Handling the Haters

FACT: The more awesome and successful you become, the more people are going to hate you.

It’s a jealous, jealous world out there, and unfortunately, some people think that they can make themselves feel better by tearing other people down.

There was this girl I knew in high school. She was cool. And by cool, I mean cooool. She knew about bands before they became popular. She dresses fashionably and always had the wildest hair and makeup. She was thin, and beautiful. She was from sunny California and even did modeling.

One day she asked a boy if he would be interested in going out on a date with her. Being her cool and confident self, she could do shyte like that without even hesitating.

He told her no, she was too ugly for him.

As I pointed out earlier, this girl was anything BUT unattractive. The only reason this lame-ass had for telling her otherwise, was to try to make himself feel better. He felt like he could be a hotshot by turning down one of the most attractive and popular girls in school. He was what many of us would refer to as a hater.

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Haters are the people who despise anyone who is in any way better than them. They generally are not comfortable with their own situations, so they take out their resentment on others. Haters come in many forms. They may hate people who are more physically attractive than them, more popular, or smarter. There are those who hate people in more stable relationships, and then there are those who loath the success of others. In whatever area you excel, you can be sure there is someone out there that resents you for it. If you haven’t noticed them yet, it’s never to late to prepare.

If you are selling your handmade goods as your business, dealing with haters can be a particularly sticky situation. You do after all, CREATE the items you sell, so the negative criticisms can come across as particularly harsh. Before you let your emotions respond, be sure you can pick out what is useful feedback, and what is simply hater-speak.

Some examples:

“Your items are way too expensive. I can’t believe you can sell so many of them. Who is stupid enough to pay that much?” – hater speak

“Are you sure you are paying yourself for your time, marketing, and supplies with your prices? You may want to consider gradually raising them.” – helpful feedback

“You have beautiful items, but your dark pictures make it hard for me to see any of the details. You should consider editing them in a photo program before listing.” – helpful feedback

“Your low prices are hurting the entire industry. No wonder I can only only sell one item a week when you are selling dozens with those ridiculously low prices of yours. It’s sellers like you that make it harder for us all.” – hater speak

When you can pick out the helpful feedback from the hater speak, you can prevent yourself from getting upset. Sometimes frustrated sellers (both online and at craft shows), think that they can blame the other sellers for their lack of business. Know that is has nothing to do with you, they just want to find a target they can point blame. Don’t let their negative words sink in. If what you are doing is working, no reason to stop because of the jealousy that success draws. Also, if you find yourself in the position of the frustrated seller, try to think twice before you start blaming others for your lack of success.

Love Heart Pink and Red Cupcake Ring

Being a hater benefits no one. However, if you work on bettering yourself and your own business, you may find yourself in the position to be able to offer helpful feedback. Everyone can benefit from some good advice now and then.

Tagged: advice, business, competition, etsy, handmade, handmade goods, haters, selling, success