a Discovery!

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Facebook finally did something right! My Facebook Newsfeed suggested I follow or “Like” the Fanpage for CreativeLive. Normally, I don’t give these suggested pages a second look, but the words “creative entrepreneur” popped out at me and I was hooked. Have any of you looked at this site? Their website says they are “the world’s leading online classroom for the creative entrepreneur.” They offer FREE, yes, you saw it correctly, FREE online classes. The classes are grouped in several different creative categories, but the topics of each are so timely.

The free classes stream online continually. I clicked on the website to see what classes were playing at that exact moment when I found the time to listen/watch. By clicking on the RSVP, you can get added to the class to chat along with other participants or ask the speaker questions. The handouts and workbooks are provided FREE, if you log in.

The sessions that I have listened to so far were very good. The speakers were very knowledgeable and personable and interesting. I’ve listened to The Art of Selling What You Make by Tara Gentile and Create Digital Products That Sell While You Sleep by April Bowles-Olin Both lessons take on the hard topics and lead creatives through the process from creating to marketing both themselves and their product. The content in these courses is well -worth their standard $49 class rate, if you miss any of the current streaming courses.

Have you checked them out? I challenge you to listen, do the exercises and improve your creative entrepreneurship. Let me know what you think.

Google Calendar for Creative Entrepreneurs

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Being a creative entrepreneur is difficult. As artists making a business out of their art, we have several things that need our attention all at the same time. It can be overwhelming. I have blog posts to write, social media photos to post, new patterns to design, Etsy store items to list and, oh yeah, I also have client requests to create. One to-do list does not cover it all. Experts advise us to be organized to be successful. These same experts advise us to be timely and post items regularly. They also advise us to maintain an editorial calendar for our blogs and plan our postings on all our platforms. Suddenly, I find myself spending all my time struggling with what to do next. Then, one morning at the day job, it hit me. Use Google Calendar which comes with every Google Mail (Gmail) account!

In my job at an academic library, I manage multiple calendars…….and by multiple, I mean 3 calendars that I manage as well as edit another dozen or so. Those are in addition to my own 3 personal calendars. We use Google Apps on campus, specifically Google Calendar for everything from building operating hours to meetings to campus events. So, why not apply the tools I use for those calendars to my personal creative endeavors? And it’s free!

So here is a short tutorial on how I use Google Calendars to corral the many tasks I have on multiple to-do lists.

All of my email, calendaring and documents, both personal and professional, are in Google. I find the apps to be among the most powerful in the world. Their integration into each other and sharing capabilities are beyond compare. All my info is stored in the Cloud and accessible across all my devices.
From a Gmail window, the Google Calendar can be accessed by clicking on what we quilters could call the Nine Patch block located next to the gmail account name in the upper right corner. The dark grey square of nine grey blocks is Google’s universal link to their Apps.

2. Clicking on the Google App “nine patch” expands a drop-down menu that displays nine of the most commonly used Google Apps. Calendar is one of these. Clicking on Calendar will lead to the Calendar app. The calendar that displays is referred to as “My Calendar”. I use it for all of my appointments, events, and anything else that must not be missed. My Calendar will be my primary calendar and will always display for me.

3. I create an event by clicking on the date and time and filling in the event info.

4. Now, here is where the fun starts. Notice that on the left pane of your screen under My calendars, there is a list of calendars. By clicking on the down arrow (marked by the red arrow in the pic), additional calendars can be created for other things.

5. I have a tendency to neglect blog posting so I sat down and made an editorial calendar. (It is recommended by the experts.) So, in Google Calendar, I clicked on the drop-down arrow and chose “Create a new calendar” which led me to this screen.

I named the calendar “Blog” and created events in it for every blogging task that I thought I needed to accomplish. I chose “Repeat” and set up repeating events for any posts that I want to post regularly. TipTuesday, New in the Etsy Store, and Tools are examples of regular posts. I can quickly at any time open up the event either on a desktop or my phone and add the topic or notes for the posts.

