November 9, 2010

an open letter to a divided government

DC Love gocco print

DC Love Gocco Print by artsharkdesigns - click image to visit the shop

Dear President Obama and incoming Congressional leaders,

I hear you have your differences. You’re frustrated with the state of the American economy and you’re divided over how to fix it. So are we.

Stimulus, tax breaks, tax increases, regulations, deregulation…

Trying to fix the economy is a no-win situation. Someone is going to get angry. Someone is going to get hurt.

But what you still seem to be ignoring is that the fundamentals of our economy – our entire global system – are changing. There is a great shift towards a new mode of commerce, employment, and self-actualization.

Enter the microbusiness owner.

While the unemployment rate floats around a sobering 9.6% and underemployment forces families to the edge of a precipice, a new force is emerging in the battle for our economic peace of mind.

Microbusiness owners are different than traditionally self-employed individuals. They have different needs than small business owners. And they don’t even see big business as competition.

Microbusiness owners are a class in and of themselves and deserve to be treated as such.

Every skilled, motivated, or otherwise passionate unemployed person is a potential microbusiness owner.

These are people who can create jobs – their own & others. They are fueled by passion and driven by the need to succeed. They are savvy consumers, buying better not more, funneling money into their local communities, spreading wealth to other entrepreneurs. They are artists & craftspeople returning to the roots of American manufacturing. They are service providers helping others achieve a higher standard of living while fulfilling their own dreams. They are the moms & pops but also the new college graduates, the frustrated MBA students, and the brothers & sisters working out of their childhood bedrooms.

Microbusiness owners have the power to help reconstruct a more sustainable economic landscape for the 21st century. They will provide unparalleled economic diversification. They will enjoy their own financial sovereignty.

They’re already doing it. Now, they need your help.

If the left wants to help individuals and the right wants to help business, I see no greater point for agreement than the aid of microbusiness owners who are both.

To prosper in the new economy, microbusiness owners need access to lending. Create policies that allow financial institutions to take them seriously and understand that they will work hard to repay loans. Create a system where microlending can thrive.

They need a tax code that understands their unique situation instead of lumping them with Fortune 500 corporations or individual income taxes. Create incentives that both support families and encourage growth.

Microbusiness owners need training. Of all sorts. Computer classes, small business classes, art courses, industry conferences, public relations training. Training gives confidence, confidence leads to success. Sure up the training that is already available and build a virtual infrastructure that allows online training to become even more viable.

Finally, microbusiness owners need incentives for creative coworking. This will be a generation of workers that is solitary, wears pajamas until noon, and works from home offices or is location independent. Creative coworking – in cities, suburbs, and rural communities – means that business owners can thrive with like-minded people, learn from each other, and reap the benefits of the collective movement. Turn abandoned buildings, downsized government offices, and new construction projects into opportunities for microbusiness growth.

In short, turn America into the great microbusiness incubator. Give us the opportunity to turn this mess around.

Don’t underestimate the power of the microbusiness owner. We don’t underestimate ourselves.

Sincerely,

Tara Gentile

Filed Under: mindful spending Tagged With: , , 27 Comments
November 5, 2010

Budgeting for Your Creative Habit

A guest post by Brigitte of Covet.

black & white letterpress art by tagteamtompkins

letterpress art print by tagteamtompkins - click image to visit shop

I took up sewing two years ago, after I made my first eBay purchase. It was a gorgeous Scandinavian-style chair with a sexy wood frame and box cushions. With the itchiest, most cat-hair attracting upholstery ever.

But I didn’t mind. I had plans. Grand plans to take sewing classes and recover that bad boy.

It was only much later that I realized it would be less expensive to pay someone else to re-upholster the chair for me. Or…buy a new chair. Yet, I don’t regret my descent into sewing. Not one bit.

Unlike, ohh…probably everyone reading this post, I am not the craftiest chic in the room — mainly because I have grand ideas but shoddy execution. I mean, seriously, I am bad at crafts. But I love everything about sewing. Endless browsing over fabrics, buttons and the way I concentrate so very intently on the pattern or instructions in front of me.

Everything except the cost. Because I’m not particularly crafty, I didn’t have any perspective on how quickly supplies add up. Did I ever learn quickly!

