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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I know what it is that I want to do, what it is that I’m brilliant about, passionate about, that causes me to transform physically into a shining, radiant Being when I’m engaged with it. I have been developing this platform for over 30 years and it’s finally coalesced within me to the point where I want to take it out into the world through my films. It’s the *making* of the films that I’m choking on, so I’m going to use the Mastermind group gathered here to help me get over the choke.
My thing is, I want the films to be as visually stunning as they are informationally. I am intending to do a simple visuals with voice over style of film, because I want the focus to be on the information, not the image of my noggin. 😛 I know I am not competent enough at digital art/animations to produce exquisite imagery and I know I’m also not cashed up enough to pay others to do it: the information I want to express is so important to me that I want to express and transmit that in the visuals- I keep getting back from others that I share the work with that I talk about things they have *never* heard others talk about, in a way they’ve never heard others speak. I know this information is unspoken on the planet because I had to synthesise it my Self, from decades of scanning through all the major thought and function platforms that the various expressions of global society use: I know what fuels and excites me, the thought of taking this message out into the world, of standing up in front of groups of individuals and transmitting what it is that I have come to observe and know. I’ve also been told by others that I’m really, really good at this: what is it that is keeping me stuck? My perfectionism, wanting things to be truly beautiful, to truly transmit what it is that I’m expressing? My Resistance to putting my Self out into the world, to be absolutely clear and known?
How do I find those that can help me get my vision out into the world? I have thought of the following options: getting in contact with individuals attending digital art schools; posting on fiverr.com and seeing if anyone is interested; contacting individuals/artists on digitalblasphemy.com, find individual artists/designers who make animations that I’ve liked. I can contact the local women who teach Final Cut Pro, so that I can use my Mac in some kind of intelligent manner.
I would really, *really* love to have a Mastermind team locally, so that I can continually bounce off others: it seems that I love the leap frog of energy that happens when I have others around me that are aware of my projects and have something interesting to triangulate with me about. I’m also really good at Idea storms in real life, so I enjoy contributing to the projects of others; this makes being part of a Mastermind group feasible and equitable, rather than me just being there for my own intentions. Do I have the motivation and resources to set up a local group? Possibly; I’d have to look into the cost of the materials from Barbara about setting one up. One of the things that would be useful with the group would be the internal push I’d have to actually get things done, to put my Art out there rather than have it locked up in my head. *That’s* what I really want to experience.
I’m not sure what else I’d need to get the films done and out there…
Your films sound very exciting, Rimfire. Before you start on the visually and informationally stunning ones, force yourself to make just one bad first film you won’t show anyone. Give it a deadline that won’t let you invest any money in it or do it well. You may be surprised how much sooner you get to one you want to show the public this way.
You can find information about Sher Success Teams in your area and about becoming a Sher Success Teams leader at http://shersuccessteams.com
Heh, give my Self permission to suck? Lol, what an excellent concept. As long as I can do it without my socially programmed ‘must be perfect or its worthless’ mind getting in the way, that could be fun in a kind of waxing my legs sort of way- short term excruciating but the end result is pleasurable. 😀
I wonder if you’re asking the right question?
Instead of asking where you can find people to help you, perhaps you could ask: Where can I find the people that need my help most?
And then go out and talk to them and share with them, without the perfect, beautiful film.
Give from your heart and the word will get out.
And sooner or later, the film will get made, if it needs to be.
Also know that the film that ends up being made may not be the same film that you envision now.
It will be better.
I have explored that option for about 8 years now and have come to the conclusion that it’s much, much better to put the films out first and THEN talk. Why? Because the concepts behind the major perceptual platform shift I dance with are so different from the way the average mind envisions and engages the world with that I have to create new language and perception concepts before I can even begin to engage individual in discussion.
I have expressed this platform to individuals who would be considered as having the ability to at least conceptually embrace the concepts I’m working with and they’ve universally experienced massive cognitive, psychological and emotional chunking despite being intellectually able to grasp what I’m talking about. They have universally expressed that the films will be a *much* easier introduction to the material rather than dealing with my high beam halogen focus, intensity and energy when I’m engaged with my passion. 🙂 Even my Beloved, who is on the same page as I am with it all, finds me in full operational mode to be more than he can handle in anything other than small doses, lol. So I accept that the films/videos are the best way for me to go. 🙂
I think Jennifer has made a great suggestion that would apply to many.
