If you aren’t already doing so, wear your own art everywhere you go. Everywhere. And bring it with you everywhere. Obviously you can’t carry around display cases full of your work but if you make jewelry, it’s easy to take a dozen or so of your best selling styles and put them in a soft jewelry roll that you can pop in your bag. Then when someone comments that they like the piece you have on, tell them you have some with you that you can show. As soon as you bring it out, everyone crowds around looking at your work. All it takes is one person to purchase and it’s contagious. Always, always have your cards with contact info to hand out. If someone admires a piece, write the style name  or some identifiable memo on the card for them so that they can refer to it later.
Also carry a small notebook to jot down the person’s name, contact info and what they liked so that you can let them know when you have similar pieces. Ask permission to add people to your mailing list so that they will know when you have new designs or are doing shows.

Having your jewelry with you is also a great way to book home parties because if someone loves your work, they will want their friends to see it as well. You can make an arrangement with them that in exchange for hosting the party for you, they will get a discount on your jewelry or a complimentary piece as a hostess gift.

Particularly in the next couple of weeks, you’ll have lots of opportunity to sell your work to men who are at a loss for what to do for Valentines Day. Make sure you wear it and have samples with you everywhere.

Check out these other tips for selling jewelry for Valentines Day HERE

When I speak with people who have lots of ideas, I suggest they jot down some notes and keep them in a file. Once they’re recorded, the anxiety over possibly forgetting them subsides. The mind is then free to focus on one idea at a time and the file is always there when you are ready for it.

What about the ideas that you thought were brilliant when you stashed them away but when you have time, you never revisit them? Why are you neglecting them? Is it fear of failure?

If you’re risk adverse, let me ask you this. Which is scarier to you? Trying and failing or the regret of never having tried? I’m sure you can guess which frightens me. Regret, for sure. I take risks because I am more afraid of regret than failure. (and for the record, I have no regrets.)

It wasn’t until recently that I realized there are people who fear success. Some worry about having to live up to others’ expectations of them if they succeed. For some, it’s uncomfortable to be in the spotlight. Well, contrary to popular thought, I know that a private person can be successful without having to show up on Oprah.

Another excuse I hear for leaving a good idea by the wayside is the fear that someone will steal your idea.  Of course it’s possible that someone will copy your great idea, manufacture it cheaply in China and it will outsell your original. But you know what? You can’t do anything with your great idea if you never take it out of the closet.

Fear is definitely an obstacle to bringing ideas to life but the most common reason people give for not moving forward on their dreams is overwhelm. When I speak with artist and aspiring entrepreneurs about what’s been holding them back, they most frequently site overwhelm with not knowing what to do first. They just have no idea where to begin so they freeze and do nothing. One of the best ways to overcome that overwhelm is to get a clear vision of the whole project and then break it down into actionable small steps.

For some guidance on how to lay out the big picture of your dream so that you can figure out where to start, scroll down to the January 13, 2012 post titled  “Are you limiting your dream to the size of your desktop?”.

What’s happening with YOUR neglected ideas? If you’re ready to put it on the table and give it the attention your great idea deserves, check out what Barbara Winter , best selling author of “Making a Living without a Job” and I are doing to help a small group of aspiring entrepreneurs break through the barriers and start their dream businesses NOW. HERE’S the SCOOP

If you have an idea, however vague, that keeps popping back up no matter how deep  you bury it, it’s probably worth your time to finally take it seriously.

While I never make a major business decision without weighing it intellectually with facts and figures, I am a true believer in tuning into the subconscious. When an idea returns even after I have dismissed it, I know it’s time to give it serious consideration.

Because boomerang ideas can be pesky for a reason, Barbara Winter and I have planned something we’ve never done before. We’ve reserved a suite in Las Vegas to sit down with a select group of artists and aspiring entrepreneurs and bring those neglected ideas to what I call the “possibility circle”. That means you put your concept out there and we all put our “problem solver” hats on to bust through the obstacles and create a viable business.

This won’t be a lecture and it isn’t for you if you are looking for a “what do I want to do when I grow up” seminar. It will be a hands-on, hats-on how-to-make-it happen NOW workshop. If you’ve been sitting on an idea that won’t leave you alone until you do it, if you are ready to roll up your sleeves, dig in to the details and bring it to life, click HERE to learn more about how you can be part of this powerful mastermind. And if you do it NOW, you’re still in time for a pre-workshop phone consult with me. Here’s how you can join the circle.

