The Create & Thrive Podcast

There are so many great free options for advertising and marketing your business these days that talking about paying for advertising is unusual for me. But the truth is, if you’re not paying for something with money, you’re paying for it with time.

We recorded this month’s conversation about how to find affordable advertising which is targeted towards your ideal customer.

Making sure you know who your perfect customer is will be the very first step you need to take in the process so if you haven’t done this yet, now is the time!

A marketing plan is key and you can find a great link to Kath’s post about an annual Marketing Calendar here and here.

Once you have these things in place, it’s all about research and making sure you know all about the publication or website where you’re spending your money.

Listen in for all the inside information about how to advertise your business on a shoestring budget.

Quotes and Highlights from this Episode:

* There are so many free options for advertising these days – you should try a lot of those before turning to paid advertising.

* Decide on a marketing plan. Don’t just start paying for advertisements willy nilly.

* “If you haven’t sat down and figured out your ideal customer yet, do that first and foremost.” {Kath}

* What are you advertising? (the brand, a product, a special deal, a seasonal product).

* Do an annual plan with dates you need to pay for adverts (and the reasons why).

* Research – If you can’t afford to buy the magazines/print publications you want to check out, go to your local library or ask friends if they have copies.

* Read up about the online blogs or websites which are offering paid advertising spots.

* Ask for their Media Kit

* How many readers do they have?

* What are their demographics – are these your target customers?

* Do they have a ‘product’ or ‘indie brand’ section which you could slot into?

* What are other people saying about the publication?

* Figure out a budget and stick to it – no matter what the advertiser wants from you.

* Start small and ask for a discount.

* I have found that almost all larger businesses I’ve worked with are happy to give you a discount to trial your advert.

* Smaller businesses are just like you and may not be able to give you much of a discount – but they might have a smaller and more concentrated group of people who could be your perfect target market so it’s worth paying the money.

* “Facebook Adverts – I’m still figuring these out but I find that I get about a 50/50 strike rate.” {Kath}

* Think outside the box. There are loads of places where you could spend a bit of money for a potential sales gain.

* Give away some freebies to encourage people to purchase from your store.

* Print postcards or fliers and deliver them to mailboxes in your local area or to businesses which might have a lot of traffic.

* Sponsor your local fete or school event – they will usually do a lot of advertising for you in advance.

* Promoted Listings on Etsy have been successful in the past.

* “It’s better to target your adverts in one place than scatter gun them all over the place. Try one place and stick with it for a few times to see if it works – then move on if it doesn’t.” {Kath}

* Build brand awareness with this new audience before giving up....

When you decide to turn your creative hobby into a business, there are going to be external obstacles that get in your way – LOTS of obstacles. That’s just business – just life, really – and they are an inevitable part of trying to make something happen.

But you can also get in your own way.

We can be really good at stopping ourselves from succeeding, often without even realising it.

I’ve taught hundreds – if not thousands – of people how to turn their hobby into their dream business. I’ve found that while we are all passionate about creating something and have a drive to create new things, we also need to have a drive to make a living out of it.

If you don’t have the desire to make a financial success out of your creative biz, then you won’t.

Lots of creatives have the ‘starving artist’ mentality where they don’t feel comfortable making money from their art.

I’ve here to tell you: you are not disrespecting your creativity if you’re making money from it. If you resonate with this common issue, you’re not alone – and it’s just one of the unhealthy beliefs we absorb from our society that may be causing you to hold yourself back.

In this episode, I discuss 5 ways you might be unconsciously sabotaging yourself and holding yourself back from making your business a success – and how to overcome these self-created obstacles.

So, if you are feeling negative about your business, you may recognise a lot of things in this episode.

See if you can take steps to change them and help your business thrive.

Quotes and Highlights from this Episode:

* We can’t change and overcome these roadblocks unless we recognise that they are there

* If you start a handmade business and you’re expecting to make a huge profit in the first few years, you need to forget that

* It might happen – but it’s unlikely

* “Chances are, it’s going to take a couple of years to gain some traction and make it a full time business.”

* People over-anticipate what they can achieve in a certain period of time

* “You see those people who seem to be an overnight success – they’re not!”

* Some people will be coming at this with other skills and industry knowledge which will allow them to find success quicker. But they have spent many years honing the skills which allowed them to succeed.

