Wonder Woman Wednesday #8: Elizabeth Caldwell

Date: February 2, 2011  Author: Marlynn 4 Comments

Wonder Woman Wednesday #9: Elizabeth Caldwell, graphic designer
Wonder Woman Wednesday #8: Elizabeth Caldwell
Surface & Graphic Designer
EC Design & Illustration
http://www.onthesurfaceblog.com

Description of Occupation/Business
I provide design mainly for the stationery and gift industry. I create patterns that are used on paper goods, including gift wrap and bags and I also design invitations for Tiny Prints and Wedding Paper Divas.

Her story:
I graduated from William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ with a BFA in Graphic Design. I had no idea where designing would take me as there are many niches a designer can fill. I started out working for a small studio designing packaging and marketing materials then worked for a bit as a production artist at a commercial printer and from there I landed a job at a gift wrap company and fell in love with product and surface design. I’ve been a designer in this industry ever since!

She is passionate about:
1. Balancing my work and home life so I can be around for my kids.
2. Making beautiful patterns that make the consumer want to keep their product forever, even if it is disposable.
3. Being the best at what I do, offering the best customer service.

Her life motto:
Never behave in a way you wouldn’t want your children to behave: they are always watching.

Her inspiration:
My kids are my main source of everyday inspiration. But if we are talking another artist it is Sabrina Ward Harrison. Her very first book is what made me determined to work for myself and only work at what I love.

Best piece of advice she has ever been given:
DON’T GIVE UP!

She is:
1. Passionate
2. Perfectionist
3. Faithful

Three things she cannot live without:
1. Coffee
2. Chocolate
3. Jane Austen

Where you can find this Wonder Woman:
BLOG: http://www.onthesurfaceblog.com
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/ecdesigns
SHOPS: http://www.ecdesign.etsy.com
TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/ecdesignz
PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/ecdesignz
TUMBLR: http://ecdesignz.tumblr.com/
FLICKR: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ecdesignz/
PORTFOLIO: http://www.behance.net/ecaldwell
TINY*PRINTS: http://www.tinyprints.com/featured-designers/umbrella.htm

Additional Info:
I’m currently working on getting some designs on new products this year! I also took part on the Sketchbook Project and my sketchbook will be touring the country beginning at the Brooklyn Art Library in February. You can check Art House Co-op’s site for info on the tour and when dates are: http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject/exhibitions

My personal note:
Elizabeth is one of the many amazing designers I’ve met through Twitter. I think I first started noticing her tweets about Jane Austen, an author whom I also admire. I have great respect for her ability to maintain such a busy online presence while also being a great mom and continuing to turn out so many beautiful patterns and designs. Her work truly is lovely, playful, imaginative, and you should check it out! Thanks for being a Wonder Woman, Elizabeth!

Twitter Taboos

Date: February 1, 2011  Author: Marlynn 9 Comments

If you’ve been on Twitter for longer than a few months, you’ve likely come to realize that there’s quite a bit of complaining about how people use Twitter, on Twitter. “Old” Twitter purists such as myself who have been using it for 3 years or more are easily made cranky by common missteps made by both newbies and overeager marketers alike. Consider it your hazing period: brief, we will mock you out of love, but hopefully at the end you learn a lot and we all become fast friends.

The beauty and the beast of social media is that it’s a direct reflection of societal communication: we each interact with others in different ways. We each have different reasons for using social media, and sometimes, our differences in our goals, our reasons for using Twitter, and our communication styles clash.

It’s to be expected. Just don’t expect us to be quiet about it.

While there are a few universal Twitter taboos such as the Golden Rule of “Never, EVER send an Auto Direct Message (DM) to anybody thanking them for following you. Ever. NEVER.”, when I polled my own tweeps about Twitter actions that irk them, I received a few responses I never expected — because they don’t personally bug me at all. What is the bane of one’s existence in the Twitterverse is hardly a speck worth worrying about in another’s. The politics of using Twitter fascinates me, and I love seeing how passionate people get about how to — and how not to — use Twitter.

