Books for growing your business

What are you focused on in your business?

When it comes to growing your business, it's important to constantly be learning. Things are always changing. PLUS, getting different and varied perspectives builds a knowledge base that is equally diverse in thinking.

I follow a lot of amazing business owners. Some I've had the pleasure of working with directly and some through their courses. Some are not easy to get access to, so the next best thing is their books.

So, I'm sharing a few of my faves (plus my own). These business owners have some pretty amazing views and strategies I think you can implement in your business, from mindset to tactics.

*This post may include affiliate links*

Here are a few of my current faves:

1) We Should All Be Millionaires: Change Your Thinking, Build Bank, and Claim Your Independence by Rachel Rodgers (coming soon, pre-order available) 

2) Mindset by Carol Dweck 

3) Launch by Jeff Walker

4) Pivot by Jenny Blake

5) Pattern Launch Plan: Sell more patterns consistently without being sleazy by Tian Connaughton 

These are all great books (the one by Rachel Rodgers I highly recommend because I'm in her program and she's a phenomenal woman and teacher and mentor) with so many lessons. Some you will not agree with. Some you will. You don't have to agree with everything, but know it's important to see how others who are successful think.

I hope you find these valuable! 

You got this!

xo,

Tian

Set the foundation

This month in the Society, my new membership community where I help our clients (women business owners) build the foundation of their businesses, we’re focusing on Building Your Brand. We are teaching our members how to use the simple framework to amplify their offer and their brand, by leading with the value. 

In the economical environment, we’re in right now, it’s ever-important for women, particularly Black women and women and color, to be able to generate income outside of the “stable” 9-5 because we know those jobs are not secure. They can evaporate in a blink of an eye. We need to be able to generate revenue from a diversified stream of income.

When I learned how to lead with the value of my offer with authenticity and love and thoughtfulness, that when it all changed.

It meant that I had to pull back on the bro-y tactics I was studying. It means to tap into my body and really lead with what felt right for me. And that’s when it all started to click into place. For a long time, I was just going through the motions. I believed the old Fields of Dreams saying that “if I built it, they would come” meaning that my work would and should speak for itself without any intervention on my part.

And I used that tactic because I was afraid to be visible. I was happy to stand in the shadows with a hope and a prayer that things would just magically happen. And, surprise! It didn’t happen. People weren’t knocking down the doors to get my offer, so I made more. Surely, the forums were right that I just need to keep posting new products every hour on the hour, regardless if anything sold, right? And when THAT didn’t work, I felt like the biggest loser, not knowing it wasn’t the product. Instead, it was me not sharing the value of what I have to offer to the right people. It was me hiding in the shadows and not sharing how the thing I offer could transform their lives.

Over the last 10+ years, I’ve learned a lot and have shared a lot in books and courses because I know how important it is to be able to generate an income doing the work I love. I’ve been able to generate income that put food on the table, a roof over our heads, savings in the bank, a retirement plan, and more.

Setting those foundations in place to sell what you offer with confidence so you can generate consistent and predictable income is what matters. When you work with me, I teach you how to go fish for those sales, how to make the offer, so you can make big money moves.  

Get on the email list to be notified when the membership opens up again. Spots are limited. Click here to join the list.

Can't wait until the next membership cycle opens or you need one-on-one support, click here to book a coaching spot. 

You got this!

are you still interested in making more income?

Hey there!

I just wanted to send a super quick reminder that the price on the masterclass, Building Block Method to Multiple Streams of Income, the price doubles tomorrow, 12PM noon ET, Tuesday, July 7, 2020. Get it before noon ET Tuesday.

So, here's the thing. If you’re a designer and
• you’re struggling to make ends meet
• you’re struggling to balance working and running a business and family
• you want to get off the “constantly releasing new pattern” hamster wheel and make real income
• you want to buy back more of your time so you can actually spend time with your family and make more money...
👉🏾this super powerful masterclass is for you and one to not miss if you're committed to growing your business without the crazy and unstainable hustle.

In just ONE HOUR, that's how long the masterclass run, you'll get the information, support, and strategy to start making more money with your designs. Learn the multitude of ways you can spin one pattern to make more money so you don’t have to keep publishing new patterns so knitters and crocheters notice and buy you.

Look, I was there. I was knitting and crocheting sample pieces for publications like mad, barely making minimum wage when all was said and done. That all changed when I learned the strategy I teach you here, I was able to grow my revenue and publish lush patterns. Now I stitch more for fun than necessity. Now I make upwards of 5 figures in revenue each month. I’m off that wicked publishing schedule to now putting out work that really inspires. Now I want to show you how I got there because if I can do it, so can you!

