special announcement at the bottom of this post!

Last week, I ventured down to Baltimore to attend the Buyers Market of American Craft (click on each pic to find out more!). This was my third time going and it’s become something that I really look forward to. This market is unusual in that it’s a trade show – not open to the public, you can’t buy anything! Which means it’s all about talking to people.

Gah, I love talking to my people.

It is so easily for each of us, you and me, to sit in our studios or offices or living rooms, churning out things with our hands, fingers, and minds and forget that we’re a part of something greater. We’re a part of a community that breathes and swells – and eats tapas.

Walking around Buyers Market is a chance to talk to people who are the life blood of this community. It’s the chance to find out what makes them tick, see them in amongst their wares, laugh, rant, goof off, drink way to much coffee, and sample the occasional adult beverage.

It’s business and it’s a party. Just the way I like it.

In any gathering like this, with so much on the line, there’s room for negativity. It’s possible to get down on yourself for a lack or sales or because the buyers are stopping by your booth or there just aren’t enough buyers. But when you accept the collective breath of the community, you can enjoy the possibilities as much as the physical rewards.

And when you get home, you can turn possibilities into gold.

want more community? exciting announcement!

Megan Auman, jewelry designer & founder of Crafting an MBA – and my buddy, and I have teamed up to create an exclusive membership community for creative entrepreneurs. The Creative Empire is about finding the passion, profit, and community in running a business in the postmodern age.

I am LOVING this community! I love being surrounded by other entrepreneurs. It can be a lonely, misunderstood world of creating, running and expanding a business. It is comforting to have a place to go where I know others “GET IT”.
– Holly, Accounting Spot

I like that this forum is not used for complaining, negativity, or blatant promotion. The other members are very honest and open to sharing what works and what doesn’t, critique, positive feedback, and the peace of mind that you’re not alone. It’s a great avenue to tackle the more pressing subjects when you’re ready to move from hobby to career.
– Tina Jett

We Believe

We believe that we learn best as a group. We believe that sustainable businesses are built on passion. And we believe that businesses built on passion should be profitable. Very profitable.

Who We Are

The Creative Empire is a community of like-minded creative business owners. We are entrepreneurs who are looking to get ahead of the game, learn from each other, try new strategies. This is a place for serious action and frank discussion.

We are not all crafters or artists. Inside, you’ll find writers, designers, coders, numbers people, and more. We are all looking to find out of the box solutions for running our businesses.

What We Do

Monthly training activities, conference calls, freebies, and lots of discussion on the forums – there’s a lot! Click over to find out more.

If The Creative Empire sounds like something that could help you realize the dream of having a successful, sustainable, passion-driven, profit-creating business, click over to the site to find out more. If not, I’ll catch you here on Scoutie Girl soon!

I’m getting ready for the weekend – and taking most of next week off before some big life changes. But I wanted to offer you some specialized inspiration.

One of the greatest problems that face creative individuals is being overwhelmed with ideas while lacking focus. Maybe you struggle with this too. There are so many things you want to learn, do, and achieve. There are so many things you want to create. But when you get some extra time or a moment of peace, you find yourself unable to act.

To me, the thing holding you back from realizing your creative potential is ACTION. It doesn’t matter if your aspiration is to know how to sew or how to rule the world, the first step is always to take action.

If this is a skill you’re interested in honing, if you want to learn to use positive action to achieve big things, sign-up below. If you want to move past procrastination and into accomplishment, sign-up below. Eight lessons will be delivered to your inbox automatically.

If you don’t see the form, click here!

Also, check out fashionjunkie4life to find more great sterling silver pendants like the one above!

I am so pleased to (re)introduce you to Julie Green of up up creative.

Since the moment I “met” her, I’ve felt like Julie was a kindred spirit. She has insatiable drive, a fierce intellect, and a keen eye for design. She writes:

I started Up Up Creative in November 2008 after coming to the scary realization that writing my dissertation in English was making me miserable. A new mom battling postpartum depression, I suddenly found myself gripped by the fierce need to create.

Julie is going to be writing a new column on Scoutie Girl featuring the philosophy & strategy behind eco-friendly design. This isn’t just any “green finds” column – but a smart look at what will certainly be the future of great design.

Please give Julie a warm welcome!

Have you dreamed about starting (or improving!) your art or craft business like the ones you see here on Scoutie Girl?

