I think anytime we start a new year, we do the same thing – we take stock of where we are, how far we’ve come, and what we want for the future. Then comes in the comparison. Where is everyone else? Where are they heading? How do I compare to them?

I recently posted an instagram from a quote from Jon Acuff:

“Don’t compare your beginning, to someone else’s middle.” – Jon Acuff

It got a lot of likes from yall. Which leads me to believe we all do this, and we all know we shouldn’t. When we compare, it’s completely unfair to ourselves. We aren’t comparing apples to apples, and we are pretending like we are. I don’t think there is a problem with a bit of healthy competition – but we take it so much further. The trouble with comparison is that it is like a thorn. It starts simple enough, and starts bugging us, bothering us, and getting worse. It soon becomes so bad that it has morphed our sense of ourselves. We now see ourselves through a false set of eyes. We are lying to ourselves about our worth by comparing ourselves to someone else. We are also lying to ourselves if we think someone else’s path is BETTER than our own.

Let me say something refreshing for a moment –

It doesn’t MATTER how you compare to someone ELSE. It really doesn’t. All that matters is how you compare to YOURSELF.

The only way to compare apples to apples it to compare our present selves with our past selves. How does past ME compare with now ME? How can I make future ME even better?

It’s silly to think we should follow someone else’s path. Our lives are so complex – we need to realize WE are more complex than that. WE are different than THEM.

You have been created to be completely unique. There truly is no one else out there like you. Really. So there will be NO other path like yours. The real success comes in being true to yourself, and to stop comparing.

Once we stop comparing to others, we can start to create our own path:

• What are YOUR goals?
• What are YOUR passions?
• What works for YOU?
• How do YOU learn best?
• How do YOU create best?

Once you focus on yourself and being you – and not anyone else – the thorn is removed and you are free to soar to be the BEST you.

Let’s stop comparing our ANYTHING to anyone else’s ANYTHING. Let’s be us and let’s be awesome because of it.

Need help in customizing your path and being true to yourself for 2014? I’ll be opening registration tomorrow for the Design Life Project e-course. Our last session was nothing short of AMAZING and I’m so excited for the New Year’s edition of this course. We are going to have a wonderful 5 weeks together and we are going to grow SO much! Make sure you’re signed up for the newsletter (sign up in the sidebar on the left to be reminded when registration opens TOMORROW, January 15th)  and you can snag your spot!

I’ve been hearing a lot of business owners toil over something recently, so I thought I should talk about it – the dreaded New Year price increase. In the Design Life Project e-course (registration opens Wednesday) I talk in detail about how to set your prices, when to raise them and how to raise them. One of my biggest recommendations is raising them for the New Year. It’s a common business practice, as (our) costs are always rising, and the new tax year is a good split point to do so.

But what is the best way to do it? How do we let our clients know? There are a few approaches, and as every business is different – so there will be different ways to handle it.

If your business always has new (rotating) clients

This is the easiest scenario, because new clients may not be aware of your old pricing. This means updating your site to reflect your new pricing (if you have it listed), or updating any materials you send out with pricing on them. If you’d like to stimulate a little sales before you increase – send out a social media blast that your prices will be raising on a certain date, and give them one more chance on the pricing. If you have a newsletter list, this can be an easy way to do that. You could also raise your price but run a special, so that new clients don’t feel like they JUST missed the boat.

If your business has old/repeating clients

This can be a bit trickier, if you have old clients who are used to your pricing. If you’ve had a consistent price raise – every year or 2 years – this should be just part of the routine. But what if you haven’t raised your prices in awhile and you’re afraid of alienating your clients? For this I’d take a softer approach. I would start to warn them, and perhaps give them more time than your new clients. You can extend their deadline a bit if you need to – but eventually you WILL need to raise their prices too. If they love you and they know you’re worth it – you won’t lose them. Don’t let them take advantage of you or drag out special rates. You’ve got to make a living and they should be understanding of that. There is a reason you’re raising your prices in the first place, whether it be to make more money to support yourself & family, or to free up your schedule more – and they aren’t exempt from that reason.

There is also another way to increase your prices that I’d like to mention – without making it so obvious:

Package restructuring

Another way to increase your prices is through package restructuring. Develop new packages that are worth more or include more value for a higher price. You can even add a simple item to a current package, and raise the price on that. Think about adding VALUE – it could be an extra service that doesn’t cost you more, but gives them a more white glove version of your service. This could also mean dropping your smallest packages from your offering. You can always include a la carte items if you wish.

So how do I know HOW much to increase it for the New Year?

