The handmade movement is booming all over the world, and is becoming a real force in the market. Aimed at countering mass-produced consumerism, “buy handmade” has become a mantra of many disenchanted consumers, and owners of small handmade businesses are benefitting. People want less stuff, and they want to feel connected to the stuff they DO buy – they want to know things are ethically produced, they want to feel as though they KNOW the person who created an object. They’re tired of mass-produced crap.

But handmade businesses just can’t compete with the prices of goods from China, and the economies of scale for larger companies mean most small business owners are struggling with increasingly small profit margins.

As an example: two brightly colored wool hats sell in a clothing store for $30. One hat was made in China, shipped to the country and sold to the retailer by a large hat-buying chain for $15. The retailer makes $15 and that hat-buying chain makes $8. The costs of shipping, storage, freight and packaging add up to $7.5 and the Chinese hat maker earns about .50c.

Read On…

I swear by the gods there is a black hole in my stationery drawer.

Pens go in, and never come out. Art supplies are purchased and promptly lost into the abyss. Staplers that I SWEAR I saw in there only a few days ago disappear without a trace.

After the umpteenth time I barged into his office yelling accusations of stationery theft, my husband (not-so)gently pointed out that maybe “they’re hiding somewhere underneath the piles of crap on your desk.”

“‘Piles of crap’? What ‘piles of crap’?” I cry in indignation.

Read On…

I suspect I’m preaching to the converted here, but if you didn’t know already, working for yourself kicks serious ass. I mean, it’s brutally, epicly awesome.

If you don’t work for yourself, and you wish you did, use this article to inspire you to do what you need to do to make it happen. And if you do work for yourself, I want to see you in the comments with your own favorite reasons why working for yourself is the best damn thing in the whole history of everything you’ve ever done, ever.

1. Breakfast becomes an exercise in independence

If you’re one of those people who eat breakfast at the office or scoff it down before you leave the house, you’ll love the freedom to enjoy breakfast most of all.

You want to eat your cereal over your computer? Fine, it’s your computer. You’ll be pulling cornflakes out of your keyboard.

You want a slice of cheesecake for breakfast? That’s cool, ain’t no one around to tsk at you. Scoff it down. Hell, have another slice while you’re at it.

You want to skip the gym this morning? Watch youtube footage of kittens meowing along to Michael Jackson songs? You need to eat your cereal while listening to Manowar? As a certain over-price shoe company says, just do it.

When you work for yourself, eating breakfast suddenly becomes this huge deal. It’s your own personal triumph. You’ve beaten the system. You’re out, you’re free. Savour those cornflakes, mateys.

2. In Soviet Russia, business runs YOU

When you work for yourself, you become a slave to your creativity. You’re grabbing that muse by the shoulders and shaking her till all the inspiration falls out of her pockets. You get to do something remarkable – and yes, it takes over your life, but in a dramatic, wonderful and totally awesome way.

3. When cupcakes become the government’s problem

Have you seen how much tax you pay? Think of all the Swedish massages and cheesecakes and concert tickets you could buy if more of that money ended up in your pocket.

Say hello to deductable expenses – one of the perks of being a creative entrepreneur. I claim portions of my rent, power and internet, book collection (research – a beautifully ambiguous word) and travel expenses against my gross business income, and the amount of tax I have to pay descreases drastically. It’s awesome.

As a sole proprieter without employees and a ton of research, I even do my own taxes. I thought it would be torturous, but it’s actually one of my favourite times of year.

4. How to not be bored

Answering your email is more fun with Slayer. The cat can help you box your orders. And yes, there is a certain sadistic thrill to answering client calls while sunbathing naked on the back porch.

People who wonder how someone could work at home all day and not go insane have clearly never spent much time hanging out in their own home.

5. Keeping the Universe Alligned Via Cuddles

When I am at home, the cat is happy. When I am not at home, the cat is unhappy. Since the cat rules the universe, it’s generally better for the wellbeing of all concerned if the cat’s needs are met.

6. So last week, I gave myself a raise

You can sit down with your boss, and have a little heart-to-heart about your pay. Explain how your quality has improved and why you feel you could command a higher fee.

You boss, who is – of course – you, says “Sure thing. Let’s start you on that higher rate tomorrow.”

7. Portable office

I love adventuring. I don’t like to spend two weeks lying on a beach somewhere – I want to be in the thick of it for months at a time.

One might mistakingly assume that travel and creative businesses don’t mix. But one would assume wrong.

