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Hi there.
Speaker:It's Sue.
Speaker:And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day.
Speaker:These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and
Speaker:things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business.
Speaker:If you'd like to submit a topic,
Speaker:DME, over on Instagram at gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped, choosing a theme word that will direct your year.
Speaker:Have you heard of this concept before?
Speaker:It's similar to the idea of identifying a major goal and
Speaker:then developing tasks and activities underneath that goal,
Speaker:with the idea that once completed your goal will have been
Speaker:achieved. The difference between that and an annual word is that
Speaker:an annual word goes deeper.
Speaker:There's usually an emotional element included in your word,
Speaker:even though on the surface,
Speaker:it looks very business oriented.
Speaker:I also find selecting an annual word to be really clarifying
Speaker:and calming.
Speaker:It allows for reflection on your performance over the last year
Speaker:and opens up your mind to dream and project what you
Speaker:want for your future.
Speaker:It's a beacon of sorts to walk towards and also a
Speaker:filter to help prioritize all the things that you could work
Speaker:on in your business versus what you should work on to
Speaker:get your desired results.
Speaker:I'll tell you about my 20,
Speaker:22 word in a minute,
Speaker:but first let me share some of my prior year's words.
Speaker:This may give you ideas as you consider what your word
Speaker:could be way back in 2018,
Speaker:my word was growth.
Speaker:I had recently come out of beta testing and updated my
Speaker:maker's MBA program.
Speaker:And this was the year for me to launch it in
Speaker:a big way.
Speaker:If you're not familiar with this makers,
Speaker:MBA is my group coaching program and the signature course in
Speaker:my business.
Speaker:I also published my book that year.
Speaker:So mission accomplished.
Speaker:Those were two big projects that assisted with my business growth.
Speaker:My word really helped me do this because it kept me
Speaker:forward-thinking when things got tough,
Speaker:I give myself an a for that year in regard to
Speaker:my word,
Speaker:then came 2019.
Speaker:The word I chose was visibility.
Speaker:If you know me,
Speaker:well, you won't believe this,
Speaker:but as much as I loved speaking from stage and presenting
Speaker:in classrooms,
Speaker:it wasn't the same thing with social media.
Speaker:This was the year I decided to focus on expanding my
Speaker:reach and get more eyeballs on my business.
Speaker:I give myself a C I did get more comfortable with
Speaker:going live on social,
Speaker:but struggled to be consistent with Instagram stories.
Speaker:I also had personal things to deal with that year.
Speaker:I lost several people close to me,
Speaker:including my dear mom.
Speaker:And honestly I did the best I could the whole year
Speaker:wasn't bad.
Speaker:I was on the midday news in Chicago,
Speaker:which was a big deal and written up in a couple
Speaker:of trade journals,
Speaker:but I didn't achieve all that I wanted.
Speaker:And guess what?
Speaker:That's okay.
Speaker:And I'll say the same thing for you,
Speaker:a goal,
Speaker:or in this case,
Speaker:my word for 2019 is something to strive for a compass
Speaker:to navigate your efforts.
Speaker:And sometimes you go off path,
Speaker:life happens and the plan has to change.
Speaker:Therefore, the results change too,
Speaker:but a new year presents new opportunity,
Speaker:right? So the next year just happened to be 2020.
Speaker:And we all have stories to tell about our plans for
Speaker:that year.
Speaker:Once it became clear the impact that the pandemic was having
Speaker:on our world,
Speaker:I switched my annual word to be support.
Speaker:I saw in our gift biz community,
Speaker:that there was a lot of fear and uncertainty out there,
Speaker:not only with the virus,
Speaker:but also the focus on serious racial issues.
Speaker:None of us knew where this year would lead.
Speaker:But one thing I knew for certain there is strength in
Speaker:community. So I doubled down inside gift biz breeze,
Speaker:my private Facebook group to offer support.
Speaker:I went live three times a week to answer questions,
Speaker:led conversations on tough issues.
Speaker:And we brought guests in to assist with these discussions.
Speaker:I'm so honored and proud of all our Breezers that's you,
Speaker:if you're already in the group,
Speaker:because the sensitivity,
Speaker:inspiration, and assistance that was offered during that time and still
Speaker:is today is I almost don't even have a word for
Speaker:the bonds being created there.
Speaker:It warms my heart beyond measure,
Speaker:seeing all the beautiful interactions happening there.
Speaker:So I'll say my word support for 2020 was a success.
