2 Conversations: that was better

Friday, January 8, 2010

that was better

Today was much clearer in many ways. I’m going to put the last conversation first, just because it was so much fun.

Conversation: Stephanie & her grandma, in person. Goal: Test run a project. Stephanie’s having a birthday party soon and we decided that the main event should be a craft. We’ll be making bears based on BlueBeary.
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Stephanie and I got together with her grandma to make a trial bear. First we had to find material in the closet (corduroy), then recreate the pattern that Kathleen had scanned & emailed with some difficulty. As this was a trial, we made lots of errors, like sewing the face on AFTER we sewed the back and front together, so we had to work through a small gap in the bear’s side where the stuffing should go in. Oops! Even though it took us 2.5 hours to complete this crazy project (it will go faster for the next 17 or so bears!), we had a good time together and Steph was thrilled with her wonky bear-of-little-neck and looking forward to more. We’re going material shopping on Saturday.
My favourite thing about this evening and the birthday project in general has been realizing how perfectly it fits with Siretona Creative’s goal of empowering women in the arts in order to build community that strengthens intergenerational bonds. (Not sure how this might facilitate international reach, but that might not matter right now.)

Conversation: Audrey in Red Deer by phone. Goal: talk about my vision and mission for equipping women in the arts to build community among generations and nations.
- Audrey and her husband hosted one of my first house concerts in 2007. It was a lovely evening then and we’ve wanted to do it again. We’re working on something soon.
- As I shared my vision, Audrey mentioned her sister-in-law, a watercolour artist, whose mother before her is a watercolour artist. (I love those kinds of legacies.) We wondered together about possibilities for this sister-in-law’s art. I mused about the question of what is enough.
Conversation: Audrey’s husband Pete, by phone. Goal: talk about finding me a replacement car with my insurance money. It just occurred to me this morning to talk to him.
Conversation: Kathleen McMillan, by phone & email. Goal: Ponder business direction. Equip me with a pattern & instructions. to make bears.
Conversation: Lana of Keys to Music studio, via Facebook messages. Goal: Ride the scheduling roller coaster together. She’s dialoguing with a family about music lessons for their children and it’s a tricky process. We also talked about co-writing songs with a specific project in mind, and about getting me a house concert or two.
Conversation: Susan, the Accidental Poet/Housewife, via Facebook messages. Goal: Talk details about house concerts, among other things.
Conversation with many people on Facebook & email about my song “My Grandmother’s House” which has gone from #43 to #20 in 2 days on IndieHeaven’s Fan Faves chart!

There are always more, but those are some that stand out at the end of the day. Good night!

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The Rules 2

1. Average two conversations five days a week about what I'm doing and/or why I'm doing it.

2. Email counts, though phone is better and in-person is best.

3. Enjoy building a business through being a Connector (as per Malcolm Gladwell).

4. Report some of those conversations here. Try to report weekly or more—e.g. by Thursday or Friday as the business week is winding down, or Monday/Tuesday after a weekend of touring or conferencing.

5. Reflect on the significance of these conversations.

6. As appropriate, provide names, links, contact info, pictures, etc.

The Background

Near the end of 2009 I moved to Calgary with the goal of establishing Siretona Creative, a publishing and production company that empowers women in the arts to build community among generations and nations. Siretona women are using our voices to make a difference in the world.

I like to read widely about business and to network intentionally and extensively through in-person events and social media. Still, the business side of things wasn't "clicking." Everything felt like a stab, an attempt, a bit of a guess. Now there's nothing wrong with following intuition, and in the past year I have been involved with three great projects largely due to intuition: BlueBeary, Notes from Over the Hill, and the Minus 40 Tour. At the same time, I have puzzled over how to bring it all together in a cohesive way, besides an inspiring mission statement.

Puzzled until I read a tweet from someone I don't even know:

"If you have to have a success formula here it is: Have 2 conversations every day about your vision and goals" (@douglass231).

Ah-ha!!! A day or two before that I had read a challenge to talk to 10 people in one day about my products. TEN! It's really a small number, as this blog will hopefully discover, but at the time it felt overwhelming. Douglass231 freed me. Two is manageable. Two is easy to track. Two can be quick.

Now every day except Sunday, I have a target: two conversations about what I'm doing and/or why I'm doing it and/or how I'm doing it.

First of all, I want to track my own progress as a networker, strategist, marketer. Who am I talking to? How am I finding them? What do we talk about?

Second, I want to tell the world about these conversation partners. Sometimes I'll need to guard identities, but I suspect most of the time it will be appropriate and even important to promote their businesses with descriptions, links and even pictures.

From time to time I'll invite guest bloggers to track their own conversations. We'll see where this all leads!