Hi, everyone, and welcome back to the Social Hour Podcast, a podcast for PSOAs by SOAUs. I'm your host, Bethany, and I am joined by Lena Owen again. And we are back to talk about finding your voice in the sewing industry and what that might look like. Lena, thank you for joining me again. Thank you for having me. I am so excited. I love having like uh a guest co-host on some of these topics uh because it gives a different perspective on things. So thank you for volunteering. And this is if you haven't listened to two episodes ago uh where Lena was on and we were talking about, you know, going through a loss in your life and how that can create a heaviness and still your joy of creativity. And we kind of talked about some of our personal experiences in regards to that. And we appreciate everyone who tuned into that one. This time we're gonna talk about another topic that we kind of hinted at that uh came up in our conversations when we were discussing what we were both personally dealing with, and that was finding our voice in the sewing industry, finding our niche, uh, finding our balance and being creative and running a business and being self-employed and social media and how it can all feel like a lot, and how to balance it all. And I want to preface this podcast by saying that neither one of us have figured this out. And I would almost go as far as to say that I don't really think anybody in our industry has really figured it out. We have just all figured out ways to make it work for ourselves, and we're always learning and evolving. So this isn't like a step-by-step guide on how to be successful in the sewing industry as a self-employed person. But this is an honest conversation of things that we've experienced, things that we're trying to pursue and do. Uh again, in conjunction with the last episode I did with Lena, where we found support by speaking up about the things we were struggling with. Um, this is kind of in that same era of we're speaking up on the things that we're struggling with in this space when finding our own voices, and how uh someone that's listening could say, could be the one to offer us some advice, but also someone who's listening could learn something from what we've learned as well. So this is a collective conversation, and I'd love for you to hop over to the uh Social SOAS Facebook group to continue the conversation over there uh so that we can continue to help each other. There's always going to be someone that knows something that you don't, and there's always gonna be someone that needs to learn from you as well. And that's what I'm hoping to come out of this conversation is us sharing our experiences and opening those doors to have those honest conversations of what it can look like. So that's what we're kind of jumping into. Does that sound right, Lena? Did I hit all the points? Yes, you did. You did good, good. All right, so um, we're gonna start out with an icebreaker question as always to get us started. The question is if social media disappeared tomorrow, would you still create?
SPEAKER_04Yes. That's all we're doing.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Absolutely. I do love sharing it because I love educating, I love inspiring others to find their confidence and and their joy in sewing. I think that would be the hardest part for me is losing that opportunity to connect with my community that I've worked really hard to build here online and everything. But I wouldn't be upset if social media disappeared either. Like, you know what I mean? Like, there's pros and cons to all of it. And I think I would find new ways to connect with my community uh if that happened.
SPEAKER_04Yes, I I I also feel the same way. I I think I in between the two of us, you are much greater at social media than I am. My social media presence is still very small, teeny tiny. Um and I feel that maybe it's because of my personal, I just truly I come from a place where I I share with you. I I haven't found the success or the following that um I guess the industry kind of expects you to have um in a way and that makes it even harder. Um and and it could be because I have a love-hate relationship with social media. I but I also struggle with my own self-esteem. And as I talk to you, Bethany, like I don't think I have a good voice for social media. I told I told you that I I sound like a little child.
SPEAKER_01I think you're adorable. Like I said, I want to put you in my pocket and you'd probably fit in my pocket. Um, but I think the things that we don't like about ourselves are what makes us unique. And when we lean into those uniquenesses about ourselves, then people will resonate with us more because they see us being authentic, and then, you know, you'll find your people. Um, so we're gonna kind of dive into that today because there's this is kind of a continuation of our previous conversation where you and I have both been laid off from jobs in our create. We were sharing that creative space with our job space, and how that took a toll on our creativity, how it made it feel really heavy, how it's been a journey that we're still on to overcome that heaviness and take ownership of our spaces again. So they bring us joy and we are creative again. And by being vulnerable and sharing our experiences, I think is uh what social media is about. It's meant to be social, it's meant to bring people together.
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_01It does not mean that everybody has to like you. It does not mean that you have to like everybody that's on social media either. It's a space that you get to curate your own little corner of the internet. And um, and we're gonna kind of talk about what that can look like, but that's just a small bucket of our conversation today. It's really the industry as a whole, all the different facets that come into having a voice in this industry that you have to consider. So if you are considering this, maybe take some notes and jot some things down to consider. Um, nobody is gonna be an expert in all of these areas. There, there's one thing that we all probably have in common when we're speaking about coming into the sewing industry is we love to sew, some type of sewing, right? And we've honed up a skill to the point where we're ready to share it with others and be more involved in this industry from different perspectives. And with that comes a responsibility or necessity, I guess I should say, where you have to show up in other areas with email marketing or a website or social media or reaching out to brands or connecting with other creatives. And a lot of that is new to people for the first time. And it can feel very daunting. So we're gonna kind of talk about some of that and maybe how to learn and build your skills as well. Um, so let's talk about trying to build a creative career specifically after layoffs, because you both we both got laid off. We both thought, great, we now have an opportunity to pursue our dream of working for ourselves in this and have our voice in the sewing industry. Uh, as Lena talked about in a previous episode, um, she's trying to build a community um for quilting with Latinas and content and education that is in Spanish as well as English, but Spanish and reaching the Spanish-speaking communities globally, uh not just here in the US. And uh her mission is big but needed. And I love that she's making a space for that. And she's done a lot, so don't let her fool you. She's done a lot, and everybody's past looks different, okay? The girl's written a book, I haven't written a book. So, like, you know, like she's done a lot, but we're we're all everybody's past is different. I think that's the biggest takeaway I can tell you is it it's all different. Um, and we all may want different things out of this path, but let's talk about kind of what that looks like. So obviously we're starting over, we're starting like we feel we feel like you have like all this room all of a sudden. Like we've gone into um this opportunity where we aren't our time isn't limited by a full-time job anymore. And so we only have all this time to pursue our dream. And sometimes that can be daunting and overwhelming, and you're like, Oh, I have I don't have deadlines anymore. No one's giving me a deadline, no one's um controlling my schedule, no one's balancing everything. Like I it can feel overwhelming, you don't really know where to get started. Would you say that that's kind of realistic?
SPEAKER_04And so, yes, I totally agree with that. I feel that is like multi-layer thing when it comes to the overwhelm that you feel. Uh, because you know, yes, it's as you say, it's like an emotional exhaustion of like, how do I get started? Right? Where do I start? Where do I do first?
SPEAKER_01There's no job description. There's no guidelines, there's no deadlines, there's no one to report to, there's no one holding you accountable. It it is freeing and overwhelming at the same time.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and you can get cut up, you know, like and I'm gonna just be uh full transparency here, right? Please. So like like for example, like what are the things, you know, like because now this is your job, now this is your livelihood, livelihood. So now you have to figure out what are the things that are actually gonna make you money because if you don't make money, then you don't pay your very short dream. Yes, and then you gotta get back to back to corporate America or back to the sewing industry that somebody employs you, right? And so figuring it out, like for me, and I'm gonna talk about Lina Owen, Lina Owen, because I know that in the Spanish community there I don't have data, I don't have a lot of numbers, I don't have KPIs, I don't have ROI determinations, I don't have any of those things that the industry needs. And I know what they needed. That it's not that I I don't I come from a business mindset mindset. I am an international business professional by trade. So I know those things, right? Like they're engraved in my head. So I've been trying to just create awareness. So I've been putting all this work, and my husband is also in a bit of mindset and it's like, what are what is the returns of that? I I understand that you do have to invest in marketing, but it's not just marketing, you know. You cannot now just live of like, oh, they're gonna send me the fabric so I don't have to, I don't I don't have to spend money on that, but what else? Is there really it you have to think all of that, right? And so now it's like how do I start to where there's actually going to be a profit, right? So do I want to?
