5 Tips and tricks on how to tackle annoying tasks

I asked my instagram peeps how they tackle those annoying tasks that need to get done. Here's what they shared:

"Work for 30 minutes then reward myself with something I want to do. Then repeat until the task I don't want to do is done. Most of the time the reward is to read or watch a YouTube video!" - Grace of  Grace E Jones Photography

"Write lists and reward yourself for ticking things off. Nothing more satisfying than seeing things ticked off a to do list!" -  Flynne of PocketMan

"I break the task(s) down into as many pieces as I can and then write them all on individual post it's. Then pick ONE thing to do, stick it on my monitor to keep me focused on that one thing and then get to take a quick break between. It's also satisfying to watch a super tangible "done" pile grow :) it's so hard to stay focused on the boring things that build up and build up to the point of overwhelm so this has definitely helped me TONS." - Eléna of Eléna Potter

"I make myself some fresh French Press Coffee and savor the whole process :)."  - Mo of Mo Bella Russo

"I did turn off email this morning and put my phone on do not disturb. Also: REWARDS. Finish this drawing and you can eat that cookie, watch a show, whatever. Basically I'm a toddler in a grown ass woman's body" - Carly of Unpatterned

I found these so helpful! Common themes? List making and a reward system!

What do you do? 

Good luck on those pesky tasks!

FEMINEST BOOK CLUB: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

Wanna join the Feminest book club? Of course you do. ;)

The first Tuesday of every month, I'm selecting a feminist, business, or self-help book to review for that month. And, rest assured — if I'm featuring it — there’s something you oughta know! 

Last month I covered White Hot Truth: Clarity for Keeping It Real on Your Spiritual Path from One Seeker to Another by Danielle LaPorte. Which was the highest rated book yet!

This month I'm covering The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson

I'm not going to begin how I typically do. Because this book has impacted so many people around me -- friends, clients and my husband. I asked one of them to give her biggest takeaway from the book, this is from Jen of A Fresh Event:

"What I loved about the Subtle Art is that it gave me permission to simplify things and to, in a way, reclaim who I truly am. For example, we come into this world not giving a fuck and we live these great little person lives and then, over time, we are conditioned to start to have to give a fuck -- about anything and everything -- and because of that, it clouds our purpose, changes who we are and our behavior. This book gives you the tools and the permission to say "fuck all of that" -- to truly work to focus on the things that you SHOULD give a fuck about and to say "fuck off" to the things that don't need or shouldn't have your attention. Very quick and inspiring read."

Takeaway #1 - Don't focus on the lack of what you have

When you focus on what you don't have, that's what you have. "We're constantly told that we need to want more, be more, do more." Just don't!

"No truly happy person feels the need to stand in front of the mirror and recite that she is happy, she just is."

We should only "give a f*ck about what is true and immediate and important. "

This is all so no-brainer here. But jeez, a great reminder to stop wanting more, more, more because it will never, ever, be enough.

Takeaway #2 - Accept the bland and mundane truths of life.

"Your actions actually don't matter that much in the grand scheme of things." This is so freeing to me actually! I could see how someone could take this and think "then...so what?" Well, exactly! Just do you, no one else matters or cares (of course, except those who do actually matter).  Be free to accomplish what you wish to, not what you think you're suppose to.

"The ordinary is what matters." And really, is what is so, so beautiful.

Takeaway #3 - The value of suffering

Because suffering is inevitable the question we should be asking isn't "how do I stop suffering?" but "Why am I suffering? For what purpose?" We all suffer. But when you have meaning behind your suffering you're able to endure it and maybe even enjoy it.

Takeaway #4 - Take responsibility for your f*cking life

"We are responsible for everything in our lives. No matter the external circumstance... We don't always control what happens to us. But we always control how we interpret what happens to us and how we respond." You are always choosing. "We are always responsible for our experiences, it's impossible not to be."

Manson tells a story of some teenagers who suffer from extreme Obsessive Compulsive Disorders and one of them states "I didn’t choose this condition but I can choose how to live with it." So powerful!

Takeaway #5 - "I guess walking isn’t for me."

"Children fall down thousands of times when they are learning how to walk, at no point do they think "I guess walking isn't for me, I'm not good at it". Avoiding failure is something we learn latter in life."

"If we're unwilling to fail, we're unwilling to succeed."

Takeaway #6 - Emotions make things more complicated 

Manson talks about how he gets emails all the time people asking him “How do I.... (fill in the blank)?" Like "how do I tell my parents that I can't stay in medical school?" You just do it. It’s our emotions that get in the way and make things more complicated. Hence - the big ass box of validation that I felt people were asking me to give them. You can do this. You're capable. You're a power. And now move on and do the thing.

