Insider Secrets for new coaches + creatives2 3 b r i l l i a n t b l o g g e r s s h a r e i t a l l

Insider Secrets from Brilliant Bloggers

You can click on the images to take you straight to their posts in this eBook!

Want more? Click here to learn how Jump: Into Your Business, Your Life, Your Dream can help you overcome your fears and start your dream business!

Failure Turns Into Success

Positivity

Brand Consistency

Work/Life Balance

Building Habits

Invest in Yourself

Blogging

Confidence

Branding + Design

Self-Care

Creativity

Systems + Productivity

Money

Learning New Skills

Self-Love

Personality

Self-Discovery

Taking Risks + Being Bold

Clarity

Passion

Mindset

Authenticity

Branching Out

The Jump Tour is a month-long celebration of brilliant bloggers sharing their insider secrets of what it takes to start a freedom-based business. This delightful blog hop, full of our favorite coaches + creatives, reveals the qualities that helped them make the jump.

How Your Greatest Failure is Leading You to Even Greater Success

B y S t e p h a n i e H a l l o f S t y l i n g s & S t o r i e s

My Failure then Success Story

Ever done something that felt like a failure but actually led you to something greater in the long run? I know I have. Like moving back in with my parents instead of toughing it out, like taking a month-long European vacation instead of looking for a job, like going back to University even after I already had a degree. And, this is a terribly short list compared to the many times I’ve felt like a total failure or flake.

But, here’s the thing. Each of these “mistakes” is a failure then success story that led me to greater rewards, realizations, and relationships.

Photo by Martin Wessely on Unsplash // Icon by Simon Child on The Noun Project

www.stylingsandstories.comStephanie Hall

Stephanie Hall is the founder of Stylings & Stories, where she’s a creative consultant for coaches, creatives, and bloggers. As a brilliant writer, editor, and designer, she’s been featured on CBC Canada Writes, Lifehack, Your Super Awesome Life, Life As A Human, and Jenny Highsmith. Discover how to build a blog & business that you love at www.stylingsandstories.com.

For instance

…when I moved back in with my parents I was aching of a broken heart and connecting with them gave me the confidence to face the world again. I regained the foundation I’d lost when I moved away for University. It was a real tumultuous time, wrought with regret and self-loathing but it was needed and I couldn’t have healed without their support.

…when I took a trip to Europe instead of looking for a job, I had one hell of a time. But that’s not the real reward. When I returned home, I had the time to take a web design course and learned the skills that ultimately started Stylings & Stories. I wouldn’t have quit a job to do that. Yay!

…when I went back to University this fall, even though I already had a degree, I rekindled my love for art. Part of my aforementioned heartbreak dampened my beliefs in, well, everything. From friendships to faith and trust in my talents to trust in my thoughts, I completely lost touch with who I was and wanted to be. But this art class inspired me and paved the way for my spirituality, creativity, and principles to follow.

There’s a grander scheme

Though it may seem bleak, with faith, perseverance, and self-love you can overcome your challenges to make even your biggest failures smashing successes. If you want to learn the tools I use to overcome my fear of failure, check out Jump: Into Your Business, Your Life, Your Dream. It’s a digital guide that will not only help you gain confidence to start your business but also the know-how to brand it and connect with your dream customers.

Click here to leave a comment.

How to Jump Into Business, Even if You Don’t Feel “Ready”

B y A s h l e y W i l h i t e o f Y o u r S u p e r A w e s o m e L i f e

Have you been thinking about starting your own business, launching your own coaching practice, or turning your hobby into a profitable side-hustle?

Do you have this big dream, but there’s a small part of you that feels like you’re not quite ready?

You’re wondering if you’re crazy for thinking you can start your own business because your schedule is already packed full. Plus, it seems sooo overwhelming.

You’re scared of what will happen if you put all your time and energy into your business and it fails. I mean, that will be totally embarrassing!

And really, you wish you could feel confident, unstoppable, and know exactly what to do next.

I remember thinking and feeling all of those things myself. Starting a business can be terrifying, especially when you have no idea what you’re doing.

When I first started Your Super Awesome Life, I felt completely lost. I spent hours googling “how to write blog posts that people will actually read”, “how to create profitable coaching packages”, and “WTF is a business plan?”

It was a lot of trial and error and a lot of figuring things out along the way.

But there’s one thing that propelled Your Super Awesome Life forward more than anything else.

How did I move past those fears and build up my confidence?

How I Untangled The Map To Building A Successful Business

I invested in myself + my dream.

Honestly, signing up for courses, joining programs, building community, and continuously learning is how I made it happen.

There’s something magical that happens when you put money down and invest in the future you desire.

It makes you take yourself + your vision much more seriously.

It shows you that you believe in yourself and what you’re capable of creating.

www.yoursuperawesomelife.comAshley Wilhite

Ashley Wilhite wants to live in a world where following your passion is required, tiaras are the accessory of choice, and cupcakes are abundant. As a sought-after coach and writer, she’s been featured on Tiny Buddha, MindBodyGreen, Yes and Yes, Stratejoy, and Kind Over Matter. When she’s not helping women like you create a freedom-based business while living a super awesome life, you can find her training for her next half-marathon, devouring each new episode of Pretty Little Liars, and drinking tea out of her favorite pink mug.

It shows you that you aren’t taking no for an answer and failure is not an option.

Since launching Your Super Awesome Life in April of 2012, I have invested in an 8-week business coaching group, another 8-week business + marketing program, and a 9-month intensive business coaching mastermind. I have invested in a copy-writing + design course, a branding guide, and countless other courses, guides, and eBooks.

Part of that is a reflection of my core value of Growth. I always want to be learning, growing, and expanding into something more. But I also know that investing is crucial to make my version of success happen.

Over the past 20 months, I have watched myself transform from a shaky and fearful business owner, to a confident, strong, and fearless one. I have watched my list grow from double digits to over 1,700 and I have watched my monthly income triple!

If I could give one piece of advice to you (the you who is dreaming of starting a business or is unsure how to get it off the ground), it would be to invest in yourself.

Even if you don’t think you can swing it financially, do it. Create a budget. Pinch your pennies. Cut back on Starbucks, Netflix, and bunch on Sunday mornings. I did it when I was bringing in less than $1,000 a month, so I know you can make it happen too.

If you’re serious about this dream of yours, prove it.

If you want to learn more about how to jump into business, even if you don’t feel ready, check out Jump: Into Your Business, Your Life, Your Dream. It’s a digital guide that will not only help you gain confidence to start your business but also the know-how to brand it and connect with your dream customers.

Click here to leave a comment.

4 Creative Ways to Stand Out

B y S h e n e e H o w a r d o f H e y S h e n e e

As you’ve probably noticed, there might be a lot of people doing the same thing you want to do.

I know, it sucks right? Why won’t everyone just go away, yo?

And at some point you might have gotten frustrated and ended up with that unpleasant thought that most aspiring business owners have at some point:

How the heck am I gonna stand out? Why should someone pick me?

I get it. I’ve totally had one of those moments where I felt like giving it all up and becoming a professional netflix watcher and ice cream eater but I am going to let you in on a liiiitttle secret.

There is enough out there for all of us and IN FACT (and this is where things get really good) there are people out there that will prefer YOU and YOUR awesomeness to some of the other people out there.

But they’ll never know it if you try to be someone else or try to do what everyone else is doing.

“You can go your own way!” — sung horribly off-tune.

But how do YOU go on your own way?

You gotta get creative.

Without further ado, here are is my guide to keeping things fresh and creative in your business so people get excited about what YOU do and what YOU offer.

1. Keep your eyes on your OWN paper / Avoid compare and despair syndrome

It is human nature to want to know what other people are doing, especially in the beginning. Unfortunately, this is the quickest way to suck all the uniqueness out of your brand.

First, there is the general compare and despair problem. You compare your first chapter to someone else’s 20th (or even the end) and as a result, you feel too paralyzed to do anything in your own brand or even worse, you might be tempted to copy.

Bad news bears.

As a general rule, I tell most new business owners to limit the number of people they follow. This guarantees that everything you create will be not only fresh but 100% you. This feels REALLY uncomfortable at first (WAIT, WHAT IS EVERYONE ELSE DOING?) but once you get in the habit, you’ll develop your own personal style and way of doing things. Why?

Because you’ll have to. Nothing else to get inspired by but your own work.

YEAH.

Action: You know that business you have the jealousies for? Unsubscribe. No, really. (Except if it’s me, of course.)

2. Integrate interests you have OUTSIDE your business

The Backstreet Boys and Ryan Gosling have both become unofficial brand ambassadors for my business because I love to bring them into my business. It can be as big as a post talking about how Keanu Reeves can teach us about branding to signing your emails like this:

Peace, Love and Backstreet Boys,

Shenee

Every little bit of who you are outside of your business helps you carve out your brand in the market. Like science? Get a designer to create a table of natural elements styled infographic to promote something you do. Love hip hop? Post a rap on your about page instead of the typical about page.

That totally nerdy thing that you don’t want anyone to know about — ever? That is most likely a good place to start.

Action: Think of 1 simple way you can bring one of your outside interests into your business.

3. Keep a notebook on you at all times

Inspiration strikes at the weirdest times, yo. My last product idea came to me as I was leaning down to pick up my dog’s poop. I have ideas when I am on the bus, when I am at the movies…everywhere. I actually picked this habit up from my childhood idol Harriet The Spy, a fellow writer who wrote down EVERYTHING.

Active note taking not only makes sure you don’t forget things, it teaches you to look at things differently. Everything becomes a potential awesome idea.

Now here is the REAL challenge. Have a great idea for something? Actually use it. That is where notetaking goes wrong, yo. No use taking notes if you have no intention of using it.

Use evernote or workflowy to collect all those notes for when you are ready for them.

Action: keep a notebook with you at all times for 1 day

www.heyshenee.comShenee Howard

Hi, I’m Shenee! I help aspiring entrepreneurs go from thinking about having a business to actually making money doing what they love. I teach workshops. I write. I help you get shiz done, yo. Let’s do this.

4. Be unapologetic about who you are

As women, we are ALWAYS apologizing but the truth is this:

People want to know YOU. Flaws and all. Want to stand out? Be real. Don’t apologize about who you are, what you like or how you do things.

Now, don’t get me wrong: you don’t have to share everything.

