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How do you become a leader?

Hey there,

Are you a leader?

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.~John Quincy Adams

There are many different types of leaders out there and many hats they can wear.  In order for your company to grow, you need to become a great leader.

A leader….
1. inspires
2. teaches
3. delegates

Most importantly, a great leader is nimble and listens to those around them. But where do you start?

In order to create your dream team and company, you need to know what you want that to be! Can you visualize what want your team and company to look like in 3 years?

Here are some questions to noodle over to help you paint this picture in your mind. It will become a great checklist to come back to with every decision you make:

1. Why do you do what you do?
2. What inspires you to create this vision?
3. How do you feel when you are living your passion?
4. What is your work culture like? What type of people do you want to attract?
5. What does your lifestyle look like?

Being able to answer these questions will help create the lifestyle you want for your business. :)

xoxo,

Grace Kang
Your Retail Product Mentor

photo image: etsy shop

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Get Pinned on Pinterest

pinterest

Are you getting pinned?

Most people know Pinterest (I first talked about it here) as a wonderful form of procrastination, or just a fun inspirational and organizational tool.  What most people don’t know, however, is that it can also be used for many product-based businesses! While pinning your products alone won’t get you far (savvy pinners can sniff-out pure self-promotion with one whiff), creating a compilation of favorite items, mood boards, and other inspirational items alongside your own products can bring in some serious business.

The ratio I like to stick by is 1:9. For every product of your own that you pin, you have to pin 9 other things that inspire you :). This way your product becomes a part of your whole story, not just self-promotion.

When used properly, Pinterest is a wonderful tool for sharing inspirations and finds – by both pinning your own and getting re-pinned by all of your followers. It’s also a great way to test what will be popular and what people are saying about each item (check out htt://pinterest.com/source/insert your domainname.com here”) Here is an example: http://pinterest.com/source/pinkolive.com/

 

Which images are getting the best reaction from your followers? What are some of your favorite recent pins? For some inspirations, you can check out some of Pink Olive’s favorite Pinterest Picks here every Friday :)

Happy pinning!

xoxo

Grace Kang
Your Retail Product Mentor

p.s. Is possible to get found! Were you at the Etsy Success Symposium event last Friday? Get Found here.

 

“Being a new designer and start up entrepreneur, I was seeking advice, mentorship and consulting from an expert in the retail world. I found what I was looking for with Grace Kang of Retail Recipes. With her years of experience as a retail buyer as well being an entrepreneur herself, she was able to provide me with specific guidance on areas such as pricing my products/service for profit, guidance on transitioning to an e-commerce site, fine tuning my social media strategy, web-site design, creating line sheets and how to approach buyers. Each session I had with Grace left me feeling motivated and inspired to “get to work” so that I would reach my goal! Her industry knowledge and expertise has helped me tremendously to fine tune my business aspirations, my vision and the overall direction I’m heading in.”

Rekha Krishnamurthi
Creative Director, Divine NY & Co.

Rekha is massively getting out there and sharing her vision with the world. She recently attend Oprah’s Lifeclass and Martha Stewart’s Dreamers into Doers 2012 Event. She also won the category of Best Style/Fashion Entrepreneur of the Year at the Stiletto Women in Business Awards in Atlanta, GA last month. Congrats Rekha! :)


 

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Etsy Success Symposium 2012

 

Welcome to Etsy Headquarters in Dumbo, Brooklyn!

Were you at the Etsy Success Symposium?

It was so wonderful to meet with so many aspiring entrepreneurs and artists last Friday. Etsy team did an AMAZING job in pulling it all together with awesome workshops & networking and I was thrilled to be a part of it. I was inspired from the moment I walked in to the building :)

Here’s to doing what you LOVE each day and getting FOUND. Enjoy this workbook that Etsy put together for the event!

xoxo
grace

 

Here we go!

Always be in learning mode!

Reach for the stars...

... but don't forget to have some FUN! :)

 

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What’s NEW? See you at Etsy Symposium! :)

Hey there!

With the new season comes a feeling of renewal and starting fresh. Something about the influx of cute baby animals, daffodils and spring-cleaning makes me want to shake off a layer and try something N-E-W.

Beyond cleaning house (both literally and figuratively) this is a great time to try something new! Whether it’s pushing yourself to try a new technique, bust into a new market or just get a new set of eyes to take a look at your business. We all can get stuck in a rut, or find ourselves in a comfortable habit. Someone wise once told me, “Do something that makes you uncomfortable each day… everyday.” Are you?

Get out there, take a class, read a book, talk to a stranger, try a new social media site. Think of all the possibilities you can pull into reach when you experiment! Besides, what have you got to lose but learn something N-E-W?

I would love to hear your NEW ideas and NEW ways to propel your business forward. Please post here and let’s shake things up in April.

xoxo,

Grace Kang
Your Retail Product Mentor

The Etsy Success Symposium
Grace will be participating in the Etsy Success Symposium Event on Friday, March 29th where she will be one of three experts (along with Tara Gentile and Kate McKean) to give mini-consult sessions to 100+ emerging designers and artists. The theme for this year is “Getting Found.” See you there! :)  www.etsy.com

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are you masterminding?

Hey there!

Here is a picture of me masterminding with Justin from Krane Financial Solutions :) Are you masterminding? According to the Webster dictionary, a mastermind is a person who supplies the directing or creative intelligence for a project.

From a business standpoint, a mastermind occurs when you get 2 or more people to put their heads together to focus on someone’s project at hand. I am a firm believer that two heads are always better than one. When you are masterminding, there is synergy of energy, commitment and excitement that participants bring to a mastermind group. Every participant help raise the bar by challenging each other to create and implement goals, brainstorm ideas and support each other.


The concept of the mastermind group was formally introduced by Napoleon Hill in the 1900s. In his timeless classic, “Think and Grow Rich” he wrote about the mastermind principle as:
“The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.”

He continues…
“No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind.”

As an entrepreneur, you need to be masterminding with others to give you feedback, help you brainstorm new opportunities and set up accountability structures that keep you focused and on track. You will have a community of supportive colleagues who will brainstorm on your behalf – it will be like having your own board of advisers!

If you can put together your dream team of advisers, what would that look like? What would you like to get from the group? I would love to hear your comments here.

When you can put yourself out there with other like-minded entrepreneurs thinking on your behalf, something magical can happen!

Happy Masterminding!

xoxo,

Grace Kang
Your Retail Product Mentor

lovemaki

“Working with Grace has been an amazing experience. In our very first session alone, she’s tackled a lot of the questions I’ve been needing answers to. Every session with Grace gets you excited & motivated about your business.
Wearing all hats for my own business can be overwhelming. Grace helps you in the right direction, and help you find balance.
The knowledge that she offers is invaluable – these are the things I may have not figured out on my own, or probably would have taken a while to figure out. It has truly been a pleasure working with Grace.

Justine Cajanding, Designer and Founder
www.lovemaki.com