Seven years ago today my father passed away.  Flying back east for his funeral, I couldn’t help but wonder at his timing. Had he waited until Labor Day so that I wouldn’t have to leave my business during tourist season?  As you know if you are a regular reader, my dad was the greatest influence in my life as entrepreneur. My cheerleader and confidante, he encouraged me to start up businesses, even those he didn’t really understand. Having spent his career selling competitively priced goods, he was baffled by my confidence in selling to a more upscale crowd. He thought in volume while I wanted to know the person responsible for creating each product. One thing we had in common, though, was that we both loved designing new business models and couldn’t imagine not being self employed.

Do you also find yourself thinking this is the time to start up something new or make changes? Does the fall get you motivated to step up to your dreams and make those ideas take shape? Are you ready to finally do what it takes to make your business more meaningful and more profitable? The best ROI you’ll ever realize is when you invest in yourself and in your dreams.

Because I want to see you finally dive in and get your business rolling, I am extending my summer Idea Generator Package through September.

Last week on a camping trip with two college age girls, I witnessed this so clearly that I feel confident predicting which of these teens is more likely to be an entrepreneur. Both girls are very bright, good students, outgoing and personable. But the real difference was evident when we visited my son at his eco-community in the mountains. As he gave us the tour, explaining the solar showers, compost toilets  and told us how to dispose of waste, one girl kept asking questions about how this works, why that matters, where it all goes and who does what when. As he demonstrated how to light the strange stove, Miss Curious asked if she could try it while the other girl kept checking her cell phone for bars even though she knew there was no reception.

At sunset, the mosquitos attacked like air force fighter jets. When my son explained that we should use particular herbs and candles, Miss Curious wanted to know why they don’t use pesticides and what effect the chemicals had on the fragile environment. The other complained and snuck off to spray insect repellant anyway, figuring if no one was looking, it wouldn’t matter.

Now I ask you, which girl do you think will always be an employee and who will be able to make a living without a job? I kept thinking about how the parents of the curious girl are concerned that she is a theatre major and will have to live the life of a starving actress or wait tables. The other teen”s parents are happy she is in nursing school so she will always have work. I thought, if I were their parents, I wouldn’t be  concerned at all about Miss Curious because if she is unable to find work in theatre, she will likely ask enough questions to create her own roles.

My sisters and I knew that my father could afford to buy us a car but we never expected it. You see, my dad had a firm conviction, based on his own upbringing, that people who have to work for what they receive are more successful than those who are handed a gift.

I noticed the same thing when I got to college. The students who had to work in the cafeteria or elsewhere on campus studied harder, despite having less free time than those of us who had parents footing the bill.

For decades we’ve been seeing the same thing in public housing units and developing countries. Even brand new Chapter 8 housing is often neglected and defaced but when occupants have to work for their rent, they take pride in keeping it up.  Non-profits or philanthropists who bring food, tools, and other supplies to inhabitants of developing countries often return later to see the gifts unused, misused or destroyed. But a funny thing happens when the same people have to pay for the same tools with currency or labor. They work hard to learn to use the equipment and to keep it in good operating shape.

Finally, some social entrepreneurs are getting the message and are selling rather than giving aid to their chosen beneficiaries.  Martin Fisher, a San Francisco entrepreneur, sells  pumps to poor rural farmers in Africa, through his Kickstart Program.  with the promise that they can make money with them. For a small farmer, replacing a bucket with a pump can lead to cultivating a wider variety of crops and creating work for family and neighbors.

Mark Bell who teaches international agricultural development at UC Davis, agrees with Fisher that the tradition of non profits in developed countries giving tools and equipment to poor people in third world countries — is a poor model. “If you go in and say, ‘Here’s a freebie,’ then people are going to say, ‘Sure, give it to me.’ And when you leave, who knows what happens to it. But if a farmer is given the opportunity to buy, I think that’s the real proof that this is something that’s beneficial to them,” Bell said.

Are there things you would like to do for people less fortunate? How can you set up a situation where they have to work for it so that they don’t develop an entitlement mindset? If you sell, rather than give, the equipment to them and set up a program teaching them how to use it, can you run a for-profit company that improves lives? Absolutely.

