Today's Musing: Why I Choose to do What Makes Me Happy (even if I make less)

This blog makes me slightly uncomfortable to write because there are definite moments I think back to my "before life" and shake my head.

Did I really walk out on my career to work from home?

What happens if my husband blames me for leaving a steady job (and paycheck)? I can't let him and my family down...

There are moments in the middle of the night where these questions linger in the back of my head. And I'm here, I'm still here and I'm really trying to make this blog a personal one, an honest one, where I can write down my fears and be okay with it.

I also wonder if there are any other people out there, in the same boat, making those same decisions and being okay with it.

And for those that may not be familiar with my story, I would love to share some insights along with a few key thoughts that went into making that big decision a few years ago.

I hope this helps.

1. I was good at my work, but I didn't love it: For close to ten years, I had been working in program development/fundraising in the non profit sector. I loved what the work was about and the team that I worked with. Somewhere down the road though, late at night, I found my mind wandering...my thoughts would linger on weddings. Funny, right? But when I was little and at the book store, one of my favorite things was just rummaging through wedding magazines. It's amazing when you look back on all of it.

Makes you just realize the awe of it all--how maybe our path has been decided long before we even realized it.

So, are you there right now?

2. Could you do this "new thing" every day? No, really. everyday. When you take the leap to do what you love, you are going rogue. You are doing this on your own with little to no help. Can you do this everyday? Close your eyes. If you feel like this may be something you may get bored with over time, it may a sign that you should give this more thought.

3. Assess the risk: I hear a lot of "feel good" workshops these days and sometimes they make me cringe.

Take the plunge! 

Do what makes me happy!! 

It's a dangerous slope and those phrases make cringe. It doesn't give respect to how massive making a big career jump is. Assess your risk. What will you be risking when you take the plunge out of your career? Will it be that you may not be able to go out as much? Or are there much bigger items at stake (house payment, bills, kids, etc.). Look at the big big picture. Know what you are getting into before taking the plunge.

One of the biggest moments in my life (of course, besides having kids) was that moment right before I resigned. That moment when I breathed in. I closed my eyes and took it all in. I let the tears fall. I knew what I was letting go. Easier lifestyle, steady income, benefits...but I also knew what I was gaining....more time with my husband, my boys.

I always knew my life would be interesting. Maybe not full of riches, but I knew. I knew it would be an adventure.

I hope this helps and if you are going through any of these same thoughts or have been in this same boat, would love to hear from you!

XO-Natalie

Today's Musing: Monday Morning Business Corner (Business Burnout)

Good afternoon everyone! Hope all of you had a great weekend! I guess today's post isn't really a "Monday Morning Business Corner," more like a an evening edition...but I guess that will have to work for today. It is Monday, after all.

So today I wanted to touch base on an area I sometimes struggle with, or at least always have to make a conscience effort to work on, which is keeping the passion, or momentum and avoiding the burnout.

I can always say, "I love what I do, and I never feel like I have to work a day in my life," but really, that would not be true. As business owners, it's only natural, over time to have those feelings go up and down at certain times.

So what does burnout feel like? Well, for me, it's just feeling unusually tired working on projects that would usually get me excited, happy. Working on design mock ups, reaching out to potential clients, networking. I found myself having to work up the energy to complete even the simplest of projects.

And it scared me.

I can't be feeling like this!! I LOVE to keep busy. I LOVE my work.

I took a deep breath at some point and decided I needed to mix things up a bit and make some adjustments in my life. I hate to call these tips, as much as useful things I've learned along the way...

1. Timing your Burnout: When do the feelings seem to creep up? Is there a certain time of year? For me, I find, those feelings creep up when during the slower/off season. Instead of maximizing on the extra, down time, I find myself missing the "busy."

Now that I'm aware of this, I take the slower season in much better stride and come up with definite, monthly goals (directly related to work) that I have to tackle.

I aim to create goals that I wasn't able to accomplish during the busier times (i.e. update project deadlines, cleaning up my inventory, reconnecting with network partners, creating updated blog content, reaching out to potential clients, etc.).

I even make it a point to work on something that is on my "career wish list." This is a big one, but I truly, love being on television and giving viewers great entertaining ideas. Is it crazy to think I can make a career out of it? Sure, maybe. But who cares? I'm working at it and again, it's something to work on during my slower times.

