In case you don't read anything except the first few lines of this email, I'd like to say a big thank you for being in my world during this testing year. It's been a joy to work closely with many artists, ceramicists, florists, photographers, small shop curators, and more. I look forward to continuing our creative conversations next year! |
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Hi First name / friend I wish I weren't so darn predictable, but every year at this time, I grind to a halt, grab my duvet and declare my hibernation to anyone who'll listen. There is a lovely Welsh word, saib, which means 'rest, pause, intermission,' so maybe that's how I'll describe these next few weeks. Sounds better than 'antisocial and knackered.' For you shopkeepers, a proper rest might be a few weeks off yet. This final quarter of the year is ordinarily your busiest time, and I know there are mixed comments about sales and plenty of anxiety about what the future holds. Some of you reading this have told me that you'll close your shops next year, and some of you will open brand new ones. Whatever your plans, I hope you find a moment during the holiday hubbub to reflect on just how resilient you've been for so long, and how your creativity has genuinely impacted and inspired others, including me. Thank you for doing the brave work and sharing your thoughts, ideas, creations with the rest of us. |
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Shall we work together in January? |
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Can you believe we are weeks away from the new year? In the spirit of always having something to look forward to, the next ‘Click with your Customers' workshop will be on Tuesday, January 25 at 10 am BST. Click here to read more and book your place! I can't wait to see you there. I am also now booking one-to-one clients in January. If you'd like to chat more about how I can support you as you plan, open and grow your online shop, send me a message and read more here. |
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In this section, I share helpful, practical ideas and tools to use in our small, creative businesses - and I share them in a jargon-free way. Hoorah! Please think of this as a communal shed on an allotment where we skillshare and swap best practices for online shopkeepers. This week: High-level planning for 2021. When I'm in the mood for gentle, big picture planning, I return to a simple approach I made up a few years ago: Play, Pause, Stop. I do it every few months because having all the ideas in January just seems unrealistic to me. Here's what you can do: Reflect: On paper, on a spreadsheet, however, reflect on the past few months. What went well for you? Why did it feel good? Let your mind wander, be curious about your feelings. What fills you with joy, pride, excitement, confidence from the past year? What didn’t go so well, and why? Which ideas haven’t taken off yet? Scribble, explore and bravely articulate your feelings. No one has to see your notes. Plan: Next, write three lists: what you can press PLAY on during the next year, what you might PAUSE, and what you can STOP. Here are some ideas to get you started: - Play: Keep going with your ideas that make your heart skip a beat. For you that might include a new product or range, creating at a certain pace or in a particular place. Ask for help, invest in mentoring, or outsource to unblock bottlenecks in your workflows. Experiment, beta test, sow some new seeds into your business and stay curious as they germinate.
- Pause: This might mean physically pausing more often in 2022. Pandemic fatigue is real, so plan your rest periods!! You may also need to press pause on ideas that you feel are not worth pursuing right now. Put them to one side, but revisit them at some point. Find a way to nurture them or mix them into something else. Be honest and realistic. Selling online is not for the fainthearted.
- Stop: Perhaps the most challenging list to write! I'm about to get bossy...Stop following people who make you feel crappy. Stop wasting money on courses that you never complete. Stop the glorification of busy. Stop comparing your start with someone else’s middle. Stop doing it all on your own. Phew, that’s a lot to give up! I wonder what your list will look like?
And if you want more bespoke support, look out for an in-person retreat that Steph at Innovate & Thrive and I will run in April 2022 (we both feel that Spring is the perfect season to reconnect with our goals). We'll gather a small group of creatives for reflection and planning, against the backdrop of a beautiful coastal setting. If you can, send me an email with your plans for next year. I'd love to cheer you on. |
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Welcome to this week's new subscribers - Cat, Winnie, Amy, Natalya, Dory, Peggy, Friederike, Julia, Sue, Cher, Lorna, Julia and Mimi. A big hearty, huggy hello to you. Why not forward this email to a friend (and if a lovely person sent you this email, join the list here!) I'd love to know your thoughts, comments, feedback, and suggestions as I develop Firain. Get in touch if you fancy a natter. Thank you for your continued support and for allowing me to greet you in your inbox. |
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I designed this email in Flodesk , which I find much easier to customise than other email providers. Click here for my discount code if you'd like to try it out. Firain photos by Tom Wright Firain branding by Somewhere Off Grid |
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