Tara Swiger - Latest Comments

Re: In safety, I found YES

Tara Swiger — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:22:24 -0000

Congrats, Tanja, on the business and the walk and the feeling the feelings! That's huge (and hard) and is a sign of bravery, I think.

Thanks for sharing your YES.

Re: In safety, I found YES

Tanja Gardner — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:20:23 -0000

I said "Yes" to taking the plunge and actually starting the niche copywriting business I'd been talking about for months and months. And I said yes to a 100km charity walk that had defeated me two years previously (and finished it this time). Those were my highlights last year.

I also said "Yes" to allowing myself to experience whatever came up for me emotionally after my father was given a terminal diagnosis. I'm still trying to say "yes" to my emotions as they arise today. It's hard... but I think I like who I'm becoming in the saying of it.

Blessings - TANJA

Re: What’s unclear?

Tara Swiger — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:01:00 -0000

That's a huuuge question!
Is your question about finding the Right People? Or talking to them? Or positioning your thing?
Thanks!
Tara

sent from my smarty-phone

Re: What’s unclear?

Debra — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:31:21 -0000

How do I get my item marketed to the right audience?

Re: Right Action

Tara Swiger — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:44:16 -0000

Thanks so much Bethany!

Re: Right Action

Bethany Kartchner — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:34:13 -0000

Hi! I just discovered your blog thanks to Craftypod and I'm so excited! What a wealth of resources here! I love your Declarations of Independence and will probably come back to them quite frequently. I added a link to your blog on my sidebar. Looking forward to getting to know you better.

Re: How Right People Changed my Business, revisited

Tanja @ Crystal Clarity — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 18:39:39 -0000

Thanks so much for the reply, Tara.

The class looks amazing, and could well be just what I need as I get ready to launch my business in the new year. That said, it's not right for me at the moment - I'm currently finishing off a 3-month life design course I'm doing, and don't want to overwhelm myself another class on top of that while I'm still working through the materials.

I've copied the link down and set a reminder for myself to check in and see if it's still available once the course I'm doing now is finished, which should be towards the end of this month.

Thanks again!

TANJA

Re: How Right People Changed my Business, revisited

Tara Swiger — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:27:18 -0000

Hey Crystal, thanks for your sweet comment!

This is what we're going to get into in the class, but the first step is always for YOU to figure out WHO they are (and be flexible to that idea changing over time). Where are they when they need you? What are they doing when they realize it? What's going on in their life?
And then - where are they gonna be in that moment? (or right before it?) Then you go THERE.

We'll put the whole process together (along with multiple worksheets) in the class, so if this is something you want to start working on, I recommend it! (it's here: http://www.taraswiger.com/inde... )
Thanks for your comment,
Tara

Re: How Right People Changed my Business, revisited

Newton Saber — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 09:45:38 -0000

This was yet another great article. I look forward to every one of these. I sent you an email to your gmail acct. It contains a PDF file of my book. Let me know if you receive it.

Re: How Right People Changed my Business, revisited

Tanja @ Crystal Clarity — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 02:58:42 -0000

Hi Tara - awesome post! I do have a question though - as an incredibly new newbie who doesn't actually have *any* people yet, how would you suggest finding and connecting with my "right people"? Is it just about putting in the time to connect and listen to as many people overall as possible and look for opportunities that mesh with being able to create something that's genuinely ME? Or is there more to it than that?

I'd love to hear any thoughts you have!

Thanks in advance - TANJA

Re: What are Right People, re-visited

Tara Swiger — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:49:23 -0000

Thank you SO much Heather!
Hope you're having a lovely week!

Re: What are Right People, re-visited

Heather — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:05:59 -0000

Just listened to your World Summit map making talk. I LOVED it! Thanks so much!

Re: Linchpin in a Business of One

Kristine Beeson — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:14:24 -0000

wow, that's so familiar after making my map, brilliant! :)

Re: Linchpin in a Business of One

Tara Swiger — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 09:38:42 -0000

Oh, I'm so glad to hear that it encouraged you!

