The Luck We Create

Sometimes I think we create our own luck...

Before I begin today's post, I want to make sure you all realize that I strive to write about topics pertinent to my business and to my customers. I try to write topics on marketing your business, topics about home fragrances and candles in your home, and topics sharing the joy of other Etsy business working to breakout like myself.

I seldom write about myself, even when I have the Blogger Blues (aka, writer's block). So, I beg your indulgence while I write a bit about myself.  This does have a dose of business wisdom included.

So....back on topic....sometimes I think we create our own luck.

I'm not superstitious, mind you. But the more I experience our world (translation, the older I get), the more I tend to believe we create our own luck.

July was a dry spell.  A drought. While I didn't have the misfortune to watch my crops wither any die as they have throughout most of the Midwest, my sales were abysmal. I know this is true for most retailers, hence, the invented sales season of Christmas in July.  CIJ sale promotions didn't help. Events coordinated by the Promotional Frenzy Team (while extremely well organized) didn't help.  And I understand.  I mean....who really thinks about buying candles in July????

Then came August. Almost like clockwork, I got a sale on August 2nd.  And another on the 5th, 6th, and many days following.  After a little more than a week, my August sales had equaled my July sales.  And then...

...the drought returned.

A week and a half of nothing.  So I thought about a phrase I've pondered many times....can we/do we create our own luck?

Taking matters into my own hands, I decided to try my hand.  So, last Saturday, I made a purchase in a BNS (Buy aNd Stay on Etsy....you make a purchase and your shop gets featured in a future round). I've had success with these in the past.  Most people like candles, and I can usually sell a tea light set or two in a round. If I'm lucky, a full priced candle. Before joining the Promotional Frenzy Team, BNSs were my primary source of Etsy sales.

And what do you know...later that day I had a sale even though my slot in the BNS wasn't open yet. And on Sunday, another, and on Monday, another.  So three sales generated from "creating my luck" at buying into a BNS.  But it gets better.

Last month I entered into an arrangement with a sales representative.  Tricky, I know. But from my perspective, I was ok with paying a 15% commission on wholesale orders, based upon my belief that any orders the rep generated were more than I could generate on my own. But that was last month.  Almost six weeks into the arrangement with no sales generated.

So....over the weekend....after I made a purchase in the BNS, I decided to try my "strategy" again. I've been meaning to work on my blog and to make it as much of a functional website as possible.  So I decided to work on taking information off the sidebars and onto pages. Bold move for a non-html literate person.  I was able to move my Etsy shop and Pinterest page, so why not try to add a page for Wholesale Inquiries?  You'll notice it isn't published yet.  It's taking a while to format every line sheet I have into a format this blog will accept.  But my point is that I decided to move outside my comfort zone to work on an aspect of my business I've been meaning to grow.  I decided to create my own luck.

And lo and behold, today I received my first wholesale order!!!!

These events may or may not be related.  As I stated, I'm not superstitious.  But I also firmly believe we each have a way of creating our own luck, our own future.  Might I have had the Etsy sales had I not decided to buy into a BNS? Possibly.  Might I have received the wholesale order had I not decided to work on adding a wholesale feature to my blog? Probably.

But my point is that had I been sitting around, punching the "refresh" button on my Internet page and waiting for something to happen, I'm confident nothing would have happened. Hence, we create our own luck.

It's hard as a small business owner, or in my case a minutia business owner, to break out of our mold, to take a chance, and to do something different to turn the tide. But each of us has already taken a chance with trying to make it on our own.  Sometimes we just need the motivation, the encouragement, to continue to break out of our mold, out of our realm of comfort, and to take more chances.  The chances I took last weekend are by no mean earth shattering, but they represent a change in thought I consciously chose to make.

Positive energy begets positive energy.  Luck creates luck. I encourage you to coral that positive energy inside of you and to create the luck you deserve.  I know it will pay off for you.

Dorene

P.S. Please let me know how you create your own luck, how you pull yourself up, how you motivate yourself! I'd love to learn your stories!