Artist and Fabric Designer, Amy Butler, worked with the Handel Group because she had a dream and wanted help making it happen. Here is her story in her own words…
I had a dream for more abundance in 2013. I envisioned every aspect of my studio life increasing with prosperity. I was reasonably assured of my path, and then hit a massive roadblock. To be clear on the issue: my creative business was experiencing a negative cash flow. Things that used to work and make us money no longer did. New strategies were necessary, but I was attached to the way things had been before and I was resisting the change, creating heightened levels of anxiety and sleepless nights. I was panicked and my studio mates were feeling it. This was one of the scariest times of my life.
Luckily, I’d been working with my life coach,Hildie Dunn,for the past 3 years and she guided me to use the tools I was learning from the Handel Method. The first thing she had me do is get all my concerns on paper, so I could deal with them rationally. Then she had me pull apart my worries and dismantle each of them individually.
For example, I found I had a theory that a fabric and pattern designer (that’s me) could come to the end of her run. The downturn in sales, in my opinion, had to do with my talent. I took it very personally. Hildie helped me get perspective and as she guided me to debunk my fears, I realized a global trend was happening. It wasn’t me. She encouraged me to lead and be willing to ride with the change vs. stay stuck in my old ways. She got me into action by having me write my abundance dream to get clear on what I wanted. I wanted to accept and allow things to unfold with ease instead of struggle. I also wanted to deepen my connections to everyone with whom I worked and to empower the folks in my studio to do their best using their strengths. And of course, I wanted our sales in patterns, fabric and licenses to expand.
Once I figured this out, Hildie encouraged me to get everything on the table with my studio team, tell them the truth and get them on board too.
Get a feel for how The Handel Method® could benefit you.
She guided me in designing a graceful and honest communication about what was really happening in the business and I sought their creative solutions to how we could evolve together. Surprisingly, instead of increasing everyone’s anxiety, this relieved all of us because now we were working as a team for real. We went around the table and everyone offered ideas for how to improve focus. We decided what extraneous stuff could be let go. As owners, Dave and I suggested how to simplify the business to cut costs, amortize overhead, and change focus, transitioning into new concepts with our sewing patterns. As a collective, we refined our game plan taking into account what everyone thought they could offer to help the situation. We were all enthusiastic and excited with our new direction! Instead of being debilitating, the downturn became an inspiring opportunity. Now we are seeing this new approach reinvigorate our personal and business growth, and our abundance is flowing.
This is when I realized that Creatives and design entrepreneurs can really benefit from working with a life coach. This is why I want to share this with you. The voices of fear in my head could have overtaken the situation and left me stuck instead of taking action. I am so certain that coaching is what gave me the courage to design and act on what my heart knew was right, and now I recommend it to everyone.
I even got Hildie to agree to lead a tele-talk with me just for creative folks. It’s all about how we can get out of our own way. It’s part of my dream that my challenges help teach others and help you avoid the same struggles.
We invite you to join us for an hour of getting unstuck about your creative career.
Love, Amy