Resolutions for 2010...What About Your Business?

Have you committed to any New Year’s resolutions for 2010?  How about for your business?  The fam here at Meylah have several core values that get us out of bed in the morning and when we decided to write a blog post about New Year’s resolutions for artists or crafters' small businesses, we found that all our ideas tied closely to our own values.  So with that, we thought we’d share a few.

Be Committed to Helping Each Other

Reach out to your community and network of artists and crafters and discuss all your pain points.  You never know, your strengths may be another’s weakness and vice-versa.  By exchanging stories, you will inevitably get new ideas for how to run your business more smoothly.

Live and Breathe Creativity

Try to find new things that inspire you every day and be open to taking in new ideas.  Some of the best ideas come from others if you just take the time to listen.  When I make jewelry, I love pulling out all my supplies when my friends are around and letting them share their design ideas.  Oftentimes, they come up with designs that have never even crossed my mind, but I end up absolutely loving them.  Take these lucite filigree earrings, for example, which I made recently based on a suggestion from a gal who works at the local bead store.  I can’t wait to go back and thank her!

I have a whole notebook dedicated to design inspirations, when I’m looking through magazines and I spot something that strikes me, I rip that page out and add it to my notebook.  Then, whenever I’m going through a creative block, I know I can refer back to my notebook to get the creative juices flowing again.

Together We Create a Great Experience

I read a quote in a book called We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business by Barry Libert & Jon Spector that said, “By harnessing the power of crowds, more businesspeople can make – and are making – better decisions and bigger profits.”  By joining together and building partnerships, the creative community is so much stronger.  Our good friend Rajesh Setty wrote a great blog post on sharing our knowledge with each other and why we all need to share so don't be afraid to share your thoughts and ideas with others so we can all gain and grow together.

Show Passion in All That You Do

I know this one seems a little cliché, but it helps...just try singing in the shower tomorrow, I guarantee that extra little surge will make the rest of your day better.  Plus, it’s totally contagious, when you are excited, others get excited too.

Give Before You Take

Give back to your communities and to charities.  At Meylah, we have been blessed and totally inspired by people like Chirag Vedullapalli and Christina Huarte, who donate a portion of their proceeds to amazing causes such as Seattle Children’s Hospital and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  I’m convinced that people are drawn to them, as well as their products because of their giving nature.  It comes back tenfold.

Smile and Have Fun

Need I say more?  You only live once, so have a good time while you are at it!  If you are no longer enjoying what you do, take a step back and analyze what adjustments you can make to get you back in the groove.

Foster Dynamic Learning

Have you ever heard the expression "You learn something every day if you pay attention?"  Whether you are teaching or trying to learn something new, being in a learning environment is vital to your success.  It prevents you from getting stale!  If you need a jumpstart to get motivated, check out some of the books Ram suggested reading to ring in the New Year in his post, 10 Valuable Resources to Read Over the Holidays or review some of our Byte-Syze Learning tutorials to help your business.

Be Humble and Honest

The most inspirational and amazing people I’ve met don’t gloat about their successes and they have no trouble talking about the realities of the challenges they’ve faced along the way.  If you make a mistake, accept it and learn from it, your customers will like you more for being honest and straightforward with them!  We are all human!

Do More with Less

Commit to reducing costs and expenses in the New Year.  For me, I’ve been amazed at how far a little research has taken me in terms of getting better deals.  Yes, sometimes convenience beats out cost, but if you take a little time shopping around for supplies, you can find great ways to stretch your dollar without a ton of effort.  Also, get creative with your resources.  This year, rather than always going out to buy something new, I’ve been much more creative repurposing items from around the house to build attractive displays.

Embrace Change

We all know that 2009 has been tough on the economy and that people have really had to adapt for survival.  It’s a good lesson for everyone to keep in mind.  Sometimes we all really have to step outside of our comfort zones in order to grow and to stay competitive.  A few great ways to embrace change are by adapting to the needs of your customers and experimenting with new technologies.

I hope this list has ignited a spark for your resolutions as we head into the new decade!  Best wishes to you and your business in the new year and be sure and let us know what we should add to the list!