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Setting Intentions and Goals

Lesson 4 from: Start a Handmade Business

Kari Chapin

Setting Intentions and Goals

Lesson 4 from: Start a Handmade Business

Kari Chapin

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Lesson Info

4. Setting Intentions and Goals

Lesson Info

Setting Intentions and Goals

We're going to move on to one of my favorite things, and this is something that I d'oh some way, shape or form almost every day, and if you have worked with me or read anything that I've written or just casually bumped into in an elevator, we have probably talked about intentions, goals and tasks, because this is how I make my world go around and how I run my business, and this is one of the main things I work with clients, intentions in goals, I think that sometimes we have goals a little bit backwards, which is the same way I think about balance, so I want us to think of an intention as our finish line, what is something that we're definitely going to do, it's, not our goal to do it, we're not going to try to do it, we're not going to think about doing it, we're actually doing it. We're setting an intention. The intention is the finish line, it is the fact it's, not all your feelings of like, I intend to be good, it's, just you just are going to do this thing in your business. So I w...

ant everyone to think of one thing that they want to do for their business and it's just effect, so maybe you want to increase your social media following that's an example that we have coming up maybe you want to get fifty sales on your exist or maybe you just want to start that at sea star maybe you want to get accepted into a show that you've been thinking about going to for a long time maybe you want to change the direction of your business. I want to know what your intention is for one area and aspect of your business it's your ultimate goal so it's like your goal pumped up okay and what we're going to do here so I create I listed some intentions that are pretty common when I'm working with my clients, they want to create a business that allows them to work from home that's something that they definitely want to do are going to dio they want to make enough money to quit their full time job so they know where they need to get they want to quit their job and they know that to get there they need to be able to make enough money to replace that income they want to develop a business that alone allows them to be location independent that was a big one for me I wanted a job that I was able to just move about the country or the world freely and just pull up to any wifi signal and get what I needed done, done that's something that was really important to me so commitment phobic I cannot even stick with a town or a state but I intend to earn enough money from my business to pay for my private school tuition I see a lot of people who have families or who have something specific that they like to do each year they just want to make enough money to pay for something they want to make enough money to board their horse and pay for horse riding lessons this is actually something that's come up I would say more than ten times which I found to be very interesting horse people are crazy passionate about their horses people want to pay for a vacation every year I want to go to disney with my family every year and I know that that cause uh I'm clearly making this up that cost twelve thousand dollars and that's how much money I want to make every year so they said the's firm intentions for what they want to do with their business and that's how they know how to move forward um so I believe that the goal goes under the intention so goals I actually didn't know how to sell intention because I write it about a million times a day um ah gold goes underneath the intention and that is what you want to get done to make your intention realized so goals air sort of like milestones that you want to reach as you get closer to your intention there not just something that you want to do their places you need to get you there destinations the goals support the intention if you know what you really want to do, what your statement of fact is where your finish line is that you can figure out what you need to d'oh to get there and that is you setting goals is everybody with me so far okay, so you can have a lot of goals to support an intention and factor goals can change, but your attentions usually stay this the same or they might evolve or shift a little bit over time but if your intention is to have a business that allows you to work from home that's probably not going to change much particularly as you get more successful you're going to want to keep that going but it might shift teo I want a business that somebody else runs while I sit on the beach all day but it is sort of in the same family, so your goals are the milestones that you need to reach to get to that place then underneath goals how are you going to make those goals happen with tasks? Tasks are another way to say action if you don't actually take action and move forward and proposal yourself toward your intention you're just not going to get there and that's really up to you because remember you're the boss during the good parts and during the tough parts so you would have an intention and then you would have goals and your goals can be sort of longer range they could be something that you want to accomplish this month, something you want to accomplish this quarter something you want to accomplish this year and then your tasks our underneath your goals and that is what you d'oh tio your tasks are the action steps that get you closer to realizing your goals and your goals are the milestones that make your intention realized is this thing is this making sense to everybody? Are there any questions briefly before we go on? I think I'm just sitting here thinking of the tasks are the yeah the heart actually don't like the attention I think I can wrap my hands around, but then once we start getting into the mine, isha then that's where I lose track like get off track. Yeah, so when this this would be like, you know how many of you make it to do list and then put step on it that you've already done and then check it off because I sure do so all this right now and I'm not even just a box checker I box checked draw a line and then sometimes if I'm really procrastinating we'll also highlight so I cross things off my list repeatedly over and over again because it makes