Oh hey beautiful blog reader!

I've been feeling something lately and wanted to share it with y'all. Blogging for you and helping you out with your Squarespace sites is an absolute pleasure, I love doing it!

But sometimes in blog-world, the conversation feels a little one-sided. It's kinda like when you apply to 43 jobs online, submit your application online, and then it falls into a big black hole and you never hear anything back.

Amy came to me with an exact knowledge of what she was looking for.

This came as no surprise as Amy is a professional Creative Director, having worked with a couple small brands you might have heard of before 😉; Victoria's Secret, White House Black Market, Revlon, Vogue Mexico, Harper's Bazar, Target, West Elm, Bloomingdales and William-Sonoma, just to name a few.

Amy was looking for a site that gave off a chic, elevated, stylish, fashion oriented vibe and had a very clean look overall.

Okay so before I even start on this post I need to give credit where credit is due.

The 2 week website was not my idea! (Though I do love it and am so darn happy I found out about it!)

The idea came from the fab Lauren Hooker who runs Elle & Company, or more specifically her husband Jake. Jake thought of the 2 week website, Lauren implemented it and then she shared it on her blog, advocating for others to considering switching to the 2 week process.

When I get on the phone with potential clients for our initial consult call, a few common questions come up about just what is included in my packages.

95% of the time when a potential client asked if something was included my answer was ‘yes.’ 

As such, I started describing my packages as ‘all-inclusive.’ 

(Partially because my answer was almost always yes, and partially because I love vacations, and being reminded of them often).

So, as with all the client and reader questions I get, I blog about it!

So you’re thinking of joining B-School? I take it that you’re reading every B-School review online you can get your hands on? I hear yeh, that was me too.

Gal, I know. B-School is quite the business investment, so it can be a tough decision. 

To help you in your decision making I’ll be giving you an insider look at what going through B-School is like. (Because that’s what I really wanted to hear when I was considering enrolling!) 

B-School has 6 modules spaced over 8 weeks. I took notes at the end of every week to share with you in this post, to give you a feel for what each week looked like. I’ll also let you in on what was happening in the B-School Facebook group, as well as my personal business breakthroughs.

You got a new website - YAYYYY!

Virtual high five gal! Job very well done making the leap and going live with a fab new online home.

So, you spent all this time and money on your new website to make your business look legit, now you want to shout it from the rooftops? I hear yeh.

Here’s a few ideas on how to throw a virtual launch partay to let everyone know that your new website is live! 

I just wrapped up such a fun interview with the one half of the Bucketlist Bombshells, Shay Orlena Brown.

(Is doing interviews like this one my real job? Apparently yes it is. I know, sometimes I'm surprised by it too.)

Together Shay & Cassie make up the Bucketlist Bombshells. The Bucketlist Bombshells is the online destination empowering and teaching millennial women how to build a successful online service-based business that gives them the freedom to travel the world and live creatively.

When I came across the Bucketlist Bombshells on Facebook my first thought was 'no way, is that a real thing?'

Many website designers will polish up your project, get you launched and then offer the option to stick with them on what’s called a monthly retainer.

Monthly retainers have their pros and cons. 

Pro, you have the peace of mind that if your website decides to throw and temper tantrum one day and bring your online business crashing down, you’ve got someone on hand who’s job it is to fix it.

Con, designers and developers don’t come cheap, so paying $100 or more a month for a monthly retainer with a designer/developer can become a pricey business expense.

Charging premium prices is every business owners dream.

To charge crème de la crème prices however, there’s a few hurdles we need to get past first.

A few of these I can easily point you in the direction of resources and systems you can set up to prep for charging premium pricing (and I will!). A couple however will be bits you have to look internally for, and truly understand your industry to successfully complete.

I'll also share with you one commonly accepted thing people believe is necessary to charge premium prices, that really isn't required as most of us believe.

All entrepreneurs lust after a stunning new website, a site oh-so modern and clean that their visitors will love.

Of course, it is a dream for many entrepreneurs to team up with a web pro to bring their site vision to life. But, a custom-made website is big investment, and sometimes seen more as a ‘would be nice’ investment, rather than a must-have investment.

But what if I told you, a new website would save you time?

Ah yes, now your interested, aren’t you? 

A fellow B-Schooler, Peyton, got in touch because she needed some fancy new functionality on her Squarespace site. Peyton had already built out a number of the site pages herself, and did a truly wonderful DIY job!

