Yeah… I know… such a healthy way of being.

The past couple of months I’ve really been working on not losing my mind over other people’s anger management issues.  When I get nasty feedback, I’ll repeat to myself, “Their anger has nothing to do with me”.  This definitely helped me out, but I have to admit that it didn’t fix my problem 100%.  I still needed something more.

I’m glad to report that last night I found something that helped me deal with this problem.  I listened to the audio clip on Byron Katie’s blog called I Can’t Stand My Best Friend and it really gave me the peace I was searching for.

If you’re not familiar with Byron Katie’s “The Work”, you can go visit thework.com for more information.  It might help you to understand the audio clip more fully. You can also download the Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet.

I really hope this will help you out too.

Japanese Lesson Notes #9

Kanpai!

If you visit Japan, you’ll no doubt see a group of people raising their beer or alcoholic beverages and hear them say, “Kanpai!”.   Kanpai is a popular Japanese expression that is equivalent to “Cheers!” and is used before you start drinking.

Please note that kanpai is commonly misspelled as kampai.  You can view my basic Japanese pronunciation notes to learn more about the letter n before a p.

Japanese Lesson Notes #8

Oishii
While eating great tasting food, oishii is one of the most popular ways to say “delicious” in Japanese.  Remember to stretch out the “i” sound.

Mā-mā
If the food you’re eating is not to your liking, a polite term to use is “mā-mā”.  This means “so-so”.  Remember to stretch out both “a” sounds.

To say oishii and mā-mā in a more polite and formal way, you would add desu at the end.  If you’re meeting close friends or family, you wouldn’t use desu as it sounds too formal.

Oishii desu

Mā-mā desu

Japanese Lesson Notes #8

Itadakimasu!

Itadakimasu is a very popular expression in Japanese culture.  It’s very common to hear Japanese people say “Itadakimasu!” as a group before they eat.

Itadakimasu simply means “Let’s eat!” but can be translated as “I’m about to receive (something)”.

It’s very polite to say itadakimasu before eating a meal, no matter the time of day or night.

I wanted to start my own small business at home so that I could be my own boss, make the paintings I was inspired to create, be in charge of my own schedule and live a fulfilling life.

Sounds good. But…. now what?

After reading dozens and dozens of business books, I was still waiting for a book that would show me how to start a small registered business STEP BY STEP! I had no experience in starting a business of any kind… until, voila! I found Canadian Small Business Kit for Dummies by Margaret Kerr and JoAnn Kurtz*. No joke! This book made it possible for someone like me to start my own registered business within a few weeks. And, it was super easy!

So, no more excuses. Get the book and start reading.

The only other thing you might need to set up your registered business is software like Simply Accounting First Step 2010 (by Sage). If you don’t know anything about accounting, I was in your shoes. I’m still partly in your shoes, to be honest. I don’t know much about accounting, but Simply Accounting made it easy enough for me to do what I needed to do for my one-person business. I even got audited from 2006-2008 and I had no mistakes!

*They have an American version called Small Business Kit For Dummies.

So, my journey of being an artist and owning a small business in these economic times comes to no surprise that it can push me over the edge with stress and anxiety.  The biggest fear I’ve had since September 2008 (when the economy collapse was heard all over the world) is, “How am I going to pay my rent?  My bills?  My student loans?”  I went from making $2000-$7000 a month from 2006-2008, to making only $9000 in 2009.  Yup!  $9000 in ONE WHOLE YEAR…  and with that comes the nagging fear of the future.

I’m writing this, not to complain, but to share with you what I do when anxiety creeps up on me.  I watch two specific videos (below) from Byron Katie to calm me down, and then I keep working.  When I start feeling anxiety again, I watch the videos again… and again and again.  It would be too easy to ease the anxiety with things like food or alcohol, but I’ve decided that these videos work for me and hopefully you can find some peace by watching them too.  It’s worth a try.

This interview is part of Laura’s Artist Series.  Listen to the interview to hear about my journey of how and why I became an artist.  I also talk about money (including how much money I used to make before and after the economic collapse) and how the economic crisis negatively and positively affected my art career.

Listen to the Artist Series interview!

I care about my customers.  However, at times, I think I care TOO much.

Sometimes the customer’s disappointment is my fault, but I’ll do everything in my power to fix the situation.  Most times those customers will leave happy or return again for more business.  It makes me feel good to know that I’m trustworthy and I’m doing my best to satisfy my customers.

Other times, I get a customer whose problem I cannot fix.  The disappointment usually has to do with the post office delivery time.  I ship paintings within two days of receiving payment for the painting, and then the delivery is totally out of my control.  If a parcel is late, open communication is essential.  After I call the Post Office or US Customs, explain to the customer why the parcel is late, the customer is usually very patient.  However, every once in awhile the buyer will reply with a nasty email, usually with reasons as to why they will never buy paintings from me again.  Even though I know I can’t fix the problem and I had nothing to do with the slow delivery, I still feel horrible.