SPEAKER_01There is a there's definitely a pressure to monetize immediately. Uh and and I think starting with like now you have to look at sewing as like a business. So creating a business plan. Like, what are your strengths? We can if if marketing isn't your strength, social media isn't your strength, that's okay. But like we need to build a business plan. Like starting, what is your passion? Do you wanna host retreats like I do? Do you want to have a monthly community that does a subscription to learn from you? Do you wanna write a book? Do you wanna like there design patterns and sell patterns and get your patterns in quilt shops online? Um, like there's so many, and I just like barely scratch the surface of the opportunities. Um, those are uh just a few. Uh designing fabric, um there's so many. There's so many different things that you could do. Long arming, yeah. You could have just be a long armer, um, and and offer long arming services. There's so many different facets. And what's really cool about our industry being such a creative space is you can really define it to be whatever you want. And just because someone else is doing it doesn't mean that you can't. It's just you're gonna make it your own. You know, it's gonna, it's gonna be have your twist on it, your personality on it, your uh concept on it. But just because Lena long arms doesn't mean I can't long arm or vice versa. You know what I mean? But maybe Lena wants to, and maybe I don't want to, you know, like I don't have to, just because I have one. So like there's you get to choose, but you need to decide and make that like the focal of your business plan. Um, I will say when it comes to all of this, there's the fear of failure can really pump the brakes on things when you get scared of starting something new. I will admit that at the beginning of this year, I had every every intention of starting like a monthly, kind of like a virtual retreat, but like a membership where people would come and we'd learn. And and mine was more technique focused. I want you to learn techniques. I know so many different types of sewing, and I was like, I'm gonna lean into the fact that I can teach you a lot of different things, and you may decide that you don't like applique, but now you know you don't like applique and you tried it, or you love it, and now you want to apply it to bag making or to garments or to pillows, or I don't care, but like you're learning a technique that you can apply to the things that the types of sewing you like. That was kind of my approach. And I did an Instagram story testing, filling out the waters of like, where is everybody at? And this was like maybe in January, and I was planning on launching this, you know, um, January 1st, but it didn't happen because of life happening, as we kind of talked about in the previous episode or a couple episodes ago, but I was like, okay, I'm gonna try to launch this like in March. And so I was like kind of putting some feelers out there, and I was really kind of shocked by the feedback I got. It wasn't as positive as I thought it would be, and it really took the wind out of my sails, and I allowed it to take the wind out of my sails, and I allowed it to be uh a voice on my shoulder telling me I'm not good enough or I shouldn't waste my time. And there was a big learning curve for me to build this kind of platform on my website. Like I'm having to learn a lot in the process. Like the teaching part is my strength, but building the platform for it was all new. So it's like, well, now I've got this doubt. So now I'm not motivated to learn the hard stuff because I've already shot myself down for this, you know, like I've already taken the wind out of my sails by this. And that was really hard. Really, really hard for me to um accept. And now I'm over here going, why did I do why did I allow that to stop me? But I don't think it was the right time for me to start it. I was still in survival mode, and now I'm coming out of that. So now I'm looking at like future plans and what that can look like. But uh that fear of failure, that imposter syndrome, um, and just trying to turn something that's your passion into an income is really hard because now it's not just like a release for the day, you know, or a therapeutic thing. Now it's like you gotta do it. And for some people, they try that and they find that they didn't love that aspect of it. For other people, they don't care. Um, I think what makes me the most sad is people who start businesses because they love to sew and now they have no time to sew. And I wish they would prioritize time to sew, even if it's just once a month, because they need to be reminded of why they started, right? So I don't want to get to that point, but I also want to share and connect. So there's there's so many aspects to getting started. Getting started, taking those first steps and acknowledging that these things exist. And even for someone who's had their brand for a long time, I still experience these things, like the fear of failure. Because I'm trying something. Every time I try something new, I'm like, what if, what if? You know, it's and and I have nothing to really compare it to, just feedback from others. I'm questioning, is the market oversaturated? Reality is there's room for everybody. Just do what you want to do. I don't know why I keep listening to these negative thoughts, but we all have them. We all have them, and we just can't let them be louder than the positive things. And when I find that things are getting a little too loud on the negative side, I connect with a friend, connect with someone like Lena, I connect with someone else in the industry who's doing what I want to do, and I pick their brain. Uh, and the right people will share what you need to know. Uh, we'll be honest with you. I have found a great community of people in the industry who aren't gatekeepers that want to make a space for everybody else. Um, Amy, who was on the last episode, she uh is a prime example of that. Uh, and we kind of talked about that in the last episode. So if you didn't hear it, go back and listen to it. But she has done a fantastic job of helping me in areas that I needed help, and then I was able to do the same for her.
SPEAKER_04I also want to add something that you know also is the financial part of it as well, right? And so many people shy away from talking about uh the financial investment that goes into it. And did you actually have the funds? The thing is that this is a hobby industry, right? And there is a challenge into because these things are expensive, and so uh when you get laid off and you're like uh okay, so now I have to uh adjust life because uh I was custom of this uh lifestyle based on my income, right? But now I want to pursue this, like there's so many things that go into that decision making, right? And like and that's why you do have a pressure to monetize immediately because there is a financial impact that goes into things. So now that you don't longer have a financial backing because you say, okay, I'm gonna start slow, or this was my idea, right? I'm gonna start slow and I'm gonna go in and I'm gonna invest it. I have my salary, I'm going to just my extra money. Obviously, my husband and I talked about it, and it's like, yes, I'm okay with you investing in your dream, right? So we're going to invest this money. And so it wasn't costing us, right? It was me investing. And once it goes to the point where whatever uh years it takes, we don't have a pressure, and how many years it takes, it's okay. We we have a plan, right? And then that plan poof disappears. Life happens. And then now it's like I was focusing on all right, maybe you know, if if they provided me fabric, that was okay at that point, you know. Yes, that translating things for free, that was okay, right?
SPEAKER_01Because it was creating brand awareness, but that's what happens, and free doesn't pay the bills, free doesn't pay the rent on your studio space or the payment on a machine or anything else for your time. Like, yeah, so I get it. Like what you're saying is when you first get started, you're open to taking some brand deals as a small creator in exchange for free product for exchange for some content or or brand recognition because it's kind of like a a trade-off. The the thing is, I get that to a point. I've done it, we we've all done it. You have to decide when it's the right time. And sometimes it's a great opportunity to get your foot in the door with a brand to show them what you're capable of, and vice versa. That you know, there's a lot of brands that send stuff to people and then they never post about it. So I get it from both sides. I've worked on the brand side, I've worked as the creator side, I've seen both where you've Send stuff to people and then they don't follow through with their end, and vice versa. Um, so it is hard to know when to speak up and ask for more, or to say, hey, I appreciate you wanting to send me more fabric or whatever, but like if you're gonna ask for this, then I do need to be compensated for that. And that is a hard conversation that a lot of people are scared to have, and and rightfully so. I think it's really easy to sell people on something when you're working for a company and that is your job, right? To sell them on a service, sell them on a product, sell them on a whatever because you're it's not attached to you personally. You just work there and you sell what you've been trained to sell. When it is you personally and you're selling yourself and your services or your product personally, it is so much harder because that no can feel personal. That no can feel like a rejection and it can take the wind out of your sales. You can't let that. I someone who has worked in sales, I love sales, um it's not for everybody. But if you get into this industry, even as just a creator, and I say just like as a creator or anybody in this industry, you're gonna have to sell what you do to people. So you're gonna have to practice that. That is something that comes with practice. That is something that um maybe taking uh on watching some online courses or videos on YouTube of selling techniques, it doesn't even have to be related to our industry. It's just learning how to communicate and learning how to sell yourself, how to market yourself and what you're doing, what you're building. Whether you're selling um a quilt shop that you're starting, right? And you're can selling what you have to offer to your community to come shop from you or shop from you online, or if it's selling what you do as an educator to a brand to partner with them to create content that they need, you know, it at the end of the day, it's still you're selling yourself. Uh, you have to be very strong in your mission. You need to write down a mission statement, put that in your business plan that we talked about, and make it very clear like this is my focus. I think a lot of brands want to hear what your focus is, what you're passionate about, um, why what what you do is different than anybody else's. I mean, Lena, you're like, I'm gonna do it in Spanish. But if you want it in English, I can do it in English. But I want to do it in Spanish. That makes you stand out. That should be your number one selling point. Is like, yes, I can quilt, but I want to translate that into Spanish for you. Or I can take your existing content and translate it into Spanish. Like, there are so many opportunities for that. So she's found her niche of even though it's quilting, but her niche, her specialty is the translation to have that be more readily available in our community. Um, so you've got to kind of we kind of need to talk a little bit about niche. I struggle with this conversation because I don't have a niche. I don't have a niche. I'm gonna tell you right now, I have struggled with this for so long. I've had so many people tell me you need a niche down, you need a niche down, you need a niche down to like one thing, just this type of quilting, or just bag making, or just garment sewing, or just this, or just that. And I'm like, I know from personal experience who just had a bandana business for pets where I made freaking triangle bandanas, tens of thousands of them for years. I did not want to just do one thing ever again. Like, I got so tired of sewing dog bandanas, like it was painful. I made great money doing it, I made stupid money making dog bandanas, and mine were special, but I still got sick and tired of doing it. I learned in that experience that I cannot continue to do the same thing over and over and over again. That is just not who I am. I like to be challenged and I like to educate people and I like to build a community. I'm an outgoing person. So that's why I've always focused on uh learning and doing new things and sharing different types of sewing. But I know that it has been a a part of my slower growth on my socials because I will resonate with one person today and someone else tomorrow. So, what helps them want to stay, or what helps them wanna grow with me if they're seeing all different types of sewing? I had a very powerful conversation with a friend at Quilt Market last fall. Her name is Carly Porter. Um, she does graffiti quilting. She is very much niche down. She sat with me, I want to say, for the like the last two plus hours of that show. We sat at a table together and we had a very open, honest conversation. And this is the first time I've met her in person. I've been following her for years and we've chatted online, but she was willing