Kind Words Cost Nothing

Have you at times received an email that just totally ruins your day? It's all you can think about, makes you feel dreadful about yourself and makes you question everything that you do. Email can be a very cold, unemotional way of contacting people. It is important to remember that the person who reads it has feelings too. The power of a hurtful email is often so great that it can be followed up by dozens of positive, wonderful emails but for some reason that one sticks in your head. It attacks your self esteem and makes you feel that you deserve it. 


Take it from someone that knows, you mustn't let it eat away at you. If it is from an unsatisfied customer then do what you can to rectify the situation and move on. If there isn't anything you can do then remove it from your mind as it will just cause trouble if you don't.

If you are unhappy about something and want to fire off that email then please just give yourself a bit of time to think about it first. If it still feels justified then by all means send it but never forget that there is a person at the other end.

Kind words really do cost nothing and can change someones day.

Data'l do it… (Data is precious…. Keep it safe!

By Guild Member Tim Bird from T2Kreations

Every small business owner has electronic data stored in more places than you could ever imagine, but very few realise the value of the data until it gets corrupted or accidentally erased.  Accounts information, quotations, artwork, templates, photos, catalogues, advertising… The list is endless, as is the effort required to re-create data when you loose it.

I expect, like many of us, you occasionally back up the files on your computer, but is your back up safe? Perhaps all your files are in the cloud and you think, they are safe. In reality, nothing is ever 100% safe, all we can do is take every reasonable step we can think of.
Do you have a local copy you can revert to if needed? What about a total loss situation, where your computer and everything on it is sucked into a freak black hole that appears unexpectedly in your living room (ok that's not going to happen… perhaps a fire or a flood is more realistic). Do you keep off site copies of your business critical files? Do you keep back ups of your websites, emails, cloud data etc?



You may think everything is safe on your laptop or desktop machine, but what if a virus infects your computer and you loose everything, it can happen to even the most cautious user, and you could be left without access to your business critical information when you need it.

Some people… People like me… Take things a little further, (I learnt the hard way!)  I send emails of critical files to myself to an address that stores files off site, my personal favourite is iCloud. I have been known to send really important files to myself a few times a day if I am working on them… This is a little over the top for most people, but I am rather OCD about these things…. Mainly because of a bad experience. Many years ago I was updating my personal website and when I browsed the server settings I noticed an account I did not think should be there, I thought to myself," that's not right"… So I did what every gun ho, would be IT expert would have done… I deleted the account, what harm could it do?…. The account was of course system critical and was created by the system when I created my website, it contained EVERYTHING… Files, configurations, photos the whole lot, and it was gone, gone forever. I did not have a back up. I had to start my website from scratch, 5 years of blog entries, pages and photos gone forever. This is why I am a little OCD about keeping my data safe. I have learnt a lot since that day, and I am now very careful with my data, and other people's data. I back up often. One of my day job responsibilities is to look after the data for a design company that works with internationally known brands, on site and off site data management, disaster recovery website management, if it’s IT related and goes wrong… its my fault. I am not an expert, it's a small company and we all wear many hats, I sometime make the tea and empty the bins.

I back my data up locally most days, I then back up these backups monthly, and add all of my website files and any other data that is kept remotely (Cloud storage, server files etc). It's a lot of data… The critical files I copy again and encrypt them, place them on a USB stick and ask a trusted family member to look after it, off site back ups are the key to disaster recovery and on site copies are kept in a safe.

The black hole scenario is not likely to happen to you… But if it did… How long would it take you to recover your data, what if it happened two hours before midnight on January 31st and you have not filed your tax return yet?

You do not need to go to the same levels as I go to, just make sure your data is safe, and know where your critical data is backed up so you can access it if you ever need to. But remember, any data you store remotely or secure with a password is only as safe as the password you use to protect it. Don't re-use passwords (not ever) one site, one password. If you can remember it, then the chances are someone can guess it, unless you follow some simple rules….

1. Keep it Loooooooong… Absolute minimum 10 characters.
2. Mix it up….. use a mixture of upper case lowercase, special characters and numbers, use numbers as letter… L0@k_ouT-4-W+yz-2-S3cure-1t#
3.  Never use memorable data such as names and dates.
4. NEVER write your passwords down.

I would recommend using a trusted password manager and 2 form factor authentication, you will then be able to have secure passwords for every website. Lastpass (https://lastpass.com) is my favourite, but there are many more.

While you are securing your passwords, don't forget your email passwords, these often get overlooked and forgotten, but if someone can guess your email email address password, they can potentially change it and then they can pretty much control every password that can be re-set via email verification, effectively locking you out of your own data.

Do you have an IT questions?
Email us at info@procraftersguild.com and we will pass it on to Tim.

Does the colour of a logo determine how you feel about a business?

This is an interesting question.

Here is one of our Guild Buttons in different colours.

Which one apeals to you and why?

Social Media Today have an interesting article about emotional responses to colours.You can find the entire article here.
The black and gold are the actual colours of our button and when asked, our members agreed that it is luckily the one that they prefer. But how do the others make you feel?

The red and blue catch my eye the most out of all of them but they lack the professionalism and luxiousness of the black and gold. (In my opinion)

The yellow is bright and cheerful and the green nice and soft.

Which would make you want to find out more?

 

Do you feel alone in your business?

