The Big Sell

As you may know, I am the co-owner of a website called The Craft Mom. The Craft Mom is a site dedicated to saving crafters time and money. You can think of us like a couponing site, but for craft deals. Our site is the only one out there of its kind and we are constantly trying to grow our little business.

And that's where the problem lies.

In the year since we began The Craft Mom, I have been doing everything I can to take it to the next level. I am constantly trying to get our name out there. I never leave home without a big stack of business cards. I go to scrapbook shows and crops wearing my Craft Mom t-shirt. I have talked about our site to everyone at my dentist's office and allergist's office. Even my physical therapist knows all about The Craft Mom! No one is safe from my word of mouth advertising.

That's just the face-to-face stuff.

I am also on social media for hours a day. I post blog comments. I share on Facebook. I tweet. I participate in tweetchats. I email people in "the industry". All of this is in pursuit of name recognition.

You know what? I'm tired.

Selling yourself begins to take its toll on you. You get tired of people looking at you like you are crazy when you begin your "elevator speech". You get tired of emailing complete strangers who you just know are saying, "Who is THIS idiot?!" You get tired of wearing a Craft Mom t-shirt.

No one handles rejection well. However, I have always been a little thin-skinned. I have always taken it very personally. So when you are out there trying to sell yourself and your awesome little business and you get rejected (a business declines to work with you, companies ignore you, etc.) , it hurts. I have toughened up since we started all of this and I have begun to realize that business decisions aren't personal, but sometimes I still feel like *I* am being rejected, not my business.

Don't get me wrong -- I love my job. I love our site. It combines my two loves: crafting and saving money. I love being my own boss. I love the new people I get to meet (and I have met some really awesome people in the last year thanks to our site). I love when I see comments on our blog or when someone has shared us on Facebook.

But I don't always love "the big sell".