Village Market Newsletter.
Volumn Two No. 1
Do I have any creative ability? Where do I begin with starting my own business? These are the two questions I am asked most frequently. The answers will be different for each of us.
Starting your own business may come out of the necessity of needing to earn money or seeking a sense of purpose. To answer the question, yes, you do have talent and creative abilities. For years after starting Raynabows, I felt I was better at business than at being creative. You might ask, when and how did I finally start believing I was creative? I have to admit that, at first, the belief came from outside of me. My husband (at the time) saw me sitting in our bedroom making hair bows night after night for our children, Rayna and Anya. Those beautiful little girls had a lot of hair and I was constantly searching for unique hair bows for them. Finally he said, "Pat, I think you have something with those hair bows. I think you could sell them." My initial response was of doubt "Do you really think so?" Yet, it was enough encouragement to persuade me to go out and call on a few stores. The first store bought a few of my hair bows and I was absolutely happy. The second store placed an order for about $100.00 worth of hair bows. I was elated!
Did I ever feel discouraged along the way? Yes, many times. More stores did not buy than did. And the comments of store owners, I took very personally "These are not quite what we're looking for, the clasp is too large, could you make them in a different color? Could you lower the price?" The first criticisms were hard to hear even though some were very constructive. I would simply return home and try again to improve my product and make it better.
What kept me going? What kept me from giving up? I think that most of all the excitement of bringing an idea to life was very satisfying. Having others like it enough to purchase it was humbling and thrilling.
As far as feeling discouraged along the way, I finally saw that I could, to a large extent, control how I felt. If someone said my product was great, I felt happy. If someone said it wasn't quite what they were looking for, I felt pricks of failure. I finally decided that I could feel encouraged and full of optimism all of the time, by frequently telling myself that I was doing a wonderful job creating and making a product that others would like to have and enjoy. I said this to myself literally dozens of times. I wrote it down and read it back to myself. Eventually a change happened in me and I KNEW I was very good at doing what I do. I knew that others enjoyed the work of my hands and creative abilities. My motivation was finally coming from within me and continues to, even today. I still feel honored that people like Raynabows products and continually buy them. Each year new ideas are incorporated in order to produce better products for our customers.
If your experience is at all like mine, your route to a successful home based business will be filled with a lot of joys and challenges along the way. Your creative talent may be undeveloped, hidden or undiscovered, but it is there within you awaiting its awakening. Accessing those talents is an unending journey in which the process is just as fulfilling as the destination. The decision to begin is yours.
(We would love to hear about your own experiences with starting your business. Send us an email if you would like to share your experiences.) Newsletter@Raynabows.com
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