Episode 91: The Power of Showing Up & Taking Risks with Nicole Stevenson of Dear Handmade Life
Today on the Tillage Podcast, we welcome Nicole Stevenson from Dear Handmade Life. Her journey shows the courage and strength needed to follow your passion, show up, and take risks.
Showing Up and Showing Your Work
Nicole's journey highlights the importance of showing up and embracing failure as part of the learning process. She faced numerous challenges and setbacks, whether selling paintings on Venice Beach or pitching her creations to stores. Through persistence and a willingness to evolve, Nicole turned her passion into a successful business. She advises aspiring artists to listen to customers, be open to feedback, and continuously adapt.
Listening To Your Customer and Making Adjustments
Nicole shares with us the role that craft fairs have made in her journey. Not only did they provide immediate income but they also served as platforms for invaluable market research. By interacting directly with customers, she gained valuable insights into their preferences and needs. Nicole believes that craft fairs offer small businesses a cost-effective alternative to formal research and development processes, helping them stay agile and responsive to market demands.
The Risk-Taking muscle
We also discuss developing the "risk-taking muscle" in entrepreneurship. Nicole reflects on significant moments when she took leaps of faith, such as organizing her first craft fair and launching Craftcation. She highlights the gradual progression and growth over time, likening it to lifting weights and building strength. Each risk, whether successful or not, contributed to her resilience over time.
The Importance of Community
Lastly, Nicole underscores the significance of community in navigating the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. She emphasizes the value of finding like-minded individuals who understand the challenges and joys of running a creative business. Whether through craft fairs, conferences, or online communities, connecting with peers provides support, inspiration, and opportunities for growth.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Showing up and engaging directly with your audience can provide invaluable insights and help shape your business and artistic strategies. Likewise, listening to customer feedback and adjusting your offerings accordingly can lead to greater market success.
Surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals can offer both emotional support and practical collaborations, which can lead to resilience and opportunities for growth.
Failure is a part of the journey and developing resilience can significantly impact one's ability to persevere. Remember, that setbacks are not endpoints but opportunities for learning.
Success is not instantaneous but a result of sustained effort and persistence. It’s important to have patience and perseverance in business, and remember that true success often takes time to materialize.
It's important to evolve strategies over time in response to changing personal aspirations and market conditions.
Nicole Stevenson is a multi-passionate creative, middle-aged first-time mama, impostor syndrome warrior, Korean BBQ connoisseur and the CEO and creative director at Dear Handmade Life.
Nicole's desire to help other creatives pursue their dream business and discover the joy of making led her away from her own handmade business and into teaching, consulting, running her own workshop studio and eventually co-founding Dear Handmade Life in 2007. Now, she connects, educates and shortens the learning curve for other creatives by sharing what she's learned through the Dear Handmade Life events including Craftcation Conference and Patchwork Show as well as a blog and podcast. She has a BA and an MA in English and a dual “PhD” in crafting to keep your sanity and badass business skills from the School of Life.
