Happiest New Year Everyone. I hope you all had lovely time with your family and friends over Xmas. I myself was really ill from the 22nd of Dec to…well…I’m still feeling a bit pants, but thankfully over the worst of it of now.

A new year brings the promise of a whole host of wonderful craft business opportunities all of which with a few tweaks and time management tricks are within everyone’s grasp. I do feel that that the best way to proceed with something new is to continually set new achievable goals. The more ticks we can put on our achievable goal list, the more we are likely to make new ones and the more confident our goals will become. Here is a list of my general craft business goals for 2008. Anyone can achieve these, and I guarantee that if you can tick off most or all these goals your Craft business life will improve!

1. If you haven’t already get yourself blog - initially (for most blog providers) this won’t cost you anything but a couple of hours of fiddling about with getting used to the blog editor. Hordes of craft business bloggers will tell you blogging is essential in getting your business out there. How much time you decide to invest in keeping your blog up to date is up to you, the more you put in the more you will get out of it. I have written more about setting up a blog here.
2. I will set aside a regular time to tidy up my office and clear my desk - if you don’t yet have a designated work area for crafting and paperwork do try and get yourself one. When my business began I was using the corner of our the dining table which wasn’t practical and it drove us both bonkers! If you can at least get yourself your own well lit table, put up some shelves above your table, and book case too perhaps for your supplies and your paperwork you’ll be amazed at how much more productive and professional you’ll be (and feel) when you have your own clutter free work space.
3. You will convert all of that energy that you use to make up reasons why you won’t succeed into looking honestly at your strengths and building upon them - I like to think I regularly have good ideas, but most of them don’t ever come to light because of ME! I tell myself that it’s too time consuming, expensive, I’m not skilled enough blah blah. The truth is they aren’t reasons for failure, they are in fact steps in a process which can be overcome. It’s so true, it all starts with believing you have something special to bring to the table and then acting upon it.
4. I will share and get involved with the crafting community because amongst other crafty things it’s good for business - here’s a groovy post that will help you get started.
5. I will have fun and enjoy this Craft Business it’s something that (with a little help) I set up and I have the right to have this thing to enjoy for me - Whatever level you decide to take your craft business to, be that selling the fruits of regular evenings spent sewing or running a website with a warehouse and the full works (one must dream) I think it’s important to love what you do. There is something special about craft and that something is that craft is created by the hands of individuals. Handmade is wonderfully stubborn in that by it’s very nature there can be no mass production. Handcraft is an expression of what we as individuals think feel and see, I think that that should be enjoyed and celebrated to it’s fullest. Love what you do and I promise the financial rewards will be well on the way to taking care of themselves.
6. Find a way to delineate time for you, time for your family, and time for your craft business - I’m no time management guru, but I do know that if you do this and you do it to it’s fullest you will be happier, more productive, and (more or less) guilt free!
7. Ask for help and ask for opinions - you shouldn’t go it alone. There is plenty of business help out there on the web, in you local bank, your fellow crafters (either virtually or face to face). Don’t be shy about asking those around you for advice and opinions, of course not everyone will have something helpful to say, but lots of people will. Get the support of those around you, swap services, get chatty about what you want to do/are doing. Folk will be happy for you and you will feel motivated to get going/keep going, and of course if you are nice to them they will be they will be there when you are having crap days
8. Always be proud of who you are and of your talents - and be proud enough to strive for just a bit more!

Have a wonderful New Year everybody What are you going to do differently in 2008?

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