37. I Booked an Engraving Gig Before Learning to Engrave - When to Say Yes to Something New

Have you ever gotten an inquiry that you just knew you couldn't turn down, even though you'd never done that exact thing before? That's what happened when I booked my first live engraving event - without ever having touched an engraver. 

In this episode, I'm sharing the full story of how I said yes to an engraving live event, learned to engrave in one week, and pulled off a wildly successful event. I'm sharing what that experience and other similar experiences have taught me about putting an idea into action fast for your business. 

This isn't about winging it. It's about knowing when you have the skills to go for it, and deciding that you're ready.

In this episode we talk about:

• How to confidently take on something new, without taking on too much risk
• Why readiness is a decision, not a feeling
• The key to booking jobs you've never done before

🔗 Links to resources mentioned in this episode:

• Learn about Ascent 6 Month Coaching Program, kicking off June 1: https://www.calligraphyceo.com/ascent 
• Learn about Your CEO Partner 1:1 Coaching Accelerator: https://www.calligraphyceo.com/ceo-partner
• DM me to chat about your business: https://www.instagram.com/monstera.gold
• All the engraving supplies I purchased: https://www.amazon.com/shop/monstera.gold/list/1GNK1TSY7ST7G?ref_=aipsflist

Transcript

Introduction

Shaochen 0:00

Hi, and welcome back to Calligraphy Biz Corner. So you probably heard on our last episode that Calligraphy Biz Corner is officially a solo Xia Chen podcast now. I'm pretty excited of course, I miss Elaine too, and eventually I plan to do a relaunch of this podcast with new intro music, outros, cover art. But to be honest, I don't have timing around that yet. I've been working on a lot of big, exciting projects that I can't wait to share. But that will be coming down the road. I didn't want to let that stop me though from sharing this episode with you today because it's all about taking action and not waiting until something is perfect. So I figured what better example than to just do the thing, record the podcast.

The Engraving Inquiry

Shaochen 0:46

About a month ago, I booked my first engraving event. When that inquiry came through, I knew, I just knew I couldn't turn it down. She asked for engraving brass lighters and acetate combs. Personally, I've been kind of obsessed with the combs I've been seeing all over Instagram and, like, the hair clips and stuff those, like, tortoise shell ones are so cute. And personally, what I've always loved about calligraphy is being able to letter on different unique surfaces. And so obviously when this came through, I was like I cannot refer this out." But here's the problem: I didn't know how to engrave. I'm literally in year seven of my calligraphy business, and I never learned to engrave. And honestly, this is because it wasn't something I was especially drawn to. I figured I'd probably pick it up at some point when I had some extra time, but it was just never kind of, like, the top of my priority list. But when this inquiry came through, I had three weeks to learn before the event, and I knew I was gonna make it happen. So the engraving event was last week, and it was a huge success. I had another calligrapher on my team. Together, we engraved about 130 lighters and combs for this company party. The lighters ran out super fast. The guests and the clients were all so pleased, and today I even got an inquiry from that client asking if I could do live calligraphy at her wedding next month because sh- they just loved it so much. So obviously I am pretty happy with the outcome of this. And what I wanna talk to you about today is how you can also do things that you've never done before, and how to set yourself up for success for that. A lot of times I think we talk ourselves out of doing something because we haven't done that exact thing before, when in actuality we have all the skills that we need in order to be successful at it. At the same time, I don't believe you should say yes to just any opportunity that you've never done before. So that's kinda what I wanna talk to you about today is when to kind of take that leap and go for it versus when it might make sense to have a little bit more preparation before you do something. So for example, if someone came to me wanting a large wall installation for their wedding, I would approach it differently. I don't think I would say yes to that kind of project right away because I don't have the design skills needed for that, the woodworking skills, know enough about physics, and I think most of all, I don't have the drive to figure it out. With engraving, I was obviously, as I mentioned, I was very driven to figure it out because I wanted to do that job. Doing large walls and installs, I, I love to admire them from afar, but I also don't think that's something I'm personally interested in taking on that type of work. Let's talk about identifying those situations where you can push yourself and still be set up for success. So I'm gonna give you a couple of tips.

 Tip 1. Do you have transferable skills?

Shaochen 3:33

So the first thing to kind of ask yourself is, do you have other relevant skills that support whatever this new venture or opportunity is? For example, with engraving, I had never done live engraving before, but I have done calligraphy for years. I'm familiar and comfortable with my signature calligraphy style. I've also done live events for years, and so I know what it's like to manage a flow of guests and also how to make sure that it's a smooth experience. And the only piece I'm really missing is that actual engraving skill. So in order for me to decide if it was smart to book this job before ever learning engraving, I asked my calligrapher friends, "How long did it take you to pick up engraving? What was the learning curve like for you already knowing calligraphy?" I also read blogs. I read them about, like, the technique itself, the different burr sizes, the RPMs. I watched a few YouTube videos, and then I also researched supplies, and I got a lot of great recommendations from my calligrapher friends. Definitely shout out to my com-community here that helped me out. And I'll actually, I'll go ahead and link in the show notes the engraving supplies I, I ended up purchasing from the recommendations I got, 'cause I did have quite a few questions about that as well. So I'll go ahead and link the things that I got for engraving. Now, with the feedback that I heard back, I was pretty sure I could pick up engraving quickly, especially when somebody told me it was less tricky than hot foiling, which I already do and I actually really love. And by the way, now I totally agree with the sentiment that I think engraving is easier than foiling. So I went ahead, I ordered all my supplies, and one week before my live event, I turned on my engraver for the first time. But all the research I did up to that point paid off because I felt like I picked it up right away. I was prepared knowing that you use a higher RPM for glass, a lower one for plastics. Obviously, there was still some trial and error, you know, testing pressure, my speed of writing, RPM speeds on different materials. I had gathered glass, metal, plastic in preparation because I knew I was going to be working with different surfaces. But overall, I felt like it was a really smooth transition into engraving. I honestly practiced for maybe two days before the event, and I felt great at the event.