Just know that you don’t need to put who you are through a filter. The more your honor yourself (even the weird bits), the more your brand and business will stand out because YOU are the thing that keeps people coming back for more.

Action: Be real

So those are 4 simple ways you can get more creative with your business and as a result find more of YOUR right people in the process.

Here are a few other RANDOM creative ways to stand out:

• Host a realty tv show watching party — just cause• Send handwritten thank you notes to clients• Use your own photography on your blog posts• Create an unofficial mascot for your business — maybe a super cute dog?• Do in-person meet ups and events• Have some phone conversations with potential clients

Now I am gonna turn it over to you! What are YOUR ideas for bringing more YOU in your business? Do you have any ideas about how to integrate more Ryan Gosling into your everyday?

I want to know! Click here to leave a comment.

Why Having a Personality on the Internet Will Help Your Business

B y S a r a h V o n B a r g e n o f Y e s a n d Y e s

If you’ve ever read my blog or if we’re friends on Twitter, you probably know:

I love – without irony – Ke$ha, Dolly Parton, Richard Simmons.

I think dressing my cat in costumes is hilarious.

I travel heaps and have been plotting a trip to Russia and Mongolia for a while now.

I would rather read National Geographic than Cosmo. Any day. Ever.

I’m sure there are people out there who would hide their love of cat costumes and ‘Die Young‘ under the proverbial bushel. And maybe you feel like – despite my many happy clients – you can’t take me seriously because last year I wore a drop-crotch onesie, a single earring, and a faux-mo to a Ke$ha concert. (I’m 34.)

And that’s totally okay.

While I don’t write a lot about my personal life or the intimate details of my relationships or family on the internet I very, VERY much believe in being who you are. All the time. Online and off.

For me this means:

Occasionally being a hardass. Being totally transparent about how much I charge and how I work. Trying new things. Being open about my failures. Liking what I like – unapologetically.

Why is it important to have a personality – on the internet AND in real life?

1. It will separate you from the crowd

There are about a million website designers/social media consultants/content strategists/life coaches and many of them deliver equally good products. But inevitably, we hire people we like. And you know who we like? People we relate to. I love working with Kim Lawler because she’s talented and prompt. I also like working with her because her About page says “I think this is the place where I’m supposed to tell you that I’m a “web development ninja”, or a “jQuery wizard”… while both of these things might be true, I’m not a douchebag, so I won’t.” There are heaps of lovely, mellow, green-juice drinking life coaches out there. I will never hire any of them because I don’t particularly enjoy meditation or green juice. I enjoy hip hop and coffee.

2. It will help you find your people

Success isn’t just about the people who hire you, it’s about the people you surround yourself with. When you’re honest about who you are and what you’re about, you’ll attract similarly-minded people. I’ve found amazing online and offline friendships with Winona, Kelly, Rachel, Alex, Marie and heaps more ladies – partially because we all love Dolly Parton and partially because who we are online is who we are offline.

www.yesandyes.org // www.sarahvonbargen.comSarah Von Bargen

Sarah Von Bargen is a writer, blogger, and internet awesome-i-fier. With super doable, non-overwhelming tips and advice, she helps small businesses and entrepreneurs make a name for themselves on the internet. Her blog Yes and Yes is read every day by 11,000+ people and her writing has been featured in Problogger, Glamour magazine, Lifehacker, MindBodyGreen, and Forbes.com.

3. It’s a million times easier than pretending to be something you’re not

A cautionary tale: a good friend of mine founded a successful accessory label when she was in her early twenties. Said friend loves to drink, swear, tell dirty jokes, and generally be as awesome as humanly possible. But her brand? It was all satin and buttoned-up sweater sets. She felt like who she was wasn’t really ‘the right fit’ for her label so she spent yeaaaaars promoting and producing beautiful pieces that she, herself, probably wouldn’t use and going to cocktail parties in fancy dresses and making polite chit chat when she probably would have rather been at home watching The Walking Dead.

She also spent some time in therapy.

Lesson: it’s exhausting, time-consuming, unsustainable, and probably unhealthy to hide who you are on the internet.

So let that weirdo shine! Tell us what you’re into, how you work, what you don’t like. We’ll probably like you even more.

Who do you think lets their personality shine through online? I think Ash Ambirge, Nicole Antoinette, and Smaggle do a great job with this.

Click here to leave a comment.

How to Discover Your Passion and Earn More Than Money

B y J e s s i c a H a m m o n d o f F o o l i s h O a t s

Growing up, I wanted to work with horses. I wrote short stories (and shared them with my classmates, at my teacher’s behest) revolving around life on an island inhabited exclusively by horses. My parents were somewhat disappointed I hadn’t opted for a cheaper passion, like knitting or miming. But they conceded, after many years of constant demands to learn to ride, with weekly lessons.

It was at this time that they revealed a secret, unbeknownst to me: “Working with horses is hard. You won’t get any vacation and you’ll have to live with them all the time. What you really want is money.” I was often dissuaded against my dream of running a horse farm. As the years wore on and school projects consisted of “what would life be like if I chose insert-a-profession-here?” I began to waver from my initial vocation. I began to believe that I wanted, above all else, to earn money.

Throughout high school my “dream profession” often deviated and fluxed. I had no idea how to discover my passions, because the main criteria was whether or not it would earn a handsome salary (as I was told and conditioned to believe that was what I wanted).

While I’m not contending that money isn’t a necessity in our lives, I no longer believe that it should be the impetus for each and every decision we make in our daily routine.

When I was finishing up my university degree (a Bachelor of Arts in Media Communications; a stepping stone to professions I thought would earn me a steady salary) I found that I was procrastiworking; a term coined by one of my go-to idols, [Jessica Hische]. Instead of studying, instead of finishing projects, I spent hours upon hours at the farm my horse was boarded at, and offered photo shoots for my friends. I had just bought my first big girl DSLR with my first big girl job. I wanted to learn everything about it. I played with it all hours of the day, shooting in morning light, day light, low light. I shot friends at parties and shot objects in my room. I began going for daily walks, capturing moments of stillness and serenity in my city that I had never bothered to notice before.

Not only did I have the confidence to venture out of my own front door and wander through city streets, with my camera in tow I had the confidence to stand behind the view finder and say to people, “Step right up! I’ll take your photo.” I read the manual, I scoured online resources like never before. At the time, I only asked that if people wanted prints, they paid a small fee for them. Nearly everyone ended up paying for prints. I got a bit of money in my pocket, and I learned not only how to photograph and build up a portfolio, but also how to maximize my images for the web as well as print.

I concede that money is a necessity, it is something we all need in varying degrees. But when you’re learning a craft, or teaching yourself something new, or simply following that little reassuring voice whispering “this feels right, this is what you were meant to do,” it isn’t the money that exchanges hands that makes it worth it at the end of the day.

www.foolishoats.com // www.jessicahammond.meJessica Hammond

Jessica is a photographer, wordsmith, and equestrian. A featured contributor in JUMP!, Jessica uses her blog to share insights from the industry to photographers and subjects alike. When she’s not behind the lens, she can be found vlogging on her YouTube channel, showering her horse with love and carrots, and reviewing books on her CanLit book club Hello, Hemlock!

When I look back on images I took “for free” I see some of my favourite shots. I see the memories of my day with a friend and her horse. I see how much I learned then, and how far I’ve come now. I don’t see how much she underpaid (she didn’t), and I don’t see how much she spent on prints (who cares?). What I see is my willingness to explore my passion, to play with a new medium, to earn experience as appose to cash.

If you wish to spend more time on a project or medium or exercise you are passionate about, don’t let the nagging voice inside your head tell you that it’s lack of cash value means it isn’t worth trying. Play and passion go hand in hand. Embrace the value you earn from each day you spend working away at your dreams. You will remember them far clearer and with much more nostalgia, love, and grace than you ever would for a pay check.

Tell me in the comments what your passion is. Then tell me your favourite memory, whether you’ve just started or have been doing it for years. For anyone interested in portraiture photography, drop me a line and we can discuss your vision. I’d love to work together to bring your ideas to life

Click here to leave a comment.

Why Positivity is Necessary as an Entrepreneur

B y M e l y s s a G r i f f i n o f T h e N e c t a r C o l l e c t i v e

When I first started my design business, I was still working part-time as an English teacher with no real intentions to up and quit my job. Though teaching had long lost its luster to me, I was a drone for the paycheck and couldn’t quite bring myself to quit. I saw a few other bloggers offer their design services to the online community and figured I’d give it a go, never once assuming I’d make a living from graphic design any time soon (read: ever). I even remember one dinner with my then-boyfriend, Keiji, where I excitedly told him that I had made one-hundred dollars from designing! I was like a little kid on Christmas. “They like me! They really like me!”

That moment defined how I continue to run my business.

www.thenectarcollective.comMelyssa Griffin

Melyssa Griffin is a blogger, graphic designer, and corgi mama. She runs a graphic design boutique, Bumble Design Studio, as well as a positive lifestyle blog, The Nectar Collective. When she’s not doing either of those two things, you can probably find her singing over the music in her car, drinking too much coffee, or teaching agility to her stubborn, but sweet dog Monja.

Because as an entrepreneur, all of a sudden you’ll have emails coming out of your ears.

And days when your New Client Well has run Sahara Desert Dry and you’re left to wonder if you’ll ever get another customer.

And even though most of your customers are the kind of people you’d want to invite to Christmas Dinner, there will always be a couple Scrooges that make you re-think if you’re really cut out for the business world (or any world).

You may find yourself alone much of the time, always huddled under a desk lamp and a computer — or wherever else you like to come alive.

But if you run your business with gratitude, everything else will start to fade.

Because sure, there are icky parts to this gig that sometimes last longer than you wish they would — like your drunk uncle singing Celine Dion on Thanksgiving (shudder), but if you take a moment to breathe it all in, you might find a wonderful amount of beauty in business. Your long, tired nights will be met with a morning of the happiest client emails you’ve ever read. Your Jacquelyn-of-All-Trades job title might mean that your business cards are a hot mess, but that you have all the skills you need to run a successful company. You may not always have clients begging you to work for them, but just as soon as you’re ready to throw in the towel, your inbox will fill with hoards of new requests (happens every time).

Bottom line, running a business won’t always be a pretty job, but if you’re grateful for the small successes, it sure will be a beautiful one. And hey, you might even make a hundred dollars. :)

How do YOU stay positive about work? Click here to leave a comment.

