Barbara Sher’s Idea Party

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How Does the Online Idea Party Work?

You have a dream or a wish, and an obstacle to getting there. (If you don’t think you know your wish, work through my kick-starter and read this post. To learn why you must put logic aside to find your dream, read the following.)

The online Idea Party is here to help you – and the other fellow party goers – with your wishes and obstacles.

Voices from Success Teams and Idea Parties:

Having a team to report to and hearing what everybody did each week is very exciting. It’s kept me moving all year. In the past I made some good starts on my own, but found, every time, when the energy ran out, I ran out. Now it doesn’t run out.
Jade G.
Children’s Playroom Therapist, New York Hospital

I would do a painting a year, a sketch a year. If it was only me I know I would never do it. Having to tell you makes all the difference. It’s crazy why I didn’t do this years ago, it’s so easy all of a sudden.
Caroline R. Personnel Executive, Macy’s Dept Store

Post Your Wish and Your Obstacle Here!

And help your team mates out when you can. Use the Reply link to help, the form below the comments to add your own Wish and Obstacle.

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4,428 thoughts on “Barbara Sher’s Idea Party

  1. I want to set up my coffee caravan in a permanent place to service either foot traffic or drive through. Once I can establish a permanent pad, I will find out from customers what other foods I can introduce. I have no idea how to go about finding such a pad. I can drive around for hours among commercial businesses without really getting anywhere. According to council permits, I am permitted to trade from and private or business premises with the permission of the owners. How would you go about finding a good spot to trade from?

    • You might look for an online list of businesses in the area, ranked by number of employees. Find one with enough employees to support your business but not so many that they have a cafeteria. Then call their Human Resources departments and ask if they already have such a service on-site. And to be a bit more persuasive, ask them questions to get their opinion. People get a lot more invested if you’re interested in incorporating their views. You might ask whether you should focus on one great cup of coffee or a wide variety of coffee drinks, on low price or perhaps organic coffee, sustainable sources, and fair trade sources, and which hours work best for the company. You could even ask if they would help you poll their employees on what else to offer. Once you have them interested, ask if there’s a location on their property to put you as close as possible, so people can get back to work quickly. Then ask who you need to talk to for permission to park there.

      • Dear Stevie,
        I live on the West Coast, and it’s a different culture here than, say, New York, where there are a lot of street vendors.
        However, around here, shopping malls are the places where you see vending carts. Espresso stands are in different places in their own little tiny sheds. I’m in Western Washington where it rains most of the time, so you really can’t be outdoors much for about 10 months of the year. So the coffee vendors who are in parking lots are in teeny, cute little houses in parking lots. To find out how to set that up in a mall, you contact the mall manager and that’s best done by talking to one of the merchants there. They know who they pay rent to! And that may not be the mall manager. Most places, there’s a manager’s office somewhere in the mall.
        As to the parking lot situation, I think it’s a similar thing. You’d have to find out, from a predominant business, who would you talk to to let you do your business in the parking lot, and then proceed from there. Of course, there are food handling permits and all that to procure, but they’re easy to get.

    • How about taking someone else’s daughter with you, someone who can’t make the trip but has the money to send all three of you so her daughter doesn’t miss out? Do you have friends or relatives you can stay with in California? Is there a helpful task your daughter is old enough to help with, so you two can make some money in your spare time? Better yet, do you know someone with lots of airline miles from work who would trade them for some task they dislike? Do you own anything you can sell on Facebook Marketplace? Are there contests you can enter to win a trip to California? (My sister-in-law in California won a contest to “bring your family home for Thanksgiving” years ago and brought us there. And my son and I went to Grand Bahama Island on tickets we received for enduring a long sales pitch at at timeshare community within driving distance of our home.

  2. I wish to have a podcast, and perhaps a tv channel. I have a great deal of hopeful and instructive guidance to offer.
    I do not know how to do these things. That is my wish- to have assistance to put that together, and someone to run my social media.

  3. Patty,

    Thanks very much for your reply to my friend’s question about selling her painted jeans.

    I didn’t know when I asked, but she said she doesn’t want to sell online; she wants to custom make them face to face.

    Do you have any ideas regarding this? (I just noticed this week’s Idea Party and found out too late to register. It’s sold out.) Thanks again.

    Jeff

    • Yes, the Zoom Idea Party sold out fast! Face to face sales? Advertise in local newspapers and yoga/spiritual/community magazines. Find a dry cleaner that offers tailoring, a high-end dress shop, or a tattoo parlor and ask if they will promote her jeans for a cut of the sales. Advertise custom clothing fashion show events on Meetup.com where she and friends will show up in their painted jeans and perhaps provide cookies or happy hour snacks. Maybe team up with others in the area selling custom clothing (or canes or book covers, etc.) for these–a good way to make sure someone else can handle things if she’s not well enough to attend one. Aim to create a waiting list for these jeans, so she can charge more per pair and manage her income without losing customers. Or give a holiday boost to the percentage she pays her referral sources in November and December to control her income and maintain her referral sources.

