In the past month, I’ve had several conversations with quilters and fiber artists about how they view their “businesses.” Several really don’t think of themselves as business people. They are happy to share their work/skills and don’t think about the money beyond meeting their expenses. Is this running a business? Not really; it’s supporting your hobby. And, if that’s what you want, that’s perfect for you. If, however, you really want a business, here are some tips:

1. Start to think about how you view your business and work on your mindset if needed. Do you buy into the starving artist mentality? Why? A business is supposed to make a profit. It’s not a bad thing. Is your business structured to do that? And, are you ready, willing and able to do that?

2. Consider how others view your business. Do people think you are running a successful business? Or do they think you make quilts or art for fun and sell it on the side? You might look at how other business people view you vs. how your family and close friends view you, too. Do you have established routines and discipline or do you invoke the solopreneur’s version of “writers’ block” to run an errand or go shopping? Do you want other people and your family to view you as a business person? And, if they don’t, does this affect how your view yourself?

3. Do you know your numbers? It’s critical that you know how much money is coming in and how much is going out. You need to track these numbers and use the information to make decisions about your business. If you don’t understand your numbers, The Professional Quilter is currently running a terrific series by Sue Tucker, who is the CFO at Studio 180 Design.

4. How do you structure your day? Remember back when you had that corporate job. You had tasks to complete. Your role had a place in the company and its profit structure. Now that you are on your own, the freedom is great. That freedom, however, imposes a requirement for discipline. If you used a planner/calendar at your corporate job, consider adapting the same or similar system now that you run your own business. Committing the appropriate time to your business will make a difference.

Running your business is much harder work than pursuing your hobby. It’s just as much fun. And, in the end, it has the possibility of being much more rewarding.

Please share your thoughts below.

On our call last week, someone asked me if I was good at multi-tasking. I think she thought I get lots done so I must use that process.

I try hard not to be a multitasker? How about you? Do you read your e-mail while you’re on the phone and at the same time bind your quilt? Quite the picture, isn’t it?

According to Harvard Business Review blogger Paul Atchley, studies show that multitaskers are less efficient, perhaps by as much as 40%, than they think. He says that it takes an average of 15 minutes – and I’ve read numbers as high as 40 minutes – to reorient oneself to the main task. Wow – 15 minutes! Can you imagine how much time you waste on a daily basis trying to get back to the task at hand?

If you want to break your multitasking habit, here are four tips:

1. Focus on one task at a time. Atchley says our attention starts to wane after 18 minutes. He suggests that if that happens and you switch to a different task, make notes about the first task so it’s easier when you go back. I think that if your attention wanes, it might be time for a quick stretch and then quickly re-focus on the same task.

2. Since I mentioned focusing on a task, be sure to divide your project into doable tasks. Set a timer for the task. I find it easier to focus if I have specifically set the time aside.

3. Eliminate distractions. This could be closing the door to your studio, letting the answering machine pick up the calls, stopping the audible tones of your e-mail. What’s key is paying attention  – again focus – to your task.

4. Stick with it until it’s done and done right.

And, if you think multi-tasking is only a problem today, here’s a good quote from Lord Chesterton, attributed to a letter to his son in the 1740s:

“There is time enough for everything in the course of the day if you do but one thing at once; but there is not time enough in the year if you will do two things at a time.”

Good luck single-tasking.

Please share your thoughts below.

1. You are never too old or challenged to reach that dream.

While we saw our share of young men and women, even younger girls and boys, the oldest U.S. Olympian is 54-year old equestrian Karen O’Connor. She doesn’t even come close to being the oldest for this year’s Olympics. That goes to 71-year old Hiroshi Hokestu, also an equestrian. As for being challenged, consider the South African sprint runner Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee who competed with his J-shaped prosthetics. In that same category would be Im Dong-Hyun, an archer from South Korea who is legally blind and wears nothing to correct his sight. Or even Malaysian shooter Suryani Mohamed Taibi, who participated in the Olympic games 34 weeks pregnant.

2. Be “all in” all the time.

The Badminton World Federation disqualified eight female badminton players from China, South Korea and Indonesia from the Olympic doubles competition for trying to lose matches to receive a more favorable draw. I learned that this was not the first time nor the first sport where this happened. Another example, the Japanese women’s soccer coach had his team play for a 0-0 tie with South Africa so it didn’t have to travel to Scotland where it might have to face the US. If we act from a place of service, we won’t be scheming to get ahead. We’ll just be ahead, or learn how to get there honestly.

3. Perseverance, determination and focus pay off.

Gymnastics is one of my favorites to watch and I loved watching the USA girls win the gold. When it was down to the finals, they knew they had to “stick” it and did. You see those qualities in all the athletes.