For how much to increase it – it depends on how far off your 2013 prices were form what they SHOULD be (see another post I wrote about your true worth and the pricing balance). I also have a specific formula I talk about in the Design Life Project e-course on calculating EXACTLY how much you should be charging. The main idea is deciding what you want to make in a year and backtracking from there. If you figure out you are charging WAY too little – a huge jump may scare everyone off. In that case, I’d recommend a quarterly increase to where you need to be. If you’re not too far off, and if business is good – I say just go for it. I use my current workload to also dictate how much to increase my prices. If I’m super busy and booking far in advance – I will probably do a higher jump for the next year. If business has been steady – the raise reflects that accordingly.

As always, use your intuition when setting prices, and then add a little more. The number should probably make you a *bit* uncomfortable, but not *too* uncomfortable. If you feel totally comfortable, it probably needs to be a bit higher. You will most likely devalue yourself when something comes easily to you. It’s not about what YOU would pay for it – it’s what someone would pay YOU for your expertise!

Happy price increasing!!

Happy Friday to all of you! Wishing you a fantastic LONG weekend! I’m so excited for WEDNESDAY! I’ll be opening registration for the Design Life Project e-course. Our last session was nothing short of AMAZING and I’m so excited for the New Year’s edition of this course. We are going to have a wonderful 5 weeks together and we are going to grow SO much! I’m super excited. We are purposefully keeping this first class small and intimate, so make sure you’re signed up for the newsletter (sign up in the sidebar on the left to be reminded when registration opens NEXT WEDNESDAY, January 15th and you can snag your spot!

Once upon a time I remember in college they would teach us that learning was a good thing – that the more you learn, the better off you’d be in the real world – or more specifically – the workforce. And while I whole-heartedly agree that knowledge is power, I think it creates a sort of misconception that we’d be expected to use ALL of this knowledge. It creates a false truth in our heads that being a jane-of-all-trades is highly useful for the future. After almost 6 years in business for myself, I strongly disagree that a jane-of-all-trades should be your goal in business. I actually think it’s in the narrowing of your field or expertise, where the sweet spot lies.

As I mentioned before, I do think multifaceted knowledge is a great thing – but not because you want to be OKAY at a lot of things. I think knowledge is power when you use it strategically – when you decide when, how and what to FOCUS on. I think the key to harnessing the power of knowledge is in elimination. It’s great to learn a lot, and in many areas, with the sole purpose of getting RID of the information or the directions that don’t fit.

So how do we go about cutting out which information/skills should stay and which ones should go?

1. First it comes in shifting this mindset that we’ve gotten into our heads – that it is a sign of success when we can do a lot of things well (enough), or that it’s a sign of strength that we have a LOT of offerings.

In fact, I truly believe it does the opposite. I believe when we spread out our offerings and offer too many things to our clients, that we actually get weaker, that the entirety of our work gets weaker. To illustrate my point – think of something pliable. Think about how when you stretch it and stretch it, the material becomes and thinner and weaker and soon may break. The key to start narrowing our focus is to truly BELIEVE it works. If we prune the bad branches/fruit – then the fruit that is flourishing in the plant THRIVES and gets stronger.

2. It’s easier to become successful when you are a big fish in a little pond, versus a small fish in a big pond.

Another thing to think about is how unique your offering is. It’s much easier to gain success and business when you are doing something that not many others do. This is another kind of narrowing. This could mean a narrowing of your clients. Maybe you only work with a certain type of business. You get KNOWN for working only in that niche, so your name grows like wildfire among that niche. It only takes a few people that are in love with your service to turn all their friends on to you.

3. It’s better to completely WOW a few, than to simply SATISFY many.

Go above and beyond with less clients. Instead of doing a few things for everyone, do amazing things for a just a few (click to tweet this). Charge more, lighten your load – but give those clients more added value and give them truly great “white glove” service. It is simply impossible to compete on price these days – you will NEVER win competing on price. Instead, you compete on value, on substance, on quality and on customer service. This is how you win hearts and minds, word-of-mouth, and how you truly become fulfilled in what you do and make a difference in other’s lives. This is what matters right?

Today, I’d love to encourage you to take stock of your offerings and perhaps make some changes. Do you have some things that you just aren’t in love with anymore, that are weakening your chain? Perhaps you have some NEW offerings that you think may take off like wildfire and will help you stand out?

Here’s how to get started:

Which areas do you have that:

• Are the most fun for you and your clients
• Garner the most acclaim
• Make the most money?