6. I forget to manage my Etsy store items when I am focusing on blogging. So I created another calendar and named it “Etsy”. I filled it full of my plans for my store. I make events for the items that need to re-posted or updated or added. (I have a tendency to upload all of my Etsy items at once which keeps them from getting noticed.) I’m using All Day events for now. I will analyze my statistics at a later point and assign the best times during the day for those postings.

Now back to My calendars. I change the color setting to each of the calendars so the tasks are distinguished by from each other. Now doesn’t that look much neater? or cooler?

7. Each calendar can be shared with someone else so that I can have some assistance. If a friend is interested in doing some blogging for me, I can share the Blog calendar with them and they never see all of my personal appointments. At work, we collaborate and agree on a plan for upcoming events and establish themes for postings for that month. The editorial calendar is then shared with all of the team members. It is very helpful to have the whole team on the same writing schedule posting along the planned theme.

Share one of the calendars by clicking on the drop down arrow to the right of the name of the calendar in My calendars. A screen similar to this will appear. Provide the email (I believe they have to be Google mail accounts) of the person offering assistance and set the level of permissions for them. Google will send them an email advising them of the sharing.

Tip: I share all of my calendars with all of my email accounts so that when I have thought, I can pop open the nearest calendar window and apply whatever ideas I have.

Now I have my creative entrepreneur plan for the next couple of weeks, but I don’t have any of this shared with anyone that could help…….hmmmmm, now to find some sucker to take on the huge task of assisting me be me……..

My Very First Label

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When I finally decided on a brand for myself and my creations, the first thing I wanted to do (after acquiring the services of a graphic artist) was to create my own fabric labels for my handmade items. I sent my shiny new professional graphic image off the an Etsy vendor who crafted me my very own rubber stamp of my brand. I love it. And then it went in a pile in the sewing room and has been forgotten. I sewed a few gifts, gave them away and had some regret they didn’t have my label. But not enough regret to motivate me to dig out the rubber stamp. I put stamp pads on my craft store list and finally purchased some cheap ones. I recently stitched up a very cute little baby snuggle wrap for a baby shower gift and had to physically force myself to dig out the stamp, stamp some fabric, heat-set it using the method described in Crafty Blossom’s blogpost. I made so many excuses on why this wasn’t going to work. I don’t understand why it is sooooooo hard to do. It must be fear. Anyway, I have stamped and sewn in my first one. The house did not burst into flames, I did not get struck by lighting and the baby swaddle blanket or label did not spontaneously combust. So………it will be easier to do next time and as I get more comfortable doing it, I want to eventually design a yard of fabric labels at Spoonflower as in these instructions at Things for Boys blog.

Goal: label everything I make!

Pillowcase Learn to Sew Class

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When people find out I sew, the first thing out of their mouths is one of two things. One response is “I have some pants that need hemming. Can I get you to do that?” The other response is “I bought a sewing machine because I wanted to learn to sew and it is still in the box.” Sometimes that second response will vary in that they have taken the machine out of the box but have not proceeded further. Lately, I’ve been trying to find a profitable outlet for my sewing skills and knowledge. I’ve been pursuing several different ideas until reading the post, The Commitment Phobic Creative, by Braid Creative & Counsulting. They advise making a list of “all the things you can or want to do in your creative business“, then “crossing out the ones that you haven’t actually been paid for in 6 months.” (If you wish to re-live my original drama, see my earlier post.)

So, here we are, weeks later, with list made and items crossed off and some very real soul searching. And, as bad as I hate to admit it, EUREKA! I may have found the answer. Fingers-crossed, hold your breath, I may have found a niche that needs me. All of my paying and non-paying interactions with folks concerning sewing have been the above two responses. So, why not focus on that? There must be a need, right?

