Published monthly, on the 15th of each month
Published and edited by Angela Booth

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Editorial: Issue 100 of Creative Small Biz

Ten Top Tips From Our First Ten Issues [Article — A. Booth ]

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Editorial: Issue 100 of Creative Small Biz

Wow, we're 100! It's hard to believe that we're now at three figures. I've been rereading our first few issues, and have compiled Ten Top Tips from issues One to Ten. We've published some fantastic material to help you to build and run your creative small business over the years.

If you're looking for reading material over the holiday break, go through the newsletter archives on Digital-e:

http://www.digital-e.biz/archive.html

In another ten short days, Christmas will be here. Birgitt and I wish you and yours everything that you wish for yourselves this joyous season, and for 2005.

Your yearly review, and plans for 2005

At this time of the year, you'll be looking back over your accomplishments, and are looking ahead to the new year.

Did you achieve everything you set out to achieve in 2004? Whether you did or not, 2005 is a new opportunity. Consider:

• making ONE change in your working habits which will help you to achieve the results you want in 2005. Change is always difficult, and you'll be tempted to make a whole raft of New Year's Resolutions, so just aim for one change.
• setting measurable goals. "I want to sell more" isn’t a goal. It's a wish. "I will sell one article per week in January" is a goal.
• keeping a work log.

Relax and enjoy, and stay safe over the holiday break.

See you in 2005!

All best wishes from

Angela

Copyright © 2004 by Angela Booth. All rights reserved.

Tip One: Public Relations is about image and branding, not publicity (from Issue #1)

Many entrepreneurs feel that if their mention in a newspaper or magazine doesn’t immediately lead to new business, their PR activities have failed. Not so. It’s important that you look for opportunities which, while they may bring you no instant monetary return, do nevertheless enhance your profile and improve your image. As an equivalent example in the corporate world, think of sponsorships: big business knows that sponsoring is about their image and branding, not about instant returns.

Tip Two: Actively look for Multiple Income Streams (from Issue #2)

The world is changing fast. Most of the jobs around today weren't in existence a decade ago. Actively looking for your own Multiple Income Streams means that you won’t be blindsided if your current work dries up for whatever reason.

Here's how to recognize a new Income Stream that's right for you:

• it gets you enthusiastic;
• you feel you can do it right now, or with some practise or training;
• it has a market.

Tip Three: Produce! create anywhere (from Issue #3)

Take a notebook, or a tape recorder and camera with you everywhere. Snatch five minutes (even if it's in a restroom) and write, or sketch.

Tip Four: Charge what you're worth (from Issue #4)

How much are you worth? You can't stay in business if you don’t know. However, there's more to pricing than setting your basic prices. If you have years of experience, offer fast turnaround, and are prepared to handle jobs on weekends, and overnight, you can charge more.

Tip Five: Watch your mental images (from Issue #5)

Who's in your head? Two of you. Your brain has two halves, so you're two people. Truly. There's the left brain analytical you, and the right brain creative you.

Your right brain has charge of your subconscious mind. And if you sabotage yourself, your subconscious is what's doing it.

I found writing exhausting for years. Even thinking about writing made me tired. I dieted, started new exercise programs, gulped vitamin pills, got more sleep. Didn’t work. I'd finish a few hours of writing completely worn out.

Then an image formed in my mind. The image of a mountain climber, toiling up the rocky slope of a steep, ice-covered mountain.

Numb fingers. Aching legs. Deep crevasses on either side of me.

That explained the exhaustion. My subconscious equated writing with mountain climbing.

So I changed my image of my writer-self. My new image is of a seed-sower, walking along the rows of a tilled field. The field has black, rich soil. I scatter handfuls of seeds from a bag as I stroll along in the warm sun.

This new image makes me feel pleasantly relaxed.

It works. Writing no longer makes me tired. I'm just ambling along, scattering seeds.

If you find marketing difficult, ask yourself what image you're holding of marketing.

Tip Six: Get it in writing — make sure you have an agreement (from Issue #6)

If you provide a service, you need a basic agreement that you automatically give to all new clients. Always insist on something in writing, whether you fax them your own agreement, or they fax you a purchase order. Without the details of the project in writing, you'll forget what you said, or they'll forget what they said. It's worth taking the extra trouble to spell it all out in writing — however briefly — so that everyone's on the same page.

Tip Seven: Negative thoughts are just thoughts — replace them with positive feelings (from Issue #7)

Developing the ability to feel positive about yourself starts with recognizing when your thinking is negative.

Thoughts are like waves on the ocean. The ocean produces waves, your mind produces thoughts. Thoughts lead to emotions. You can’t stop your thoughts, but you can refuse to buy into them.

Noticing your thoughts, especially recognizing negative thoughts, is a major achievement. It takes a while to realize when you're thinking negatively, because for many of us, negative thinking comes more easily than feeling positive.

When negative thoughts discourage you, replace them with a positive feeling. Think of something you love: going to the movies, pizza, puppies.

Tip Eight: Write to sell, by combining entertainment and information (from Issue #8)

The best way to sell either fiction or non-fiction is to combine both in your writing.

Mix a dash of entertainment with your information. That is, when you're writing an information product, an article or a book, even though it's non-fiction, don’t be dull. Check out the wildly popular For Dummies series of books: good information, delivered with an entertaining style.

Tip Nine: Write proposals to get freelance work (from Issue #9)

If you're a freelancer looking for work, drop that CV! Your primary tool for generating work is a proposal, not a CV.

Some of your proposals will be written in response to Requests for Proposals (RFPs), where businesses put out a call for proposals to provide solutions to problems.

The proposals you generate on your own, after you've identified a need the client has, are called Unsolicited Proposals. By creating lots of proposals, you get lots of work.

Tip Ten: Write an article a day (from Issue #10)

Want to become a better writer? Easy. Just write an article a day.

When you write each and every day, you develop skill. Writing is a skill that demands the easy interaction of various parts of your brain. This interaction isn't developed without practice, nor does the interaction seem to remain viable unless you consistently practice — unless you write every day.

I imagine writing skills as being like developing communication pathways between different areas in the brain. If you don’t practice your writing daily, those pathways disappear, just like untraversed paths through a forest.