to sit down with me. And one thing she, I said, Carly, I don't have a niche. And she was like, Yeah, you do. I was like, No, I don't. I do all the things. Like, I love all types of sewing, and I've been professionally trained in all types of sewing. I don't have a niche. How can I pick one? And she's like, that is your niche, that you do all types of sewing. Why can't that be your niche? Why can't people learn that about you and say, yeah, I know if I have a question about applique, I can go to Bethany. But if I have a question about embroidery, I can go to Bethany. Or if I have a question about garment sewing, I can go to Bethany. Like, why can't you be that goat that can't be that can be your niche? And it took someone else, it took her saying that for me to go, huh? And she goes, Do you realize like that that is a superpower? And I was like, really? And she goes, There's a lot of people who have niched down into one area, and that's their whole brand, and they don't feel like they can explore, even if they want to, because that's what their whole brand is based around. She's like, but there's people like you who love to do it all and love to share it all, and there's nothing wrong with that. So you do not have to pick a niche, you just need to lean in to who you are, and that is your superpower, that you can be a resource for so many different types of psoas who do so many different types of things, and that's rare. And I was like, I thought I was cursed, and she made me see it in a light of um power, you know, it is a superpower, and I just I kind of was taking that for granted, not because I meant to, but just because I've been told so many times that I have to niche down into one type of thing. And reality is she's right, and I needed to hear that from someone else. So anyone who's struggling with niching down or saying, I've been in this one niche and now I want to try something else, like no one's telling you not to, except for yourself and other people in the community who've who believe that. But I don't think you need to niche down. I think you need to focus maybe on one thing at a time. Like if you're building an online community, like define that very clearly. If you're gonna do retreats, define that very clearly. But my retreats aren't just quilting or just bag making or just garment sewing. It's like a mix of all of them, right? Like we kind of mix it all in there. So there's something for everybody. You have to figure it, like, figure out what is most important to you. I do recommend creating a space that allows you to grow as you grow. But if you only love quilting and that's that's all you want to do, then do that. There's like you, your business, you get to decide how you show up. Don't let other people tell you. I was letting other people tell me that I had to do different things, and that that was hurting me.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and I was like, and I think it is because we listen to a lot of like when you're going to, or for example, for me, I can relay so much into what you're saying because we talked about it. Like I feel like I have to niche down, but yes, I guess my niche is only I want to educate and bring this wonderful community to the Spanish people, right? Or the Spanish speaking community. But I don't want to be quilting. Lina only, yes, Lina only teaches quilting in Spanish. No, I don't want it to be that. You know, I want to do all the things because that's just what I am. And that's hard for me to, and I know that can be challenging. And as you said, let's concentrate on one thing at a time. The industry now tells you it's important for you to have multiple income streets, right? So then you have to have, you know, maybe you sell passive income, which are your patents and things like that, right? But all of that takes time. You know, this about being so public and sharing my stories, and I don't really like to talk to the camera because I personally don't feel like I'm beautiful or I don't feel so self-confident on my body, right? And that's something that I'm working individually, and I know that I have made progress on it, but I'm not perfect at it yet. So I I don't, you know, like I love teaching, but I don't necessarily love teaching when I'm like in the camera. So there's so many different things, right? That, and then I'm like, okay, if I do long arming, I can be behind the scenes, right? And I can start, you know, just long arming for people and creating a service. I know operations. So I know how to improve a system, how to make things better, I know how to reach out to companies, I know how to do, but I am bad at marketing, I'm bad at social media, I am horrible at taking pictures, or I put that stigma in my head that I'm not good at it, right? And then it stops me from doing the damn thing instead of just going out there and doing it. And I know that, right? I feel like, oh, I don't have this.
SPEAKER_01Fear factor, we get in our own ways and we judge ourselves. You know what it is? We tend to f like when we're feeling this pressure, or like we know we need to post about it and we know we need to show up and show our face. Um we that feels hard. So we tend to go, well, to feel productive today, I'm gonna do these things over here instead. Because yes, those things need to get done, and that's your safe comfort zone of the things that you the tasks that you need to do, but that that wasn't as productive as you showing up and doing the hard thing today. Um, so to challenge you a little bit, and this is something that I do, so this is not this is me preaching to the choir, I do this myself. Um, I kind of make my to-do list throughout for the day, and I try to keep it short and reasonable. It's really easy, like I have a master to-do list, but then I'll take like the things that are time-sensitive or most important, I'll move those into a separate like daily list. So my master list is like me brain dumping all the things I know I need to get done, but some of those things don't have to get done today or even this week. But they're they're things I can't forget. They can't fall through the crack. So I have a master list. This is all on my phone and my notes tab, by the way. Um, and then I copy like the few that I know I want to get done today and I move that into a new tab on my phone, a new notes tab. And I I have the little bullet points and I love checking them off. It's just as satisfying as crossing off. But you do it however you want. You want a pen and paper, do pen and paper. So I move those few things over so that I don't get overwhelmed by the big list and I don't get distracted by the things on the big list. Because on the big list, there's gonna be things that um are easier, more comfortable for me to do. But then there's things that feel scary and overwhelming, and maybe those are more important or time sensitive that I need to do. And so I will move those into a separate list and I will only look at that list for that day. When that list is done and I've got some time to spare and some energy left, I may go pull something easy off the longer list to knock it out. But I I really consolidate that list uh to just being maybe two or three things, depending on how big those tasks are. And then the other thing is I time block it on my calendar. So I did this when I worked corporate. I've always done this. This was something that I learned from a boss ages ago. Um, probably back in 2014 or 2015, he sat me down. He literally saw me like so overwhelmed with all the things I was managing. And this was back when I was in um like a recruiter talent acquisitions in an agency. So it's like bullpen, there's people everywhere. I'm overstimulated, I'm like crashing, and I'm managing a whole division, and I am barely staying afloat, and I'm exhausted and I'm on the verge of tears sitting at my desk, and he could see it on my face. He's like, Hey, let's go for a walk. So we went for a walk, and he was like, You're overwhelmed, aren't you? And I was like trying to like suck the tears back into my eyes, like, no, I'm good, I'm good. And he's like, I have an idea. So we went and sat down with a notepad, and he was like, I am gonna write down everything that comes out of your mouth. I want you to tell me everything that's in your head right now. And I was like, That's a lot, and we might be here for a while. He's like, That's okay, I got the time. And I knew he was busy. I had a million things to do. I felt like it was a waste of time to take the time to do this. He said, No, trust me. So I did. We sat in this room, just the two of us, we missed our lunch and everything. We sat there for a while. And I was like, I need to it was every little thing that I had been trying to keep tabs of in my head, he was writing down. And he wrote them all down in the order that I spit them out, and my brain was all over the place. It was a hot mess. The second he's like, Are you sure that's it? And I was like, I think so. And he goes, How do you feel? And I was like, I feel like I just took the heaviest blanket off of me. Like it just was like a weight lifted just as just to get it out of my head and onto paper. And he was the one that wrote them all down, not me. And so then we kind of looked at it and he was like, Okay, well, let's prioritize these. So we went through and numbered them, you know, one, two, three, four, up and down. So each one, each task had a number. And then he went through and he was like, Well, you have a team and you have me. And nobody expects you to do all these things. That's not realistic. I don't know why you think you have to do it all. And that's because I'm a control freak. But that's besides the point for today. So he went through and said, I can handle this for you. So and so can handle this, that's their job. You need to make sure that they do it. Like, and he went through and he's like, helped me prioritize and then delegate. And it was the first time in my life that someone sat me down and gave me uh a method to process everything that was going on. Fast forward 12 years later, 11 years later, and I still use those tools. The other thing that he showed me later in the week was time blocking and the value of respecting your time. And so he had me block my time on my calendar in chunks. He's like, How long does this task typically take you? And it wasn't like how long should it take you? It's like if this is a task you really don't like to do and you're gonna kind of you know you're gonna like be slow at it because you're just like, oh, it's painful to get through. Give yourself more time. The easy tasks you can whip through really quickly. But then he really made it important that I prioritize breaks in between, like brain breaks, get up and walk away. And I was like, I don't have time, I don't have time. He's like, you have time. You have time, you have to do these things because if you don't, then you're gonna burn out faster and then you're not gonna have any productivity. And that's what he was teaching me. And it sounds simple, it sounds easy, but it is a skill that isn't taught in school. It's it's something that I had to learn the hard way, and I'm so grateful for a manager who was willing to take the time to sit down and show me these things because he saw me crashing and burning, but he also saw how hard I worked. He also saw my passion, my motivation, my work ethic. I just needed a better system to manage it. That system has helped me tremendously in my life ever since, with jobs that had me working 80 hours a week. How do you think I got all of it done? Right. Um to working for myself and respecting my time. I time block still. I look at my calendar every night of what I've got blocked for the next day. Like, okay, so I'm like mentally prepared when I wake up. I'm not, there's no surprises. This is what I'm doing. I'm going to bed with a mindset of this is what I'm tackling. I do give myself grace if I'm having a bad day or I wake up with a migraine. I know I have the power to shift things around, but I do try to respect my time. If someone calls me and says, hey, can you go to lunch today? I'm sorry I can't. I mean, technically I could. I'm my own boss. I could drop everything and go, but that's not respecting my time and the things I need to do. So you kind of have to treat it as if a boss is telling you, and your boss can be your calendar and you need to put it on your calendar and respect your time. I think, you know, we were talking about balancing it all. I think that is one of the best life lessons ever learned. I don't follow it to a T every day like I should, but I keep trying and it keeps helping. And so if me sharing that process with someone else and you make it work for you, like I have it on um on my calendar on my phone. Uh I use my notes app on my phone, and the reason is is because my phone's always with me. So if I leave the house, I know what I need to be doing. If I what's on my to-do list, if I'm filming in my studio, I know what I'm gonna be doing next. I it helps me stay focused. Um, and it's been very helpful. So balancing all of that is really important, but you have to respect yourself and respect your time. Um, there's no one else holding you accountable to do so. There's no boss, there's no deadline, there's no bonuses to earn. It is all you. Uh and that's that's where you're gonna see a difference in those who um are just skating by and those who are making big leaps to do big things. Uh you've got to prioritize those things. And that's that's really hard.
