Business Resources: Mining Pinterest For Gold!

I've recently been pinning some brilliant business hints and tips over on my Pinterest account, it's a great resource for those that learn best visually.

Today I found a pin that explained exactly how to add a gallery of a board directly to your blog, perfect to share my BIZ PINS with you all!

Let me know in the comments what your Pinterest handle is if you use it and we can all link up over there :)

Business Resources: The Right-Brain Business Plan

Nearly every day I chat to artists and makers who are struggling with the business side of their creative pursuit. Not everyone wants to make a fulltime income from their craft, but to help those that do I wanted to start sharing resources that I've found useful or have recommended to others - let's share our knowledge and grow together!

I've spent countless hours researching the issues and looking for solutions that will help them monetise their talents and today I want to share one of my first 'go-to' suggestions for my right-brain comrades!

Jennifer Lee's book 'the Right-Brain Business Plan':

 The Right-Brain Business Plan is the perfect starting place for any aspiring (or struggling!) creative entrepreneur - it's all about building a road-map for your creative biz in an artistic and visual way.

Does the idea of writing a business plan fill you with dread? Have you already writen one, but it is gathering digital dust, shelved as soon as it was finished? Spreadsheets put you to sleep? If you answered yes to any of these then I can't recommend this book enough!

You'll be guided through the steps to create a plan that reflects your business goals, in a format that fits your style. It's a business plan you WANT to refer back to regularly!

There's worksheets, step-by-step instructions and stories from featured creative entrepreneurs, all in a conversational and supportive style that will give your right-brain a nudge in the right direction (ha! right, see what I did there??).

Have you created a Right-Brain Business Plan using Jennifer's book as a guide? I'd love to hear from you in the posts below!


Please note: the links in this post are affiliate links, however I would never recommend a program or product that I don't personally believe in.

Big Hearted Business: WOW

 

I'm still wrapping my head around the inspirational, mind-blowing and insightful weekend I just experienced - Big Hearted Business, presented by Clare Bowditch, held at the stunning Abbotsford Convent.

I walked away from the 2 jam packed days with a notebook (and mind) overflowing with ideas and a heart full of gratitude for Clare, her team and all of the amazing speakers. The fire has re-ignited in my belly and I'm more focused; I've got more done in the last few days than I would in over a week.

 

 I'm sure there will be more blog posts about what I gained from the conference, but I feel like I still have to chew on the ideas and concepts that were shared. I want to wrestle with them and filter them through a focus on what they will mean for View Point Handmade Gallery. In the mean time, I have noticed blog posts starting to pop up on the web from the attendees, sharing their experience. Head over to these blogs to read more about some of the personal experiences of a phenomenal and life changing weekend:

•  Stunning sketches of the weekend by Lily Mae Martin
• Kelly Zarb's beautiful blog 
• Pip from Meet Me At Mikes (also a presenter at the conference) 
• Ambah (confessions of a serial crafter)
• Amy from Saint Gertrude
• Martine at greenolive

The cherry on top of the most delicious weekend was singing Nick Cave's Ship Song, in the beautiful Abbotsford Convent chapel, with a group of amazingly talented, creative women (and a few lads!), led by the powerhouse that is Ms Bowditch. Goosebumps on top of goosebumps!!

Do yourself a favour and sign up for the BHB Mailing List - you won't want to miss a thing!!