Again, I care TOO much.

There are those types of customers that you just cannot please, no matter what you say or do.  I have to learn how to deal with such customers, without getting knots in my stomach and losing my mind.  The illogical stress can’t be good for me.  So when I have to deal with these bad eBay buyers who are blaming me for things that are obviously out of my control, I’m going to start repeating to myself:

“Their anger has nothing to do with me.”

There’s a problem with the customer that’s much deeper than getting a late parcel in the mail.  My job is to make and sell art, not to fix people.

Below, I share my tips and tricks on how I sell my paintings on eBay. For a view of my own eBay listings, please visit my eBay store.

1. Take at least 2 or 3 clear photos of your art. Include a picture of the front, side(s) and back of the artwork. If there’s a lot of detail in the piece, take close-up pictures.
2. Make sure that the background of your photos is attractive to the eye! You don’t want to take a picture of your artwork next to an opened garbage can. Image is everything, especially in the art world!
3. I definitely recommend that you select the “Gallery Plus” option (US$0.35) when listing your art. This is your first chance to impress buyers when they’re browsing for art.
4. Write A LOT of information about the artwork, but keep your eBay listing organized. You want the buyer to be able to find information quickly and easily. Information to include:
   • Title of the artwork
   • Artist’s name
   • Year
   • Size of the artwork
   • Weight of the artwork (optional)
   • Medium used
   • A description of the piece (may include which country the artwork was made, its condition, whether its an original piece, if a certificate of authenticity is included, etc.)
   • Colors (Here I always include: “Colors of painting are represented as accurately as possible, although colors may vary from monitor to monitor”.
   • Shipping & Handling (Include delivery times to different countries if possible.)
   • Discounts available (optional)
   • Sales Tax (if applicable)
   • Payment information
   • Refund Policy
5. The only way eBay buyers are allowed to pay sellers is through PayPal. Make sure you have your PayPal Business or Premier account all set up BEFORE listing anything on eBay. My advice is to sign up for a PayPal account now.
6. Definitely create an About Me page. This is where you should tell people who you are! Telling eBayers about yourself makes them more likely to trust you. Also, the About Me page is the only place you’re allowed to link to your website(s). So, take advantage of it!!
7. Feedback on eBay is one of the most important ways for people to see if you’re trustworthy.  If you don’t have any feedback, I suggest that you buy 10 small things on eBay.  Not only will you get feedback, you’ll also get to experience how eBay works.
8. I always leave feedback for the buyers, but I never ask buyers for feedback. If they want to give you feedback, they’ll leave it.
9. Try to ship the artwork within 2 business days of receiving complete payment.  Never ship your artwork without being paid first.
10. After the buyer has won an auction (or used the Buy It Now option), send an email to thank them and to let them know that you’re there to answer any questions they may have.  Opening the lines of communication right away makes the buyer feel like they can come to you with any question or problem they may have about paying and receiving the artwork.  This decreases your chance of getting negative feedback posted on eBay.
11. Reply to a buyer’s email ASAP.   (I try to reply to my art buyers’ emails within 12 hours).  Excellent customer service is one of the best ways to get an eBay buyer to come back and buy more of your artwork in the future. Also, it increases the chance that the buyer will refer you to family and friends.
12. If you’ve tried all of the above and you’re still not getting traffic to your listings, try a 99¢ auction with a reserve price.
13. The more artwork you list on eBay at one time, the better the chance of someone “bumping” into one of your listings and finding out who you are as an artist.
14. In each listing, put an image (or image gallery banner) of all your other works of art.  If an eBay buyer doesn’t want to buy the art in that particular listing, they might see another piece they would like to buy.
15. Get an eBay store.  I personally like the basic subscription, which is only US$15.95/month.   An eBay store will provide you with a mailing list.  USE THIS FEATURE!  It’s an easy way to remind people of how fabulous your art is.  You don’t even have to write anything, just present beautiful pictures of your artwork!  Inspire their eyes and their souls.
16. Try using social networking sites such as twitter, facebook and youtube.
17. Have an blog with a link to your eBay store.  The more content you put out on the Internet, the better your chances of getting new visitors from search engines such as Google.
18. Last, but not least…. Create a niche. Sell artwork that is unique and different from the rest of the artists on eBay.  For example, my niche is selling contemporary Japanese calligraphy paintings.  A niche is probably one of the hardest things to come up with, but it is definitely the thing that helps me out the most as an eBay seller.

Japanese Lesson Notes #7

Sumimasen
Sumimasen means ’sorry’ or ‘excuse me’ in Japanese.  You can use sumimasen to apologize if you made a mistake or if you bothered someone.  You can also use sumimasen if you want to call someone’s attention.