If you want to learn the strategy of creating multiple streams of income and how to implement the strategies in your own design business, grab the masterclass today before the price doubles (noon ET Tuesday).

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE MASTERCLASS TODAY

Follow the tactics and you’ll make back your investment within 30-day. When you do the work, you can’t lose! Don’t delay making the kind of money in your design business that could change everything. You got this!

If you’re on the fence about this masterclass, if you are not sure if this will help you, hit reply to this email and ask your questions because now is your time to take action and get to that next level. Don't wait. Take action.
 

xo
Tian

Click here to join the masterclass today... price double from $47 to $97 on 24hrs. Don't miss out.

This rocked my self-confidence for no fault of my own

Their decision or lack of thoughtfulness made me feel shame about my body.

So, I remember the very first garment I wanted to knit… and it was for myself, and I was excited about this adventure. Knitting this very first sweater was going to be so epic.

I remember this sweater so clearly. It was from an early Interweave Knits magazine. It was a top-down raglan cardigan without buttons or a button bands, with short sleeves, so perfect, right? I’d hype myself up for this. I’d read through the instructions like 10 times. I’d picked out the yarn I thought was perfect, and at the time, it was perfect. It was what I could afford for the quantity that if I messed up, it wouldn’t be too bad. I wouldn’t feel too bad. And that’s real! Anyways, I remember it was going to be a long holiday weekend coming up, so I psyched myself up because this was going to be good.

But, in all that studying I was doing of the pattern, I never paid attention to the sizes offered. I was so hung up on whether I could do it, whether I could actually knit this pattern, I never thought to see if I would be able to make it in my size. And that’s where the rubber really hit the road for this pattern. I had the pattern and yarn. I was a good knitter. I made a swatch, but I couldn’t find a size that fit me; my body.

This was disheartening because back then, I was smaller than I am today, but gurl, I had more body issues then and, this did not help. This lack of available sizes broke me and my self-confidence.

I felt awful like all this was my fault for being fat.

Like I wasn’t already beating myself up enough for being too fat to fit “standard” sizes. I didn’t know how to modify patterns to make them fit my massively ugly body (that’s how I felt, like a monster when patterns only go up to a 40” or 46” bust) or how to adjust my gauge. All I really knew was how to follow the instructions. I knew how to follow the experts, the designers, because they knew about sizing, even though they didn’t really cater to me and others like me.  

That experience left a sour taste in my mouth for knitting and crocheting garments. I was sad for a very long time. It was a very long time before I even thought to try to knit a sweater again. 

Eventually, I did knit a sweater after figuring out how to modify patterns, particularly for size. I was able to do this after studying a lot of patterns and through lots of trial and error, using hats and small accessories to figure out how to adjust patterns, any pattern, to get the fit I want. This was a powerful moment in my knitting and designing life. Figuring this out is what brought me back, or rather, expanded my love of knitting and crocheting.

Being able to bend the yarn to my will… Being able to see that the problem (back then) wasn’t my body, because it wasn’t and still isn’t. But that the pattern was the problem for not including a wide-enough range of sizes to accommodate even the average woman size, that was a powerful turning point.

Why am I sharing this personal and rather embarrassing story of being too fat for a pattern I wanted to make? Well, the truth is that I’m sharing this story because the problem wasn’t me. The problem still isn’t me, or you. The problem is with the pattern.

And that’s why I created the online course, Pattern Grading Made Easy (self-study), because I know you’ve experienced this too. You’ve been exactly where I was, wanting to make a fun pattern I saw but couldn’t because my size wasn’t included. I created this course because I know there are designers out there that care about creating size-inclusive patterns but don’t have the tools to make that happen.

Whether you’re a knitter, crocheter, or designer, Pattern Grading Made Easy (self-study) was created because I want you to understand grading and sizing. I want you, as the knitter and crocheter to find a pattern, any pattern, regardless of the sizes available and for you to be able to make it if you want. Even if your size is given, I want you to have the tools to be able to make it fit your body perfectly.

And if you’re a designer, I don’t want you to not be able to offer inclusive sizing. I want you to have the confidence to serve the community of all shape and size.  

I get it, grading can be intimidating. But I’ve made it super simple with the easy to follow the framework. So, regardless of whether you’re following a pattern or creating from scratch, you have everything you need to make it fit. My goal is for you to never feel ashamed of your body, the body that’s supporting you even though some might deem it as not ideal. You are perfect just the way you are, and your knitting and crocheting should fit perfectly.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE Pattern Grading Made Easy (self-study) and use coupon code joinnow10 for 10% OFF today