After having a baby in 2013, I entered 2014 feeling a bit more like myself. I had a plan to close the stamp shop, launch MAKE29 and start the podcast. Basically in that order.
As I mentioned earlier, my markup on stamps was not enough to grow or fuel this business and truthfully, I was bored and ready to move on. If I can't get excited about my own product, how I can expect anyone else to? So closing shop was an easy and non-stressful decision.
I was ready for the next thing: MAKE29. I have written a lot about this already but in sum : the goal of MAKE29 is to figure out what's next for me. I am experimenting with a lot of different mediums, products and price points to see what works. I used MAKE29 as a reason to launch a newsletter and have rebuilt parts of my website to support it.
MAKE29 has been a phenomenal learning experience and creative exercise for me. A huge amount of my energy this year is going into developing the 12 editions and creating a shopping experience that focuses on the story behind the products I am selling. I have just three editions to go and I am 99% sure I know what they are going to be. Maybe the most important thing to note is that I'm still loving this project. Usually, 3/4 of the way through something, I'm itching for the next thing, but (maybe because the products have been so varied?) that's not the case this year.
In April, I launched my podcast. I've talked about the process of starting the podcast, but I never shared why I decided I wanted to host a podcast. In fall 2013, for a online workshop at Big Picture, I hosted a video chat with some students. For an hour I answered questions live via video. I finished that super chat hyped up. I came out from the office nearly giddy and told Paul I wanted to be doing something like that.
What if I hosted something similar to small business owners like me? People could pay a small fee to take the class and then I would just talk for an hour or so about whatever came up, answering questions along the way. We agreed it sounded fun, but complicated. So then I thought maybe I could do one-on-one coaching and question-and-answer sessions via skype. That also sounded fun, but also redundant.
So then I realized I should just do a podcast. Same idea: I get to talk about business, other people (including me) get to learn about business. There's no initial money, but there is also no pressure or expectation. I'm "giving away" content but learning so much. I am so glad I went this route instead of the others.
Throughout everything, you have probably noticed that the blog keeps chugging away. The blog is the foundation for all of this and I am well aware of it. Some people can run a business without a blog. Right now, I am not one of them. 2014 has felt very natural at the keyboard and I have enjoyed writing so much this year.
This summer, thanks to the blog, I had the opportunity to speak at WDS. It was the coolest thing I have ever done (other than normal life milestones like graduating college, becoming a family, finishing Harry Potter, discovering a new show on Netflix, etc.). If you're curious, I didn't get paid to speak at WDS. I didn't notice a major uptick in blog hits or shop sales in that month or the months that followed. It hasn't really contributed to my bottom line in a tangible way yet. So, why, I wondered, does it feel so huge compared to other things I have done? What I realized is that at WDS, for the first time, I was able to speak in real life about my real passion.
And my real passion, I've learned over the past decade, is not working in a tall building and wearing a suit. It's not making frames, mini books or Project Life spreads. It's not blogging. It's not taking photos. It's not selling art prints or plant stands. It's not decorating playing cards or my house. It's not planning an orange and gray wedding or sewing quilts.
My passion is helping people realize that what they want is attainable through a bold statement and hard work. My about page has said this clearly since 2010:
The one piece of information that I would want a reader of this blog to take away is everything is what you make of it. Have a goal? Write it down. Then set a plan and make it happen.
At WDS I was able to stand up and share that message. I was able to look back on my seemingly random body of work and see that the thing that holds it all together is the idea that I feel my best when I am actively pursuing a goal. It was awesome speak to such a wide variety of people about one unifying subject.
After WDS, I had a chance to speak on the phone with book agent about writing a book. What's held me back in the past and continues to hold me back now is that I don't just want to write a book to write a book. I want to write a book because I can't not write a book. Today, I feel like I can say everything I need to say through the blog or an ecourse or the podcast. Maybe someday the current outlets I have won't be enough and that will be the day I get working on the rad table of contents I have saved on my iPhone notes app.
In the meantime, I've told this story. I've written over 9500 words to share how I believe I got from A to B. After hammering this out, I have realized it's less complicated than it seemed, but that might be due to selective memory.
Here's what I know: I feel better about my career path today than I felt in 2003, 2007, 2010 or 2012. I feel like everything I've done has led me exactly to here. And here is a pretty great place to be.
About two months ago, I had My Idea. Elise's Big Idea, if you will.* I figured out what the point of all this (the reading, the writing, the business major, the marketing emphasis, the Type A personality, the retail working, the handmade, the selling, the teaching, the PR internship, the stamps, the oversharing, the speaking, the everything) has been and (finally) found The Product that I am supposed to be working on. It's not MAKE30. It's not a book. It's not bread baking. It's (tragically) not the 2014 version of The Baby-Sitter's Club.
I'll share more about it tomorrow, in the final installment. I'll warn you though, the path to getting that product to market is longer than my average four day turn-around and we won't "see" it until next spring.
to be continued…
*I'm not ashamed to admit that on 10/14, when I figured out a way to bring this story full circle I high-fived myself.
Today on ELISE GETS CRAFTY I am chatting with author Kari Chapin about following creative dreams. Click here to subscribe or stream the episode from your computer here.
enJOY it 
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