Food for Thought . . .

Hi Chicks!

If you follow my stampin' blog, Stamp With Jeni, you know I've been posting alot lately about my "real" job as a nurse case manager for a wellness program, which includes nutrition and how to feed your body.  Today's post there focused on greens - food as well as a pretty green card :-)

You also know one of my favorite creative blogs is Lyssa Griffin Zwolanek's Song of My Heart Stampers  If you've never checked out Lyssa's blog, I STRONGLY suggest you do (go there - RIGHT NOW!!!  Then come back here.  Go on.  I'll wait.).

OK, ya back?  Is Lyssa not the COOLEST??  When I started with Stampin' Up! a little over 2 years ago, Lyssa quickly became one of my heroines in the stamping world.  Not only does she have MAD creative skills, but she is one of the top 100 SU! demos, member of Founder's Circle, and a talented blog writer.  While you were on her stampin' blog, I hope you also noticed a tab there titled "Free Demo Blog".  It's one of my other favorite places to hang out on the internet.  Truly creative people just love to share, and Lyssa always shares so freely and cheerfully.

SO, let's talk about feeding your business or your creative hobby or BOTH, no matter what kind of SU! demo you choose to be.

I'm sitting around today waiting for my new fridge to be delivered, so of course surfing the 'net is a good way to fill time.  Hopped on over to Lyssa's with a cup of tea (isn't it nice to have online friends you can visit 24/7??) and the need to check out some business tips on her Demo Blog.

Interestingly enough, Lyssa has a couple of recent posts there regarding blogging that really hit home for me, since I've been trying to do more of that this month. Since y'all are helping me grow my downline in leaps and bounds, I definitely feel obligated and inspired to be a good Mother Chick and find ways to help YOU grow your business as well.

Blogging is a good thing for your business.  It's fun but can be challenging as well.  Coming up with new post ideas, creating something to blog about, FINDING THE TIME, and being consistent are HARD.  You know this if you follow Stamp With Jeni.  I have not been CONSISTENT.  No wonder I don't have many followers, nor comments on my posts.  As funny or creative as I may think I am, who's gonna keep reading it if my posts are 6 months apart?  BORING.  INCONSISTENT. LOSER!!!

This month, I made a resolution to be more consistent.  I'm busy with work and family, but I've made it my "homework" to blog at least every other day.  I've gone through my photos (I photograph every card I make), pulled out some old ones, created some new ones, and BLOGGED.  My style is a little different now, you may notice.  I'm riffing not just on stampin' and cards, but on life in general.  It works for me - I think I found my blog mojo.  Heck, even one of the GUYS I work with is reading my blog now!  I'm jazzed!!!

To become a business demo, you NEED to be consistent.  You also need to put effort into it.  That means taking out your calendar and blocking out time every day or week to work your business, if that works for you.  Find a way to build your business that WORKS FOR YOU.  But again, if you don't put that time in, don't expect to build anything much.  (I will post again soon about some ideas that work for me to keep up with my quarterly minimums and my title requirements.)

If you're a hobby demo, I encourage you to do the same thing with your stampin' time.  The more you create, the easier it becomes.  If you signed up with SU!, obviously you love stampin', making pretty things, and all our products.  Don't let those pretty things gather dust in your craft room!  Make time for YOU!!  It makes us happy to create, no?

When I started with SU!, I had no intentions of building a downline or obtaining a title.  With barely any effort on my part, I soon realized that this CAN become a business for me.  I will probably never replace my nursing income, but I'm tickled pink that our group is growing and I'm seeing some exciting things happen on my reports.  THANK YOU, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!!

So, get out there and if you have a blog, POST.  If you don't have one, think about starting one.  If it's your "thing", great!  If it's not, that's okay too.  We work for a company that supports us whether we're business or hobby.  Isn't that fantastic??

That's it for now, my peeps!

Jeni