A couple of ladies at church used the two responses I mentioned earlier. So I set about to come up with a means to teach them to get that machine out of the box and conquer their fear. I stumbled across All People Quilt’s 1-Million Pillowcase Challenge. I developed a quick little learn-to-sew class around making a pillowcase. The goals of the class were to get participants sewing on their machine with some confidence and completing a project. I made up silly little invitations, booked the church fellowship hall and invited six ladies. Five of them came! I provided assistance to those that needed their machines set up and provide fabric kits from my stash so there would be no stress if mistakes were made on their own personal fabric. Five ladies walked out of the hall two hours later with a completed pillowcase.

You would need to ask them, but I believe from their responses after class, they enjoyed themselves. Many of them have requested more classes. They unanimously have requested an alterations class. So I’ve been researching it and writing a lesson plan. Every time I talk about what I am doing, I gain one or two more interested students. So, here we gooooooooooo.

A Commitment Phobic Creative?

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I’ve always considered myself to be brave, to be able to do what is necessary when the need arises. According to the Myers-Briggs test, I’m an INTJ. According to the Enneagram test, I’m a Type 1 – Reformer, leaning heavily toward a Type 6 – Loyalist. But never have I been labeled as “commitment phobic” until now. Spoonflower tweeted an article yesterday that intrigued me:

‏@Spoonflower

Signs you may be a commitment phobic creative, and what to do about it: http://bit.ly/1lSfEtK from @BraidCreative pic.twitter.com/5TrTP2Hrj1

So I clicked on the bit.ly and browsed a blog post from Braid Creative and found that it hit my situation exactly on the head. I’m a creative that desperately wants to be a creative entrepreneur but I’ve been stumped. I’ve been unable to move forward. Braid Creative nailed it exactly on the head.

1. Yes, I hoard notebooks! Not only do I have notebooks, my sewing and design skills demand that the notebooks have custom designed fabric covers. The notebooks were blank but I have made significant strides in the past 5 years to “put pen to paper”. I now carry a notebook with me as often as I can. I write, I design, I sketch and I jot down any thoughts. In my defense, I am also a tech person, thoroughly mobile and cloud-based, so the paper notebook is a little bit of a burden for me. I have apps that allow me to do the designing and writing and then store it in the cloud so it is always with me. Many times, I lack the spare hand to carry the notebook or I have picked up the design notebook instead of the writing notebook. Using a mobile device is not nearly as obvious as scratching on paper. There is no eraser “dust” when ideas and lines change and there is no need for ample elbow room or solid surface. I feel I have conquered this one!

2. “Now, what exactly do you do?” They might as well have typed my name in this one. This is EXACTLY where I am. Hello, my name is Aleeah and I am a “jane of all trades”. And I’m trapped there. In an attempt to use Braid Creative‘s advice to move past this, I’ve tried to write down all the things that I can or want to do in my creative business. It is a LONG list. I am capable of, and have done so many things personally and professionally. Then the post advises to “cross out the ones that you haven’t been actually paid for in 6 months.” I can honestly say that I have not been paid for any of them. I repaired a sweater for someone and she gave me $5. So now I have a list that consists of nothing but clothing repair. My paying clothing repair consists of sewing on buttons and correcting Third World garment workers mistakes. Now what?

I continued through the rest of the symptoms. In reference to number 3, I’ve spent quite a bit of time and effort and expense over the past year to combine all of my ideas into one persona. Thus my new Fruit from My Hands blog and brand. As for number 4, I have multiple social media accounts under my new brand, but I have yet to implement them simply because I’m still back at number 2, needing a direction and clear vision for what I should be doing. I’m a social media coordinator in my day job so I’m prepared and ready for which platform I will focus on and how I will effectively engage my followers and customers. So consider 3 and 4 conquered.

I would add one more to this list. I feel that time management also plays a key role. Developing a creative entrepreneurship does not fall out of the sky. Neither does it walk up to you on the street nor jump off the computer screen and demand to be served. Anyone wanting to advance their creative business must commit to setting aside an amount of time on a regular basis to shut out the rest of the world and focus solely on the business.

So I’m still stuck at number 2. I’m still stuck at trying to find a paying audience for any of my creative skills. But I really appreciate Braid Creative’s post and they have gained a new follower in this “commitment phobic creative”.