Here are just a few Twitter pet peeves sent in from my tweeps:

1. “Post a link with no explanation. Why would I click on it?”
2. “Expecting a follow back from a locked account that you can’t see.”
3. “Retweeting your own praises or compliments from others.”
4. “Don’t DM me unless it’s REALLY private. @ me for normal convos. Nobody is THAT important.”
5. “Tagging (@) me by using my Twitter ID at the end of a post that has nothing to do with me.”
6. “When we’ve never interacted and your first @ to me is a request for me to check out your etsy shop. #twitterpetpeeve”
7. “Hijacking hashtags to spam a link or retweeting one of my tweets and adding your link so it looks like an endorsement”
8. “People who chain-post. They get on and just barf out a weeks worth of tweets in 10 minutes.”
9. “I dislike it when people flood their followers’ streams (10 posts in 2 min). Spread out those tweets, people. Grrrrr.”
10. “There seems to be some app that tweets what songs you are listening to. EVERY song, for hours. Um, I’m not that interested.”
11. “RTing all the time and putting your reply in front of the RT so everyone can see the whole convo.”
12. “IMHO Curse. the big stuff anyway. I’m ok w/ hells & damns, but not really fond of the other 4-letter stuff. ”
13. “oh!, here’s one: they shouldn’t take gratuitous photos of their McDonald’s food product & link to it alongside slogan-y tweet.”
14. “RT every contest they come across. 1-2, I can handle but when it overtakes a persons feed, I want to unfollow even if like them”

Scavenger hunt time: I wrote one of those tweets above, can you tell which one?

For those of you on Twitter, do all of the aforementioned actions bug you? I admit to cursing once in a while (rarely), and I do sometimes RT the whole convo w/my response in front if it’s short so that everyone involved doesn’t have to dig to see what I’m responding to. The moral of the story is: you will, without a doubt, at one point in time or another, bug the crap out of someone on Twitter just by being yourself. It’s the way the world works, and Twitter is no different.

A few clients have asked me how to get started on Twitter when it seems there are so many unspoken rules. My advice is always the same: read more, tweet less. Watch and learn from the pros. I’m not talking about the people who have 45,000 followers, but the people who have an obvious loyal following, regardless of number. They @ others a lot, RT others, and are obviously engaged in conversation. Watch what they do, and notice very carefully what they do not do. If you try to push yourself on others too soon without building a relationship, it’s like being the last to arrive to a party in full swing and throwing your business card in people’s faces without the small talk.

And for the love of all things Twitterlicious, please do not ever, EVER send an auto DM thanking people for following you, sending them to your Facebook page, or “thanking” them with an automatic “free gift” of your damn ebook/Top10List/downloadanything. So how do you thank tweeps? By genuinely engaging in conversation, absorbing what others are tweeting & responding authentically, and by building a relationship with your followers.

Many thanks to the following fabulous tweeps for contributing their pet peeves: @Metro_Parent @KatrinaWheeler @CarlaYoung @GinaRau @TwitAdrian @JolieKG @DebtPrincess @MsLierre @fringies @i_obsess @whatscooking @EmilyFitzhugh @EmbarkCreative

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If you’d like to connect with me on Twitter, I’m @designmama for daily life/foodie/design/mama/music tweets, and @UrbanBlissMedia for blog/design/strategy tweets. I also tweet @ThePowerMOB for mom entrepreneur business tweets.

Wonder Woman Wednesday #7: Tara Sandler

Date: January 26, 2011  Author: Marlynn 2 Comments

TaraSandler

Wonder Woman Wednesday #7: Tara Sandler
Owner & Executive Producer, Pie Town Productions
http://www.pietown.tv

Description of occupation/business:
I am an owner and Executive Producer for Pie Town Productions. Pie Town is a reality television company that has produced tv for almost every cable network, from HGTV to Food Network, MTV, VH1, Lifetime, TLC, WeTv, Discovery, etc, etc. In the sixteen years we’ve been in operation, we’ve produced over 5,000 episodes of tv, with many more to come.