Think baby steps. Don’t know if this applies to you, but sometimes I create my own hurdles with all or nothing thinking. My late husband was a master of “Don’t let what you can’t do keep you from doing what you CAN do.”
Maybe start with a few PowerPoint slides–simple first step, easy to learn, and you can use them later on in your films. I think Toastmasters would be transformational for you, plus it will connect you with positive people who want to stretch and grow. You can find a local club at Toastmasters.org.
Happy trails!
Judith
My sister referred me to your website which she has found helpful. I have for 11 years been in a job that I knew 7 years ago was not working out. I have gotten burned out by my current job and have not found the strength to identify, and go after, a career/position that would allow me to contribute while doing what I love most and do best (not sure what either are now!).
Hi Dawn!
A quick question that Barbara always asks, what kinds of things bring you joy? If you could do anything you wanted, what would that be?
Wishing you all the best!
Jean
Jean,
Thank you for this very appropriate suggestion. Kinds of things that bring me joy is a hard question to answer. What I am very clear about is the type of situation in which I feel more joy-when I am doing something that I can do well and has some challenge, that I perceive as valuable/contributing to others/the broader community, and where I have autonomy. I am fine with being responsible for results but I don’t like to be micromanaged! Thanks for your good wishes!
Dawn
That’s a good start. Now dig deeper–much deeper! The answers you seek are in your heart and mind. Read through Wishcraft (or any of Barbara’s books) and do the exercises as if they matter (they do). For starters, you could make a list of 50 things you’d like to do before you die. The first 10 or so are usually easy. By the time you get to 50, you are digging deeper. Then look at combining some of them. Happy trails!
Dream: 150k passive income
Obstacle: what to do next
Bruce,
Could you be a wee bit more specific?
Thanks!
Why yes… I am growing a business that throws off 150,000 USD per year involving none of my time. How? Because other people are doing the work that produces the sales. Now I believe the first step is to identify the right business vehicle.
Bruce, what would you use the money for? What would your ideal life look like? $150K is a means to a goal, not the goal itself. In the process of figuring out your actual goal, I think you will find some of the answers you are looking for.
I just read the above kick starter and would like to organize an online dream team. I am interested in many different things – not sure where to start.
I would love to join your dream team! There isn’t really any idea party – activity anywhere close I live so being able to do things online would suit me just well 🙂
I’m so excited – there’s no one near me either – how do we start? Hmmm, wait I think we already started lol, maybe a better questions is to ask what’s next? I’ve been thinking about ideas and which one to focus on, but I get hyper nervous when I think about doing one thing only that I start doubting and then I never begin…what I find encouraging about Barbara’s message is that one doesn’t have to choose “one” thing. One thing I’ve wanted to do since my teens is fashion design.
🙂 well, the sooner you get into it, the sooner you can do the next thing on the list.
First, question one: What’s the obstacle?
Then, question two: What do you love most about fashion design. What’s the sweet spot?
The obstacles for me are finances for school, I hate sewing and I am horrible at it, and my family are not supportive – they want me to settle down into a nice safe career earning good pay and benefits, in contrast to fashion design which is risky.
Sweet spot: I like creating new outfits, color, patterns. I love great design and functionality – whether it’s clothing or cars, or kitchen top counters.
I too hate sewing, but it seems fashion design is very hard to break into, and being a seamstress is important to get ahead. Watch some project runway episodes on youtube- does anyone make it that cant sew? (Im not sure, that is a question). Maybe switch to interior design? Choosing fabrics and finishes? I am an inventor that rehabs homes now, and am good at it. Is great for people like us, as each is a 3-6 mo project. Takes money to do it though, or working with investors.
It just seems that if you hate sewing, you may want to change direction now instead of after finishing school. Or maybe as you get better, it will be more fun? Anything you are good at can be fun.
Hi Michelle!
You seem to love the selection part more so than creation. If that’s true, I wonder if you would enjoy wardrobe consultation, putting on fashion shows or trunk shows, having a clothing store (new or used), or importing clothing or accessories. A friend imports handmade items from Africa to provide work for women there.
Or how about focusing on a specific niche? What market do you feel a connection with? Some thoughts: matching outfits for a family or for girls and their dolls or boys and their bears, modest bathing suits for girls or women, pets (believe it or not), Halloween costumes (adults or kids, and speaking of pets, check out eBay on pet costumes–amazing), even car fashion for people who dress up their cars. Or doll fashion.
