To the Core of the Matter

This is one of those questions I get all the time:

• I've had this job for years and now I want a change. I've always dreampt of X business, am I crazy to try it?

This question has everything to do with "core skills". Those are the skills that you already have a firm grasp on. Skills that you have acquired in some way or other, in your life, that give you an understanding of the business that you want to start.

For instance, if you want to start a retail store, some of the skills that would be important would be:

• Sales experience
• Outgoing personality
• Organized
• Knowing a bit about the product that you want to sell
• Having connections with people who want to buy this kind of product if it is "niche"
• A grasp of basic bookkeeping
• Physical ability to lift and carry merchandise
• Ability to negotiate!
  

A retail business if a physical thing. It requires long hours, hauling of merchandise, moving things constantly. As muchtime as one spends talking to customers, one is also dealing with vendors, if the product is bought wholesale. It's a taxing thing! Take that same business online and you may have taken our the customer contact and the physical environment of a store, but you still need all the other skills.

What are your core skills?

Folks who work in one industry and find a "void" somewhere that they want to fill as a business person have a good way to enter self-employment. They already understand the industry from the inside out! Sure, there are still going to be lots for them to learn, but knowing the key players, what the industry requires and the "lay of the land" are huge benefits.

This is not to say that if you want to retire into something entirely different than what you did for your life's work, you won't succeed. What I would say is this, though: Talk to people who have stores if you want to open a store. Talk to people who offer a service to a niche market if that's your dream.

We all have "core skills" and your chance of success lies directly in the path of those skills. You can develop those other skills you may need to expand your business to the dream that you have. Start out with the ones you already have to build a firm platform or base in which to work from.

Having the business of your dreams may very well be a series of steps, instead of one giant leap from where you are to where you want to be.

Keeping it New

There's a fine line between keeping things "fresh" and looking like you're becoming a new company everyday. What's the difference? We're talking product-based businesses today.

When you walk into your favorite store, you probably notice two things: It looks like your favorite store. There's something new and exciting or a new energy going on.

That's a tall order as soon as you read it from the standpoint of that business owner, isn't it? You're got a lot going on. You probably don't have a merchandising department or much of a budget for that kind of stuff.

There are a few challenges you have if it's just you and maybe a partner looking at your business:

• Small changes seem HUGE to you, but your customer may not perceive them.
• The way you present things is the way YOU see them, not someone new to the store.
• Perhaps you get ideas of changing things but it would be too great of a departure from what you're already doing.
• Time slips away and you don't have a plan on the calendar for when you make changes.

There's plenty more, but let's look at these for now. One of the most obvious things is all about working in the bubble that is your brain. How do you gain perspective on what kinds of changes will actually affect your new customer and your regular customer in the best way?

The best case scenario is to really bring in a specialist on a contract basis to give you pointers and set you in the right direction. Instead of hiring a staff person, bringing in someone who really knows merchandising can give you a big lift.

The next possibility is to get to know biz folks (who's stores or sites you like) in non-competing markets and let them take a look and give you feedback.

Have a calendar ready with some idea of when new merchandise is coming in and when you should be doing a big change up and when you're just doing some freshening up. One of the things I see folks wasting a lot of time on is trying to figure out what to do with the cool new stuff that just came in. You should put some time into that, but if there's more of that cool stuff on the way, then make a plan for a bigger change when the rest arrives instead of sweating the little arrival. Basic time management on this one.

I could write loads of posts about image consistency. There are plenty of folks who work only in this area. You have your colors, your logo, your "look", etc. Make sure that whatever else you do is an extension of this in some way. It doesn't need to be "matchy matchy" but it needs to blend and be subconsciously palatable.

If a bigger change is in order, again, think about bringing in a consultant. Instead of giving the consumer whiplash as you flip from one style to the next, plan your moves and find ways to keep it fresh on a monthly basis.

One blog I really love with lots of great retail advice is Nicole Reyhel's Retail Minded. Invaluable stuff on a daily basis.

Step out of your bubble, know who you are, know who your customer is, follow trends and keep it fresh!

Insecurity

I see there are a lot of folks searching the word "recession". I know I haven't focused much on that, and I know why. To me, it's business in any climate in still business. In as much as I prefer not to focus directly on the recession, I will focus this post on the "feeling" of insecurity. Whether there is eminent danger or not, the sense of insecurity is pretty much the same from a strategic standpoint.

Making any decision in a moment of fear is a bad idea.