Sometimes the same thing happens when we attend a reunion or hear from old friends. With some, we quickly realize we’ve little in common. Others feel like a comfy old pair of loafers or bring out exciting parts of ourselves we’d like to revisit.

Thinking about this re-discovering of old books, treasures and friends reminds me why we should periodically revisit old ideas and dreams. Will we remember why we chose to store them away for a while rather than discard them? Will they feel fresh and new, full of interest and possibility?

Are there aspirations you’ve put back on the shelf because maybe the time wasn’t right, you weren’t sure they were valuable or you didn’t have the energy to do anything with them? Or because you didn’t have the support to make them happen?

What dreams have you pushed to the back of the closet that you might revisit now and find renewed possibilities in? Could a change in life

circumstances or other factors make it possible to see these ideas from a new perspective? Now might be the right time to reexamine those aspirations.  If you’re ready to take  those dreams off the back burner, check out the Idea Generator Sessions. With brainstorming and support, you just may find that vague idea could be a profitable business.

As artisans and crafters you work in one of the worlds oldest mobile professions. Many of you travel yearly to attend and participate in craft fairs, festivals and outdoor expos.

You may have a website (or you should have) and maybe an Etsy store, but you may also be wondering how to take advantage social media and use Facebook and Twitter to grow your business and make more money.

Here a few quick tips to get you started.

• Collect email and physical addresses from people stopping by your booth or exhibit. Use a guest book or do a giveaway/prize drawing as an incentive for people to give you their personal information.
• Include your website, Facebook page and Twitter ID on ALL of your marketing materials (flyers, brochures, business cards, packaging labels, etc) and encourage people to ‘Follow’ you on Twitter and ‘Like’ your Facebook Fan page or send you a ‘Friend’ request for your Facebook personal page.
• When people engage you via social media, thank them, talk to them and encourage ongoing conversations.
• Use Facebook and Twitter to share where you will be (venue, city, state, booth, etc) in the upcoming months.
• Encourage people to stop by and visit you. Offer them a Fan or Follower only discount or special offer.
• Using the email addresses you have collected to stay in touch. These people have already shown an interest in your work. Share what you are doing, new projects you are working on or share some industry insiders secrets – an enthusiastic, well educated customer is usually your best customer.

Bio: Sandy Dempsey is the founder and creative director of Dreaming Cafe Ventures, LLC, a diverse education and consulting company dedicated to serving the needs of the lifelong learning community with a primary focus in the areas of personal growth and development, creative self-expression, self-employment and social media and technology.

Sandy also writes about, talks about and teaches journaling, creative self-expression, time management and productivity, dream building and goal-setting, using social media and using free or low cost online tools and technology to help start and grow a businesses and make more money.

You can find Sandy blogging at thedreamingcafe.com

A few years ago I attended a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas.

When I asked people what a Cirque show was I got all kinds of answers, but no one could really nail it down for me.

Some people said it was an acrobatic show, but more so.

Others said it was a play wrapped around a circus, but more so.

What everyone agreed on was that it was fun, amazing and an experience like no other.

Today, I am having the same problem when people ask me to describe Joyfully Jobless Jamboree.

The Jamboree is a mixture of interactive workshops, collaboration and celebration, but more so.

It is a conference and networking event for the self-employed, but way different than anything you’ve ever seen before.

It’s hard to describe except to say that it will be fun, amazing and an experience like no other.

Come celebrate with us, meet new people, hang out with old friends, learn how to incorporate more time, more fun and more money into your life and come out and experience an event that defies description.

You won’t regret it and you won’t forget it.

Register Today

Joyfully Jobless Jamboree

More Time, More Fun,More Money

Austin, TexasOctober 15-16, 2010

Today’s guest blogger is Sandy Dempsey known on Twitter as @SandyDfromNJ. Sandy is publisher of TheDreamingCafe Newsletter and creator  of http://thedreamingcafe.com “where self-discovery, self-expression and self-employment come together. “

Because I’ve been self-employed for over three decades,  I probably take my freedom more for granted than many of my clients and friends who are  corporate refugees, so I’m grateful for this nightly reminder to celebrate  independence.