I wonder if there are any accessories you would enjoy designing that might not even involve sewing? Maybe you could create kits with iron-on seams. Or do people even have irons anymore? 🙂
Or how about really cool designs for car seat covers that have built in pockets–hidden pockets would be great. You might want to research “art cars.” What are your kitchen counter ideas? Whatever product(s) you create, you could work on a prototype, and later arrange for production locally or otherwise.
I love idea parties!
Happy trails,
Judith, who is procrastinating on her own goals by having fun thinking about other people’s. Sigh. Back to work.
Yeah, I’m one of those people too, who like to do different things, and struggling to get anything done at all. I’ve been trying out some techniques and am currently going with Quarterly creative project (one interest/project in every 3 months) and I’m very happy with it 🙂
Such a coincidence though – I’m into designing too! In 5 weeks I’ll be starting in a cloth-making school; it’ll be so nice to have the tools to make my desings into reality 😀
As for our idea party -idea, first thing coming to mind would be something like a closed Facebook group or something?
That sounds exciting – it sounds to me like you are on a good path towards making your dreams come true…
I like the idea of a Facebook group. You might even limit it to others interested in fashion or design or both.
So trying to figure out my next career. I love traveling, books, hand applique and quilting. Also love words. Am fluent in Spanish, French & German. Pretty good writer. I’d love to hear some of your ideas!
You could do two or three for income streams, the rest for the love of them and nothing more. If so, what would you put in each category?
Maybe travel around in countries where they talk those languages, arrange some workshops on appliquing/guilting (maybe in co-operation with some international hand-craft organization?) and write a blog about your journeys 😀
I am going to be moving to Prague in a few days, for 2+ years, and we will be traveling on the weekends, and whenever we can through all of Europe. I am going to write children’s kindle books for all the places we visit, and then have them translated into different languages. You already know other languages, you are already ahead of the game. Why not try to write the books as you travel, not necessarily children’s books, but what ever you find interests you when you do travel. It’s just a thought. Mine are going to be about a whole family traveling. I am the grandmother, my husband, my son and his wife and their two children. That is going to be my life for the next few years. What is your’s going to be like?
What if you traveled to different countries as a “traveling quilting bee” and you had people from all different countries bring a square of fabric and add it to the quilt and you videotaped them telling a story about their life as they quilted. And then you’d take the quilt to the next country and do the same thing. You could make a blog about it, write a book about it, get interviewed on local tv stations about it, and possibly get PBS and other tv stations that do cool human interest stories do a special on you. Or arts channels etc. And magazines that might be interested in your story would be any sort of craft/quilting magazine, magazines about folk art, magazines about travel, mags about culture and the rest of the world in general ala National Geographic, Smithsonian etc. And when the quilt is done you could auction it off and have all the proceeds go to end world hunger or some other sort of worldwide charity. Or it could forever be a work and it could hang in a museum and you could have an addition for each year that travels around and then a huge ceremony where the 2015 section is added onto the large quilt and have it be a work of folk art that is still be created. And the artist is: The World.
What a fantastic idea! Sounds great!!
Love all the ideas for amazing career ideas. What a creative group!
Hello All –
I need a quick way to convince the head of product development at a major company that my product (NOT YET PRODUCED) is not just for a “niche” market. I’m coming to you since there are so many here from other countries. Do you think this is something you would use? What would you use it for? This has been my dream for 12 years….
There is a 5 question survey I would love to have you take after seeing the site and the two minute video.
The website is http://PrepAndServe.com and survey is here -https://www.popsurvey.com/surveys/qmltlc/preview
If you could, please share these two links with other women (or men that cook)
moms with latch-key kids, boaters, RV’s, home cooks, dieters, or ?
Thanks for any help! Marj
Great product. I see a lot of practical uses. I especially like the fact that the compartment can be removed individually and the top can be used as a cutting board. I tried to take the survey, but I don’t have a login or password.
Hi there! It seems to me I found this party right on time. I have a very long story, which ends dramatically, with me jobless, husbandless and with two kids. I love to take photos, I am a photographer, this used to be a hobby which tends to turn into a job, but I live in a small town and I don’t have too much work to do. Most of what I do is volunteering for free. I wonder what other options I could find to make more money than a few weddings and a baptism and some photo-shootings for free. Thank you for your support.