4. Protect your intellectual property.

This happened earlier this summer. Ravelry, the online knitting community, was set to hold its third Ravelympics, the timing of which coincided with the Olympics. The U.S. Olympic Committee didn’t think much of the Ravelympics and sent the 2-million member group a cease-and-desist letter stating, “We believe using the name ‘Ravelympics’ for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games. It is disrespectful to our country’s finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work.” Of course, the USOC didn’t know what they were dealing with when it comes to knitters and eventually apologized for any insult and its plans to take legal action seemed to unravel. As for Ravelry, it hosted the Ravellenic Games.

5. Work in your brilliance.

In team sports, each person has a role. A good example is gymnastics. While the whole team needs to be excellent overall, each person is likely to be brilliant at one aspect, for example, the balance beam. (I marvel that someone can do a flip on that four-inch wide beam.) And, some members are good leading off the event and others ending the event. If you think back to the women’s vault, Jordyn Wieber, who had failed to qualify for the overall, led off, nailed her first vault setting up the rest of the team. In your business, look for where you can work in your brilliance and let other team members do the same.

6. Keep improving.

Olympic athletes continually push themselves to be faster, stronger, better than they’ve ever been. Look at the numbers of athletes who return to the Olympics competition again and again, bettering their results each time. This is what builds skills and confidence for us.

7. Have a good support system.

While the athletes are on their own competing in many events, off the course they do have a strong and vast support team. That includes family, friends, coaches and untold fans. And those fans don’t even have to be in the stadium. I’m sure wherever you lived, you watched the home support team of your local athlete. I remember seeing the coverage of the back-home-supporters in the gym watching 15-year-old Katie Ledecky from Bethesda win a gold medal. Look for people you can add to your support system to help keep you grounded, give you advice, cheer you on and help pick you up.

8. We are all champions.

From the influence each of the Olympians had on others around them, we all have that influence on those around us. So take time to be the champion for others.

What lessons did you see from the Olympics? Please share your thoughts below.

On Monday I received a lovely email from a friend wishing me Happy Birthday and reminding me of all I had accomplished. She also said that I had influenced many more artists than I could imagine. That was a wonderful reminder for me to take some time during the day to reflect on those two thoughts.

I find as entrepreneurs that we often do not take time to look at our accomplishments. We tend to have the end goal in mind and just keep working toward that. We don’t look at all we accomplish, and we often don’t celebrate those we do. Last week I mentioned that I like – or try – to end my day with a review what I accomplished during the day. It’s nice to have a formal mechanism for this, whether it’s a journal you update daily or just notes and the check marks of completed items on your calendar page. What was fun for me was to go back through the year and see what I had accomplished and how I am in a different place today than I was in January.

The second part of my friend’s email was about the influence I had that I didn’t realize. Again, to some extent its the “not looking back” part. I talked some about this recently when I wrote about the ripple effect. Yes, I can see the influence I have on a direct basis. That’s easy. Someone makes more money because I made a suggestion for her business or she starts to build her list of followers because of another. I have a harder time seeing this on a larger scale. It could be an off-hand comment I make to a large group about trying something new. I may never realize that comment set something in motion for someone to create something new, whether that’s artwork or a product; to venture down an uncharted path; or to make positive changes in her life. I think that both the influence I know about AND the influence I don’t are the reasons I find so much joy in what I do.

So thank you, Christine, for the wonderful reminder. And, thank you to my clients, members, followers and e-zine readers for letting me share what I know with you.

When was the last time you looked at what you accomplished? And do you have a formal mechanism for doing this? Do you know who you are influencing?

Please share your thoughts below.

Earlier this week I was stopped at a railroad bridge and started thinking about what we learned as kids about crossing the train tracks. Stop, look and listen. Do you remember that?

The next morning I looked at the mountain of work on my desk – as well as those bright, shiny objects across the room – and wondered where I should start. I picked up the task on the top and started to work. Shortly I became distracted and found myself on the way to the kitchen for another cup of tea. Back to my desk. What was I working on? I actually picked up the pile on the desk and on the bottom was my planner. I am usually quite good about starting my day with looking at what’s on tap and reviewing what needs to be done. But not today. Then my mind drifted back to the railroad bridge. I realized I could put those same words to use with my work.

Stop: Don’t just dive into your day or the first item on your desk.

Look: See what is scheduled for the day and consider what you need to accomplish and what your priorities are.

Listen: Ask yourself if those items are still pertinent or something else needs to be done.

As I went through the day, I thought about those words and how they came into play as I worked. For me, look and listen both meant to give my full attention to something. That certainly was the purpose of looking and listening for the train on the tracks. Keeping those words in mind really let me focus on what needed to get done.

Mid-afternoon I often take a break. It might be to sit with a glass of iced tea and look at a magazine or, as yesterday, to take a walk through the yard. I thought about how I put those same words into action here. I stopped, gave my attention to relaxing, and listened to the sounds around me.