And speaking of celebrating Independence and “bosslessness”, I want to invite you to join me for a celebration of self-employment.  My friends Sandy Dempsey and Alice Barry have gathered together a POSSE to plan the Joyfully Jobless Jamborree.  Sandy initially came up with this idea to honor our friend and mentor Barbara Winter, author of best selling “Making a Living without a Job”.  The theme of the event is “more time, more fun, more money”.  Unlike the typical “pitch-fest” events, this is all about celebration, lifelong learning and the joy of being jobless. I hope to see you there. Read more about the Joyfully Jobless Jamborree here.

Needleworkers and fiber artists making wash cloths for wiping the fragile birds and sea turtles in the gulf.  Yarn shops are donating wool to clean up the oil.
And if you think any effort you make is too small to make a difference, consider eleven year old Olivia Bouler of New York who has raised $70,000 from donations for her bird drawings for the audubon society to help birds in the gulf oil spill. She said, “I want to help, and I want to make a difference and show that the birds are important, and we need to preserve them.” Olivia’s mother, a teacher, says her daughter has proved what she’s always told students: “you can make a difference, and I pretty much believed it,” she says. “But now I know it is truly possible.”
What can you do with your art, your music or other talent that can make a difference?
As always, you are invited to share here. We’d all love to know how you are using your gifts to benefit the world.

As an artist, making each piece by hand, how can you possibly compete with a copy of your own work made by children in China? Even if your designs are trademarked and copyrighted,  you likely can’t afford the lost time or emotional reserves to fight these mass manufacturers.  I’ve watched it happen to so many artists and I know it’s a struggle to stay ahead of the copy-cats.

So, what can you do about it? How can you differentiate your work from the inexpensive look-a-likes?

Well, the best way I know is to make sure that shoppers know the difference so that they appreciate the value of your work and understand why it commands a higher price tag. Otherwise, they are not going to pay $279. for a piece that looks just like what they’ve seen in the Target, Walmart or Macy’s. And the one element that makes your work worth paying more for is the YOUness. If your work doesn’t have a story, your customer can’t understand the value and there is no way they are going to pay more for something that looks just like the cheaper one.

Why your art needs a story

Now, more than ever, your art needs a story.  Annette Simmons, author of The Story Factor,  said  “in today’s world almost anyone you want to influence is operating under a deficit of human attention.”  They are drowning in facts, information and  statistics. They need a story they can relate to.  Most people don’t remember facts and figures. They do remember stories. As an artist, you need a story too.

If you’re showing your work at a juried craft show, chances are the attendees  understand the value of your work. In that case, just being personable and explaining a bit about your process, inspiration, etc will help reinforce the old know-like-trust factor. They’ll be loyal fans because they know your face and like you. However, if you exhibit at an un-juried show, it’s likely that some vendors have slipped imports into the mix and you’ll have to work harder to make sure the customers know you.. Knowing your “story”, where you came from and how you got where you are now, adds that human element and makes your work worth the higher price.

If your art is represented in a gallery, you may assume that the clientele perceives it’s value. Don’t take it for granted.

For several years I owned a contemporary craft gallery in a quaint coastal village. I represented artists and craftspeople from all over the US and Canada. Now you would assume that with the upscale ambience and the word “gallery” in the name, customers would expect to pay more for items that are handcrafted.  But I was surrounded by souvenir shops housed in cute victorians, carrying items embellished with the local town name. Some of these shops had mass-produced Chinese copies of the same handmade-in-the-US yard sculpture that we carried. They were priced a fraction of the hand-crafted piece. My neighbors put a 4X mark-up on these imported knock-offs while my handmade pieces were at keystone (double my cost.)  So, why did customers  buy from my gallery and how did I build a loyal following for the artists despite the challenges of knock-offs? I made sure that everyone who walked through the door was greeted with eye-contact and a smile and told that the items in the gallery were made by hand. When a visitor looked at  each display, they were told the artists name, a personal “story-bite” and a brief description of the  craft process. For example, we carried a line of hand made venetian glass jewelry.  Several neighboring shops carried manufactured jewelry made with Chinese “murano” glass-not made on the island of Murano at all.  But visitors to the my gallery were told the story of the artist, Jane, an American opera singer who went to Italy years ago to sing and fell in love with glass. Fluent in Italian from her opera training, she was able to befriend the Venetian crafts people, were invited into their studios and taught the craft of making beads. She then designs her own beads and goes over several times a year to design her seasonal lines. She brings her beads back to her Portland studio where she hand makes her jewelry.  My clients purchased her work because they felt a human connection to the item which increased the perceived value and they became collectors because they remembered her story.

