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Hi there,

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it's Sue and thanks for joining me for Tips and Talk

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Day. These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions

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and things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small

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business. If you'd like to submit a topic,

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DM e over on Instagram at Gift Biz Unwrapped.

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We've covered so many facets of a handmade product business over

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the course of the years,

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and today is no exception.

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We've talked about how to start and grow your business stories

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from many of you who have done just that.

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How to choose and use social media sites,

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build your website.

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Oh my gosh,

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there is just so much information here for you,

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but not necessarily at your fingertips.

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So I've made a tool for you that categorizes by topic

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the episodes of this podcast,

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but only the ones that stay relevant over time because yes,

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let's face it,

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there are past shows that just don't work anymore for us

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today. The world is changing so fast,

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right? You can use this tool to zero in on whatever

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topic you need at the moment.

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Do you wanna hear from others in your specific industry?

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How about details on Pinterest or setting up an email strategy?

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You can now easily find the right episodes and create your

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priority listening roster.

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Consider this your Gift Biz resource center at a glance.

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It's a Google Sheet best viewable on your computer versus your

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phone. Make sure to look on the bottom where there are

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five separate sections for easy topic reference,

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kind of like chapters of a book.

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It makes finding the shows to help you with what you're

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working on right now.

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So much easier.

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To access this free resource,

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go to gift biz unwrapped.com/topics

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X. I've heard it said that the answers you seek in

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life are only as good as the questions you ask because

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so much goes on in our heads.

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Sometimes our thoughts are trying to answer the wrong questions,

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or you get in a brain spin and ideas go round

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and round randomly without even attempting to answer a specific question

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to make some sense of this random thought behavior.

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I decided to put together sets of questions to ask that

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will help reflect on your handmade product business journey.

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Some won't apply to you at all,

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some you've easily got covered and some may poke at you

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and perhaps make you uneasy.

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Each year I pick a focus word to help guide my

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actions for the next 12 months.

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You may have heard this strategy before.

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I've personally found it very useful in the past.

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Some of my words have been growth,

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personal development,

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and visibility.

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This year,

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my word is reflection.

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It's what led me to this question list,

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and I've already run through this exercise of answering these questions

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for myself too.

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It's a way to keep my life in alignment with what

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I want to see,

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where there are areas that could use revisions or changes,

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and it definitely underscored my word of the year reflection,

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so I thought I'd share it with you.

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The best way to work through this is to listen to

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the entire podcast first.

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Then go back and write down the questions that resonate with

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you the most,

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or the ones that you know deserve some time to ponder.

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Believe me,

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the answers don't always come easy.

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I've broken this into six different sections.

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These questions aren't meant to get to the nitty gritty of

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running your business.

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We've been doing that in every single one of these podcast

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episodes. Some of the questions are meant for you to look

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at overriding feelings and thinking that are going on for you

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right now.

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It's meant to identify things that are worth considering to help

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you move forward or enlighten you on what's holding you back.

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These six sections include overall business,

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product creation and development growth,

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the day-to-day personal enrichment,

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and the future.

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All I'm gonna do here is read these questions without adding

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in my own 2 cents,

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because I want you to extrapolate from each question the angle

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that's relevant for you.

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I've also left it in the first person just as I

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had created them for me,

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so they feel personal as if you're asking them to yourself.

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Ready? Here we go.

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Section one,

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overall business.

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What exactly is my dream and has it changed over time?

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How does my business fit into my life overall?

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Am I committed to the real work required to realize this

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dream? What am I afraid of?

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Why haven't I done this yet?

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Section two,

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product creation and development.

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Who is my product for?

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What does my product offer a customer?

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Does this result matter deep down?

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Am I proud of my creations and what they provide?

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Section three growth.

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What is the one thing I should be focusing on now?

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Am I showing up consistently where it matters?

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Do I present my authentic self or do I show up

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how I think others want to see me?

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How do I know if it's working?

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Is growing bigger worth it?

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Section four,

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the day-to-day.

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Do I get excited most days to work on and in

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the business?

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Is my workspace comfortable,

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organized and motivating?

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Do I need to get some help?

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Do I have an organized method for prioritizing all the tasks?

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Am I often trying to save a buck versus finding a

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smoother and faster way?

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Are there things I can stop doing to save time?

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Am I documenting how I do repetitive tasks so I don't

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need to reinvent the wheel each time?

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Section five,

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personal enrichment.

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What do I do to get away and refresh?

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Am I celebrating the small wins?

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What am I doing for continual learning and improvement?

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What one thing can I add to my routine to keep

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me healthy?

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Sleep, drinking more water,

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meditate. Do I check in with myself regularly to make sure

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all is well and six,

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the future?

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Is my product still relevant in today's world?

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Do I still get joy and satisfaction from what I've built?

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Do I stay at it because I've invested so much already?

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How can I switch things up to make it fresh and

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exciting again?

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Has this journey run its course?

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What new things await me if I let this go?

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Okay, your turn.

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Now, if the time is right or block out specific time

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in your calendar to do this,

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make yourself comfortable.

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Pour your favorite beverage and settle in for 30 minutes or

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so. Even better.

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Get out of your regular environment and go to the local

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coffee shop.

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I often find putting myself in a different place helps generate

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free flow thinking with pen and paper in hand.

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Re-listen to these questions and write down the ones that apply

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to you.

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Once you've got your list of questions,

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think about and answer them.

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Take your time,

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be honest with yourself and journal your answers if that works

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for you.

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When you've finished answering the questions,

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you're not done.

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If you've found that there are actions to take,

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you wanna make sure it happens.

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Designate space in your calendar to create a plan and then

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follow through with it.

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Remember, intentions are great,

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but actions bring results.

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And finally,

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there may be some questions that require more time.

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I know that happened for me.

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A few of the deeper questions may take days or months

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to ponder.

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That's okay.

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It can be really difficult to get out of a routine

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that you've been doing for years that no longer serves you.

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The point with this entire exercise is to make sure you're

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on track with the path you wanna take,

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not just in business,

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but in your life.

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That's a wrap.

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I'm a get to the point kind of girl,

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and this is what you can expect from these quick midweek

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sessions. Now it's your turn.

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Go out and fulfill that dream of yours.

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Share your handmade products with us.

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We want them and they bring us both.

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So much happiness.