The Best Advice I've EVER Received

I was watching "Talking with Chris Hardwick" the other day, and his guest was James Corden.  Now James Corden is not my favourite late night host. For me it basically goes Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and then maybe James Corden.  Anywho, I was watching these two chat, and Chris finished the interview with a question which basically got down to "what's the best advice you've ever got?"  And James answered about how his Dad used to say that the difference between doing something and not doing something is doing something; so DO SOMETHING! 

So that got me thinking.  What's the best advice I've ever received?  What mantra, or motto, do I try to live by or remember.  And I instantly grabbed my laptop to start writing.  Because I LOVE this piece of advice, and for some crazy reason I had never really shared it.
After high school I decided to not go to university straight away because I didn't know what I wanted to take.  So I got a job for an outbound telemarketing company.  Which meant I spent my 8 hour day calling, mostly Americans, trying to sell them stuff, usually a credit card.  After a few months I scaled down to half days because it felt like I was losing my soul.  I hated when people hung up on me.  I took every swear, every hang up, every angry word personally.  Those people on the end of the line clearly  hated me, thought I was a horrible  person, and I deserved an awful fiery death.   One day it really got to me and my supervisor noticed.  
She came over and asked me what was wrong, and I explained how frustrated I was because people kept hanging up on me and I couldn't make any sales (Type A goal driven personality over here!).  All around me my peers were succeeding, while I was failing.  

My supervisor asked me, "Can you control when someone gets upset with you?  Can you control the someone hangs up on you?" And I answered, "well no...." (there was a "but" coming but she cut me off). Exactly, she said.  You can't control if someone hangs up on you.  But you can control moving on to the next call, and maybe that next call will be the sale.  Control what you can control.
CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL!
This was a LIFE changing phrase that had, literally, NEVER crossed my mind.  I was (am) so Type A, so gripped by fear, so gripped by needing to control my world around me so I felt comfortable and safe, I felt the need to control everything, including other people, that I never thought that I COULDN'T control other people! But when I really let it sink in, she was right.  I couldn't control if that person hung up on me.  I couldn't control them.  I can ONLY control HOW I react and deal with the situation.
Now lemme tell ya, this has changed my life!  Do I remember this on a daily basis? No, I'm a human, and I fail all the time.  Like when I'm on a plane, sitting on the tarmac, and I need to get off to make my connection...yeah I'm freaking out and I wish that I had control over the plane!   But I TRY to remember to control what I can control.  Somedays it's easier than others.  And I know to some of you, with self esteem and confidence, this is probably the LAMEST revelation a person could ever have.  But for someone like me, who needs people to like her, desires people to love her, who needs exterior confirmation of a job well done, being able to LET GO of the idea that I needed to control everything was revolutionary for me. 

So maybe there's a pre-teen, or a teenager you know who could really use this motto...or a gal in her early 30's still trying to navigate what 'being an adult' is all about.  Would you share this with someone who could use a little pick me up? A little reminder that they only have so much control over this giant thing we call life.  What's the best advice you've ever received?  Share it in the comments below!

Facing your Email Fears, or How NOT to Email a Craft Market

I don't know about you, but cold emailing people is my nightmare.  I can dance on stage, sing the national anthem in an arena full of strangers...but cold emailing someone is something I've REALLY had to force myself to practice.
If you're anything like me, the fear of sending that email comes from a jumble of emotions of wanting to look professional but not cold, friendly but not goofy, succinct but not curt, and informative but minus the verbal diarrhea. It's a delicate balance to be sure. So here are some tried and true nuggets to make the most out of that cold email!
1). NIKE aka Just Do It Hurdle number one is grabbing your "beach ball sized lady nuts" (thanks Negan) and plunking down at the laptop to start.  I remember when I met the WONDERFUL Ally Matos of Allyfotografy and listening to her talk about reaching out to BIG NAMES (like, big!).  And she has such a wonderful philosophy about it.  If nothing happens, if they don't respond to you, you're actually no worse off than you were before sending that email. 

