​No One Tells You It’s Going To Be Easy...

guest blog post from rachel goymer
​tiddlerandfox.com

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No one tells you it’s going to be easy, but no one tells you it’s going to be hard either. 2016 has been the steepest learning curve I think I’ve ever faced and I’ve climbed some fairly tall and challenging mountains, both literally and figuratively speaking, in the past 10 years or so. And my challenges just seem to keep coming!
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I knew I would learn a lot this year but I didn’t think that my ideas and the directions I would travel in would change constantly too. But they have. I am comfortable with change and I certainly don’t shy away from it but it’s been fascinating to realise just how differently I think about my business, where I’m going and where I want to be, than when I launched in November 2015. Basically, it’s all different! And that’s fine, in fact it is brilliant, because I’m flexible, I’m adjusting to the demands of my customers and learning more about them every day.
 
My product range is slowly niching down (is that even a word?!) as I gain insights into what works and equally important, what doesn’t. I realise which products I really enjoy making and selling and where my passions lie and it might not be what I was expecting.
 
No one has been more amazed at how much I have learnt about social media, IT and tech (thanks Helen, you know it’s all your fault!) in the past 10 months and that there is nothing to be afraid of. Still plenty more to learn there and I know I could do a lot better, but small steps here….one foot after the other.
 
And celebrating the small successes is so important too, not just the massive wins, the small ones add up to increased knowledge and satisfaction in the day to day. Just simple stuff like being able to figure something out on my website that has been foxing me for ages was a nice moment to say ‘go me’! Sometimes you have to give yourself credit for how far you’ve come too, I’ve never done this before so don’t necessarily know what to do, how to do it, who can help or where to turn for advice.
 
Fairs and markets are not something that I thought I would actually do this year, but having attended dozens so far, for the amount I have learned about my products appeal and about my customers, has been invaluable. Not to mention encountering a fabulously supportive community amongst the sellers and traders. That took me by surprise, just how willing others are to share and help. I learn so much at each event and usually either see people I’ve got to know or I meet new people who have been kind enough to share their knowledge with me. So even if I don’t sell quite as much as I would like one day, I’m still benefitting and come away richer all there same.
 
And my next challenge? Christmas! Never having tackled this time of year before, I’ve invested in a support course that has been incredibly enlightening and so so helpful - I know I will be much better equipped going forward. And I’m getting to know what is worth investing in for my business  and what isn’t - and that definitely was!
 
And how to stay motivated? Wine….
 
And on that note it’s time I got back to my Christmas planning and envisaging my hard earned success in 2017.