At the end of each day, I try to review what I accomplished and set an agenda for the next day. (Try being the operative word on some days.) Again, it was stopping what I was doing, looking at what I did and listening to what needed to be done next.

How do you put those words into action?

Please share your thoughts below.

The Pumpkin Plan
Mike Michalowicz
Penguin Books; $26.95

This week’s book isn’t directly about quilting, it is about building and sustaining your entrepreneurial business. The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field is an entertaining read that you can really learn from.

In the book, author Mike Michalowicz uses the growth of a freakishly large pumpkin – you know the kind you hear about at state fairs in the fall – as a metaphor for how an entrepreneur can successfully manage and grow a business. He addresses entrepreneurial burn-out, how to handle clients that sap your energy, how to staff your entrepreneurial business, and how to recognize when it is time to make a change in your offering. And throughout the chapters, he includes “Work the Plan” sections that will help you to create great success in your business.

Look for the book at your favorite book retailer. Here’s a link to  Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Last week I received an email from Clara Vargas, a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army. Clara is currently stationed at Shinand Airbase in Afghanistan. Clara and her team of American and International soldiers are tasked with the mission of educating more than 4,000 widowed Afghan women how to sew. The goal is two fold: to show the Afghan people that they can do for themselves rather than rely on charity or terrorists for survival and to show them that American troops are there to keep them safe and to help them rebuild their country for themselves and their children. At the end of 2010, when Lisa Steele, owner of Bella Fabrics in Virginia Beach, Va., and Clara’s home shop owner, learned of the program, she jumped on board and began pulling other shop owners as well as industry giants, such as Checker, into a program to support Clara’s mission. You can learn more about the program at www.clarascalling.com.

Back to my email. I received an email from Clara along with some of her other industry contacts letting us know that Lisa had been named 2012 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Isle of Wight County (Va.) Department of Economic Development. Clara and I then traded emails back and forth about the mission and what is happening now. I sent her a copy of the article I wrote last summer in The Professional Quilterand she sent me pictures I’ve placed on the blog and on Facebook of the Afghan women smiling with their new sewing machines.In her email, Clara wrote to me, “I always said, ‘You don’t have to be a Soldier to make a different around the World.’ You’re one of my Heros! I truly LOVE the article.”God is good to me, he provided you to our mission. I thank you again, for keeping our Soldiers safe in Afghanistan, we are winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people, and I believe because of that more Soldiers will returned Home to their loved ones.”Her email got me thinking about the ripple effect and how even the smallest thing we do makes a difference. Did I think writing an article and publicizing the mission was keeping solders safe? It’s easy for me to look at what I do and not see something significant. OK, I publish a magazine and coach women on how to grow their creative businesses. If I really think about it, I can see how helping someone grow her business in turn lets her support herself, add to her family support or change how she views the importance of her contribution. But I need to look even further to the people that person will effect. It’s really pretty astounding what one person can do in the scheme of things.

It’s definitely Quilt Show Season! AQS/Paducah was last week, Quilt Festival/Cincinnati and MQX the week before, and Machine Quilters Showcase and Quilt Market are in a couple of weeks. That’s just the larger shows. I think you can find a local show almost any weekend now. This past weekend I enjoyed one of the local guild’s annual shows.

Vending at these shows can be draining and it’s key to keep your energy up if you are to have a good show. Here are eight tips to help you have your best show yet:

1. Set an intention or goal for the show. Is it to make a certain amount of sales, to get your patterns picked up by a distributor, to test a new product, to get rid of aging stock? When you are clear on your intent, you’ll be more focused, and your results will show that.

2. Establish eye contact with show visitors, smile and engage them in a conversation. Ask questions that will lead to an answer that is not yes or no. Share something of yourself and your product. Your customer is buying you as much as she is buying your product. And, I’m sure you’ve been to a show where the vendor sits on a chair in the corner of an empty booth. Of course it’s empty; no one feels welcome to enter! Get up and greet your customer.

3. Demo if you can. Nothing draws a crowd like a demonstration. Next time you are at a show as a visitor, take a look at the more crowded booths. Many will have a group watching a demo. This engages your customer and leads to more sales.

4. Qualify your buyer, i.e., separate the browsers from the buyers. Quilt Market is filled with what I call “the entourage,” quilters who want to see what Market is all about. And, I love quilters who want to become involved in our industry; they keep our industry vital. However, while they may have some influence or be the buyer of the future, they are not the decision-maker today. I’m not saying to ignore them or be rude. You can engage them in a conversation, only find out who makes the buying decision and try to get to that person.

5. Have plenty of handouts and brochures. Not everyone is ready to make a decision when they first meet you. Some like to take materials back to the hotel room and compare before buying. Be sure to bring an original of your handouts in the event you need to get copies during the show.