Takeaway #7 - Just start acting

I have this thing that happens to me sometimes where I get lost in thought and start to stare blankly at my computer screen. How do I "shake out of it?" - I just start typing gibberish on the keyboard. And somehow it breaks me out of the train of thought and I'm able to refocus.

Sometimes to get shit done we need a strong emotional reason and sometimes we just need to start to take action.

Other times when I don't want to start something that needs to get done I set the timer for 10 minutes, in fact I did it just now. I tell myself "Okay, just work for ten minutes and then you can move on." But I know that starting is the hardest part and once I do that, I'll start to enjoy it and work for an hour.

Takeaway #8 - And then you die

"Oddly it was someone else's death that gave me permission to finally live, and perhaps the worst moment of my life was also the most transformational."

My dad died October of 2016 (over a year ago). He had suffered from pancreatic cancer that we thought had gone away but like a typical cancer case, came back with a vengeance and took him with 5 months. Losing him to death, when he gave me life, felt unnatural. Which is strange because death is one of the most natural experiences there is in life. I felt abandoned, which is also strange because at the time I was (and still am) married, with two children and fully independent.

I then felt the depths of nihilism. My dad was a "do gooder" and touched a lot of people's lives. But even those people he affected would just die too. We're all just going to die. So. what?

But then the tables turned for me. If we're all going to die, why not make the most with what we have? Why not do whatever we want, now? Not when we have enough money, or job, or whatever it is -- do it now. And that's when I decided I wanted to move across the world. (and here's an update on that)

I'm sitting here typing this from a tiny couch while my two babes and husband are sleeping in a 500 square foot airbnb in Melbourne, Australia and couldn't feel more badass about it. There are so many unknowns with life right now. Brandon doesn't have a job, my business is changing a ton,  we literally don't have a clue where we are going to be living in 3 weeks. But I feel so alive and so present, more than I've ever felt as an adult with real life responsibilities. 

Rating: 5/5

Recommendation:
I recommend this to anyone, but especially people who think self help books are stupid but yet they need it. Manson's writing is very no-nonsense, entertaining, and poignant.

Alright, what did you think? Did you find his voice abbrassive? Comforting? Funny? Too dude?

Have a book suggestion? Let us know in the comments section below!

Next month I'm featuring Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman! Read it with me!

A moving across the world update

I cannot believe it's been 4 months already. But at the same time, it feels like forever. As cliché as it is, it's true. (side note are you someone who uses or doesn't use an accent over the "e"?, I need to know).

Just as a recap, we decided to move across the world last June and in December sold our loft, all of our belongings, and stored our heirlooms in my sister's basement (she's a saint). Here's more on my thoughts about our move before we left.

It's been glorious and awe inspiring. Australia and New Zealand are incredibly beautiful and maybe it's in our heads but culturally we feel like the "chill" factor is rubbing off on us. Not knowing what's ahead us us in this next year makes me feel so alive. And it's also been nerve racking and stressful with a lot of flying around, losing things, staying in 3 family homes and 16 Airbnb's, and lots of conversations around how Sloane misses Chicago and is sad we "sold her room and bunk bed."  (side note: one day, a woman asked Sloane if she had a teddy and Sloane responded, "I once had a really big Teddy, but my Mom and Dad sold it." - heartbreak).

Update on the questions/concerns from the last post

Q: So yea, what are you going to do about health insurance?

Having international catastrophic insurance has been just fine. There has been a moment or two where I've thought that Romy had an ear infection and wished I could have taken her to see a doctor but honestly those have always been hit and miss when I take her in anyway. She's fine. 

However, I have this weird thing with my shoulder where I get these calcium deposits that irritate my tendons. It's been mildly irritating the last couple of years (my older sister has it, too, and had to get shoulder surgery) but last month it flared up like no other and every day was getting worse and worse to the point where I couldn't take my shirt off by myself or pick up Romy. When I would stumble or have any kind of jerk it would shoot razor sharp pains that were debilitating. It was so painful and frustrating, and I was becoming useless to Brandon. I had to go see a doctor.

In Australia, you have to first see a general practitioner who then refers you to a specialist. This cost me $85 AUD which is $66 USD. He suggested that I get an ultrasound and then a cortisone injection. The first visit for the ultrasound ($160 AUD / $124 USD) confirmed that my shoulder is messed up (one doctor said it was either that of "a 90 year old woman, or someone took a bat to is 4 months ago. It's the worst I've ever seen"). Then the next visit for the cortisone injection ($350 AUD / $271 USD). Total cost $595 AUD/ $461 USD.

I've received a cortisone shot before in Chicago for the same shoulder issue and it didn't work and just the shot cost me $400 USD out of pocket! And we had GOOD insurance!

This time around, the same treatment cost me less in Australia with no insurance and the shot actually worked. So much for being sooooooo worried about not having American insurance? 

