Monday, November 27, 2006

AHA!! Moments

I had an AHA moment a few months ago while driving home in my car. Driving is when I do my best thinking. I don't answer business calls while in the car, for obvious reasons. I listen to feel good music, which can be anything from Classic 80's to Sheryl Crow. But on this day, the DJ's were talking about the things that people said to them that changed their lives. The male DJ said something that just rang in my ears. He said his most defining moment was when someone told him "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different outcome!"

Well it stayed with me for a few days as I thought about where our business was yesterday, where it is today and where I wanted it to be tomorrow. I knew it needed to grow and to move out of its current state. My problem was deciding which was the quickest and best way to get from point A to point B. It was like sitting at a four way stop, without a clue as to which way to go. Three of the roads all presented their own challenges. One road in particular I had been avoiding all together, happen to make the most sense (see previous post). The most desirable road was one that I had traveled many times but I kept hitting a road block. (Yes, that's the insane moment).

As weeks went by I kept hearing or reading this same Insanity quote. I've counted 5 times so far in the past two months and since the radio station is not syndicated, they couldn't have all heard the same DJ! I couldn't have asked God to give me a bigger sign aside from having Oprah hold up a banner that read "London - This is your AHA moment!!". It was practically beating me over the head.

So I know it's killing you to know which road I took. The road that was well traveled or the one that I least wanted to go down. I chose the one that I least wanted to travel. Yes, it will come with it's own set of challenges and a few pit holes along the way, but I'm quite sure that I will enjoy the scenery so much more. I will no longer take that familiar journey who's scenery no longer captures my glance.

It reminds me of that old joke. A man goes to the doctor and says, "Doctor, it hurts when I do this.....(bending his arm)" and the doctor says, "well don't do that!!!".

DUH! The morale of the story "If it's not working, change it!"

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Good Advice - Help Needed!

A friend once blogged that you sometimes need to pull your head out of the sand and listen to the advice of those around you. Sometimes, as a small business owner, we get so focused on one idea that we can't see the forest for the trees. Then there's also the ego factor. We don't like to be wrong and admit defeat. To be successful in business, you have to be able to step outside of the situation and look at things with an objective eye. Sometimes we need a little (or a big) push or even a knock in the head to make us take another look.

We just marked our 5th year in business recently, which is quite an accomplishment considering many businesses don't make it past their 2nd or 3rd year. But that's not to say that we haven't made many mistakes along the way! Boy have we made some doozies! We've also had many successes too. Fortunately it's been a happy balance, otherwise we probably would be one of those statistics.

I had to pull my head out of the sand recently and realize that in order to grow my business, I had to grow my staff too. Which is not an easy task for a control freak. I've been wearing all the hats for the past five years. Well, maybe not all of them, but creatively speaking. I have been told many times over the past couple of years that I needed to hire someone. So.......I not only made the decision, finally, but I also committed to it by posting a job offer on craiglist.com. I was pleasantly surprised to have immediate interest AND to see that they all were creatively qualified!

So in the coming weeks, I will be tucking my tail between my legs and thanking all those caring folks that were persistent in getting my head out of the sand. I will also be conducting interviews, hiring someone and training them. Once that is done, I can begin to pick up all that business that I've been turning away for the past year. Something that makes me cringe to even admit! What successful business person turns down business? Answer: This stubborn one!

Monday, November 13, 2006

What the Heck???





Okay, so this whole blogging thing is taking over my weekend!

I was so naive as to think all I had to do was start the blog and begin posting. wrong! There's apparenlty a gazillion other things you must do to keep track of everything. Thanks to Heather, I muddled my way through some of them. However, I'm feeling really old right now and completely out of my element....... because as I read about these other functions, I felt like I was listening to my 15 year speak that foriegn language all teenagers speak! What the heck?

I plug away for a while on it, only to give up when my eyes get all blurry from staring at my laptop screen. My friend Jamie is trying to figure the same stuff out...at the same time. So maybe each of us will figure one function out and share it! Heck, maybe I'll have my 15 year old read the stuff and translate to us!For now I will have to put it aside so I can continue my Holiday orders. My kiln is loaded and will be ready tomorrow. Until then, I am moving down my list of orders so these kiddies can have their Santa plates.

Friday, November 10, 2006

I Must Be Insane


I was introduced to the whole blogging world a few months back. A local artist friend emailed me the link to her new blog and I found myself checking in every day for her new posts. Then, I got addicted to her blogger friends and their blogger friends and the rest is history! And let me just tell you that you should check out these other blogs. They are truly amazing and talented women.

I think it's a combination of the witty and entertaining posts these ladies write (with a tad bit of procrastination on my part) that has gotten me hooked. They are sooo funny and it is a nice break in an otherwise very mundane routine. I pretend that I'm working...that I'm actually doing research...you know for business. (Well, it makes me feel better thinking that anyway!)

In reality it keeps me from turning on those brain sucking soaps while I paint away. I mean.... do I really care that Dixie came back from the dead and is now looking for the daughter she gave birth to while she was supposed to be dead in Paris? Do I really need to know why she didn't tell the man she loved so much (who she ran away from, btw) that she had given birth to his child? P-lease....

I get more work done with the T.V. off and it's a nice pace to have the house quite for the few hours the boys are in school. So I allow myself time to sit with a cup of java and indulge in my little addiction every day. I must be insane thinking I can keep up with a blog. It's 12:00 a.m and I'm waiting to pull clothes out of the dryer.

All I need is another addiction to distract my creative juices. But I must do this....it's work (right?) I'm networking, yeah that's it!