Josh's thoughts: "Good things come to those who wait is something said to control the herd and complete bull. On the other hand, taking charge and making things happen is a cruel exaggeration of simplicity. For 2 years I have been searching high and low for a career which quickly became settling for a job that I could tolerate. My unsuccessful search prompted my wife and I to turn my hobby and passion into a business, Brass Hammer Designs. Typing that we started a business is itself another one of those exaggerations of simplicity. The reality and truth is that we are trying to start a business; investing what little money we had saved over the years and working our asses off trying to get the wheels turning.
Tomorrow I have a job interview. You would think I would be happy because it means we can pay bills but not really. The job I am interviewing for pays 8 dollars an hour, is part-time, and mainly weekend hours. Just typing 8 dollars an hour infuriates me. Yes, I would prefer to earn more than 8 freaking dollars an hour but my back is against the fucking wall. If I am lucky tomorrow I may be offered the position which will profit somewhere around 100 dollars a week after taxes and the cost of commuting. More than anything I am mad because I really hoped my life would have been a little easier after nearly 36 years."
The reality is that we are trying to stay positive, but we have days that are not so great. Today is one of them. While we want to beg all of you to go buy our products off ETSY, order more and help us get the momentum going with our business, we know that's not fair to ask. And a career would have been the answer for Josh, but the economy sucks and the reality is smacking us in the face on days like today. You want to know what it is like to be in our shoes. Here it is...
We promise more positive posts in a day or two.We just are kind of sad, mad and frustrated right now.
Until next time.....
Josh Crandall, Owner/Artist
Jen Crandall, Wife/Manager
Brass Hammer Designs (Follow our Facebook page, our etsy store and follow us on Twitter!)
Jen Crandall, Wife/Manager
Brass Hammer Designs (Follow our Facebook page, our etsy store and follow us on Twitter!)
Josh, you are an extremely talented individual. BHD WILL be successful and you WILL get to live on your island.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ang. Just a rough few days right now. Appreciate your love and encouragement every step of the way.
DeleteJosh and Jen, sorry to hear about what's going on. I agree that much of the advice tossed out online is (1) overly simplistic, (2) designed to bait a hook to get you to buy into it, and (3) targeted at your most vulnerable emotions and desires. The promise of escaping, living in complete freedom, getting "internet rich" and living in paradise is an empty one. There is no value there. I find much more satisfaction in asking myself, "what kind of value can I add to the world today?" rather than "how can I game the system?", which is what much of the online advice is about.
ReplyDeleteAll I can share is that my experience building Accidental Creative was often torturous, frequently overwhelming, and that I almost quit about a dozen times. In my case, it eventually tipped and became profitable. I don't know why that happens sometimes and not for others. I've launched other initiatives that ended up in the gutter.
If you believe in what you're doing, and you think it's valuable, keep at it, but don't be stagnant. It doesn't matter how great your work is, no one is going to come running to your door and demanding it. If your current strategy isn't working, keep trying until you find one that does. I'm on strategy #47 for Accidental Creative. Sometimes it's about timing, sometimes it's about message, and sometimes the product just isn't something people want or need. (Chris Guillebeau's new book The $100 Startup, by the way, is really good in this way. Very practical for startups and little fluff.)
Hope this is helpful in some way. Again, so sorry to hear about what's going on, but know that you're not alone and that others have been where you are.
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DeleteTodd thank you for your response, encouragement and wisdom. It's much appreciated. This particular incident was triggered by some financial strain that we had and it's lifted a bit because we realized the strain was not of our fault. That was helpful. It's hard sometimes because like you said, online advice is overly simplistic, uses, in my opinion, used car salesman tactics and targets at our emotions at vulnerable times. We both know it takes time and we're trying to be patient with ourselves. We're meeting a lot of good people through Score and hopefully will have more input after next week and renewed strategy. Please consider following our blog and watching us grow. We're raw about our journey and hope that this helps inspire others to try (as you are also trying to do with your posts) and to know realistically what they're stepping into.
DeleteThank you again! We'll consider the book recommendation as well - I've seen it on your blog a few times and thought about whether it'd be what we need at this time or not.
Have a great weekend!
$8/hr is horrible. I know. I bagged groceries and bras at Target for that rate over the Christmas season, but was laid off on December 23rd. Since I was used to making $25/hr as a web/graphic designer it was a deep blow, so I appreciate your frustration. Just remember: It's not you; it's the economy.
ReplyDeleteNow that I've spent the past few months trying to get a "real" job, I am looking again at working for peanuts. I figure I can be a professional boot licker somewhere for $8/hr. As long as my tongue can hold out, I'll be alright.
Hang in there. Etsy is a hard place to make money at if you don't sell kitschy, cutesy baubles and folksy art in pastels. It also seems you have to have a fair amount of products for sale before folks take you seriously. That and you need professionally lit photos of your product taken in soft morning sunlight with the denizens of the fairy realm dancing about the edges as a pair of manicured, painted hands show off the wares. It's hard to make a living there if you're butch.
Good luck!
Thanks for the advice, Douglas. We're working on getting better pictures out there but we're struggling to have enough time to do much. By the end of each day, we're both exhausted. We have a few good ideas, but we need our camera back from getting repaired.
DeleteWhere creativity is trying to run high, but struggling to tame it in the right places......