I had another friend who was in Thailand and got scraped on his head so bad he had to go to the ER. He researched what the equavilant of care would have cost him in the US - $2k. What did it cost him in Thailand? $28.

We have this incredible fear of not having insurance in America where people actually don't leave their soul-sucking jobs because of it. It dictates our lives in so many ways. It's so sad and we need to shake ourselves from it somehow.

Q: And your kids?

The kids have been great. Brandon and I try to split the days in half taking turns watching them so we each have time to ourselves. When we had a longer stint in Melbourne, we signed Sloane up for swim lessons, which she absolutely loved! Romy has learned to sleep in unfamiliar places, which is so nice. And we've found they both travel really, really well in the car which was especially dreamy when we had 2-5 hour car drives every other day in New Zealand.

Several times Sloane has asked us when she is starting school. So I think it's time that she has some structure. But I know as soon as that girl starts schools she's going to be asking to stay home so she can play with us. 

Q: What are you going to do for work?

Work has been great and hard. I knew intuitively that coming here I would need to "start over" but it wasn't until I got here that it hit, "oh, I'm starting over". It made me appreciate the incredible community I had built up in Chicago but also gave me the inspiration to know that I could do it again. And after reaching out to a couple of women and finding out how lovely and responsive they were, I knew it was going to be just fine. The women-owned business community is alive and thriving in Melbourne and I'm excited to find out more about it.

I've linked up with One Roof - a women-focused coworking space, Scale Investors - women-focused angel investors, and Now to Launch - an incubator for refugee entrepreneurs in the food industry. Each of these has been really rewarding.

Q: How long are you going to be gone?

We still don't know! But Brandon has a pending job offer which would potentially start when we get back to Melbourne in June which would keep us there for a while. We're still crossing our fingers on this one! (5/4 - Brandon got offered the position! He really loves the company and starts in July after we get back from all of our travels and his work visa goes through)

Q: Can I come visit?

YESSSS and Yes!

Here's the breakdown of how we've spent our time so far:

December 15 - January 2 - Boise, Idaho. That's where my two sisters and Mom live! We hung out and spent the holidays chasing kids around and eating a lot of food.

January 2 - January 21 - Gold Coast, Australia. We stayed with Brandon's brother and family. They had a pool and three kids, one of them Sloane's age. We went down to Byron Bay and up to Brisbane, hiked through Lamington National park, and just did a lot of hanging out. And just like Boise, we ate a lot of food.

January 21 - March 8 - Melbourne. Brandon did a ton of interviewing and coffee chats. I did a lot of coffee chats and joined One Roof (the Melbourne-based coworking space for women I mentioned earlier). We stayed in St. Kilda and loved adventuring around the playgrounds, seeing the penguins come in at night and trying different pastries at the cake shops on Acland street. 

March 8 - March 14 - Tasmania. Glorious. We went to the MONA, Mt. Wellington, Bruny Island, Launceston, and hung around a lot of farm animals at our Airbnbs. 

March 14 - April 2 - Sydney. Probably one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to! The dramatic ocean cliffs and hills make for incredible views around every corner. The highlight was scoring orchestra tickets from a friend to the Sydney Opera House! It felt so special! Bondi Iceburgs pool is also a must. 

April 2 - April 17 - New Zealand. A tourist visa in Australia is good for a year, but you have to leave the country every 90 days. So New Zealand was the most convenient country to stamp our passports. We landed in Christchurch, rented a car and made our way north, staying in Greymouth, Moetapu Bay, Wellington, Tongariro National Park, Hamilton, and Piha. The highlights for us were Godley Head Park, Arthur's Pass, Nelson Lake, the ferry from the South to the North Island, Wellington, finding alice and wonderland mushrooms on the side of the road!, Waitomo Caves, Hot Water Beach, and Cathedral Cove. I can't recommend visiting New Zealand enough. It's an incredible country. 

4 children's books every entrepreneur should read to her daughter

I was really excited when my first daughter got past the board book stage (I have the whole Sandra Boynton collection memorized) and into longer form books. Don't get me wrong I have my Ludacris-Llama-Llama moments, too (hello, Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb) but sometimes I would just get so bored and want to teach my sweet child and show her how beautiful and magical the world can be.

Of course with having an entrepreneurial mindset I also wanted her to catch the bug. The books below I think are great starts on raising an entrepreneur (or at least a child that's not afraid to fail).

Is There Really a Human Race? - Jamie Lee Curtis really brings it on this one in talking to kids and their parents at the same time. I walk away from it feeling uplifted, every time. Sloane loves the illustrations and asks me to read every baby picture name on the back pages. I love the overall message that the "rat race" is something that we make up and to keep a little perspective on what's really important - people and being kind.

