Living the Creative Life

I was recently asked for a list of my favorite web design tutorials, and... well... I got a little carried away. So, here's my ultimate web design resource list! Merry Christmas! Basic Development Platforms Blogger : This one is free and very versatile, since you have full access to both the HTML structure of the site, as well as the CSS style sheets. They have a WYSIWYG editor, as well as a custom CSS editor, making it extremely easy to customize a basic blog or site very quickly. Wordpress : Though the basic software is free, this one does require you to purchase hosting. I personally find Wordpress cumbersome and annoying to code, but it can be extremely robust and versatile if you know what you're doing. There are many, many free and paid templates to choose from, which can give you a good starting ground for designing a site. (Or if you'd rather design a completely custom site, there are many people who specialize in coding Wordpress sites from scratch, which can b...

I'm so happy to announce that my new e-book is done! It's been a very hectic week, finishing up all the corrections that my editor kept sending over, but definitely a fun process all in all! ;) The PDF version is available on the Etsy store and the Kindle version is available on the Amazon store ! INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING TOPICS: • What’s your first impression of my shop? • What should I sell? • What should I name my shop? • Do I need a shop banner? • Should my titles be descriptive or practical? • What should I say in my item descriptions? • Why do I need a seller profile? • Shop policies? What are those? • Why can’t I seem to get any traffic to my shop? • How can I tell if what I’m doing is making any difference in getting traffic to my shop? • Why am I not getting any sales? • Are my prices too high? • Who is my target market? • How’s my photography? • Should I use a model in my photographs? • Should I be on Facebook? Twitter? Pinterest? Ins...

I was reading my blog subscriptions today and ran across a great post over on Alicia's blog about what podcasts she listens to. Which made me think... I listen to podcasts all the time! Why have I never shared about them? Here are five podcasts that I listen to that you just may like too! Do you listen to podcasts? Leave a comment below with your favorites! Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes . The Deeply Graphic Design Cast I love the generally laid-back nature of this podcast, along with the great advice from working designers. They talk about trends in the industry, tips on dealing with clients, and just general advice on running a graphic design business. Even if you're not a designer, you could probably glean from the great small business tips in here. They also have a great blog with more design and business tips, if that's something you're interested in. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes . MacBreak Weekly I have listened to many podcasts in the Tw...

This topic of pricing is always on my mind. Just as soon as I feel like I've figured it out, some other doubt creeps in and convinces me that I'm doing it wrong. Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels this way. ;) I ran across this article the other day (aimed at graphic designers, but would really work for any creative entrepreneur) that gave some amazing advice in this area! Here's a quick summary, but it'd definitely be worth it read the entire article yourself when you've got a spare 10 minutes. What should I charge? This is the one area that I have the most anxiety about. I'm constantly worried that I'll anger current designers (and therefore come across as amateur) by underbidding on jobs, and also worried that I'll scare off potential clients by overbidding. It makes it even more difficult by the fact that most designers don't share their prices on their websites. (What's up with that anyway?). The advice in this artic...

I've been pondering what to call my design business this week. I have been feeling the urge to push forward into something more official, which would mean registering a business with the proper authorities... which also means having an actual name for my business. It would make sense to stick with something referring to Desert Rose, since that's what I've been using on my Etsy shops for years, but that particular phrase is actually a pretty common business name. I think I'd rather use something else a little more unique and catchy. What do you think? What sort of process did you go through to figure out your business name (if you have one)? Did you do any market research before you settled on something?

I'm a horrible budgeter... as in, I never budget. I kind of keep in the back of my mind how much money I have and I try never to go over that... which I feel like I generally succeed at. But I don't actually sit down and plan out how much to spend (or not spend) in each category of my life. I have made budgets in the past, but never seem to be able to stick to them. I think maybe my brain just doesn't operate that way. via Have you heard of Outright ? It's a keep-track-of-your-money website that has bank-level encryption and security that I signed up for a couple years ago during one of my boring afternoons at work (back before I left work to start taking classes again). Like most budgeting plans, I set it up and then never looked at it again. Well they emailed me today enticing me to check in and use my account a little more actively. I was like, "Outright? Oh yeah, I forgot about that site!" Lol. It was actually pretty interesting going back over...

How well do YOU see color? Take this test and find out. Here's a cool video tutorial on how to give text a cool pattern fill (using Adobe Illustrator). Love this article on non-paying design clients and when/how/if to give a refund. A beginner's guide to watercolor painting supplies . In case you wanted to start watercolor painting.

