It was fueled by a phone call from a subscriber, my own experiences on Etsy, and my clients’ challenges for this new year.

I know, it’s been a while since I’ve sent anything out about bath and body business. There’s a good reason for this, and I will tell you about it a little later.

But first, let me tell you a story — my recent experience as an Etsy buyer.

So, my brother shaves the old-school way, with a straight razor, mug, brush, and soap. I was looking on Etsy for shaving soap to give him as a gift, and I could not believe how many bath and body / perfume / home fragrance sellers there were! The choices were dizzying, even for men’s shaving soap — something that I really didn’t expect.

On the one hand, this is fantastic.  It means that more people are making stuff, and there are lots of choices for buyers. But for sellers, it can be really intimidating.

Just from my tiny site that is woefully out of date (I’m a baaaad blogger, I admit it), I get questions about how beginners (and even some non-beginners) can compete with all the sellers “out there.”

This is a question that many people have, but it is not the right question you should ask.

Because I didn’t buy any bars of shaving soap. I wanted to buy something — I love buying stuff for other people, and I had my credit card literally sitting out, next to my keyboard, ready to be used!

But in the end, I chose to do nothing.

The real question you should ask is: “Why should people buy your stuff vs doing nothing?”

I believe that doing nothing is your real competitor, these days. Confusion is the enemy of sales. When faced with too many choices, all delivering more-or-less the same thing, no clear decision can be made.

Quite honestly, I was confused. I knew nothing about men’s shaving soap, and they all looked the same — the same level, the same scents, the same general product. Sure, they were all attractive, but I was looking for the one that would elevate itself above the general noise, shining like a lighthouse over the sea. And I did not find it.

Here’s where we get to the “good reason” part of the post.

Up until a few years ago, my marketing consulting was all about techniques. I would implement techniques for people — setting up ad campaigns, watching website stats, optimizing pages for lower bounce rates, writing snappy copy for Etsy, etc.

My articles, papers, and advice used to be mostly about techniques, too. Nuts-n-bolts stuff that any small business could use — setting up and managing an email list, writing promotions, pricing strategies.

But when I started representing more lifestyle & entertainment businesses, I realized that those techniques have limited value. They are putting the cart before the horse, to use an old-fashioned saying.

Instead, I started working with companies on their core strength (just like personal trainers!) Even when they said, “We’re really struggling here, and we have to come up with money FAST,” I redirected them back to the fundamentals, first.

In a short time, they all boosted their normal level of sales. Less customers did nothing; more bought, even without the added incentive of a sale, or a holiday season, or something new.

If the core strength of a business is there, doing nothing will become less of an option for customers.

You might have guessed that I’m talking about values. Values are the core strength of your business — not your products, not your website. And your values come from you.

Anyone can make products. But only you can make your products. Are your products somehow uniquely you, in some way?

This post is already getting too long, but I would like you to think about your values, and how they translate to your products.

Do your products reflect you? Or are you simply “doing what sells,” letting trends and fads be your guide. Have your values truly influenced your decisions, or have you felt a little lost, especially about things like packaging design, logo, and websites?

I’m preparing another installment on this, but until then, feel free to email me with your comments and questions.

Make stuff and prosper!
- Katherine

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Most of the ELG Business action occurs off the site.  I prefer the more personal communication of emailing the people on my list — it’s more of a real conversation, since people can just reply directly to my emails.  If you’d like to join the conversation, sign up for my free series of papers and join my list on this page.

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/garage-sale-warrior/2009/11/flipping-for-fun-and-profit.html

Garage Sale Warrior is my mom’s Chicago Tribune-affiliated blog about the Chicago community of second-hand and vintage buyers and sellers.  You can direct comments to her at didurkes@yahoo.com, or post them on this blog.