How to Jump Into Business Through Blogging

B y L i s a B u t l e r o f E l e m b e e

When I think about how blogging helped me jump into business, it really comes down to three words: exploration, growth, and sharing. As I’ve mentioned here before, I didn’t start blogging to start a business. I didn’t even really have a purpose — I just figured I should post something to justify the domain and hosting fees. What I didn’t expect is that my blog would become a place where I could explore my interests, grow my talents, and share in a way that allowed me to launch and grow my own business.

Exploration

One of the most common pieces of blogging advice is to focus on the quality of your posts over quantity. And yeah, quality posts will go much further in helping you build a following. But to be honest? I think that’s crap when you’re just starting out. You don’t get quality without first going through a quantity of work.

Up until I actually started a business, I found the whole idea of starting and building a business overwhelming. I wanted everything to be perfect. But I had no idea what I was doing! So I just didn’t do anything. Blogging helped me get over my fear of imperfection and just focus on putting work out there, one day at a time. It gave me the space to just explore my interests and try new things — and then I could look back later and understand what I really enjoyed, what I didn’t, and which work I was most proud of.

www.elembee.comLisa Butler

Lisa Butler is the web designer behind Elembee.com. She believes your website shouldn’t be just another thing you grudgingly add to your to-do list — it should just work, as hard as you do. When she isn’t catching up on the latest Scandal or Game of Thrones, reading an embarrassing selection of young adult dystopian novels, or taking her dog to run around at the dog park, she helps creatives put down the Magic Mouse — so they can focus on what they do best, and share their work on a website that makes them just as proud as the work itself.

Growth

Naturally, the longer you do something, the more you’ll learn about it, and the better you’ll be at it. For me, I used my blog as a place to grow my design skills. In the early days, my post graphics were all over the place — I used every font, color, and filter that struck my fancy, and I experimented with different layouts. I also redesigned my blog every 3 months or so, and probably tweaked it at least every other week in between. Through that, I eventually developed a style that felt truly me and learned how to write more code, and better code.

Blogging also really helped me grow my brand. Everyone talks about how important it is to have a strong brand — but what most people don’t say is that a strong brand is built over time. It’s not just about where you are now, or where you’re going, but also where you’ve been. As long as you just keep doing work, you’re building a brand, and eventually you’ll start to see the common threads that hold everything together to strengthen your brand. There’s a reason I work with so many lifestyle bloggers, and a reason my brand appeals to them — it’s because I spent those first few years focused on lifestyle blogging myself.

Sharing

Y’all. I am so not a salesperson. I was the girl in fundraisers who just wanted to pay the minimum instead of trying to get other people to buy from me. But you know what? I don’t really feel like I have to sell my work in my business, thanks to blogging. By sharing what I know and what I do through my blog, potential clients understand how I think and work before even contacting me. Then when they reach out, it’s just a matter of explaining the process to them and making sure that fits with their goals, budget, and timeline. Technically, yes, I’m still selling my work — but it feels more like just a simple discussion, which helps me feel more confident and less salesy.

So if you want to jump into business but aren’t sure where to start, definitely consider blogging! I think the hardest part of starting a business is actually getting started, and it’s much easier to write one post, then the next, then the next, than to try to figure out all the details at once. Be sure to check out the rest of the Jump Tour to read more about how other business owners have made the jump!

Click here to leave a comment.

5 Actions You Can Take Today to Get More Done and Start Having More Fun

B y K y l a R o m a o f F r e c k l e d N e s t D e s i g n

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ll know that the past five years have been a heck of a journey. And while I know the facts and plot points that happened along the way, when I was updating my avatar photo to match the new design, I was struck by how much I’ve changed since I first started writing here!

It’s a little wild, right?

I got married, decided to work for myself and became self employed after nine months of hustling non-stop, was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder & depression (hello, plot twist of the decade!) and learned to manage my symptoms, became a business partner & moved into a studio… and proceeded to overwork myself for two years straight.

Last year I when I started to work from home (love it!!) I realized that I’d been falling into the trap of productivity shaming myself and constantly being overwhelmed. Nothing about how I worked actually felt good!

I needed to take everything I’d learned about taking care of myself through dealing with depression & anxiety, and apply it to how I approached my work.

No big deal, right?

Realizing that I had been a huge source of the friction and discomfort I’d experienced at past jobs was a humbling experience, but it was also one where I started to see a lot of possibility. (Once I got past the sting!)

The motto for how I got things done in my early twenties could have been “grin and bear it”, but when I finally got brave enough to start asking for something better, I realized there was a completely different way to work!

So what is that?

To me, productivity means being able to sit down to work energized and brimming with ideas, getting the most out of every minute you sink into your passions, and making decisions that let you enjoy the experience of what you do.

I’ve blogged about how I batch my work day and made over my inbox before but if you want to bring more energy to your work and more fun to your life, these are my tips on where to start to make a huge impact, fast:

Opt out of the digital play by play

If you’re worried about email it makes sense to see them roll in as they arrive so you know what’s waiting for you, right? Unfortunately all those little “dings” and banner notifications have a real cost to your creativity and productivity.

Our brains have a very primitive stress response that can’t tell the difference between an email from an upset boss and a hungry bobcat. Every time your inbox notification pops up it interrupts you and spikes your stress response, which triggers your fight or flight instincts and all the brain chemistry that comes with it. On a chemical level your body locks down your higher abilities and puts energy into protecting you from danger… which never comes.

Those stress spikes and recovery periods wear you out over the day, and wastes the precious energy and focus you do have. Even worse? Theres no pay off because no matter how many notifications you get, you’re still going to check your email.

Gamify your to do list

I don’t like to use food as a reward (because I’m a chocolate monster and that’s my danger zone) but when I’m having trouble getting through my inbox or to do list I make an exception! There’s little that will make me work with more focus than when I have a little bowl of sour patch kids or M&Ms by my list and give myself a treat every time I reply to an email or check something off my list in under 3 minutes.

Call me Pavlov’s dog, but when I get stuck in a habit of procrastinating or putting things off, this can undo those bad habits in an afternoon and get me into a new rhythm.

These is only “Act, Reply, Schedule, Delegate, Decline”

Sometimes we forget that email isn’t about sending letters back and forth. For most of us, email actually holds lots of little tasks and research assignments. When you open an email, before you feel overwhelmed consider which categories it falls into: Act, Reply, Schedule, Delegate, Decline.

Without a system like this your inbox is like the Wild West! When you open a new email and anything can happen, from dust and tumbleweeds rolling on by to losing your Red River cart when you try to forge a river! My examples might be based on Oregon Trail, but this tool lets you view your email through a different lens so you can categorize & start taking care of business in no time.

Create a dedicated space outside of email to track what you have to do

Try putting in place a simple system like Google Tasks along side your email. Now you can break your email into actionable items that aren’t buried inside paragraphs, add notes for yourself, and link your to do list items to the emails they’re married to. That lets you archive things out of your inbox when you’ve dealt with them, and have them easy to find when a deadline reminder comes back.

www.kylaroma.com // www.frecklednestdesign.comKyla Roma

I’m Kyla Roma. I’m a partner in the boutique web design agency Freckled Nest Design, an organization & productivity junkie, joyful late bloomer, wife, geeky lady and vegetarian foodie. I’m irreverent, direct, and dedicated to helping women like you discover their creative life, whatever that means to you! There’s no road map out here, but I’ve transformed my life from one filled with overwhelm and uncertainty into one where I work for myself and truly cannot wait to wake up to dive into every day. I blog at KylaRoma.com, and teach online about self care and getting things done.

Take a note from the inbox zero movement! It’s not about getting to zero emails, it’s about how much of your mind & energy you want wrapped up in your inbox: none.

To task track, multi platform support is the best way to guarantee you’ll stick with it, so test out a system like ToDoist.com. If you want to qualify for your email black belt, OmniFocus takes time to learn but is worth the effort and investment.

Build a life outside of work that you can’t wait to live.

Variety is the spice of life, sweetheart! No matter how much you love what you do (or how lucky that makes you), there is more to your life than the pace you work at or how focused you are while you do it. Creating a life you adore, slowly over time, makes it easier to wrap things up at a decent time every night, and gives you access to the support you need when things get tough.

Deciding to make things you genuinely look forward to part of your daily life is deeply joyful and rebellious, in the best way. You’re tapping into the positivity and possibility that comes from connecting with the part of you that’s in the moment and stress free.

Honestly, that makes you more fun to be with and better at anything you set your mind to!

Looking back at all the different “versions” of myself that I’ve been through the years, I know and love that where I am now is just another stage in the story of my life. It sounds simple, but it’s true: listen to your heart, follow your passions and work hard and you can end up in places that you never dreamed of.

And I hope these tips help you get some serious gorgeous work done today, and have fun as soon as you shut down the computer!

What’s a habit, strategy or system that you use to save time, and what’s one thing you use to reward yourself when you’re knocking it out of the park? Tell it to me straight: could you ever kill your email notifications?

Click here to leave a comment.

6 Ways to Release Emotional Baggage so You Can Grow With Your Business

B y H a n n a h B r a i m e o f B e c o m i n g W h o Y o u A r e

When you start your own business, you enter into two types of education: an education in business and marketing, and an education in self-discovery.

As your business emerges, grows wings, and takes flight, any emotional baggage or unfinished business around business-related topics will come to the surface. These include:

• Money• Success• Failure• Self-promotion• Self-worth• Vulnerability, uncertainty and risk• Relationships• Work ethic• Challenges• The beginner mindset• Competition

If you want your business to succeed, you need to grow with your business. (tweet this)

If you don’t grow with your business, sooner or later your emotional baggage will start holding your business back or, worse, lead to crash and burnout.

Here are five steps you can start taking today to make sure your personal growth keeps up with your flourishing business.

1. Identify the value you offer

Each night, write down three to five ways you’ve added value to the world that day. This could be anything from sharing a blog post to hosting a workshop. The more you practice identifying and acknowledging the many ways in which you’re adding value to the world, the more confident you’ll feel around the value you offer and the more you’ll communicate that to other people.

2. Focus on how you can best serve your customers

As a new business owner, it’s easy to get preoccupied with what other people think of us and view everything we do from the perspective of “I, myself, and me”. The truth is that our business isn’t about us, it’s about the value we provide to customers. When we prioritise service to others over worrying about ourselves, we stop tying ourselves up in nervous knots, take the pressure off, and provide a better experience overall for clients and customers.

