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All I can say is that for the past few days here at Beehive Co-op Mt. Kisco we have been really, really busy. My fingers are tired from wrapping so many gifts and tying countless bows. From what I hear Beehive Atlanta and Cincinnati have also been hopping! So here's to happy designers, happy customers, happy gift recipients and ending the year on a high note!
Designers....you have a few days off...rest, relax, recuperate but then...back to work! We have bare shelves to fill and a whole exciting new year around the corner. Yes, I said exciting. Because it is. It’s been a tough year, there is no doubt, but it’s during these tough times that our ingenuity, our resolve, and our passion gets tested and strengthened. And yes, 2009 will also be tough, maybe not as rocky but certainly very challenging.
But my hope is that what started out as the “get crafty” trend will turn into a full scale way of life. That people will continue to feel the pleasure of making things or giving things that have meaning and support a sustainable way of life. I hope this gets internalized and passed down to the next generation. The feeling that Beehive alumus Christy Petterson expressed in the NY Times recently will hopefully be internalized for years and years to come. She said, “I just like the fact that I’m supporting someone who’s trying to make their way in the world by using their talents, and my money is going directly to a person instead of a chain of middlemen. For the same amount of money, the specialness factor is way higher. It’s more heartfelt than if you bought something from a big-box store.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/23/business/23craft.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=craft%20sales&st=cse
This “back to basics” notion is something that I actually love and really believe in. These values are things that I think have been lost during the me, me, me consumer frenzy of the past decade (or more). It’s an interesting cultural shift that is happening and I am so proud to be a part of it. Every day, no matter how overwhelming it is, I am always so excited about the people I work with, talk to and interact with and it keeps me motivated to work harder and keep on going.
So although I know I’m preaching to the choir, here’s to ending on a high note and celebrating all the good things and accomplishments that happened in 2008!
Happiest of holidays to all! And to all a goodnight!
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"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
A person I know who advises small business owners recently said to me that being an entrepreneur is knowing that you are on an island and that no one is coming to rescue you, that if you want to escape, you must build the raft that will carry you away. Most entrepreneurs I know share this understanding, and rather than finding it frightening or depressing, the challenge spurs them to concept and build the most stylish, seaworthy raft you have ever seen.
These are, obviously, uncertain times for everyone. The impact of the economic crisis seems to get worse by the day, and none of us know how bad it will get, how life as we have known it will change moving forward. I feel for our new president in the comparisons to Roosevelt, whose New Deal helped steer the country back to economic stability. He and his team face an unthinkably complex challenge in getting us back on the rails, and it seems there will be widespread pain in the interim.
The idea of sustainable business, which is what I am charged to write about here, is nothing without individuals who can build the seaworthy raft, which by all means may be patched perhaps unattractively, but effectively, where needed to stop the leaks. For many of us who don't have the comfort (false as it may be) of a regular paycheck, these are times that require a real faith in our ability to do what it takes to keep our livelihoods going. Entrepreneurs are used to uncertainty, and tend to have iron stomachs when it comes to fear and risk. If you can't tolerate risk, there is little chance you are an entrepreneur.
Still, these times test even the resolve of the most hardy when it comes to our businesses. The daily headlines can tempt us to reside us in a realm of fear and dread rather than hope, optimism, and confidence in the future. Of course, there is no certainty, and many of us will have to make tough decisions to survive. For some, this may mean taking a part time job, or projects we might usually reject to get us through. I am not a religious person, but I honestly believe the universe brings us what we need if only we pay attention and make the most of our resources.
At the end of the day, I for one am giving thanks that as an entrepreneur I've learned a real faith in myself that no temporal circumstance can take away. Times will improve, and while we all may need to be a bit creative in the short run, I do believe that once you've taken a path to live life on your terms, that fundamental way of seeing the world sticks. I'm grateful for all my fellow entrepreneurs, especially those at Beehive, and wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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According to Wikipedia “A business is sustainable if it has adapted its practices for the use of renewable resources and holds itself accountable for the environmental and human rights impacts of its activities. This includes businesses that operate in a socially responsible manner and protect the environment.”
