The Worst Mistake is Being Too Afraid to Make One

OK so now I'm going to spill some of the beans and let you guys in on a little secret of excitement I mentioned this morning on FB. 


As many of you know I recently took a webinar by the wonderful Michelle Ward - the When I Grow Up Coach about my Effective Escape (AKA effectively preparing to leave the lifestyle I have now to follow my real dreams of running Innov8ive Knits full time). Having a solid plan gave me some serious courage! The courage to do a lot of things I would have never imagined I could do!


One of the things I've recently gotten the juice to do is spread the Innov8ive Knits love BEYOND Etsy. I am officially starting to apply for local craft shows right here in southern Alabama!!! A goal of mine this year is to participate in at LEAST one craft/art fair although 2-3 would be even better. It all depends on how the cookie crumbles, and who accepts my applications. I've never done one before and am filled with enthusiasm (and a healthy helping of fear to be honest) about it!

Little Chunk of My Application

 To subdue the fears I will say that my Etsy community and close friends have been beyond words helpful and encouraging about it. More so than I ever expected and it has given me the much appreciated ammo that I needed to go through with it. No one likes being told "No" which is definitely a possibility, but "the worst mistake is being too afraid to make one" (That's not my quote BTW I found it floating around online so I'm officially not taking credit for it LOL) and I'm not going to let that hold me and my blossoming business back. 


I'm cramming for application deadlines as I type because the season is fast approaching. And if accepted (fingers mucho crossed) I'll have to start knitting in my sleep in addition of just before I go to work, when I get off, on my lunch break, and in my car before work starts haha! I'm not announcing which ones I'm applying for yet because I have a couple on the table but I will of course make a humongo announcement if/when I get accepted. I'd love the chance to really put my stuff out there here locally where people can see & touch my hard work; meet customers face to face; and get some real time feedback.


Well there she is- my special surprise. The possibility of great new things, a leap of faith, and hopes that I hear back from good prospects. Here's to sucking it up and going for the gold! Keep your prayers, hopes, wishes, and all other good juju flowing my way through this new adventure. There's so much to learn and so much work to be done if it's going to be a success! On that note I better get to it! ;-)

Inspiration Spreads Like Wildfire ~ Storytellers Tell THEIR Story

Katie and Jeff Barker are a special pair of people who are near and dear to my heart. I met them while looking for a photographer for my wedding in March. I've developed a bond with them that you would have never expected to get from a photographer. I don't know if I ever told them this before now, but learning about how they started their own small business doing what they love was one of the biggest inspirational factors for me to put myself out there with Innov8ive Knits.


So not only is their work beyond amazing, they have influenced my life in a way I can't repay them. They have been kind enough to let me feature them as someone who I find incredibly inspirational and answer questions about their business and give advice from their experience. You can visit their website at: Katie and Jeff Barker Storytellers


Why photography?
Both of us enjoyed photography as a hobby for years before we decided to start our business. Katie took photography classes in high school, Jeff was always getting into crazy positions and situations to photograph our family. We have experienced love and joy and can't imagine not having photos documenting those times. We've also experienced pain and loss, and appreciate having photographs that pre-date those times. All of us have a story, and being able to tell that story with photography is awesome. We've had clients lose grandparents, friends, and spouses after their wedding, and knowing that we captured beautiful images of these individuals touches us very deeply.

How did you decide that your business should be the bread winner and leave the regular day job?
Honestly, we got a kick in the pants that made it happen. Jeff was working in a Monday to Friday 8-5 sales position, so photographing weddings on the weekend wasn't an issue with his work. His boss knew he was up to something on the weekends, but because it didn't interfere, Jeff didn't talk about it much. His boss asked him to take a client out on a Saturday that we had a wedding, and when he had to say no, his boss told him to choose which job to keep. We had the guts to go ahead to choose Storytellers. At the time, it was a little scary, but now we'd like to go shake his hand and thank him for making us leap.


What is your favorite picture?
This is the hardest question in this interview! [long pause, lots of hemming and hawing] This is a picture Jeff took of my [Katie's] grandfather. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few months after our wedding, and he slipped away little by little. He ceased to tell jokes or to work to make other people smile, so when Jeff got this picture of him about a year after his diagnosis, it meant to world to me. This is the look I remember in his eyes all the time when he'd joke and laugh. He died just this spring, and I'm so grateful to have this picture. I have this picture framed and it's a constant reminder to me that what we do as Storytellers matters. It really does. When the cake has been eaten and the music has stopped, all people will have from the wedding day is their pictures, and it's important that we capture images that capture the essence of the people in them.