3. Make time for self-discovery

I totally get that you have a million and one other things to do (then another three million after that), and I’m right there with you in that giant puddle of to-dos, but ignore this step at your own peril.

It doesn’t matter how many blog posts you publish in a month or new connections you make: unless you address the limiting beliefs you have about yourself and your work, they’re going to hold you and your business back. Making time for self-discovery doesn’t have to disrupt your whole day; it could be as simple as getting up 15 minutes earlier and spending those 15 minutes journaling, meditating, reading, and learning more about yourself.

You are your most important business asset. Invest in yourself, and your biz will reap the rewards. (tweet this)

4. Get support

Although I identify as an introvert and am as happy as a clam hanging out by myself, even I started to find the “solo” part of “solopreneur” a little too lonesome at times. Luckily, all we need to do to find support these days is to hit the interwebs and look at where fellow business peeps congregate.

You can get support from Facebook groups with like-minded entrepreneurs, form an accountability group, seek out a mentor, or get business coaching. When you’re surrounded by other people dedicated to setting up their own business and serving other people, you’ll be inspired to learn, grow, and you get to realise that you’re not alone in going through this process.

5. Do at least one thing every day that makes you uncomfortable

The most effective way to overcome fear and anxiety is to do the thing that provokes fear and anxiety. Repeatedly.

Your daily discomfort might include reaching out to connect with someone you really admire, pitching to a new client, publishing something a little more personal on your blog, or anything else that takes you out of your comfort zone. The more you expand that zone, the bigger it will get, and the better able you’ll be to deal with discomfort in the future.

www.becomingwhoyouare.netHannah Braime

Hannah Braime is the founder of Becoming Who You Are, where she teaches people how to have a kinder relationship with themselves. She is a writer, coach, and has published two books: The Ultimate Guide to Journaling and From Coping to Thriving: How to Turn Self-Care into a Way of Life. Visit www.becomingwhoyouare.net to get the free ebook “The Five Most Common Blocks to Authentic Living and How to Overcome Them.”

6. Adopt the NAFGO mindset

Starting your own business is exhilarating, challenging, and everything else—all at once. You will face difficult periods, dark nights of the soul, and stretches of time when you second-guess every decision you make. And, ultimately, you have a choice. You can let these experiences stop you in your tracks, or you can breathe, let the feeling wash over you, and say “Not another f***ing growth opportunity…”

Because that’s what every challenging experience and uncomfortable feeling is: a chance to grow, to learn how to trust ourselves more, and to develop a better understanding of what makes us us.

Self-discovery is a never-ending process. Whatever stage of business you are in, you have more self-discovery ahead of you. But if you make time to work on yourself as much as you work on your business, you’ll have everything you need to create the business and life of your dreams.

How have you grown with your business? Click here to leave a comment and share your story.

Jump Into Entrepreneurship with the Right Mindset

B y K e r r y N i e b e r d i n g o f K e r r y N i e b e r d i n g

Becoming an entrepreneur sounds so exciting and empowering. It sounds like a sure-fire path to success, freedom and money, but this is not always the case for all entrepreneurs. I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs and saw the good and the bad side of entrepreneurship.

The main difference I saw between the successful and the unsuccessful was MINDSET.

The mind is a muscle and must be trained just like any other muscle in your body. You have to train your mind to think like an entrepreneur, and that takes dedication, time and discipline to make this muscle strong.

In my 15 years of experience in entrepreneurship, I have identified 5 keys that are integral to creating the right mindset as an entrepreneur.

1. Write and recite your desire statement daily.

This key comes from the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Chapter 2 is all about turning your desires into gold by using a Desire Statement. In order to write your Desire Statement, you must follow these 6 steps:

First: Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire.

Second: Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire.

Third: Establish a definite date when you intend to possess the money you desire.

Fourth: Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.

Fifth: Write out a clear, concise statement of the amount of money you intend to acquire, name the time limit for its acquisition, state what you intend to give in return for the money, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it.

Sixth: Read your written statement aloud twice daily, once just before retiring at night and once after arising in the morning. As you read, see, feel and believe yourself already in possession of the money.

2. Surround yourself with like-minded people.

I have personally experienced how important it is to surround yourself with people that are going to bring you up and challenge you to become more successful. The people I have in my life now are supportive of my dreams and goals. They also have similar goals, and we are able to encourage each other to reach them.

Your group of friends and business partners essentially become your cheerleaders in life.

Jim Rohn, an American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker said, “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.”

I couldn’t agree with this statement more. Parents are protective of who their children spend time with because they realize this will have a great impact on their children. We need to realize this is the same for adults and for business owners.

3. Read wealth consciousness books for a minimum of 30 minutes daily and journal after you’re done reading.

As part of the workout for your mindset, you must train your brain daily. It takes at least 21 days to create a habit. It might be difficult at first to set aside the time daily to read and journal, but you need to make the time.

You will need to schedule this time in your calendar. Pick a time, mark it in your calendar, and make sure you follow through. My time for this is first thing in the morning. I have found this sets the foundation for the day’s success.

Recommended books to start with are:

• The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale

• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

• The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles

• Get Rich While You Sleep by Ben Sweetland

www.kerrynieberding.comKerry Nieberding

Kerry graduated from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas with a Bachelor of Business Administration. For the past 15 years Kerry has worked in her family’s businesses in various roles including sales, sales manager, operations manager, and vice president of sales and marketing. She has had a front row seat to the inner working of entrepreneurship. Kerry is a business and life coach for women and owns a telecommunications and essential service brokerage company. Kerry shares her experience and hopes to inspire others on her website at www.kerrynieberding.com.

4. Practice Spirituality Daily

When you jump into business for yourself you are taking a huge leap of faith. The foundation of your business is built solely on you.

I start my day with a simple thank you to God. I also recite the Prayer to the Divine from A Course in Miracles:

“Where would you have me go? What would you have me do? What would you have me to say and to whom?”

This prayer reminds me to spend my day God-centered rather than self-centered. At the end of the day I list on my fingers 10 things I am grateful for. I also read a devotional and the Bible at the end of the day.

Your spiritual practice does not have to revolve solely around prayer. Your spiritual practice may consist of mediation; time in nature or any other activity that you find helps you focus your energy.

I find the more centered and grateful I am, the more I am able to truly live out my purpose in my business and my life.

5. Willingness to work hard

When you jump into entrepreneurship the first thing to know is that it won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.

As an entrepreneur you are in charge of all aspects of your business. In her book A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life Bethenny Frankel says, “everything’s your business.” This is true as it is your responsibility to know everything about your business. Obviously you will hire consultants for the functions you are not an expert in, but it is vital to know what your team is doing. As an entrepreneur you will wear many hats, and they won’t all be glamorous. You will work long hours and pour your heart into your business, but you have to remember that you are creating your own destiny.

I truly believe with the right mindset anything is possible. It is something that you must work on daily. You must make a conscious effort to expand and grow your mindset.

I would love to hear from you, how do you work on your mindset? Click here to leave a comment.

Brand Consistency Lessons from the School of Hard Knocks

B y J u l i e E d m o n s o n o f J u l i e E d m o n s o n

Brand consistency. It’s one of those phrases that can make many creative entrepreneurs’ eyes glaze over… and even cause a few to grab the nearest brown paper bag and start a methodical “breathe in/breath out/don’t barf” dance of doom and destruction.

But for business nerds out there like myself, the mere mention of brand consistency snowballs into a frenzy of nerding out, out-of-control arm flailing and yes, even the occasional Snoopy dance.

A brand is what makes a business distinctively different from its competition. It’s what customers see and what they perceive a business to stand for. Logo, messaging and tone, design and colors, social media engagement, culture…. you name it, it’s part of the brand.

Trust Me — I Know What I’m Doing

When I first started my business, my extensive marketing and advertising background meant the whole “developing my brand and fleshing out the concept” part of the process kept me up for hours (and hours and hours and hours) at a time. I honestly couldn’t get enough of it. The idea of putting my blood, sweat, tears, drool and every last ounce of energy into my mini empire was (and still is) exhilarating. Web design, social media platforms, email list templates… I loved every last excruciating second of it.

But as I tossed and turned one night agonizing over the placement of a text box on my website’s home page, I finally came to terms with the fact that 1.) I actually don’t know everything there is to know about everything and 2.) I may be certifiably crazy.

Growing a brand is a lot of power. And as they say, with great power comes great responsibility.

Sure, my brand can be whatever the hell I want it to be… but it’s my responsibility to show, tell and explain what my business is to potential customers and clients in a consistent manner.

Yeah. Let that one sink in for a minute.

The Best Laid Plans…

Years before I actually took the leap and started my business, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted my brand to be, do, say — you name it. I had a color scheme in mind. I knew the type of messaging I wanted to get out there. I had the master plan all in my head and I couldn’t wait to release it out into the world.

Spoiler alert: the only part of my original branding that survived is the super fun fuchsia color I use on my website, Twitter background, graphics, business cards, etc. That’s it.

www.julieedmonson.comJulie Edmonson

I help female entrepreneurs give the middle finger to the work/life balance conundrum. slightly overcaffeinated. entreprenerd. proficient in snark.

Why? Because no matter what I thought I knew about business (MBA education be damned) or what I thought I wanted my business to be, the natural progression of my mini empire created considerable change over the first six months.

It’s impossible to establish brand consistency when the brand itself is a moving target.

Business is a never-ending lesson in humility, patience and understanding. As irritating and frustrating as the brand development process can be, it’s all worth it.

Once you get in the groove and settle into your brand, brand consistency almost comes naturally. You get in the habit of using the same fonts and colors on all your materials. You stop worrying about your voice when you tweet. You realize that putting a consistent message out there to potential customers isn’t hard at all. It’s just a part of doing business.

How to Naturally Establish Brand Consistency

1. Be true to yourself. Don’t do something simply because everybody else is doing it. If everybodyis using the same WordPress theme for their website but you absolutely hate it, DON’T USE IT. In fact, if everybody is using it and you do love it, I’m going to say you still shouldn’t use it… but that’s a different topic for a different day, y’all.

2. Figure out what works for you. Odds are you aren’t going to be 100 percent happy with yourbranding when you first start out. Sure, it’s done and it’s out there… but most likely, you’ll instantly want to start tweaking it. Just remember — if you tweak a color here, tweak it everywhere. If you change your logo, change it on everything. And once you’ve figured it out, stop messing with it.