When I look at how this applies to Beehive initially of course I look at how we respect the materials that we use daily – paper, ink cartridges, cans, boxes, rubber bands - and encourage everyone who is a part of Beehive to do their utmost to recycle and conserve by providing a ways and means to do so. We have very little waste as compared with traditional retail establishments. Our goods are not shipped from overseas factories in thousands of plastic bags and tons of boxes, with the majority of our products being made locally and brought to the store as needed by the designer we eliminate a lot of waste.
But for me, it’s the larger perspective that provides me with the most interesting and hopeful aspect of sustainability when applied to the Beehive concept. It’s the connections between individual and community and region that makes our business truly sustainable and exciting. It’s what makes me get up each morning and keep fighting to establish beehive into a thriving business (despite the odds). The connection between designer-producer, customer, and community in our business model is about as sustainable as it gets. It fosters development of small businesses within a locality, it fosters community pride, participation and interaction, it cuts down on waste and energy consumption, and at the same time it brings beautiful, unique and very competitive products to the market. How amazing to bring this sustainable concept to cities, towns, and communities all across America. For Beehive this kind of growth not only is sustainable but I believe is actually is a benefit to citizens. That's very exciting and dare I say revolutionary.
My hope for our culture is that this model is applied to more than just the retail industry. I think that as we become more and more global, which in my opinion isn’t in itself a bad thing, we should also redevelop the local roots that made this country so interesting. Right now I feel we are out of balance (in more ways than one), we’ve tipped too far to the global. Our shops, restaurants, culture are scarily homogenous – the same everywhere. It is my hope that over the next decade we see a shift back to basics, towards thoughtful consumption, towards thriving unique and individual communities. We haven't completely lost it yet...but to achieve this we will need government both locally and nationally to support and foster small, community based business AND consumers who realize that their purchasing power CAN and DOES shape the world they live in!
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You're Hired!
By Amy McClure
11/10/2008 5:32:00 PM
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Expression. I’ve been thinking about that a lot since my last entry. Expression of what, you may ask? Of me, I guess…or respectively, of YOURSELF. I think it started out that way at least. I long to create something that expresses (or just releases) all those whirls and swirls of images and ideas I have in the midst of my day, while I’m are doing something else, typically. What keeps me from working is typically the things I have to do to keep the business, or life in general, running smoothly. I find that for most entrepreneurs, finding time to be creative is the hardest part of running a business, despite how hard we try to ignore our bookkeeping. Some oversimplified questions I like to ask myself are:
What would you do with an entire day/afternoon “off “ ? (That’s a funny concept, isn’t it?)
What is most restful to you today?
Have you noticed any kind of pattern/correlation over the past few weeks…?
What would you like to know more about? A new skill you’d like to learn?
They are simple and pretty nonspecific for a reason…b/c if I can slow down, even for a moment, or a couple of hours one morning, I don’t have to make it more difficult than it already is. I have the opportunity to look outside my day, week, month and think about and dream about the things I want to be different or the things I want to grow in the business and my life. To fuel myself with some kind of newness...Or opportunity for newness to be invited into my sphere.
For some, and myself, I have had to realize my need for help and GET SOME….even if it’s just 5 hours a week. Think of stay at home moms, college students, or even sharing an assistant among several designers to provide them with more hours per week. The E-Myth Revisited, by Gerber should help you with thinking (i.e. convincing you) through this a little more.
Recently, I did hire a girl to work with/for me. Granted, I agonized over hiring help since we moved to the Bean in April and I came up with every excuse imaginable. Seriously…I have trust issues, but that’s a whole other blog entry. Interviewing and hiring someone to come in and look at the unkempt underbelly of my little business has to have been a hundred times more of a pit in my stomach than any interview I have ever been on myself. And now that she’s here, I am kicking myself for not doing it sooner. Totally. Since then, the amount of time I’ve had to concentrate on the things I have dreamed of doing is astounding. The ability to get things done beyond immediate tasks like production/shipping/emailing takes me back to days long forgotten…to the hopes I had 2 years ago that my day could be filled with moments of free time, design epiphanies and the magazine spreads detailing them, not to mention the latest celebrity caught in one of my pieces or the fact that I can enjoy my work again…I should dare dream...*sigh*.