And she's right.  The worst that can happen is that you don't get an answer...ok cool.  I literally have to tell myself that when I step out of my comfort zone; the world will not end, I will not be swallowed up into a pit of oblivion, it will be ok.  Next!
2). Try to avoid "one-liner" emails aka don't ask "how much are tables?" Now, I know I might have some push back on this one.  IF you are emailing/contacting a market organizer do not, I repeat DO NOT, write a one line email asking how much a table costs and leave it at that.  To a market organizer this proves that you, the vendor, have not gone to their website, Instagram, or Facebook, nor have you looked at the FAQ page (where incidentally A LOT of markets say in black & white how much their booths cost) and you're not interested in anything beyond your costs.  And I get it - we're all trying to be as profitable as possible.  BUT  I will also say that you get what you pay for.  This has been true in EVERY instance I've encountered it. When you pay a bit more in fees, you get a lot more because the organizer now has additional budget for advertising, printing, prizes, coffee, and a great venue.  Also you'd never do that in person - just walk up to someone, ask how much their jacket costs and then walk away?!?! Why would you do it in an email? lol  This is a perfect example of the the stuff we humans do because of the anonymity of the internet! If you wouldn't do it in person, don't do it online (man, that's a good life lesson!)
3). Tell me who you are!!!!! This is one of those things I assume would be obvious....apparently not.  I have received WAY too many emails, sometimes with most of the information I need, but without people telling me who they are and how they found me!  Or people who are interested in applying for a market, but don't tell me the name of their business and what they make?!?! What do you want me to do with that lack of info? lol Imagine someone knocking on your door, you answer and they just start spewing info at you and before you can get a word in they turn around and leave?  It's like Cinderella at the ball- the Prince has NO IDEA who she is! As a rule of thumb when I start an email, even to people who might know of me, I often start with "Hi My name is Leslie Kuny and I'm the Creator and Designer of West Coast Leslie Designs. If you're unfamiliar with my brand I create handmade, heirloom quality, modern designed, knitwear accessories for women."

See how easy that was? In TWO sentences I introduced myself, and told you who I am.  If I'm contacting them because they posted in a Facebook group, or maybe online somewhere, be sure to mention that! All you need is one additional sentence that says something like "I saw your post in the Shabadoo Goofball Facebook page" OR "I'm emailing you because I saw your post on the Awesomesauce Vendors webpage".  In the email I would also link my website or Facebook page to the name of my business to make it easy for the recipient to check out my online presence.  I'll tell you one thing, they DO NOT want to hunt you down online. Which brings me to.....

3 A). Show me who you are

This doesn't mean clog up someone's inbox with high-res photos when they didn't ask for them.  But for darns sakes would you PLEASE link your social media?!?! I think it's great that you make handmade, up-cycled, themed pillows that help kids with night terrors(is this a thing-maybe?), but where can I see your work? Link your social media feeds in the email!!  I can't tell you how many times Jill & I have had to go scrounging the internet for people and photos. (Again I reiterate, who are you?).  It's always helpful to imagine yourself on the other end of this interaction.  Would you want to spend extra time trying to hunt someone down and find their instagram account? Probably not, so why are you making someone else do your work for you? Plus there's a real easy way to NEVER forget to add in your social media links  - add your social media links to your signature. Pretty slick right? I know!

4). Do Your Research

Remember the last time you were chatting with a friend and they knew you were training for a marathon and were really excited for you? Yeah, that felt pretty great didn't it? Someone took an interest in you and that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  Same thing goes for events.  So before shooting off a hasty email, go to the company's website, or Facebook page, or Instagram, or Twitter, or Pinterest, or LinkdIn, or Blog, or Youtube channel...or ANYTHING! 

Find out a little bit about who they are, what they stand for.  There is a lot of info on those websites (like costs, times, dates, names of important people, mission statements, values, etc). Knowing a bit about the person/company you are contacting makes a HUGE difference. It will set you apart from the other emails and it shows that you've taken an interest in what that company does.  We all want to feel valued for what we do, so taking the time to do a bit of research before hitting 'send' is well worth it.  

5). Say Thank you, be Polite, and be Patient

(sidebar guys...it was really hard finding a not sarcastic thank you gif - just putting that out there!)

Everyone is "busy".  Everyone is "important". Everyone has responsibilities, obligations, and priorities. You and the person you're emailing. So be sure to thank them for their time.  Think about your day.  How much of your day goes into reading and responding to emails...how much laptop rage do you experience in that time? lol A "thank you", or an "I appreciate your time" can go a long way.  Likewise you can't expect an immediate answer.  Things have really changed in the "internet age" and, let's admit it, in this time of instant messaging and texts we expect answers. Like NOW. Give them a solid three days.  I know - when you're expecting an answer you're basically that chick from Willy Wonka singing "don't care hooooowww, I want it nooowwww!"and then she falls down a chute or something.  Patience is a virtue, so try not to follow up too soon. You don't know what's happening on the other end.  Unfortunately the written word can be misconstrued (even in this blog post! I wish we had a keyboard for sarcasm), so constant follow up emails can be seen as impatient or worse, rude.  Now, that's not an excuse for anyone to let emails slide...but if you haven't heard back in a week, I'd say that's a fair amount of time to send a follow up.  And sadly sometimes you just won't hear back...and that's shitty. BUT see email tip #1

Again, with most of these "Tips & Tricks" the key take away is to put the shoe on the other foot.  Would you want to receive a cold email that has no pertinent information, that is curt, doesn't have a call to action (what do you want from me?), seems to know nothing about my business/brand, and doesn't say who it's from or what they do?  Who would reply to an email like that? And that's the last tip - write an email you'd want to receive. What information do they need to know?  What information do you want to know from them? Ask them for what you want. Be kind, and say thank you.  Follow that and you're golden.