SPEAKER_04I am more of an analog kind of person. So it's just me on some book and a pen.
SPEAKER_01And so and I'm over here with my phone and my laptop. Like, let's go. You know, so you work with what works for you.
SPEAKER_04And I mean, and I do a combination of both. There's things that I do put on my note my notes, and there's things that I do have on my and so at the beginning of the year, knowing that I I wanted to to to do this, so I bought myself a calendar and I'm like checking, and I am doing like what am I doing today, right? And and what what do I need to follow up? So I totally agree with you. I came that with naturally to me, uh, and it's just that I know it's like I don't sometimes you don't apply what you know to yourself, right? Because you're so the fear of failure or the the fear I it's like when you learn a second language, okay? So I'm I mean, I don't know, uh the way that I learned English. So as you grow older, you have fear of like, oh, I'm gonna sound weird, I'm gonna have this weird accent, I don't want to really talk because I feel ashamed that I'm gonna make a mistake. And that's what stops a lot of people of learning a new language because they is the fear of oh, these people are gonna think instead of like people are gonna help you, you know, get better at it, and you're only gonna get better with practice. And I know this as a person that's learned a completely different language, I know that I'm only gonna get better with practice. But I also know that you're as that's why people move to the area where they're forced to speak the language because you have to immerse yourself for at least a short period of time to be able to like really comprehend it. So I started international business, which means that in my country, I took English two hours every day. I knew how to read it and I knew how to write it. I had a hard time listening to it, understanding it, and I had a hard time speaking it. I was terrified. Five, right? And then life brought me to this country because life told me Judy to learn English. Why? I don't know. I still don't know why.
SPEAKER_00Well, you do a great job of it.
SPEAKER_04Maybe because I needed to learn quilting. I don't know, but I mean I still have the certain words that I cannot pronounce well.
SPEAKER_01And there's words in the English language that I can't pronounce, and I it's the only language I speak. So it's okay. We're very hard on ourselves. We're very hard on ourselves. Uh and we we feel like we have to have it all figured out or have all the answers before we ever get started. And that's not realistic, or else you'll never get started. Um, the other thing I want to mention is when we have those harder tasks on our to-do list, do them first. Do them first. Some people say start with the little wins first. No, do the hardest thing first. That's when your brain is the freshest in the morning. Uh, you're gonna feel even more accomplished, and everything after that is gonna be smooth sailing. And don't put more than one really hard thing on your schedule for the day. So if you're time blocking, like, okay, so for me, time blocking, I color code the task. I go as far as to color code it. So I know if I'm doing a live, that's orange. That that's the color orange for me. It's a live and um it takes a lot of energy out of me. And I need to, I need to block time beforehand to prep my materials and set up my space and make sure everything's working before I go live. I know after I go live, I need a good hour to decompress. I need to get out from the lights, I need to decompress. I may even take a little cat nap if I have to, or just get outside and get some fresh air. Um, after that, my capacity is probably just gonna be emails. Really, after that. Uh, I'm not gonna be filming an editing video, I'm not gonna be posting uh a reel. I'm not gonna, I'm, I'm gonna be doing the bare minimum after that. That's me, but that's that day. Other days I can do different things. I try to do the thing that's gonna take the most out of me at the beginning of the day because that's when I'm at my best. But it's natural for us to want to push that out because we want to avoid it. And then it gets to the point in the day where you're like, well, now I can't film because my whole family's come home from work or whatever, and there's noise here, and I need to cook dinner, and I'll try again tomorrow. And then we end up in the same boat. Next thing you know, we haven't started. So don't overwhelm yourself by thinking you have to do everything in one day. Take the hard task, the hardest tasks, spread them out over the week, and then buffer in breaks and the little things that you are comfortable with. And don't forget to add time to be creative. And so uh, if you're designing patterns, you need to still be sewing up other patterns in the meantime. Uh, you gotta you gotta space it out, you gotta break it up. Um, we were talking a little bit about social media and self-esteem, and I know you mentioned this a couple times. Um, let's dive into this a little bit. I get asked all the time how I'm so comfortable on camera, so comfortable showing up online. I wish I had an answer. That was like the magic wand for everyone. I think part of it is I think everybody who really wants to do it can do it. Let me just say that. I think it comes easier for others than it does for some. Okay. I think it does come easier for me. And I couldn't tell you why. I've never met a stranger in my life. Okay. My mom always likes to tell the story that when we were at the grocery store and I'm sitting in the front of the buggy at like two years old or one year old, and we're going up and down every aisle at the grocery store. I say hi to every single person I see in the grocery aisle, and I will continue to say hi to them until they acknowledge my existence. That's the kind of kid I was from birth. Okay. I am not shy. I'm the one that they had to really teach like Stranger Danger. There are some bad people in the world where I'm just like, everybody's great. Let's say hi to everybody, let's be friends with everybody. I think that is just my personality. Like, I just want to get to know everybody. It's not about me. I just want to get to know you. Um, and so I think that's what makes it fun when I get to educate and meet people. I'm not intimidated or worried about anything. Like I had someone ask me one time, like, I've always wanted to do retreats, but I'm so nervous because I don't know who's gonna sign up. And if they're what if some people don't get along, or what if someone says something that, you know, isn't nice or whatever, and I'm just like, that's never crossed my mind. That's never crossed my mind. You want to know why? Because the people that come to my retreats are the people that have been supporting me and know who I am and have been following me for a while. And I've attracted those positive people, so they're just at my retreats. Like I've never had an issue ever. And if I did, I have the confidence to handle it professionally. Maybe that's my HR background. I don't know. But like I've it's never been a concern because I believe in what you put out is what you attract, and I feel like I put out really good vibes, and I'm hoping those good vibes come back to me, and they really do. Uh, and so that's never been a concern of mine. Um I just, you know, I I if you don't know, I used to go on the home shopping network and sell sewing machines for a major brand, and I did it for a couple years, and I flipping loved it. Never knew that I would love doing something like that. Going on live TV, setting up my whole set, creating my own demos and everything, and a different host every time, not knowing what they're gonna ask me. And I meet them 30 seconds before we go on air. Sometimes I'm on air for 15 minutes, sometimes I'm on air for an hour, and I'm launching a whole new product. Um, and sometimes I'm on air at midnight, 8 a.m., noon, 4 p.m., 7 p.m., back at midnight, like I'm on multiple times throughout the day. It is a lot, and I loved every minute of it, minute of it. But I will tell you right now, that is not for everybody. And so it is a it is when we're talking about all the things that go into running a business in this industry and finding your voice in this industry, when we talk about Lena has strengths, Bethany has strengths, you have strengths, all of our strengths are different. Mine just hasn't happens to be in front of a camera, it does not intimidate me. So if I can uh help you find your confidence in this, then great. If it's uh but you know what I do with most people who are nervous, and I've had this conversation with several of my friends at H H just recently was um, they're like, I really need to grow my YouTube. I just really struggle with going live. And I'm like, well, then let's do one together. Let's do it live together. I'll be your safety blanket, your security blanket. I don't care. Like, let's go live together. I'll handle the technical side of it, the part that's like slowing you down. You don't know, like I'll handle that. I'll show you what I use, I'll teach you what I do. You can figure out what works for you. But like, let's just go live. Let's let's pick a topic, let's make a block. I don't really care. We can talk about anything. Let's just go live. At the end of the day, we can delete it when we're done. We don't have to keep it there, but let's just go live. Like, what's the worst that's gonna happen? Um, I I think we get in our own way, but truth be told, your audience just wants you to show up and be yourself. Like we overcomplicated. We need the lights, we need the cameras, we need it. I started everything with my phone. Let me tell you, okay, I'm gonna say something real quick. My first YouTube video that I ever posted on my YouTube channel did not have my face on it. I didn't say welcome to my channel. I didn't give my channel a name officially. I um it was I didn't say subscribe and follow. I didn't say all the things you're supposed to do. It was a screen recording of me going through Cricut Design Space, teaching you how to upload a file and create an SVG file in