What areas do you have that:

• Are a drain on you or your clients
• You dread doing
• Take up too much of your time?

The areas that are your high-producing fruit, you keep, and you focus your energies on strengthening. The areas that are your weakest – you simply get rid of them. They aren’t working and they are a drain on what you’re doing well. You’ll be surprised at how quickly things will flourish with your prize fruit when you get rid of that dead weight.

Happy narrowing!!

Now that the first class of Design Life Project has wrapped up, I’m excited to start writing again on the Design Life Project. The Design Life Project class was nothing short of amazing and it was so fulfilling to see LIVES CHANGED! I could not be more pleased with the fabulous group of women we had join us, and I was in awe of their talent and determination! I’m excited to run the next class in 2014! The registration for the next class will be opening January 1st, so stay tuned!

Today I’d love to talk about procrastination. With the Holidays and the end of the year looming, I have been more distracted than ever before.

We are also BUSIER than ever before, so it is a tough combo to deal with sometimes. I find it very hard to focus when the allure of the holidays roll around. If you’re anything like me, the colder weather makes you just want to curl up with a cup of soup and sit by a fire. Sitting in an office chair in front of a computer is not as glamorous right? It seems hard to get any real work done this time of year.

So what makes us procrastinate? Is it just distractions? I don’t think so. Being distracted is definitely one part of the equation, but it’s not the only part of the equation. In an effort to up my holiday/new year productivity, I did some research on the topic. Here are the top 5 reason we procrastinate, and what we can do to combat them:

1. Easily Distracted

• This one is the most obvious and is probably the most universal. We are easily distracted online, in person, or internally with our thoughts, worries or stresses.

What do we do to cut the distractions so that we can get productive? The first step is to purposefully clear the distractions or clutter. Notice what’s distracting you and actively take steps to get rid of it. Take off the notifactions on your phone. Close down Facebook. Close your office door and put a do not disturb sign up. Silence your cell phone. Clear off your desks and clear out your work environment to an blank slate. Get it cleared out and ready for a productive day!

2. Lack of Confidence

• Sometimes we feel like we lack the confidence or skill to complete a task. It seems too big, too difficult, too hard for us to complete.

How can we build our confidence? Work on building yourself up. Focus on what you’re doing well, and praise yourself for the little things. If you feel you lack the skill, invest some time into yourself and learn. Build up your confidence and skill so that you can put your best foot forward and get it done!

3. Feeling Overwhelmed

• We see a project that seems so overwhelmed that we get paralyzed into inactivity. This can happen easily if we are thinking in terms of the big picture.

What do we do when we are overwhelmed by a task? Break it down into baby steps. And then break those down into smaller steps. Set small deadlines for yourself along the way. Have smaller goals. Move forward. Take down the elephant one bite at a time. Also – remove judgement and the need to be perfect. As my lovely friend Lara loves to say – “Done is better than perfect”. Start anywhere, just start.

4. Creative Block

• Sometimes we feel like we are blocked creatively and can’t come up with any new ideas.

How do we battle the Artist block when it gets in our way? We combat it by going in the opposite direction – get motivated. Get inspired. Remember why you started doing this in the first place, and FEED your creative soul. This of it like gas in our creative tank. Do whatever it is to make you feel inspired and refreshed. Get away from the project completely if that’s what you need. See the world with new eyes, and then come back to it.

5. Dread the Task

• This one happens to all of us. Maybe we just genuinely don’t WANT to do the task, we’re dreading dealing with it.

Take a look at why we don’t want to do it. Is it more because of one of the reasons above? If it’s not – is it something we need to start cutting out in the future? Life is too short to be doing things we hate on a daily basis. How can we change this circumstance for ourselves for the future? Perhaps we remove it from our offerings. Perhaps it’s a red flag client that we should not have taken in the first place. Perhaps we over-promised and we didn’t give ourselves enough time. Identify the cause and try to fix it for the future. For the task at hand, use a combination of strategies – break it down into smaller pieces, and reward yourself positively when it’s done.

I am going to employ these strategies for the rest of this year, and I hope these will help you too. This is a wonderful time of year and it should be enjoyed – so let’s get our work stuff done so we can enjoy the fun stuff and the love for friends and family that the holiday has to give!

Happy weekend everyone!

Change can be awesome and change can be terrifying. If you’re like me, it’s almost always the terrifying kind. This week I’ve thought a lot about positive growth and change. As I mentioned before, my daughter started preschool and is having a rough time, but let’s be honest at who’s REALLY having the rough time with it – ME. I have even gone as far to say I HATE preschool. I hate that the drop-offs are so hard, but really I hate being so alone without her. I miss her so much during the day.

