Modish Biz Tips

Making Time

{lost time print, by Lineanograta}

Ah time. It does escape me. I seem to always be searching and wishing for more, cursing my lack of it daily. I think that's a common occurence with many of us though. How often does the thought "I don't have time" enter your mind weekly? Daily?

I even find myself using my lack of time as an excuse (I didn't say a good one) to get out of taking care of myself well. "I would exercise/eat well/read a book/go outside/meet friends/go to the beach/etc but, I just don't have time!"

Is that really a valid statement, though?

On Wednesday, I had dinner with the lovely Betsy from Betsy & Iya and we were talking about the ups and downs of self-employment, the parts that fall short of our idealistic dreams and I mentioned how I really would love to get back into yoga again, but (say it with me class) I just don't have time.

Since I was 16, I've turned to yoga for exercise and balance- I know how much it helps ground me and keep me positive, but when I start to get really busy (aka: when I need grounding and balance the most) I tend to let go of my practice and get lost in work. And lost is a really good description of it. I have a daily sense of overwhelment and burden, I feel scatterbrained and always at the tipping point of burn-out. And I feel like I don't have time to do anything but work work work til the work is done, and that mindset eventually leads me into a semi-depressed state.

On lamenting about my past healthy and happy yoga filled days, Betsy told me about a show she watched on our local PBS station featuring some motivational speaker man (you know the types) who basically said: if you need time for something, make it.

Easy right?

Do What You Love: An interview with Susannah Conway

We're back with another Do What You Love interview, this time with the fantastic Susannah Conway! Susannah is a photographer, writer and teacher- you may know her from her gorgeous photography, from reading her insightful blog or perhaps taking her popular Unravelling e-course. She's gracious and kind and inspiring in so many ways, I'm so pleased to have her here to share her insight on life as a successfully self-employed (and single!) woman. Let's meet her!

What do you do for a living?

I am a photographer and writer, and I run the Unravelling e-course online.

How long have you been self-employed? What made you decide to take the leap?

I’ve actually been self-employed, in one way or another, since 2003, when I left my full-time job as a fashion editor on a UK national newspaper and became a freelance journalist. In 2005 I lost my partner and didn’t work for year, but as I worked through my bereavement I started to pick up article commissions here and there before I decided to launch my photography business in 2007. In 2008 I started teaching the Unravelling workshops locally before offering them online this year. My reason for taking the leap in the first place? I hate working in an office and feeling like an automaton.

Do you work from home or have a studio/office elsewhere?

I work from home and it is an absolute joy to be able to do so.

Do you have a partner or assistant, or are you going it solo?

Do What You Love: Rewarding Yourself

{photo by Larsz. Give yourself a gold star!}

Yes, working for yourself, being able to set your own schedule and not having to answer to anyone else is incredibly rewarding. But, it can also be incredibly stressful and lead to a max-out burn-out situation if you're not careful.

That's why I think it's important to have some sort of reward system in place when you work for yourself. Since you have no bonus headed your way, no allocated raises, no free lunch, office parties or even coworkers around to laugh at your bad jokes, I think it's a good idea to make sure you're rewarding yourself for all your hard work, when you can.

I tend to set up little rewards to keep myself going throughout the day. For instance, once I finish writing this post, and only after I finish writing it, I can reward myself with a little break for some food and catch up on the latest episode of the Hills (er, purely as an example of course, not like I'd ever watch that show... ;) Or, if I get all my morning posts on Modish done and scheduled the day before, I can reward myself with pancakes the next morning or by meeting a friend for coffee.

I like to think of "rewards" as all the little perks that come with self-employment that we really ought to be taking advantage of. Think back to when you were working the 9-5 grind, just daydreaming about working for yourself full time... what are the perks you imagined for yourself then? Are you satisfying those now that you are self-employed?

If nothing else, rewards help motivate people to get the job done and done well. Think back to the sorts of reward systems that were in play in your past jobs (or perhaps there weren't any and that's one of the reasons why you left! :) Be the boss to yourself that you always wish you had, the kind that rewards a job well done in a way that's appropriate to the task at hand.

From a cupcake break to a meet up with friends or a non-crowded afternoon in the park, I think it's good to reward yourself every now and again to make sure you stay a happy, healthy and productive employee. 

For those of you who are self-employed, how do you reward yourself in big or small ways? And when? At the completion of a big project? After a particularly productive day? Do you think rewards help keep you motivated in your work?

