Top 5 Reasons Why You Need a Business Group

As micro-business owners, we are constantly wearing many hats and working multiple hours by ourselves building our creative empires (ex: my new work bff's are my local coffee shop baristas). All that working solo can really take a toll on you and your business. As you feel more and more isolated, success can feel just slightly out of reach. Here are the top 5 reasons why you need a business group.

1. Support.

Owning your own business can be a lonely experience. Sometimes friends and spouses just don't get it, but your business community will. Having a trusted colleague is incredibly helpful when you need to vent, cry, chat or just talk biz. That kind of support is priceless.

2. Feedback.

A business group is the perfect place to get feedback on your business. Your colleagues will have a fresh perspective on new designs, branding, a new website, new scents, a new way to do things, etc. This can help make the difference between something good and something great - see the photo of my awesome craft show sign above. It wouldn't be so rad without the input of CBL members.

3. Resources.

Other business owners have all sorts of resources that can help make running your business easier. Much like number two on the list, business groups are a great way to get info from a trusted source since the whole purpose is helping each other. Get recommendations about a useful app, a fabulous business book, the inside scoop on a craft show experience, a packaging resource, a solid book keeper recommendation ... the list goes on.

4. Accountability.

As small business owners, it can sometimes be hard to get things done, especially since you have no boss to report to, besides yourself. We procrastinate. We fill our time with maybe-not-so-important to-dos. Life gets in the way. Sometimes all we need is a little nudge from a colleague to get shit done. Accountability can do wonders for checking things off the list.

5. Growth.

Being part of a group will push you and your business to the next level. Getting and giving your insights and support is an incredible way to nurture you and your business. You will feel more confident. You will be able to look at things from a different perspective. All of this makes you a better business person which ultimately helps your business succeed.

How do you join a business group? Google your local Chamber of Commerce, see if there is a local group with shared interests (Green Business, Jewelry), or check out Etsy. Research national organizations that might be a good fit like the Indie Business Network or Ladies Who Launch. Or think about joining a co-working space. Don't be afraid to approach another small business person to talk about starting your own group. That's exactly how CBL started!

Teaching Old Tools New Tricks

We have a saying in the jewelry business - you can never have too many tools!  OK, so that’s not an official saying, but it should be. When a friend recently gifted me a bunch of their old jewelers' tools - some of them doubles of tools I already had - I didn't think twice; of course I could make them work!  Jewelry tools are expensive, highly specialized and become like beloved members of your family, albeit cold, hard, steel members of your family.  Here in San Francisco, our cold, damp “Summer” can coat your loved ones in a layer of rust. Such was the case with this group of tools.

I've refinished a number of tools over the years - hammers, pliers, tweezers - these are easy - all flat planes and smooth surfaces, so I can sand & file off any rust or pits in the steel, apply 3-in-1 Oil and Presto! Good as new.  But files are a different story. Some of these new-to-me files had wax and metal filings caught in their teeth (pretty normal by jewelers’ standards), but a few had rust deep in their grooves. This presented a different problem; I couldn't just sand or file the rust off without damaging the teeth of the files.  What was I to do? To the Internets!  

Files bubbling in their vinegar solution.

According to many internet searches, I would need either phosphoric acid (requiring a trip all the way out to Lowes or Home Depot) or sulfuric acid (corrosive to soft tissue like, um, your skin and corneas, and also historically known as Oil of Vitriol - really rolls off of the tongue, doesn't it?) I am not that patient and I really wanted to clean these files soon. So what was the solution? Vinegar.  Regular distilled vinegar.  Available at the Walgreens right next door to my studio - so convenient! And it helped me to come up with vinegar’s new slogan -  Vinegar - What Can’t It Do?

Tools soaking in their vinegar solution and starting to look gross/cool.

A lot of what I read said that I should let the tools soak for up to 4 days, but I started to see results after leaving them overnight. I pulled out a few of the less rusty pieces after a day, and left the rest to soak a few days more.

Tools soaking for a couple of days.

If you decide to try this yourself here are a few Dos and Don’ts:

Files soaking in vinegar. Check out the residue collecting on them!

Do: Remove the wooden handles from your files before soaking.  It’s a little extra step, and it avoids moisture being trapped inside of the handle. I was impatient and didn't do this to all of my files.  I should have.

Do: Use a file card before soaking to remove any excess matter and use it again afterwards to clean out any remaining rust from the grooves and teeth of your file. This will help prevent any rust from redeveloping after you soak them in the vinegar. 