* If you’re coming at this business without that background knowledge, things take a long time to learn

* Don’t put yourself down if it takes time

* “I hope it’s a fun part of the journey for you, experimenting and trying new things.”

* If you’re not in it for the long haul, really think about whether it’s something you want to be doing in the long run

* You are competing against the entire internet and everyone who is in your niche

* You need to stand out, and it if you haven’t got the elements correct, you will find it hard to gain traction and make sales

* Only you can choose when you call yourself a success

* People will focus on something that’s not working and will complain about it – there’s no point

* It’s OK to blow off steam and get it off our chest

* You’re sabotaging your success by being a ‘glass half empty’ rather than a ‘glass half full’ person

* Focus your energy of your on the positive

* “Nobody is responsible for the success or failure of your business but you.”

* You can always find ways around roadblocks

* It doesn’t matter how small your success, it deserves celebrating

* “This is a case of starting too many new things at once and not being able to give any one thing the attention they truly deserve.”

* You might always be wanting to try new things

* This is really great but can also backfire as you’re not able to foc...

When you decide to turn your creative hobby into a business, there are going to be external obstacles that get in your way – LOTS of obstacles. That’s just business – just life, really – and they are an inevitable part of trying to make something happen.

But you can also get in your own way.

We can be really good at stopping ourselves from succeeding, often without even realising it.

I’ve taught hundreds – if not thousands – of people how to turn their hobby into their dream business. I’ve found that while we are all passionate about creating something and have a drive to create new things, we also need to have a drive to make a living out of it.

If you don’t have the desire to make a financial success out of your creative biz, then you won’t.

Lots of creatives have the ‘starving artist’ mentality where they don’t feel comfortable making money from their art.

I’ve here to tell you: you are not disrespecting your creativity if you’re making money from it. If you resonate with this common issue, you’re not alone – and it’s just one of the unhealthy beliefs we absorb from our society that may be causing you to hold yourself back.

In this episode, I discuss 5 ways you might be unconsciously sabotaging yourself and holding yourself back from making your business a success – and how to overcome these self-created obstacles.

So, if you are feeling negative about your business, you may recognise a lot of things in this episode.

See if you can take steps to change them and help your business thrive.

Quotes and Highlights from this Episode:

* We can’t change and overcome these roadblocks unless we recognise that they are there

* If you start a handmade business and you’re expecting to make a huge profit in the first few years, you need to forget that

* It might happen – but it’s unlikely

* “Chances are, it’s going to take a couple of years to gain some traction and make it a full time business.”

* People over-anticipate what they can achieve in a certain period of time

* “You see those people who seem to be an overnight success – they’re not!”

* Some people will be coming at this with other skills and industry knowledge which will allow them to find success quicker. But they have spent many years honing the skills which allowed them to succeed.

* If you’re coming at this business without that background knowledge, things take a long time to learn

* Don’t put yourself down if it takes time

* “I hope it’s a fun part of the journey for you, experimenting and trying new things.”

* If you’re not in it for the long haul, really think about whether it’s something you want to be doing in the long run

* You are competing against the entire internet and everyone who is in your niche

* You need to stand out, and it if you haven’t got the elements correct, you will find it hard to gain traction and make sales

* Only you can choose when you call yourself a success

* People will focus on something that’s not working and will complain about it – there’s no point

* It’s OK to blow off steam and get it off our chest

* You’re sabotaging your success by being a ‘glass half empty’ rather than a ‘glass half full’ person

* Focus your energy of your on the positive

* “Nobody is responsible for the success or failure of your business but you.”

* You can always find ways around roadblocks

* It doesn’t matter how small your success, it deserves celebrating

* “This is a case of starting too many new things at once and not being able to give any one thing the attention they truly deserve.”

* You might always be wanting to try new things

There is nothing more important that great photography for an online handmade store.

Why? Photographs must convey so much about the product through just a simple 2D photo – things that are intangible through a computer screen. Your photos are by far the most important element that influences the decision-making process for potential customers.

Showing the size, texture, weight, and true colour of your products is part of the puzzle – but there’s also styling and lighting to consider along with editing after the fact.

You don’t need to run out and buy a fancy camera to get great photos of your products and even an iPhone will do as long as you have great light and interesting styling which suits your brand.

If you’re unsure whether your photos are up to scratch, and you need a little bit of insight, listen in to this episode as I chat to Jeffrey Opp, photographer and artist, as he unwraps the riddle of great product photography. Jeffrey is also the author of our Guide to Product Photography, which you can check out here.

