Aligned or Distracting? How to Tell If an Opportunity Is Right for You as an Artist or Crafter

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Hey, Beautiful Creative! Today we’re talking about how to recognize if an opportunity is in alignment for you or if it’s just a big shiny distraction! And I’m sharing the second half of my creative business story!

Last week I shared the beginning of my story of how I started my creative business, so go check that out if you missed it! Now I want to tell you about how my best friend and I own two retail stores and organize large craft markets with our business, Crafty Wonderland, so let’s dive in to how all of that began! 

I was introduced to my now best friend, Cathy, by a mutual friend, Susan, in about 2002. Susan is one of those people who is really good at connecting other people. She had an idea to get a group of crafty women business owners together and we would take turns hosting a monthly dinner where we talked about our businesses and how we could support one another. That group ended up forming into a collective called Portland Super Crafty. We felt like we had more power combining our resources and advertising ourselves as one, as a way to promote our individual businesses. And it was amazing! We placed ads in magazines, we wrote a book called Super Crafty, and we were even on a few episodes of a tv show sharing how to make some of the projects from our book. All of those things were a dream come true for me.

Cathy was one of the women in this group, and our friendship evolved as we started setting up at craft markets and street fairs together and selling our work. At the time there were regularly scheduled craft markets popping up in other cities, that we would sometimes travel to, but our city only had outdoor markets, street fairs, and holiday pop-ups. There wasn’t a regular indoor venue where artists like ourselves and our friends could sell our work. We felt like we’d sold at enough events to know what would make a really good craft market, so we decided to start a monthly craft fair in our city before somebody else did! That is how Crafty Wonderland was born. Over the years our markets grew from being small monthly events with 40 vendors to being large twice yearly events with over 250 vendors. Before the pandemic attendance at our holiday markets would be close to 20,000 shoppers, which is an incredible amount of people coming out to support artists! 

What’s most interesting to me about the growth of the markets is that we didn’t set out to create something big. We were two makers wanting a regular place to sell our work, indoors where we wouldn’t have to deal with the weather. And it has grown organically over the years, purely based on demand. We always joke that organizing one of our markets now is either like being on a rollercoaster, where you buckle in and you’re just along for the ride, or it’s like running next to a giant snowball that’s gaining momentum as it rolls down the mountain. You’re just there running alongside it, nudging it if it gets off course and trying not to get swept up by it. It’s pretty wild and we’re not even really sure how we pull it off.

The other side of our business together is that we have two retail stores that exclusively sell handmade goods by local artists. Our first store started as a pop-up for the holidays back in 2010. There was a city program that filled vacant retail spaces in our Downtown area with artists and small businesses to activate those spaces for 6-8 weeks during the holiday shopping season. They asked us if we would like to participate and we had both always dreamed of having a retail store, but the cost and effort of getting one started seemed too out of reach, so we were thrilled to give it a try with their support on a temporary basis.  We had so much fun with our pop-up shop and it was so well received that we just never popped back down. Our original store has been open for over 14 years! 

Our second shop came about 8 years later. At that time, we weren’t looking to open another location, even though that had been something we had explored previously, but the right location presented itself and we decided to go for it!

Working with my best friend has been an amazing journey. I don’t know that it would work for everyone, but I do know that I wouldn’t have been able to do any of the things we’ve done without her. Our strengths really complement each other well and we work really well together. We have a good balance. We have kind of fallen into defined roles and tasks, especially for the craft markets, where we just know that the other person handles certain aspects of the planning. And then there are other areas, especially in the retail stores, where whoever is working takes care of what needs to be done at that time. We have a great deal of love and respect for each other and I think that has really helped us get to where we are today.

If you are working with a business partner, or a spouse, or a friend, or maybe you’re considering taking on a business partner and you want to dive deeper into working business relationships just let me know and I can tailor some future episodes to that!

While we didn’t set out to do any of the things at the scale we’re currently doing them, the opportunities presented themselves to us over time. I do think that part of the secret to our success has been that we are good at recognizing which opportunities feel right and are in alignment with what we want for ourselves and for our business. We’re also able to say no to the things that don’t feel quite right. So that’s a reminder to you to check in with yourself when a new opportunity arises or you’re thinking of starting something new - give yourself the time and space to really feel if it is in alignment with what you’re wanting for both yourself and for your business. And keep in mind that when you say yes to something, that means, in a way, you’re saying no to other things because it would be hard to do all the things all at once. You don’t have to say yes to every opportunity that comes your way.

How do you recognize if something is in alignment or if it's a big shiny distraction?

Let’s look at how we would define alignment in this instance. To me, alignment is when an opportunity matches your core values, supports your long-term goals, and feels energetically right to you. Like it sits well in your gut and feels good. You can ask yourself, “Does this opportunity lead me closer to the business and life I want to build?”

Here are some questions to ask yourself before saying yes. You could write these answers in a journal, if you like journaling, or just ponder the questions:

• Does this opportunity support my creative or financial goals?
• Does it reflect or uphold my values (like sustainability, authenticity, freedom, etc.)?
• Will I be proud to have said yes to this a year from now? Ten years from now?
• What would I have to say no to in order to say yes to this?
• Am I doing this out of excitement, or obligation, fear, or FOMO?
  
  

Four Red Flags That It’s Not in Alignment

• Even thinking about it drains your energy. Hard pass.
• It feels like a detour or a distraction from what you truly want.
• You’re trying to convince yourself it’s “worth it.”
• It only benefits others—not you, your goals, or your audience.

You know, intuitively and in your gut, what is best for you and what is right for you. So take some deep breaths and sit with yourself for a few moments if you need to. Imagine yourself saying yes. How do you feel? Do you feel good? Do you feel uncomfortable or uneasy? Make note of that. Now imagine yourself saying no. How do you feel? Do you feel good? Do you feel uneasy? Honor your feelings.

Remember that it’s okay to walk away from an opportunity, even if it seems good or is well paid, if it doesn’t feel right for you. You can say to yourself, "Every no is making space for the right yes."

With that, my beautiful creative, I leave you until next week! If you haven’t yet signed up for my Creative Confidence Kickstart: 5-Day Challenge, what are you waiting for?. You’ll get mindset shifts and actionable steps delivered straight to your inbox to break through fear, imposter syndrome, and push back on perfectionism—one small bit at a time! And it’s completely free! 

💡 Takeaway:

You don’t have to say yes to everything. Every time you say yes, you're also saying no to something else—your time, energy, or priorities. Choose the yeses that support your creative vision and values.

A big thank you to Eric Gibbons for the music and editing that bring this podcast to life. 🎶✨