YES, there is a culture of "settling", especially among people who feel *they settled, so you should too. *
Following your own path can bring up THEIR stuff about their discarded dreams.

Good luck! And keep me posted!

Re: Linchpin in a Business of One

Maryo1485 — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 09:31:54 -0000

Encouraged by this post, thanks Tara! I'll have to read the book.
Often I'm feeling rather lost in a routine that has nothing to do with my work dream.. maybe because it's continually reinforced by those around me that it's all about having to 'settle' so-to-speak. I want to not only dream about my goal but act on it & prove 'em all wrong ;)

Re: Linchpin in a Business of One

Tara Swiger — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:25:38 -0000

Hey LaVonne!
Isn't that the BEST feeling, when you know you made the right decision and you know YOU made it?
What you said about trusting your instincts is *exactly *why I've become so impassioned about this...I see so many supersmart people doubting themselves and looking to others for the answers...when they've learned enough from their own biz to know the Next Right Thing.

Thanks for coming by!

Re: Linchpin in a Business of One

LaVonne Ellis — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:11:59 -0000

Wow, what timing! I was just thinking the same thing this morning when I saw a reference to Linchpin - no point reading it because I'm not an employee any more. Thanks for the heads' up.

Re the map thing: I've recently realized that all of my successes (some big, some small) have come when I went ahead on my own path instead of following someone else. With time and experience, I'm learning to trust my instincts more and more. It's a good feeling.

Re: Should you work for free?

Tara Swiger — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:04:45 -0000

Yes! Exactly!
Because "free stuff" could be a very effective marketing technique, so it's definitely worth figuring out how that'll work and what you'll do when you need to say no!

(My favorite "no" line:* I appreciate the offer, but I need to focus on my paying customers and projects right now. Please keep me in mind when you have a project with a budget.*)

Re: Should you work for free?

Kim Werker — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:54:59 -0000

This is a great point, Tara. It's related to two things I think are worth exploring more, too: 1) Deciding at the outset how you'll decide if doing free stuff is helping you make money (if your intention is to build a business), and 2) Saying no when the opportunity presenting itself isn't the *right* one. Hm. More blogging!

Re: A manifesto. A philosophy. A question.

Tara Swiger — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:33:49 -0000

Aw, thanks Jamie!
It's so...personal to put yourself out there in video, you know?

I spent FOREVER playing around with Movie Maker (stitching together clips) and then, in the very last light of the evening, said everything I wanted to say in one take.
I foresee a new obsession :)

Re: A manifesto. A philosophy. A question.

Jamie — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:31:23 -0000

I love seeing you on video, Tara! Thank you for sharing your wisdom and your philosophy. You've got some magic going on here!

Re: Plan A 2.0

Tara Swiger — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:04:19 -0000

Ha!
Thanks so much for sharing your story! It's SO good to know lots of others do Plan A 2.0!

Re: Plan A 2.0

Jess/Storied Yarns — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:45:22 -0000

Love this. My Plan A was to be a high school teacher, and it was a good plan for 5 years. Then I had a boss who didn't like me so she let me go and I can't ever be a high school teacher as a result (and no, I didn't take drugs or sleep with a student, I promise!). I spent a lot of time (wasted time, I see that now) mourning Plan A. Now, I'm moving on with A 2.0: freelance writing to pay the bills while rocking the fiber artist gig until it starts paying the bills. I celebrated my acceptance of A 2.0 by dyeing my hair partially purple, something I never could have done under Plan A the First. Too bad I didn't find this blog a long time ago, I could have had purple hair MUCH sooner. ;)

Re: Amy makes a map

Tara Swiger — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:57:41 -0000

I'm so glad it was helpful!
And thanks for sharing your prettiness!

Yay maps!

Re: Amy makes a map

Amy — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:51:22 -0000

This was such a useful process, and processing the process for this article was even helpful -- thanks for sharing my Map!