my own personal business...

as i said in an earlier post, i am working on starting my own freelance design/etsy business. my family has been telling me for years that i should do this and for years i've come up with reasons and excuses as to why it's not a good idea. mostly just plain fear. well, enough excuses.

my first task, aside from the name that is, was to do research. see what else is out there, learn what i can from people who have gone before me. and, since i'm an avid reader...i hit the book store. what i found is this...


it has encouraged me, inspired me and scared me to death. ironically, the fears and excuses i've been telling my family for years...this book has completely squelched. which would be great except that it simultaneously has brought up so many more questions and anxieties like...business licenses, taxes, bookkeeping, marketing, etc. so many things that i have never even considered. the only thing keeping me moving forward on this endeavor is that this book explains how to do all of those things. it is the nuts and bolts of starting a "crafting" business.

so, i will keep you updated as this journey unfolds. it's exciting and a tiny bit scary, but...i'm ready for a little bit of risk.

smarter than a fifth grader?

i've been volunteering once a week at the Boys and Girls Club of America for about two months. my experience so far has been really good and has proven that kids really do say the "darndest" things. and on weeks where i find it a challenge to go after a long day at work, i find that generally something happens to make me extremely thankful that i did. here is a little example of just that...

keagan: (singing) "i fell in to a burnin' ring of fire."
me: wow, johnny cash, impressive!
angelica: i just saw that movie about johnny cash, walk the line, i loved it!
dustin: (directed towards me) isn't there an ocean that is called the ring of fire?
me: um....
keagan: no, you're thinking of a ring of volcano's and the lava is the fire.
dustin: no, i'm pretty sure there is an ocean that is called the ring of fire because of the plates or fault line it sits on. (again directed at me, i guess assuming that as an adult i should have this information) is it the pacific?
me: i'm not sure. i really don't know
dustin: you don't know? c'mon, it's geography. (thus solidifying in my mind that he assumed as an adult that i should have this information).
me: dustin, what grade are you in?
dustin: 5th
me: well, i guess i'm not smarter than a 5th grader.
dustin: (after controlling his laughter and becoming very serious) maybe you should try to learn then.

yes, dustin, maybe i should try to learn. and, since google is my friend...

the pacific ring of fire (or sometimes just the ring of fire) is an area where large numbers of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of a pacific ocean.

thanks to wikipedia, it has been proven that dustin, and kind of keagan as well, was right. and....i am in fact...not smarter than a 5th grader.

what's in a name...

for years and years I’ve been trying to come up with a name for a freelance graphic design business. and frankly…i have commitment issues. i have no idea how people name their children…it’s so permanent. there is pressure and i feel it. i want it to be catchy, clever, maybe even witty. but, most of all i want it to instill confidence. i want it to say that i know what I’m doing.

recently i’ve considered going a different route and opening a shop on www.etsy.com, where I could sell other types of artwork as well. while looking into this i stumbled upon an article about choosing the perfect name for your shop. should it have my name in it? should it involve alliteration? and, i find myself with the same problem…commitment issues.

so, i’m going to do something i’ve considered doing for a while now…i’m going to ask for help. what do you think my design business/etsy shop should be called? any thoughts, ideas, strokes of genius...HELP!

gotta' get yourself connected...

today i've been researching and preparing for a technology seminar i'm teaching next week. i have taught this seminar for the past three years at a conference for senior adults. somehow the word has spread and i've been asked to teach it at another conference. my seminar generally covers what's out there on the internet...social media, photo sharing sites, blogs, etc. every time i prepare to lead this class, it begins to seem so basic. i mean, i use these tools on a daily basis, and i quickly begin to lose sight of the fact that not everybody does. plus, i use these tools, but that doesn't make me an expert. so, i find myself questioning, in a typically self-deprecating fashion, why they've asked me to teach and if anyone will even come to my class.

then i read this quote that helped put it into the proper perspective..."whatever technology that's in front of us always challenges us, [for instance] our parents thought that we listened to the radio too much." (Jesse Rice, author of the church of facebook).

that's the truth, isn't it? it is always changing, there is always something new. and sometimes, that newness scares us. it also tends to divide generations. so my task, whether i choose to accept it or not, is to bridge that gap. and, to show my audience what's out there and how it can work for them. it seems a daunting task...wish me luck!

during my research i stumbled upon some videos that i thought were pretty fun and i thought i would share them...



this next one was presented to me as an idea for a new communication tool in my office. i personally thought it was a fabulous idea...

Auto Tuning from Casey Donahue on Vimeo.

this last one really doesn't pertain to my task, i just thought it was adorable. this little boy is an extremely talented ukelele player. any guesses on how old he is? performing "I'm yours" by Jason Mraz...