Cricut Design Space, literally like not even 10 minutes long. And I was, I kept getting in my way, and I finally was just like, I don't have filming equipment, I don't have a camera, I don't have a phone, like I just had my phone, but I was like, I have my computer and I know this software really well. So I'm just gonna screen record this and talk while I'm doing it. And I just and it captured my voice, it captured my screen recording. I didn't have an intro, I didn't have an outro, I had nothing. There was no music to it. I didn't edit anything because I didn't even know how to edit video. And I knew that I just needed to figure out the process of posting on my YouTube channel, and I didn't really care what it was because nobody was following my YouTube channel. So it was just like I just need to go through the process to understand what all is involved so that the next time it will get better. Next time I'll have a cover photo, you know what I mean? Like next time I'll have a description with links, you know. Like I, but I didn't, you don't know until you just start. And I started. Now I have over 20,000 subscribers on my YouTube channel, and I barely post over there like I'm supposed to. I'm trying to do better at it. But I I say that to say if you were to go to someone's YouTube channel that you admire and you're like, gosh, they have it all figured out. They have a beautiful studio, great lighting, their editing's on point, and all these things, and they have pop-ups, and they're they've got 100,000 plus subscribers. Cool, awesome. But go all the way back to their first video. It's humbling, and you know what? I could easily go delete mine, but I don't. I encourage you to go look at it, it's trash, and uh and I keep it there as a reminder for myself of how far I've come. Um, I've had videos that have gone viral and I've made a lot of money off of them. Cool. But like you just never know. You just have to keep posting, you just have to keep showing up, and nobody expects perfect. And honestly, the only platform I ever get critiques on my videos is YouTube, and there are always people who don't have a channel themselves, and they're like, I wish you didn't have background music when you were sewing. And I'm like, Well, it's sped up and it just would be weird if it was silent. So I put some little background music, and but I don't have to justify my choices to them. This is just what I like, and so I'm like, Cool, let me see your edited video, but they don't have one. So like I kind of put it, and I don't I don't mean to be mean, but I'm just kind of like, well, I'd love to see what you've done so I can learn from you, but they haven't done anything. So it kind of takes the wind out of the sails and helps me take ownership and pride in what I've done. I like what I've done. I've grown and learned, right? And I've gotten better. But like most people, most people are just grateful for the content. Or I remind them, like, hey, this is a free platform. You're welcome for the free tutorial. You know, I say that a lot, like I did this for free, you know, like this is you know, me putting this on my YouTube channel. Um, and I spent a lot of time on it. Um, so I do remind people like if they have anything like negative to say, I'm like, this was free for you to watch, and you didn't have to. You know, like I don't care.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and the majority of people are gonna be grateful, right? And yeah, and I've noticed that under the quilting with Latinas channel. So one thing that I also struggle is because I'm bilingual, right? So you find me on social media twice. You find me with blue belt designs and you find me with quilting with Latinas. And why is the reason? Because I struggle trying to find a balance. I wasn't I I wasn't I it was too confusing. The algorithm doesn't work the way that I work. So the algorithm doesn't work with you you either speak Spanish or you either speak English. And so um that was one of the hardest things. So, like I do have a YouTube channel on the Bluebell Designs, and I did a lot of back making and all of my tutorials there. Are they pretty? No. Am I going to raise them? No, I don't think so. I have like 587 subscribers. Have I posted there? No, I haven't in a while, in a long while. Why? Because I still have fear of failure, because I still get on my way. With quilted with Latinas.
SPEAKER_01By the way, you're halfway to a you're over halfway to a thousand subscribers, which is like one of the first steps to becoming monetized.
SPEAKER_04I know. And with quilted with Latinas, we're over at 500 and now two, right? Yeah. And that's where I'm been focusing, you know, and because there we do tutorials just in Spanish, right? And so we've been doing all of this free, and we still have all these sew alons that we're doing, and now we're doing this sew alone with Corey on a monthly basis where we do it bilingual in English and in Spanish. Yeah. And it's alive, right? And those take a lot of time. So but doing video is a it's a lot of work. It's a lot of work. It is and and one thing that I would say, even though I do get in my own way, and I am going to I'm gonna be accountable for that. And but when I bend and I put stories or I wear I show my face, people do respond. And people just say, you know what, Lena, you're being vulnerable. Yes, I I'm so glad I I cut your story. Yes, this is happening. But again, my coping mechanism is isolating, just like I spoke on the previous episode. So when I feel nervous, when I feel things, I isolate. I don't, I don't show up.
SPEAKER_01And so that's why we're gonna instead of isolating, we're gonna go, who can I connect with that's gonna hold me accountable to do the hard thing? This is why when my friends came to me and said, I need to grow my YouTube channel, but I'm so nervous about doing lives, and I'm like, let's do one together. I'll hold your hand. That's my strength. Let me help you. You know, okay. Well, this is her strength is um these she's doing pattern writing and making her own kits for her patterns. And I want to get there. So I'm learning from her. This isn't a one-way street, it is a two-way street, but that's why you build a community that is all pursuing the industry, even if it's a little different for everybody. We all still have to check the boxes of social media. We also have to check the boxes of emails or marketing or what websites or uh, you know, all these other little variables. And when we can learn from each other and help each other by utilizing our recognizing our strengths and then recognizing the areas that we struggle in or we need to learn more in, then we can partner with people who have those strengths. So I my strengths obviously I don't mind being in front of a camera. I love it. But I have things that I don't love doing that I am really slow at. Anything editing-wise, like video editing, and I can make the reel, but then you have then I have to edit it, and it's like all the wind goes right out of my sails. And I'm like, there's so many reels sitting on my phone that I have filmed that I've never edited because the joy of making it is already over for me. You know, and now I gotta do it.
SPEAKER_04It's not me. I but it's true, but it's not me. I mean, that's the thing. And I'm gonna find you beautiful and the content amazing, and I'm gonna elaborate it, and I'm gonna put it all when it's me, I'm like Yes.
SPEAKER_01And then I'm gonna be over here like, let's film this video together. This is gonna be so much fun, and I'm gonna bring you out of your comfort zone. Like, but that's but I will be honest, like anybody who I have helped over the years with getting them out of their comfort zone and starting it, now they're doing it on their own. It's almost like taking, I always jokingly say I have my little birdies in the nest, and I just kind of push them out and I watch them and I catch them and then I watch them, and then and then now they're off on their own. And there's so much pride I get in seeing them succeed and and and doing these amazing things and having these huge opportunities. But sometimes people just need a little push in the areas that they struggle with that may be my strength. But there's areas that I struggle in that I could also use help in, and I have a hard time f asking for help. And I think that's a big part of it is we don't want to admit our weaknesses. We don't want to admit that we need help. Uh, we don't want to ask for help. Uh we, you know, we see people who are killing it in areas that we're just like, oh, but you know what? Some of the best things I've ever gotten out of um having those hard conversations is like getting the help I needed, building the skills, learning, and going, okay, now I know the next rabbit hole I need to dive into. Like if I really want to do this, then I need to like start asking these questions. It's just the getting started. There is a fear about it, but it's admitting that it's not our strength, but that sometimes learning a new thing can be really, really intimidating. But you just gotta start and you gotta surround yourself with people who are already doing it. And people who are already doing it want to see other people succeed, you know, like people who genuinely are like, I I have figured this out, and these are the things I wish I had known when I started, and I'm happy to share that knowledge with others. I get people asking me all the time, like, I want to learn how to start a podcast, or I want to learn how to host retreats, or you know, whatever, I want to learn how to go live and do those things. Uh they come to me and ask for that kind of help all the time, and I am happy to help them. I I think there's room for everybody, and we've talked about that many times. Um, what I have a question for you though. Let's let's uh dive into a couple of these. What do you wish someone told you earlier before you dove into being self-employed with your own brand?
SPEAKER_04I think how much going on to your own brings all the insecurities out of you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we're not really prepared for that.