Namely, just before my first sewing class, when I received an e-mail with the supply list.

You mean to say that on top of the cost of the class and fabric, I need to buy zippers and piping. I don’t even like piping!

I took the class. Loved it. And told my husband I wouldn’t take another one, because we couldn’t
possibly afford my new hobby.

Lucky for me, he put his foot down. We would find a way to make it work. And we did.

The solution was deceptively simple. We added sewing classes and supplies to our annual budget.

That’s it. That’s the ground-breaking idea that allowed me to keep sewing. And blogging. And doing just about everything else that I love.

Every year, the husband and I go through a pretty intense budgeting process. It starts with a review of our values…and ends with a spreadsheet. And it takes an entire weekend to put together (now that we’ve been doing it a few years).

One of my values is “I act on my passions.” Sewing was a passion – albeit a newly developed one. You know what isn’t a value: be lazy and take lots of taxis. Nope. But I spent a lot of cash on cabs (seriously, I used to direct the cab to different corners so my co-workers wouldn’t know. It was shameful.)

So when we started talking about how I could afford to sew, I fessed up to my cab habit. Don’t get me wrong here, I still take the occasional cab. But thinking of all the pretty fabric I can buy with that cash is a wonderfully effective deterrent. Or the money I could put into savings for a vacation. Or…well, you get the picture.

The idea that money doesn’t create happiness is hogwash. In fact, it’s dangerous.

Let’s say you’re like me. Taking too many cabs each week yet claiming you can’t afford to nurture your creative habits.

When your expenditures don’t line up with your values, you get that icky I-ate-too-much-ice-cream feel in your stomach. And it’s hard to shake.

On the flip side, when you do align your budget with your core values, you feel powerful.

Accomplished.
And those feelings are happy-making.

Probably you don’t take a lot of cabs. But I’m willing to bet you have your own demon. Ready to hunt it down?

First, take 10 minutes to jot down your values. If you find it hard to start, think of three people in your life: a member of your family, a friend and an acquaintance in the community or even a client. What would you hope that each would say about you if you weren’t around? Make a quick list of the qualities you’d like them to ascribe to you.

There you have it…a quick exercise in sussing out your values.

Now that you have a list working, take another 5 minutes to catalog the purchases you made in the past week or two.

Can you find a disconnect? A purchase or expense that doesn’t feed one of your values?

If you can figure out a way to minimize or eliminate that spending…you’ve found the cash to support your creative habit.

What’s your cash-eating demon?

Brigitte explores the intersection between life, joy & purpose at her blog, Covet. Learn to create budgets that bring balance to your life in a 6-week series called Warm Soft Money.

Filed Under: creativity, mindful spending Tagged With: , , , , 17 Comments
November 1, 2010

the charity of mindful earning

rose cut diamond ring

Can you spend mindfully if first you don’t earn mindfully?

It could be difficult to preach getting paid what you’re worth with unemployment at an all time high and even more people around the world suffering underemployment. But both underemployment and unemployment is a cycle perpetuated by undervaluing ourselves, the things we produce, and the people who buy them. You can’t make money if no one is spending money – and you can’t spend money if you’re not earning it.

Mindful earning is not something just for entrepreneurs or business owners, it’s not just for freelancers either. Truly understanding the value of our work is something for all employed people, and especially all creative employed people.

Whether creativity is in your job description or not, its part of what makes you so great at your job. Being creative with your responsibilities is probably the thing you like the most about each work day.

And it predisposes you to not demanding what you’re worth. You take your abilities for granted, you extend yourself beyond your job, your create solutions that no one else could have created. And when you’re not earning what you’re worth, you’re less likely to be able to put money back into the economy, vote with your dollars for the causes you value, and help to put the economy on the track to sustainability.

Mindful earning is the opposite of everything that makes you resent or fear money.

It’s the opposite of everything that makes you feel the scarcity in life. Mindful earning doesn’t necessarily make you rich but it does make you abundant. And when you feel abundant, you’re more likely to turn your money around in generous, sustainable, and life-giving ways. Your abundance helps others find their own abundance.