A common refrain I see across the Etsy forums is, "Why am I not selling? Are my prices too high?" Did you know that a man would never ask that? I have no idea why this is, but women tend to undervalue their work, and the more I learn about this phenomenon, the more it baffles me. The truth is... pricing low gives off the vibe that your items are cheap, made of cheap materials, possibly knock-offs. Does that sound like the vibe that you want to give off? No, probably not. But I just do it for fun! When I hear people say this is, what I really hear them say is... "You should, by necessity, hate your job. And if you love it, you most certainly shouldn't be paid for it." Which is utter rubbish. What you love to do and being paid for a living don't have to be mutually exclusive things.  And why should they be? Life's too short to hate what you do every day. But no one else is charging very much either! That's probably true. They also are...

I found this cool infographic about salaries in the design world. So fascinating! I can't wait to get back to school (just a couple more weeks!) and learn some more stuff. It's all just so interesting to me!! ;D Find design jobs and careers at HOW Design .

Hi everyone! I'm Jen from Red Parka Diaries . I'm a blogger and illustrator from Tasmania, Australia, and have been self-employed now for almost four years. My business, Red Parka Designs , has gone from a little side project to my main source of income during that time but it has not been easy, I assure you! I thought I'd write a few points here about what I've learned along the way that might help anyone else out there who has started, or wants to start, their own creative business. 1. Start Now! Many people think they need to wait for the right time to start their own business. That they need to have saved lots of money, or have investments, or have a huge amount of qualifications and expertise. WRONG. You can start right now! And you should. Because the very best lessons in life (and business) are the ones you learn while doing things, not thinking or reading about them. Even if you have a full time job and a family to manage, there's always someway you ...

Oh I love this! I really need to implement this advice more. Sometimes I'm working so hard and so long that I look up and the sun's gone down already! Symptom of a work-at-home creative-entrepreneur, maybe? Lol. Image via: Wendy McNaughton

What are you charging for your creative products? On Etsy or otherwise, doesn't matter. I would bet you it isn't enough. The thing is... YOU wouldn't ever pay what your item is worth because you can make it. You are not your ideal customer. Let me repeat that... YOU are not your ideal customer. Your ideal customer thinks that what you create is amazing and wonderful, in part because they couldn't (or don't care to) make it themselves. You need to be pricing accordingly. I know I, for one, am always tempted to set a price based on 1) what other Etsians are charging, 2) what I would pay for such an item, and 3) how much it feels to me like it's worth. While I think my gut feelings are usually pretty trustworthy, I'm beginning to wonder if, where money is concerned, I'm a little scared to charge what something is worth. How do you know what something is worth? It's all about perceived value. Not cost of materials. A purse can retail for $...

Here are a few links I've found this week that have inspired or informed me. Hopefully you'll find them interesting too! :) I got some good tips here about saving money. I mean really... don't we all have something to learn in that area? I love this blog - she tends to have a lot of interesting posts about how to make it in your own freelance business. Since that's my main goal in life right now, it's always helpful to hear what she has to say! I just love this girl's art! She's been inspiring me to art journal, and now look at this cute sketchbook cover she made! So creative!! Love this - such a cute idea! I hadn't considered writing on my mugs before, but it really does make a fun look. And as someone who is currently bidding on design jobs, I'm discovering first-hand that people expect to get something for nothing. Really people... design does not happen in a vacuum. There are hours upon hours of training, thinking, and br...

This has been such a weird day. I'm sick anyway, so that probably isn't helping things... Earlier this afternoon I got an eBay message from a guy I'd sold a DVD to. He said that the movie was not as described and that wanted his money back. He further elaborated that the item had arrived broken. My crystal ball apparently needs some tuning up. Maybe I should've stated in the item description that the post office was expected to damage this item in transit?? I responded that I'd be happy to refund his money upon receipt of the damaged item. Standard refund situation. This shouldn't be that big of a deal. This is where it got weird. He responded back saying how unreasonable it was that I expected him to ship it back, costing him even more money. (He only paid $1.99 + $3 shipping. That's actually $4 more than I paid for the DVD myself, but don't tell him that.)  He said he's kicking himself for trusting me in the first place since I have such...

Sorry if this is completely random... I am trying to have a good attitude about a situation I recently encountered (it's hard!), but let's just say that I now understand how Julia Roberts' character felt in Pretty Woman when those snooty ladies shooed her out of their store because she wasn't their ideal customer. I'm not going to name any names because I'm attempting to be the bigger person... however... it got me to thinking about what makes for GOOD customer service in an online small business. So here goes: READ your customer's emails. Don't just scan and reply with a canned answer. There's nothing more infuriating than getting back an answer that didn't even address what you were inquiring about in the first place. Respond to emails/requests AS SOON AS POSSIBLE - preferably in no more than 12-24 hours. Taking longer than that suggests that you couldn't give a bleep, and it really makes your customer feel like their request was ...