Sell yourself! Get some cards. (There are a lot of cheap printers out there). Get a friend to collaborate on a 3-fold hand-out, with a short bio, examples of your work and what you’re selling (with bullet points).
Then tack both things on bulletin boards at high-end grocery stores, magazine stands, drugstore windows, coffee shops. Yack it up! tell everyone at church or synagogue that you’re open for business now, and here’s a card for your reference.
Who knows? even school pictures could be an occasional gig. So, peddle yourself on up to the schools and talk with the principals. Give them a brochure, etc.
You WILL succeed
Thanks for the advice Gardenbear. Some parts I will apply, but I live in a small town. We have 5000 people here. Most of them are retired. There are only 2 schools. I was looking for something that can bring me customers from other parts. I have a site and a facebook account. I publish often. But it seems it’s not that easy. 🙂
Study what the other photographers are doing- their websites etc.
A lot of them charge A LOT! Find a ‘crowd’ to market to- charter schools that need school photos.
Get you work on some of the royalty free photo sites just to get your name out there.
Thanks Kris! I already have an account on dreamstime, if there are other sites specialised in free stock photos, please tell me. I have a website and a facebook page already. I am looking for ways to get to customers outside my area. This is a pretty poor region where I live. Moving is to complicated. I don’t live in US. I’m in Romania. It is more difficult to earn so that you can pay rent in a big city.
Hi Kmy,
I’ve never been to Romania, but I just looked at images of it on Google and it’s beautiful! What a tourist heaven – the landscapes, the castles, the old churches, the food!
It occurred to me that you could take tourists on photo-shooting tours. If you made up a brochure or flyer with some great photos that tourists would love to duplicate, and you left the flyers at travel agencies and with hotel concierges in nearby big cities, then you could start up a small photo-tour business on the cheap.
Maybe you could even reward some of the travel agencies by lending them a few of your framed gorgeous photos, just to start conversations with their clients. and/or offer to take some of their agents on a free “sample” photo tour and let *them* take fantastic photos, so they would have bragging rights and want to talk it up to their friends and clients. (Make sure they bring a picnic lunch and a bottle of wine.)
And if you promised to take the folks to “secret” spots, or out-of-the-way charming places, that would be even better.
And maybe some of the bigger cities have photo clubs that you could join online. (If you already have a website, you could make sure it’s part of your signature whenever you post comments online.)
If you can’t afford to go to the big cities – think of ways to bring the people *there* to *you*.
Best of luck! And keep us posted.
Hi there Kmy,
Could you run online classes about how to take awesome photographs, like perhaps in the form of weekly classes? I know it is not selling your photos, but it is rather using what you love in other forms, to bring in an income.
There are some amazing resources on how to monetise your blog (e.g http://www.problogger.net). The guy who started problogger was in fact a photographer and started a blog on photography where he would help people take better pictures and use the site to showcase his work as well. He still has that blog today, but as he says he doesn’t make money from the photography, which he still does and loves, he uses the site to make an income through other income streams (in the form of advertising).
Problogger advertises jobs for bloggers who know about a particular area, in your case, photography, so that could be a way to gain an income too.
Also, if you go onto http://www.elance.com, very often there are calls for freelancers. There might not be something immediately suitable due to your location, but you never know.
Offer to be a guest writer on other photographic blogs. Bloggers are ALWAYS looking for guest speakers. You could choose a topic to photograph in your area (culture, religion, architecture, people) and then submit the article. This is a great way to get your name (and website) out there.
Write an e-book on photography. This is a great little money earner. It is an expensive way for people to learn and you can dot it with your amazing photographs which is a win-win for everyone.
How close is your largest town? Could you approach a small art gallery to do an exhibition?
How about designing a series of post cards and asking local tourist places/tea rooms to sell them for you (this, admittedly, isn’t going to enable you to retire).
That’s it for now. I hope that we can come up with something for you that is helpful.
You will get there, I am sure of it. xx
That should be “inexpensive” way for people to learn, not expensive. Sheesh!
Kmy,
I saw an ad in our local newspaper yesterday that made me think of you.
It was a real estate company, looking for a part-time photographer “to take great interior and exterior photographs that showcase our listings”.
Could this be something you could do in your own region?
Perhaps you could go to an open house first and take some splendid shots (even better if it’s listed by the company you’d like to work for, and you’ve noticed their online photos are lacking…) and send copies of your great photos to the real estate company, along with a cover letter offering to take this task off of their hands, for a reasonable fee?