2. Rest: I know. Rest. 

Business owners can't rest. What are you thinking?

But it's true. During the times I felt the most burned out, I realized that lacking rest was a huge component in all of this. And that can be anything--tackling home projects you've had on the back burner for months, spending time with friends, catching up on all those books you've been meaning to read but haven't, going on a vacation....

Today, my hair stylist asked me, "So what do you have planned the rest of the day?"
Me: "Um...really...I don't have any plans the rest of the day."

For somebody that works that works crazy hours during the busy time, that feels very awkward to say, but I truly believe that we are way too programmed to not listen to what our body, our spirit is telling us at times.

So those are my few lessons learned!

Would love to hear about what you do when you find yourself in a work-funk.

Me. After haircut. See--don't I look well rested, now? ;)

Today's Musing: How I Let Instagram Control my Life

Hello everyone! Hope all of you are having a great week! Today, feeling the need to release a little, get something off my heart (that has been there for some time). Feeling a bit embarrassed about sharing this, but here it goes.

A few years ago, I stumbled across Instagram and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I posted without thinking, mixing my feed up with business and family images. I was able to follow women and business I had long time admired, I connected with my peers from a local level and even family.

Over time though, I noticed a shift. I went from checking Instagram once in awhile, to all the time. I noticed my pictures started changing as well. It went from posting images without too much thought to over thinking them constantly. And taking so many images before posting the "perfect" one, with the best filter, of course.

I've also noticed a growing resentment of those that have such a better feed than me.

How is her outfit so perfect? So annoying.
Like she really opens her Bible everyday? Yeah, right.
Yes, that green, unrecognizable shake you are slurping down looks DELICIOUS!
Is it just me or is every photo of her children staged perfectly. GAH.

Crazy, right? I've gone from following those I have admired, to rolling my eyes and feeling like I want to punch them in the face. Yikes, there I said it.

It doesn't feel real anymore. I don't feel real anymore. I feel like a fraud. I feel embarrassed. And it feels incredibly lonely.

I even caught myself closing my eyes, and thinking about the days when there wasn't Instagram, Facebook around. I wondered how I kept in touch with my friends.

Oh, yeah. That's right. I picked up the phone and called them. When did that feel like a lot of work to me???

So today after my impatient toddler yelled at me, "Mooommyyy! Get off your phone!"

I decided maybe it was time.

Nope, not going cold turkey (that may require one of those fancy rehab places) but I am going to ease up on how much I get on.

Maybe it's time to focus less on the image, and just me. No filter, no hashtag, no likes, no followers, no unfollowers. Just me. The boys. My family.

I will let you know how it goes. Not even sure what to expect but I'm thinking it can't be a bad thing, right?

And don't get me wrong. Instagram can be (and is) an amazing vehicle for businesses, but I just haven't figured out the balance it making it work in a way that feels authentic. Is that even possible? Not sure.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on this one, friends.

And because this post is a bit heavy, I'm posting a taken (on the first take, filter-less image).

Me and Preston. He's giving that look because he's used to me taking a million pictures until we get the perfect one.



Today's Musing: Monday Morning Business Corner

Happy Monday everyone! Hope all of you had a great weekend! My weekend was a bit crazy, prepping for a Daytime Morning show segment, covering Springtime celebrations. It's amazing the amount of prep that goes into doing a five minute segment! But to be honest, it's one the moments that I'm the happiest. Oddly enough, being on television feels very comfortable to me--I would do it more if I can. 

Me. In my happy place. Thanks to Daytime Morning Show (NBC). 

But not to get off topic, I was going through some old blog posts (like back in the day, when I started my work) and I stumbled across a blog most I did covering "Marketing." It makes me smile to look at my thoughts back then and where my mindset was. 

Today, I'm reposting the post along with a few updated thoughts I have regarding start ups and putting your heart out there. 

If you have any other tips, please feel free to share in the comments section! Would love to hear from you! 

Research...Research....Research (FREE): This is a big, okay huge, one for me. I knew from the moment I decided to become a business owner, that I wasn't going to rush the process. As much as I wanted "the now," I was going to take my time. This led me to the big question, of "how the heck do I get myself out there?" I spent hours scouring different businesses in the industry: florists, photographers, planners, wedding blogs, event designers, venues, etc. High-end, low-end, I wanted to soak it all in. I made a spreadsheet with every site I had been to, along with all of their contact information. I also got in touch with NACE, a great organization (along with a few others) that seemed to cater to the businesses I had been researching.

