Comments on: The ins and outs of your first impression (part 2 – look outward)

By: Stacey Cornelius

Stacey Cornelius — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:12:48 +0000

I’m with you, Sally – a messy environment seeps into my head. Even a small change makes a difference.

And you beat me to the punch about the business cards. You should always have them, just in case. Not to do a hard sell, but to invite someone who’s interested into your virtual studio or gallery. People enjoy that.

By: Sally Mack

Sally Mack — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 14:57:32 +0000

“Ditching the clutter” in my case includes sprucing up my home. I don’t have a studio but the look of my home has not reflected the same level of care as my photos. That is changing little by little.

A few months ago, I purchased an old, ugly wooden chest of drawers from a thrift store, thinking I could live with its awful reddish-brown stain. It didn’t take long for me to decide that I couldn’t and began refinishing it. Months and lots of hard work later, it’s my most beautiful piece of furniture.

Then I looked at my tattered old livingroom curtains–and ordered new ones. (No way was I to learn how to sew!)

The ugly chest of drawers and tawdry curtains bothered me–cluttered my thinking. They’re easy “fixes” and I’m thrilled with the results.

Stacey, you’re absolutely right about business cards. You might add that if anyone has them, s/he should take them EVERYwhere because you never know when you’ll meet someone to whom you want to give one. I keep a few in my wallet, camera bag, tripod bag, backpack.

By: Stacey Cornelius

Stacey Cornelius — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:46:05 +0000

If you can make one thing generate enough income, great. If you need a couple of sources, it’s important to finesse them so they don’t take up too much time. You can think about time management, streamlining processes, hiring someone to do some parts, like bookkeeping.

Keeping to a schedule can help with focus.

By: Kathy G

Kathy G — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:27:37 +0000

I agree, I feel like I am always scrambling to keep the money coming in from 3 or 4 different venues so that nothing seems to get 100% of my attention…and I wonder why I can’t FOCUS! My husband thinks I need to decide on one thing and but all my attention towards that “one thing”…I am just not sure that one thing will bring in enough income….and yes Bill I am distracted ALL day by the bright sparkles on the internet.

By: Stacey Cornelius

Stacey Cornelius — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:13:38 +0000

Oh, Bill, shiny objects. I’m with you, all the way. Being self-employed on top of it really ices the cake. When you work for someone else, there’s structure in place. When you fly solo, you have to do the work as well as establish the structure. Your plate gets full very fast.

I think a lot of us share your plan for 2010.

By: Stacey Cornelius

Stacey Cornelius — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:11:17 +0000

Kathy, your gut is paying attention, isn’t it. And I guess it’s time for me to start thinking seriously about officially offering coaching services.

By: Bill Rice

Bill Rice — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:06:59 +0000

Ditch the Clutter and Kathy’s feeling of being spread too thin really resonant with me.

I think it is a by-product of the swiftness and simplicity of social media and the Web in general. It has the tends to flutter our attention from one shiny object to the next.

Focus and synergy are big things in my 2010 plan. Good luck Kathy!

By: Kathy G

Kathy G — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:39:47 +0000

My gut told me at 3am this morning that maybe I need to somehow bring all these venues together and get more cohesive…I am feeling really scattered in too many different direction…I may need your professional help!

By: Stacey Cornelius

Stacey Cornelius — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:58:45 +0000

Hmm. There are lots of people with blogs you can connect with to get people interested in WhimRose. There’s definitely a market for what you make. And you have some good momentum going. What does your gut say?

By: Kathy G

Kathy G — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:50:08 +0000

Maybe it is time to rethink my website(www.whimrose.com), I actually had that long before my blog. I have had no business from the website since I quit advertising on Google and Yahoo.