I got to wondering, “Why would someone take the time to leave those comments?”  She had quite a chip on her shoulder.  She obviously didn’t want clarification, or even help.  Instead, the whole thing just had an air of defensiveness about it, as though my blog had touched upon a something that she did not want to accept.  Plus, it was clear that she didn’t read most of my actual text, but saw only what she wanted to.

The gist of it is: She thought my message of success was unhelpful.  More to the point, though, she thought my position was, “All you need is to have a successful attitude, and success will be yours.”

What is a successful attitude, anyway?

That isn’t what I say.  My stance is more like, ‘You need to have a successful attitude, or else success won’t be yours.”  In fact, you can invest every drop of time, effort, and energy you have into what you’re doing (successful actions), but if you don’t have The Drive (successful attitude), you’ll probably not get far.  At least, this has been true for me.

It’s like going to church with an empty spirit, or showing up to work but not doing anything productive.  Sure, you go through the motions, but if you’re not really there, it’s just busy-work.

Positivity Is Misunderstood

Having a positive attitude isn’t about feeling happy and cheerful all the time — not even close.  It’s about stopping bad habits of thought: blaming, feeling sorry for yourself, criticizing, and it’s also about staying present — continuing to really care about what you’re doing.

The positive attitude is not comfortable or comforting, because it’s the cold, hard knowledge that only you can do what you have to do.  There is no one there who will take the responsibility off your hands.  And it’s a constant battle to avoid indulging in negativity, but you can’t give in.  If you do, all your attention will be spent thinking, “Poor me,” not on what you gotta do.

Don’t use your problems as fuel for bad emotions.

As any soldier or top athlete will tell you, success is a mental game. It can mean death to indulge in negative emotions.  You should admit the facts, absolutely — if you’re broke, in hard times, in bad health, or otherwise at a disadvantage.  But don’t think, “Oh, I can’t possibly succeed because my kids… my job… my health… my debt.” If athletes thought that every time they got hurt, no one would ever come back from injury.  But they do it all the time, and sometimes it seems miraculous because they overcame so much!

Like an athlete, say to yourself, “What’s the plan for recovery and getting back on the field?  What am I going to do about the fact that I’ve got this problem?”  Start solving the problem, not using the problem as bad-emotion fuel.

If you are thinking about how bad your life is, you are not thinking about how to make it better.

Just keep on; there is no other choice.

If you think that I’m happy and positive all the time, think again.  My writing rings true for so many people because it’s also a constant battle for me!  Yes, some things come easily to me, like expressing myself in writing.  But some things are very, very difficult, like weight loss, and having to attend to a high-need toddler 22 out of 24 hours (that’s not an exaggeration) when I am an extreme introvert.  But, as my friend put it, “You just do what you have to do, because you have to do it.”

If you’re truly success-minded, there is no choice.  You care far too much about what you’re doing to leave it alone, no matter how broke, friendless, stressed, or ill you are.  (Which is why I’m writing this at 4AM while my son tosses and turns due to more inexplicable problems with his sleep and digestion.)

The best thing you can do for yourself is to accept the fact that you’re not going to give up, so it’s no use playing out scenarios where people come to your rescue, pity you because you have it so hard, or help you justify why it was the best thing to drop out.  Face it — you’re in, and you’re in for good. Best to apply your energy to your strategy and tactics, not imagining yourself as a tragic figure.  Maybe your tragedy is justified, but is that the role you really want to have in life?

Just fight on, and remember, that even though it looks like people have it easy, everyone’s got their problems.  Everyone’s involved in their own silent battle.  Even the rich and “successful.”

Want to sell your own line of bath and body products? That’s what this section is all about, but it’s kind of a secret. I don’t publicize it on my main site because… as you can imagine, many people are interested in this topic. I get flooded with questions as soon as I post anything business-related on my website.

Since people are vitally, almost desperately, interested in selling their products, they are easy to take advantage of. The topic of “how to start your own home-based business” provokes a desperate fever in people. They will buy anything that might help fulfill that dream – and usually, the material disappoints. Usually, you get stuff like: