Photographing your beads

Thank you. I was beginning to think I'd done something
terribly wrong and that I had misjudged this group.

No. Your request was exactly the way it should be done.

If anyone reads my original post, and pays attention to what I actually said,
it's very clear. I'm talking about emailing one's competition to ask for tips
in how to compete better. I was very, very clear.
~~
Sooz

My gripe was
that I have answered thousands of emails (really, truly) that could
have been avoided with a simple search engine query, or actually
reading the FAQ that precipitated the emails.

Bears repeating.
~~
Sooz

People, you're getting away from what I originally wrote. I'm saying that
assuming the person will want to give a competitor hints on how to be a better
competitor is very presumptuous. It is. You can argue all you want about how
YOU feel about it, but it's presumptuous. It's really amazing, actually.
People have such chutzpah.
~~
Sooz

* I feel good when I help people.

* Helping others in the industry, competitors or not, helps improve
the quality of work in the industry and, therefore, the industry
itself.

* Thinking things through in order to explain them to others often
teaches us things we didn't know before.

* From a self-serving standpoint, perhaps the person I help today will
be in a position to help me another time.

* When people think of me (and my work), what will matter mo The
fact that I'm helpful, or the fact that I got one additional
bead done
today?

Yeah, that's nice. It's still presumptuous of them to ask you, if they're your
competition.

I'm not talking about anyone's Personal Feelings about whether or not they'd
want to respond to this sort of person. I'm talking about the person asking in
the first place.
~~
Sooz

I realize Sooz and
others are saying that people shouldn't ask in the first place, but I
don't agree: I feel they are as free to ask as we are to refuse them.

Put it in another line of work -- would you expect Donatella Versace to go to
Valentino and ask how he does something?
~~
Sooz

So...instead of Google or FAQs. we're supposed to ask questions first, and use
our brains later?
~~
Sooz

Tinkster wrote in message . ..
I wasn't going to jump in on this thread, but I have run out of things
to do to avoid the torch tonight. :-)

Whenever you're good at something, people are going to ask you for
help, information and instruction. Heck, you don't even have to be
GOOD at something for that to happen! LOL!

As one of the first, if not THE first, teddy bear artist online, and
one who wrote a regular column about "Cybearspace" in a niche
magazine, I can attest to the fact that many, many people will quickly
email someone when they would never think of calling or writing a
letter. It's the immediacy thing. I got my share of letters and calls
over the years, too. MORE than my share, I think. But with the advent
of email, all the rules seemed to change.

So I had to decide: Would I help, or wouldn't I? I decided I would.

I not only gave step-by-step instructions to my competitors, I sent
them samples of stuff in the mail, took the 3AM my time calls from
Japan, even had little bears shipped to me for critiques. I did
eventually write a book, which I think has helped a lot more people
than I could have ever helped one-on-one :-)

I never found that helping my competitors had any negative impact on
my sales, nor on the propensity of my work to stand out.

Now I find the same thing happening in the glass world. I'm fortunate
to have prior experience on which to draw. So the question is: Knowing
what I know, do I help people who email me or don't I?

I do.

Yes, it takes time from other stuff I need/want to do. However, there
are several reasons that FOR ME it's the RIGHT thing to do:

* I feel good when I help people.

* Helping others in the industry, competitors or not, helps improve
the quality of work in the industry and, therefore, the industry
itself.

* Thinking things through in order to explain them to others often
teaches us things we didn't know before.

* From a self-serving standpoint, perhaps the person I help today will
be in a position to help me another time.

* When people think of me (and my work), what will matter mo The
fact that I'm helpful, or the fact that I got one additional bead done
today?

Yes, I'm a businessperson. And a pretty darn good one, too, if I do
say so myself. The ONLY thing that has ever worked for me is to stay
away from things that make me uncomfortable: Custom orders, shows,
mondo wholesale... All things that many folks make integral to their
business. I just know what works for me, personally. For me, assisting
others is, indeed, integral to the way *I* do business.

If someone feels very strongly about not answering questions via
email, it might be a good idea to put a statement to that effect on
their website, or make it a part of their sig line. I realize Sooz and
others are saying that people shouldn't ask in the first place, but I
don't agree: I feel they are as free to ask as we are to refuse them.

Tink
www.blackswampglassworks.com

Hi Tink,

What a gracious outlook. I only hope that someday I will do something
that someone feels excited enough about to want to know how I did it.

Karen

For the most part, I feel good inside if I can help someone out with
something
I may know about.

So do I. I think that has been overlooked. Why in god's name would I have
Bead Notes or the Links List if I didn't love helping people? Why?

So, I think what my ramblings are getting at is that I do agree that some
people can be rude in their assumptions that just because you "know" about
something that you should share that knowledge, just because they have asked.

Some folks come to you with the feeling that they somehow own you, and you owe
them answers to everything. Or maybe just to one thing that is asking really
too much.

So, I support those of you who feel overwhelmed by the constant questions, in
that you begin to feel drained. And I support those of you who feel that if
you have put yourself out there that you have a bit of an obligation to
support
your fellow artists.
Learning the balance between the two is the real talent.

That's really good, Beki. I applaud you.
~~
Sooz

I also teach beadwork and sell supplies, kits and finished work. I get A LOT
of questions on all different subjects.

You teach. This is a definite distinction. You have set yourself up to be an
answerer. I'm talking about people who do not teach, and have not set
themselves up to answer anything.

I now understand why you answered the way you did! Very clear now.
~~
Sooz

In article ,
Tinkster wrote:

On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 04:16:09 GMT, Carla
wrote:

I remember my very first taste of Nutella. I remember thinking "So this
is what all the fuss is about?"

Eh...not a fan, myself

Give me salty things that crunch when ya chew 'em, and I'm happy.

Mmmmm! Pretzels dipped in Nutella!

:-)

........and ice cream (Ben and Jerry I love you!)

Rachel M.