Show Her Work

Hey there, and Happy Sunday! I took more than half of this month off to do some traveling, be with friends, and fill my cup. One of the challenges with running a business compared to working a full-time job is that I have more responsibilities than I did when I was working for someone else. As a software engineer, when I wanted to take off, I just took off and someone else would fill in for me. With the business, it’s just me, and I’m on the hook for keeping the thing running while I’m gone....

Hey there, and Happy Sunday! You may already know this, and maybe you can relate, but I can be a bit of a perfectionist. It’s very difficult for me to release work into the world if it feels like I could have done it a little better. I’ve had the (completely wrong and unhelpful) belief my entire life that what I produce is a reflection of my self-worth. So releasing “bad” stuff is really hard for me. The problem with perfectionism is that when I let it take control, then I release very little...

Happy Sunday, friend! It’s finally time to for me to tell you what I’ve been working on for the past month. I mentioned in my last newsletter that, while I’ve loved connecting with customers on Spoonflower, I’m really wanting to take more ownership over the sales of my products. More ownership means more control over what I sell and how I sell it, and it also means I receive more in return for the effort I’m putting in. I’ve been working with a business coach for a little while now, and we...

Happy Sunday! It’s that time for my monthly review where I reflect on the past month, celebrate my wins, and make a plan for the upcoming month. Let’s jump right in— March Goals & What I Accomplished 1. Add another 200 designs to my Spoonflower shop, following my new workflow. Done! I’ve been loving my new process. It’s allowing me to work with my creative ebbs and flows and giving me more space to focus on other things in the business. 2. Enter any new Spoonflower design challenges. Two new...

Hey there, and happy Sunday! In my February monthly review, I mentioned that I was working on a new super-secret project (sorry, I’m still not ready to share details!), and I’ve been in the thick of research and planning for that project this month. When I started the month, I was at the peak of the “new project high.” Whenever I start a new thing I’m always super excited and believe it’s the best idea ever. Then I start to really dig into it and run into obstacles, roadblocks, and...

Hey there! Happy Sunday and Spring! As a creative, I find that I default to always wanting to create new things from scratch. But I’m starting to remind myself that my older work doesn’t need to be forgotten. I can always go back and re-use, re-create, or re-imagine. So this week I did just that. I pulled out a pattern design that I created for a friend last year who was wallpapering her half bathroom. She really wanted these scattered ginkgo leaves in black and gold— I really enjoyed how...

Hey there, and Happy Sunday! I’ve been working with a business/mindset coach for a few years now, and one of the mental blocks that she’s noticed will come up for me over and over again is the thought that, “I’m not very successful.” It’s a weird block because it’s not something I think consciously out loud, but my coach can tell by the way I speak that it’s what I subconsciously believe. She finds it amusing because she could sit down and write a huge list of all the ways I’m already very...

Hey there, and Happy Sunday! We’re a little over two months into the year, which is about the time that I start drifting from my north star intentions I set at the beginning of the year. I don’t know about you, but rarely do I decide to aggressively veer off course. It’s usually a slow, barely noticeable drift, and before I know it I have no idea where I am anymore. That’s why this year, I set an intention of focus, to remind me to stay on course. When I noticed myself getting distracted by...

Happy Sunday & March! This week I’m going to share my February end-of-month review with you. But before that, I said I would give you an update on my ski trip! My husband and I visited Snowshoe, West Virginia, which is where he originally learned to ski but it was my first time. The runs are a little more chill compared to the ones we encounter in Colorado, so I was hopeful that maybe I’d be able to complete my first black diamond run. And I did it! I was pretty nervous, but it turned out to...

Happy Sunday! As you’re reading this, I’ll be packing up and on my way home from my second of three ski trips this year. Hopefully my muscles are a little less sore compared to last week and maybe I’ve even skied my first black diamond run? You’ll have to tune in next week to hear how it all went! This week I wanted to share a few thoughts I’ve been having around setting reasonable expectations for growth. Personally I’ve found, especially in the world of the internet, that it can be...