SPEAKER_01Because we have all these strengths from like our previous careers where we worked for other people, and that is great, and we can apply a lot of that into what we do for ourselves. But think of it this way. When I worked for a sewing company, the sewing machine company, I created the educational content. I even edited it, which I loathed doing because we didn't have anybody that would do it. So I edited it. But then when I was done, I would pass that on to this department over here who would review it and give me any feedback, and then we would tweak some things, and then we'd have like a final review. Then they would schedule it to get posted online, but then the marketing team would create a whole marketing campaign around it to promote it to our audience through emails and on the website. This team over here would put it on the website, and it was like a whole collective effort. It wasn't just me doing all of it. So while once I pass it on, I'm moving on to the my next project, and they're taking that baby and getting it all ready to go out at the first of the next month. So I'm working a couple months in advance, and so that's how I've always been working. Now I have to do all of it, right? Like I don't have another department to pass it on to to make it look pretty. I don't have another department to market it, I don't have another department to create the ads. Um, I don't have another department to do the campaigns, like I or put it on a website or develop a website. Like I don't have that. It's all on me. So when you think of it that way, you have to give yourself some grace that you can't be expected to know how to do it all. And you just have to start. If you don't need to have all the things to get started or to feel ready to start, you don't need every social platform, you don't need a YouTube, you don't need to be monetized, you don't need a website, you don't need an email list. You just need to start where you're comfortable. If that's Instagram, start on Instagram. If that's Facebook, start there, if that's YouTube, start there. If it's a blog on a website, start there. I it doesn't matter. The fastest way to grow is collaborating, collaborating with your peers. It there are like, like I said, people who want to grow in their YouTube, collaborate with me to go live, right? Let's do a sew along, let's do a block, let's talk about this, let's do this. It's gonna help them grow and teach them some things, and then they're gonna go off and do it again. And I'm still here to help them. Um, you know, there's there's so many different things. Like I've been talking to so many different people who have subscription plans for on their website of how they how they manage that and what that looks like and the programs they use for that, because it's a whole new beast. And I'm over here trying to figure out how to incorporate that that into my world if that's something I want to do. I'm just info gathering. Um my previous career taught me a lot about email marketing and social media marketing. I was the director of marketing and education. So I learned a lot. I am like a sponge. Learn. Watch the videos. Take time to invest in yourself. Maybe that's a time block every week. You time block something that you know you need to learn more about and you go find the video for it and you watch it. Or you call up a friend and you say, Hey, can I call you today and we can chat about this topic I need to learn about? Uh you know, you've got to prioritize time and investing and growing your skills.
SPEAKER_04What I need to do is that I need to time block. Like if I put it in a tie block, I need to go into stories. Mm-hmm. Doesn't matter. Even if it's one. Say, hey, I'm here. I am going to work on today.
SPEAKER_01Even if you just post what you're working on every day. And what you're working on doesn't even have to be sewing related. Like today, I am working on laundry. Today I'm making a meal in a crock pot. Today I am doing email writing for my newsletter. Be sure you're subscribed. You know, like it doesn't have to be anything crazy. It you just people need to see your face and consistently show up. I know there's a lot of there's like a trend of like faceless accounts, and that's a trend. And I think it works in some areas, but I think in a creative space, people who want to learn from you, if that's what you're trying to do, is teach people, they want to get to know you. And when they can't see your face, it doesn't have to be every time you show up, but if they can't see your face, there's a disconnect. Yes. And I have every time someone follows me and they have like a sewing related page, I go and look at it. If it's not private, I'll go and look at it. But if I never see their face in their profile picture or anywhere in their feed or video, I I don't follow. No, they can follow me, but I don't follow them back because I'm like, I don't think I can get to know you. That's just me personally. There's definitely some that I have, but it's just like I want to see more than just your project. I want to get to know the person behind it. I mean, sewing and being creative is a personal experience, and I love what you're creating, but I I want to love the person behind what you're creating because I think that tells a more beautiful story. It it finishes the story of what you're creating for me. And maybe that's just the art history person in me. I don't know, but I just I like the personal side of sewing. I like it, it is a personal hobby, it can feel very solo at times, but I love the community aspect of it and bringing people together. And I want to see your beautiful face. I want to learn more about you.
SPEAKER_04That's the thing. It's like I want to create a community, but how am I going to create a community if I'm not showing up for my community, right? And I I completely get that. And I have made some strides, but then I haven't collected on that momentum. I actually created the very first Spanish retreat in Hamilton, Missouri. How many people can say that?
SPEAKER_00Anybody but you.
SPEAKER_01And I love that. But you're showing up in ways that you're comfortable with. You wrote a book, you're uh, you know, partnering with these brands, you're doing these retreats. I think the next step for you is to do more video content and get back into that because that's going to create your reach even further. But I will say to create a new habit, you have to do it consistently for a length of time. And that's different for everybody. Some people it can be a week, some people it can be three months. You just have to be consistent. Uh, and accountability partners are key for helping, um, helping that. I I do have to ask, what are you still learning about in your entrepreneurial creative entrepreneurial space that you're building?
SPEAKER_04I for me, I think the techniques and the way that I feel that sewing for me comes naturally in a way. Like I can look at it and I can pick it up like that, right? I'm a little sponge with that. And I think what I'm learning is the marketing side. Because as you said, in when we are in a job, we as we are put into positions where they explode. You're there to shine and they put you in the strongest areas of what you are, and so you don't develop holistically. And that's what entrepreneurship does to you, because you have to develop yourself holistically in regards to that you don't have to be an expert, but you have to get it off the ground. And then once you get big enough, if you have the financial backing to be able to hand it off to somebody else to help you with it, you had to gain enough knowledge to know exactly what you wanted. So for me, marketing is the huge thing, and knowing my worth and and and putting a guideline of where I am worth this and I am not going to subcept anything less than this. And I think a lot go ahead. A lot of us entrepreneurs, especially in the creative spaces, that's a subject for a whole nother thing. And I know that this has been a hot topic even in in Instagram and social media, and it just gets a little bit out of control. But it is it is true. In the creative industries, sometimes it's a little bit unfair. Um and and uh get into that, and if you're a person that has suffered from self-esteem and and and battling uh self-worth when you go into entrepreneurship, it's even harder because then you don't feel that uh you have the knowledge or that you have what it takes to teach, or that you have what it takes to create a video, or that if you I mean, I love teaching, I love showing, I love creating, I love using what I know for good. I mean, I'm currently creating a quilt for my my daughter's principal that's retiring, and all of the kids in their school brought their names and their teachers, and I'm creating all of this because it does good for the community. This is what's beautiful about what we do, because we can make a wonderful impact, right? And I'm doing this for free because I want to I want to thank it feeds your soul. Yes, because I want to thank my the principal that took the time to help me raise my daughter and and say, I know what you put into and every teacher and every so that's what is beautiful about it, but also you need to be able to receive is is it's it's a give and take type of three.
SPEAKER_01You know, um this conversation can go a lot of different ways based on how you are choosing to find your voice in the sewing community. For some people, that's starting a quilt shop and opening a brick and mortar or an online store, and that looks very different than someone who is wanting to be like an online educator. Uh, dare I say influencer, content creator is probably a better word. Um, who maybe there's pattern designer or you know, fabric designer. There's so many, like I said, so many different avenues, and it's gonna look different for everybody. Um for my content creators and educators who are partnering with brands to do content, whether that's reels, long form videos, blog posts, uh you name it, right? Uh, there's something called a rate card. And you've probably heard of this. If you haven't, you can probably find a template over on Canva. And I encourage you to create your own rate card. Needs to have a picture of yourself, like a clear picture of yourself, not like one where you're far off. Like it needs to be like a photo of your face, like as your profile picture should be that you are your own brand, right? And then you can put your logo on there somewhere, but put your photo on there. You're gonna have your social media count. If that's one platform, if that's four platforms, you're gonna have a an at like a I have 10,000 here, I have 500 here, I have whatever it is. That's fine. Just put it on there, make sure you're updating it regularly. Uh, you're gonna have a little mini bio about who you are and what your mission is. Remember that mission statement, like what uh what I do. I, you know, I put in there that I'm a sewing educator, has been sewing for over 35 years, um, with a strong passion in all types of sewing, uh, or professionally trained in all types of sewing, host of the social hour podcast. Uh, loves building a connection with community and teaching in-person retreats. Like I kind of have something along those lines that don't quote me on that, but that's like it's short and sweet, but it's like here's the things that people know me for that I'm most proud of. I don't do a whole laundry list. I have a couple photos of the different types of sewing I do in there. And at the bottom is like my rates. And my rates are a little different than others just because I have things on there like for home shopping network, if a brand wants me to go represent them over there, or you know, whatever it may be. But whatever you're you're looking for, if it's real, if it's uh Instagram story takeover, if it's a blog post, if it's um, I don't know, whatever it may be, but you're gonna put list those down and put a rate and then always put like open to negotiation. Um I also put like my contact information on there. So like my email or even my phone number. Uh, and then usually have a sometimes I have a QR code on there that'll take them to like one of my biggest social platforms that I feel like is relevant to the person. I kind of it's like a resume. Think of it like a