I’ve been living an educational exercise over the last month.
Spontaneously, my husband and I decided to take my business White Peacock Designs to Vendor Village at the LA Derby Dolls’ championship on Saturday December 5. We are getting a crash-course in balancing a creative business with a full-time day job.
On the eve of our joint-debut, here are my thoughts on making this balance smmmmooooth the next time around:
- Do you have a free moment? Is there something you could be doing toward your business instead of surfing the internet? Even something as small as filing a few receipts will make paperwork easier down the line.
- Can you delegate or barter? For example, I am wire-wrapping a few pendants for Eric, in exchange for which he is redoing my business card.
- Is there a project you can take with you? Can something be put in a plastic shoebox with snaps and brought along while you sit in the doctor’s waiting room? Do you have a notepad onto which you can jot down ideas?
- Are you keeping the materials for your endeavors organized? Can labels or hooks help? Is it worth it to buy the one neat tool that takes the place of three old, broken tools?
- On the other hand, must you spend the money? Look around your home and see if there is anything already there that you may use. For example, at the Derby show I will be displaying necklaces in resin Christmas plates.
- Do you know about upcoming events in your industry? Are you reading publications, joining online groups, and participating in forums? Not only do these things give you street cred, they also alert you to future events in which you may have to participate. And then, you can plan around them! This one is going to be huge for me in 2010.
Hopefully tomorrow I’ll have more insights on “organizing the loads of money you get after selling your jewelry.”
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