Gum Stand Gumption - Candace M. Ludlow. I don't know any kid who hasn't wanted to try their hand at a lemonade stand and this sweet girl does just that, but with gum. A great way to teach your kiddos entrepreneurship, how to pivot, brainstorm and meet market demands - not to mention some basic math shortcuts. I love it. 

Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls - Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo. Rock stars, spies, pirates, revolutionaries. This book features strong women from all over the world, from all ages and all walks of life overcoming obstacles and really going for it. We read this at least once a week, I'm always suggesting it to Sloane.

Rosie Revere, Engineer - Andrea Beaty. This book teaches your precious ones that curiosity and persistence is all you need. Also, I'm obsessed with the illustrator David Roberts. I cry every time in the part where Rosie makes a heli-o-cheese-copter that flies for one second and then crashes, she's embarrassed but her Aunt Rose is thrilled:

“You did it! Hooray! It’s the perfect first try!

This great flop is over. It’s time for the next!”

Young Rosie was baffled, embarrassed, perplexed.

“I failed,” said dear Rosie. “It’s just made of trash.

Didn’t you see it? The cheese-copter crashed.”

“Yes!” said her great aunt. It crashed That is true. 

But first it did just what it needed to do. 

Before it crashed Rosie, before that, it flew!” 

---

What are some of your favorite children books to read? Would love to hear!

FEMINEST BOOK CLUB: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

Wanna join the Feminest book club? Of course you do. ;)

The first Tuesday of every month, I'm selecting a feminist, business, or self-help book to review for that month. And, rest assured — if I'm featuring it — there’s something you oughta know! 

Last month I covered White Hot Truth: Clarity for Keeping It Real on Your Spiritual Path from One Seeker to Another by Danielle LaPorte. It is the highest review I've given so far!

This month I'm covering Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek. I choose this book for a couple of reasons. One, because I've seen and heard it referenced a lot of podcasts and articles. And two, whenever I tell people in my coaching that I start with your "why," a lot of times people respond with, "Oh! Like Simon Sinek". I started realizing that I needed to figure out what he was all about so I could understand people's point of reference.

Takeaway #1 - Obsession with leading and leaders

I thought the book was going to explain how to get to the core of why you do what you do, and to figure out your why before your business begins. But right away Sinek talks about leadership. I feel like Americans have this obsession with being a leader. Maybe I just associate someone who wants to be a leader as being power hungry and the INFJ in me immediately rebels against anyone who seeks authority. But because I just don’t care about power in the traditional sense, I immediately became skeptical. 

Takeaway #2 - Confusing innovation with novelty 

He's pretty critical of companies that just keep producing novel ideas and products that aren't innovative. He gives the example of Colgate's 30+ options of toothpaste when all they're doing is adding sparkles to one, infusing a blue stripe in another, and creating another that stands upright.

Innovation is Apple changing the phone industry by telling the phone companies what the phones will do, not the phone companies telling the device creators what they will do.

Novelty is adding a camera to the phone. Innovation is changing an industry standard. 

Takeaway #3 - Apple is a god apparently and Dell sucks

Sinek should have been renamed the book "How to be like Apple."

We get it. As much as I love Martin Luther King Jr., Sinek uses him, Apple and Harley Davidson for the heroes and Dell as the chumps wayyyyyyy too much. He's so repetitive and what was said in 247 pages could have seriously been written in 100. 

Takeaway #4 - But wait, how do you figure out your why?

He spends a helluva long time praising Apple and Southwest and trashing Dell, Colgate, and Tivo for not having their why. But what should their why be? Who decides what the why is? 

I will say, even though he doesn't give any tools or exercises to help you figure out your why I was able to think of one that really resonated with me just out of hearing about it over and over and over. So I made this quote and felt like a badass:

I believe the fastest way we're going to take down the patriarchy is by empowering ourselves through entrepreneurship. Let's reclaim how we spend our time, our growth potential, our pay. For now and the foreseeable future, we live in a society where "money is power" and "money talks" and it's the only voice the patriarchy listens to. #IMHO So start your business, grow your business, and let's take down the patriarchy together.

A post shared by Business Coach For Creatives (@feminest.co) on Feb 21, 2018 at 3:51am PST

“Pessimists are usually right and optimists are usually wrong but all the great changes have been accomplished by optimists.”

— Thomas L. Friedman

Overall, for the time commitment this book was pretty disappointing. I had fairly high expectations because of how much I'd heard about it - and was let down. Maybe in 2009 these critiques of companies were innovative and eye-opening but it seems very dated now. I wish he would have spent way more time helping companies get to their why instead of telling them how desperately they need one. 

Rating: 2/5

Recommendation:
I wouldn't suggest anyone invest their time reading this. Just watch his 18 minute TedTalk instead:

Alright, let me hear what you have to say. Am I crazy? Did you like it? Has he helped you in your business?

