Beyond the Niche: Embracing Eclectic Business Approaches

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Stepping outside your comfort zone might be the best business decision you'll ever make.

Have you ever felt the pressure to find your perfect niche and stick with it? That nagging voice telling you to specialize, specialize, specialize? In this refreshingly honest episode, we challenge that conventional wisdom and make a compelling case for embracing an eclectic approach to your creative business.

From the celebration room that hosts birthday parties to after-school programs and homeschooling activities, Brewtifully has deliberately diversified its offerings to serve different segments of the community. This episode unpacks why this approach works and how it creates multiple touchpoints for people to connect with your business.

The fear of branching out often paralyzes us—what if it doesn't work? What if we seem unfocused? We tackle these concerns head-on and offer practical advice for testing new ideas without significant financial investment. Start small, gauge interest through signups or polls, and give yourself permission to explore.

At the heart of any successful business is genuine care for the people you serve. Whether you're teaching an art class or selling a product, customers want to feel seen, heard, and valued. This customer-centric approach, combined with a willingness to diversify and admit you're still learning, creates an authentic business that continues to evolve.

Ready to break free from the constraints of a single niche? This episode is your permission slip to explore new avenues and embrace the beauty of an eclectic business model. Subscribe now and join us on this journey of creative entrepreneurship!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hey y'all, welcome back to a new episode of
Brutally Made.
I am still here in my studiorecording, so just thought I
would show a new perspective ofthis beautiful celebration room
that everyone gets to considerwhen they want to have a
birthday party, a private party,a meeting, a shower, anything

(00:29):
that they want up to 20 peopleto come in this cute little room
and celebrate.
So I'm really excited to beback with you.
This week there's been a lotgoing on with people popping in,
visiting for classes.
In Ohio we've had the last twoweeks as tax-free shopping and

(00:52):
so that's gone on really well.
Today was the last day fortax-free shopping for back to
school, so had a really good day.
Kids are getting ready to goback to school, if they have not
already, so that has had a lotof kiddos coming in for some
last minute crafting and justsaying, you know, goodbye or hey

(01:13):
.
I've signed up for after schoolactivities, which I have on my
website on the calendar.
I'm very excited about those.
There's homeschooling programs.
There's also all the days offfor our local schools, whenever
those are closed.
I have a program here thatincludes lunch.
So just a lot of fun things inthe plaza happening and just

(01:35):
wanting to offer up the spacefor the community, and so I
think that it leads me to kindof discuss what maybe we've
talked about a couple of timesbefore on, you know, finding a
niche or a niche that you fit in.
And is that a requirement?
Can you explore differentthings that you do and diversify

(01:58):
your opportunities for yourspace successfully?
And I am here to say yes, youcan.
You absolutely don't have tofollow the normal routine or
what is expected.
And the word eclectic should bebeside my name because it is
something that I embrace fully.

(02:18):
It's okay to want to try newthings.
If it comes to being creative,business interject creativity.
That's the goal.
That's what I'm here to promoteand share and encourage is that
try something that isn'texpected in what you're doing to

(02:40):
see how it goes across.
It comes across to thecommunity and to your shoppers
or people that you know spendtime in your studio.
It's okay to try a new medium oroffer a new class or explore
new teachers.
You don't have to do it all.
I know I can't do it all.
I encourage people in thecommunity to bring what they

(03:04):
know how to do here and explore,maybe offering that as a class.
I will put that out there asmuch as I can and hopefully it
does take off.
Sometimes it doesn't.
Maybe it's cost prohibitive.
Maybe sometimes it is sosuccessful that you become way

(03:26):
in demand and that wasn't whatyou were expecting.
That's happened to.
So it's just trying to findthat nice balance and you're
never going to know unless youtry.
So I really want to encourageyou to figure out a way to stop
being afraid of not tryingsomething new.

(03:47):
You're never going to know ifit's going to succeed.
You can always outthink or out.
I guess not outthink, butyou're going to second guess
yourself to the point whereyou're just going to tell
yourself you're not going to doit and don't do that.
Stop listening to that voice.
It's okay to be cautious.
It's okay to not invest a bunchof money into something and you

(04:12):
could sign or create somethingfor people to sign up.
And when you get signups, thenthat's when you put some money
into, maybe materials.
You don't have to just go in100%.
You can explore, you know, puta pole out in the universe.
What would you like to seehappen at this location?

