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“In order to live a fascinating life – one brimming with art, music, romance, and intrigue –
you must surround yourself with precisely those things.”
— unknown author —

Hello Veda House Readers! I’ve been excited to share with a new little build on the regular “lesson learned” freelance series. I’ve paired up with Maggie of Type & Title (the amazing talent behind the hand lettering on my wedding invites!) to chat about a few freelance topics that “just starting out” individuals may really get into. With this mini series, I’ll be answering questions about making the leap to a freelance career. We’ll then pair the question with a quote to illustrate the topic together; my photography and Maggie’s lettering. We’re starting way back at our childhood with the first topic below.

How has your childhood potentially shaped your professional career? Were there distinct “clues” that now looking back, really spoke loudly towards which career you’d choose?

As I grow older (especially during the first part of the new year), I find myself reflecting back to my childhood on a more regular basis. I find it super interesting to see how our pasts shape whom we are today, all the little elements building upon one another. For a lot of us, or childhood hobbies are the roots of the career path we choose later in life.

 ( Keep Reading over on Type & Tile )

Happy Thursday lovely people of the internet. Hehe. This post is a LONG time coming. I start writing, then stop, then start again, never really typing what I really want to say. So, I’ll start with a short overview just in case I start rambling. The gist of this conversation is that I believe in some higher power out there in the universe and that that power is more than willing to lend you a hand if you’re kind enough to ask. It’s like the whole lottery ticket saying …you can only win the lottery if you first buy your ticket!

Hope all of you are well!! It’s so nice to be able to log on to this blog and chit chat with all of you! Wahoo! Thanks for making this such a great place to come back to and continue to share.

Two weeks ago, I did a little experiment. With all this talk going around about how freelance designers have more on their plate than just designing, I was curious how I really spent my “working” hours. How much of my day is spent on responding to emails, writing blog posts, client work, house work, errands, etc? How much time do I spend growing my business, maintaining my business, and keeping that business afloat.

I knew going into the life of a freelancer would come with tasks that I wasn’t used to doing. I knew I was going to have to wear ALL the hats, but I was ok with that because all those hats were growing MY business and not someone else’s.  If you’re curious about the hourly breakdown, continue reading after the jump.

Hey guys! I wanted to stop by to thank you all for the lovely comments about the wedding  update yesterday. It’s a real big process and I’ve been having a fun time sharing that process with you!

I also wanted to chat about something all new designers and even well-seasoned designer struggle with on a daily basis. This is the internal struggle with knowing when to “fight” for your design concepts and when to loosen the grip a bit and change things up.

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You’ve been cranking away on a new logo, or shooting loads of photos for days now. You’ve poured your sweat and tears into this concept and you’ve grown to really love the direction it’s going. You wrap up the designs and get them packed up nicely, ready to present to the client. You think because you love it, they will too…right? You are presenting your work on a phone conference and BOOM…the client would like to keep exploring…They think the change is small, but you know it’s a complete overhaul…sound familiar?

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I know I am at fault of this mini internal meltdown at some point in every project I do. I get so invested and attached to the project I’m building that when the client throws a curve ball (which is guaranteed to happen), I’m ALWAYS caught off guard. I’m not saying the change in direction is a bad thing…just something I wasn’t planning for. I then find myself fighting to the little baby I’ve been creating instead of really listening to the client’s reasons behind the change. Sound familiar…?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the golden rule … “Do onto others as you would like them to do to/for you.” Aside from the obvious benefits, I think this concept of being of service is some really important in the self employed/freelance world.  I’m noticing that with “freelance” you are constantly putting yourself out there, hoping the universe will reward you with a shiny new client, or maybe even a much needed break. You do things with the hopes that you will get something in return.

What if you changed things up a bit and did things, just for the act of doing things…more importantly – did things for others with no intention of getting anything in return? Again, nothing new and ground breaking here…but is this the key to success in the world of the self employed.

Gabrielle Bernstein, my self-aclaimed spirit guide these days talk about this concept often. She often mentions instances where she’s gone out of her way to be of service to people she admires…and just by the act of doing good…the universe showers her with things she’s been hoping for. She reminds us that you may not see an immediate result, but if you change the way you think about “being of service” BIG things change for us. You start to manifest everything you ever dreamed of…one at a time.

I know I’m rambling a bit here, but basically the question is “How can I make your life easier…??” When you ask this question to those you work with, those you hope to work with, family and friends, what happens?

You can download Gabrielle Bernstein’s Service Meditation here where she starts of the meditation with an excerpt from The Prayer of Saint Francis.

In the spirit of the holidays and giving, I’m just curious to hear about how this concept has worked for you. Have you tried it and seen great results?

(photo for Clementine Daily)

Hi guys! Wanted to start another freelance discussion on the blog today. Needing help from the peanut gallery! What would you say if someone asked you…”If your brand was an animal, what would it be?” Confused? haha

I’ve never formally handed out questionnaires to my new clients, but I’ve got a growing interest in creating a more formal process of gathering the who’s and what’s about my client, but in a really unique and unexpected way. Usually how I handle these things is I ask little questions throughout the entire design process, like “so what colors are you most drawn to” or “what brands are major inspiration to you?”. These questions are obviously helpful, but I have this gut feeling that I could know my clients on an even deeper basis by asking the RIGHT questions.

With that said, I’m creating a questionnaire to hand out to my new clients. It’s going to be a simple form (5-10 questions) that gives them the opportunity to think about themselves and their brand in a new way. Keep reading after the jump!

Thanks to one of my lovely online mentoree’s, I read an article in the NY Times that really struck a cord with me. I read it and knew I needed to share it’s message. As a creative individual it’s almost always hard to explain to people what you do for a living, especially when you are talking about measures of success.

When I tell people that I am doing what I love and that I will NEVER go back to a 9-5 desk job, I get a bunch of confused faces…especially from the older generations. You get questions like, “what about your 401K” or “what do you do without health insurance?”. Well there are Beautician Insurance are available which guides in a very good manner. People are VERY concerned about these things and the funny thing is…I still have a growing 401K and my health insurance is better than ever; I can profess this with confidence because with what Marketreview.com has to say about health insurance, a growing 401k is a healthy sign of a good health insurance. I always opt for the best deals and my health insurance also provides critical illness cover on moneyexpert.com

In this article, titled “I Want to Be a Millennial When I Retire”  basically talks about doing what you love NOW, and not waiting until you are retired to seek out your dream living arrangement. When talking about measuring success, I loved with the article says “Maybe we need a word for “never having to sit in a meeting where someone reads long power point slides out loud.” I was like “YESSSS!!!”

The article gives you a good idea of where my mindset is on going for your dreams early. I’m not one to be ok with waiting until it’s perfect timing or for when my bank account is overflowing with funds. I want it NOW and gosh darn it…I’m gonna get it!

I suggest reading the full article –> here. I’d also love to hear your thoughts on the topic!

( Photo )