Have a book suggestion? Let us know in the comments section below!

Next month I'm featuring The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson ! Read it with me!

VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH ANDREA KLUNDER

Here's the third interview in the new video series! Missed the first one with futures trader, Jamie Nugent, all about money mindset?? Check it out! Or last months with graphic designer Lidia Varesco Racoma? Here it is!

Andrea Klunder is a podcast producer, host, mentor and launch consultant. Her shows include The Creative Impostor, Podcast Envy and in 2017, she launched Power Your Story, a podcast produced by students with diverse learning challenges at a Chicago Public High School. Her mission is to use podcasting as a tool for connection, storytelling and personal empowerment. Andrea's background also includes teaching yoga & meditation, opening and operating her own studio, and singing and acting!

Not sure you want to watch the full video? Above is a 1 minute tidbit for your viewing pleasure.

Loved it? Feel like you're in for some more? Here's the full 50 minute interview!

0:00 - Introduction on Andrea and how we met and I fell in love.

3:14 - Andrea’s take on how podcasting is vulnerable and takes practice

8:29 - The Moth. Speaking from scars not from wounds

9:53 - Andrea talks about opening and closing her yoga studio

12:00 - Talks about trying to expand business to have more revenue and more profit

14:15 - Debt that she accrued while trying to keep the business afloat

16:00 - Closing down the business and experiencing depression

17:50 - Shares how she was wanting to try to continue to be an entrepreneur but she didn’t have any money or a business idea

19:34 - Dropped into her mind that people who were creating podcasts were not just creating podcasts but building communities

20:17 - Andrea’s entreprenuerial crush on Kimberly Wilson

22:30 - how podcasts are great at developing a long intimate relationship with someone for them to then purchase from you

22:05 - Andrea’s epiphany on finally deciding to start a podcast herself

25:16 - Andrea talks about how to deal with being a spiritual entrepreneur 

27:45 - You can’t meditate yourself into success

28:51 - Distractions when you actually own the studio and how you lose your own yoga practice

30:18 - Shares a reading she had from a clairvoyant

31:38 - Being consistent with what you are offering “you are your own brand”

35:44 - When should you start a podcast?

42:14 - How having her own podcast helped her start a new business

45:38 - Feminist topic that means the most to Andrea

48:01 - Share book recommendations 1. Kimberly Wilson, Tranquility de Jour Podcast 2. Seth Godin, Icuris Deception, Acimbo Podcast 3. Danielle Laporte Fire Start Session

Other resources mentioned:

Creative Women’s Co. (Chicago)

My episode on Andrea’s podcast

Merrilee McCoy

Women’s Business Development Center Chicago

Tori Washington - Fear Coach

Danielle LaPorte’s - White Hot Truth

Let's Camp 2018 Retreat

What do you think? How do you feel about podcasts? Would you want to start one? How did you feel about Andrea's experience with opening and closing her yoga business? 

Know of anyone that I should interview? Looking for strong feminist business owners that have a story to share!

Your money dreams sheet - the ultimate cash wish list

So many times I sit down with my clients and ask them what they want for their business. Rarely does money ever come up. When I challenge them on this and ask for them to make a money goal, there's a lot of hemming and hawing and typically they'll then throw out a random number, "I don't know, a million dollars?" No heart. No thought. No drive.

The worst thing to me is when people say "6 figures." Why? Because 6 figures could be $100,000 or $999,000, which are two drastically different numbers, business models, and lifestyles. 

When these patterns became the norm instead of the exception, I realized, we needed a spreadsheet. I believe that a lot of the world's problems can be solved by a spreadsheet. And this, is one of them.

This is what I have my clients do. And this is what I want you to do.

STEP ONE - WRITE IT DOWN

I want you to write down all the details about your dream lifestyle. Get really insane and go for broke. If you want a $1.5 million house on a private beach in the Seychelles Islands, write it down. The only thing is, this has to come from you - make it true to yourself. So if a red hot Jaguar convertible isn't what will make your heart sing, then don't put it on your list. We're not talking anything practical here. We're not in the mindset of "I need to be grateful for what I have." We're in the mindset of, "I want it all."

And then get really specific. For example, if you're going to write about your dreams when it comes to food, I don't want just one line. Oh no - I take my food seriously. For me, I have a budget for how many times I want to eat out a week (2-3), a budget for when I'm not eating out, one for how I would like to eat in (recipe prep service like Blue Apron) and one for when I have friends over for dinner and really want to treat them to a personal chef experience (4 times a year). And to top it off, I have a budget for groceries. Be as specific as you can. 

