programming note ... there are no rules

A conversation with my sales rep on Friday made me own up to the fact I really do need to update my website.  I've done bits and pieces here and there, but basically it's way out of date.  So, redesigning my website ... you know how one thing always leads to another, well this one thing's turning into quite the row of dominoes.  What sort of feeling do I want to convey, what fonts do I want to use, what's my color palette going to be, do I want to take the time right now to set it up for the shopping cart, etc, etc, etc?

I shot all the pictures last fall, but they still needed to be sized down to web-size, a monumental task all by itself.  So I finished resizing the photos, then I started working on the home page and came to a screeching halt.  I realized I had a chorus of voices in my head telling me what to do and how to do it and this is the best platform to use and this is the best approach and you always should do this and never do that and none of those voices were my own.  I started to wake up to this awareness in my response to Hiro's giveaway , which BTW, I WON, but that's a story for another day.

I've been in business for over 15 years.  While my jewelry is very much my own and speaks very clearly in my own voice, my business model is something else entirely.  Growing up, I watched my father's heartbreaking financial and entrepreneurial struggles.  The overarching theme for most of my life has been the feeling of scarcity, there's not enough.  I had no confidence that I'd ever be able to figure out how to run a business on my own.  So when I began to sell my own wares, I always deferred to the "experts".  And all these years later, I'm still deferring.

No more ... I am done.      
To give you some idea of how big this all feels, this is the card I just drew from the Daily Wisdom Pack.

I have stuck to my guns on some things and have listened to my heart on a few more.  There have been moments of clarity, but mostly, it's like I've been in a fog or some kind of daze.  I don't feel guilty, just kind of sad, for all the unheeded red flags.  Note to self ... if anyone says, "this is the only way" to do whatever ... run away.    

So, now I'm going to dive into my redesign.  What do I love, what colors do I want, what fonts do I want to use and then a big one ... on to what sort of pricing model feels best to me?

One important thing here ... for people starting out, there is a wealth of information on just about every aspect of doing business - on-line, in books, community services.  I do not want to discount any of these, they are vital to learning the basics and then some.

What I do want to say loud and clear - do not lose yourself in your decision making and especially, don't ignore your heart in any part of your business.  There is no one, right or absolute way to do anything.  Those old rules no longer apply ... the new rule is there are no rules.

l i g a - kvk