Have you noticed that when women shop, they are often verbal about what they like. This can be used to their advantage and yours when it comes to making more sales. Whether you show at craft fairs, home parties in shops or online, you absolutely are missing the boat and a big chunk of cash if you do not keep an active wish list. (If you sell online, you MUST add this to your website.) If you sell in-person, here is what I did.

I had cards made that were double size. One half was my regular business card and the other half said “Hint, hint: I found exactly what I want at (my gallery or booth name). Then I had a blank line where I filled in the item description that I would recognize. I had them with a pen in several locations throughout my displays and I kept my own file with index cards under the person’s name with their wish list items. The women could then bring their “hint” card home to their husband, boyfriend, friend or family member. When it was time to look for a gift, the men could then call (or come in if you have a permanent location) and ask what was on his wife’s wish list. Everyone is happy. The guy is satisfied that he picked something she will love. The woman is happy that she got what she wanted instead of some random choice of his which she may or may not like and YOU got the sale. A win-win, right?

For more tips on How to Sell Jewelry to Men click HERE

Because I have a couple of different businesses, I am frequently bouncing between websites and blog posts and twitter accounts. Part of the challenge is the constant generation of ideas whirling in my brain faster than I can get them all down. So, I switch over to another page or file and record the thought. I get things accomplished but I know I could do better if I focused on one task at a time.

Every year I pick a word and for 2012, my word is FOCUS. I’ve not decided exactly how I will apply this to my work day but I have a few ideas. I may choose to work strictly on one business on certain days. If I am doing a project for Inspired Livelihood and something comes up for Craft Biz Blog, I’ll possibly just pretend that Craft Biz Coach is out of the office today and she will get back with you tomorrow. I’ll keep my Inspired Livelihood hat on all day. And then how do I handle areas of overlap in my businesses? Maybe I’ll divide my day spending morning on one biz and afternoon on the other.

As an artist, you may work on crafts that require diverse processes. Do you design Monday, fabricate Tuesday, solder Wednesday, market Thursday and pack and ship Friday? Do you throw pots in the morning, glaze others in the afternoon while others are firing? What happens when you get a burst of creative energy on a day that’s designated a marketing day? How do you organize your tasks so that you maintain sharp focus while continuing to be open to flow of inspiration?

My friend Barbara Winter has some great tips on 3 Ways to Sharpen your Focus HERE

Most men won’t even shop for  presents until tomorrow and if you make handmade jewelry, you should exploit those procrastinators. It’s not too late to set up a last minute trunk shows at a men’s hair salon,  health club or even a pub where men hang out. If you have the chutzpa (or ambition) to walk into any male-trafficked locale tomorrow with a trunk of your gorgeous wares, you have a captive audience of guys who will see you as their savior because they don’t have to hit the mall and guess what she might like. You may offer to give the proprietor a percentage, a donation to his favorite charity or better yet a free piece for the woman in his life, but you may find they are happy to just let you hang out because the excitement may generate more traffic and business for the venue as well. Do you have any idea how many men would love to have your help in choosing a piece of hand crafted jewelry for their wives or girlfriends rather than have to scour shops trying to figure out what girls want?  After a successful sale, you’ll have an open invitation to return for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. See the December post on how to sell handmade jewelry to men. Or, go to the right of this page to get 13 Free Tips on Turning Your Crafts into CAsh Now.

A lot goes into choosing the pallette and the selection is primarily based on making the colors different enough from the past year that people feel they must update. Yes, it’s all about merchandizing. So, while the colors for 2012 shades of orange, gold, purple, aqua, green and brown, they are very specific hues of those colors. The  pinks are “sweet lilac” and “cabaret” and the while aqua has been big for a couple of years now, this is a very specific “cockatoo”.

So why does this matter for you as a crafter? Because people are going to buy those colors or compliments of them subconsciously. They get used to seeing them in shops and catalogs, recognize them and are attracted to them, possibly because of the familiarity. If you make wear-ables such as jewelry or scarves, your customers are probably looking for pieces to compliment their wardrobe so you do need to become familiar with the color trends and make sure that you do have at least a portion of your line in that pallette. If you attend bead shows or wholesale fabric shows, be sure to bring the pallette along and use it as a guide for purchasing your supplies. And by all means, if you exhibit at wholesale tradeshows, the pallette should be part of your booth display because retailers will be impressed that you have planned your line around what will sell best in their shops and that will increase your sales.

How has color trend influenced your craft business in the past year? As always, you’re invited to comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts and observations on this.