inspiration | keep marching on.

not gonna lie. building a little biz is hard work. it can be confusing and overwhelming and there never seems to be enough time to get it all done. 

but having said that, i do not want to waste a minute of 2011 stressing about how much i have to do or questioning why i am doing this. so i decided to write a manifesto - something that i could post beside my computer to remind me if why i am working at my biz. to keep me motivated and sure of my path.

and it occurred to me that my own personal manifesto could help other mums like me, so i posted this question on facebook and twitter a few weeks ago:

"building a little biz is hard work! there is so much to do and not enough time! so WHY DO YOU DO IT? WHAT MOTIVATES YOU? WHAT KEEPS YOU GOING?"

and you know what? each of the answers i received were ones i already had on my own list. we are all working hard at this because of the same reasons, and i think we could all benefit from being reminded of those reasons when the going gets tough. because it will get tough. but it's worth it, no?

so i would like to share with you my 'little biz builder's manifesto' - if you click here you can download a printable file in colour or black and white, as well as low res images for saving to your desktop, posting on your own blog or sharing online. i would love it if you shared this with your people =)

i hope this will help us all kick ass with our little biz ideas in 2011!

 

i am also attaching the song that gave me the final line to the manifesto: "keep marching on". this song inspires me every time i listen to it and reminds me to keep marching on - one foot right in front of the other...

do you have a favorite song that inspires you? motivates you? has just the message you need to remind yourself of? please add it in the comments below. i would love to add some new inspiration to my ipod =)

are you following your dream? | little biz inspiration

(this is a repost from my photography blog a few months ago. i hope it helps to inspire you to build your own little biz!) 

"...as a stay-at-home-mum with no business experience attempts to make a living off some passion and a dream."

that's what i wrote in my last post about rebranding my biz. it got me thinking about how my journey started over 2 years ago. with this photo, ella on her 3rd birthday:

of course, i had a play with these shots. with some funky borders and cute quotes and i put a bunch of favorites in a sweet little keepsake album. and my friends said "wow that is really cool, can you do that for me?" so i did. and then their friends said "wow, how much does she charge?" and then i had to decide. was i really going to go for it? i had a point-and-shoot camera, very little knowledge about the mechanics of taking photos and a really distinctive style of dressing up my photos that people liked.

but more important than that, i had this little thing, niggling inside of me. nudging and whispering. i am not sure where it came from or when it started, but i just felt like i was supposed to take pictures. but i was busy, being a mom and moving to the other side of the world and trying to make some friends, and i wasn't really listening to that whisper. i also ignored the whispers about not going back to work teaching and about trying to have my own business... because that is just crazy talk, right?

but when i took those shots of ella and people liked them it was like the whispers turned to shouts. go for it. try it. this is what you are supposed to do. was i hesitant? absolutely. nervous? of course. but when i gave myself permission to pursue those niggling feelings i also felt relief and excitement. and i was lucky because i had fantastic people in my life that told me to go for it - 3 girlfriends in particular have really supported me and encouraged me and passed my name on to everyone they know (thank you my sister/friends H, J & A, i really would never have done this if it weren't for you).

so my question to you is this - do you have a whisper/nudge deep inside of you? a feeling you can't explain and usually ignore that you were just meant to do something? do you need some inspiration or maybe some one fantastic to be your 'people'? (i can be your person, by the way.)

i have recently stumbled upon a couple of great blogs & writers who have some really fantastic things to say about doing what you love. go read these, right now:

http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/

his 2 manifestos have really given me the jolt of energy and inspriation that i have needed these last few weeks:

http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/a-brief-guide-to-world-domination/

http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/overnight-success/

this is another great blog - i am going to read his ebook "the zero hour workweek" next

http://www.illuminatedmind.net/

and finally, this blog is quirky and odd and fun and she talks about 'destuckification' and 'biggification' which is pretty cool

http://www.fluentself.com/blog/

by the way this is ella, 2 years later, on her 5th birthday. i'm pretty proud of how far i have come and can't wait to see what i learn next =)