me feel productive, and the tasks are the to do list every day, so we're going to actually go through an example here, let's, see so you would declare your intention, and then you would support your intention with your goals, and then you're going to accomplish your goals with your tasks, your tasks will change all the time. They can change daily, they can change weekly. It depends on how much you love lists. I love lists a lot, so I make several throughout it throughout the day. It's actually, a procrastination technique for me is to make more less and let's see in the workbook, we start with the goals and intentions stuff on page sixteen, and there are sheets in there for you. You're going to have to skip around a little bit to find him, but their sheets in there for you to put an intention to work some goals and to make some tasks. So I would like you show you this example of the sample intention at five hundred people to my social network, so my goals might be to develop an editorial calendar, so I know what the heck I'm going to be saying on social media. Begin by tracking my stats so that I know if I'm reaching my goal I have to know how to actually measure that success if I never noticed that I already have you know, four hundred ninety eight people like al I know that I've made it to five hundred more if I don't figure out where my stats are update all of my social profiles so that they're cohesive and my community understands where I am and where to find me well time in my schedule tio update I don't know about you know you guys but it's sometimes social media is a challenge but if that is the way that you're going to expand your community and grow that then you have to build it into your business connect with more people you know not just having one way conversation not just putting it out there uh I must repeat my creative life you know you also want to say things like I like your necklace or you know meaningful conversations adding to it answering questions, asking questions, developing relationships and friendships um create community around my business that is a goal I want people more people to know who I am I want people want people to think of me when they need to buy gifts when they have a special project going on and I want to enjoy the time I spend on social media sometimes it feels like a slog I have tio I have tio my business isn't really if it's not tweeting so you know if you feel if you feel that way sometimes in social media isn't fun then try making it fun one of your goals so do you see profiles was just one goal under the intention of getting five hundred followers, so when you were reviewing what you were going to do for your business that week, maybe you would choose to make a task sheet that supported that goal that would help you realize your intention, so you would say, oh, it'll be really quick and easy under five minutes I can upload fresh avatars that reflect my business to the three social media spots I hang out at I could make sure all profiles mentioned mention my love, my website and link back to my business that really won't take that long and I can change all the backgrounds and banners to reflect my brand. So those are three tasks you could do that get you closer to your goal of reaching five hundred new people in a certain amount of time which gets you closer to your intent are nuke literature goal of updating your social media and then your intention of adding five hundred new people your network it's really, we there's going to be a segment coming up where we talk about tracking your records and keeping records and tracking stats but it's really important and that's something easy that you can do right now chances are you are most likely going to visit all of your social media spots today and I only ask you to focus on these certain ones because those are the ones that I used but I did make a slide for other in case keeps you something else like gravel rear vine but there's facebook, twitter, instagram and pinterest like let's, we can all just sort of start small and if you were really trying to track how well your efforts were going and was your action producing results, you need tio to track that information to figure that out. So I built this little stats tracker to help you do that and that's pretty easy, but I think that we can quickly d'oh like an intention from the audience and build some goals and tasks around that. Does anyone want to give that a go? Yes, perfect! I intend to make enough money to support my family, okay to make enough money to support your whole family? Yes, and what are some goals that you need? Tio? What are some milestones that you reach in order to be able to do that? Kathy I'd like to make a hundred sales for the end of the year ok one hundred sales by the end of two thousand fourteen cracks yes and what else I'm do more craft shows ok, so I want you to be a little bit more specific about that this is a great goal because you say one hundred sales do more craft sales is very loose and your mind can interpret that however it wants, that could be at least two because you said shows or twenty but how? What do you think is a good goal for the rest of the year? And just as a side note, keep in mind that most summer applications are already out so you're probably looking at winter shows at this point line I'm doing the urban craft uprising great and one of my favorites and so do that show and make I could say make a dollar amount okay this big dollar amount ok, so do you want to do it both times that it's going to happen this year? Do you want to put it down twice? Yes. Ok so due to urban craft uprising shows that is a great crash show that happens here in seattle and even when I lived in other parts of the country, I would travel to seattle specifically to come tio urban craft uprising it's a really, really great show on what is the dollar amount you would like to make it the first one um when I was thinking about it, I was thinking about a thousand dollars thousand sure that's it would cover the cost of the show and my set up ok and a built in profit for that and so you built in profit to a thousand dollars ok I'm going to put two dollars for you do you have any other do you have a third goal that you would like to add that's going to help get you closer to your intention I would like to get into I'm in a shop now on consignment but I'd like to do get into one retail shop okay for wholesale for wholesale good and you want that to be a local shop I hope everyone