Mindful earning isn’t a zero sum game. If I earn more, it doesn’t mean you have to earn less – quite the contrary. If we are mindful of our own worth, our own value in the economic cycle, we all can rise together.

This week, examine what you believe your work is worth. Examine what you need to be paid to contribute to the economy & society the way you’d like to. Examine what is holding you back (your own mindset, your employer’s mindset, your coworkers, your family) from achieving your earning potential. Examine how earning more – mindfully – will allow you to become more abundant.

And take a step in that direction.

{ rose cut diamond ring by Dreams and Jewelry }

Filed Under: jewelry, mindful spending Tagged With: , , , 12 Comments
October 29, 2010

5 ways you’re changing the world with your money

silver globe cufflinks handmade

silver globe cufflinks by silvergarden - click the image to visit the shop

Have you felt the end of the recession yet?

It’s officially been over for quite a bit but, you and I both know, the global economic crisis is far from over.

The economy is in a period of great reset. The old ways will fall away and new ways of commerce will prevail. This isn’t a far flung prophecy; it’s an observation of changes taking place already.

At the heart of this change are prosumers: you, dear readers.

Prosumers are not cogs in the wheel of commerce, automatons that answer to the circuitry of “jingles and jokes.” Prosumers are people whose acumen for consumption puts them in control of their own buying habits. They take part in the production process with their feedback, demands, and choices.

As we know, friends, some prosumers have even jumped into the production process in the literal sense.

More & more consumers are learning that business depends on them – not the other way around. More & more consumers are learning that they can force business to treat them like people with values and not impulse buying machines.

So, if “prosumer” sounds like you, I’m not surprised. And you really are changing the world, here’s how:

1. We’re choosing better over more.

It’s not just about choosing higher quality or better ingredients, although that’s certainly part of it. Choosing better over more means that we’re demanding that products & services better meet our needs. Never has marketing to the masses been less effective.

The one thing that’s been holding [consumers] back is their ability to discriminate. By restricting their demand they can actually align their values with their spending and drive capitalism to not just be about more, but about better.
– John Gerzema

We’re not looking for products that display excess. Frugal chic is on trend – and in the best way possible. Go ahead, splurge on a handmade hoodie or an iPhone, you haven’t been buying that candy & crap on either side of the registers and suddenly have more dough in your pocket.

2. We’re creating our own jobs.

Instead of waiting for the economic crisis to abate, we’re choosing to go it alone. The jobless and underemployed are looking to freelancing, self-employment, and specialty services to create their own security. In turn, they are learning the ins & outs of the way money flows, how the production process works, and how services affect people’s lives on a daily basis.

As more people make this a viable option, prosumer culture gains new, powerful advocates who are producing products & services just for them.

3. If we don’t find what we like, we’re willing to try to do-it-ourselves.

DIY culture and prosumer culture are not dissimilar. Instead of waiting for multi-national corporations to jump on cutting edge trends or on our own personal tastes, we’re willing to give it a go ourselves.

In the past, “the choice that required the least thought, the least effort was more often than not considered the right one.” But the game is changing and, often, the choice that requires thought, effort, and creativity is prized over all others.

Don’t see a wreath for your door that you like? Make one yourself. Don’t like the food choices at in your area? Make take out at home. Don’t like the online social networks that currently exist? Create your own.

Prosumers aren’t satisfied with things that don’t meet their needs. The solution is to innovate. We’ll do it ourselves until big business jumps on board – if they ever do…

4. We’re demanding that our purchases support our values.

Your t-shirt support AIDS research, your coffee supports the rain forests, your cereal supports clean water in Africa.

It’s heard not to buy a product that supports something you believe in. You can choose to spend a little more to get the best fit. Or you can choose to stay brand loyal to voice your support for the cause.

Sure, it’s great marketing. But we’re the ones who demanded it.

Values driven spending is not the fastest way to solve world problems but its better than doing nothing.

5. We care about community.

Yes, prosumers care about spending money in the communities they live in, making the choices that affect their neighbors positively.

But prosumers also consume in community. Whether through social networking online or traditional word of mouth, we’re using community to help us make buying decisions. We find deals, unusual menus, unique gifts, friendly staff, and and great service by being more open than ever with the way we spend our money.