Quotes and Highlights from this Episode:

* “You are really trying to replace that ‘in person’ experience – you can’t try on a shirt if you’re online.” {Jeffrey}

* You’re trying to convey to your customer the things which they can’t touch and feel for themselves

* A lot of factors come into play – the styling and your target market really comes into it

* People do not need a fancy camera – any camera that you have is a great place to start

* Photography is a lot to do with lighting – even if you start with your smartphone

* Look for the light and a great composition and you’ll get a really good result

* Natural light is a really great place to start and we’ve been using it since the 1800’s for photography

* There are even great photography studios with glass ceilings to make the most of natural light instead of incandescent bulbs

* One of the big problems people find is poor exposure

* When you start working in product photography, there are lots of times when you’ll be in a situation when you will have photos which are under or over exposed

* A camera on auto which is set to thinking there is going to be green grass and blue sky, then there will be an exposure problem if you are trying to get a shot on a white background

* Watch your photos and then adjust your camera to fix the problems

* White balance is a tricky thing

* Sun outside is very cool light compared to the yellow light of an incandescent light bulb or even candlelight

* If you’re lighting things up with room lights then it’s a great idea to use a custom white balance setting

* EDITING PROGRAM: A photo editing program like Photoshop can help adjust your photos if you still couldn’t get the balance right straight out of the phone

* EDITING PROGRAM: Gimp and Picasa are great free versions for editing photos

* EDITING PROGRAM: Google+ Photos (This site/resource is no longer available) is for smartphones

* “You want your photo to have some personality, something that people can identify with.” {Jeffrey}

* Adding in things which ‘belong’ with your product or are part of the context of your product

* In-situ photos and photos which show scale are really important to allow you to show size

* Editing is necessary

* “You can be the best photographer in the world but when you put it up on the scree...

There is nothing more important that great photography for an online handmade store.

Why? Photographs must convey so much about the product through just a simple 2D photo – things that are intangible through a computer screen. Your photos are by far the most important element that influences the decision-making process for potential customers.

Showing the size, texture, weight, and true colour of your products is part of the puzzle – but there’s also styling and lighting to consider along with editing after the fact.

You don’t need to run out and buy a fancy camera to get great photos of your products and even an iPhone will do as long as you have great light and interesting styling which suits your brand.

If you’re unsure whether your photos are up to scratch, and you need a little bit of insight, listen in to this episode as I chat to Jeffrey Opp, photographer and artist, as he unwraps the riddle of great product photography. Jeffrey is also the author of our Guide to Product Photography, which you can check out here.

Quotes and Highlights from this Episode:

* “You are really trying to replace that ‘in person’ experience – you can’t try on a shirt if you’re online.” {Jeffrey}

* You’re trying to convey to your customer the things which they can’t touch and feel for themselves

* A lot of factors come into play – the styling and your target market really comes into it

* People do not need a fancy camera – any camera that you have is a great place to start

* Photography is a lot to do with lighting – even if you start with your smartphone

* Look for the light and a great composition and you’ll get a really good result

* Natural light is a really great place to start and we’ve been using it since the 1800’s for photography

* There are even great photography studios with glass ceilings to make the most of natural light instead of incandescent bulbs

* One of the big problems people find is poor exposure

* When you start working in product photography, there are lots of times when you’ll be in a situation when you will have photos which are under or over exposed

* A camera on auto which is set to thinking there is going to be green grass and blue sky, then there will be an exposure problem if you are trying to get a shot on a white background

* Watch your photos and then adjust your camera to fix the problems

* White balance is a tricky thing

* Sun outside is very cool light compared to the yellow light of an incandescent light bulb or even candlelight

* If you’re lighting things up with room lights then it’s a great idea to use a custom white balance setting

* EDITING PROGRAM: A photo editing program like Photoshop can help adjust your photos if you still couldn’t get the balance right straight out of the phone

* EDITING PROGRAM: Gimp and Picasa are great free versions for editing photos

* EDITING PROGRAM: Google+ Photos is for smartphones

* “You want your photo to have some personality, something that people can identify with.” {Jeffrey}

* Adding in things which ‘belong’ with your product or are part of the context of your product

Today’s episode is a podcast version of one of my all-time most popular blog posts, which talks all about the steps you need to take to have a successful online craft business.