can read this handwriting okay so if we are you and it is next monday what is what are some task that you can start doing tio reach these milestones for the u c you show I am building a uh a wall a display well so I can finish doing that so you could finish building your full wall next week yes okay I'm gonna have to travel to this and check up on you okay so next week you can get that task done what else? I have a bunch of items that I haven't listed in my shop so I can list ten handmade items in my fancy shop okay and we give us the name of your ex you shop again it's cat shy crafts dot etc dot com c eighty shy crafts yeah, okay and I want to more tasks um I could research local shops and see what they need for me to submit research local shops and then contact them to ask um yes ok and the last one I know that through marlo's class that I took I need to make a line sheet you know that's a great one. So now when you look at these four things do these tests really feel doable for you next week? Because in your you know, dream life do you work seven days a week? No. Now so does this really feel like something you can actually d'oh not the last two. Well, the last morning the last one is really hard for me. Yeah, like you might need to research that and really think about that so you can bump that tear task sheet for the following week because I feel like this is kind of a heavy load but the more you review your goals when you look at the overall big picture of your business plan the war you can narrow it down with these kinds of tasks and then really make sure that your list of things to do are targeted versus scattered um because it's so big it can feel so big there is just so much to do it like never ends. So trying to develop a system and any system that really works for you will be beneficial to you getting your business really going and to keep it running after after its started are there any questions, any comments about goals, intentions and tasks? Yes, heather down easier steps but I find that much more doable that you have the goals but with the goals you have the task because I also love to check things off so yeah, I think that to get up and look at it and think I could came today I can accomplish this along with everything else makes it feel more doable. I like you broke it down yeah, and then, you know, reviewing this every once in a while is really key to, like, stay in touch with it is this still what you intend to do? Is this still what you want todo? Because, you know, keeping your intentions of goals in one place that's easy to access is pretty important. I have board meetings with myself where I actually go over this stuff at a set time pretty regularly. What do I want to do next and do I still want to do it? Reviewing my tensions and goals is often as as I need to to make sure my tasks are keeping me on like that's been really key because I tend to just sort of float off or drift or spend a lot of time doing what I call research, which is checking everybody's excess stores make sure you guys are doing a great job so I get into your online shops there and call that a job duty which you know isn't hard and it's really important to not be afraid to change your mind just because you write it down doesn't make it the law and it's also important to remember not to put too much pressure on yourself making sure your tasks are actually doable if it is something that's big and it's going to take you longer than like twenty minutes it's probably not a task it's a goal and that's one important way to look at that if it's going to take you ah half day or whole day to do something it's probably a goal so that's that's pretty much it for goals on intentions unless there's any other questions or I just wanted to say people in the chat rooms have been joining in with the intentions, goals and task as well what they're saying they're basically a lot of the stuff that we've talked about people talking about, you know, their intention is to be able to stay home there was a comment here let's see where I'm not sure actually where it went, but people have been really kind of just timing and with everything that we've talked about and then san derby had said I never really understood the sequence so this is wonderful for her good, able to break it down like this, and yeah, and you can keep breaking it down your task and turn into micro tasks you can get so far back on that list that you're at right, this list and believe me, I have I have done that more more than I'm going to admit, you know, because it really does take you all the way back. I think we're going to wait for hours. Is it really happening here revisiting then you have people in front of you? I actually have my main intentions, which I decided at mai s o I take myself on retreats twice a year, and like I said, I have monthly board meetings and I keep my intentions, I paint them and put them around my monitor and that's how I keep in focus for that. Then I have a notebook and also a day timer where I keep my intentions and my goals and my goals air usually monthly, because I have learned to recognize when the goal is not really a task and I review those monthly goals, and I decide what is going to be my measure of success, so my goal is to be on social media three times a day, I actually keep track of that. And then I look at my numbers and look at any sales I've gotten or any jobs I've gotten any new clients I've gotten and that's how you know, if I have been successful at doing that, but my tasks and goals I review almost weekly when I'm making my lists so, so helpful for people again, I'm seeing it on twitter as well in terms of just creating this order and do having the intention to keep yourself on track with your task a cz well, starting there like, you know, it would be great if everybody would think of an intention for three days together and share that nice online, I'd really appreciate that, warden, maybe I'll ask you guys for that when we good is find his passion already have passion, he feels like he asked to support us, and it doesn't feel like he has the freedom to find these fashion. Yeah, that's a very, very, very honorable it's a great one, we can work played on some goals and some cast for you around that because it's pretty important stuff, too happy people.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Marlos Photo Notes and Light Box Instructions
Start a Handmade Business - Workbook
Karis Inspirational HD Wallpaper
Kari Chapin Bonus Starter Pack

