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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 unwrapped,
Speaker:before we get into the show today,
Speaker:I want to make sure that you know about the newest
Speaker:thing happening over here.
Speaker:It's called the gift biz bash a zoom party that turns
Speaker:into a podcast episode.
Speaker:Several weeks later,
Speaker:the party consists of a short training with Q and a
Speaker:from yours truly.
Speaker:And then an opportunity for you to give a shout out
Speaker:about your business.
Speaker:You can tell us about a promotion you currently have going
Speaker:on or share a collaboration that you're considering so that you
Speaker:can find a perfect partner for the event.
Speaker:A little bit of learning and visibility for your business.
Speaker:What could be better?
Speaker:There is a catch though spots are limited to keep the
Speaker:party to about 45 minutes or so.
Speaker:That means you should grab your spot right away.
Speaker:It's totally free to make sure you're included.
Speaker:Why not do that right now?
Speaker:Pause this episode,
Speaker:go to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash bash to sign up and then come back
Speaker:and listen to the show.
Speaker:I'll see you at the bash.
Speaker:Would you categorize yourself as a procrastinator?
Speaker:When I think about people,
Speaker:I know I can see how they do lean one way
Speaker:or another on the extremes.
Speaker:There's the excessive planner,
Speaker:someone who has everything buttoned up way before a due date.
Speaker:And then there's the,
Speaker:get it done at the last minute style.
Speaker:I fall fully on the plan ahead side.
Speaker:I like to eliminate as many surprises and rush jobs as
Speaker:possible, but of course we come in all shapes and sizes.
Speaker:I'm not saying one is better than another.
Speaker:However, I do think it's valuable to consider when not only
Speaker:is it okay,
Speaker:but you should ignore your natural tendencies and do things differently.
Speaker:This topic came up for me as I was observing how
Speaker:different people prepared for a recent event.
Speaker:I participated in each of us had roles to play and
Speaker:responsibilities to fulfill.
Speaker:We all willingly volunteered for these roles.
Speaker:So there was no arm twisting or be grudgingly agreeing to
Speaker:participate. You know how that can be.
Speaker:Sometimes the event grew near and one person in particular waited
Speaker:until the last minute to do everything.
Speaker:It was kind of okay,
Speaker:since it didn't affect else's participation.
Speaker:And I just thought,
Speaker:gosh, not my style,
Speaker:but whatever,
Speaker:no judgment at all,
Speaker:until afterwards,
Speaker:this person let's call her Janice thought through,
Speaker:but never fully prepared for her presentation.
Speaker:Consequently, the result was not what she wanted.
Speaker:And she was really upset with herself for days afterwards,
Speaker:just to give you an idea,
Speaker:the lighting and the camera angles were off and for a
Speaker:virtual meeting,
Speaker:that's super important.
Speaker:Of course,
Speaker:she never did a run-through to practice her timing.
Speaker:So she didn't even get to some of the major points
Speaker:in her program.
Speaker:And there were other things too,
Speaker:but you get the idea.
Speaker:This left her feeling really bad about herself.
Speaker:She couldn't shake it and as innocent a mistake as it
Speaker:was, who needs that?
Speaker:The only thing I can think is Janice has learned through
Speaker:this crisis.
Speaker:So hopefully next time she'll do it differently today.
Speaker:I want to help prevent you from experiencing the horrible situation
Speaker:Janice went through because these things are avoidable and it doesn't
Speaker:mean you have to completely switch to being a plan ahead
Speaker:person. In fact,
Speaker:there are times when it's important to prepare ahead and also
Speaker:times when there's an advantage to waiting until the last minute.
Speaker:I bet you didn't see that coming.
Speaker:So here are the guidelines for when you should and when
Speaker:you should not procrastinate,
Speaker:when it's okay to procrastinate.
Speaker:The first is when an event is far enough in the
Speaker:future, that there's no reason to begin thinking about the prep
Speaker:yet. Maybe you've signed up for a craft show and that
Speaker:isn't happening until six months from now.
Speaker:You can set a reminder in your calendar for when you
Speaker:should start finalizing things,
Speaker:but it doesn't have to be done.