There is lots of information out there about how to maximise your online presence to make more sales but when it comes down to it, there are some really simple concepts which will help your business thrive.

It’s not an easy road but I have found that by following these tips, I now work full-time in my own creative business and my husband works with me while we earn a wage for the both of us.

Here are the 10 tips I talk about in the episode:

* Create something that people actually want to buy

* Work on it every day – but be patient

* Be friendly but professional

* Have beautiful photos

* Make reproducible items

* Believe in yourself and your work – fiercely – but be open to change

* Get a mailing list

* Price for Profit

* Get Your Own Website/Blog

* Learn, learn, learn

I would love to hear how you implement these ideas into your own craft business and if you have some clear steps to take after listening in today.

Quotes and Highlights from this Episode:

* There’s so much that goes into having a successful online craft business.

* The path is long until you build up a modicum of success.

* “Sometimes I can’t quite believe that we’ve reached this point. I work full-time in my business, Nick works full-time for the business.”

* It is possible to build a profitable, sustainable online handmade business.

* It’s not easy and it’s not quick.

* It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

* “You have to be really patient. It will take time. Businesses do not grow overnight.”

* Be dedicated, be patient and be flexible.

* You don’t have to be a big company when you’re not.

* “Be you but be the best you.”

* Even if you don’t get a sale, make a positive influence on someone who might be your customer in the future.

* Never complain about a customer in a public forum.

* This is the key to standing out online – have beautiful photos.

* Photos is 80-90% of the decision making process.

* What makes a great photo? Natural or white light and using backgrounds which scream ‘your brand’!

* Don’t use backgrounds that are too busy.

* Close up, far away shot, styled shot, modelled shot.

* Use interesting or intriguing angles.

* “The idea of the main photo for your product is to capture someone’s attention and make them want to click through and buy that product.”

* You CAN make one-of-a-kind items; but when selling online, it could hold you back.

* Make a prototype and make that same item over and over.

* It’s not just about making the product – it’s all the extra work that comes along with it.

* If you make reproducible items, you don’t need to do all that extra work each time.

* Time photographing, adding to your online store and everything else that comes along with it is time that you can’t be making new items.

* Be proud of what you make and really advertise that.

* “If you’ve been plugging away at it for years and you’ve made no progress, then something needs to change.”

* In order to succeed, you might need to make some changes.

* Email is still the most direct and effective way to really connect with your customers.

* They are showing that they trust you with your email and so they have a closer relationship with you.

* Treat that email with respect – don’t spam but keep in touch on a regular basis.

* “We all have struggled with pricing and we generally tend to price too low.”

* Don’t price low as it’s not valuing your skills.

* When you do your pricing,

Today’s episode is a podcast version of one of my all-time most popular blog posts, which talks all about the steps you need to take to have a successful online craft business.

There is lots of information out there about how to maximise your online presence to make more sales but when it comes down to it, there are some really simple concepts which will help your business thrive.

It’s not an easy road but I have found that by following these tips, I now work full-time in my own creative business and my husband works with me while we earn a wage for the both of us.

Here are the 10 tips I talk about in the episode:

* Create something that people actually want to buy

* Work on it every day – but be patient

* Be friendly but professional

* Have beautiful photos

* Make reproducible items

* Believe in yourself and your work – fiercely – but be open to change

* Get a mailing list

* Price for Profit

* Get Your Own Website/Blog

* Learn, learn, learn

I would love to hear how you implement these ideas into your own craft business and if you have some clear steps to take after listening in today.

Quotes and Highlights from this Episode:

* There’s so much that goes into having a successful online craft business.

* The path is long until you build up a modicum of success.

* “Sometimes I can’t quite believe that we’ve reached this point. I work full-time in my business, Nick works full-time for the business.”

* It is possible to build a profitable, sustainable online handmade business.

* It’s not easy and it’s not quick.

* It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

* “You have to be really patient. It will take time. Businesses do not grow overnight.”

* Be dedicated, be patient and be flexible.

* You don’t have to be a big company when you’re not.

* “Be you but be the best you.”

* Even if you don’t get a sale, make a positive influence on someone who might be your customer in the future.

* Never complain about a customer in a public forum.

* This is the key to standing out online – have beautiful photos.

* Photos is 80-90% of the decision making process.

* What makes a great photo? Natural or white light and using backgrounds which scream ‘your brand’!

