Author: Jenna Herbut

You might be a marketer and not even know it!

Make It Happen logo

I know marketing is something that many creative people shy away from. They feel like it’s slimy, inauthentic and pushy. But the good news is that you don’t have to impersonate the ShamWow guy to be an effective marketer!

Currently my boyfriend Neil and I are working on a documentary about the handmade community called Make It Happen. It’s about how people are able to quit their (soul sucking) day jobs and pursue their dreams of starting their own creative businesses. To say it’s been inspiring is a huge understatement! Our minds have been blown by the stories of struggle, determination and success. I feel incredibly grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to bring them to life and inspire others.

I think one of the most interesting things we have discovered is how the people we interview feel about marketing. Some consider themselves true artists and don’t resonate with the business side of things at all, while others call themselves entrepreneurs who just happen to be artistic. It’s very interesting to see the difference and many times their approach to marketing is very similar.

One of our interviews was with a woman who owns a thriving silk screening business. She makes t-shirts, prints, and screens her photography on sheets of wood. A big part of her business is selling at craft shows and markets across Canada. She is a total pro and everything from her website, booth display, hangtags is polished and consistent. Plus she has a sweet, quirky personality and customers love her.

But does she consider herself a good marketer? No! She told me, “I’m not good at marketing. I have no idea how to do it. I just commutate things that I think my customers want to know. I try to connect with them and understand what they want.”

Ha! I couldn’t help but let out a giggle because this is EXACTLY what marketing is. It’s so simple, but people make it complicated or think it has to be negative. If you can just communicate and connect with your customer as well as give them what they want, I’d say you are a damn good marketer!!

Customers respond to authenticity and truthfulness. Don’t you? We respond well to marketing messages that feel honest and genuine because it feels like someone is trying to help us instead of scam us. If you have this mindset when you are figuring out your own marketing, your success will be so much greater AND you’ll feel good about it. Your may not even realize you are marketing!

This is the final week of our Indiegogo campaign, so please make sure you check out our trailer. For as little as $5, you can help spread the message that it is possible to do what you love and embrace your creativity. Never settle and keep going for your dreams. It’s so worth it!

Why Spring is SO Awesome for Your Business!

springisawesome

I know for many designers and crafters it’s the holiday season that really gets them excited. It is when the majority of sales are made so it’s easy to spend the bulk of your time and energy gearing up for this lucrative time of year. But, I think this approach is backwards. Springtime should be the focal point.

This may seem completely counterintuitive. I mean, shouldn’t all the focus be on the crazy busy holiday season when people are shopping up a storm? Well, it all boils down to taking advantage of the breathing space this time of year affords. Spring gives you the time and space to really get clear on what you want to achieve and how you are going to get there.

The spring is an incredible season to think and reflect on what your intentions are with your business and your life. Why are you doing what you’re doing and where are you hoping to go? Your thoughts are so incredibly powerful in dictating your success.

Often times it’s really easy to get caught up in the momentum of life and lose track of where you are headed. Your time gets filled with ‘busy work’ and your thoughts don’t have time to develop into genuine aspirations. This spring is the perfect time to consciously get back on track and headed directly for your dreams.

Knowing what you want out of life and what you should do next in your business, is both thrilling and frustrating! There are SO many choices and no clear path to tell us step-by-step what we should do next. Overwhelming paralysis can set in if you are not careful and purposeful in planning out what you want.

Some of my favorite ways to tackle this head on are to write down what I want my life to look like in one year and then in three years. I include as much detail as possible and break it into categories like health, relationships, work/business, spiritual and fun! When you put pen to paper it’s amazing how ideas and inspiration flow out. It’s an incredibly effective way to get clarity too because it feels like you are seeing the future unfold.

I am also a big advocate of accountability partners and mastermind groups. To get started you only need one other person or a small group of like-minded people who you trust and vibe with. Set up a monthly meeting either in person or over the phone/Skype and discuss what you are working on and what you need help with. Be sure to also mention what you ‘wins’ have been so you can celebrate them together! You won’t believe the difference this will make in your business and your life.

Feeling how you want to feel is also essential for a happy and joyful life. You might have everything you thought you wanted, but if you feel like crap, what’s the point? It’s important to take the time to figure out how you want to feel, and then structure your business based on that. If you want to feel freedom and autonomous then it’s probably critical for you to have a flexible schedule that allows you to travel or take time off when you need it. If abundance is something you deeply crave, what can you do to fulfill that feeling? You probably don’t want to over extend yourself and get into debt, but rather focus on juicy profit margins.

When you are a creative entrepreneur your time is vitally important. There are only 24 hours in a day, and you have an ever growing to-do list. I know setting goals and thinking about how you want to feel seems like the last thing you have time for. But trust me, this is where you want to spend a nice chunk of it this spring. The future You will be forever thankful 🙂

What do you want for your business this Spring? Do you have any goals you would like to work towards or feelings you want to focus on? Share with us in the comments so we can cheer you on! 

Sparkly love,

Jenna

Pssst! If you are interested in learning more about mindset, goal setting and living your dreams, check out Spring Cha Ching. I have a free video series that goes deeper into the concepts mentioned above that I would love to share with you.