Today I chat with serial entrepreneur and small business consultant Nicole Snow, founder and CEO of Darn Good Yarn. Darn Good Yarn has saved over 25,000 pounds of material from ending up in landfills by recycling it and employing over 300 women in India and Nepal to create Darn Good Yarn’s hand-spun, hand-dyed silk yarn and craft supplies.
In this conversation, Nicole and I talk about how our leadership and entrepreneurial instincts start at a young age and carry us through to the “good” work we do today as socially-conscious business women. It was such sheer joy to hangout with Nicole. Pull up your most comfortable chair. Grab your favorite beverage. Get cozy with us for the next 35 minutes. You’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.
Watch the show (uncensored & unedited)
SHARE SOME SHUT UP LOVE:
I’m tired of living someone else’s life. I’m gonna take the freakin’ reins & live a life most authentic to me. @DarnGoodYarn #shutupshow (click to tweet)
NICOLE ON BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS AND UNIQUE CULTURE:
When you go into business, it’s all education. My business is doubling every year. You have to have flexibility in business so you can succeed. If you’re passions change, it’s totally cool. My favorite book is The E-Myth Revisted by Michael E. Gerber. Even if your passion shifts, your business doesn’t have to suffer.
It’s okay to create a culture in your business even if you’re a one-person show. I was a one-woman business for a long time. Yeah we drink on the job. We make it fun. We make it weird. And we have an awesome connection with our customers. That’s truly the fiber of what our business is. Everyone should define that for themselves. I highly recommend reading Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh.
NICOLE ON DISRUPTING NEGATIVE THINKING:
Look at what and why you got into business originally by answering to yourself, “What is it that makes you the awesome person you are?” “What are your core competencies?” “What else is screwing things up right now in your work?”
Make a list of everything you do in your day or week. In three columns, separate them by 1) things you love, 2) things you delegate, 3) things to get rid of.
NICOLE SNOW QUOTABLES:
Stop being trampled on by your business, start making it fun again. – @DarnGoodYarn #shutupshow
Take your craft out into the world and start with that. – @DarnGoodYarn #shutupshow
Surround yourself with people who just have that crazy support for you and they believe in who you are as an individual. – @DarnGoodYarn #shutupshow
Authenticity in this internet world is so hard to find. – @DarnGoodYarn #shutupshow
I drink a little bit and I play with yarn. – @DarnGoodYarn #shutupshow
Just go do what makes you happy. – @DarnGoodYarn #shutupshow
We have a lot of resources and nets to catch us to help you kick ass. – @DarnGoodYarn #shutupshow
Create your own luck. – @DarnGoodYarn #shutupshow
CONNECT WITH NICOLE:
TheCraftyWiner.com