Did I miss something that you ALWAYS make sure to do when emailing?  Let me know in the comments or get at me on Facebook

Branding 101

Hey y'all, 

What a busy year! Phew!  Now that I've got a little more time on my hands, I wanted to share some tips and tricks for making you, your brand, and your booth stand out from the rest. For info about creating the perfect booth check out this previous post.

Today we're talking about BRANDING.  Ugh.  What a horrible word.  I know it scares me sometimes, and it can be super scary.  It's one of those things that creative types, me included, often leave until too late and then get stressed about.  I'm here to tell you there's nothing to stress about. Branding can be fun!

When I started my business in 2013, I chose my favourite colours, taupe, vintage white and coral, to represent my brand.

My sign and decor for my table had coral accents against burlap and white. But for last year, I was kind of over the coral.  Don't get me wrong, I still love the colour, but was it really working for my brand?  I liked the white and burlap-they're great neutrals that can work with ANY accent, AND didn't clash with my colourful scarves.  But the bigger question I was really asking was "what is my brand"?  And am I doing a good job of getting that across to my market/fans/clients etc?

So I looked around online and did some brainstorming.  That's tip #1-BRAINSTORM.  And I mean in the most literal way possible.  It's hard to think of flashy one liners that describe your brand straight off the bat.  One of the best techniques to find what your brand (and you) stands for is create a word cloud (or list). List EVERY SINGLE WORD that describes you, what you make, and what you believe in.  
See my word cloud (right).

Use these words (2-3 per sentence) to come up with a tag line, that best represents your brand.  From these words I have some great descriptive sentences I can use on market applications, Facebook posts, websites, twitter, etc without having to come up with something new every time.

West Coast Leslie features handmade & local products

Handmade, with colourful yarns, these products are truly inspired

This wearable art comes in various designs, colours, and sizes.

You'll also notice in my word cloud I have a few words that describe me and what I stand for in my business; like service, quality, & fun.  Once you've come up with maybe five lines, save them to a word document so you can grab them anytime.   Also take a couple of sentences and work them into a paragraph about you and your business.  Have a 5 sentence paragraph that can be used on applications etc.  

This is one of my business bios I use.  

It feels a bit like writing an essay for University, but you want to be clear.  Make sure you include what you make, how you make it, and why it's awesome!

Tip #2 You don't have to marry your brand.  What?!? I know, I said it.  Yes, it is important for you to have consistency with your brand, but let's say you've had your logo for 5 years and over those years your business has changed, morphed, grown.  Then shouldn't your brand also change to reflect your business?  Think about the clothes you loved in high school (for me it was surf/skate logo tees and flared jeans! YIKES), you would never wear those clothes now.  Likewise with your brand-it should reflect your business.  This isn't a license to change up your logo every year!!! That is confusing for your clients and does not encourage brand loyalty.  But if you feel that your brand/logo/colour scheme doesn't reflect your business anymore, it's OK to change it. There's nothing worse than having a name that doesn't tell people what you're about.  You'll spend all your time explaining it instead of talking about your products and selling them!

Tip #3 Consistency.  Right just after I finished telling you you can change your branding! Ha ha ha.  What I mean by consistency is look at how you are represented online and in person.  If you look at my Facebook page, my website, my online store-they look like they're part of the same family.  I've used the same header, in the same colours, with the same fonts and logo. No one is going to wonder if they're in the right place, especially when moving from one online entity to another.   And while for us creative types, it might be a bit boring to have the same colours, font, etc it's NOT boring for our customers.  It's reinforcing that they are in the right place, you are a trusted source, and yes they want to buy from this maker!  Consistency is also why I would recommend simple graphics and fonts, so that you're not going crazy with images on every online platform!  And don't forget to use these online images in print too.  Hang tags, pricing signs, postcards, business cards.  Everything that represents you and your brand should be thematic.  I changed my tags to better reflect my brand this year and I love it - plus it makes my life SO MUCH EASIER.  

By doing this you're again reinforcing in your customers mind that you've got it all together (even though sometimes we are running around like chickens with our heads cut off!)

