So, let’s see. I’m going to go back to the end of 2011, just because that’s when it all changed, really. I had stopped working with Darren and gone to work for Blog World in August, and by mid-November, had left Blog World. I then decided that I was going to spend some time working on my art and jewelry through the holidays, and see how much fun I could have. (LOTS, in fact!)

Then, here come the whammies. My only living grandparent passed away at the end of December. My father’s mother. So after the mourning time came the clearing out of her house, which is when I discovered I was pregnant. Yes, I’ve heard it often happens that way, and I’m terribly sad that she never got to know about (much less meet) my wonderful daughter. But in the meantime, there was a house (her house) to work on so that we could move in and raise our child in a safe, stress-free community.

September 2013…

My daughter, my one and only child (because I’m sotally a ‘one and done’ mom), Sofia was born. My heart just about blew out of my chest and I don’t think I ever, ever cried so many happy tears in my entire life. Combined. She came a month early, but without imperfection of any kind. She’s healthy and happy and now 8 months old.

So during the pregnancy and aftermath, what have I been working on? Besides being a new mommy, I’ve been creating and licensing more of my art, working on some new business ideas, taking on some client work here and there, and truly just loving life. I’ve also signed on to do a mural on an exterior wall in the city nearby, which you can read about if you’re so inclined. So I’m really thrilled about that!

Have I given up on working in social media/community management? Nope.
Have I changed my direction a little? Yes.
Will I spill the details just now? No way, not yet. Patience, dear one.

Let’s just say if you’re a creative person like me, but without the whole “business brain” of it, you’re gonna be very excited! New business(es) and projects on the way!

Now, I know it’s been a long time since I’ve actually blogged regularly (anywhere, as a matter of fact), but I’ll be making announcements and updates soon. Just know that if you don’t hear from me for a while, it’s probably because I’m covered in baby food or paint or something equally fun!

Banksy in Boston: F̶O̶L̶L̶O̶W̶ ̶Y̶O̶U̶R̶ ̶D̶R̶E̶A̶M̶S̶ CANCELLED, Essex St, Chinatown, Boston (Photo credit: Chris Devers)

No, it’s not just “when you need the money”, though that can definitely be the trigger that gets you thinking.

No, it’s not as soon as you take a photo that all your facebook friends are drooling over.

No, it’s not when you think you can make something better/cheaper than someone else.

Keep reading… you’ll get it. (Or, go ahead and be a cheater by reading to the end of the post. See if I care. Cheater.)

Let’s Talk About Becky*

Becky’s a knitter. Has been knitting for over 30 years, since her grandmother taught her at a very young age. Becky has made gifts for her friends and family, and sold them to them so they could be given as gifts by friends and family.

Becky’s gone to TONS of craft shows in the Autumn season, for over 10 years. She tells you that there are good shows and bad shows and that “you learn where to invest your time and table fees”. Becky’s a pro at selling live and in person. But there’s one problem.

Becky has no clue what to do the rest of the year.

She’s got great products, repeat buyers, everything a real business needs. The best part? She turns a 100% markup profit. (We’ll discuss pricing another time.) But it’s only for the “Holiday Shopping” season. The rest of the year, she struggles. A few birthdays in the early part of the year, sure. But who wears knitted items in August?

People in Australia do.

But Becky has no way to reach them because she doesn’t have a website, blog, or any way for anyone to purchase her items online.

Let’s Talk About Marissa*

Marissa is a painter, sculptor, jewelry maker, and graphic artist. She posts pictures of her work all over facebook and twitter, has a blog (that she rarely posts on… shhh), spends lots of time on her Pinterest account, and can’t figure out why she’s not selling anything.

Upon closer inspection, it’s easy to see that Marissa takes all her photos with her 2004 cellphone camera, and typically under a fluorescent lightbulb, so they all look greenish and fuzzy. When you ask her about it, given that she’s so proficient in graphic arts, she says, “I just want to get it out there for people to see. I can always go back later.”

But “later” never comes. Marissa keeps posting away, all over the social networks, spending literally hours every day. She’s bought at least a dozen ebooks and programs on how to market yourself as an artist (to the tune of thousands of dollars), but she gets a few pages in, claims confusion, and gives up. She’s got a few items up in an Etsy shop that she relists every 3 months, but she’s starting to think Etsy’s a scam, and even the media’s been fooled. She doesn’t dare try any of the other sites like it. She’s never heard of Zazzle, ImageKind, Zibbet, or Artfire, and “doesn’t want to know”.

Marissa’s number one problem? I bet you guessed it. She’s spending too much time promoting work that she can’t drive sales to because she’s doing it wrong.

So How Do You Know When To Put Your Art Online?

When you’re ready to make a business out of it. Becky’s ready. She’s been doing business for one season out of the year, and killing it, but needs to take her business online and give it all she’s got. Will she need help? Probably. Can she do it alone? Sure, maybe at first. But she’ll likely need help at some point, and it’s a good thing when you can afford to pay someone to help you run your business!