One of the things I hear most from small craft business owners is that they feel very alone. Although we love it and wouldn't change it working from home can be a very isolated environment. The problem doesn't seem to occur at busy times as we are occupied but most of us get prolonged quiet periods where it can be hard to keep going without some form of support.

This is why a support network is so important. Whether it is physical in the form of family and friends or online it can make a world of difference to how you feel day to day.

This new virtual world of ours is truly magical for those who do not have actual company in their lives. It gives us a way to reach out and offer support and friendship to people who otherwise would be totally alone. Mums with young children also benefit as I know myself that by the end of the day you could scream for adult conversation and encouragement.

At the Professional Crafters Guild we have been offering support to small craft businesses since 2011. We now have our awesome Members Facebook Club which means that  our members can contact each other to share something, offer or ask for advice or just want a bit of company.

I know of several people who are truly grateful for the friendships that they receive online and although you may not realise it you are making a huge difference to their lives.

A big Thank You from us at the PCG to all of our wonderful members who get involved and help others every day.

It's OK to feel fed up with it all!

It really is!

Just because you are the only one at the helm of your business it doesn't mean that you have to give it your all every single day no matter what! Even those of us that have been at it for years get fed up occasionally.

I've just had one of those weeks myself!
Those that know me are aware that one of the reasons I have so many facets to my business is that it helps to keep my interest levels up. I can switch about between them which usually stops me getting bored. This last week though I've hardly been able to bring myself to switch on my PC.

I think some of this was due to the fact that I wasn't well and for the last few weeks have been switching from various forms of medication and going backwards and forwards to the doctors but I have worked through much worse illnesses than this. There are also rather high levels of stress going on around my family at the moment (nothing too bad, just stressful) and with all that and not a lot of sleep I think I just burned out a bit. I remember being like this before a few Christmases ago when it all just got too much.

It is at times like these that it would be easy to say, "Right, that's it, I'm giving it all up!" which of course would be a terrible thing to do after so many years of putting my heart and soul into everything that I do. And naturally I wouldn't do it as whether they appreciate it or not (and I think a lot don't) people rely on me and they need me to be here to help them.

 Does this happen to you?

A few days totally away from it all is often what is needed. Recharge those batteries, allow your brain to recuperate and be able to process new ideas. Find your enthusiasm again! When I say a few days away I don't necessarily mean pack your bags and take off into the wilds (although that would be fabulous and very beneficial), it generally just means

• leave the PC off for a few days!
• Stop peering at your phone every five minutes!
• Let social networking look after itself for a change.

The world will not stop turning just because you aren't online for 72 hours! Lie on the sofa and watch reruns of Friends (I did a bit of that last week). Take a walk and breathe in the fresh air. Spend time with family and friends. The most important thing is to keep your mind away from your work for as long as you can. And then....  then....
when you are ready to come back you will be able to see everything in a new light.

I have to admit that I'm still not 100% back to normal as I'm still not completely better but things are definitely a lot more bearable than they were last week. I am also guilty of not heeding my own advice in this case though as I wasn't totally away from it all. That does make all the difference.

So for me, for your business, for your family and most of all for you...

be kind to yourself and if it all seems like it's too much right now, take a break. 

                                                                                                                                                                            

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How are you feeling today?

How are you feeling today? Wait.... Don't answer that question!

I'm going to let you in on a little secret, you are more powerful than you think. Now before some of you shout at me I know that it doesn't always work but sometimes, just sometimes it does!

Before you decide that today may be a bit meh, a bit eww or a bit blah tell yourself this one thing. (And make sure you are firm about it). Tell yourself....

Today is going to be a good day!
Today, I am in a positive mood!
Today, my business is going to do well!

And most importantly......
SMILE!

Now, how are you feeling today?

Please don't ask me THAT question!

I dread people asking me what I do! Because I'm not sure they ever really listen to the answer. Because I don't go out to work I always get the impression that they think I am either making things up to get out of doing the housework or am either too thick or lazy to get a 'proper job'!

Are they totally insane! Do they really not realise how hard it is to start a business from the ground up, from absolutely nothing, whilst trying to ignore everything going on around you. (Housework, small children, pets etc) The answer! No, I don't think they do.

Everyone that works from home knows as well as I do, that although we love our work, and we really do love it! It certainly isn't the easy option. We rarely, ever stop work. You will still see us beavering away whilst cooking tea and juggling children. Doing a spot of PR on twitter or Facebook during advert breaks in the evenings. Often sitting up through the night to finish off orders and projects. So please, please, please don't accuse us of having a hobby! It isn't a hobby, it is our LIFE! And lots of us are very good at it so credit where credit is due!

I started the Professional Crafters Guild, initially to give people something visible that they could slap on their websites and blogs etc. Something that shouts "Hey! I am working here!"
As it is starting to grow and develop I am coming to realise that we could actually make a difference, so if you have any ideas on how we can mature and support eachother I am all ears. :)

With regard to my answer to 'that' question! Well, it is always difficult to say. Yes, I do have a jewellery business, I also run a social network, I publish a magazine and now have this Guild. What do I call myself exactly? ( A total raving lunatic perhaps!) A good friend once said that I do too much and that it is 'virtual self harm'. She could be right, but I love it all too much and so I shall keep on going until I explode. :)