Do have other branding tips?  

Share them with us in the comments below!

limited production run #1

It's time friends!  It's time to launch the FIRST limited production run for West Coast Leslie Designs! Thanks to everyone who participated in our survey, because we want to make what you want to wear!  And don't worry, if you're favourite item wasn't selected for the first run all is not lost.  We will be hosting limited production runs throughout the year, so stay up to date with us on Facebook and Instagram!

And now, what you've all been waiting for...... 

(insert drumroll here) SLOUCH TOQUES!

These bad boys will be available in TWO SIZES: Small/Medium (20"-21") and Medium/Large (22"+).  They are made from 100% acrylic yarn, which is hypo allergenic and machine washable.  Did we mention is super soft and comes in some gorgeous colours? Like Plum? Peacock Teal?  Yeah. We're pumped.

Remember they are available to purchase ONLY on Facebook!  They are up there NOW, so be sure to check them out.  There are limited quantities so if you want one, be sure to hurry!!!

HERE'S WHAT'S UP

We're only a week into 2016 and we already 

have BIG plans for West Coast Leslie Designs!

The 2015 Market Season was such a blast and successful to boot!  We are so grateful to all our shoppers and boosters and friends who support us.  It was our second full year of operations and while we're starting to feel like we know what we're doing, we are still learning so much!  Last year we updated our booth for LARGER spaces with two vintage ladders.  We received SO many compliments on our "new" booth from fellow vendors & shoppers.

We were ready for the boot cuff craze this year!  

We made so many pairs we have some left over!  

How did that happen?!?!

And even though we carry awesome classic products, we always get asked to make other items.  This year I think the most requested items were leg warmers, slippers, and fingerless gloves.  Sadly there are only so many hours in the day to make things :(  BUT you will be happy to know that we found a way to offer some new products!!

ANNOUNCING WEST COAST LESLIE DESIGNS 

LIMITED EDITION PRODUCTION RUNS!

Ok so what does that mean? LOL  We will be launching new products, like slippers, in a limited number, available for purchase during a specific time.  For example we will make 20 pairs of slippers and they will go on sale on a Wednesday on our Facebook page.  The sale will last until the products sell out OR for four weeks TOPS!  Once they're gone, THEY'RE GONE! If it's a successful run and people still want slippers, in a month or two we'll run another slipper production.  

Got it? So exciting!!! Remember these products will only be available on Facebook, so make sure you're following us over there!

We want to know what you'd like to see us make!  If you've got ideas for what we should make for our first production run head over to our Facebook page and let us know!!

Peace, Love & Handmade
*Leslie

We're Here to Pump - YOU up!

That's right!  Ok, so I don't look like Hanz & Franz aka Kevin Nealon and Dana Carvey, but I love to pump people up!  Mostly I love to pump up other craftipreneurs, to encourage them to take a leap of faith!  But with good, solid information behind them!  No crazy, get rich quick schemes here!

I recently encouraged the lovely Sherri, from Wild and Raven to apply for Make It! Vancouver.  She was nervous. - the time and financial commitment to participate in Make It! is more than your average craft fair.  But what did she have to lose?  Not getting in?  Psh! She was no worse off if that's how it turned out.

I stressed to her that it was a crucial step to apply, just to do it.  Going out of your comfort zone, trying something new, is sometimes best attempted with kind encouragement. I know I always appreciate a cheerleader, even if it's the server saying I made a good dinner selection. I walked Sherri through how to look at the financial side, without having a panic attack, and how to view her sales in manageable goals.  The best part is that Sherri applied and... drum roll please....SHE GOT IN! And now she gets to be a part of one of Vancouver's largest, best publicized and well attended craft markets!  Booyeah Sherri!I want to encourage MORE craftipreneurs to follow their dreams!  I know a lot of amazing people who make lovely things, but are too scared to make a go of it.  I have years of experience in retail and marketing with some of the best known brands in Canada and I've learned a lot!  And I want to help you find your brand, your passion, and love within your business!If you're interested in taking your hobby or crafty biz to the next level, email me!  Message me on Facebook. Get at me on Instagram.  I'm around!  I am booking sales coaching sessions throughout the summer and I'm available for in person and FaceTime meet ups!  I am relatable, funny, and realistic, but best of all I know what you do.  The hours of work you put in to be a craftipreneur, the passion you have behind your craft, and I really want to help make your biz more profitable.  PLEASE don't hesitate to contact me!  Let's make this Christmas craft season your best yet!www.facebook.com/westcoastlesliewww.instagram.com/westcoastlesliewestcoastleslie@gmail.com