vendredi 7 mars 2014

Guest article. Emily






Here is a text my friend Emily Peacock wrote.

Emily , after living in France,  went back home in the UK and decided to build her own business.

Here is what she says about wish come true:



Hello my lovelies!

I am often asked in my workshops and by email about starting your own business. I think (like me a few years ago) a lot of people have that feeling inside them that they have something creative to give, but they don't know what ! I want to pass my Top 5 tips on what has worked for me and what I have learned in the hope that it may be useful to some of you.

1. Do something you love. If you have no passion for it and are just doing it to make money it will fail. Most likely you will run out of steam with it. Passion spreads and is felt by others. Keep pushing yourself and stay in that sweet spot of innate enthusiasm.

2. Never rip off someone else's idea. This is immoral and cowardly and I will hunt you down and nail your sorry hide to the tree of woe! In any case you will be building your business on bad foundations which is never good! Yes, you're allowed to be inspired by something and put your own spin on it (we are all inspired by something) but you cannot be someone else. Be yourself. You are not 'less special' (bad grammar!) than anyone else and you have your own unique story, history, sense of colour, shape, style etc. 

3. Don't panic, don't grasp at straws or you will fail. Do something that is meaningful to who you are. For example I have ALWAYS been a textile nut since I was a tiny kid. I have always loved bright colours. I have always been drawn to typography. I am a hopeless romantic. Voila! The clues were all there! I just did it in my own way and told my own story. Look at what you've always done and always been attracted to, what you love to do when all chores have been done. That's the clue, as you are doing what comes naturally.

4. Play to your strengths. If you're not a designer but have a great eye and know what you'd like to see - find someone who is a designer and work with them. If you have a flair for putting things together then start your own range of items that you can sell as fairs/exhibitions or online. Sell what you would buy. Or spend time looking for beautiful and original second hand things and open a Vintage shop on a site like Etsy/Folksy. I have a huge passion for mid-century design so I would open an Etsy shop selling that if I had the time! I am useless at PR so I have someone to help me with that. I am not one of nature's paperwork doers... err... that just gets put on a pile and ignored until I get into trouble. Oh well. See what I mean?

5. Always... hold on, I need to write that in capitals.. ALWAYS charge the right price for what you do. I see too many women, mums in particular, who put in a lot of time making things and sell them for next to nothing. It makes me feel sad as it feels lowly and apologetic. Even if you start off with a hobby, you need to charge business prices as you never know where this will lead. You need to factor your time into a price as well as materials and also be able to sell it at a trade price and still make money. If the product is good, it will sell. If it's not then, well, then you'll know and people would probably not buy it at any price. Value yourself. There is a huge mythology out there that creative people should work for nothing/very little. Bullshit! You are not just selling what you made you are selling the story of your life so far that has taken you to that point, as well as your creative time and bravery for putting it out there. You have a duty to value what you do and value creativity generally for all the other creative people out there. It's a group responsibility if you see what I mean.

(5a. Work your butt off.)

There is something original and unique about you. Find it. Be brave. Be bold. Tell your story.

Here endeth the lesson - I hope it helped some of you.

x »



THANK YOU Emily ! Fo sure, i twill help many ! !


You can find Emily’s work on FB under Emily Peacock. Have a look ! It’s worth it ! ! ! 





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