Christmas at the Cottage December 2-3 10a-9p

More Than Just a Business

This little handmade tiny business I've been working on since 2017 has stretched me in ways I never would have imagined.  I've been able to earn a little income to help support our family of 5, I've grown my skills of watercolor painting and hand embroidery, I've learned lots of business skills, and I've enjoyed the journey. My three sons have grown up watching what a tiny business looks like. They've seen how I weave it around our homeschool lifestyle and how I've kept it purposefully tiny so that it almost always helps our family and doesn't hinder it.

But now that I'm exploring Youtube, it's changed something.  I had had a channel with just three videos for years just so I could give a handful of customers links to a few tutorials related to products I sold for them to reference.

My oldest son started an outdoor adventure Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@Venture_Club and I could tell he really enjoyed it. And he was getting good at it. He is getting subscribers and is being thoughtful and intentional with it. It meshes well with the graphic design degree he is working on. 

I became curious to see how I could incorporate Youtube into my business plan. I started to watch how a few "ordinary" people my age who were getting monetized. At the same time it gave me some talking points with my son. I started asking him questions. Then I got the crazy idea of challenging him to a battle of sorts to race to see who could get monetized first.

I talk more about that in this video: 

What I didn't expect was how, just by learning to make videos for Youtube, it would give my business an unexpected drive and purpose, one that I've been searching for for years. Making videos is very time consuming, but it's created a funnel of sorts for my business decisions. I've had to manage my time more efficiently, zero in on what is working, but most importantly it's helped me realize how I can help people with a problem or need. I've known all along that businesses need to do that, but it took me a long time to see where I and my simply intentional hand painted watercolor and hand embroidered products could in any way help solve a problem or help someone. But they do. They help people create, help give them an opportunity to express their love for their family and friends by gifting a handmade gift that was thoughtfully made. My DIY products inspire customers to learn these skills for themselves. I love when a customer comes into my booth and tries on a hat and feels beautiful in it. I have helped her feel that, and that makes me so happy. I love when customers hand pick special cards to display or give to a special someone to help them feel encouraged.  In a world that often feels dark, it's so very encouraging to be able to help spark joy in people's lives as they pursue being creative themselves. 

Who would have thought that a 49 year old stay at home homeschool mom could become a Youtube creator and have such a creative impact?  That it would be a way for a mother and son to bond and talk "business" and be involved in a friendly way to compete and help encourage one another, or that it would get me back into blogging consistently and consistently uploading creative videos?

Here's the first Episode of Monetization Journey as an Artist:

 

I'm happy to be documenting my journey in this way both on this blog and on Youtube. I'm glad to be streamlining my tiny business to serve my family's needs. I'm happy and blessed to be able to help customers on their own creative journey. Thank you for being a part of this journey. Let's connect in the comments. Is there something creative you've been wanting to try?

Get creative!

Nikki


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