A positive online review is like balm to the soul of a small business owner. When you own a small business, it’s hard to overstate how many complaints you get every day, but the online review — Google Reviews, Yelp, Facebook reviews, etc. — is a category all to itself, […]
There’s so much of what we were building before quarantine that doesn’t make sense anymore. That’s not news to anyone — we’ve all been pivoting our little hearts out, trying to change direction with every new news cycle (this week included). But what I didn’t realize was, while I was […]
One thing I’ve tried to embrace this year, in the midst of so much strangeness and sadness, is the freedom to try different things. The old molds of our lives are broken, so we don’t really have a choice, of course. But I’ve tried to use the need to rebuild […]
You know your favorite shops are suffering this year, and you want to support them — but how do you know who’s open, what they’re offering, and how to shop with them? In 2020, the in-person shopping experience has completely changed, and it’s hard to know where to start. I […]
I want to buy local as much as I can this Christmas — but I also want to take supporting local businesses a step further. Chances are, you’re feeling the same way. But, besides buying local, what can we do? Well, I’m throwing together a little project that I’m calling […]
There are a few kinds of people who start thinking about the winter holidays before Halloween even happens — prop stylists, influencers (who’ll post hot cocoa picks as soon as the calendar hits November), and retail shop owners. Usually, the build up to the holidays is intense, but exciting. You […]
Most of us are staying home now — all the time. Sometimes that feels magical, and sometimes it feels like a special kind of torture. One of the things that makes quarantine so difficult is that, when we don’t change up our routine every so often, we can feel like […]
I’ll start this pep talk off with reality — things are looking very grim. As small business owners, we don’t have cash reserves. We don’t have angel investors backing us up. And we know that our communities, as well meaning as they are, are also fickle and distracted and scared […]
How are your new year goals going? Personally, I feel uninspired and mentally exhausted. In the past few weeks, as much as I try to get excited about new projects or get traction on my goals, I can’t seem to get there. I’m still getting my work done, but I […]
One of the things that came up in my podcast conversation with videographer and photographer Mateo Zarate was whether or not creatives should work for free. There’s a very vocal group that says you should always be paid for your work, and you should never work for free, for exposure […]
In her book Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert writes that you have to jump on creative ideas when you have them because you can’t recapture the original spark of your idea once it’s passed. I get what she’s trying to say — but I hope it’s not true. I can’t always […]