Do: Oil the hell out of your tools after doing this to protect them. If you live in a damp environment (Seattle, Portland, Hawaii, etc.), you should oil your tools regularly anyway.

Cleaned and oiled files.  Ready to create more jewelry magic.

Don’t: Do this unless you can be on hand to monitor their progress - i.e. don’t leave these to soak over a long weekend away.

And there you have it. Have you tried this method before?  Let me know how it turned out! 

Four Ways to Help You Reach Past Your Fears

We have all felt it.  That sudden intake of breath before we write the biggest check of our lives, when we sign a commercial lease for the first time, when we put our inventory and display into a suitcase and watch it head down the conveyor belt on our way to an out-of-town show, when we launch a new design round.  It happens a lot when you own a small business and make all of your own products. Here are a few of my tips for reaching past the fear and acting on your ideas.

A new bridal collection in development

1. Write down your fears

A big looming project, or an idea that takes you far outside of your comfort zone can create intense feelings of overwhelm. Oftentimes this happens because the new idea or project can take on monstrous proportions in your head. This trick is designed to take the fear out of your head and put it down on paper. Try this: write down your fear and then write down three reasons why it scares you. You might surprise yourself with the answers that you list.

Alternatively, you can speak your fear out loud to a small group of people you trust. Sometimes the simple act of voicing your fear can give that fear less power over you.

2. Set smaller goals

It sounds counter intuitive, right?  We are told to give “110%” or that all of our goals and desires should be big picture ideas.  But the truth is that all of our larger ideas require a thousand small steps to achieve them. By breaking our large goals into manageable tasks, we can spend a small amount of time each day moving towards the end goal. If you have a large, nebulous goal, ask yourself this - What is one thing that I can accomplish everyday to achieve it?

I’ll give you an example taken from my own business. One of my larger goals is to be able to vend at NY Now (formerly NY Gift) next August. Here is the drill-down of the steps I have to take to achieve this:

Larger Goal - to vend at NY Now in 2015

Objective - To build wholesale customer list and build capital to afford larger show

• Prep linesheets - July 2014
  • Take better photographs of work in preparation for regional show - May 2014
  • Save images in folder for NY Now - May 2014
• Develop clear marketing message - July 2014
  • Work with writer and graphic designer on new marketing collateral - April 2014
    • Incorporate into current email blast cycle - ongoing
    • Print postcards and business cards - June 2014
• Create a more dynamic display - by July 2014
  • Look at Pinterest for inspiration - May 2014
  • Sketch out layout and map out a test-run - June 2014
  • Purchase and build new display items - June 2014
  • Test run of set-up at SF Gift - August 2014
• Vend at American Made show in DC - January 2015
  • Use layout, linesheets, images prepared from SF Gift
  • Submit high-res images to American Made show for their marketing collateral (Due date unknown - August 2014?)
  • Print sticker with link to BrandBoom linesheets - December 2014    
• Develop new collection - May 2015
  • Design and create samples March-April 2015
  • Edit new collection - Late April 2015
  • Order castings and recycled diamonds - March 2015
  • Photograph new pieces- May 2015
  • Product copy, dimensions and pricing finalized by end of June 2015

All of the practices and tasks that I've put in place are broken into even smaller chunks than this (i.e. call photographer, find out crating and shipping charges, mail check, find Air BnB in DC, pack for show, etc.), but you get the idea. By making your tasks simple and achievable you can work towards that larger goal much easier.

3. Find something that scares you more

This one is my personal favorite. When faced with a potentially scary business decision, such as, should I contact that store that I feel is way out of my league to carry my products, it is common to feel some hesitation. When I feel that hesitation, I ask myself which option scares me more - doing the scary thing, or not doing the scary thing? Often time the consequences of doing the scary thing (here, getting rejected by the shop) aren't as scary as not doing the scary thing (not contacting the shop might mean losing out on a big sale, and if I lose out on this sale then my business suffers, and then I won’t have a business anymore, and I then I will have to go and get a real job and work in a cubicle).  When I reframe the consequences, the scary decision loses a lot of its power.

Creative Business League chowing down at our monthly meeting - photo by Alana Rivera

4. Create community

I can’t say this enough.  Having people around you who are like-minded, understand your business issues, and can treat you with compassion are your best assets for overcoming fear. Your community acts as a sounding board for your business and ideas. They are an ideal group to have around when you find yourself feeling overwhelmed with fear. Finding other entrepreneurs can be as simple as posting to an online forum or striking up friendships while vending at a local craft fair.

Do you have any other techniques for overcoming fear and blocks in your business?