With my own business I can work anywhere, and I have. From the muddy chaos of the Wacken camp to an illegal dial-up internet café in Syria, I have plugged away at my websites, emailed my clients and completed articles on deadline.

I work efficiently while I’m on holiday because I’m desperate to get out and explore, so I can whip through email, blogging and client work in a couple of hours – often before my husband even gets up.

8. Cheerleaders in a Can

When you run your own business – especially a creative business – a little of your blood, sweat and tears ends up in every one of your sales (if you’re an avant garde performance artist, sometimes this is literal). The people who feel compelled by your work and choose to buy it … well, they’re like the friends you never knew you had. They are your own personal cheerleading squad. They stare at you from that pretty page in Paypal and scream “You are awesome!”

9. The sex is better

Don’t ask me why. Scientists are baffled, but it’s true.

10. I am a Donut

When someone asks you what you do, you say “I am”, instead of “I work for”. “I am an Artist”, “I am a Dancer”, “I am a Graphic Designer”. This is one of the biggest shifts in mental and emotional states I’ve experienced.

What are YOUR favorite things about running your own creative business?

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I’ve just got back from the Veldensteiner festival, a one-day medieval/folk metal festival held on the grounds of Veldenstein castle in Bavaria. I got to see one of my current favorite bands, Eluvetie, play, as well as Subway to Sally and a couple of others.

One thing that struck me about this festival is just how clever the marketing is. A medieval festival in a castle is a sure win, if a little tired as a marketing concept. A metal festival on the grounds of a castle – that gets serious points for epic atmosphere. And combining the two?

The metalhead and the medieval reenactment community have a lot of cross-over, since most metalheads (especially those who listen to folk metal) have more than a passing fascination with history, knights, castles, and medieval . Likewise, many medieval reenacters enjoy metal, since the songs often relate to, or invoke, the specific time periods they’re interested in. The two come together in folk metal (or medieval rock) where modern, guitar-driven music meets ancient tunes and instruments.

This festival is a lesson in exactly how to find a niche and fill it. Aside from a billing that mixed both ends of the spectrum in medieval and metal music, they had knights and jesters, a medieval village where you could see people black-smithing, sewing, and going about their medievally lives, a market where you could buy some seriously cool stuff (and, unlike the re-enactment community, who often take a “I could make that myself” approach to handicrafts, the metalheads were buying up a storm) and, of course, a castle to explore.

Instead of the usual hot dogs, chips and hamburger stands, men and women dressed in period costumes sold baskets of fruit, giant flat breads smothered in garlic and tomato stew, cups of homemade soup and, of course, a huge variety of sausages and meats cooked in open fires, stuck on sticks and slathered in homemade sauces. I ate far, far too much.

I’m telling you this because a) I think it’s awesome, and b) I think it’s a GREAT example of finding a unique niche and creating a range of products / services (in this case, an event, where tickets are sold, but also, it’s not just a concert, so there are vendors, entertainers, food, etc) that directly target that market. It’s sheer brilliance.

Just thought you’d like to know. I’m off down south for a couple of days, to live as a queen in a tower room at Colmburg castle, eat roast pheasant, and generally get up to lots of mischief. I hope whatever you’re doing, you’re having as much fun as I am.

Don’t miss all the fun! Sign up to receive blog updates by RSS or Email, and while you’re in a signing-up mood, don’t forget the Grymm & Epic Gazette – you’ll get my FREE ebook “Unleash the Beast: Release Your Inner Creative Monster”, as well as a weekly dose of creative inspiration. Grymm!

I don’t talk a lot about my eyesight, since it seems kind of irrelevant when we’re not talking face to face. If we were, you might notice that I don’t make eye-contact, that I seem to stare at a spot over your shoulder, that I blink all the time, and that when I go to inspect the coffee shop menu, I look as if I perusing it with my nose, perhaps believing it has a scratch and sniff function.

(Wouldn’t that be awesome? Scratch-and-sniff menus – one of you clever folk go invent that).

Recently, James from Men with Pens asked me to write a piece about how I write without being able to see color. And here it is: How I Write Without Color. I would be particularly honored if you were to go over and read it, and maybe send it out to your folk, or tweet it, or tell out people about it. I think it’s one of the best pieces I’ve ever written online, and I hope you agree.

Love you Long Time, you wonderful and inspiring creative, you!

Don’t miss all the fun! Sign up to receive blog updates by RSS or Email, and while you’re in a signing-up mood, check out the Grymm & Epic Gazette – you’ll get my FREE ebook “Unleash the Beast: Release Your Inner Creative Monster”, as well as a weekly dose of creative inspiration. Grymm!