2. Your Visual Brand ($50+): I did spend some time on this, even it wasn't pretty at first. And if you can invest in this step, I say go for it.I purchased my domain through Go Daddy and got going through Fat Cow, and had a friend help me with a template (my current site) which had basic functionality, to upload my content and my photos. I designed my current logo using Microsoft Publisher and clip art (if you can believe that). Using my logo, I also created my business cards ($50.00 to $250.00). In the beginning, yes it can be hard, but I told myself that it was more important to get out there and when I could elevate and afford the look of my product, I would. 

3. The Big Plunge, Making Contact ($150.00 to $200.00): I knew off the bat that whatever came out of my hands had to beautiful. At this point, I had done less than a handful of dessert tables with some "okay" pictures but I had to make it work. I went to Staples and got white, glossy laminated folders, clear labels and photo paper. On one side of the folder, I made a personalized letter (not dear Vendor, Dear XX Events) and on the other side, I did a one page collage of the work, along with a mini-bag of jelly beans. I took my Excel spreadsheet of contacts and just went at it. Was this time consuming? Yes! Halfway through, did I want to give up? Um, yes, but then I figured if I stopped then I probably wasn't built to be a business owner in the first place. 

4. Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up (FREE): Two weeks after my mailers went out, I went back to my list and followed up with EVERY one of my conatcts via email. And it just wasn't any email. Every email was extremely personalized. After my "research phase" I would regularly visit my contacts websites so it was easy for me to say "Hello Amanda, my name is Natalie from Chic Sweets. Hopefully by now you've recieved a packet of information. Can I just say, that I love your latest blog entry from the wedding you did at XXX. Fantastic!....." Or something along those lines. And you know what? I was getting responses back! Once they responded, I went onto the next (scary) step which was scheduling meetings. 

5. Face to Face Follow Ups ($20 to $25): Again, kind of nervewracking if you've done anything like this before, but as I mentioned before, I was determined to make things happen. Although there were a few that did not have the time to meet, for the most part I was able to catch up with quite a few. Before I went into each meeting, I always had a plan/agenda in mind:

• Introduce YOU: Be honest. Be yourself. Be Authentic. I made a point from the very beginning to put it out there. I was new; still working full time; still trying to make connections; still working on my (weak) portfolio. And you know what? As humbling as it was to be so honest, there wasn't a vendor I spoke with that couldn't relate at some level, which in return always made for good conversation and more importantly, great advice and further connections. 
• Get to know the VENDOR: Not everything can be about you, right? Just like a job interview, I went into each meeting, knowing as much as I could about that vendor. Visited their website, their blog, facebook page, other vendors they had worked with in the past. At times if I felt nervous or that there was a lull in the conversation, I would go back to what I knew about the vendor and take it from there.
• Marketing Materials: Although I was working full time, I didn't want to spend a fortune on creating materials for each visit, so I kept it somewhat simple. Since I'm a "sweets girl" I created a small favor package full of sweets, with not my logo but THEIR  logo on the package. I just assumed that I was one of many "newbies" reaching out to these industry vendors on a weekly basis, so why not give them something that was personlized for them? Great response from this AND many times the vendor would go back (after our meeting) take a picture of what I had created for them and post it on facebook or twitter....with something along the lines of "chic sweets visited us today! Yummy sweets" Again, just another small tool that created a buzz.

6. Get Honest with Yourself. Passion Does Matter: This is a tough one. It's important that you get down into the personal reasons of why you want to start your business. Sometimes it's a culmination of reasons, but in those pots of reasons there needs to be an underlying passion and love for your work. You'll find that passion will slow down, grow, slow down again, but's always there, that craving to always do what you love. At the end of each year, I take time off to let off steam, write thoughts down, see where I am in with my business. 

Are we growing? What worked this year? Where did I fail? What lessons have I learned? What didn't I enjoy doing? Am I happy? 

As business owners, those questions may sometimes be painful to answer but it's so important to always face it. 

I hope these few tips are helpful and hopefully I can continue to touch base on different areas more frequently! And please if you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to share. Would love to hear from different business owners and their approaches! 

Have a great week friends!