resume. Like this is what you would present to a potential employer for a job. This is kind of like your resume of in a scenario, and it should be one page, short and sweet. Gives them a little taste to be in and curious to learn more. They don't want to, they don't have time to, it's just like any manager. They don't have time to read a four-page resume, they don't have time to read a four-page rate card. Um, it's a one pager, it's a digital file. I can email it easily, I can update it easily. I have it saved in Canva. Um, I I it's kind of tailored to my personality on what I like, the fonts I like, the colors I like. It it should, when someone looks at it, they should go, yep, that's Lena. Yep, that's so-and-so, like that's her to a T. It should be a mix of who I because we're a personality, right? Online. So like it's a mix of who I am online, who what you're gonna see on my social platforms, it should translate to what's on this ray card. Um, of what I like to make, what I think my strengths are. And then at the very bottom right, I have like a section of like what I'm looking for. Right now, I am looking for new brand partnerships for the year of 2026. Right now, I'm looking for sponsorships for my retreats, or um right now I'm looking for a fabric line that is interested in bringing on a new designer or whatever quilt designer, like whatever it is, you need to tell them what you're looking for. And then they can go, hey, this actually might work out, or you need to talk to this person, or actually, I don't need anybody, but I know this brand is because they all talk, right? So it is like a little one-page synopsis of who you are and what you want. I think once you put it on paper, it makes it easier to have those conversations to sell yourself. And I'm not saying like sell yourself like your soul, I'm saying like promote who you are and why you add value to them and how you could out add value to them. Um, that is that kind of gives them that synopsis to start having an open dialogue. So that's and don't be scared of the numbers. Like in, you know, if you need to talk to some friends, but like at the end of the day, your rate shouldn't be based, and this is gonna be controversial. I'm your rate should not be based on the number of followers that you have. Your rate should be based on the value you bring to the table, and I think that's where it's gotten a little misconstrued over the years. And I think a lot of brands are coming around to going, you know what, the person that does have 100,000, 500,000, a million followers, their reach is fine, it's great. I mean, they reach a lot of people, but my engagement and reach can be the same percentage with less followers. You know what I mean? Like they're starting to realize it's not just about the number of followers. And I I want to say this, and this is personal preference for me, but I have learned over the years that the brands that prioritize number of followers over the quality of content and education and value that you bring to the table, those are not brands I partner with. I have learned that the hard way. Um, if that's who you want to partner with and that's their stipulation, then that's fine. But I've had I have found that brands that value the things that are important to me, we're better aligned and we work better together. And I have a more enjoyable experience, and it it's a win-win. Brands that value things different than I do, it's not a good partnership. Even if there's money on the table, I will walk away. Even if there's a free machine on the table, I will walk away because it's not going to be a good fit. This conversation goes both ways. You're not just trying to get in with that brand, but you're also trying to learn about that brand and if they're a good fit for you as well. Just like in an interview, when you go to a job interview. So I hope something uh that I just said resonates with someone. The last thing I want to say about this is, you know, had I think it was Amy. Um, she came up to me at um H H and she's like, How are you so comfortable just like going up and talking to these decision makers? Because at H H you've got decision makers, you've you've got presidents and VPs and directors in these booths. It's not just a sales rep. And um and I I and I just I said, you know, it was just how I was raised. I I was raised where that person in front of me puts their pants on one leg at a time just like me. I don't care if they have more money than me, have a nicer clothes on than me, drive a better car than me, or have more money in their bank account than me. I don't care what their job title is. They are still a person who puts their pants on one leg at a time like me. They're still a human being. They deserve my respect and I deserve theirs. And I I don't let their status or or their accomplishments or anything intimidate me just because I don't have those things. And maybe that's because I don't put value on those things personally as a human, I just don't.
SPEAKER_00But I I don't look at anyone and think that I'm not good enough to have a conversation with them.
SPEAKER_01And I feel like I can just go up and talk to anybody. Now, once that conversation happens, I can determine pretty quickly if that's someone I want to continue to have a conversation with or not. You know, that's that's my choice and vice versa. But I don't let it stop me from having the guts to go up and say hi. Yes, introduce myself.
SPEAKER_04And I think that, you know, it's wonderful that you do you have that, Bethany. Is it mindset though? But it's you've got to train yourself. Even if you don't, I think that only takes is five seconds of courage. Of like go out there and just kind of like turn off your thing and say, Hi, this is this is me. And we can all get those five seconds of courage, right? Of like, I'm gonna be uncomfortable for five seconds, and I'm gonna and that's what I did when I pitched my book.
SPEAKER_01I I wanted this, and so it's like because you were so passionate that the passion behind what you're doing outweighed the fear and the butterflies in your stomach. And then look what happens.
SPEAKER_04I know what I mean. I know this is a unique idea. Nobody has this, and whoever catches this is going to have in the Spanish, there's uh there's a say that is like like the first one to kind of go into things like always kind of opens the door.
SPEAKER_00So like carving the path for others, yes.
SPEAKER_04Yes, and like in the business sense, that's always that, right? The first person that kind of opens the door, people kind of follow behind, right? And say, oh, I never thought of this. Oh, I never, and and what I'm doing is still under the wraps. People starting to talk about it, but it's not quite open to the public yet. And so I still have uh a long way to do. Is it uncomfortable? I'm gonna tell you yes, and I had had to work on that. So am I perfect? No. Do I still have a ton of things to work on? Yes. Am I going to work on it? I am determined that I am going to work on it. It's gonna take me a little longer, yes. Is my path is completely different than Bethany's path? And your path is gonna be different than that other path. But if you truly love, and I think that that that you you touched on it is so important. Love and be convinced on your mission. If you don't have yeah, if you don't have that very solid on your mind, even if it's just you want to start two or three things at a time, but if you're in those two or three things you're not solid and convinced that that's the path forward, you're gonna abandon it in like this. You there's no escape plan. You're going into this for me when I was at my job, a lot of people ask me, Lena, you're so good. Why don't you have your own business? Because I said, I know what it takes to have your own business. I saw my parents, and I have to do it with something that I am not going to abandon it, that I love it so much that even when it's so sucky, I'm still gonna stick with it. Yeah, and that's what you have to find. If you love this the sewing, but you love it as a hobby and you're going with the idea of like making it a business, you really have to have the passion. Otherwise, it's gonna take the joy out of it. And so if I work on a job thing, I'm still refueling my tank.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_04Like, even if I'm like sewing for work, my passion tank is being refilled. It's uh it's a weird thing that happens. It only happens. I don't know if it happens to everyone, but it happens with me. You say, Oh, you're sewing for work, it's gonna take the joy out of it. No, it doesn't for me. No, it does not take the joy out of it. Yeah, I love it. If I have to hand stitch all these things because of work, it's not it's not uh it's not empty in my tank, actually. I enjoy doing it. So even if I do it for work or I do it for just my enjoyment, my tank is being fueled. So you have to find that thing that and you and in the sound, yeah, we have that huge opportunity that we could go into business, it's not for everybody, right? But when you are truly convinced and you have that conviction that yes, that even if the business doesn't work out, you're gonna continue sewing, you're good to go. Because my husband told me, would you stop sewing if this doesn't work out? And it's like, no. No, I won't stop sewing. No, I will continue to start sewing. I'm good at it, and I love it.
SPEAKER_01I enjoy it. I enjoyed it before it became my business. I will enjoy it after if that time comes. You know, I I do have a one last question I'll kind of ask to everybody, but we'll answer it is what does success mean to you now? Um I I think this is an important question to ask yourself when you're getting started and a few times throughout your process, because it's gonna evolve and change over time. And what you might think is success could just be you looking at what someone else is doing and going, I want that. But if you really knew what all that went into that, would you be willing to make those sacrifices? So, like, what does success look like for you right now, and or what does it mean to you? And and how how would you answer that? Because that's a tough one. What does success mean to you now?
SPEAKER_04For me, what is so I'm gonna answer it, it's a layer approach, right? So for me, when it comes to my long arm business, right? I have I wanna be able to have at least one quilt a week, right? And I want that to have consistently throughout. When I reach that, I feel that I have I I have reached something. And and it might be ambitious, it might might take me months, but at least I have a goal, right?
SPEAKER_01Yes, and I think it's so important to set those goals and s and set small, tangible goals that you can reach and and that build upon each other. I mean, I've I've done a conversation on this podcast many years, many times over the years about setting goals. I have mine written on a whiteboard hanging in this room. I actually hung it back up and wiped it off. So I'm gonna rewrite my goals that are on a notebook on there. I think you should look at your goals every day. I think you should look at your mission statement every day. If you have a word of the year, put that up there. Uh every time every year that I've done that, I've reached majority of my goals. The only thing that would stop me from reaching my goals is because life happened. You know, like I got a new job and that took all my time, so I didn't get to do those things. But it's still a reminder that I still wanted to do those things. And do I want to pursue those now? You know, like so write them down, write your goals down. They need to be visible. Piece of paper on your mirror every day. I don't care, it doesn't have to be a whiteboard, but just put them where in a place where you see them every day. A post-it in your car when you're driving to the carpool line, it doesn't matter. Uh look at them every day. Even if you don't sit there and read it, it's there. You glance at it, you know it's there. It's a little reminder. I'm looking at mine right now from last year. I and yeah, I I'm more than exceeded most of those goals. And those goals felt big when I wrote them down. And now they don't feel so big. So do that. The visible side is extremely important to set those small goals and everything.