How do you find the right balance in pricing (pays the bills but doesn't keep you overpriced)?
We've definitely not gotten it right all the time. There have been times that we've had our pricing too low, and when it was all said and done, we were working for less than $5 an hour. The formula that we've used that makes sense is to figure out how much we need to make to keep our business afloat and pay ourselves a living wage, and the worked backwards. How many weddings do we want to shoot each year? How much time do we want to work? And then it's just simple math. Money needed divided by number of jobs equals the amount of money we need to earn per job. Obviously it takes a while to come up with the answers to the first questions, but they're worth asking. We work six days a week, we work long hours, and we're always on call, but we love our clients and they make the hard work worth it.


When did you realize that Storytellers was the success it is now?
I think when people started asking us for advice, we felt successful. We enjoy speaking with other photographers, especially ones who are just starting out. It's a great feeling to help other people!


You have customers all over the country How did you get word of your business out?
We depend on referrals from our clients. Word of mouth is hugely important for several reasons. First, advertising is very expensive. Paying for clicks on Google or Facebook could easily eat up hundreds of dollars a month. Referrals don't cost you anything (although we do give our couples incentives for referring us). Second, having people who have worked with us recommend us is infinitely more valuable to potential clients than just randomly picking up the phone book and choosing someone they know nothing about.


What gives Storytellers an edge over other photographers?
I think it's the amount of care and attention we give our clients. I mentioned earlier that we work six days a week, and I really meant it. We care a lot about the people who have invested their trust in our work, so we work really hard to meet their expectations.


What is your number one piece of advice you would give to anyone starting their business?
Keep reading, learning, and asking questions. There's always someone out there who does what you do better or differently than you, and there's no shame in trying to learn as much as you can.

Katie & Jeff have been a tremendous inspiration personally to me. They have been so encouraging! I'm not just saying this to butter them up but sometimes I look at their portfolio or our engagement photos and can't believe we even know them.

I hope that you have found the Storytellers just as inspiring as I have. I truly do believe that inspiration spreads like wildfire and hope that my sharing this with you will give you that push to do something that your heart really wants, no matter what it is. To my fellow Etsians I hope that you find their expertise and experience well received and are able to take their advice and apply it to your small business. I know I will.

Introducing: Innov8iveKnits.com

Now Innov8iveKnits officially has it's OWN domain name!! 


I was recently given some advice about starting a business (especially one based around a product/service that someone may consider a hobby), "If you want people to treat your business like a business, YOU have to treat it like a business first." People react based on your attitude and how you treat things. You're demeanor is contagious and reflects your business tremendously. You can't treat a business like a hobby and expect others to think of it anything more than how you treat it. This is just one more step forward to Innov8iveKnits being what I have been dreaming for it to be.


A domain name shows professionalism, not just a hey I like to blog on my free time because it's fun and stuff, cool, yay! Although, I must admit I do find it quite rewarding.  It's also easier to remember than yadayada-website.blogger/soonandsofourth. Having a domain name is crisp, easy, and to the point. 


In addition, the website will be having a few new renovations (most likely over the weekend) to feature separate pages such as- about me, contact, for sale, etc. I think this will help make the page more accessible and user friendly.


AND speaking of treating your business like a business, I am in the process of having a logo made! I'm quite excited about having a uniform branding label for all things Innov8iveKnits. It may be some time before it hits the streets… or the website BUT it is in the works and I can't wait to share it!


Next time you are in the need of an Innov8iveKnits fix, all you have to do it type : www.Innov8iveKnits.com!

Lots of Firsts

Welcome to my first EVER blog post. Speaking of firsts, this month has been smack full of them! I'm proud to say that thanks to the support of my fiance and other close friends, I have finally gotten the courage to do something I have always wanted to do: turn my knitting into a small business. So to add to the firsts: I've opened a Facebook, an Etsy, made business cards, and have already taken a custom order. Also, just this weekend I have finished my first pair of Mary-Jane booties!

Newborn Mary-Jane Booties

I have high hopes for my small business and appreciate all of the love and support that I have gotten from friends and family. I must admit that putting myself out there wasn't easy, and sometimes I worry it will fail but I have found just through these last few weeks of starting this up that there is nothing more empowering, exhilarating, inspiring, and heartwarming than chasing my dreams. Setbacks and upsets are bound to happen regardless of how successful... or unsuccessful this becomes but I'm doing my best to prepare for them and keeping a positive attitude.  

Currently, I am working on getting a small army of stock to have a "grand opening" for my Etsy store so it's hanging out empty at the moment, but my stock is growing and so far, so is the interest of people. I am very much looking forward to seeing how they sell, what goes first, and what gets the most/least attention. This is all a big learning experience for me and I hope that through this blog you can learn with me and watch things unfold as Innov8ive Knits finds what the future holds!