I know by now you've heard the word "Brand" tossed around by one business guru or another. And you are scratching your head going "branding, say what?!". You've been sending out silent pleas into the internet abyss, "can't someone, anyone pleeeease tell me what it means to have a brand?" Well, it's not the easiest thing to define, because it entails a lot, but I'm going to give you a quick example and a run down of what the essence of a brand is. Imagine living ...

A few years back my husband and I ventured into the Louisiana State Fair, and I came out with these photos that evoke dreamy, childlike memories of fluffy cotton candy and flying through the air. I wanted to share them with you, and it's my hope that the photos and color palettes inspire you in your creative work. Feel free to use the color palettes in your latest designs. Palette 1- Palette 2- Palette 3- Palette 4- Palette 5- Palette 6- Palette ...

If you had told me a year ago that I was going to be at CreativeLive in San Francisco on the front row, I probably would have laughed. It's not that I haven't done things in the past that have made me uncomfortable, it's just that this was way beyond my comfort zone...like we're talking so far out that I was practically in a different country. First of all, I am introverted to the core (one of the many reasons that ...

My recent trip to San Francisco went a little too quickly for my liking, but it was full of wonderful moments. Moments like catching up with old friends, exploring a new city, and learning from one of my business heroines. I wanted to take you along the journey, since it was such a great one: A dear friend of mine drove down to pick me up at the airport and we checked into our airb&b first thing, then we drove ...

I don't know about you, but for the longest time I couldn't figure out what to create for my opt-in offer. I had a few ideas, but none of them ever seemed right for my business. So, I put off making my opt-in and setting up my e-mail list. And if you haven't read my post on My Big Business Blunders, head on over there now to see why you don't want to make that same mistake. Over time, however, and after ...

A few weeks ago, I mentioned to all my friends, fans, and family that I had some exciting news to share. Well, today is the day! {insert ceremonious drum roll here} I'm going to CreativeLive in San Francisco next month to be a part of April Bowles-Olin's course Create Digital Products that Sell While You Sleep. Some of you may be asking, who is this April lady and why are you so excited?! Well, she's only one of my favorite ...

  Today I wanted to be vulnerable and transparent with you on some things that I've done wrong in my business. Some mistakes that I've made a long the way, that will hopefully help you from making similar mistakes in yours. So here goes nothing: Big Blunder #1. Not setting up my e-mail mailing list from the beginning. I've heard it said over and over... and over, the money is in the list. I've had my design business now for ...

Video. Blech. I can hear you groaning now. Creating video is scary and time consuming, right? You've got to write out the script, you've got to prepare slides or get your makeup on and at least be presentable from the waist up (because #yogapants), and then let's not even get started with the editing. Video was scary for me in the beginning, too. With my first video, I felt nervous that I'd be lost and that I wouldn't have a clue ...

Okay, so I didn't literally "mountain climb" when I lived in China. But, my husband and I did take some pretty ominous paths up to the tops of mountains, which wasn't something I would typically do... being that I'm afraid of heights and all. But, living in a foreign country caused me to do a lot of things that I maybe wouldn't have done if I hadn't lived there (i.e. teach to a class of 50+ students in a Chinese University, ...

Is your 'About Page' lame or lackluster? Does it need a little sprucing up? Friend, I've been there. For the longest time, my 'About Page' was written in a yucky third-person voice that lacked any sort of creativity. I couldn't figure out what in the world to do with the page, because I didn't want it to be impersonal and robotic. At the same time, I feared being way too rambly and carrying on about things that my readers wouldn't REALLY need ...