So how can you, as a artist, differentiate your work from the knock-offs? Your work needs the story of YOU. Every piece you display for sale should be accompanied by a photo of you and a personal bio. Not a resume bio but a human interest story. No one is going to buy your art because you have an MFA in ceramics or a certificate in gemology. Art is an emotional purchase and it’s your story that speaks to the buyer. They want to know about your family, your pets and what inspired your craft.

It’s the story of YOU that will sell your art and turn shoppers into collectors.

Is your bio a resume of facts or does it tell a memorable story of who you are and what you stand for?

This complaint is not unique to the craft industry. Many new entrepreneurs seem to have the idea that all they have to do is put up a website (or list their wares on Ebay or Esty)  and people will find them and buy their products. Then the surprise comes when they’ve spent money and time to launch the page and no one finds it.

Would you lease a retail space down a back alley accessible only by another back alley that no one uses unless directed by someone on the main street?  And set up a gallery there to show your best work? Of course you wouldn’t. But that’s what you’re doing if you put up a webpage and sit around waiting for sales to happen. No one can buy from you if they don’t even know you’re there.

So, how do you get the merchants on the main street to recommend you and direct your ideal customer back to your gallery? That’s how you have to think about getting the buyers to your site or page.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Who is my ideal customer and where are they hanging out?
• What shops (or sites or forums) do they already spend time in?
• How can I reach them and get them back to see my work?
• Is there a way to get the main street “shop-keepers” to direct my ideal customer to my shop (site or page)?

One of the most valuable lessons I learned in the advertising world 35 years ago is that whatever business you are in, you are really in the business of marketing your business. Unless you are already generating enough revenue to hire a marketing team, you don’t have the luxury of spending all day every day making your art. A good chunk of your time in the beginning has to be allocated to getting your work in front of the person who will pay you for it. And the most efficient way to do that is to identify and align yourself with those who already have the attention of your ideal customer.

So, how do you do that? Here are a few tips to get you started:

What kinds of items are complimentary to what you make? For example, if you sell handmade bridal jewelry what other types of businesses would your ideal customer be patronizing? Likely someone selling handcrafted invitations,  veils or headpieces, custom bridal shoes, caterers, photographers, wedding planners, make-up artists, florists, bands and DJs, etc. You might contact them and work out a mutually beneficial set up where you may do a guest post on their blog site with a link back to your site or an arrangement to feature each other’s products and services on your sites. Another free and easy way to get your name in front of those who will buy your product is to find these complimentary businesses on Twitter or Facebook and follow or “friend” them, build a relationship and then once you get to know each other, you can recommend the other’s businesses and link to their sites.

You can’t assume that your ideal client is an active internet user.  Using the same example, while most young brides use the internet, what about the MOB who does all the planning? She may not be online so you will have to come up with some off-line ways to promote your business.

Consider organizing local, complimentary businesses as above for a  trunk show and everyone can send invitations their own list. This means that you each have access to get your products or services in front of the combined clients of the vendors involved. This will benefit each of you and can be a fun, profitable event.

Be creative in the way you think about what business are complimentary to your own. And don’t overlook some that are not necessarily in the same industry. For example, still using the bridal jewelry example, a great resource would be the sales manager at venues such as hotel banquet rooms. Often the first thing a bride does is visit locations to hold the wedding so the sales and catering manager will have access to  brides and their families before they’ve even begun the planning process.

What kinds of businesses are complimentary to yours? Who can you align yourself with to help you get customers to know you are out there?