Celebrate! Kari’s Edgie Story

I have never had a “real job”. Always had to make it up for myself, muddling along.  However I felt like a jack-of-all-trades, yet master of none of them!  With a university arts degree and a diploma of fine arts, I could not find anyone who wished to employ me with such an unfocused, but full bag of varied skills.  But I needed income!

 

So I wrote down all the things I was good at.  Quite a list!  And all the things I was great at…hmm, smaller list. Then I added some positive comments I had heard from others about volunteer things I had done.  A professional occupation emerged out of the lists; Kari the celebrant.  I seemed to have all the practical skills required, also feedback that I was generally good at some of those skills.  I explored the necessary qualifications and acreditations, did those and set myself up in my new career.

 

The  goals from my Edgeware 1 page/5 year Business Plan were achieved in just two years!

 

Then realised I actually needed to set up a business! Ah, unfortunately “being a businesswoman” did not even appear on my lists at all!  I felt inadequate as a business person, untrained and in a bit of a fog really.  I also had an overwhelming feeling that I should restrict my set of business offerings to an easy palette for the public, which meant avoiding talking about all my other multivarious skills and creative endeavours.

 
 

Enter Edgeware.

 

During the Edgeware BYB course I came to realise that ALL my skills and offerings could actually come under the same roof that was ”my business”.  It was a matter of structure.  I could be Kari ~ celebrant, AND Kari ~ artist, and even Kari ~ musician, teacher, workshop facilitator, event consultant… all at the same time.  I could analyse how each aspect of my colourful business needed attention or could grow, be improved, or rest. The  goals from my Edgeware 1 page/5 year Business Plan were achieved in just two years!

 

Edgeware gave me……

• On a practical level: a one page 5 year business plan for a one person business, a BBQ pitch, an elevator pitch, a set of tools for which I could define my own parameters.
• On an emotional level: a new way of looking at my creative life as a creative business, belief in myself as a small business operator, the courage to say everything I do is relevant, trust in my quality of delivery, courage to tackle the wedding networks/expos etc.
• Tangible outcomes post Edgeware included: a co-mentoring process, a new car, a revamped website, a new blog, a DL promotional flyer, a promotional package, courage to invest in promotion.

In short if I can (and afford to) do something creative every day, then I have succeeded.

 

Today Kari Celebrations (www.karicelebrations.com)  is a flourishing business, under my own terms.  By flourishing, I mean it suits my criteria for “success”.  Success for me is in the smiles and happy feedback from my clients, and includes earning just enough, not too much, having time for my art and music, treading as lightly as possible on the earth, having flexible hours, and calling my own pied pipers tune. In short if I can (and afford to) do something creative every day, then I have succeeded.  Often I get paid for those creative things, but I don’t have to be, for it to be counted as a business success.

 

My business has several “doors”.  Clients find me to be a celebrant for memorable celebrations of weddings, anniversaries, renewal of vows, farewells, and baby namings.  With each booking, my business donates to an education fund in East Timor, so a child is educated for a week.

 

I also create ceramics, which find their way into galleries and homes.  I play wild clarinet with two music ensembles.  I share my skills via workshops and events.  And I dance tango for fun!  It’s all possible.

 

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