I finally gave in. It's been 8 months since my longtime hairdresser up and left me for Arizona. Since then, I've just been stuffing it in a ponytail and hoping for the best. My husband's been coloring my hair, painstakingly painting my grays and calling it his meditation.On the plus side, I've already saved 2k in fees. But it's time for a chop and I needed to find someone who could tame the nest.If you've got curly hair, you know the struggle to find someone who won't style you like a shaggy...
8 days ago • 3 min read
I'm just gonna apologize right now to every Australian for any future time-related snafus. I can do a lot of things, but timezone calculations trip me up. I could've sworn I had confirmed my Q&A session for the women of web designers* summit for Thursday night at 8:00pm.The 1 hour countdown email reminder I got at 7pm Tuesday told me otherwise. No matter what the productivity bros wanna tell you, most people check their email multiple times a day.Turns out, 42% of people check their email 3-5...
22 days ago • 2 min read
I started my web design business in the mid aughts - long before social media existed. There were no specialty conferences, no fancy co-working spots, and definitely no long-winded existential crisis Voxer notes to my crew of trusted friends.I remember going to one local Adobe users meetup where I met a bunch of corporate advertising dudes who worked for insurance-selling geckos with multi-million dollar budgets. Not exactly the peer group I needed when I was designing yoga studio...
29 days ago • 2 min read
[Note: while I'm out on medical leave, I've asked a few of my smart business friends to share their current thoughts around what's working now. This week's note comes from fellow midwestern dog enthusiast and business designer Michelle Warner.] They say you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. When talking to small business owners I take that a step further and tell them their business is going to be equal to the quality of their network. I know, because I see it all...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
[Note: while I'm out on medical leave, I've asked a few of my smart business friends to share their current thoughts on the state of the digital world. This week's note comes from SEO expert, Meg Clark of Clapping Dog Media]. So I just saw some data that made me crazy. Google's AI overviews are reducing clicks to websites by 34%. Yep, you read that right. One-third of the traffic... gone. Stolen. By GOOGLE. jerks. But here's the thing - I'm actually EXCITED about this change. (Stick with me...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
The cryptic text from my dad just read "youtube."As I watched the three little dots finally fill in, he said he had stumbled across my YouTube channel and binged a few of my videos. Goes to show you never know who's gonna find you online. Also he said I was "brilliant in my space," but I think he's contractually obligated to say that. The kicker? I hadn't posted in months, but he caught me just as I was uploading my latest interview with copy expert, Marissa Corcoran on how to write personal...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
The little green owl lied to me.Turns out my 60 day mini Duolingo streak didn't exactly revive my command of the French language during my last hurrah trip to Paris this week. The last time I really spoke (passably bad) French was during my semester abroad in Luxembourg.Sounds fun, but my host family padlocked the fridge and relegated me to the sketchy bathroom in their dank basement. Let's just say I don't have the fondest memories.This trip my friend and I vowed to use our French as much as...
3 months ago • 2 min read
One of my secret obsessions?Fanatically clicking refresh whenever I'm selling something.I don't care if it's a $20 pair of shoes on poshmark or one of my digital products.That refresh dopamine hits better than chocolate. Especially on that last day as everyone waits to click buy. Last week my husband decided to auction off an antique car he no longer drives (and by antique, I mean circa 2001). I was anxious that it was a bad time to sell (I mean, who's buying old imports in this...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Probably my favorite thing ever is hanging with my friends dreaming up ideas for each other's businesses.And now that it's officially spring (or peak pollen season as it's known in Richmond), long backyard sits and productive porch visits are back on the docket. Turns out when you're an entrepreneur, you tend to hang out with other entrepreneurs. We just can't help ourselves from nerding out on how to refine systems, convert more buyers and generate more revenue. And a recent backyard...
3 months ago • 1 min read