STEP TWO - RESEARCH

So if you want to have a baby and you think you'll need to save $100k to cover the first year of expenses (this is from a real conversation with a client of mine!) you may want to do some research. What I've found is that the typical needs for a new baby hover around $12k. This is assuming that a bugaboo, stokke and anything restoration hardware for children aren't on your list of "needs" (which they totally can be). Just get really clear on what all your needs are - the key is to find out what things actually cost. Don't just assume.

It's important to put an actual figure next to all the wants in your life - big and small. I'm not a huge car person and don't really need the latest and greatest, but what I do love are old Volvos. We are traveling right now (part of my dream list) so we don't have a need for a car and don't have a current home. But with a quick google search I found my dream car for $5,500. 

STEP THREE - START ADDING THINGS UP

This is very, very simple. Once you have your long, long list of your dream world lifestyle and you have done the research on what things actually cost, it's time to add it all up. Keep in mind that you may need a few different totals here - one for a monthly budget, another for yearly and third for one time costs.

STEP FOUR - SIT WITH IT

Now that you have your totals in front of your eyeballs, sit with it. Does it seem like a lot to you? A little? Just about right? I haven't done this exercise with anyone who hasn't been surprised with their results. Some are surprised with how low the final numbers are and some are surprised with how high. Either way, just let it be and pay attention to how you feel.

Does it totally freak you out? Get you pumped? Make you want to throw up? Ask yourself why you're feeling whatever you're feeling and then tell yourself you got this. Because...you got this!

STEP FIVE - MAKE A PLAN TO MAKE THE MONEY

And now the fun part - start making a plan on how you are going to make all that cash money. And then go out and make all that cash money! 

FEMINEST BOOK CLUB - White Hot Truth: Clarity for Keeping It Real on Your Spiritual Path from One Seeker to Another

Wanna join the Feminest book club? Of course you do. ;)

The first Tuesday of every month, I'm selecting a feminist, business, or self-help book to review for that month. And, rest assured — if I'm featuring it — there’s something you oughta know! 

Last month I covered The Universe Has Your Back. Spoiler alert, I wouldn't recommend it, but if you're still interested, Jenn Gaudreau pointed out in the comments that it's better as an audiobook. 

This month I'm covering White Hot Truth: Clarity for Keeping It Real on Your Spiritual Path from One Seeker to Another by Danielle LaPorte

Takeaway #1 - You are the power

It's a bit counter-intuitive, but Danielle essentially says at the end of the day, you don't need her. You don't need her, or a guru from India. Nor do you need crystals from a cave in Brazil or an energy cleansing. All you need is yourself - you have everything you need. 

I love that. 

I see this with my clients - obviously they come to me for coaching, but what I see more than anything is people come for validation and what I want to do first is shake them "yes! you're amazing" and then I want to squeeze the fear out of them and send them off with a proper you-got-this-goddess butt slap (or a box of validation). 'Cause really (and even if I am selling myself short here), you don't need me either. You got this.

Takeaway #2 - The importance of allowing yourself to change

In the book, Danielle says, "I want to burn everything I've written before this morning" and rolls her eyes at prior offenses/opinions. "But that's what I felt then and it might still serve someone where they're at now." She adds, "You may stand for something your whole life... and then one day you do something that's completely counter to what you've been preaching... you make an exception to your own rule and it makes perfect sense and you're not a hypocrite you're just alive to your life in the moment, ever-changing."

Then she quotes Anaïs Nin:

“We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.” 

Oh, we can get so in our heads, can't we? Especially being online we feel like we need to be "on brand" and not allow ourselves to grow, rethink and step-out-of-line. Allow yourself to evolve your brand. Apologize for things when necessary and grow. 

Takeaway #3 - The best self help is self compassion

"Love the you, that you out grew." As we grow we're not going to be mature in all parts of ourself. The more we can give ourselves a break and practice some self compassion, the better."

The first time I heard of this concept of self compassion over self-esteem was from this TedX talk by Kristin Neff. Watch it. It's worth the 19 minutes:

Takeaway #4 - The difference of gratitude and acknowledgement

"Pain is pain... gratitude is not always the best initial response to a challenge. Our suffering doesn't want to be denied or talked down to with spiritual platitudes. It wants our attention. It's screaming for it. When we paint over pain with premature positivity, we short circuit our healing."

I don't think I can build on how concisely she put this, so I won't.

Takeaway #5 - Different perspectives on desire

"The Catholics - if you want it, you have to go through God to get it

The Buddists - Your problem is that you want it

The Zen Buddists - What's to want?

The Hindus - You wanted that in your last life

The Capitalists - You gotta want it more than anyone else

The New Agers - Just keep telling the Universe how much you want it

Everybody wants what they want but New Agers are particularly set out to manifest and co-create and master the universal secrets to what they want."