Marissa’s not ready. Not yet, anyway. She’s still floundering around the social networks. She’s spending money consuming and not creating. Yes, she’s “creating” but she’s not creating a business. She needs to learn specific skills like time management, prioritizing, organization, and promotions. Or, she needs to learn that she should spend that money wisely on an assistant, and spend less time on the computer all together.

Over to you…

What do you think? Have you been in Becky’s or Marissa’s shoes? Let’s talk about it in the comments!

* Names are totally made up, because while I’m not targeting any one specific person, these stories are very, very true. Oh, and I’m all about protecting the innocent. The stupid, on the other hand… they don’t get fancy little stars next to their names. Wait, what are you doing reading this anyway? Shouldn’t you be reading the rest of the article or commenting or sharing it on facebook? Git goin!

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• The ‘Etsy Economy’ and Changing the Way We Shop
• 5 Of The Best Ways To Get Your Art Noticed

The time is NOW to take ownership of what you do, and make what you love work for you.

Crafters and Artists - Stop calling it a “hobby”. Did you know that if you earn a profit for 3 out of 5 years with your art or craft, that in most states, you’re officially NOT a hobbyist anymore, but it’s a full-fledged business? Stop and think about that for a second… Do you WANT to have a business, where you can claim deductions, run profit reports, grow your income substantially, and have a “full time job” out of it, or are you content with it being just a hobby? I’d think in this economy, everyone would want more income, and if you’ve got skills and talent, why not use them to pay the bills?

I know that many of you reading this are making beautiful things mostly because you love doing it. What breaks my heart is how many of you (you know who you are) are using $10 of yarn to make an intricate scarf, and then selling it for $15, actually believing that “any profit is good profit”. Really? It took you 4 hours to make that thing! That’s you, being paid $1.25 per hour. I don’t know about you, but I’d learn to love flipping burgers at minimum wage instead of wasting my time, my creativity, and my energies on $1.25 an hour if I were looking to make money from anything. If you really don’t need the money, that’s cool, give them away. Literally. Don’t spend another moment online promoting yourself. Call up your local City Mission or some churches or homeless shelters and drop them off. Because by selling handcrafted work so cheaply, you not only make your own work SEEM cheap, but you instantly devalue what everyone else does, which makes you a jerk. Really. If you do this, and have this mentality, you are a jerk.

Freelancers, Writers, Bloggers, and Coders - It’s time to take your stuff to the next level. Stop trying to make money from the sidebar ads on your blog, and quit wasting time writing 500 words for $10. You need to get yourself out there, be seen, and have something more than the next guy in order to be able to create a real income from what you do, and on the regular. Anyone can get the occasional $2500 job, but can you get two a month for a year? Certain “we pay writers” sites don’t pay much at all, so you have to spend 100 hours a week writing crappy articles about things you couldn’t care less for, when you could be working on your own stuff. Craigslist is chock-full of people wanting websites made for $100… is it worth it? (Please don’t actually think that was anything but a rhetorical question. The answer is NO.)

You have to decide where you want to go with your chosen career as a freelancer, and stop working for peanuts. This means proving yourself.

Stop Trying To Get Away With A FREE Site or Blog

No, seriously. Stoppit. It’s not that expensive to get a domain name and hosting, and you CAN start off with a free WordPress theme, or you can spend a few bucks and get a professionally pre-designed theme that looks like a million bucks and doesn’t require you to pay anyone to do anything for you.

I did some research for you. Now, at the time of this writing, the up front cost total is below. This may change, at GoDaddy’s whim, but usually it doesn’t. Or, one thing goes off sale while another goes on. You can also Google for additional discount codes, and save even more. Keep in mind, none of the following requires you to hire a web developer. If you’ve used Microsoft Word, and can follow directions, you’re golden. Check it out…

ONE Domain Name (your.com) for ONE year: $6.17 (tax incl.)
Economy Hosting for ONE site, for ONE year: $45.50 (this price is for a year, however the minimum purchase is 3 months, and you can do auto-renewals)
(OPTIONAL) Pro theme: $99
Grand Total:$51.67 (or $150.67)

So just over fifty bucks a year, and you’ve got yourself a fabulous looking, super optimized website, that YOU OWN COMPLETELY (because you never know when wix.com or whatever will decide to shut down and leave you hanging anyway).

The bottom line here is that I want you to learn to take yourself seriously. If you SERIOUSLY don’t care if or how much money you make from what you’re doing, then ignore this entire post and go about your “business”. But if you want to grow and develop your business into something that will at least pay your mortgage every month, or your car payment, or your grocery bill, or all of the above and more, you need to stop trying to outbid the competition by undervaluing your work, and displaying it in a way that wouldn’t impress anyone. It makes you, and your work, look cheap when I’m fairly certain neither is true.

What are you paying for, that you can do without (even temporarily), to save up that fifty bucks?