Ratings and Reviews

Cathy
 

Kari Chapin's course, Start a Handmade Business, was a game-changer for me. Her content was presented in such an accessible, engaging, easy-to-digest, and oftentimes hilarious way. At the same time, she did not sugar-coat things. Having a handmade business is a job and requires work. I love that she emphasized that fact. Not only did she give the nut and bolts of how to start a handmade business but spent a lot of time on the emotional component of being an artist trying to sell her work. Her guests (Skype and in-studio) were well-chosen and showed the rapport she has with her community. This showed that she lives what she teaches. The interaction with the studio audience and online community was integral to the course because it showed real-life examples of business owners at varying stages in their career. (I was so lucky to be one of the studio audience members. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity!) This class was a comprehensive look at handmade businesses that everyone from fledgling businesses to more established businesses can benefit from. I highly recommend this course! Thank you Kari for sharing your mind-blowing wisdom and warm and fuzzy heart with us! And thank you CreativeLive for having this awesome resource for the creative community! --Cathy Pascual, catshycrafts.com

Domesticraft
 

Well, it's been a few days since the course and I am still pumped. Kari said a few things in particular that I needed to hear and I'm so grateful for that. I have been involved in the facebook group she put together and I am so happy about that. It's an awesome resource and my fellow creatives have been very helpful and encouraging. I totally recommend this course to any creative entrepreneur at any stage in their journey. Plus she is cute, funny and has just the right amount of snarkiness. I so enjoyed it!

a Creativelive Student
 

I loved this course with Kari Chapin! Her wealth of information delivered with such an honest and funny voice was refreshing and inspiring. I have accomplished things in the last few days that have languished on my to-do list for a year or more, largely due to this class. Kari is very down-to-earth and just plain adorable! I highly recommend this course for anyone creative who has or wants to have their own business.

Student Work

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