If You Don’t Quit, And Don’t Cheat, And Don’t Run Home When Trouble Arrives, You Can Only Win.

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tbh i am not the person you want to be texting in an emergency, my notifications are off and i’m on Do Not Disturb. i haven’t had a ringtone since the dark years of ‘06. i’ll text u back in four (business) months like “hope that worked out, the Lord works in mysterious ways xx”

Absolutely agree.

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Find Your Hacks & Workarounds

No matter what type of business we are running or what goals we chase - we all face apparently insurmountable difficulties - as for example 

building a user base for your app although there is no interaction yet,

having to postpone some to dos although they are all crucial and diligent, 

finding investors without having finished that prototype yet 

or hiring the great but still affordable talents that help you to get done all that work

… 

The Dutch bicycle manufacturer VanMoof had such a problem as well:

They sell almost 90 percent of its bikes online. 

But as they shipped the custom made bikes to customers, it found that they were often arriving severely damaged.

The damage reports were a major problem for the company because the street bikes that it manufactures are at the high-end of the market… But even with the best brand and great marketing you CANNOT WIN, if the products is delivered to the customer in bad shape or even in pieces…

But then the company came up with a genius solution - dropping shipping damage by over 70 percent!

What was the trick?

Printing a graphic of a flatscreen television on the side of the packaging box - making shippers think that they were transporting flatscreen televisions.

(Source: http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/25/13048668/vanmoof-shipping-damages-dutch-bicycle-design)

A highly effective but yet cheap way of fixing the problem and giving the business the push it needed…

Innovate like VanMoof!

Always look out for solutions like this - practical, easy to apply, affordable but effective. Dare to try new paths, unconventional solutions, be creative. Find your hacks and workarounds.

your m

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Vintage Garfield Slippers House Shoes Adult Size M Medium 7-8 1981 Men Women

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Okay I understand artists charging more than mass producers for items. But your prices are a little high. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

I’ve said this a hundred times. Other artists have said this. People who aren’t even artists but care about others being able to support themselves from their work have said this. This is my job where I make my full time living. My prices are the way they are for a reason. And even if it weren’t my full time job I am performing a specialized skill producing luxury goods that takes time, money, and years to perfect. I deserve to be compensated for that work even if the money doesn’t go to basic survival necessities.

My products may be out of your price range, which is okay. That just means you aren’t my target market. But that doesn’t mean they are overpriced. And that doesn’t make it okay to walk around telling others what they should charge. There are a hundred resources on why artists price the way they do out there, please read the following and take some time to educate yourself:

- This is a “simple” forumla for pricing.  It does not include any specifics and simply includes “expenses” as a lump category.

- A more in depth guide to pricing.

- Here is a post from Magweno which does a good job of summing up all the “hidden” costs in crafting. It also includes a discussion on whether the perceived value of art should be taken into consideration. It doesn’t even take into account sales, self employment, or income taxes. 15% of my income alone goes to self employment tax. 15-30% (depending on how much I made that year) will go to income tax.

- If you want to spend some money to learn, there is an entire book on ethical pricing.

- Another blog post from Mill Girl who writes further on what goes into pricing, arts and crafts as a luxury item, what you support when you purchase handmade, and who/what you harm when you devalue handmade.

- A tumblr post which highlights the pitfalls of people who undervalue art and their negative impact on the entire art community. This includes both artists undervaluing themselves and clients undervaluing artists.

- Here’s an article on pricing as a freelancer and industry standards. For the record I consider myself under the category “Someone with a few years of experience and a good portfolio: $50 - $85+/hr.” I can promise I am charging nowhere near $50 an hour, and close to $25 since I supplement my income with “passive income” from pattern sales.

And that is just a few of the resources out there available. I sincerely hope you will read them and stop spreading negative attitudes on pricing.

Innovation? Why not?

Witness Me!

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Is the staggeringly profitable business of scientific publishing bad for science?

The long read: It is an industry like no other, with profit margins to rival Google – and it was created by one of Britain’s most notorious tycoons: Robert Maxwell

The core of Elsevier’s operation is in scientific journals, the weekly or monthly publications in which scientists share their results. Despite the narrow audience, scientific publishing is a remarkably big business. With total global revenues of more than £19bn, it weighs in somewhere between the recording and the film industries in size, but it is far more profitable. In 2010, Elsevier’s scientific publishing arm reported profits of £724m on just over £2bn in revenue. It was a 36% margin – higher than Apple, Google, or Amazon posted that year.

But Elsevier’s business model seemed a truly puzzling thing. In order to make money, a traditional publisher – say, a magazine – first has to cover a multitude of costs: it pays writers for the articles; it employs editors to commission, shape and check the articles; and it pays to distribute the finished product to subscribers and retailers. All of this is expensive, and successful magazines typically make profits of around 12-15%.

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Millionaire Tai Lopez Explains How to Get the Life You Always Wanted

The social media star talks formal education vs. self-education, the value of mentors and how to multiply your income.

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