On this, I know of what I speak, people. I struggle with this one daily, myself. The thing is, chances are, we have more time than we think to make a decision about something. I'm not telling you to procrastinate, as that has it's own set of issues. I'm telling you to step back, analyze the situation when you can actually breathe.

In this breathing, weighing, analyzing moment, write down exactly what you think your choices are in a given situation. Let's use the example of marketing when you're in the red:

You can...

• Spend more than you have now if you think you have money coming in the near future.
• Spend nothing and put marketing on hold until you're doing better.
• Spend all the money you can on one big print ad.

All of the above are based on "spend or not spend" because your core issue is about money. Generally speaking, the one thing you probably have more of when things are lean is time. So, take the money out of the equation and ask yourself how can I spend my time to keep up my marketing efforts?

If you stop marketing when things are good, you won't have business when times are less good. If you stop marketing for lack of money, you've just bought yourself a self-fulfilling prophesy.

So, let's put in a couple of more options for the marketing effort, sans cash, or very little cash:

• FOCUSED online networking.
• If you have a retail environment, consider hosting events there for free to groups as a way to expose your biz to more new eyes
• Offer free seminars on what you do for your service-based biz.
• Host your own events and bring in like-minded folks. It's not competition, it's cooperative marketing.
• Reach out to existing clients/customers and offer them an incentive for sending you sales or leads.
• Offer to write articles on blogs in your area of expertise.
  

If you are committed to your business, to your dream, just don't stop. Everyday your business NEEDS you to show up. Recession or no, all of the points above apply to the long run of this business of yours. Stop waiting for things to "free up" and make things happen!

Still About Me...

Thanks for indulging me, folks...

It's a new year, a new decade and I've been rethinking my Twitter name a lot. For me it's been an interesting experiment. I've kept it as "Knitfemme" because that's how so many in the cyber world know me. But, after a year of activity on Twitter and somehow many folks finding me and hiring me as a consultant, I've decided to open things up a bit.

I've kept my fiber-arts and biz identities very much tied because it's occurred to me that perhaps it would keep me a little bit more "warm and fuzzy" (pun intended). I think it worked. over 2,550 followers later, I realize that I'd like my identity to make a little more sense to folks who don't "get me".

Laura sent me this list from Forbes of the Top female entrepreneaurs on Twitter and first: I wasn't on the list. Second, my name didn't "fit" on the list.

I have chosen @MelissaThinks

When was I playing around with names and seeing what was available, there was some serious soul and ego searching going on. Can I just say, "I" think? Well, in many ways it's what I get paid to do. Most people who have jobs do, but in my case, perhaps it's more literal. The bulk of the work I do is based on two questions:

What do I do now?
What do I do next?

Pretty much! So, at this time in my life as a consultant I think I can absolutely "own" MelissaThinks. But that's because it's not "MelissaIsPerfect" or "I'mAlwaysRight" or "TrustMe" (Although I do in fact say that a lot).

So, do trust me and although I don't post to this blog as much as I have in the past, Melissa is really busy...thinking.

It's All About Me

As I was composing this post in my head, I wondered if I should post it here... or here or here. Well hey, if it's all about me...?

This is actually about the fear of failure and the expectations we have of ourselves.

I had a knitting experience today and if you know me, knitting is the single analogy for everything in my life.

I was taking a knitting break and making a pair of mittens from a pattern I've been holding onto for a while. I started it with some yarn that I didn't like and then I started them over again after being into them about 5%. Now I'm about 30 % into them with the "right yarn" and I get to this part and I think:

Holy Cr*p, I don't think I know how to do this part. This looks all wrong. I can't do this. I remember that I can't do this!!

Who can't relate to that? Even in the position as mentor to others, this comes up for me often enough. It's like the therapist who has all their own woes and doesn't want others to make the same mistakes, I suppose. I have a good dose of self-esteem going on, but there are those moments. Those quick-as-a-flash times when a choking panic comes over me and I think I haven't a clue about what to do next.

You know what that makes me? Human.
You know what else that makes me? Passionate.

It's my passion for what I do that takes to daily into uncharted territories, in my mentoring, my fiber-arts, my relationships. Wow, that's a relief! I you thought I was just crazy for a minute, didn't you? Ha!

