Today I sat down with Amber Rae, an author, artist and speaker. Her recent book, Choose Wonder Over Worry invites you to live your truth, befriend your emotions, and express your gifts. Her writing has reached over 5 million people in 195 countries, her public art has spread to over twenty countries, and she’s spoken to and collaborated with brands like Kate Spade, Apple, Amazon, and Unilever. She’s been featured in The New York Times, TIME, Fast Company, BBC, ABC World News, Tim Ferriss’s blog, and more. Previously, Amber helped launch six best-selling books as Chief Evangelist of Seth Godin’s publishing experiment.

On today’s episode, Amber shares strategies for combating worry, fear and anxiety and infusing more wonder and creativity into our days.

I’ve been thinking a lot about boundaries, particularly as it relates to what I say yes to and what I say no to in both my personal and business life. I don’t know about you guys but I have a tendency to take one too much or underestimate how long things will take. I mostly get excited about opportunities, say yes and then find myself overscheduled and stretched thin. I know I’m not alone in this.

But here’s the deal.

We all have the same amount of hours in the day, and as entrepreneurs, we have a lot of different things pulling on us for our time — projects, family, friends, exciting opportunities, the daily grind of running a business. It’s exhausting trying to do all these things, keep everyone happy and yet still have time for ourselves.

When I interviewed Rosie from Sugarfina on episode 64 she stressed how important self-care is, why we need to take action before things are perfect, and we both acknowledged that its difficult to protect our time because as entrepreneurs the running to do list is never-ending. Rosie shared how she decides what to say and what to say no to, and I thought it might be helpful to share some of the things I consider with you

This is something I’m working on, and I’ve definitely been more diligent in protecting my time in recent months. But here are some of the questions I ask myself when I’m considering whether to say yes to something or no to something:

Does this align with my long-term goals?
Does this align with my short-term goals?
What is the time commitment?
What are the benefits for me, my business, my family?
What is my excitement level?

I’d love to hear from your in our Proof to Product Facebook group. What questions do you ask yourself when you’re deciding whether or not to move forward with a project? Weigh in and let me now. You can join our free Facebook group by going to tradeshowcamp.com/join.

There’s a lot of talk on the internet about knowing your ideal customer, but a lot of it doesn’t resonate with me. Maybe you feel this way too?

On Episode 63, Mary Bruno shared how she is her ideal customer. And, that she focuses on creating things that she loves & that she finds funny even if it doesn’t resonate with everyone.

It got me thinking about something I’ve talked about in the past in my emails, but I’m not sure I’ve talked about it on the podcast.

Your products aren’t for everyone. And, that’s ok.

In fact, it’s fantastic. You don’t want to be everything to everyone.

Just like Mary talked about past ideas falling flat, sometimes you’re going to make duds. Or, sometimes what you make is going to appeal to a smaller audience.

You make beautiful products, that are likely handcrafted or personally designed by you. You have your own unique style & aesthetic that you’re continuing to develop.

Instead of feeling like you need to appeal to the masses, I want you to focus on four key areas:

– I want you to focus on reaching your unique customer base — fill a void or provide a solution specifically for the

– I want you to focus on developing your own style, point of view and a strong, extensive product line.

– I want you to focus on creating work that feels good to you, that you’re proud of and that you want to put your name on.

– I want you to focus on making the best decisions for your business, without worrying about what everyone else thinks. I want you to make decisions for your business without looking around at what others are doing in their businesses or feeling like you need to follow the crowd.

I know these things are easier said than done, but the strongest brands, the ones that build profitable, sustainable businesses are creating unique products that they are passionate about. They put their heads down when they are designing and try not to be influenced by others. They also recognize that their work is special and may not resonate with everyone. And, that’s ok.

I’d love to have you weigh in on this discussion in our free Proof to Product Facebook group. How do you stay motivated and create work you love and build a brand that includes that work? How do you tune out the noise and ensure that you’re not being influenced by others when you’re designing new work? Join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prooftoproduct/

But you guys. Please remember, that your products aren’t for everyone. And, that is more than ok.