Welcome to the Green Room! Come on in, have a seat…
The Green Room is a cozy backstage space where our favorite business performers come to kick off their shoes and dish. And we get to listen in.
(*A convoluted Clue reference, because we couldn’t help ourselves.)
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Our inaugural guest is Tara Swiger, otherwise known as The Blonde Chicken.
Tara is just amazing. Not only is she genuine and warm-hearted, and exactly the kind of woman you want to spend an afternoon drinking coffee and eating cupcakes with… she’s also managed to build up a hugely successful yarn business, which allowed her to leave her day job last year.
And if spinning and dying her own environmentally-friendly (oh, and did we mention totally beautiful?) yarns while amassing a group of raving fans on Twitter weren’t enough, she has expanded her business to let others in on her secrets. She now creates classes and products to help other crafty types make a business for themselves. Her philosophy is to embrace what she calls her “wonkyness” and help others to do the same!
The thing that most impresses us whenever we see Tara in action is the agility of her process in business. She gets an idea and acts on it right away, in a manner that seems effortless from the outside. As a result, all of her offerings tend to have this inspired, genuine feel about them.
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Hi, Tara! We’re so excited you’re here! …Can you tell us a little bit about the process of creating one of your classes?
I truly adore the process of creating a thing. Taking something that is just an idea; an exciting, thrilling idea and turning into a thing to offer to people is just so fabulous. Sure, there are moments of stuck and doubt, but watching something go from idea to finished thing is ultra-satisfying.
And that’s what I find most helpful in continuing to move through all the steps and complications: I work on only what really excites me + I remind myself of all the things I love about the project as often as necessary.
So what does really excite you? Like, what is your favorite part of the process?
My favorite part? Oooh, this is tricky! My favorite part is probably the think-y bits. Once I know my people have a specific question (like, “How do I get my Right People?”), I start thinking about how to answer it. Clearly. And usefull-y. (Like, in a way that they can adapt for their own business.)
I think, I read, I take notes, I think some more. I walk through my days with this question percolating.
And all of this think-y stuff, it goes in the class. But it also goes into the sales page (which I call “baking the brunch”, since “sales page” sounds really grown up). And it goes into the blog posts I write around a class. And it comes out in my one-on-one consulting.
So, yeah, I like the thinking 
Where do you tend to get stuck in the creative process? Is there a little trick or kung fu maneuver that (almost) always helps get your merrily on your way again?
I can get stuck in the “what if no one wants this?” swirly-ness. The trick seems to be convince myself that even if no one buys my thing, it’ll be ok. Usually, no one will even know if no one bought it.
And after convincing myself of that, I make a great big list of the benefits of my thing. If it’s a class, I list how my student’s businesses will grow after they implement the thing I’m teaching. If it’s a physical product (kit, yarn, etc) I list all the ways they can use the thing to make their life awesome, or bring joy.
Oh, cool. So when you make this list of benefits for customers, does that inform your sales page? Or is it purely a “soft” tool to help with the stuck?
The list of benefits does inform the sales page (sometimes I put it right there on the page) and it also informs the making-of-the-class. After I’m done with my note-taking and organizing, I look at the list of benefits. Did I cover them all? Will the students get THAT from THIS?
Sometimes it just operates in the background, but it’s always there to reference. (For example: I get “is this class for me” emails and I can answer them with the benefits that they will probably get and then they can decide if that’s what they’re looking for.)
It’s so easy to get uberfocused on the end result – How do you make sure you stay in the moment and enjoy the ride?
I don’t know if I do the “stay in the moment” thing, I tend to become completely obsessed with a project. But I’m starting to respect the cycle and let myself get fully immersed when I’m feeling it. When I’m not, I let myself rest (or do something else or do nothing at all). I guess this is staying in the moment, eh?
I ride the wave of creativity and when it crashes, I mellow in the not-doing.
Do you have any advice for to people getting started out with their own business?
Do something.
Even a teeny tiny almost invisible something. Write a single post. Sell one notecard. Send one email. And then build on that success.
And guess what? If you did it, if you went through with it, if you created something (even a sentence) from nothing, then it IS a success!
If you were gonna send us a postcard from anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I’d like to send you a postcard from any beach that has a cute little downtown with local shops. Anyplace where everyone wears flip flops and the sun is shining and the waves are crashing.
Or, I’ll send you a postcard from a cozy studio with a mug of hot chocolate and my yarn all around me and the pup at my feet and a handknit sweater around my shoulders while the snow drifts down.
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Thanks, Tara!
Wisdom from Tara that I want to fold up and keep in my back pocket:
- Do something. Even a teeny tiny almost invisible something.
- If no one buys my thing, it’ll be ok. Usually, no one will even know if no one bought it.
- I ride the wave of creativity and when it crashes, I mellow in the not-doing.
It’s no secret we at the Distillery adore Tara, and we think you will, too. So if you’re the crafty sort, you should know that on August 3 she is teaching a class about getting to know the people who can help you grow your crafty biz. One of the innovative techniques she’s using to “brunch” it is a video-interview with her co-teacher, here.
Tara has agreed to hang around here in the Green Room for a while, so if you have any questions for her, feel free to ask in the comments!
Me? I’m heading off to mellow in some not-doing.