6. Have a way for people to contact you later. I recently visited an artists cooperative, and while all the artists had business cards none included a web site on the card. Many times, I’d like to peruse the artist’s web site and see what other work she might have. Not all your buyers will purchase while they are in your booth or even at the show. Make it easy for them to see your product line.

7. Put your website, phone number, booth number on all your handouts and receipts. Buyers will share their finds with their friends and this will lead to more sales. At one of the first shows I vended in the 1990s, a friend stopped by the booth and showed me a new notion. She wanted to purchase another, only she didn’t know the name of the vendor or where he was located, and the receipt offered no help. Neither did I. (As it turned out, he was in my row!)

8. Keep up your energy. If you are doing multi-day shows, it’s easy to get run-down. Have healthy snacks and water in the booth. Try to stick to your regular sleeping routine, something I find hard to do at shows. If your energy is zapped, it will show in your results.

Hope these tips add to the success of your next show.

Please share your best vending tips below.

Does it seem like your time just slips away and that at the end of the day, you didn’t accomplish all you planned? Do you have dreams about what you want to do in your spare time, only you don’t have any?

For some people it’s not being clear on what you want from your day – or even your life. There’s that clarity thing again, but it really is the key to everything. One of the exercises I often hear suggested is to look at your life and decide what your days would be like if you were not limited by time or money. Once you do that, here are some additional steps.

1. Get clear about how you are really spending your time. To do this, you will need to track how you are actually spending your time, all of it. Keep a diary – kind of like when you keep track of what you eat – of what you do with all the time in your day. Start with when you get up and go through the end of the day. Do this for at least three days, preferably a week. I guarantee you will learn something unexpected.

2. Once you see how you really spend your time, review what you do that isn’t part of that ideal day. (If your ideal day was sitting by the water in the Caribbean with an umbrella drink, you might have a lot that doesn’t fit, but at least you know what you’re aiming for!) Look at what you are doing that could be done by someone else on your team. If you don’t have a team, look at what you could have someone do if you did, and consider moving in that direction.

3. Consider what you are doing that you shouldn’t be doing at all. If you find lots of those activities, learn how to say no. Look at those where you should be limiting your time, e.g., surfing the Internet. What you do should be using your skills and helping you pursue your goals.

4. Look at what activities you pursue that are really your passion. Try to spend more time there.

5. Review which activities are “putting out fires.” You may be familiar with Stephen Covey’s quadrants from his Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Things are urgent and important; important and not urgent; not important and urgent; or not important and not urgent. Your goal should be to spend time in the important and not urgent quadrant. If you are spending time in the urgent and important quadrant, you are putting out fires. Likely, this is because you didn’t prioritize or you procrastinated. Many of us spend too much time in the not important or not urgent areas and then we end up with those fires to put out.

6. If you want to spend time appropriately, plan your day the night before. That way you decide your priorities and can get more accomplished.

Remember, how you spend your time is how you spend your life.

Do you have any tips on spending your time more appropriately? Please share your thoughts below.

One of the things we talked about during the Creative Arts Business Summit was building a support team for your business. Teams are one way to leverage your business to grow. When I think of professionals in the quilt and fiber arts industry who do this, I first think of pattern designers. They know that they cannot possibly stuff all those patterns into plastic bags themselves. It’s not long before they’ve enlisted every family member and friend in that task. At some point it becomes so unwieldy, they look for additional help, often at the local sheltered workshop.

So, who do you put on your team? I like to look at the team as three legs on your company stool. You have your advisory team, your work team and your support team. And, of course, some people may be on more than one team.

Your advisory team might include your accountant, your lawyer, your banker and your insurance agent. They are people who help your business stay legal and in the black. You might talk them to once a year or once a month or as the need arises.

Your work team helps you on a more day-to-day basis or project basis to get your work out into the world. It might include the pattern stuffers and testers, your virtual assistant, your bookkeeper, your web designer and web tech person, your photographer, your sales reps.

Your support team might add your spouse, your networking group or mastermind partners, your coach. It might include your housekeeper or day care provider so you can focus on your business.

Where do you find these people to help you so that you can work on your business? Friends and colleagues are good place to start for a recommendation. Your guild or other groups you frequent are another source. You can also try Craig’s list or look online. A google search may be just what you need. I have one client who is successful using odesk.com. Another uses elance.com. Your IAPQ member benefits are another source. You can use our IP attorney if that need arises. And, if you are looking to add a virtual assistant to your team, Suzanne Moore can help you identify what your needs are.

I believe that once you add support in the way of team members you will begin to see your business grow in ways you just didn’t expect. And, it’s a wonderful change.

Who do you have on your team and when did you realize that you needed to add to your team? Please share your thoughts below.