* Don’t use backgrounds that are too busy.

* Close up, far away shot, styled shot, modelled shot.

* Use interesting or intriguing angles.

* “The idea of the main photo for your product is to capture someone’s attention and make them want to click through and buy that product.”

* You CAN make one-of-a-kind items; but when selling online, it could hold you back.

* Make a prototype and make that same item over and over.

* It’s not just about making the product – it’s all the extra work that comes along with it.

* If you make reproducible items, you don’t need to do all that extra work each time.

* Time photographing, adding to your online store and everything else that comes along with it is time that you can’t be making new items.

* Be proud of what you make and really advertise that.

* “If you’ve been plugging away at it for years and you’ve made no progress, then something needs to change.”

* In order to succeed, you might need to make some changes.

* Email is still the most direct and effective way to really connect with your customers.

* They are showing that they trust you with your email and so they have a closer relationship with you.

* Treat that email with respect – don’t spam but keep in touch on a regular basis.

* “We all have struggled with pricing and we generally tend to price too low.”

* Don’t price low as it’s not valuing your skil...

On this week’s episode we talk about the process of finding your authentic voice for your business – and how you can inject your own personality into your branding and story across all your content channels (blog, social media, website copy etc.).

Sometimes it’s hard to tell a consistent and honest story about your business, because it’s so entangled with you and all your myriad aspects.

You might be a parent, partner, worker, and teacher along with being a business owner – which means you have a lots of different aspects to your life, personality, and personal narrative.

Finding out a little bit more about who you are can really help you to distil down the parts of your personality that match your business, and help you to showcase these aspects in your business communication.

There’s a lot of information in this episode so listen in for some more tips and exercises that will help you to show the best version of YOU to your loyal followers.

Quotes and Highlights from this Episode:

* You don’t need to be someone you’re not so figuring out who you are is really important.

* Grab a bunch of magazines and rip out images which represent your personality and paste them onto a piece of cardboard. This is kind of like a look-book for your personality.

* It’s about defining yourself by what you surround yourself with.

* If you have a fun and vibrant clothing line, you’re not going to speak with a formal “no-nonsense’ tone of voice.

* On the flipside, if you sell upmarket gold and gemset jewellery, you wouldn’t be dropping swearwords or text contractions like ‘luv this gr8 style!’

* “A little bit more professional than your most casual self is always my recommendation” {Kath}

* Get onto those replies as quickly as possible, even if it’s just an acknowledgement.

* So many people say they can’t write or can’t find their voice when blogging.

* “Nobody expects your blog to be perfect – it’s not a School assignment guys…” {Jess}

* It’s more like writing a diary or a journal.

* If you struggle with writing and ‘don’t know what to write about’ there are loads of tools out there which help you to learn and grow your writing style.

* “I’ve done the 500 words challenge and it was what helped me to get a job writing for a local online events publication” {Kath}

* WEBSITE: http://goinswriter.com/my500words/

* You can write posts that you don’t publish immediately if you want to work on them further.

* The key is just to start writing and you’ll find your style will develop so much quicker than just simply thinking about it.

* “I don’t use it often, but if I can’t think of a title, this blog topic generator can help you with distilling down your blog idea into a great concept.” {Kath}

* WEBSITE: http://www.hubspot.com/blog-topic-generator

* WEBSITE: http://www.copyblogger.com/

* Find great images and use video.

* “We’ve been talking about voice as words, but voice can be a little bit bigger than that.” {Jess}

* Have photos taken of yourself in your workspace, or just take some of yourself.

* Make sure your written voice and style match your photos and other imagery.

* Use IG and Facebook to show your lifestyle and business and how they mesh together.

* Photos can help you to tell your brand story and you can showcase your unique personality.

 

Download/Liste...

On this week’s episode we talk about the process of finding your authentic voice for your business – and how you can inject your own personality into your branding and story across all your content channels (blog, social media, website copy etc.).

Sometimes it’s hard to tell a consistent and honest story about your business, because it’s so entangled with you and all your myriad aspects.

You might be a parent, partner, worker, and teacher along with being a business owner – which means you have a lots of different aspects to your life, personality, and personal narrative.

Finding out a little bit more about who you are can really help you to distil down the parts of your personality that match your business, and help you to showcase these aspects in your business communication.