So now that we’ve accepted our need for help, acquired said help, we dream. That’s what we do as entrepreneurs, right? We dream bigger than our day to day. We love the essence of what we’re doing, but let’s be practical: We also long for our efforts to reap respect, money and maybe garner a little praise along the way…oh and I’ll say it, a little jealousy from others too. No harm in that, right? Certainly we can cheer on our fellow designers in much the same way we do as bridesmaids when our friends make it to the altar. But we still want to be the bride for once…
Often times, what fuels new designs and creations are typically from things completely unrelated to my medium. Experiencing and learning new things shows me so much about myself and my processes. So, what would you learn if you had time? Right now, I would learn how to weld. Have you noticed a pattern/correlation of things over the past few weeks? Well, yes I have, in fact. A literal pattern this time…And I would study the historical use of the quatrefoil. (yes, seriously). I’m totally weird like that. I’m not sure how or if I would use those skills in my work, but maybe I could? I went to the MFA here with my studio mate the other night and saw the most amazing art nouveau exhibit…Totally inspiring and easily relatable to my work. And now, I have the time to flesh out my expression of it rather than spend my time in production. Woohoo!
Living in one of the world's most educational cities, I have access to pretty much any type of adult edu class I would like to take...there are even artist 'Skill Share' nights around town, of which I am preparing to partake. I know not everyone has that opportunity, so I invite you to post links for your city's adult education programs/online programs you've found helpful/your own skills you'd like to share in the comments section below!
In Boston, we have (to name a few):
Stonybrook Fine Arts
BCAE
CCAE
Brookline Center
MASSART
SMFA
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What a ride this presidential campaign and election was, and what sweet relief that it is over. Many of the headlines have trumpeted the arrival of a vibrant new era for our country, one in which industry and citizenry are re-energized with a sense of what's possible, of how we might just be able to nurture our idealism again. Of the many reasons I supported Barack Obama, one compelling draw of his candidacy was his championship of opening up a new era of green technology and alternative energy. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has written persuasively in his books (The World is Flat, and now Hot, Flat and Crowded) and in his columns that to retain (regain?) global leadership the U.S. must become a contender in developing green technologies that will create jobs and position us once again as an audacious innovator. I hope that beyond that industry sector we see an era in which the role of business in society evolves in general, one in which we purge outdated habits and practices that squander energy and other resources needlessly, and one in which the entrepreneur, of course, can thrive. As many of us are still riding the exhilaration of last night's results, it's important to look forward and think about not just how change might be imposed upon us, but how we can start making changes all on our own. To that end, I'm sharing a few great sites on sustainable business and environmental issues that I enjoy reading, that inspire me or give me an idea here and there for how to do things a little differently. Herewith, some great reads and resources:
News & Point-of-View:
Ecopreneurist
Worldchanging
Treehugger
Grist
Sustainable Business:
BALLE
Business for Social Responsibility
Green Biz
Office Supplies:
Greener Printers
New Leaf Paper
The Green Office
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Yes, it is slow out there right now, but we will make it through! Use this opportunity to evaluate and cut costs in your company. This is something that we should do even in good times, but is often overlooked until the budget starts to tighten.
1) Trade services
Good old fashion bartering. Step back and look at your expenses and see if there are any expenses that you could barter in your business. The local printer may want a piece of your jewelry to give his wife for Christmas. Another vendor may give a discount in exchange for a two pieces of your handmade children’s clothing. You never know until you ask!
2) Outsourcing
Outsourcing aspects of your business can actually save money in the long run. You can do your books in QuickBooks, but getting an accountant can pay off in the end because the valuable advice can help you structure your business in the most cost efficient way. There are many tax deductions that you can take advantage of in the business that you are not currently aware.
3) Get an intern
Sometimes it can actually be better to bring in an extra set of hands. College students are often looking for internships throughout the year for little to no compensation. If you are willing to write a couple of evaluations for the student they can get class credit in entrepreneurship, business technology, fashion marketing, or other subjects. In return, you get more work done at a low cost to you. If you can increase the company output, or free up time to call on more potential customers, you may bring in more money than you spend to pay them
4) Review your account packages
Take an afternoon to look over all of your regular accounts. Call the telephone company and web hosting company to see if you can renegotiate the rate on your current package. Call the, your credit card companies to see if you qualify for a lower rate. You can even call the natural gas provider and ask about locking in a low gas rate to heat your office for the winter. Little changes can make a difference over time!