(Even if you got the first job for a small fee, you could then build on that by telling all the *other* local real estate companies that you’re doing it for XYZ Real Estate, which gives you credibility.)
And then raise your prices!
Look in the phone book at professional photographers. See what services they offer, call them and ask what they charge for certain services. Look at taking high school senior pictures. Most high school let their seniors submit personal pictures, or their parents do, with content about the graduated. My son and his wife are photographers, and they use Craigslist to advertise their business. They’ve had wonderful success using it. Start an internet and Facebook site for the business. Post your best work. Get permission from your subjects before you post their likenesses on the sites. Best of luck.
So I know I am totally late with these suggestions as you asked this way back in June, but you said that most people are retired in your town. I don’t know how it is in Romania but retired people in America are always looking for new hobbies and classes to keep them busy. Could you teach photography? Also what if you offered photography of pets? People are crazy about their pets here. And beyond weddings and baptisms what about family portraits – especially when there are many generations still living like a daughter, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother. Or with the male line. And what about other occasions like anniversaries and birthday parties and reunions and photo sessions with new babies. New moms are always eager to show off their newest additions. Or you could start a thing where you take photos of people’s children in front of some landmark or in front of their houses or something on the same day every year to have a record of how much they have changed each year as well as the scenery around them. Or if you do a lot of outdoor photography of scenery and old buildings and nature etc. you could sell signed copies online, put together a book and sell it in your local bookstore and online. Or if you did a photo diary of the people in your village and put together a book. I’ll bet you everyone who gets their picture in the book buys a copy and probably one to give as a gift. Or you could take a lot of photos and have an exhibition for publicity and hold a raffle – the winner gets a one hour photo session of anything they want – their kids, their grandparents, a family photo etc. And another raffle for a signed print of their choosing etc. And of course you can sell your art at the exhibition as well. Do you have a local paper that you could take photos for? If not do you have any friends who you could start one with? What about if you set up a Christmas display somewhere and took holiday photos of people? Are there any young students there who would like artistic nude shots (you’d probably need to get a permit for that one) or would anyone be interested in boudoir photos – like housewives in sexy lingerie or posing as a 1940’s pin-up girl. That is totally big in photography right now. Or you could make a calendar of people in your village and donate a portion of the proceeds to charity. Or – and this is a totally morbid suggestion – but long ago in the US taking photographs of the dead was popular. Just a photo of thier face, lying down, eyes closed as if they were sleeping. It was a way to capture one last photo of them as they last looked in the world. And as they were at peace and their souls were journeying to heaven I guess. I don’t know if they ever did that in Romania but if so you could offer that service. It might be tricky to get started and get some customers but maybe if you talked to your parish priest he might be able to refer you to anyone who might be interested. You could write an article about the history of it in the local paper and then advertise that anyone who might be interested in learning more can contact you. Like I said – kinda morbid but you never know. I love creepy things and if I lived in Romania and I died, my corpse would be your first customer. 🙂
thats funny about the typos Kris 🙂
Yes my experience here has propelled me torward doing something and to believe that there will actually be results. I was reading the exchanges on here to take notes and decide which to do first etc. I see I have gushed quite a bit about the effect of the Idea party treatment. It was unexpected and truly heartening and so I wrote as I felt. I look forward to being of useful service in one way or the other to the other members here.
So.. I went onto blogger.com to start this blog of mine. I havent really come up with name that I like . Is there a way to put in enough information so I am able to create a blog and go ahead and start writing entries whilst I figure out a name I like? I have approached the bakery and cake shops in my area about sharing kitchen facilities for my business but they all offer snacky eats which they prsepare on the day (so not very keen on sharing a kitchen the’ll be using. I also approached the churches and community centres about hiring their kitchens in the mornings but they only use the facilities for the community/charity free of charge. Still looking for out of the box ideas to get around this barrier. I have even asked some fish and chip shops who are mostly busy at night but they too use their kitchens for lunch preparations. Ive asked for local gyms if I could hire their kitchens as I figured they wont use them that much, no joy.
I love love love scrapbooking (well anything creative really). I particularly am into journal scrapbooking – i.e. the telling of the story that go with the photos. I love to write, and journalling my scrapbooking really fosters that love. I have a blog and people do tell me that I write well.
My mom died in 2010. She was only 62 and I was absolutely devastated. Bare with me – there is a point.