There’s a lot of information in this episode so listen in for some more tips and exercises that will help you to show the best version of YOU to your loyal followers.

Quotes and Highlights from this Episode:

* You don’t need to be someone you’re not so figuring out who you are is really important.

* Grab a bunch of magazines and rip out images which represent your personality and paste them onto a piece of cardboard. This is kind of like a look-book for your personality.

* It’s about defining yourself by what you surround yourself with.

* If you have a fun and vibrant clothing line, you’re not going to speak with a formal “no-nonsense’ tone of voice.

* On the flipside, if you sell upmarket gold and gemset jewellery, you wouldn’t be dropping swearwords or text contractions like ‘luv this gr8 style!’

* “A little bit more professional than your most casual self is always my recommendation” {Kath}

* Get onto those replies as quickly as possible, even if it’s just an acknowledgement.

* So many people say they can’t write or can’t find their voice when blogging.

* “Nobody expects your blog to be perfect – it’s not a School assignment guys…” {Jess}

* It’s more like writing a diary or a journal.

* If you struggle with writing and ‘don’t know what to write about’ there are loads of tools out there which help you to learn and grow your writing style.

* “I’ve done the 500 words challenge and it was what helped me to get a job writing for a local online events publication” {Kath}

* WEBSITE: http://goinswriter.com/my500words/

* You can write posts that you don’t publish immediately if you want to work on them further.

* The key is just to start writing and you’ll find your style will develop so much quicker than just simply thinking about it.

* “I don’t use it often, but if I can’t think of a title, this blog topic generator can help you with distilling down your blog idea into a great concept.” {Kath}

* WEBSITE: http://www.hubspot.com/blog-topic-generator

* WEBSITE: http://www.copyblogger.com/

* Find great images and use video.

* “We’ve been talking about voice as words, but voice can be a little bit bigger than that.” {Jess}

* Have photos taken of yourself in your workspace, or just take some of yourself.

* Make sure your written voice and style match your photos and other imagery.

* Use IG and Facebook to show your lifestyle and business and how they mesh together.

* Photos can help you to tell your brand story and you can showcase your unique personality.

 

Download/Listen to this Episode

Hey Thrivers! Nick and I are currently on our way over to the UK for a sabbatical from our jewellery business, and to visit family and friends – we’ve got lots of adventures in mind for our 3 months abroad.

However, while we’re taking a break from Epheriell, all things Create & Thrive will be running as-usual while we are there – I’ll be sharing photos of our trip on the Epheriell IG if you want to follow our adventure! 

I’m planning on holding at least one meetup in London, so if you’d like to be part of a Create & Thrive meetup, make sure to let me know!

Now, let’s get on with this week’s episode…

In today’s Podcast I’m talking about some vital steps to take in order to make your creative passion into your dream business.

The 8 steps I cover in this episode are going to get you thinking about where you want to go, and how to harness your passion and creative fire to get there.

By following these simple steps, you will find that your business will grow and adapt along with your own needs and the needs of your customers.

Listen in for more detail on these 8 steps that will help you start, maintain and grow your own creative biz – there is a ton of motivational and practical info in this episode!

Love the show? You can show your support by:

* Leaving a review on the C&T FB page.

* Leaving a review on iTunes.

* Donating a few dollars towards the costs of producing the pod.

* Joining the Thriver Circle – without the members of the Circle, this podcast would not be possible.

 

 

 

Quotes and Highlights from this Episode:

* Just because I like something doesn’t necessarily mean that someone wants to buy it.

* You have to switch your mindset when you start selling stuff.

* You still need to make things that you’re passionate about and that you care about.

* You may need to change techniques and materials, you might need to change what you make entirely.

* “You might not need to change, you might just need to get clearer on your ideal customer and seek those people out.”

* Get balance by being obsessive about driving your business forward, not about the business itself.

* “You need to care really, really deeply and you need to have that fire that will drive you when things get tough.”

* It’s important to know why you’re doing this – what are you aiming for?

* “What’s your why?”

* If you know what your goal is, it’s easier to push through the uncertainty.

* If you run hot and cold with your business it will make it so much harder to grow it.

* You will never be ‘done’ with your business, if you are ‘done’ then it’s probably over.

* Decide how much time you have to devote to it, decide on your key tasks and goals. Then do something every day to move your business forward.

* “Make little tiny steps every single day – that is how you get to the top of the mountain.”

* Word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool you have.