Speaker:Now another time when Delaine makes sense is when all the
Speaker:details aren't available yet you've agreed to conduct a workshop or
Speaker:be on a podcast.
Speaker:You don't have all the information yet.
Speaker:So to plan ahead,
Speaker:based on assumptions could actually result in rework,
Speaker:which takes up more time.
Speaker:Of course you may not know how long you'll have where
Speaker:the event is to be held yet.
Speaker:Anything like that in situations like this,
Speaker:wait until you have all the information you need so that
Speaker:you can prepare properly.
Speaker:And only once another time when it's okay to procrastinate is
Speaker:if it's something that you've done before you have experience with
Speaker:the task at hand.
Speaker:So you only need to tweak a few things and virtually,
Speaker:then you'll be ready to go.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:if you've done shows before,
Speaker:so you know the process,
Speaker:you know,
Speaker:your table set up how you want to display,
Speaker:how you are going to get everything to this shows,
Speaker:check out all of those things.
Speaker:The updates in the final details can wait.
Speaker:And finally,
Speaker:you can procrastinate when the cost of error is low,
Speaker:whatever said project or task is needs to be done,
Speaker:but it's not something that is significant enough to require a
Speaker:lot of forethought,
Speaker:perhaps none at all.
Speaker:Some things can just be done on the fly.
Speaker:Now let's get to things when it is not okay to
Speaker:procrastinate. Number one,
Speaker:when it's your first time doing something,
Speaker:you definitely want to plan ahead for your first craft show.
Speaker:There's a lot to do.
Speaker:You need to plan your display,
Speaker:your checkout system,
Speaker:promotion signs,
Speaker:pricing. All of these things are a first and you want
Speaker:time to think through and create also think of networking meetings.
Speaker:It's a good idea to think through your introduction message.
Speaker:This is my term for an elevator speech and not leave
Speaker:it to chance when it's your turn to get up and
Speaker:speak. You're new at this.
Speaker:And don't want to miss the valuable opportunity to make a
Speaker:good impression and present you and your business in the best
Speaker:way possible.
Speaker:Another time not to procrastinate is if the tech is brand
Speaker:new to you,
Speaker:maybe you're doing your first Facebook live selling show or an
Speaker:Instagram live where you're going to be bringing on a guest.
Speaker:You want it to go smoothly.
Speaker:It makes all the sense in the world to practice the
Speaker:tech and have your content outlined or even scripted.
Speaker:You'll feel more confident.
Speaker:And your execution of the event will come off professional.
Speaker:How about formal presentations or workshops,
Speaker:even if you've done presentations before,
Speaker:if this is a new one,
Speaker:you'll want to do at least one or two dry runs
Speaker:to perfect.
Speaker:Your speaking nuances,
Speaker:transitions from slide to slide or topic to topic.
Speaker:Also the timing.
Speaker:So you get all your information across and leave time for
Speaker:Q and a.
Speaker:Here's an important one.
Speaker:Don't procrastinate when others need your input to move forward on
Speaker:their tasks.
Speaker:Have you ever been part of a committee and your responsibilities
Speaker:can't start until someone else has completed their portion.
Speaker:If they procrastinate your left waiting.
Speaker:And when they finally finish their part,
Speaker:you're scrambling to complete yours.
Speaker:I've been in this situation a number of times,
Speaker:and it's so frustrating and disrespectful.
Speaker:It also left me with a negative opinion and certainly no
Speaker:interest in doing projects with that person ever again.
Speaker:Don't be that person.
Speaker:And finally,
Speaker:you don't ever want to procrastinate when there's a lot riding
Speaker:on the project or event.
Speaker:This can either mean financially or personally,
Speaker:where performing poorly can risk the reputation of your business or
Speaker:your image overall procrastination.
Speaker:It's not a dirty word and there's a time and a
Speaker:place to go with your natural style and a time to
Speaker:push in the other direction.
Speaker:Don't end up like Janice,
Speaker:kicking yourself for not applying the right actions and leaving your
Speaker:results up to chance.
Speaker:It's simply not worth 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 mid-week
Speaker:sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream
Speaker:of yours.
Speaker:Share your handmade products with us.