Speaker:Next step 2021,
Speaker:I decided I could do better with visibility.
Speaker:So that word got a repeat trade shows started to open
Speaker:up again,
Speaker:which presented speaking and teaching opportunities.
Speaker:Plus I made time to plan and reach out for publicity
Speaker:and print key learning here.
Speaker:You don't have to wait for them to come to you,
Speaker:reach out yourself and present a story that would be valuable
Speaker:to their audience.
Speaker:I talk about this in more detail with Amanda in episode
Speaker:2 0 1 and 2 89.
Speaker:If you want to unpack that a little bit more anyway,
Speaker:all of this worked out beautifully.
Speaker:So I'm pleased with my performance against my visibility word.
Speaker:Now onto this year 2022,
Speaker:my word is definitely going to need a little bit of
Speaker:explaining the word is letting go and know I'm not letting
Speaker:go of my business or letting go of the results I
Speaker:plan to achieve,
Speaker:but I am letting go of things I can't control.
Speaker:I'm going to be vulnerable.
Speaker:And I'll give you a peek inside my heart here and
Speaker:tell you the main reason for this word.
Speaker:I attach so much ownership to other people's results.
Speaker:That it hurts me really deeply when actions don't happen.
Speaker:The silly thing about this is that I can't take those
Speaker:actions for other people.
Speaker:I can only provide opportunities and training and point people in
Speaker:the right direction on how to take advantage of the helpful
Speaker:courses or tools that I create an offer.
Speaker:I've recognized for some time.
Speaker:Now that I invest too much of myself in things that
Speaker:I can't control.
Speaker:Let me bring this around to something that may make more
Speaker:sense and is more relatable to you in your handmade business.
Speaker:You obviously create your products.
Speaker:So you control the quality characteristics and visual appeal of your
Speaker:packaging. You also control the pricing and the marketing side.
Speaker:In other words,
Speaker:where people will see your creations and have the opportunity to
Speaker:buy places like your website,
Speaker:your presence at face-to-face shows or pursuing wholesale.
Speaker:What you can't directly control is whether people will buy and
Speaker:or use the product in its intended way.
Speaker:This is where I get caught up.
Speaker:When I open up a maker's MBA each year,
Speaker:I'm very focused on how many students enroll.
Speaker:There are always a few who I've had conversations with.
Speaker:Who've told me how much they want their business to succeed,
Speaker:but then when it's time to enroll,
Speaker:they don't then other surprise me and sign up.
Speaker:When I wasn't expecting it,
Speaker:I'm filled with joy.
Speaker:When I see who does join the class,
Speaker:some are expected and some aren't,
Speaker:but it's an emotional roller coaster.
Speaker:After that,
Speaker:I'm super invested to ensure that every single student sees results,
Speaker:but I can't control that.
Speaker:And I keep trying,
Speaker:I can't make people do the work.
Speaker:And in your case,
Speaker:you can't make people buy your product.
Speaker:But what we can do is observe,
Speaker:revise and adjust to make everything we put out the best
Speaker:that it can be.
Speaker:The key is for me to remember that I have the
Speaker:ability to affect someone's result only so far.
Speaker:Some portion of their success is entirely up to them.
Speaker:I need to let it go from an emotional end and
Speaker:focus on what I can affect,
Speaker:not what I can't.
Speaker:This opens up my spirit to be excited about all the
Speaker:women who are seeing success through my entire ecosphere and not
Speaker:dwell on the ones who aren't taking action.
Speaker:So for me,
Speaker:2022 is about letting go.
Speaker:As I've been talking,
Speaker:has the strategy of having a word to theme your year
Speaker:sparked an idea.
Speaker:What would your word be?
Speaker:I like to post my word somewhere so I can see
Speaker:it regularly.
Speaker:It provides reinforcement to keep me focused.
Speaker:One year I had it painted on a rock that sat
Speaker:on my desk last year,
Speaker:I printed it on ribbon.
Speaker:I haven't decided what I'll do with my word this year,
Speaker:but I'll let you know.
Speaker:In fact,
Speaker:I'll post it over on my gift biz on wrapped Instagram
Speaker:account for you,
Speaker:a focus theme word for the year.
Speaker:It's powerful,
Speaker:it's directional and the results can be transformative.
Speaker:Try it.
Speaker:That's a wrap.
Speaker:I'm a get to the point kind of girl.
Speaker:And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek
Speaker:sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream
Speaker:of yours.
Speaker:Share your handmade products with us.
Speaker:We want them,