SPEAKER_00I think for success for me uh right now is setting healthy boundaries and acknowledging acknowledging that I don't need the approval of others to be successful.
SPEAKER_01I don't need the approval of others to do what I want to do or try what I want to try. And I I kind of say this because I kind of shared earlier that I had posted in my stories a little poll, or would people be interested? And I let that feedback take the wind out of my cells. And while it is informative feedback, it is a small drop in the bucket of all of the people that are in my community. Very small few people see my stories every day and actually respond and and engage. I have way more people that see other forms of content and emails and everything. So it wasn't a true representation of the overall community that I've built. And it was wrong of me to allow that to weigh so heavily on my decision to move forward with that, even though it was something I had been wanting to do for a very long time. And so I think success for me is accepting that I don't need the approval of others to try new things. Um, I just need to try. If it fails, then hey, at least I can say I tried and I gave it my all. But I have already failed because I let other people's opinions impact my decision to get started and take my dream out of uh out of my pocket. So I think for me, success can look different for everybody. I think those who succeed have a clear mission, a clear plan. They focus on that, but they know that they can grow as they grow and aren't scared to evolve. I think at the end of the day, in a creative space, the mission, while making money is obviously a necessity, when making money is the focus, it there's a disconnect. I think when you hone in to the things that are make it specific to you, your authenticity, your mission, your passions, what lights your soul on fire and why you love this space so much, and why you want to do pursue this as a business, as a career path, then the money will come. Right. But I have seen people go into this with the objective of just making money, and there's a disconnect in their content or the relationship they build with their audience, and there that's a hard balance. It's a hard balance. Um, so you've got to figure out what works for you. But I would really encourage you to, yeah, we all need to make money. That's a no-brainer. But what is really your driving force, right? Like if making money was really your driving force, would you be building a business in the sewing industry? You'd probably be doing you could, there's other things that you could do today that would make you more money than building a sewing business today. But that doesn't mean that it can't. You're just gonna have to work really hard for it. So you've got to have a driver that really is your passion. Um, and then go from there. Everybody's path is gonna look different, everybody's approach is gonna be to everybody's mission is different. So try not to compare yourself to others. But if you see someone doing something that you're like, I want to improve my skills in that area, don't be afraid to reach out to them and say, can you help me or can you throw some advice my way? People who are willing to help others will show up for you. Uh, so don't hesitate to ask. If someone says no, then ask somebody else, okay? Like, don't let that stop you. Um I I'm an open book. I know Lena will be happy to share her strengths. I'm gonna be talking to her about editing later. Um, because I know that that's not my favorite. I've I've hired somebody to do some of my video editing before, and it was really, really helpful to keep be consistent in a time where I didn't have the time to do it. Uh so yeah, it can you can utilize outside resources and partner with some people to help you overcome those things that aren't your favorite thing to do or your strengths. But don't you I feel like there's value in learning it as well so that when that person stops being that resource, that task doesn't just fall to the wayside that you can pick up and can carry on. So I'm kind of rambling at this point. I'm sorry, but and I know this has been another long episode, but this is a big topic, and I feel like we've just scratched the surface because this can look so different for everybody. And I'm hoping by us kind of diving into some of the details that you're like, I feel like how I can apply that to my journey, even though your journey looks very different than mine or Lena's. Um, I hope that uh you feel encouraged and not discouraged. This space is amazing. I will tell you if you can ever make it to H, uh, and I did a whole review on H H on my Craft with Bethany YouTube channel of my time there. It was my third year there, and that show every year just has the best vibes. Everybody's there with the goal of working together. Everybody's so receptive and positive. Um everybody from every aspect of this industry is there. I really encourage you to go if you can. Um, if you're serious about getting into this industry from a business perspective, as a content creator, as a designer, as a shop owner, it doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_04Uh go long armor.
SPEAKER_01Long armor, it doesn't matter. Go. Uh yeah, go. It the connections you will make have such value. The conversations you can have with brands has such value. Um, the classes that they teach are there to help you grow as a business had so much value. They have classes on marketing, they have classes on social media, they have classes on websites and emails and everything. So, like if there's something that you struggle with, go to that class and learn from somebody else who has mastered that. Uh that's another great resource for sure. So definitely look into that if this is something you want to do. I am so grateful for this industry. The people I have met, the connections I have made, the doors that it has opened. I will, I still am in awe of the things, the the avenues and the things I've gotten to do because of sewing. Things I never even thought were possible. Traveling halfway around the world to teach people. You know, like I never thought I would ever make it to Australia. And then sewing took me there, right? Like, hi to all my Australia listeners. Love you guys. Um, I want to come back and visit again. But truly, I I love it's very rare, okay? It's very rare in someone's life that their passion and their career align. It's very rare that that happens. And when it does, you need to be so grateful for it because that is a gift. And I am reminded of that gift every day when I get to show up here and talk to you guys. I get to have amazing people like Lena in my life. I get to show up and sew with you in person at retreats or wherever in the world. And it's all because I kept showing up. I don't do any of it perfect, but I just keep showing up. And honestly, the people that just keep showing up are the people that are growing. The people that are showing up and being authentic and themselves, even if it's silly and quirky and I say silly things sometimes, that's just that's just who I am. And and Lena can attest to what you see here right now, what you see on my social platforms and who you see in person. That's the same person. Like, there's no hiding that.
SPEAKER_04There's no that's that's one thing. Like for me, I always been talking about that. It's like it can be fake. I have to be authentic because I am not able to live a double life. Or like, oh, I have to be perky and perfect. And I think that's one of the things that I told you about, like when we talk about it's like, oh, I I there's so many bubbly personalities online, and that's how they are as an individual.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_04Because that's their natural selves. I don't feel like I have this bubbly personality.
SPEAKER_01So I my personality is a little bit more calm, and and that's gonna resonate with a lot of people because some people with the big personalities can be overwhelming for people, and some people love that. Again, there is a space for everybody, and the people that if you show up as yourself, you're gonna attract the people that need to be in your space. Again, I can't I cannot emphasize that enough. Like, so someone someone said messaged me one time. She goes, I feel like you just turn on the camera without even a plan, and you just start recording. And I was like, You figured me out. Yeah. Literally will start recording a YouTube tutorial. And I go, I've never made this before, but we're gonna figure it out together. And I just record the whole thing and I figure it out and I edit it down, and here's our video. And that video has done fantastic. And that's just because I'm like, hey, I I we're just gonna show up and figure this out together. And that's fine, we're gonna learn. And people love that because it's relatable. They don't they don't feel like they have to have the perfect space or all the right tools or anything. They're just like, if she can make it up as she goes, so can I. You know, it gives people permission to be creative, and sometimes people need permission through what they see in you to show up and be creative and try new things. And the best compliments I get are I just love how you just like went for it. I'm like, yeah, and you can too. Like, that's literally my response back to them. Like, yep, and you can too. Like, just go for it. So, all right, we've had a great chat today. I have loved this chat. I'm so grateful that you came back on and we hung out again today and were able to kind of dive into this because you and I are both going through this right now. We're both self-employed, growing our own individual blank brands without the um, dare I say, safety net of a salary anymore, which can be a positive and a negative sometimes. It can kind of slow us down, but also is nice to have. So we're both kind of in that same boat, which is why we decided to talk about this today, uh, following our last chat um about losing our jobs and finding ourselves and overcoming that and how it's affected our creativity and been heavy. So we're we're building, but we're giving grace, we're learning, nobody's perfect. You just have to start.
SPEAKER_04Thank you for having me. I enjoyed so much this conversation and also like learning so much from you as well through all of this has just been wonderful, and I am so grateful that that you open your space to me and your audience to me. So thank you everybody, and yeah, feel free to reach out. I am an open book, whatever you need to know. I am like I I whatever I can do to help. I am here. I don't like to keep everything to me. Yeah, I couldn't come up with a word, and so yes, I I love transparency and I will share with you what I need. And if you need a contact, then I know that contact, I will share it with you.
SPEAKER_01So I'm the same way, and uh very much so. Like I I jokingly and people say I'm like the cheerleader for others. Um, like I always will say there's room for everybody to succeed and find their path and journey. And you know, it's wonderful when um I get to see people grow and learn. Like I love teaching people how to sew, but I love seeing people succeed in this industry and find their path and start like having those successes. Um, so now I'm working on building that for myself, and that is crazy. It's crazy, but I'm excited and I'm so grateful for people like Lena and other people in the industry who are now going, hey, like well, how can I help you? And I'm not used to having that on being on the receiving end of that, and that's really special. And I'm so grateful for that. Uh, so anything we can do to help each other out, this is an open space. Go follow us on YouTube and Instagram and Facebook. Join our social sewage Facebook group. If you need something, if you're trying to build your own brand, like you can post it over there, you can send me a DM. Um, like I said, we're we're an open book, we're here to cheer you on and help you make those connections. Uh and yeah, I'm so grateful that you're here. Uh, thank you for tuning in to this one today. We'll be back soon with more and happy selling guys. Go do something creative.