I realised that with her passing, I actually knew so little of her childhood, so little of who she was and what shaped her to become the amazing person that graced our lives.
I am well into my forties and have been going through a mid-life crisis for what feels like forever. I have an autistic son and this has provided many barriers to starting my own business. He is now 15 and a little less dependent and I really want to do this.
What I want to do is find a way to help people scrapbook/tell their stories with a voice that gives the reader a real sense of who they are, not just a matter of getting the photo into an album that people of future generations won’t recognise. I want to create that fine line between scrapbooking for the sake of getting photos in an album and being a personal historian which is exceptionally expensive and time consuming.
Barriers:
1. I have no idea how to go about this.
2. Money – always a problem
3. I don’t have any networks (I’m pretty reclusive mainly because of my son – over the years it has just been easier to stay at home, plus I have lived in three different countries in the last 10 years).
4. Motivation and staying power is a problem for me. I have over the years tried many things to make money from home, but all have failed because I have lost motivation.
Thank you for your time.
Sarah
Hi Sarah-
Thanks for the great reminder to be aware of family history…
what a great thing to want to do for people.
Some ideas for you
1 Connect with your local recreation dept. Teach classes for them. ( pays not great but good practice.)
2. Connect with the ‘zine’ people….they have conventions and online info. Folks that are into publishing small inexpensive books that sell at the conventions and online.
3 Connect with your local senior centers, retirement homes, nursing homes. Tell them you teach a family memories workshop and charge each participant x amount of dollars each.
4 create an online workshop- a lot of folks will want to do this but lack the structure and discipline to actually do it. Offer it once a week for 6 wks or so.
5 Getting over the ‘money challenge’ thing….decide consciously that you are NOT going to make money from it. (and watch- the money might just start arriving…..(:
6 Is your son good at computers? Have him set up the online course for you….
Hope some of that helps. What a great thing you’d be doing for people. And I’m so sorry about your mom. My husband lost his mom fairly recently, a sad time! I’m so glad we have the paintings she did from their ‘growing up’ years in Chicago and their family vacations!
Sarah,
Terrific ideas! I’m a graduate of Barbara’s year-long WriteSpeak program (my book is Granny’s Guide to Writing Your Family Stories) and a Success Team Leader. As a professional personal historian, I teach workshops to show people how to write their own family stories, and scrapbook journaling is often a part of that.
Maybe there is a way we can partner up to create a product. I also mentor people who are getting started in personal history work and I highly recommend APH – the Association of Personal Historians (www.personalhistorians.org), of which I am a Board member.
Check out my website http://www.bethlamie.com to see the type of work I do & decide if it fits with your vision. Then we can talk further. My email is Beth [at] bethlamie.com.
Thanks,
Beth LaMie
http://www.bethlamie.com
Apologies, Beth, in my reply I called you Bethanie. I think my brain read Beth LaMie and came up with Bethanie. No-one likes their name mispelled or pronounced. Apologies again.
Sarah x
Hi there Guys,
what wonderful ideas and thank you so much for your generosity. I should have mentioned that I live in Melbourne, Australia, so we don’t have recreation centres as you suggested Kris, but we do have community centres. I will approach them once I have put something together.
Kris, please forgive my ignorance, but who are the ‘zine’ people? Is that magazine?
I have already made a list of my local aged care centres and retirement homes. They were really my target market, although of course everyone is my target market – the younger they start the better. I recently visited a retirement village with my in-laws and there were a lot of people now living on their own and I found myself wondering if they had left a story for their children. My thought was to run workshops at the centres (and I am willing to do this for free, so important I think this is).
I love the idea of the online workshop and have already started doing that.
It is so funny Kris, a friend of mine keeps telling me that once you are doing what you love, for the right reasons, the money does just start flowing. I am in a very fortunate position in that I don’t HAVE to earn an income to funciton (my husband’s is enough for our family needs), but it has always been the one area of my life where I have felt lacking. No-one enjoys being financially dependent and I particularly hate it.
My son is good at computers and what a fabulous idea. He may not want to do it, but it is a good way to at least get him thinking outside his box.
Bethanie, I am sending you an email. I hope me being in Australia won’t make a difference to your offer. I am blown away frankly. Thank you so much.
Wow, guys, such amazing ideas and generosity. I am in love with this site. I will keep you posted as to how it goes.
Much love,
Sarah x
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zine