5) Network
Get talking! Get out and network with people in your community, you could find your next great customer at no cost other than your time. Look online to find all sorts of networking groups for entrepreneurs, women’s groups, and more. Not only could you find more customers, but you can pick up more great business ideas from your peers.
Now sit back admire your cost-efficient business!
These ideas and more from the following articles
- Money Saving Ideas for Home Based Entrepreneurs
- Money Saving Tips for Business Owners
- Money-Saving Tips for New Entrepreneurs Running Internet-Based Businesses
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How do you do!? My name is Amy McClure and I am also one of the designers at the Beehive, trained at the University of Montevallo just south of Birmingham. To try to give you a brief recent history on myself and Olaria Studio, being a part of Beehive and getting to know other designers in the same boat I am in has been one of my favorite things over the past 2 years. Recently, I moved to Boston with my husband from Birmingham. We moved up
here to not only take a sabbatical from (our much loved and yet a little too settled) Southern life, but to take
some opportunities we had only seen from a distance: creatively,
professionally, educationally, and socially. However, moving a business 1100 miles did not prove as streamline
as I thought it would have been in any sense, leaving me with mountains of administration and marketing efforts, research and development, show scheduling, etc to deal with in leaving my assistant behind. It feels a little bit like taking a very large dog for a very fast walk...
In talking about entreprenuership, I'm finding and losing my
footing all at the same time. Two steps forward, one backward....Even here in New England, where
everything already seems so foreign and difficult to maneuver at times, I'm finding segways into the small business and creative communities. I've
started getting emails from younger women asking for advice b/c they
think I'm supposed to know what I'm doing in running a business. Things that I would have become unraveled about last year are just part of another week for me...and I
realize that it's not that I know what I'm doing as much as I've gotten
comfortable with some of my fears and expectations about it in my day
to day. Some people might call that perspective, I guess. I think that's part of what drives creativity and motivates me
in some sense, despite being someone who's prone to disaster fantasies.
I mean, Olaria only began after I got married and got fired from my
administrative/marketing job within 4 months of each other,
providing me with lots of time to think and thus, create. I couldn't not create. As I
interviewed for job after job, it occurred to me that what I had been doing to self-soothe was actually something that could help pay
bills. That people responded to, and wanted to pay me for my work when they saw it. Instead of responding to other people's
opportunities as an employee, I felt like part of me came alive in
being able to create my own place in the market, and it was staring me in the face.
Now I know there is a slew of things that I'm not saying about owning a business in the above paragraphs, but we've got time for all that discussion. I have quite a few frustrations and soul-killing moments in trying to manage and balance my life so that it is not completely overrun by business. I think by my next entry, I'll have had time to wrap my head around some of what I've been thinking about in that regard, so please don't think I'm quite as existential as this entry may lead you to believe. I want to talk about fear, hope and growing ourselves as much as I talk about growing our businesses. I've read/reading the E-Myth by Gerber, Art and Fear by Bayles & Orland, Craft, Inc by Ilasco, and Let Your Life Speak by Palmer within this last year and feel like the timing of things in those reads has been good for me both practically as well as professionally and even spiritually. I think there is a correlation of finding what gives us light and hope, nurturing and making room for it, that will naturally flow into all that we do, business, family and all. I feel like there is room for that kind of person in the marketplace of today. Especially today. Because that kind of person can thrive amidst a bad market or economy (or administration) and inspire those around him/her. I think the process of our art-making, our business of being in business, is something we began maybe hoping to make some cash, maybe not. Maybe we felt that call to expression that put light in our day or gave lightness to someone elses. But despite our daily flurry of activity, I think it has the potential to help us see ourselves for who we are and change us dramatically...hopefully for the better.
"...Making art is a common and intimately human activity, filled with all the perils (and rewards) that accompany any worthwhile effort. The difficulties artmakers face are not remote and heroic, but universal and familiar..." -D. Bayles & T. Orland, Art & Fear.
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