I knew I had been slacking big time on my blog. Until I logged on today I didn’t realize it had been over TWO years since I posted! They say time flies, but that was even more than I expected, especially when you begin to design a new path for yourself.
So, Where Have I been?
It was never my intention just to stop blogging. In fact, I have a notebook full of planned posts and drafts that never made it to final publication. One day I started working on digital products to add to my shop. Before I knew it, my focus had changed.
My shop saw the rise and fall in the popularity of custom face masks. Something I enjoyed making. Both designing and then physically making. Making and selling things brought me back to making jewelry, which was my original passion.
But I knew going to craft shows and vendor events wasn’t something I wanted to get back into. I also have had an increase in chronic migraines. This makes it hard for me to commit to events I might not be physically able to attend.
So I started looking for ways to incorporate the direction my interests were taking. Designing digital and physical products. And further developing my interest in graphic design. My kids were getting older and I started to look at what I wanted to do. Fall of 2021 meant JuneBug could finally go away to school. The covid world of 2020-2021 meant her first year was done virtually from home. Fall of 2022, Tasha joined her, leaving only O-Man at home. Oh, and the puppy we got in 2021. Never having a dog before, the work a puppy takes was eye-opening.
Time to focus on me… but what exactly did that mean?
Refocusing
My background is in business and I’ve been creative my whole life. But combining the two never actually came easy when applying my knowledge to myself. I got a marketing and business degree so I could make a business out of my creative endeavors.
Well, I could work in marketing and maybe one day my creative hobbies would pay for themselves. Because, let’s face it, the narrative around making a career out of the arts wasn’t encouraging 25+ years ago.
Motherhood, life, and a disconnect of how to actually apply my marketing degree to me kept my goals of entrepreneurship on the back burner.
If you’re a creative and a mom, I’m sure you can relate. We think, “Oh, I can make that!”
“Oh, I can do that!”
“I just need a little time to figure it out.”
But, the kids need something, work needs something. Someone needs something. And, before we realize it, our personal goals become just a hobby. Something we do in our spare time or will get to when the kids don’t need us as much.
Investing in Me
When I started blogging, I accepted that I needed to invest in myself. After reading some books and free resources, I started with paid online courses. Recognizing time is money. Paying for a course where the information I was seeking would be in one spot could save me time. Time not spent cobbling together free resources or all the time I would spend on trial and error. Good business investment and part of making my blog into a profitable business.
Then, investing in online courses became a hobby too! One course would provide so much information. But then I would identify what I was missing and seek another course to fill in the gap. Lather, rinse, repeat…
I was struggling with why, armed with all this knowledge and resources, I couldn’t put everything together for myself. If my kids or friend wanted to start a blog, I could tell them exactly what they needed to do. I just needed someone to do that for me… Oh, wait… I needed a mentor!
Enter Carina Gardner
I stumbled upon Carina Gardner’s Design Bootcamp in the fall of 2021. And it was precisely what I needed!
After doing Design Bootcamp, I knew I needed to be in Carina’s orbit to turn my dreams into a reality. It was time to truly be a designer and not just a dreamer. I enrolled in Design Suite and haven’t looked back.
Below is a link to her book, another great resource!
Why am I Singing Carina’s Praises?
As a Design Suite member, I have access to the library of courses Carina offers and continues to add. These are all available to me in a portal 24 hours a day, forever. So, if I can’t sleep, I can log in and learn. Or I can schedule time in my day to work through the courses. Topics like Adobe Illustrator, creating SVGs for use on my Cricut, designing for fabric, pitching for contracts, using social media in my business, and more.
Active members also have the ability to ask questions and get answers without waiting days or weeks for someone to check back in with them. Yes, I experienced this through other courses. We have a design community where we can post, a Marco Polo feed, email addresses, and a variety of virtual meeting options.
Each Sunday I sit down to plan my week. I always plug in what meetings are going on in Design Suite. There is a rotation between squad meetings (with a design coach and your peers), Carina’s mentor meetings, guest experts, and an Etsy expert. Quarterly Carina hosts a virtual conference. Here she shares the new things to look forward to, experts, answers questions, random tips, awards, etc.
Designed to Keep Learning
Carina is constantly giving and improving the program. Since I’ve been a member the number of courses available to me has increased, maybe even doubled. As holes in our businesses appear, she has filled them. Either creating a new course or bringing in an expert to provide relevant information. And she’s continued to increase her staff to make sure her members are receiving the guidance and value they deserve.
The most recent change is the addition of design coaches. Another designer, knowledgeable on Carina’s courses, with a successful design business built by being a part of Design Suite. I recently met with my coach, Lisa, via Zoom. We had a great chat and she helped me to refine my goals for the next few months.
In January I had the opportunity to meet Carina in person at a live design retreat. Not only did I learn a ton, but got to meet some of my fellow classmates in person as well. Below Carina is showing examples of design elements in fabric at the Missouri Star Quilt Shop where the Design Retreat was held.
The Results are Exciting!
Success is individual to each of us, much as each of us has different dreams. I’m a FOMO person so I want to do all the things… probably obvious from this blog… I have a lot of interests!
Mentorship is the only way I have kept my dream of owning my own business dedicated to my creations in focus.
Through Carina’s (and now Lisa’s too) mentorship, I’m in the beginning stages of my dream of having a profitable business based on my creative endeavors. I’m currently focusing on designing SVGs and sublimation images available in my Etsy shop.
Regular additions to my Etsy shop, coaching, and mentorship through Design Suite, and focus is resulting in consistent sales. Am I quitting my day job yet? No… But, I do finally have a plan in place that is leading to results.
Dreamer or Designer?
If you’re wondering if you’re ready to take your dreams to the next level, I encourage you to sign up for Design Bootcamp.
For a nominal fee, you gain access to the boot camp. This is a great way to find out if you are ready to get paid to be a designer. The fee ensures you are truly interested. A free course sounds nice, but if you’re like me, your inbox is full of free things you’ve signed up for and never actually tried.
Am I right?
Here’s what you will get:
- 5 Days of video training with Carina Gardner available for 10 days
- 5 Strategies You Need to Propel A Career in Design
- Learn how to get started in Illustrator
- Learn the first steps you need to make money as a designer
- Learn Carina’s signature framework for how to create a Successful Design Business
- Learn how to create residual income
If you have ever wanted to know how to make money in a creative field, you owe it to yourself to try this out. Let’s face it, if you’ve read this far and have an interest in taking your creative endeavors further. You’re probably interested. Will you be joining me in Design Suite?
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