Her story:
I grew up in Bloomfield, CT, (a small town outside of Hartford) and went to the big city for college, studying Broadcast Journalism at Emerson College in Boston. Once I graduated, I moved to LA and started working in reality tv. It was amazing how my news skills translated to non-fiction television.

I worked my way up the ladder, starting with answering phones, getting coffee, etc. All the things a higher education prepares you for. I took the logistical route, Production Coordinator, Production Manager, Line Producer, Coordinating Producer and eventually VP of Production.

Interestingly enough, most people took the creative route, and there were always a number of Researchers, Segment Producers, etc., but there was only one of my position. This allowed me to stand out and rise to positions of responsibility at a young age. By 27, I was overseeing a staff of 75, most who were much older than me. (That was the year I didn’t wear jeans to work, because I thought I needed to look older…) Now I go to work in jeans and sneakers practically every day.

I ran two people’s companies and they were both crazy. I figured if they could do it, I could do it, so I my partner Jennifer and I and opened Pie Town Productions. Our first show was a travel show with a budget of $17,000 per episodes, (an absurd amount of money to produce a show), but this is where I was happy I worked my way up the ladder. If I was Directing one day, I was dropping off Fed Ex the next and doing a Staples run. Humility is a great lesson to learn.

The most important thing about running our business is the culture we’ve created. Everyone in the company deserves the same respect, regardless if they are a Production Assistant or an Executive Producer. In fact, our first employee still works at the company.

What she is passionate about:
1. I am passionate about retirement! (Kinda seriously. I am looking forward to the next chapter. TV is a burnout business where your clients yell at you and want something for nothing).
2. I am passionate about my partner, my dogs, my friends and my family.
3. I am passionate about having fun. It’s taken a long time to find balance in my life, and I think I’ve finally found it.

Her life motto:
I don’t have a life motto. I kinda just take one day at a time.

Her inspiration:
I hate to say, but I don’t have an inspiration. Perhaps my inspiration is to NOT be like other people I’ve worked for.

The best piece of advice she has ever received:
The best piece of advice I’ve been given is to not take yourself too seriously.

Who she is:
1. Outgoing
2. Bold
3. Sensitive

Three things she cannot live without:
1. My dogs
2. Palm Springs
3. My partner

Where you can find this Wonder Woman:
Tara Sandler
Executive Producer
Pie Town Productions
5433 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA 91607
Tara_Sandler@pietown.tv
818.255.9300

My personal note: Do you watch House Hunters? Rachel Ray’s $40 a Day? Designed to Sell? Downsized? Then you know the work Tara’s production company has done. I was watching one of the many home design shows that I used to watch, and I remember seeing the name Tara Sandler pop up frequently in the credits. I remembered there was a Tara Sandler who had attended Emerson College before me and was part of the same women’s leadership group (*cough* sorority *cough*). Turns out they are, indeed, one in the same. Tara doesn’t know it, but I’ve been a stalker huge fan of her work for years.  There’s no denying that Pie Town Production’s shows truly inspired much of the DIY craze we see today in other reality shows. I view Tara as a visionary, and I admire the way she runs her company and also lives her life. She’s just a super cool woman to know all around. Thanks for being a Wonder Woman, Tara!

Marvelous Mistake Monday: Complacency

Date: January 3, 2011  Author: Marlynn Leave a comment

The first Monday of the new year. Let’s kick it off right by kicking to the curb a marvelous mistake of 2010: complacency.

In my five years of being a small business owner, I have been fortunate to have gained client after client almost solely on referrals and word-of-mouth. I’ve heard from many of you who have had the same sort of luck with your businesses, and last year I held the same conversations with many of you: what’s happening to our clients? Why are they no longer flocking to our doors? Why is the phone ringing less?

Then as soon as we heard ourselves asking those questions, we immediately smacked ourselves in the head. If you are asking those questions, then you have probably fallen to the same entrepreneur error: you’ve become complacent in your business.

It’s not that business has never been easy – far from it. It’s that we get into our grooves and do business as usual during a time when business is at its most unusual. We simply failed to prepare for and imagine the worst:
What if our biggest client suddenly shut its doors?
What if our second biggest client suddenly lost funding for the five-year project we were hired on to help with?
What if suddenly our smaller clients decided they couldn’t pay because of financial changes in their personal lives?