But, I know it’s just that GROWING PAIN STAGE that smacks you in the face, in the beginning of a cycle of change. That period of time when you start second guessing your decision, when you have knots in your stomach, when you wish things would just go back to normal. When every ounce of your body is resisting, but your mind tells you it’s the right thing to do.

I love the other side of change, when the tide begins to shift and there is the downhill swing and the hard work pays off. I keep reminding myself of the rainbow at the end, that I know is there. It makes it all worth it.

Change is essential for growth. Change is essential for getting BETTER. The first step to change is figuring out WHAT needs to be changed. Sometimes we put our blinders on to something that desperately needs to be changed, just because we are afraid to change it.

Since I run a small business, it’s easy for me to use that as example. Let’s say you want to make more money. You’ll need to take a hard look at what you’re currently doing – by that I mean – what you’re currently doing WRONG. What needs to change for you to make more money? Are you spending too much extra money? Are you under-charging? Do you need to diversify your revenue stream so that it’s not feast or famine? Figure out the problem first, and that’s the next step to finding your solution.

Maybe you want to make your business operations more streamlined. Do you spend too much time procrastinating? Do you not have a tight enough schedule? Are you always running behind? Do your clients not respect your boundaries? What’s wrong with this picture that’s causing this bad outcome for you?

I’d like to encourage you today to take a hard look at some area in your life, that you’d like to improve. Make a list of things you’d like to improve on. It’s the first step to making a change. You don’t even need to take action yet – since that’s the biggest piece. Let’s just do a baby step today and identify those areas in which change needs to come.

Happy weekend everyone!

Only a couple days left on the early-bird discount for the Design Life Project e-course! If you want in on gaining some clarity and balance with us, make sure you grab your spot, as we are already close to selling out!

I took a little moment of silence yesterday here on the Design Life Project. I’ve been blogging every weekday for a month straight, and yesterday I decided to be quiet. Yesterday I spent a lot of the day thinking about how to balance life, work, and the in between, in the times of tragedy and turmoil. Honestly, I don’t believe that there is a real “balance” that can be had in that moment. I think it’s like getting a direct hit from a cannonball to your hull, and you just start to sink. You will take on water, no matter what you do in that moment.

Tragedies deserve tears. They deserve sadness. They deserve for us to pause everything and to think on only that. They are unfair, they are unjust. They happen to lots of people who just don’t deserve it. Our hearts break, because we were made to have compassion, and to care.

The thing is with tragedy, is it doesn’t happen to just one type of people – it happens to the good people, the bad people… any people. To deal with tragedy, is to be human. As long as we are alive on this Earth, we will deal with pain, and with suffering. It is the ugly side to life here on Earth.

So, when tragedy strikes, we are inescapably thrown off course, off balance. Now what?

Now we move. Now we do. Now we love. Now we live. Now we laugh. Now we play. Now we smile.

We give the tragedy its stage time, and then we move forward. We understand that sadness and pain is only temporary and we glide into our new normal. We survive. We stretch towards the sunshine and stretch out our petals. We get ready for a new dawn. We see beauty again. We begin to feel joy again. We begin to smell the roses and we begin to live again. We begin to heal.

I believe that balance starts to come back, when we start to heal. When we let ourselves let go and start again. We dust ourselves off and have hope and joy for the future.

“Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.” Psalms 30:5

Grow, flowers. Grow.

Only a couple days left on the early-bird discount for the Design Life Project e-course! If you want in on gaining some clarity and balance with us, make sure you grab your spot, as we are already close to selling out!

This and last week have been a bit crazier than usual. My daughter just started preschool, and is having a rough time with it. She also brought home a sickness that both of us get to share. Combo that with our busy season at Love-Inspired, and things are going all topsy-turvy on me.

I have been hearing a message over and over lately, it’s nothing new, but it keeps repeating in my world. I’m hearing that people wish they could slow down, take a break, or have some time for self-care.

It got me thinking, when was the last time I took some ME time? It’s been awhile. I’m not sure even what one does on ME time. I had to Google it. I found some suggestions, that I really like. I decided this week I’m going to schedule in some ME time. I’m going to block out 2 hours of this week, somewhere, turn off my phone and emails, and head to a movie by myself. Okay, I wrote it down, so hold me accountable!

Self-care is essential to a balanced life. We all KNOW it. But do we live it? When was the last time you SLOWED down and took some time? Maybe it’s a date with your boyfriend or husband. Maybe it’s a trip to the mall (or if you’re me – to Target) to shop. Maybe it’s coffee with a friend you haven’t seen in awhile.