3. Own it. Personality plays a monumental part in the brand of a creative small business. Don’t build abrand around something you’re not. You’ll eventually hate yourself. Your message and tone should be true to who you are. That’s what makes you distinctive from the competition — no one can duplicate you and what you personally offer your clients.

The moral of the story? Brand consistency doesn’t happen overnight. And in order to make it a reality, you first have to love your brand and what it represents.

Click here to leave a comment.

Confidence

B y M i c h e l l e W a r d o f W h e n I G r o w U p C o a c h

I’ll admit it and risk the big head you might think I have:

I’ve never had a lack of confidence.

In fact, my mother has said it’s the #1 thing she wanted to install in my brother and me when we were children, and I think my parents succeeded in spades (although it shows itself differently in my brother, which is a whole different post to be written by someone else).

Growing up, I was told I was smart, pretty, talented, special, sweet, and pretty much The Best.

As both a child and an adult, I’ve had my fair share of failures: careers, relationships, you name it.

But the thing is…I never really let it stop me from believing that I could do it.

Go Confidently print from Sarah Frances Art.

www.whenigrowupcoach.comMichelle Ward

Michelle Ward has answered the “What do you want to be when you grow up?” question for herself, and as The When I Grow Up Coach she helps women transition out of soul-sucking jobs and into work that feels like play. A published author, coach, and speaker, you may have seen or heard her on Etsy, AOL Jobs, Newsweek, SXSW, Freelancers Union, Psychology Today or the Forbes Top 100 Websites for your Career List. Discover what you wanna be when you grow up at whenigrowupcoach.com.

Sure, I picked the hardest things to pursue: acting and then, of all things, life coaching.

And I knew they were gonna be hard.

And I knew they were gonna take time.

And I knew that not everyone was gonna understand.

And I knew that there was gonna be a chance I could fail.

And I knew that there’d be people who thought I was crazy, a hippy-dippy, flaky, ADD, indecisive – or all of the above.

But that confidence I’ve always had? It gave me permission to discover, to try, to work, and to believe.

I think that’s what happens when you’re encouraged to dream, and make those dreams come true, throughout your whole life.

Even when it’s not practical.

Even when it’s not likely.

Even when it’s not responsible.

Even when it’s not traditional.

But the experience of chasing those dreams? Of the wins and the “failures”? Of learning what you’re made of, what lights you up, what you trust and what brings you joy?

That’s what confidence is made up of, and what I’ve found to be the most important way to build the grown-up, passionate, lucrative business of your dreams.

Click here to leave a comment.

www.sweetercpa.comHelena Swyter

Hi, I’m Helena Swyter, the brains behind SweeterCPA. I’m a Certified Public Accountant (“CPA”) based in Chicago, Illinois. In 2012, I left public accounting to start SweeterCPA, LLC. Now, I cater to the needs of creatives; people making careers out of their passions (just like I am).

Invest in Yourself

B y H e l e n a S w y t e r o f S w e e t e r C P A

When I help small businesses set up bookkeeping systems, there is one thing I always have to do, regardless of the type of business being established. Bookkeeping software comes pre-populated with common expense categories, but there’s one category that’s always missing. Education. It’s the first thing I add.

Education, as a business owner, is an investment in yourself. Ensuring you know how to use the latest software, are familiar with the current law, or are on top of the newest techniques is an investment in the future of your business.

This investment, however, costs money. As a small business owner conscious of every penny, it’s can be hard to spend money on things that don’t seem essential to the day-to-day running of your business. It’s easy to get caught up in what needs to get done today and forget about investing in what will come later.

If you are self-employed, you may be able to deduct work-related education costs so keep track of the amount of money you spend. This includes the cost of tuition, supplies, and certain transportation and travel expenses.

Investing in yourself by furthering your education in your field is one of the best ways a small business owner can spend his or her money.

Click here to leave a comment.

How to Stand by Your Rates

B y K a t e B y r n e o f B e t t y M e a n s B u s i n e s s

Boy have I been in that place where, with only just disguised nerves, I’d start dropping my fees. Even before clients asked. And embarrassingly, usually with an urgency that suggested it was a relief to do so. Honestly, with the self-doubt and imposter syndrome I was wrangling, it kinda was.

I remember one time putting together a client proposal that, by the time the client saw it, I’d talked myself into slashing my own fees IN HALF. Later on I discovered I didn’t get the gig because the numbers were incongruous with my skills and experience. Something literally didn’t add up for them. How could I be the type of consultant and coach they needed, when I already wasn’t standing up for what I really believed?

I realised that NOT standing by my fees was actually riskier than quoting the $ number I really wanted.

It’s all part of the journey but those early pricing experiences still make me cringe. These days I know what my expertise is worth and I stand behind my fees 100%.

I learnt early on that in business we’ve gotta step up, be bold and take a risk – especially when it comes to money conversations. But courage is only one part of the equation. There are practical strategies you can use to help you here. (Sure entrepreneurs by definition accept a greater degree of risk in their life than others, but that doesn’t mean that day to day business activities – like charging what you’re worth – need to feel risky.)

www.bettymeansbusiness.comKate Byrne

Kate is a roller derby-loving green-juice-drinking yoga-junkie, who can swear with the sailors and out-fancy the Queen. Thanks to a debilitating spinal injury, she was forced to take time out from her grown-up life as co-founder of a successful management consultancy and think about what she really wants to do when she grows up. One part entrepreneurial maven, one part irresistible super nerd, Kate has an insatiable appetite for life, art, nature, creative endeavour, women in business for themselves, making a difference and laughing out loud. Kate is a Betty on a mission to quench your thirst for bullshit free creative inspiration & business advice.

Approach pricing convos the right way and you’ll convert more clients at the fee you really want and feel great about yourself as a result (best side benefit ever!).

But do it the wrong way or constantly undercut yourself and not only will your bank account and confidence suffer, sadly you’ll soon be resenting the clients you do win and the cut price work you’re doing for them.

So here’s 3 tips that make standing by your fees and charging what you’re worth feel a whole lot less risky:

1) Focus on results. What are the likely benefits and results your clients will get to experienceworking with you? What’s likely to happen for them if they don’t work with you? Now put a price on those benefits and results. Suddenly your fees are looking pretty reasonable, right?

2) Remember: You’re not selling you. You’re selling a possible solution to their problem. It justso happens that you’re an expert in that solution. (The best thing about this approach? Suddenly the self-worth issues we all struggle with have got nothing to do with what we charge.)

3) Use social proof. I’m much more likely to buy when I can see past clients kinda like me have had agreat experience with you. Most of the time, social proof is a way more important variable that price point when it comes to my purchase decisions. I reckon your potential clients are no different.

BONUS TIP (it’s a biggie): Stop worrying about whether or not you’re ‘affordable’. Sure we want our fees to be aligned to our ideal client, but when we become overly focused on affordability, we’re making financial decisions for others. And really, that shit’s none of our business. Unless a potential client has shared specific budget info, you have no idea what’s actually affordable for that potential client. To assume can be pretty damn offensive, and can in fact have the opposite effect from your intent.

Be bold. Stand up for your fees and charge what you’re worth. I promise: The real risk is in not doing it.

Now I’d love to hear from you: What’s one thing that helps you charge what you’re worth? Click here to leave a comment.

BLYB xo

Why Authenticity Always Wins

B y K r i s t i S n y d e r o f L i f e S p r i n k l e s

“Live from your heart, you will be most effective.”

That was literally the quote that showed up on my Yogi tea as I sat down to write this – pretty great segway into a post on authenticity, right? Live from your heart, you will be most effective.

Living my life from a place of authenticity is probably one of my most steadfast commitments. I can remember when I first realized I was living a life that wasn’t entirely in line with my true self. It was a few months after I started seeing my therapist back in 2010. We had just started getting down to the nitty gritty. She was asking the tough questions (as good therapists do), I was giving the answers and we were beginning to peel back the layers.

What I started to recognize was that I was subsisting way below my potential. I had been stumbling through life a muted down version of myself, stifling my essence, stuffing myself into a box of who and what I thought I was supposed to be. I saw other people living their lives out loud from a place of authenticity and I thought to myself, “I want that.”

From that moment on, I was committed. It took awhile to peel away the layers and get down to my core, but I’m pretty proud to say I live my life from a fairly authentic place today. I know who I am and I’m not really afraid to show it. The good, the bad, the graceful and the not-so-pretty.

Living a life with authenticity means a lot of different things to me. It means embracing my weaknesses as much as my strengths. It means not being afraid to go out on a limb and do things differently, even when others may not understand or even agree with my choices. It means not being ashamed to admit when I’ve made a mistake. It means refusing to settle for less, not being embarrassed by my ridiculous sense of humor, spending less time in the office and more time with my dogs.

And it often means living a life that leans heavily on faith.

Authenticity gave me the push I needed to walk away from my full time veterinary job in search of something that felt more me. It gave me the courage I needed to finally take a chance on myself and jump into my own business at a point where I literally could no longer stand to live a life that wasn’t in line with my authentic self.

“Follow your heart and you can never go wrong.”

“Leap and the net will appear.”

“Love always wins.”

You hear the same quotes time and again.

But why do they ring true? Why do they stand the test of time?

Because people want authentic. People want connection. People want real. And guess what? People can tell when you’re not coming from an authentic place. And so can you.

When you’re not living life from an authentic place, you know it. You feel dull, muted, lackluster, trapped, broken. That’s when chronic aches and ailments often set in, when undesirable habits start to surface in an attempt to the numb out the pain of living a life that’s way below your potential.

When you’re living your life from a place that’s authentic and true you feel free, charged and alive. You express yourself fully and without hesitation. You radiate. You connect. It doesn’t mean that life is always perfect or even pretty, but even the tough times are deeply entrenched in meaning and purpose.

So what happens when we strip away all of the layers, let go of the phoniness and live from a place that’s raw and ripe with vulnerability? When we literally, lead our lives with our heart and soul?

We start to become more real.

Something magical happens when you start living life from a place of authenticity. Mountains move. And when you live from an authentic place, people start to respond more genuinely towards you. And life becomes more real. It’s pretty great, actually.

