Okay so let’s talk about the C word... change.
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Changes in work, changes in life and changes in business.
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When I chose this as a blog topic, I even pulled out one of my old psychology textbooks to see what it was about change that sometimes makes us resistant. Turns out it’s pretty simple and relates to the fear of the unknown. But I guess that’s just it- sometimes the unknown is bad, sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s somewhere in the middle. I think that pretty well sums up the changes in direction I’ve moved through in business in particular. Reflecting back, some changes were great, some terrible, and some... well meh.
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One of the changes that certainly came with a healthy dose of fear for me (mainly fear of failure), was my decision to drop back to part time OT and focus on Heartbeats. Even before cutting back to part time, I found that over the previous 9 years I managed to maintain my passion by changing fields and specialities every so often.
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I think dramatic change in my personal life has been pretty self- explanatory with the arrival of Hugh last year. Basically, alot more love in my life, but alot less time and sleep. I’ll continue to touch upon the ups and downs of motherhood in future entries.
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The changes I've initiated within HH has come for a variety of reasons, including;
- Sales trends
- Availability of space and ease of storage
- Weight of products when carting around to markets
- My interest and enjoyment in the making
- Availability of supplies within Australia
- The desire to offer something different
To give you a bit of an idea of the changes in products offered by Heartbeat Handicrafts (thus far)-
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Candles and concrete planters were our first main creative ventures, then silicone teething necklaces and a few timber earrings. Next came polymer clay and timber necklaces and earrings, with some car fragrance diffusers thrown in there somewhere. The polymer clay earrings stuck around but the necklaces did not. As I honed my skills and technique, I was able to offer more unique hand crafted styles in a now saturated market. From there I also introduced fabric clutches, travel pouches and a completely new and unique range of fabric and PVC statement earrings, clip ons and ID badge clips. That brings me to the present, where a large chunk of my time is focussed on perfecting custom orders, mainly of pets from photos.
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Wow....that is a lot of change in just 5 years!!
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I wonder what the next 5 years will bring.
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Overall, the thing about change is it’s inevitable and you can resist it, but chances are it’s going to happen regardless. My advice would be to reflect on the ‘bad’ changes as temporary and take time to appreciate the ‘good’ ones... it really is a mixed bag!!