Tip 2: Being ready is a decision

Shaochen 5:44

So tip number two is that you get to decide when you're ready. Elaine actually said this on our last episode that being ready isn't so much a feeling as a decision. And I love that shift. When you're launching something new or booking a new opportunity, you get to decide when you're ready. For me with the engraving, I just mentioned a couple things that I did to help myself decide that I was ready. I did the research. I talked to my community of calligraphers. I tested a bunch of different samples. For you, it could look like taking a course, brushing up on a specific skill, maybe doing some hands-on testing. That's honestly the best way to learn is just getting your hands dirty. I think the biggest mistake that I see, honestly, is that people never make the decision to be ready. They focus on the prep and more prep, and it can always be better, right? Of course, my engraving can be better, and I know it will over time. My skill with that new technique is going to get better. The thing is, you can also never get to the point where you feel ready, even though to an outsider, you look plenty capable. I don't think any of the people at the event last Thursday knew that it was my first time at a live engraving event. If you find yourself in the position where you are just constantly overthinking, never feeling like you could be ready, I suggest making a list of the steps you're going to take to prepare and tell yourself that once those steps are done, you get to be ready. Don't keep adding more steps to the list. It's easy to think once X happens or when I'm Y, next thing you know, you're never going to do the thing. You get to make that decision for when you are ready for the next step.

Tip 3. How to book projects you've never done before

Shaochen 7:22

Tip number three, you don't need to have done a specific type of project before, before you book that project. I think this can be a common misconception, but it's really this like chicken or egg problem. How are you supposed to get the job you want if someone will only book you for the job if you've had that job before, right? So I mean, I'm proof of this with my engraving gig story, and this also isn't the first time that I've booked a job that I've never done before. The first seating chart I ever created was a seating chart that a client paid me for. And honestly, it felt kind of daunting at the time because seating charts are pretty different than other types of signage with all of those names. But like I said in the first tip, there were certain things that made me confident that it was something that I could tackle. I had done other larger signs before. I had done other signs with multiple lines before, I was familiar with the materials like the acrylic and paint pen, and I knew that I could figure it out. I won both of these jobs, the engraving gig and the seating chart, not by having done those jobs before, but by giving the client confidence that I could be successful at them so with the seating chart client, they liked my calligraphy style. They had seen some of those other signage pieces I'd done, like a order of events bridal party type sign that had a lot of those lines and text or like a wedding program. For the engraving job, I included photos of my hot foiling work in their proposal, so they could see my calligraphy style. I talked to them about other live events I'd done. I shared a reel that was showing me personalizing items. Our clients often don't understand the difference between calligraphy techniques. Foiling might as well be engraving. Engraving might as well be embroidery. These are both true stories of things that I've heard from clients or that other people have told me. the key here is that the work I showed to these clients gave them confidence that I could perform in a new medium or a technique. So just remember, you don't have to have done the exact job before. You just need to decide that you can do it and help your clients see that you can do it too.

 Mindset shift: what if it works out?

Shaochen 9:25

Now, if you're feeling like you need some help getting out of your head and start taking action, I would love to help you through my coaching programs. More preparation and more thinking isn't what's going to help grow your business. Follow through and taking action is what's gonna grow your business. If you're feeling stuck in the planning and the thinking and the overwhelm, I want you to know that you're not alone. I literally hear this from every calligrapher that I talk to. Our brains wanna keep us safe, and inaction often comes from a place of fear, afraid of failing, afraid that something won't work out. So I wanna challenge you to flip that question. Ask yourself, "What if it works out? What if I succeed?" Imagine what's on the other side of that success, what your business and your life could look like. In my case, to continue my engraving story, I had all of my engraving supplies covered by this live event, and I made a handsome profit. I now have a new service to offer to make even more revenue in my business, and I know that's gonna open up so many more opportunities because there's lots of engraving opportunities that I've passed up over the years, and I already actually have another engraving client in the books. This all happened within this past month, just a couple weeks, and this can happen for your business too. One of my coaching clients, Amy, she experienced this shift from overthinking to taking action and launching two services during our time together. She said, "Before the program, I had so many ideas and goals that I was noodling over for a long time, especially bottle painting and fashion illustration. I would overthink to the point of feeling overwhelmed and eventually felt paralyzed to the point of inaction. I feel significantly more confident in my pricing, my brand identity, and my ability to actually move ideas forward instead of staying stuck in planning mode forever. I came into this program hoping to organize the fifty million tabs open in my brain, but I left with a much stronger sense of direction and a belief in what I'm capable of building. The accountability, encouragement, and strategic guidance helped me to stop overcomplicating everything and start actually taking action. The guidance you get through coaching helps you to make decisions that you need to take the next step. A lot of times our inaction is because we're stuck in the decision-making process. If you're ready to pick up the momentum in your business, I would love to have you in either of my coaching programs, my CEO Partner 12-week one-on-one coaching accelerator or my new Ascent six-month group coaching program that kicks off on June 1st. Both programs offer personalized coaching and will support you through taking action on the specific goals that you have for your business, the main difference between the programs is the level of access to me. So I'll drop the links for more information about both programs in the show notes, and I'd love to just chat with you as well. So go ahead and shoot me a DM on Instagram at monstera.gold.