I’m excited to tell you that Bonnie, from Going Home to Roost, has decided to take her Etsy Shop Help series to the next level by offering a 7 week ecourse on everything from finding your niche, to writing product descriptions, to craft shows, to networking on & offline. Bonnie has both an extremely successful craft business and a degree in business. She won’t just showing you how to make a little money on the side but take you step by step through creating the potential for a thriving business.

Bonnie is looking forward to getting to know course participants and helping them make their own personal dreams reality.

To help you get a feel for Bonnie’s style, you can download the no-strings-attached free ebook she put together featuring the best of her Etsy Shop Help series on Going Home to Roost.

Turn your passion into profit by checking out Selling the Handmade Way.

PS. I’ll be contributing to one of the lessons! Go check it out!

two years of giggles. too few kisses. two big brown eyes that are only getting sweeter & smarter. so many hours spent wondering what you’ll be like – how you will grow. two little feet that started as fleshy little balls, now running faster than i can keep up with!

watching toy story two times a day. too difficult to judge what you want to eat for lunch.

too tiny!

two ears that hear but don’t listen. too many toys scattered around the floor. so much love i have given you – too much love left to give.

Happy Birthday, Lola!

{adorable pennant graphics by pugly pixels. get your free download here!}

There are few things that can get me to stop like a great color palette. It’s true. I’m a sucker for color. Unfortunately, it’s not always my strong suit. I rely on a lot of found inspiration and copied color schemes. It serves me well… but I wish I could do more.

Brandi, the designer behind Catie’s Blue where you can find those fab earrings above, is a certified color rockstar. And she wants to help you become a color rockstar too. She says:

Color rockstars understand how color reacts and interacts. They have personally connected to color, and have not only tapped into their own color vocabulary, but also use it with wild abandon in their work.

So she’s put together an e-course to help you learn the ins & outs of using color to it’s full potential in all your creative pursuits.

Want to know more? Click over to the course site!

It’s time to book your fall & holiday advertising with Scoutie Girl! Currently, I’m looking for sponsors who would like to commit to September – December. If there are spots left come mid-August, I’ll open up individual months.

Scoutie Girl has been featured in Etsy’s The Storque, the Daily Worth, ProBlogger, IndieFixx, and many other fab sites! I’m constantly looking for new ways to drive not just traffic, but handmade buyers, to SG.

Because Scoutie Girl is not just a blog about stuff but about how surrounding ourselves with art & handmade goods sparks our own creative passions, your ad is not competing with the editorial but complementing it. My job is to help readers find the value in spending money at independent, passion-driven businesses like yours. You won’t find that on any other blog.

Interested? Hop over to the advertising page to give it a go.

P.S. If you’re looking for other ways to market your small business, you might be interested in my new Blog Brainstorm & Action Plan, a one-on-one program to take your own blog to the next level. I would love to chat with you to help you reach your goals!

It is with great joy & excitement that I officially introduce Stephanie Corfee as the newest guest contributor to Scoutie Girl.

It is no secret that when I need an image for a guest post elsewhere or an illustration meant to make your heart sing, I look to Stephanie. Her work is colorful, full of personality, and so authentic. Recently, as she’s worked to create even more art from the depths of her heart, she’s seen a flourish of new business and confidence. She is allowing herself to embrace her own unique style and see the value that is inherent in that. She typifies what I see as “Scoutie Girl.”

Beyond all that, Stephanie looks at the world through creative-colored glasses. Well, in Stephanie’s house, they are probably technicolor glasses. I digress, she’s crafty, artistic, talented – yes – but her approach to life is one that is always challenging the status quo and seeking out the beauty in all things. Again, she is Scoutie Girl to me.

I hope you enjoy her column wake.create.repeat and give her a big Scoutie Girl welcome!

Building a Creative Empire from tara gentile on Vimeo.

If you’re reading this on a feed reader or via email and you don’t see the video above, be sure to click through to the original post!

It’s here! My new ebook!

Storytelling for Creative Biz Success is a guide to marketing, selling, and thinking about your business in terms of your personal story. Whether you have an art studio, craft business, lawn care service, beauty salon, consultancy, or just think about your business in a creative way, this ebook-slash-workbook can help you inject your personal story into all facets of your biz.

Business today is about passion. It’s about getting personal. And it’s about you.

That’s why telling your story will help you do business better. It will definitely help you connect & engage with your [potential] customers in new ways!

Storytelling for Creative Biz Success is $50 and contains ideas for writing a whole website’s worth of content. Want more info? Click on thru…

Now back to your regularly scheduled Scoutie Girl…