Over the last week I have had multiple conversations with people in my life about being bold in my business.  When I started this business 4 years ago I didn’t wait around to have all the answers, I just jumped right in and hoped for the best.  I literally had about 3 months of design and drafting experience when I released my first pattern, but that didn’t stop me.  Now don’t get me wrong it is not all sunshine and roses, there have been frustrations and failures that equal if not exceed the the good but none of that would have happened if I wasn’t bold with my business.

Being bold is not going to look the same for everyone.  For me the biggest way I have been bold recently is reaching out to fabric shops around the country proposing sewing workshops in their space.  When I emailed Fancy Tiger about heading to Denver in the spring to teach I was really confident in my teaching and my patterns.  I just kept telling myself that the worst thing that could happen was they would say no, but if I didn’t ask the answer was already no.  I wanted to teach there and I wasn’t going to wait around for them to reach out to me.  And do you know what happened, they said yes to two workshops in May!

That win gave me even more confidence to keep reaching out to other shops I wanted to teach in.  And what I found is that when I eventually got a no, which I totally did earlier this week, it was okay.  I didn’t take one no as a sign of failure but instead as a new connection with a business that was made and I will nurture that relationship until I eventually get a yes.  Or if that never becomes a yes it will be another person in this creative community I have learned from.

I am constantly pivoting my business to look for new and different ways to become more involved in the maker community both here locally in Seattle as well as around the world.  I want to show other women that being scared of a no shouldn’t be a reason to never take a risk.  Like me, you may find yourself doing something you never dreamed of but that you love and am good at.  I don’t think it is bad for me to say that I am a really good pattern designer and teacher.  I am by no means the best at what I do, but I put everything into it and am constantly looking for ways to improve.  Just last week thanks to a pattern designer friend I learned a new way to draft sleeves that is worlds better than what I have been doing.  I am not scared to grow and change and try new things. 

What it all comes down to for me is that I can’t expect other people to take me and my business seriously if I don’t have the confidence to take myself seriously.

I have so many ideas brimming for the new year that are going to stretch me as a business women and designer and I can’t wait to share them all with you.  But in the meantime I challenge you to be bold in your business and life.  Don’t let the possibility of a no keep you from asking.

How are you being bold today?  What does being bold look like for you?  Don’t be scared of the no, you will learn something really valuable from that no.