I know it’s inconvenient. I know it’s hard to schedule – but DO it anyways. At least once a month. Don’t you think you deserve to slow down at least ONE day out of the month for a couple hours?

Let’s do it together. Go to your Calendar, pretend it’s a meeting, and schedule some YOU time, “MEETING WITH ME.”

Registration is open for the Design Life Project e-course! This week is the last week of the early-bird discount! We have had great feedback, and I’m so excited to start this with you all. We are keeping this class purposeful and smaller, so grab your spot before it sells out!

photo credit

Today, on a Monday, I’d love to talk about sharpening your focus. Mondays are always my busiest days, and need the most focus possible (which can be pretty hard to do, when you’re coming off of a weekend full of fun).

When we give things focus, we get the most done, to the best of our ability. When we lack focus, it makes us feel pulled in a million directions. It’s important when we’re busy, or overwhelmed, to try our best to focus. Sometimes it doesn’t come naturally, so I have some tricks that I use.

There are four ways that we can easily improve our focus right away. Heck, even implementing one of these will help you improve your focus! Here’s my cheat sheet to getting better focus when things get blurry.

1. Give FOCUS Priority.

Make the goal of FOCUSING in, #1. Let go of your other pressures, or at least ease up on them for now. Maybe let go of knowing the latest gossip. Let go of being RIGHT in your inbox as the email comes in. Let go of the pressure to be perfect. Just let being FOCUSED be your number one goal for right now. Give it the respect it deserves and give it your attention.

2. One thing at a time.

The other day I posted an instagram, saying “Let go of anxiety as a lifestyle, or exhaustion as a badge of honor.” I’d like to add a third thing – let go of MULTITASKING as a secret to success. Multitasking in it’s simplest form is fine, but nowadays multitasking has gotten completely out of hand. Now multitasking is actually a surefire way to make sure you get almost NOTHING done. Focus in on getting one thing done at a time, and then knock out the next. Kinda like the snowball effect for tasks.

3. Write it down; make a list.

There is crazy power in pen and ink. I suppose you could use the computer too, but honestly a piece of paper works the best for me. I don’t have to scramble to find it, or find the file to check it off. I also love that I can see all the things I’ve gotten done that day to really feel accomplished. Another perk to writing it down, is getting those thoughts out of your head. Getting your to-dos on paper gets them out of your head, and clears up room in there for you to be able to really focus on the PRESENT.

4. Give things their space.

Respect your tasks, and give them the time they deserve. Stop trying to work at break-neck speed. At first, give your tasks 1.5-2x the time you THINK they will need. Under-promise and over-deliver to yourself. Give yourself breathing room. You’ll have the time to fully relax into what you’re working on, and you know you’ll have plenty of time to get it done, without worrying about the next thing on your list. If you finish early, it’s time to go out and do something for yourself. Everyone wins!

Today I’d love to encourage you to try out one, or all four of these things, one day this week. Let me know how you feel that day! Probably super productive, and fresh! Woo hoo!

These are some basic steps. We’ll be going into more detail on how to customize and best execute your focus in the Design Life Project e-course. Registration is now open, and this is the LAST week for EARLY-BIRD rate. There are limited spots to keep the experience personal, and we actually only have a few seats left. Go grab your spot!

Today I’m keeping it short and sweet. I want to talk about human connection through social media. I’d love for you to watch this video, if you haven’t already seen it. It’s beautifully animated on top of a powerful message.

I couldn’t believe how much this hit home for me. It is so true. We often watch other’s “highlight reel” and compare them to our own. It’s not a fair comparison to make. I’m also a huge fan of sharing positive news, so I don’t think complaining and showing the ugly is necessarily the answer too.

I think instead of the edited and fake, we share TRIUMPH. I think we show COURAGE when things went wrong. I think we show the fear, and do it ANYWAY. I think we share our circumstances, and what we LEARNED from them. I think we show HOPE. I think we show LOVE against ALL odds.

• I would love to encourage you today to show some TRUTH in your social media feeds. Tell someone what you’re struggling with – but show them that you have HOPE about it. Tag your share with #designlifeproject. I’d love to hear from you.

I think if we can show the true colors, but show hope and faith instead – that we will finally make real connections online again.

Happy Weekend!

Registration is open for the Design Life Project e-course! We have had great feedback, and I’m so excited to start this with you all. We are keeping this class purposeful and smaller, so grab your spot before it sells out!