I'd love to introduce a new feature around here... "three things I know to be true." This is the tippy-top of the list of things I would share with a new small business owner (or in future posts, with new home-owner, mom, bride, newlywed, blogger, etc) who's looking for advice. Obviously, with everything, THIS IS WHAT WORKS FOR ME, but that's what blogging IS. It's sharing ONE experience and hopefully resonating with readers. It doesn't matter if you disagree with me; it matters that the wheels start turning.
So here we go, small business owners, this is what I know to be true.
A simple website you can easily update is worth more than a fancy design. I often see people pay a ton of money for a really cool website that looks great. But they don't know how to update it or the coding is so intense that they cannot update it. And because of this, it sits out of date, doesn't reflect their changing brand, has an incorrect pricelist, etc. If your business is one where you will need to make frequent changes to your site it's much better to use a blog or something really easy to customize. Or if you need to have the fancy website (which is totally okay!) be sure to build into your contract frequent updates from your web designer. Tell them that you'll be updating every two months (or whatever) and ask them what their turnaround will be on the changes. Don't waste money on something that looks awesome for three months but then doesn't represent what's going on your business. Somewhat related... if you're still in college - take an HTML class. You absolutely will not regret it.
If you're losing sleep over a freelance gig, it's not the right fit. I am not talking about the kind of work where you are so excited that you can't sleep. Or the rush that comes with pulling an all-nighter to get something awesome done for the deadline. I'm talking about the kind of work that doesn't sit quite right for whatever reason (maybe you're under-qualified, maybe you're being under-paid or taken advantage of, maybe it's feeling a little bit unethical or off-brand, maybe you feel like it doesn't represent your true voice) and so it's keeping you up worrying. There are very few things worth losing sleep over - a newborn baby and a hilarious conversation top that short list - and there is not enough money in the world to sacrifice sleep to stress.
RELATED : how can you prevent this? After a few mistakes, now when I get a new opportunity that I am not quite sure about, I take 24 hours to "sleep on it." If I toss and turn that night, it's not the right fit and I decline. If I sleep well, there is a good chance I can make it work.
Everyone starts at zero. It's taken me nine years of active creating and sharing online to get a "following." My reach is not "huge" but I have loyal readers (thank you!) who have stuck around for years and because I am constantly working on creating and sharing original content, I attract new readers daily. When I started, I had zero readers. It took me a very long time (by blogland standards) to grow to the size that I am now. Often I hear folks lamenting about how they can't do something because they don't have the audience. How do you think the people who have the audience got it? It's not magic. It's hard work, dedication and practice. It's writing and photographing every day, even when you don't feel like it. This stuff, takes YEARS not hours. There are no shortcuts to get to the finish line and if you're very lucky the finish line keeps moving forward.
This week on my podcast, ELISE GETS CRAFTY, I am talking with blogger, designer and scrapbooker, Ali Edwards, about the importance of taking creative field trips (though we get totally sidetracked and end up talking about scheduling creative time and pros and cons of the Internet too.) Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher or stream the episode here.
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