She was getting caught up on how exactly to sell her debut product, Soul Power Nutrient Boost For Women, both through her Squarespace e-commerce online store, and also sell it subscription-style monthly. Peyton also asked for a little site spruce up; for me to use my design eye to tweak the work she had started.

So you’re about to enter unchartered territory in the field of hiring a web pro?

First, congrats! 

This is a major investment in your business, and a real turning point for a lot of businesses and entrepreneurs. You will no longer be the newbie, DIY entrepreneur. Getting your business set up to look legit online is an exciting move forward for every business.

Figuring out how the heck to set up your online presence is no easy task, thankfully a web designer can make the whole process a lot easier and more enjoyable for you. So you can get back to other important things … like you know, running your business, which Imma bet is, you know, a full-time job in itself. 

My web design business started in a rather odd place. It all began in a swamp in Mississippi. 

Unusual place for a tech business to start? Indeed.

While completing my Masters at Ole Miss (in something that was completely unrelated to web design and online business) I went on a class trip. 

We visited a local non-profit camp that educated the youth of Mississippi on environmental education. Having spent plenty of time in class speaking about the challenges organizations face, it was our goal to learn about their organization, and their real-world challenges of running a non-profit.

Want the back stage pass to my business organization and scheduling? Well here it is gal!

I've shared bits and pieces of my processes and what my week/day looks like before, but never gave the full run down and reasoning behind it all.

My current schedule and structure was one that took a while to nail down. In fact, I think it's safe to say that in my first two weeks full time, my business was a bit of a hot mess.

Not anymore! 

This year for the first time ConvertKit conducted a survey of bloggers, compiled the results and released a State of the Blogging Industry report. The report compiled the information of over 850 bloggers who fall into the professional bloggers category and the not-yet-professional bloggers category.

With the intention of learning from the very best in an industry, when reading the report I kept my sights on where the professional bloggers habits differed from the not-yet-pro bloggers. There were 5 major takeaways I found which I could directly apply to my blog, and apply them I have! (To ever-increasing success with my blog and business I might add!)

Email. 

Basically the running-your-own-business equivalent of a mosquito in your bedroom in the middle of summer. It's always present, but never welcome.

In fact, it's an ongoing nightmare at times.

If you find your email is sucking the life and time out of your day, then this post was written just for you.

Implement a few of these suggestions and I can guarantee you'll cut your time spent in your inbox, dramatically.

So, let's reclaim your freedom from your inbox already, shall we?

You’re looking into the possibility of working with a designer to bring your fab new site to life, congratulations! That’s a big step into the legit business world, I’m so happy for you!

The vast majority of my clients describe figuring out getting a new website as ‘overwhelming’. I know you have enough things on your Thanksgiving-sized plate already, so we’re going to break this down really easily.

I’m going to lay out a clear set of to do’s and questions to answer in order for you to get the site that’s right for your business.

Imma give you some tips, straight from the mouth of a web designer, on how to tackle this mountain, properly. There’s just 4 steps, that’s not too rough, right?

Running your own business can be a roller coaster of emotions, and my recent highs and lows trying to define my ideal client avatar (a.k.a. ICA), (sometimes called an ideal client profile) is a prime example.

I joined Marie Forleo's B-School where we went deep with ICA's. (Full B-School review to come, keep an eye on the blog for that). I had already created an ICA previously so I felt 100% ready to roll with 'Victoria' (my old ICA) and fly through that part of the course.

Oh-hell-no was I wrong!

After a Mastermind call with fellow B-Schoolers I realized they knew significantly more about their ICA's than I did mine. They had dove more deeply into their ICA's feelings and thoughts on the world, which of course, affects buying preferences and decisions a whole lot more than their hair color does. (Unless you're selling hair dye of course, which unfortunately, I'm not). 

Getting going with designing your own website? Don't really have a lot of experience or education on the matter? All good girl, I'm going to give you a quick & easy list of do's and don'ts when it comes to creating that fab website.

Within the web design community there's a generally known set of best practices to ensure your website is as appealing and effective as possible. I'll give you the quick run down here, so you can feel confident you're making decisions based on whats most effective, and not just personal preference.

The team at Macht Architects was transitioning into a family business, and with a new generation joining up, it was time for a revamp of the brand and the website. The Macht Architects team designs sustainable, energy efficient, healthy homes. As I quickly learned from browsing through their imagery, the homes they design are not only built in an environmentally conscious manner, but they're also truly breathtaking.