On manifestation practices - "They skew heavily toward getting what you want instead of being what you want." So much getting keeps us in the materialistic trap. 

"Get clear on your core desired feelings." 

She plugs her book The Desire Map here which I'm not gonna lie, is in my queue. So many clients tell me their desire is to connect with others or be "known" and it's not until we break it all down that we find, a lot of times, they're already doing what they desire. 

Rating: 5/5 (and the first 5 I've given so far!)

Recommendation:
Danielle LaPorte knows the New Agey world and approaches it with a wise, loving and analytical eye. I highly recommend it to anyone who needs a boost and a fresh look on spirituality, boundaries and empowerment. 

Now, for your thoughts! If you’ve read White Hot Truth, what would you rate it? Do you agree or disagree with anything the book has to say?

Have a book suggestion? Let us know in the comments section below!

Next month I'm featuring Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek! Read it with me!

VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH Lidia Varesco Racoma

Here's the second interview in the new video series! Missed last months with futures trader, Jamie Nugent, all about money mindset?? Check it out!

Lidia Varesco Racoma of Lidia Varesco Design helps education-oriented organizations (associations, nonprofits, higher education, entrepreneurs) share their mission through branding and marketing design. She helps them get their message out so they can focus on doing what they do best — making a difference in the community. She blogs about small business and is also founder of Biz Mama, an online community for moms in business, as well as the Chicago-focused children’s apparel line typebaby.

Not sure you want to watch the full video? Above is a 1 minute tidbit for your viewing pleasure.

Loved it? Feel like you're in for some more? Here's the full 45 minute interview!

0:00 - Introducing Lidia

1:30 - Lidia talking about the history of her work, all she has going on and the most exciting parts of her business.

3:40 - Talking about the joy of tarot cards, Lidia’s tarot card collection

5:15 - Chatting about White Hot Truth (blog post coming soon)! And how you don’t need magical mediums to have direction and power in your life. Lidia share’s an amazing story from the past!

7:30 - Lidia talks about using intuition as her guide

10:32 - Using Feng Shui in business spaces and not using it

13:37 - Biz Mama, Creative Biz Mama’s facebook group

15:40 - Talking about thoughts on being a Mom and owning a business

19:11 - Lidia’s thoughts on childcare

22:27 - Paying for childcare. The costs of leaving work and business.

25:25 - Time tracking to help you be productive - Harvest.  References the google timer instagram video

26:45 - Lidia shares her book recommendation - Making Ideas Happen

28:22 - Lidia shares her podcast recommendation - Profit Power Pursuit

30:27 - Female entrepreneur advice “Let’s not look at each other as competitors but let’s look at each other as allies. Let’s stick together and help each other grow and thrive.”

34:38 - How Lidia approaches networking

35:26 - Lidia shares her biggest piece of advice - “ask for help”

39:21 - Don’t do it all and subcontract out work when you can. Chart to figure out what to subcontract.

41:50 - Lidia talks about her new ebook - A to Z of Branding: A Primer & Workbook

References

Liz Flores

White Hot Truth: Clarity for Keeping It Real on Your Spiritual Path from One Seeker to Another by Danielle LaPorte

Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life: How to Use Feng Shui to Get Love, Money, Respect, and Happiness by Karen Rauch Carter

Biz Mama Facebook Group + Creative Biz Mama Facebook Group

Harvest Time Keeper

Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality by Scott Belsky

Creative Live - Tara Gentile

Being Boss Podcast - Episode with Tara Gentile

Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz (book + my book review)

The Art of Outsourcing

Coworking With Childcare: What I tell everyone

So, in 2014 I started trying to find a place I could work remotely (and not go into the architecture firm I was working at) and also have my kid taken care of. I was still breastfeeding and my babe didn't take a bottle (tell me about it) so I had to be close to her. So, I thought, coworking with childcare is exactly what I need. Then began all the googling...

It didn't exist in Chicago! What? How could this be true? So I started digging some more. I found this model wasn't really anywhere. How? It would be so successful! Such a hit! Such a need! Such a market demand! I researched more and found a coworking with childcare space called Plug + Play in Austin, but the links were wonky - it had shut down after only about 8 months in business from what I could tell. 

There was also a place in Seattle that tried to get up and running with a Kickstarter, then went the nonprofit route. But they had "coming soon" on their website for a long time, which made me think it wasn't really "coming soon." 

Then I found NextKids and it was like angels from heaven singing. NextSpace is a well-established coworking space in California and NextKids was a side daycare attachment next to one of their spaces in San Francisco. Hallelujah. If only I lived there. But I didn't, soooo...

Researching Coworking and Childcare

I decided to pursue it on my own. I emailed a lot of people. If your email was somehow available online and indicated you were a working mom in Chicago, you probably heard from me. I was on fire and so pumped about bringing this much-needed model to empower all the moms in Chicagoland. I compiled a list of about 100 women who said they were interested in hearing more!

