We had roughly 5 weeks to get from product idea to being market-ready. I was about to lead 14 untrained, but ambitious, entrepreneurs through the process of starting a handcraft business and preparing to sell at a holiday market…a first for both the group, and myself as an instructor. I booked a venue for the market, and then worked backward in creating a curriculum that would teach the creative process & product conceptualization, sourcing materials and making prototypes, financial literacy and money management, becoming a bonafide business with a logo and a story and a cohesive visual brand. Students would practice styling and taking product photos, along with selling in person techniques….and they created products, lots of them!
By the time market day came around, this group was more than ready. They were confident, they knew how to talk about the value of their product and their businesses. They made eye contact and exchanged money effortlessly. They displayed their offerings with sophisticated charm. All the “blood, sweat and tears” were over (for this market anyways) and many of the businesses completely sold out of the handcrafts they were selling. I will admit, in the beginning, I didn’t know if we’d be able to pull it all off. But this was a special group with, remember, a lot of ambition and uninhibited energy. You see, each of the participants in my first-time offering of “Crafting Your Girl Maker Business” were, as the course title says, girls, and all were between the ages of 9–13. Being privy to their ambitions and successes over those 5 weeks has taught me more than a thing or two about the importance of reconnecting to my own business, wellgirl. Here are just a couple.
1. Reconnect to my story
My girls’ wellness business is still young. The story about what I intended for it to be, who it would serve and in what ways, hasn’t changed so much as my personal comfort level and language about it has. As my business and experience evolves, so has my story. Having these girls write the story of their business, their “why,” what inspires them and what they are passionate about, has helped them connect to their customer, their brand, and, in the end, has elevated the value of their handmade products. I love the opportunity to practice what I teach, and in making the girls’ face the blank page of authentically sharing about themselves, in their quirky and personal ways, I was called to do so too, with a brand new source of inspiration and perspective. My messaging has become much more clear and concrete as a result. My takeaway: spend time with my “why” and use my unique voice.
2. Reconnect to my goals…regularly
Two weeks into the Crafting Your Girl Maker Business course, I asked the girls to reflect on their long and short term goals. “Make money,” “become a real business,” and “hang out with my friends” were the standard, and age-appropriate, responses. After the market sale, we gathered and I asked each of them the same question about goals. It was amazing to see how the experiences from the last 5 weeks had matured their responses and empowered and expanded their possibility thinking, all because the girls set goals and then reflected on where their action had taken them. “Selling out” and “making lots of money” were still there. But now, there were new goals, like “making people happy” “coming up with new products” “scaling my business” and “keeping better track of finances.”
Personal success cannot be measured by simply accomplishing my goals, but rather in recollecting how far I’ve come in transforming myself alongside my business. Now I make a plan to regularly revisit my long and short term goals, and with each new experience, so that I can be really clear about what needs to be adjusted, let go of, or amplified, to feel like I’m always moving forward. My takeaway: plainly put, goals help me get better in all aspects of my personal and professional performance.
3. Reconnect with my joy
The look on one girl’s face when she reported she made $501 (to be exact) was pricelessly proud. Along with asking the girls about their new goals, I had them reflect on what they thought was their biggest accomplishment throughout this whole process. Responses included “I was shy at first, then at the sale, I was confident” “I actually liked talking to people” “I realized I could make more products than I thought I could” “seeing people buying the things we made” “making money for charity” “coming up with an idea and seeing my goal become real.” As we went around the room to share, I was inspired by the joy and excitement these girls displayed when talking about their experiences and accomplishing such big goals. They had also learned that even though it wasn’t always easy to reach their goals, they stuck with it, and experienced something they could be proud of as a result.
It can be hard to stop the flow of doing all the things for my business and reflect on what I have actually accomplished for my self. Tomorrow’s to-do list starts at the end of today’s finished, or unfinished, tasks. But that doesn’t mean I can’t make time to honor the small victories as they happen, or recollect them at the end of each day, and celebrate in some way. My takeaway: find moments to reconnect with my joy…of running an independent small business my way, of being able to create its identity and direct its course of action, of meeting and helping others, of making that first sale with a new product or writing a killer email.
In the end, “Crafting Your Girl Maker Business” was as much a success for the girls as it was for me and my business, wellgirl. We both got in touch with our story, our goals and our joy of being creative and sharing that passion with others.
This is a contributed blog post by Rebecca Saraceno, Founder & Girl Mentor at wellgirl, which offers programs and products that support, inspire and empower girls toward wellness, from the inside out. Rebecca is based in Waltham, MA.
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