Category Archives: Business

NEW YORK HERE I COME!

It’s announcement time! I’m so thrilled to officially say that I’m exhibiting at the National Stationery Show this year in New York City, May 19-21! I’m so excited and honored to be doing this. Not to mention scare out of my mind! Ha! No really I’ll be fine. I will be in booth 2630 with the Stationery Academy and some amazing talent. I will be taking my new wedding collection which will be available for wholesale. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this journey, the experience, and the opportunity this brings to my business. Mostly, I’m excited to get to spend time with these amazing designers and business peeps. I’m sure we will have a blast. Did I mention this will be my first time to visit New York??

Here is the look book for my collection that I will be showing. We are making the final touches to the wholesale catalog which will be available soon and at the show.

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DEFINING YOUR WHY

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Ever since Stationery Academy, I’ve been extremely obsessed with this idea of Branding. As you know, Caroline Creates went through a branding change shortly thereafter and I haven’t regretted it since. Why? Because, my business is now a reflection of who I am and so is my branding. But let’s back up a little bit. Before you can begin to think about your branding, you have to understand why you are doing what you are doing.

Let’s face it. Marketing has changed dramatically since 10 years ago. It used to be all about the corporate image and fancy advertising. Now customers are more careful with their money and they don’t just buy a product. They buy a product because they believe in the company. I’ll be honest. I totally shop this way. For example, you all know I’m obsessed with eating green and organic foods. Well I only buy from certain companies such as Annie’s because of what they represent and who they are. I buy from them because I relate to their WHY.

Defining your why is tres important. What makes you get up in the morning and work so hard you fall asleep as seven? What motivates you when you are creating new products or services? How do you determine if you take on a new business opportunity? Well, you look at your WHY.

So let’s start creating our why’s by asking ourselves a few questions.

1.) What do you do?

2.) For who do you do it?

3.) What drives what you do?

4.) How do you do what you do?

5.) Why is it important for you to do what you do?

Once you have these questions answered, create a statement that you can look at and read when you are making decisions. You can read mine here.

Lastly, don’t be afraid if you do this and discover your why doesn’t match your branding. This happened to me and it wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

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MY WHY

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The other day while catching up on my blogs, I read this post by Emily Ley. Basically, she had composed the exact “why” behind her company and what they do. Brilliant. Look I know that I’m behind on a lot of business things and as I have evolved, my WHY has changed. I love my WHY. It’s what fires me up and why I keep my shop going and why I’m developing new lines. So without further ado, here is my WHY:

WHY-statement

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STAYING ORGANIZED

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I love the title of this post because it is SO unlike me. I thrive on chaos which doesn’t really work when you own your own business. It’s taken me YEARS to get my system down and I tweak it all the time. Right now, I have a ton of custom jobs, branding work and a shop that is booming. Add on to that a toddler with her own schedule already, a husband with his own schedule, family events and meal planning and a girl can get overwhelmed. SO I thought I would share my top tips and beloved products for staying organized!

1.) Get a planner already. I have to tell you, when I started writing things down, my life changed. Currently, I use the Day Designer by Whitney English. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this thing. There is a page for each day and space to prioritize that to-do list. It really helps me focus on those busy days.

2.) Coordinate. So it may seem a little redundant but I copy my above planner into ical and share it with the hubby. We have calendars for home, work, and the kid. I can’t tell you how much this has helped when I’m scheduling meetings or trying to figure out my work schedule.

3.) Folders. I used to hate it when they made us use a folder system at school. Now I’m obsessed. My etsy orders have 3 folders marking their position in production. My custom orders have a folder and a whole staple system with a face sheet of sorts. I keep track of everything on these pages that I designed. Create your own face sheet for projects with check lists and a place to write down the dates you did certain things.

4.) Keep your desk clean. The minute I start piling stuff on my desk, I start to feel cluttered and disorganized. By keeping your desk clean, only the important things that you need to work on end up on it. Not to mention it keeps me from having to be embarrassed by the state of my office.

5.) Do what works best for you! Take the time to come up with a system. By doing this early, you won’t end up in a tizzy when things get busy and IF things start to get out of hand, take a break and a calendar meeting with yourself. I did this last night and is lowered my stress level so much.

By staying organized, you leave room for creativity and time! But let me tell you, DON’T open my desk drawer. That’s where my chaos still lives and that is A OK with me!

Question: How do you keep your emails organized? Mine are out of control!

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2013 BEGINNINGS

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2012 was a hard and amazing year all in one. Thinking about how far I’ve come as a mom, wife, business owner and designer is overwhelming. I’ve been truly blessed. Last year at this time, I wasn’t looking at my business with excitement or seeing possibility. It was all about “how am I going to make it?” This year feels amazing because I have so much HOPE.

Like many I’m making some changes this year in preparation for the future.

Source: modernhepburn.tumblr.com via Caroline on Pinterest

New Year’s Changes/Resolutions/Betterments

1.) I AM going to loose this dang weight and get into shape. After an injury, PCOS and pregnancy, I’ve about had it with this body. I’ve ordered some DVDs and am going to be working out 6 days a week and eating a clean vegetarian diet (I lean more vegan but the hubby loves cheese).

2.) I’m going to get my business financially fit. I’ve already started this and it feels so so good!

3.) I’m going to release a 2013 wedding collection that will be quirky and ME. Coming this month hopefully.

4.) I will find a solution that allows me to work more often and give my daughter more attention when I’m not.

5.) I’m going to stop all my nervous habits for good. These included chewing on my fingers and continuously playing with my hair. I’m annoyed by it.

6.) I’m going to decide to be happy. Grumpy doesn’t suit anybody except that dwarf from Snow White and even he was irritating.

7.) Edit and design a new everyday stationery line.

8.) Reconnect with my faith in a way that suits me. Is this a devotional, reading the bible, praying? Not sure yet but it will happen.

9.) I will stop comparing my child to others. Fiona is super smart and is in speech therapy. There is nothing wrong with that. END OF STORY.

10.) I will stop living in the future and the past and live in the NOW.

What are you hoping to achieve this year??