Nothing To Brag About, Grant Update.

[DoubleC]

I had a meeting with BROC today and the target date for submitting my business plan to Voc Rehab is Dec. 31st. After that it could take a week to months to find out if I'm going to get the grant. So I've decided to continue to do the Marketplace and try and get my name out there, but I'm not buying any new supplies, will only order if I have custom orders. I was disappointed especially since this was the first month I'd shown a profit, but these things take time I guess, and since I've worked on this since January I'm just plain tired and out of time.

I wanted to write each of you individually but I am truly exhausted from a lack of sleep so I'll be back on after a nap. Thanks you folks for all the support you've given me through this process. Cheryl

[Chief31794]

Get a nap, these things take time, don't get discouraged. It'll happen!!!

Chief

[David8386]

Hey Cheryl you should brag. Look how far you have come and what you have done. Glass is half full not half empty. Don't you hate cheerful people when you are down? Anyway I think you need to take a nap and chill.

Proud of you

David

[DoubleC]

Thanks you guys...I know I shouldn't be so discouraged but it's been a year this month. But I'll just keep doing what I do Mangle some leather. Cheryl

[immiketoo]

The problem is that most people picture a glass half full with water. I think you need to start filling your glass with beer. Then, even a half empty glass is a good thing, because you got to drink it!

[DoubleC]

I think that's a good idea Mike, and will start the new plan forthwith. Even if it's in my head. Cheryl

[bluesman1951]

What does one say at a time like this ? To quit or not to quit ? Shall the powers that be pull the plug or keep the patient on life support in hopes of better days . There is a sad reality to the last line on the yellow pad it says either what you are doing works or it dont . You can look at it and protest if you wish ,might even convince your self its not true ,but in the end it remains . There is lots of truth in the saying "Throwing Good Money After Bad " Choices : You must ask yourself if having more knowledge and skill will fix things . If so then how do you get the knowledge ? Who is willing to give you what you need ? Disicipline to get to the bench and work all day is a must nothing happens if you have no disicipline . Having no avenue of retreat is a big key to sucess when you must have sucess or go off the cliff is a great motivator . I ask myself if it was my money would I continue to back this enterprise ? The solution to your dilema is : A larger skill set and more knowledge ,better disipline and a guide . How you acquire them is your challenge . Best wishes for a harmonious out come . Bill

[DoubleC]

There is a lot of truth in what you say Bill. I have a lot to think about over the next month. Cheryl

[immiketoo]

Well, if the forum ever gets its head out of it @$$, there's plenty to learn here. Someone told me, and I'm sure everyone here has seen or heard the phrase: Attitude, not aptitude determines your altitude. Did Thomas Edison quit after multiple attempts to create the light bulb? No, he merely said. I now know 10,000 ways that didn't work.

Do not be discouraged by some bureaucrat in an office that hasn't created a single thing of value, never had a single original thought or hasn't a creative bone in their body. The world needs those people to manage the databases that bore me to tears, but there is more to life than crunching numbers and the bottom line on Bill's notepad. And while Bill is correct that the bottom line has some value, I don't believe it's meant to be discouraging at all. Merely a suggestion to look at the problem differently!

Go here and read some of Edison's quotes. http://www.thomasedison.com/quotes.html

I find him inspirational, maybe you will too.

[DoubleC]

"My main purpose in life is to make enough money to create ever more inventions.... " A lot to be said for just that. The bureaucrats call that a hobby but I call that art. If I was just interested in making money I wouldn't have started down this path of leatherwork because it's not a tried and true means of making money here because no one else does it. So I'm forging the path in a way and although it may not add to the bottom line, since January I have two local popular musicians wearing my straps, I am attending the marketplace which I would have found impossible last January, I have an article about me coming out this month in a mag. with a distribution of 15,000 in this local area, and I have this place to help me keep learning. I'm not quitting Mike, I'm sure by Feb. when the marketplace ends I will have enough orders to keep me very busy locally and more of a presence on Etsy. I intend to work out then how I'm going to do the summer farmer's market which already has a place saved for me. I don't drive so a lot of craft fairs people travel to are not within my reach but I will squeeze the most out of local resources that are. I got some sleep last night and things don't look so dim today. I will survive if for no other reason than to show them this IS a sustainable business, LOL. My bottom line is not always the same as a reasonable person and when I said I had a lot to think about I meant ways to do it without the grant money. Even a mule won't chase a carrot forever! Cheryl

[David8386]

Hey Cheryl everybody needs to step back and evaluate things every once in a while, so you are normal in that respect. Keep your head up and listen to what your customers need/ want. Even the ones that don't buy. Find the need and fill it. Worry about things you can control and not worry about what you don't have control of. Of course it easier to say it than do it sometimes.

David

[LNLeather]

Just some of my rambling thoughts here......

If money is an issue, then maybe you should concentrate on doing what you do the Best for right now.

After Christmas - sales slow down for about 2-3 months for a lot of folks, so that might be a good time to hone your leather skills,

and also work on making sure your Photography is showing what you are making in The Best Light -- so to speak...

If spending is an issue right now - Where are you the most successful? Maybe you should concentrate on

Making what you do the Best and work on How to Best show that off...

Now might be a good time to tidy up your Etsy site - remove the things that are not selling and put up more of what is...

And - Make Sure your Photography is showing what you have in the Best and Clearest Pictures...

I am Sooo Impressed with your Eye of the Horse items - they are Your Original Creations

and you should be Very Very Proud of those. I see your Etsy sales have been mostly of them - soooo Maybe you should

make sure you have a good supply of those for sale, and then work on your other ideas.

just some ideas...

Very Best Regards

[shtoink]

Whatever the outcome, you already have a toehold. If you get the grant, you can push forward full throttle. If you don't, you can push forward incrementally as your budget allows. From the sounds of it, you have gotten to where you are on your own and there is nothing that says you can't keep it as a "hobby" that pays for itself and build on it until it becomes more.

Yes, it'd be a bummer to not get the grant as it would really give you some breathing room, but, regardless, you still have your skills, tools, supplies, and drive to do something creative with them.

Grant or no, I'm just not seeing a downside. Say you get it, you breathe a sigh of relief and push forward with your plans. Say you don't get it, you breathe a sigh of relief that the pressure of not knowing is gone and you pursue the very same plans at your own pace as your time and budget allows. Same results, just different paths.

Maybe I am not seeing the whole picture, but it looks to me as though all the stress is related to the song and dance and hoop jumping the VA makes you do before they give you anything. It's the not knowing if they will or will not release the funds to you after performing all the tricks ask you to that makes this whole thing scary. Try not focusing on "will they, won't they" aspect, but rather how either outcome will be a relief because you'll know what you need to do next no matter what happens.

[DoubleC]

David I have decided it's not really going to change anything about the way I do business. And Cheryl, thank you so much. I haven't spent a day on just them in a long time so maybe I should work on something I love just one day and get my photo situation straightened out and get some more up. And Keenan, I think you are right, I think the stress is com ing from simply not knowing, so that goes on the back plate for now, and I am going to get down to the business of the business. Thank all of you so much. Cheryl