  4. Lana,

    Do you speak Italian? It might help.

    What types of work do you want, and are these types available in Italy?

    Your idea of dipping your toe in the water for 3 months is a great idea in case you don’t like it as much as you might imagine. This would also give you time to look around and see what’s available.

    Hope this helps.

    • Hi, I don’t speak Italian, I did learn Italian in school but I never really spoke it.

      I want to find out all the opportunities for working with Italy, do you know or do you have any ideas how I can find out?

      Thanks!

      • You could give lessons in your native language for italians (either to make money or in exchange with someone who gives you lessons in italian language), you could work in Italy as an Au-pair, you could ask at the many archeological sites for a voluntary work opportunity, when you are a bit longer there and have some knowledge how live works there you could offer help with burocracy or as a cultural adviser for people of your own country who want to live or work in italy or with Italiens, you could ask for a job as a tour guide with travel agencies in your country that offer tours to italy (which would provide you with the possibility to travel to the country and see all the great sites for free and you get paid for it on top of that). Hope some of these ideas are helpful or you could combine some of them

  5. Hi Everyone, I’m looking to find a job working with Italy (Maybe tourism-I love Italy and I have been there 3 times and I hope to visit again soon) and I don’t know the best way to do this. Does anyone have any ideas?

    Thank you very much,
    Lana

      • Right now I want to find out my options, I’m in a gathering stage. I would love to visit at least yearly and live there at least 3 months as a start.

    • Lana,

      Do you speak Italian? It might help.

      What types of work do you want, and are these types available in Italy?

      Your idea of dipping your toe in the water for 3 months is a great idea in case you don’t like it as much as you might imagine. This would also give you time to look around and see what’s available.

      Hope this helps.

  6. Patty, I don’t know if this is the right place to ask, but my best friend is a pretty good artist and she puts designs on jeans that she wears.

    She gets compliments everywhere she goes and she wants to make money at this. She is on disability and can’t earn over a certain amount each month, but she would love to earn that certain amount with her jean creations.

    Do you have any ideas, or know any artists who could share an idea or two?

    Thanks!

    Jeff Trewhella

  7. Hi there!

    I read Wishcraft years ago, but didn’t try to do an Idea Party/ Now I’m in a spot where I can use all the assistance I can get.

    My hubby and I have been staying with friends while looking for a house in the area. However, they are now insisting we move out by December 1st, That’s not that far away! Two big obstacles:
    1) The area we’re in was affected by major fires last year, and there’s way more people looking for homes than available supply.
    2) I’m an independent contractor who was unemployed for most of the pandemic, so I don’t have a strong work history. My husband gets disability so his income is secure. However most places here are asking for proof of 3 times the rent amount for income. Ugh!

    We’re applying to as many places as we think we’ll qualify for, but we’re open to ideas that would allow us to be able to get into a place without too much hassle. We’re able to make the payment amounts. It’s just getting our foot in the door.

    Thanks in advance for your help!

    • Things you might try:

      • Hang out and be friendly somewhere kind and generous people hang out: join a church, volunteer for a charity, find an association raising funds for whatever disabled your husband. Such people want to help and might put in a good word for you with a friend who’s looking for a tenant or tell you of a friend not planning to renew their lease or, better yet, looking to sublet.
      • Document your income prior to the pandemic, your savings, and include a brief plan for moving forward. If you or a friend is talented with layout or graphics, turn it into an appealing one-page sheet you can offer to anyone asking about your ability to pay.
      • Consider moving temporarily to a different area, one where your skills are now in demand, so you can return with a great proof of income next year.
    • Have you considered housesitting? You can find opportunities for short (like a few days) to long term (6+ months) on sites like trustedhousesitters.com or MindMyHouse.com. There’s a small fee to register (usually under $150) and then you can search for and apply to various sitting jobs. You usually don’t have to pay anything to housesit, because you’re doing the homeowner a huge favor by tending their home, and sometimes pets.
      We’ve both used the site to find housesitting opportunities AND to find someone to watch our home for 6 months while living abroad.
      The key is getting references from others to boost your profile. Since you need to be out by December, you should be able to find quite a few of families who will be traveling for the holidays.

  8. Hey Everyone.Its Dansa again.
    I created a go fund me page to try and revive the school from a post i made on here awhile back.
    Your generous contribitions,suggestions,encouragement,prayers and even criticism will be much appreciated.
    Thank you and blessings to you.

    https://gofund.me/3729fcf3

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