The Business Chat - Success in just 10 minutes!

OK, the presents have been opened. The turkey is eaten, chocolates consumed, wine drunk and sleeping in slept. And yet there is still more to be done on the holiday festive front isn’t there? So what about your business, is anything being done there? 

Running a tiny microbusiness is hard at the best of times, when there is so much other stuff going on in life it’s crazy difficult. There is just too much happening all around in life to be able to concentrate for a large chunk of time on what needs to be done in our business. At the same time, if you just stop altogether for a week or so while the festivities happen you lose momentum and nothing happens. And then it gets even harder to get going again. So what’s a craftista supposed to do? 

Find time.

If we wait until we have a large chunk of uninterrupted time in order to do those little business tasks that need to be done, well, you know what is going to happen. 

Nothing.

Grab 10 minutes twice a day and get small things done. Small things add up to big things. One step at a time gets you a lot of places over time so stop making the excuse that you just don’t have the time. You can find 10 minutes. Turn off Facebook. Don’t press the start button on that movie for 10 minutes. 

Here’s a list of what to do with your 10 minutes. 

• Write or rewrite one product description. The better and more inviting your online descriptions are the more likely people are to fall in love with your work. Take 10 minutes and redo just one description.
• Write a little story explaining the inspiration behind one piece of your work. 
• Read a couple of your favourite blogs and leave a comment on each one. (how fun is this business “chore”?)
• Add a couple of pins to your boards in Pinterest. 
• Find some groups to join on Flickr. Join them. Upload some photos if possible. Leave comments on other peoples photos.
• Brainstorm some ideas for blog posts. You can flesh these out later. With 10 minutes just come up with the bones.
• Research some craft shows you have been thinking about.
• Update your status on Facebook or Twitter. Leave comments for others too!
• Learn something new. Technology changes so fast it’s hard to keep up. If you don’t know what something is, spend 10 minutes learning it. 
• Check for instructional videos on Youtube. Don’t watch them now, just bookmark them for when you have more time. 
• Research supplies. Maybe you could save some money by looking around. If you don’t yet have postcards, go and find out how much they cost. Need new business cards? Check out the prices.
• Catch up on some of the craft forums you follow, read new messages and respond! Responses are about building relationships.
• Doodle. Seriously, if you don’t have online access then grab a pencil and paper and doodle ideas or sketches. Draw a new design. Tip: that new design or doodle can be a great blog post or facebook post. Bonus, 2 things done in just 10 minutes! 

Sometimes we don’t get started on little things because we know we’ll just get carried away and lose track of time. The idea here is that you just use 10 minutes. If you’re afraid of losing yourself, use a timer. When your 10 minutes are up, put this away and go back to your movie and popcorn. 

Remember little steps keep the momentum going and add up to giant leaps.