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THE 12 SECRETS  TO STARTING
A HOME-BASED CRAFT BUSINESS

Secret # 1 Craft a Plan

By Karen Booy
as excerpted from Crafting the American Dream and the CRAFTLINK Newsletter.

When I first decided to turn my hobby into a business, my first step was to search out as many sources of information as possible. I found many books and courses that dealt with starting a new business, however I felt most of them should have been entitled "101 Reasons NOT TO Start a Small Business." The books I read and the courses which I took, seemed to have little to do with the type of business that I wished to pursue -- a craft business.

After 20 years of owning and operating several craft businesses I am about complete a business opportunity kit which will be marketed in the United States as Crafting the American Dream. The business opportunity kit will include a video, a series of booklets and an audio cassette tape called, The 12 Secrets to Starting a Home-based Craft Business -- I wish I had it 20 years ago!

I would like to share with you the 12 Secrets in subsequent issues of CRAFTLINK. I hope that it will help to stimulate and motivate you to reach your own business and personal goals.

Remember that the most important part of your business is you and if you are to be successful it will take careful planning and much persistence. Whatever your goals, large or small, I welcome you to the growing number of men and women who are choosing to make changes in their life. Manage your choices and you will manage your life.

Well, let's get started . . . . .

SECRET #1 -- CRAFT A PLAN

It has been my experience that many people never really arrive at any measure of success because of one reason and one reason only. They never really know what it is that they want.

Success begins with the right attitude. In order to be a success, you must first define what success means to you, it will vary from one individual to another.

In order to be successful in a craft business, or any other type of endeavor, you must first get an idea of what you want to accomplish. Many people never stop long enough to plan their lives, and life happens TO them, instead of making life happen FOR them. There is a saying, there are three kinds of people, those who make things happen, those who watch what happened and those who wonder what happened. Which group do you want to be in?

Set aside time to work out a plan for your accomplishments.

Take a writing pad and pen and find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed. Set your egg timer for five minutes and write out what you want to achieve in the next year. Make a DREAM LIST. Don't be shy, write down anything that pops into to your head. Be creative -- if you could have and be anything . . . what would it be? I firmly believe that you don't have the thought without having the capabilities to make your dream become your reality.

Don't be judgmental. Just write each and every idea down. The idea here is quantity, not quality. By simply writing each and every thought without bias, your subconscious mind will be more willing to be creative. When the timer goes -- read over your list. Any surprises? Often when we let go of our rational thinking process, our true feelings come out. Next have a look at how you can group certain things together. I usually break down my list to:

1. Family and Personal Goals
2. Business and Financial Goals
3. Self Improvement goals -- Health, Mental, and Spiritual.

Next, take three new pieces of paper and put each of your goals on the appropriate page, family matters on the family page and your business ideas on the business page and any health goals on the self improvement page.

Next, pick one or two goals from each piece of paper. You will now have one or two important goals in each area of your life. You may wish to choose a short term and a long term goal.

Each of these goals will then get a separate piece of paper with the goal as the heading. Now break the goal down into a series of steps -- an action plan for achieving the goal. This makes the goal easier to achieve when the steps are small and it is easier to get started. The greatest difficulty in reaching any is getting started, the smaller that initial step is the greater your chances are for actually getting started.

Try it -- it works!

In order to live a peaceful and balanced life you must work on goals in each of these categories, by concentrating simply on one area only, it is easy to lose the control and happiness in your life. True success lies in having a balance in all areas of your life.

If you set your goals unrealistically, you may be setting yourself up for failure. So while you want to reach for the stars, start with some smaller goals first and work your way or to the larger goals, just as you would exercise a muscle. In this way you will build self confidence on yourself and your abilities.

Once you get in the habit of setting goals you will find that you can accomplish much more in a much shorter time. Your actions will be focused as well your energies. With each success your confidence will grow. Then you will need to work on learning to prioritize your goals by asking yourself "What is the most important use of my time right now?" This simple process will give you more leisure time and reduce the stress in your life.

Keep your goals confidential. Be selective of those who you chose to share your plans and dreams with. I am still amazed at the number of people who accept business advice from friends and relatives who have never OWNED a business.

Affirmations

After you begin to use goals to help to DIRECT your life, this next method will help you REACH your goals.

An affirmation is a thought that helps to condition the mind. Whether you are aware of it or not, affirmations are shaping your life daily -- your life is the sum total of all the thoughts you have made over your lifetime.

Positive or negative, affirmations help to condition the unconscious mind to achieve your thoughts. The mind does not make a distinction between what is really real and that which is simply perceived as real.

An affirmation is a sentence stating a thought about yourself as though it were already true. To use the subconscious mind to help you achieve success in your life you need to sit and write down the things you want and need in life.

Start with a list of 20 things, the beginning of my list might look like this:

1. Complete a business opportunity kit for starting your own craft business
2. Host my own TV show
3. Join a gym and become more physically fit
4. Publish a book with Design Originals
5. Take a meditation class

Next write out your list in the present tense like this:

I, Karen have completed a business opportunity kit for starting my own craft business.
I, Karen, host my own TV show.
I, Karen, have joined a gym and am now more physically fit.
I, Karen, have published a book with Design Originals.
I, Karen, am taking a meditation class.

Once all twenty of your affirmations are written out you only need to do three things to help them come true.

1. As soon as you awake each morning, read your affirmations out loud.
2. Every day pick one affirmation and write it out a minimum of twenty times, stating it in three different ways:

   I, Karen, have published a book with Design Originals.
   You, Karen, have published a book with Design Originals.
   She, Karen, has published a book with Design Originals.

   This should take about five minutes a day, write smaller than usual, it helps to make the thoughts more clear and focused.

3. Just before sleeping each night, again say your affirmations aloud as you imagine how you would feel if each one had really come true.

Your subconscious mind is most susceptible to the time just after you're awake and the time prior to sleeping. I know that many of you are shaking your heads, but don't discount it until you have given it a try. I challenge you to try it for a month and I will guarantee that at least one of your affirmations will come true. You will make a believer of yourself.

Visualization

The last step to realizing your goals is the use of visualization. This is the easiest and the most fun part of goal setting. Visualization is simply imagining your goals as if they were already achieved. The better your imaginings, the clearer the picture, the more minute the detail, the more quickly you will achieve your goals.

I did not invent these techniques, they have been around for years, it is only been since recently that they were actually given names. If you are doubtful of their power the only way to know for yourself is to try and see if they work.

TO BE CONTINUED . . . Secret #2

Please note -- the full version of this seminar is available on audio-tape in the Crafting the American Dream business opportunity kit.

More information on Crafting the American Dream

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