Photo by Entrer dans le reve via PhotPin

www.lifesprinkles.comKristi Snyder

Kristi Snyder is a veterinarian and life coach. She is passionate about helping others find the clarity and courage to follow their heart and reach their true potential. Kristi lives in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona with her cat and three pups. She is a meditation junkie, self-proclaimed chocoholic and a lover of all things pink. For more from Kristi, you can check out her blog, Lifesprinkles, here. You can also find Kristi on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

As human beings, we are designed to express ourselves fully. We’re all meant to bring something different to the table.

It is our authentic selves who connect, who feel and relate, who move and are moved.

So let’s connect, people. Let’s be honest. Let’s be real. Let’s share our cloudy days along with our bright ones, our struggles with our wins.

We all have something individual to offer – whether in business or in life. Let’s embrace our unique qualities and start living up to our highest potential.

Because that’s where it gets good.

So how do you dig deep so you can start living from an authentic place? My top 3 recommendations:

1. Spend time getting in touch with yourself. Journal, meditate, take a weeklong vacation to Hawaii if it’s within your means. I’ve never felt more real and alive then running along the beaches of Maui. Can’t do Maui? Spend time doing anything that makes you come alive – dance, play the piano, belt out Adele at the top of your lungs.

2. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Opening yourself up and starting to live your life in an authentic way is scary. It takes courage to come from a place that’s real and vulnerable. (When we start to share pieces of ourselves that’s when we risk being hurt right?) Authentic people know how to lay it out on the line. They feel the fear and move through it. They go for the gold even when the odds are stacked against them.

3. Embrace all of yourself. You know your quirky side? Your deep love for Hugh Grant and grocery store music? Embrace it! Or maybe you feel you’re overly analytical or too serious all the time? Someone’s got to be. Live your truth and embrace it. Let go of what others think. Remember, you are the only one who knows you.

Tell me friends, how do you live from a place of authenticity? What does living an authentic life mean to you? Click here to leave a comment.

xo Kristi

Work / Life Balance

B y J u s t i n a B l a k e n e y o f J u s t i n a B l a k e n e y

When Stephanie and Ashley first invited me to be a part of this blog tour and to write about work/life balance I chuckled to myself a little bit. Me? Talk about work/life balance? But my life is SO FAR from balanced. Then I began to brainstorm a bit…Well, I can talk about the importance of delegation and hiring out parts of the job that I don’t totally love…or I can talk about learning to ask for help..or I can talk about making time for myself in the wee hours of the night or the crack of dawn…BUT, to be TRULY authentic, I then reasoned with myself, I should just be real about how UNbalanced my life actually is–especially since I became a mama. So that’s what this post is really about…In my life, work and life are like rivers flowing into bubbling oceans and back into rivers and evaporating into skies and then raining back into rivers–overlapping and dripping, crashing and melting. As a creative business owner, as a blogger, as a work-from-homer, as a mama and a wife, I’m afraid that work and life are not binary. Work is my life. My living room is my office. My husband is my editor, my daughter is my boss. It’s a mess, really.

blog.justinablakeney.comJustina Blakeney

Obsessed with color, the jungle, travel, creative reuse and thrifting, Justina Blakeney is a designer and four-time published author with a bohemian heart. She shares her whimsical style daily on her eponymous lifestyle blog that was recently named one of the Best Home Decor Blogs by Refinery 29. Featured on NBC’s The Today Show, Glamour magazine, Apartment Therapy’s Big Book of Small, Cool, Spaces, Anthology Magazine, Design*Sponge and ElleDecor.com Justina is also one of the world’s most followed tastemakers on Pinterest.

I feel guilty a lot. I feel guilty when I’m working a lot that I’m not spending enough time with Ida, and that I’m missing time with her that I will never ever be able to get back. I even feel guilty some mornings for taking time to work out. I also feel guilty when I don’t take time to work out. Days I spend with Ida I feel guilty that I’m not earning. I feel guilty when weeks go by and I haven’t had the time to respond to people’s phone calls, or emails, or texts, or tweets, or instagram comments or blog comments. I feel guilty when I don’t have time to call my girlfriends or my grandparents. The truth is, no matter what I’m doing, I always feel like I’m missing something–and the truth is, I always am.

And I suppose therein lies the heart of this blog post…

Finding the work/life balance for me is about making peace with the fact that my life is not balanced at all. Sure I can have schedules and color-coded calendars and alarms on my phone to remind me of this and that and designated times where I turn off my phone. But there will always be days where I won’t get to my emails and I will make no money. There will always be days where I dizzily toggle all day between having a toddler and a laptop on my lap. There will always be days that I get to spend just hanging with Ida and Jason. There will always be days where I hunker down at a cafe and work for 8 straight hours wired on almond-milk lattes. The balance comes with a peaceful heart and with a calm, focused mind. The balance comes when I can get work in when I’m feeling inspired, get play in when I’m feeling frisky, and get sleep in when I’m feeling tired. Work/life balance for me is about being in the moment, it’s about focusing on the big picture and the long run–and perhaps keeping a little blow-up raft in the back pocket so that I can ride with the flow of the rivers into the bubbling oceans and back again….

How about you? How do you manage your time and balance ‘work’ and ‘life’? Click here to leave a comment.

4 Ways to Use Branding and Design to Boost Your Business

B y S a r a h M o r g a n o f X O S a r a h

Design and branding doesn’t just cover a pretty logo and a fancy website, it’s also how you’ll be able to draw in your dream customers, attract new readers and show off your personality without saying a word.

Here are four ways your branding and design can help grow blog traffic and increase sales…

Narrow Your Niche

Taking the time to create a strong brand and website design can help you pin point what your business is all about. It will allow you to get specific about who you want to work with, who should be buying your product, the best way to reach potential customers, how you want to feel about your business and how you want to make your clients feel about you.

Photo by Håkan Dahlström via PhotoPin

www.xosarah.comSarah Morgan

I’m a web designer, blog and business consultant, circus performer, and aerial instructor from just outside Detroit. I thrive on helping people grow their own websites, make the leap from unfulfilling jobs, and be brave in business and in life. In 2012 I quit my corporate design job to literally run away with the circus and get back to what I love – working with bloggers and small businesses to create a killer online presence.

Attract the Right People

Creating a blog with a personality is a great way to draw in clients and customers that not only mesh will with your business, but with you as well. Use your site design to spark and instant connection with your perfect clients and gently brush off those that you wouldn’t want to work with anyway.

Create a Map

Web design is all about directing potential clients through your website and prompting them to take specific actions. A huge trend lately has been adding a mailing list opt-in right into the header image or a bar along the top of the site instead of burying it in the sidebar. Incorporate action elements straight into your design to help them stand out so people will opt-in.

Be Instantly Recognizable

Using your design and branding to create a consistent social media presence is important as well. Not everyone will go straight to your website – they might spot a few posts on Pinterest or poke around on Facebook first. Use the style guidelines you’ve created for your website to create a complete picture of your brand on social media, so new visitors will want to see what else you have to offer.

Click here to leave a comment.

Learning New Skills and Teaching Myself

B y K a i t J o n e s o f K a i t C r e a t i v e

I love learning! It’s something that started young and never went away. I loved going to school too, but as an adult with bills to pay, going back to school isn’t always a realistic option, or a necessary one. Through the years I’ve studied English Literature and Multimedia at UBC (while on the Varsity Ski Team), started the Salmonbellies Women’s Lacrosse team, completely renovated our home, started a business, learned to paint in watercolor, opened my Etsy Shop, and now I’m starting to learn photography. I only had teachers in my university days, and since then I’ve applied a few key points to my process of learning new skills and teaching myself.

1. You don’t have to like it, but you have to try it.

My courage to try all things new stems from having a Mom who was a teacher, and fabulous cook.

Starting early, my Mom had my brother and I cook one meal a week each. Because I really loved homemade mac and cheese, we couldn’t make the same meal more than once a month. She also put us through “Weird Wednesdays”, when she’d make whatever recipe was in the food section of the newspaper. The rules where clear: You had to try it, every time. If it was gross you could politely say, “Thanks Mom, but I don’t really care for this one” and make yourself a PB&J. There were some disasters and Mom would through everything in the garbage and called Pizza Hut, but there were a lot of gems too.

This weekly practice created two adults who are fearless when it comes new things, especially food. We know we can conquer any recipe or make something tasty on our own. And, because we began eating sushi in elementary school, by the time university-late-night all-you-can-eat-sushi-marathons came into play I was getting “ewws” at my love of sashimi and scallop rolls, while helping everyone else learn to use chopsticks.

I didn’t know it at the time, but my mom was teaching us to be courageous not just in the kitchen, but with everything in life. Thanks to her I know that trying new things is hard, not always comfortable, but it can be very rewarding (and yummy too!).

2. Re-creation is a process of discovery, not plagiarism.

If I hadn’t opened a little box of watercolor paints 2 years ago and tried to “re-create” a piece of work I couldn’t afford to buy, I probably wouldn’t be writing this blog post. Some of you may have just gasped and thought “she’s a cheat and a plagiarist”, but I assure you I have never tried to pass one of these practice pieces off as my own work. Re-creation, not plagiarism, is a way to practise getting better at something without a teacher.

When I first became interested in painting, I spent time looking at the work of others, much like I had back in Art History at UBC. Instead of interpreting the political or social purpose, I examined color and technique. I choose work that inspired me and challenged myself to re-create those works, and in the process learned the skills to create my own work. Failing to mix the colours I expected taught me how to create others I hadn’t expected, and the discovery I experienced in this process was intoxicating. The re-creation process only made me more eager and excited to apply a combination of skills—learnt from the works of various artists—into my own work and to start to develop my own style.

3. Believe you already are who you want to be.

I think I heard that line on Oprah but it really struck a chord for me. I remember the beginning of university when I spoke up to all my high school friends and asked them to please call me Kait and not Kaitie moving forward. It might seem strange, but I was only Kaitie because there was another Kate in my elementary school class. I had a new opportunity to present myself as who I wanted to be. So I did. Everyone respected my wish, and I felt great. But then university ended and the question “who are you” became, “what do you do?”

For lawyers and doctors it’s easy to know that exact moment they became a doctor or a lawyer. It wasn’t so easy for me. I had to force myself to say, “I’m an artist”. In fact, many of my friends referred to me that way before I’d even considered it. I thought I was missing some certification and would offend “real artists”. Then one day I realized, if I don’t say who I am, how will anyone else know?

