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Today's Growth Idea: Diversify.
My History: Along the lines of diversification... when I was new in business I felt like I was doing too much of this for the manpower, experience, available funds, etc. available to me. I felt like I needed to go in all different directions to get whatever busines I could wherever I could get it. I gave classes, sold supplies, contacted churches, advertised in the newspapers, radio, and other venues. Because I was fairly new, I was testing the waters of everything and made too many decisions on the spur of the moment instead of thinking them through as much as I feel I should have.
Today's Business: Thinking more about this diversification thing. I have been researching more about it. I started thinking about diversifying because that was the common thread at the meeting I attended yesterday for the board I sit on for the Graphic Arts Program at the Vocational Technical School in Lenawee County. Business owners in the field talked about having to diversify what they offer in order to fill the gaps of lost business. Past students of the program talked about how the diversity of the projects they worked on while at Vo-Tech really helped them at the college level. And, past students who are now in the working world confirmed that being open to and knowledgeable of many different techniques and programs is helping them when working or looking for new jobs. For so long I felt I needed to focus on certain aspects of my business instead of being so diverse... and now the economy is causing me to rethink this idea.
Another common thought among the business owners and teaching staff of local universities and Vo-Tech was the fact that techniques may change, advancements will always happen, the tools we use are forevery changing, but the creativity we have and the passion we put into our businesses, art, and life are not the kinds of things that can be taught. They are in each of us and have to be nurtured every day or none of the education, attempts at diversifying or not diversifying, will do us much good.
So, my bottom line is that I will continue to work in the direction I have been working in. I truly enjoy working on public art projects, residential stained glass and giving classes. I will continue these things but, I will also think about how I can do them better, maybe in a more creative way. And, working shows... this is someplace I feel I can really diversify what I have been selling. More on this later....
Today's Photo: Miniature Stained Glass Windows - originally created for my miniature house. I have had people buy them for Christmas Ornaments, necklaces, and suncatchers. This is a good example of the diversity of use of an item that I had an art show promoter suggest I try when doing shows.
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