Do What You Love: An interview with Jan DiCintio

Today in our Do What You Love series, we have an interview with the wonderful Jan DiCintio of Daisy Janie and Scoutie Girl! Jan is one of my go to ladies to ask for advice when I feel the like my business-brain is about to explode. So, I knew she'd be an excellent voice to include here as she's full of life experience and laughter, which we can all use a little more of. Read on to see how she makes her way through the sometimes crazy world of self-employment!

What do you do for a living?

Most hours of the day, I am a fabric and surface designer. I design and sell collections of my fabrics to hobbyists and other small business owners; I create surface designs to sell to manufacturers; and I work with manufacturers to print large wholesale orders. In the other “most hours of the day,” I write/manage/edit posts for my blog Scoutie Girl, which features passionately handmade items from independent artists & designers.

How long have you been self-employed? What made you decide to take the leap?

I started painting anything that dared to get in front of my brush in 1998, but I didn’t sell my first piece of art until May of 2000. It was exhilarating b/c it was truly a whim! My son was 2 at the time, and my husband, Matt, strongly encouraged me (and helped me) make more art – partly to keep me from cleaning the house twice a day while my son napped and partly b/c we both recognized the potential money-making opportunity. The deal was sealed, and it set me on a path of learning how to build a business around something I really enjoyed. There have been many stepping stones, crossroads, ‘the-light’s-not-getting-any-greener’ and ‘oh-$hit’ moments along the way (as well as a couple part-time job stints), but basically, I haven’t looked back since 2000.

Do you work from home or have a studio/office elsewhere?

Do What you Love: Dealing with Distraction

{photo by like, totally. Is this what your brain looks like on distraction?}

My original intent with this Do What You Love column was to rotate between interviews with successfully self-employed people and regular posts that bring up the not always so sunny side of self-employment. So, I'm putting that into action! Next week I'll have an interview with Jan from Scoutie Girl and Daisy Janie, but today I'd like to talk about what I think is one the hardest parts of being self-employed: dealing with distraction.

Distraction can be a hard thing to keep under control in any work situation, but when you're self-employed, it's often too easy to be a slack boss to yourself. Especially when you work from home, you may find the distractions can get totally overwhelming! Home is where kids and pets and laundry and tv and sunny days happen, afterall!  And sometimes, all those everyday life things can get in the way of your work priorities, and you may find yourself blown way off course.

Take today for instance. I'm writing this at 5:00 pm my time right now. Normally I post here before noon everyday. What's up? I've been terribly, utterly distracted all day long!

I woke up early and ready to work, but got started doing stuff that was outside my regular routine. I think that set my whole day up badly, as I started off blogging late and then little life things started getting in the way- finding a birthday present for Mom, worrying about the dog who was acting funny, paying bills online, doing chores, watering my newly planted garden, calling/texting/twittering, getting lost "researching" online... And wouldn't you know it, suddenly it was mid-afternoon and I'd whittled a whole day away doing a whole lot of nothing! Ack!

When days like this happen it can make you feel depressed, overwhelmed and like a big fat failure. It's frustrating when you know you have so much to do, and you just wasted a whole bunch of time that you could have used doing it!

So what's the magic cure?

Do What you Love: An Interview with Patricia Zapata

Our next interviewee up in the Do What You Love series is the lovely Patricia Zapata. She is a graphic designer who also wrote the book on paper crafting (literally- it's coming out this summer!) She was one of the first indie business owners I "met" years ago when I opened my first little jewelry shop and she's been a constant source of inspiration, both in how she conducts herself and how she manages her business. I think she's also our first mom in the series, so you'll be able to get a little insight into how she runs a family and a home based business at the same time! Let's meet her!

What do you do for a living?

I am an independent graphic designer and I own two businesses. I design corporate identity and collateral materials for small to mid-sized businesses for my Zapata Design clients. Through A Little Hut, I sell paper illustrations, wall art, design stationery, printable PDFs and block printed note cards. I’m also the author of Home, Paper, Scissors, a papercraft book, which will be published in August of this year.

How long have you been self-employed?  What made you decide to take the leap?

I left my design job when I had our first child. It was a leap of faith and a choice purely inspired by the fact that I was a new mom. After being a full-time Mom for a year, I realized I needed to work creatively again. I felt my artsy neurons demanding some exercise again. I’ve been self-employed since 2001 and I haven’t looked back since.

Do you work from home or have a studio/office elsewhere?