I had the power to present myself as the person I wanted to be, I just had to do it. I was scared, but I put myself out there and I felt great again.

www.kaitcreative.comKait Jones

Kait Jones is the designer & watercolor artists behind kaitcreative.com and kaitcreative.etsy.com. Since 2006, she’s been working in Marketing & Graphic Design, taking care of business for the companies she’s worked for and her own. An outdoor enthusiast, she’s a skier who loves painting, cooking, crafting and just making in general. Learning is her others passion and photography is her latest developing skill.

4. Stick with it.

Starting new things isn’t always rainbows and lollipops. In reality it’s usually pretty hard work. So if you ever want to succeed, it’s important not to be a quitter. If you start something new, set a time line and see it through.

Whether it’s one new cookbook, one season of soccer, or one online business course, stick it out until the very end. No one likes a quitter and you won’t feel any better about yourself for giving up. You don’t have to sign up again, but you can walk away feeling good about yourself for following through.

The truth is not all new things work out, and that’s okay. If you put in a solid effort and it’s not a good fit at least it’s one thing off your bucket list and another story to tell at dinner.

5. The learning process never ends.

I love Morgan Freeman’s quote (and his voice):

“If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.”

We should always be pushing the limits of what we can do to making the most of the present.

Learning new skills isn’t just about finding new ways to make money, or more of it. It’s about constantly moving forward. Make the most of your time and make sure accomplishing something, even if it’s just a good time, is a priority.

Learning gives me a sense of self-worth that I don’t find too many other places. Through the process I achieve a sense of accomplishment and of hard-earned self-worth. These things keeps me positive. I suggest you give it a try!

xoxo Kait

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3 Things I’ve Learned About CLARITY After 1 Year in Business

B y K a t i e L e e o f T h e S m a l l C h a n g e P r o j e c t

When I was asked to be a part of the jump tour I happily said yes. When they asked me to write about clarity I said Hell Yes! This would be easy I thought. I help women find clarity and get unstuck once they’ve found it during my “Let’s Have Coffee” sessions. It happens every time and it’s my favorite part of getting to work one-on-one with them. Witnessing how that clarity changes their path is what it’s all about. It’s my jam!

This post would be easy peasy.

Then it came time to write it. I put it off, avoided it, moved it from day to day on my calendar. It started to hang over my head.

The doubt started to creep in.

“Who am I to write about clarity? I feel so unclear right now.”

BOOM!

There it is.

Here I am coaching women through the process of getting clear and I myself don’t have the clarity I am being asked to write about.

I’m stuck. And yet I’m moving forward at such a fast and arduous pace. How can I be stuck?

I’m stuck and I know it, because I can’t keep up this pace forever.

Because my work life isn’t sustainable and parts of my personal life are suffering due to this pace.

I’m stuck, because I no longer enjoy it like I used to.

I’m burning out.

I’m stuck because the business plan and life plan I had crafted and dreamed of no longer appeals to me.

And even though I’m putting in the hours and moving forward I feel a heaviness on my chest about where I’m headed and what I’m missing. All of this points to the lack of clarity that I have and just how stuck I am.

This is why I’m writing about clarity today. I not only teach it and coach it, I live it. Over and over again. I pursue it fully, welcome it when it shows up and act on it with everything I have.

www.thesmallchangeproject.com // www.lifestyledesigncamp.comKatie Lee

Katie is a change coach, lifestyle designer and founder of The Small Change Project. She teaches women how to make small changes that have big impact on their daily lives through her products, coaching and new in-person experience Lifestyle Design Camp. Her goal is to help women minimize frustrations + maximize happiness and create a better partnership between their work and home life. Her specialty is getting them unstuck through totally-doable and tangible small changes. To get started on your own small change project sign up for her weekly newsletter.

So as part of this powerful jump tour I want to share the 3 things I’ve learned about clarity.

1. Clarity doesn’t always just happen. You need to give yourself the time and space to find it. Especially when you’re busy growing your business it can be so easy to just keep going. Keep pushing, keep working, keep plugging away. Unless you take some time to step back and think nothing will change. Next week I have time on my calendar set aside to “Get my shit together.” Yes, that’s exactly what it says. For me this means having quiet time, doing the bare minimum and not moving forward. Just existing in the stillness for a while. I need this so badly.

For you it might mean you show up to camp and we hold space on it together.

2. Clarity alone doesn’t really mean much. It’s the action on that clarity where the real work exists. So when it comes to you make a plan to act on it. I get clear, life-altering ideas and epiphanies at the most random times. I can’t always act on them right away. What I can do is mark off an hour on my schedule to put some strategic thought into my new idea and outline how I will act on it going forward. Do what works for you, but make sure you do something!

3. Clarity is not a permanent state of being. It’s temporary and always changing. Just because I’ve found clarity last month doesn’t mean I won’t change my mind or feel stuck again this month. It’s a work in progress. Knowing this helps me give myself some grace. I can take a deep breath knowing it’s all part of the ebb and flow of life. I know everything is trial-n-error and I’m willing to do the tests.

It can be scary to go from to stuck to clear. It can be even scarier to act on that clarity. But this is your whole life! So isn’t it worth pushing through that fear.

I’ve been through it. Scratch that, I’m going through it right now. I know what it’s like. I got you. There are a few ways we can work on this whole clarity thing together. Today, I want you know that it’s worth the work. The other side of clarity is pretty magical. And that’s why I’m going to keep showing up on the clear days and the stuck days.

To welcome the magic.

Click here to leave a comment.

10 Ways to Expand Your Small Business

B y C i e r a H o l z e n t h a l o f C i e r a D e s i g n

For those of you who don’t know how I made the jump, I’ll give you a little background. I got a job right out of college at a great advertising agency and gained a lot of experience in my four years there. However, a time came when I was no longer growing or enjoying the type of work I was doing so I decided it was time to move on. Rather than looking for a position at another agency, I decided to go freelance and pursue the type of work I was interested in. I started getting connections by doing pro bono work while I still had my agency job and it transitioned into full-time freelancing in 2010.

Over the years, I have been slowly branching out and really trying to perfect my dream business. First of all, I don’t want to have all of my eggs in one basket. If I happen to have a slow month with custom design clients, I want something else ready to supplement my income. I’m also not just going to sit around and wait for people to come to me with work. Each year I continue to branch out and expand my business. Here are ten things that can help you to expand your small business:

1. Grow Your Offerings, Products and Services. Think of new and different ways can youserve your customers. Maybe you can add entry and advanced levels to your current options. Think of logical extensions of what you currently offer. You want to keep your clients coming back for more, so what else can you offer them?

2. Take a Class. I am continuously learning about design and striving to be better. Taking local classesalso doubles as networking but if you don’t have access to any, there are some amazing resources online! My favorites are Skillshare and Lynda.

www.cieradesign.comCiera Holzenthal

Ciera Holzenthal is a graphic designer specializing in brand development for creative businesses and passionate entrepreneurs. She’s been blogging since 2009 at CieraDesign.com where she shares adventures as a small business owner, DIY projects, photography, travel, typography and all things graphic design.

3. Create a Passive Income Stream. It’s really great to have some income, with little effort required to maintain it. You could sell products on Etsy, use affiliate marketing, sell digital files, downloads or ebooks.

4. Start a Blog or New Blog Post Series. Blogging not only helps with SEO but is also an amazing way to get your business out there and position yourself as an expert in your field. Guest blogging is also a great way to get your name out to an expanded market. Not convinced? Read Why You Should Have a Blog For Your Business.

5. Network and Collaborate. While online networking is great, you should also really get yourself out there and network in person! Attend a conference or find a local meet-up. Networking is also a good way to find people to collaborate with. If your city doesn’t have a local meet-up, see how to start your own here!

6. Do Pro Bono Work. As I mentioned, I started my business by doing pro bono work. This made me realize that I love helping my community, small businesses, creatives and entrepreneurs. So I continue to work with clients that I stand behind and that have a positive impact on the community. Not only has this given me a great deal of personal satisfaction, but also so many new connections!

7. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone. If your client work doesn’t allow you to do this, start a personal project to spark your creativity. I use my blog freebies to explore design techniques and new ideas. Take on a project that may be out of your comfort zone if it’s something you’ve been wanting to learn about. Remember that you don’t have to add everything to your portfolio just because you did it.

8. Ask for Help. You can’t do it all, hire people to do certain things for you and learn to say no to the things you are not interested in. This gives you the time and energy to do the things you love!

9. Teach. This could be as simple as writing a blog post or a more extensive option like writing an e-book, teaching a Skillshare class or even speaking at a conference.

10. Expand Client Base. Your small business may have great brand awareness in your community, but what’s involved in expanding that awareness to a much larger market? Getting new customers is essential to growing your business. One of the easiest ways to do this is to ask your current customers for referrals. Testimonials from clients are important because without them, potential clients don’t always know your credibility or what you’re like to work with. It’s someone’s outside perspective that gives them the confidence to buy from you instead of moving on to the next website. Here are a few ways to get really great testimonials.

Click here to leave a comment.

Building Habits

B y J e n n y H i g h s m i t h o f M a i e d a e

Making the jump to own your own business can seem overwhelming. There are all sorts of things that you have to take into account before making the leap into entrepreneurship... branding, quitting your full time job, marketing yourself, growing your following, getting a business license, taxes... and the list goes on and on. It can be so overwhelming that you scare yourself out of doing it because it makes you second guess yourself, your will power, and your dreams. But, at the end of the day, it really is true what Oprah said - “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.” ... although I would add one small extra statement to that... “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for and the will to work for.” And if you don’t pursue your dream job, then you’ll end up working for someone to help pursue theirs.

When Savannah and I started Maiedae, we had no idea the amount of energy, tears, and sweat we would pour into making our dreams a reality. We love taking the visions our client’s give us for the look of their business or blog and making them a reality through our designs. We are so grateful that we get to work with such amazing clients - that usually end up becoming our friends! :) Was it scary starting our business? Heck yes! But it has been completely worth every second to be able to be truly passionate about what we do every day and have fun doing it!

Print 01 by RachelGadiel.com // Print 02 by The Every Girl

I think a lot of people who want to be their own boss or create a business they love struggle with creating successful habits in order to get there. I talked some last year about creating successful habits and the reason I think this is important is because working for yourself doesn’t come easy - you need to be disciplined and be willing to work hard - both of which require good habits. So... Stephanie and Ashley have asked me to break down my thoughts on building habits.