Back to the knitting:

Seven years ago I was at my first really big knitting....uh...convention. I had been knitting for a while and had covered all the basics. I turned around in this huge convention hall and saw all these really well-heeled women showing their cashmere yarn and it was all knit into lace shawls. Cashmere lace? While briefly hyperventilating at all the goodness before me I talked myself down like this:

Melissa, when you are old, like 20 years from now, you will knit cashmere lace. You'll be good enough, you'll be able to afford it and heck, it's something to reach for! No rush, you don't even have to worry yourself with attaining that level of expertise.

It's 6 years later. I now knit cashmere into lace, that is, before I spin it myself. I didn't know I would be able to really knit lace, or become a spinner. None of it. What I've done is let my passion take me on this journey. At any point my fear could have gotten a hold of me. Stopped me in my tracks with some reminder of who I "think" I am.

I am what I do, what I say and what I create, everyday. You are too, but you know, this is all about me....kinda.

Adventure or Crisis?

I was just saying the other day that I have a hard time deciding which posts belong in what blogs I write these days.
This one is clearly economy related.
You also may not want to hear it.

Oh good, you're reading!
If you think that you can "console" yourself with: But the economy sucks and everyone is having a hard time.
Think again. Literally:
THINK AGAIN

How is it that "even in this economy" you're most likely still going to stores and buying stuff and paying for services? Because you believe they have value to you. We live in a capitalist society that, for better or worse, attaches monetary value to almost everything. You know, the commercial that goes something like, "box seats at Yankee Stadium, $500, four hot dogs, $20, the look on your kids face, priceless."

The last part is what people seem to be more interested in today. The experience. The look on your kid's face, the feeling that you get, the "experiential" part of what you're purchasing. So why do folks buy a lot of stuff online still? Two reasons I believe:

The kind of store that they would buy this in doesn't exist where they live.
The kind of store that they would buy this in doesn't have an experience that excites them.

Back to the value thing.

If you think that everyone is doing really badly then why is the latest technology still selling? How is it that we even KNOW what's popular? People are talking about it. Why? It's cool, it's new, it's really really good or it keeps getting better.

These are all keys to long term success for your business:
Quality of product AND experience.

I know that what I've said here is a gross generalization in many ways, but I'm here to kick your butt about accepting "the ways things are" as a way to operate in your head or in your company. Work harder! Throw more passion at what you're doing.

I knew a fella who wrote for an Outdoors magazine. He said: When you're going through it, it's a crisis. When you tell the story of it, that's when it becomes your adventure.

Why don't you begin your adventure now?

What Were You Thinking?

You may be already jumping to a conclusion with the title of this post that I must be addressing you with this rhetorical question. The "you" is really me and perhaps us all at some point.

I had a conversation with someone today about the fear of making the "wrong" decision. Rather than tell you her story, let me turn to my own. Every day I give folks advice on what next move to make, or how to move forward. I work with the information I have at the time. Every time I do this I am working with several elements:

• Knowledge of their "landscape" or situation as they present it to me,

• Knowledge of the different elements in play (i.e. the creative process, or monetary concerns)

Then the last and least quantifiable:

• My intuition.

What I am thinking, feeling and perceiving about what client might do changes as the information changes and "updates". Therefore, what I am thinking at any given time is subject to change. Scary? It shouldn't be for you and it's not for me. If my ability to change with you and your scenario is not flexible and my approach fluid, you'll be getting yesterday's news.

The part that I am still learning myself everyday is to have less "sentimentality" about my ideas and plans. Letting my ego take the back seat on what I thought was such a great idea "before". I believe that in order to succeed you need to have a balance of the ability to go with the flow, but to work like all get-out to make real your dreams.

The visual for me on this one is from years of canoeing:
When you're going down a river and there's some white water, you're moving pretty fast. The boat actually goes down the river on a diagonal. The person in back is steering and the person in front calls out rocks that appear as if from nowhere. We call them "sucker rocks" the water flows smoothly over them, making them virtually invisible.

What happens when the person steering is caught off guard and needs to make a quick correction in order to not get hung up on the rocks is some crazy-fast reverse paddling. Your heart's pounding. The boat (hopefully) grinds to a halt in the fast water. You quickly yank the canoe around the obstacle with sheer brute force of paddle. There is no room for a second thought or a delay in action. No halfhearted attempts allowed. No time to blame the river, the paddle or your partner up front. You just have to do it.

Sound familiar? I hope it does. What was I thinking? Depends on when you ask me. Depends on how I'm reading that river. Depends on what the person in the front of the boat is telling me. Depends on what I'm seeing for myself, up ahead.

Don't spend your time weeping over your last wrong move. Keep moving!