In the end, being a prosumer, a mindful spender, means understanding that you always have a choice. Even when it seems that we’re forced one way or other because of time or money, we have a choice and there were choices that got us to that point.

Our choices, our spending habits, and our voices are weapons in the battle to reverse the economic crisis and rebuild the global economy in a way that we’re proud of and not merely a part of.

——
Special Note: 2011 Advertising is now available on Scoutie Girl. I’ve revamped the program and, with recent features on Etsy, Design*Sponge, and Supermarket, SG is reaching a whole new audience. Spots will go fast. Find out how advertising on Scoutie Girl can boost your biz: click here.

What others are saying:

Scoutie Girl rocks my Twitterverse every day. Follow her now for the same effect.
– Chris Guillebeau, The Art of Non-Conformity

Scoutie Girl has become one of my fave blogs, because it’s smart AND pretty. Gets me every time.
– Brigitte, Covet Chicago

Crafty, creative intelligence about finding happiness in, through, by and because of all things borne from passion, that’s Scoutie Girl.
– Tracey Selingo, Twisted Pinky

Filed Under: mindful spending 3 Comments
October 8, 2010

follow-up: “buy handmade” doesn’t work

My post on why using “Buy Handmade” as a marketing mantra doesn’t work elicited quite a response. Thank you thank you thank you.

One common theme I heard over & over again is that people should buy handmade or independently produced work because they should care about the people who make it. Noble. But ultimately unrealistic.

There will always be people who care about those who design & labor. There will always be people who are willing to spend more so that others may live [better]. But, in the end, people choose to spend the vast majority of their money on what works for them and them alone.

Handmade & independently designed goods must stand on their own two feet – or knitting needles – and provide unique benefits to the consumer. If an individual product doesn’t provide the value & benefit a consumer is looking for, they will buy something else. No matter how loudly we shout, “Buy Handmade.”

Handmade has a different story to tell. Tell it.

Please know that I’m not talking about telling a different story as a movement. I’m begging you to consider the story you’re telling as an individual: a consumer, a maker, a citizen. Step away from the movement and consider the story you have to tell about your own experience and the story of what you produce.

Most people don’t care so much about who makes their purchases, how that person lives or works, or where their kids go to school. They’re not heartless – they just have many, many other things on their minds. These people are our friends and family. They are the people we want desperately to shout with us, “Buy Handmade!”

They just might listen if we tell a different story. Or we might need to look elsewhere.

Nicole, of Three by Sea, commented with similar sentiments and a short little email conversation ensued. Her final reply was so poignant & on the money that I asked if I could post it here. Find it below:

I remember having just opened an Etsy shop and starting my blog shortly before the holidays in 2008 and that “Buy Handmade” badge being promoted that year as well. And like a good little maker, I put it on my site and shouted it from the rooftops.

And got crickets from the people around me that I know.

I’m working on it, but I still struggle with standing up for myself, so to speak, and announcing this is what I offer, this is what it costs, and these are the benefits to you. Too often I feel like I get sucked back into having the cost conversation (especially with friends) which only leads to frustration and feeling resentful of those friends who place dollars above all else.

We as makers need to accept that we can’t change everyone’s minds and not allow ourselves to be discouraged by that fact.

Tara: I think we also have to accept that, for most of us, our friends & family are not our customers. And it can actually be dangerous to listen to their opinions.

Our customers are out there – there is plenty of money exchanging hands in this country. But part of finding those people is sending the right message about what we produce.

So true. I think part of my frustration has been that for far too long I’ve held onto the false belief that my friends and family were going to be this automatic, built-in support system, as customers, blog subscribers, and as a sounding board for ideas or struggles.

I’m just now beginning to see that trying to do what I want while somehow still cater to them is severely holding me back. As scary as it seems, I need to set sail into the wild blue yonder and find my true crew of folks who want to be a part of what I’m offering. In some ways, I almost feel like I’m starting from scratch. So be it.

Time for me to sink or swim, baby, because this treading water only leads to frustration, exhaustion, and eventually, drowning.

Boo to drowning.

{ hand printed crab tea towels by three by sea }

Filed Under: mindful spending Tagged With: , 23 Comments