(04:32):
What are we missing?
What do you like to do withyour family and friends when
you're out and about.
Maybe you have a restaurant andyou want people to use the.
You know there's a standaloneroom and you're not getting
reservations for private parties.
What if you held your ownevents?
And what kind of creativeevents or events that would, you

(04:54):
know, appease your clientele?
Create those and offer thoseand see how it goes.
You never know and start small.
You don't have to start like Ihave to have 50 people.
You know it's okay for 10.
It's okay for five, it's okayfor two, it's all right to
explore.
And that's the whole beauty ofcreating your own business and

(05:15):
not having to follow some kindof rigid outline.
I have a guidance outline but Idon't have to conform to
anything.
It's not like I'm in this, Idon't know, check off list, that
okay, I haven't done this yetand so I'm failing.

(05:36):
I hope I'm not failing.
I'm trying really hard to workat this every day and I try to
be very creative and mindfulabout it and respect people's
time and money and resources andoffer a variety of availability
and I'm very flexible with thatand I try to make everyone feel

(05:57):
heard and seen and welcome andthat should be the basis of any
business If you're in some sortof service or position.
While you're working with thepublic, you want them to know
that you care.
Your investment isn't just inthat dollar, it is in them, and

(06:17):
it will show if you're sincereabout it.
And so you want people to walkaway with a good sense of they
cared about me in that situation, and I don't care if you're
serving them a cup of coffee orif you are, you know,
babysitting their child.
It's got to come across thatyou care, no matter what.
You know someone cares aboutyour car when they're working on

(06:39):
it to you know someone caredenough to bag your groceries
where it didn't smash somethingprecious, or someone cared
enough to help you if you'reshopping.
You know you just want to feellike you were seen and heard,
and that's what's most important.
And it's okay if you don't getit right the first time.

(07:00):
It's okay to apologize I know Iapologize all the time if I'm
not, you know, getting somethingcorrect.
It's okay to make mistakes.
We're all human and people onthe it's okay to make mistakes.
We're all human, and people onthe other end need to remember
that too.
We're all trying really, reallyhard, and so it's really
important that you keep that inmind, whether you're a consumer

(07:20):
or you're a business owner, andso offering everything that I
can in a very diversified way,and a variety of things that I
offer doesn't mean I'm an expertin all of it, and I readily
admit I'm always still learningalong with you, and I love that
exploration.
So giving me the grace to dothings right and wrong as I give

(07:43):
you that same grace, is reallyimportant, and so I just wanted
to remind you that it's okaythat you're only you're not only
doing one thing.
You can do multiple things.
You can explore and enjoy thatprocess, and please do that.
Please don't feel like you knowyour space is only one thing.

(08:03):
That that is not.
I think that you'll get boredfast.
I think that you need to lookinto diversifying what you offer
and expanding on what you love,and then, if you've hit that
plateau, then start exploringsomething new and learn
something new.
So just a little encouragementfrom me today.

(08:26):
It has been a very busy month.
I will get to see our grandsand family soon in Seattle, and
so I'm very excited for the nextmonth ahead.
So watch for details on ourexhibiting artists coming up
next month.
So I'm very excited to have himon the podcast, because he will

(08:48):
be on the podcast and we dohave Melissa Bittner's art on
the walls right now.
Her granddaughter inherited allthat art and is having a show
and her open house is nextFriday.
So a week from today, from 5 to7 in the evening, a Friday night
.
So I'm really excited aboutsharing that information, that

(09:11):
process that she learned fromher grandma and appreciate that
she has the artwork on the wall.
So hopefully you've seen thaton my social media all of the
beautiful paper mache masks.
So have a wonderful weekend.
Thanks for tuning in andlistening and supporting me and
to Jane Bell Lasseter forvisiting me this week.

(09:33):
It was wonderful to see her andfrom Washington DC area and her
beautiful abstract art isalways on my heart.
She does a beautiful job andsent me a beautiful care package
not too long ago.
It's so sweet and just lovewhen artists visit and she will
be on the podcast soon so you'llget to hear her about her
process and what drives her art,and I have other artists that

(09:57):
are going to be guests justworking out schedules.
Take care, have a wonderfulweekend.