It’s not that we got lazy, we just kept doing the same old, same old. When you do that during a tough recession, you may survive, but you certainly can’t thrive.

And we should all aim to thrive, not just survive.

Here are a few things that my fellow complacent colleagues and I have been doing and/or will be doing to revive the flow of work for 2011:

1. Innovate from within. This means something different to each entrepreneur. For me, it means developing my own projects that challenge my skills and test my abilities. When you stretch your mind, you tap into new areas you are able to bring to your business. The good ones will inspire you; the best ones will inspire you and help bring in more business.

2. Do a better job of reaching out to past and current clients on a regular basis. Whether it’s a monthly newsletter or setting aside one morning each month to touch base, it’s vital as you are seeking new clients to remember to take care of your old ones, and to serve them well.

3. Go to more networking events. I admit: for me, it was easy to get complacent in this area because I run a networking organization. And I detest networking in its traditional sense. But it’s important to participate in more than one networking organization, to not only reach potential clients in every possible appropriate venue, but to expand your vision of what could be by learning from new people and being motivated by their work.

4. Get rid of the time sucks and get down to business. When you realize you’ve been complacent in your business, you need to break down your time by the minute and rebuild a schedule that weeds out the ineffective activities and people and opens up more time to do the first three activities mentioned. Maybe you spend too much time on Facebook or Twitter. Maybe you spend too much time playing Words With Friends and Angry Birds. Maybe you participate in too many book clubs by obligation to your friends. Whatever is adding stress to your life more than it is adding emotional, professional, or personal benefit, cut it out or cut it down and re-prioritize. Now is as good a time as any to take charge of your time again.

I’m personally in the process of doing all of these items. Even if you feel you’ve been turbocharged and ten steps ahead in your business this past year, it never hurts to remember to do these things throughout the year.

Here’s to a pro-active, vibrant 2011 business year for all of you entrepreneurs out there!

Life’s Too Short for Long Lists

Date: December 30, 2010  Author: Marlynn 7 Comments
New Year's Resolution List

New Year's Resolution List

Put down the pen. You. The one writing down your New Year’s Resolutions. Top Ten Things I Want to Change. How I Will Make This Year Better Than 2010.

When you write this list each year, how does it make you feel? Does it make you feel all warm & fuzzy inside, like the first bite into a dark chocolate and peanut butter confection? Does it release your anxieties, put your fears to rest and make you feel monumentally grand about yourself? If so, then fabulous. Stop reading and frame that beautiful List for all to see & envy as you go about successfully accomplishing each goal with grandeur and grace.

If that’s not you, then please, continue reading.

Do you instead find yourself wanting to cross out #4 because it sounds too lame for a List of such importance that you always capitalize this List?

Do you hesitate before penning #3 because what if -gasp!-  you don’t reach that goal? Then maybe you find yourself rationalizing that instead of writing “lose 25 pounds by Jenna’s wedding” it would be more realistic to write “feel better about myself in jeans” and then realize that’s too hard to measure since you could feel like Natalie Portman one day and then bloated & blimpy the next, so maybe instead you should write “eat a piece of fruit, real fruit, not fruit bits in a scone or a pie, but real fruit, once a week.” Yes, that’s what you settle on for #3.

And then you erase it because it sounds lamer than #4 was going to be.

Oh, the silly things we do for this List. The one that helps us feel grounded, sane, as if having this List will lead to our rebirth and fairies and unicorns will all come dancing if we complete our mission.

I don’t have a List. I haven’t for a while.

Oh I have goals, and wants, and needs. I make a lot of lists, every day. I’m a List Maker, with a capital L.M. Just not THE List.

Life’s too short for long lists. Especially those that come with inevitable feelings of failure and moments of stress. I despise stress. I will do everything in my power to cut stress out of my life, and in my 30-some years, I think I’m getting pretty good at it.

The List = Big Stress for me. So I just don’t.

Do you?