BUILDING HABITS

1 \\ ACCOUNTABILITY

Accomplishing goals and building habits require accountability. It’s important to have at least one person who knows about your goal and who you feel accountable to if you don’t accomplish it. This helps so that you don’t give up the goal and also gives you someone to encourage you through it. Make sure this is a person who is willing to ask you hard questions that challenge you throughout your habit-forming and doesn’t just wait til the end to say, “Oh, did you do that thing you wanted to do?”

2 \\ TIME

One of the hardest parts of growing your business is really utilizing the time you have well - especially if you are working a full time job while doing it. There is so much out there to distract us every day - whether it be technology, things we need to do around the house, kids, our 9-5 job, relationships, and the list goes on and on. Staying focused and being efficient are just 2 of the necessary tools you need in order to make the most of the time that you have. So what are some practical ways to make the most of your time?

• Create a Schedule - When you know what you’ll be doing and how much time it takes to do eachtask, it’s easier to realistically schedule out work and get things done.

• Use the Pomodoro Method - 5 minutes off, 25 minutes on - It really works!

• Schedule out Free Time - It’s very important to take breaks, but when you are working for yourselfsometimes it’s really difficult to not feel overwhelmed or guilty.

• Be Consistent & Realistic - Having a consistent schedule can make a huge mental difference inyour day to day productivity. When creating a consistent schedule, be sure to be realistic about what you can and can’t accomplish in a given day.

• Don’t Work Where You Rest - It’s important to create a workspace separate from where you restor sleep. This helps create boundaries both mentally and physically that are healthy for yourself and your relationships.

• Say No - Because you have a limited amount of time, you’ll have to get good at saying no to thingsthat do not fit within your schedule or your vision for the business.

Jenny Highsmith

I have a passion for life, for God, and for discovering beauty all around me. I am inspired by other people’s stories of grace and redemption because they ring true in my own heart. My deepest desire is to help others discover their passions in life and encourage them to take leaps of faith to make those passions become a reality. I am a graphic designer and co-owner of Maiedae. I love creating art - it is one of the ways I express who I am.

3 \\ MOTIVATION

This one is tricky. I think a lot of times I struggle with building a habit because I haven’t really thought through the why of what I’m doing. I haven’t really asked myself why I want to accomplish a goal, why it will be good to do, and what I want to walk away with. Without that motivation, it’s easy to dismiss a goal, forgetting why I’m doing it in the first place.

A FEW SUGGESTED RESOURCES FOR GROWING YOUR BUSINESS

• Dream Job E-Course by A Beautiful Mess

• Indie Business E-Course

• The Anti 9-5 Guide by Michelle Goodman

• My So-Called Freelance Life by Michelle Goodman

All in all, maintaining a full-time job and working to grow a business takes a lot of hard work and time. Keep your chin up, stay organized and persevere. You can do it! I hope this topic was helpful to you!! Please share your extra thoughts and tips in the comment section below and be sure to head over to the Jump! site to gain helpful insights from other bloggers and their stories! :)

Click here to leave a comment.

www.jennyhighsmith.com // www.maiedae.com

Self-Care is not a Pie Filling: a PSA

B y E s m e W e i j u n W a n g o f E s m e W a n g

For too many entrepreneurs (and this applies, as well, to those who aren’t running a business — this PSA is appropriate if you’re running any kind of circus), the idea of self-care is something that fills in around the edges. I’ve never baked a pie before, but I think of it as piling all of the strawberries into the crust, and then spilling in any kind of syrupy filling and cream where the strawberries happen to have made space. It’s not necessarily an afterthought, but it’s a thought that only occurs where the primary business hasn’t already shoved in.

Don’t let self-care be a syrupy pie filling

I’ve been told several times over the last few months that I’m good at self-care. Hearing this always makes me laugh a little, because I’ve historically been awful at taking care of myself.

Here are some things that I’ve been good at in my adult life: working hard; being ambitious; working hard in order to go after said ambitions; creating goals; drinking too much in the process of attempting to calm down the ruckus in my head, some of which was greatly exacerbated by the frantic pursuit of my goals. Did I mention that I’m good at working hard?

www.esmewang.comEsmé Weijun Wang

Esmé Weijun Wang is a writer, editor, and mental health advocate. As seen in places such as Jezebel and Salon, she’ll be debuting editing and copyediting services for visionary entrepreneurs in March 2014. Discover essays about living well with mental illness, compassion & care, and the writing life at www.esmewang.com.

I had to become excellent at self-care because I was forced to. I’d been living with chronic illness since I was a preteen, but this past year, I started again; I became sick in new ways, with new diagnoses, and with that epoch of beginning again, came the fine point that if I didn’t become exquisite at caring for myself, I would probably die.

I don’t believe that I’m being punished for my previous workaholism. I am not atoning for sins. My life is what it is, and that’s okay.

But I do want to tell you — you of the fledgling business, you who have been working at the self-employment thing for a year or so, you of the empire that lords upon all empires — that if you feel as though you might need a dose of self-care in your life, you’re probably onto something. Should you be so fortunate as to consider yourself healthy, I’m telling you now that self-care isn’t something that you do when the proverbial brakes are shot. You do it because you’re worth caring for. You do it because you are a living being who needs to be fed. You are busy, but you’re not a machine.

If you find yourself asking, But where do I begin?, my answer is at once simple and, if you’re anything like I was and still am, bewilderingly difficult: Be quiet. Listen.

Being quiet has always been hard for me. I don’t like silence, but I make it a practice to be in silence now, when I can, so that I can listen.

What you’re listening to depends on your beliefs. You could be listening to God, Spirit, or a personal angel. You might be listening to your own marvelous self that’s been buried beneath the lists and Future Plans.

Past the ruckus and the nattering self-talk is a voice that whispers or speaks with strength. It says, A cup of tea. Hold off on that 3pm Scotch. Shut down that project. Send that tough-but-necessary email. Just because you hear it doesn’t mean you have to do anything; for now, hearing it is fine.

Eventually, the voice will let you know what business choices to make. Whether or not that joint venture is a good idea. It’s making room for that inner voice, and not three-hour massages and green juicing every morning*, that’s the front-line work of self-care.

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Having Your Own Back: Self-Love + Business

B y M a r a G l a t z e l o f M a r a G l a t z e l

In the beginning, I built a business on a foundation of self-love, but, ultimately, building my business taught me what it really meant to stand by and take care of myself.

In the beginning, I wrote (often) about the importance of loving yourself and of accepting yourself exactly as you were. I wrote about body image and the basics of self-care, embodying the difficulties that many women humans experience in taking sweet care of themselves.

But, I was missing the pieces about self-trust and radical self-responsibility. I was missing the bit about being the expert to your own experience. I was missing the part about believing in your own decisions and standing behind your choices.

Owning my own business taught me how to have my own back and how to trust in my ability to figure it out – no matter what “it” was.

In a world where perfectionism reigns and we pray at the altar of busy, we often tell ourselves that there is no room for taking risks or for playing by our own rules. Often, this means: educate ourselves in the best practices, study the masters, and then… cut, paste, and repeat. Often, it means: we cannot simply allow ourselves to dream it and do it – it needs to be vetted and fixed and revamped. It needs to be perfect, polished.

When I started my business, I took all the classes. I absorbed the words of every online business guru that I could get my hands on. I hired coaches, branding experts, and joined the masterminds. I learned about sales funnels and conversion metrics and branding. I was a sponge for business advice.

I learned how it should be done. How successful people before me had done it.

But, unconsciously, in my discomfort and fear, I was repeating the pattern that had showed up in every moment of self-doubt during my life: find someone who you think is smarter than you and pay them to teach you how to make it work, based on their proven model.

This action was stunningly similar to when I didn’t know what to do with my body, so I researched every diet and scored the internet for success stories. Or when I wanted to be a writer, so, instead of writing, I filled a library with books that I told myself I had to read in order to get ready to start writing.

Or all of the many moments when I told myself that I wasn’t ready. That I had to bide my time. That I had to earn my dues. That I needed to magically transform myself into something that I wasn’t, in order to be successful.

I could have waited a lifetime and I would never have been ready to begin.

I could have waited a lifetime and I would never have been free from the risk of imperfection.

www.maraglatzel.comMara Glatzel

Mara Glatzel is an intuitive coach and writer. She works with brave women that have a sacred and stubborn desire for evolution, guiding them home to themselves and teaching them how to cultivate lives grounded self-love, self-trust, and radical self-responsibility. In cultivating this sacred space for women to thrive, Mara’s bringing a Masters in Clinical Social Work with a trauma specialization, her spot-on intuition, and the lessons that she’s accumulated learning to fall madly in love with her own beautifully messy life. Catch up with her on facebook, twitter, or sign up for her love notes to receive weekly missives and heart-opening encouragement.

You are the live wire at the core of your life. You are a human being with ideas and desires and values. Anything that you do on this planet – in life and business – has to be firmly grounded in what lights you up and makes you tick.

Don’t be afraid to be yourself. Don’t be afraid to usher more of yourself into every area of your life.

What owning my own business taught me about self-love:

1) You will never be totally, 100% ready. There will always be fear. There will always be a nagging feeling of self-doubt. Instead of surveying your readiness, try surveying your desire instead. Ask yourself: is it worth the risk? Do I want it so badly that I don’t care if I fail? If the answer is yes, begin before you’re ready.

2) You are the expert to your own experience. No on is going to know you better than… you.You have to be the center of your business plan and your strategy in moving forward. You have to play to your strengths – and create a system that works for you.

3) You life – and business – only works if you do. Meaning, self-care is crucial, if only to makesure that you are able to bring the best version of yourself to your daily tasks. Self-care is the way that you replenish your reserves, the way that you show yourself love. Learn (or find someone to teach you) how to: make boundaries that feel really good, find space in your day for taking sweet care of yourself, remember that you deserve rest, and take time out for yourself – even when there are emails to answer.

4) You have great ideas – give them space to flourish. Allow yourself to be creative! At thebeginning, many entrepreneurs are so busy chasing the buck that they tell themselves that they don’t have time/energy to tap into their creative streak. But, people will be hiring you and, thus, they want to know about you. Allow your communication and business identity to ooze with gorgeous you-ness.

Underneath it all – you can trust yourself. Truly.

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