I met with a commercial real estate agent, then started crunching the numbers and unfortunately the profit margins just seemed too tight. Opening a coworking with childcare space was too risky for an unproven model.

Pop-up Coworking and Childcare Events

So instead of opening up a full-fledged brick and mortar, I decided to start hosting "pop-up" coworking with childcare events. I tried it two different ways - I hosted coworking in event rooms at children's play spaces and I hosted childcare in conference rooms at coworking spaces. I thought it was the perfect way to market and grow the business organically.

Pop-up Coworking and Childcare Events Didn't Work

Why didn't they work? So many reasons. But here a few:

1. Money. In one of the crazy amount of articles we were featured in at the time, The Christian Science Monitor wrote How parents cope with America's child-care 'crisis'. In it was this quote that has always stuck with me, “Parents and teachers are caught between a rock and a hard place,” says Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director of the advocacy group MomsRising. “Parents can’t afford to pay any more, and teachers can’t afford to be paid any less.” When I said before the margins were tough...they were tough as in, I wasn't making any money, and I probably wasn't going to be making any money in the future.

2. Demographics. Because the events weren't consistent, parents who did need consistent childcare couldn't rely on us. So I was reliant on parents who needed inconsistent childcare. And an unreliable client is really hard to, well, rely on for money.

3. Numbers. A lot of people pointed out that it could be like a gym daycare. Well, have you ever talked to a gym owner that has childcare attached? They don't like it. It's a headache and a hassle. Also, successful gyms that can actually offer this service have thousands of members. When you're starting your coworking space, no matter how much marketing you do, you're probably not going to have thousands of members when you open.

Then NextKids Folded

NextKids was the only coworking with childcare space in the nation that was investor-backed. It was also run by a woman with an MBA. So it had all the makings for success. When Diana Rothschild (founder of NextKids) was out in Chicago, she and I had dinner together. We talked about the potential of opening a Chicago chapter of NextKids and me being a part of it. But before that happened, NextKids closed. I was emotionally and socially invested in its success and when it shut down, well, I was really sad about it. (more on NextKids closing)

Merging Existing Coworking and Childcare

Despite all of these challenges, I was still determined to make this model and relationship of coworking and childcare happen. So I went another route and contacted existing coworking spaces with nearby daycares to see if I could have them work together with me being the broker. That way, I didn't have to open a brick and mortar and it would be a win for everyone. We called this idea "The Village" - a website where working parents could find coworking spaces with daycares nearby. And we would make money by taking a cut when people signed up for both.

Merging Existing Coworking and Childcare Didn't Work

Why didn't this work? A few reasons:

1. From the coworking spaces' end:

• At the time coworking spaces were still proving their model. In 2014 people still didn't know the term.
• Coworking spaces run on pretty tight margins. So any percentage taken from their profit was too much and they weren't willing to lose it

2. From the childcare spaces' end:

• Childcare spaces, at least in Chicago, don't have an issue filling spots. You just have to be average (nothing special) and you're going to have a waiting list. So they didn't really need us to increase their business. We weren't filling a need. 

Where I See Coworking + Childcare Going In The Future

Honestly, I'm not sure. But I think the best way to do it would be to open a new coworking space and partner with an existing daycare that cares about this type of service to parents and more specifically empowering women. There are so many amazing coworking spaces out already (and there will for sure be many more) so if a new coworking space could create a relationship with a daycare (but stay two separate businesses) that would probably be the surest way to success and a great differentiator. 

What I Tell People Who Ask For My Opinion

Look, coworking is a completely different industry now than it was 5 years ago when I was doing all of this. For one, people actually know the term! And, there are specific spaces just for women (The Wing, One Roof)! Amazing! However, if you're wanting to open up a coworking and childcare space, you're opening two businesses, with two different sets of needs that don't have a lot of overlap.

But if that's what you want to do - go for it! There's nothing like someone telling me it can't be done that motivates me to do it! Ha! An incredible resource for me was the Coworking and Childcare Googlegroup. So cool to look at the archives and see people who started out in there and then actually created their business! And you can see what they learned from it. If you're called to do it, do it! I'm writing all of this to hopefully give you some pointers and shortcuts.

You'll never regret following your curiosity, even if that means in the end it didn't work out the way you planned. I'm so glad I tried to make coworking with childcare work because it led me here to form Feminest and create relationships with all the incredible women I've worked with. So if you decide to try to make coworking with childcare work, you're going to be successful now matter how it turns out. 

Some articles I was featured in along the way:

Red Tricycle - 2 New Coworking With Childcare Options

Chicago Tribune - Coworking spaces hit a wall when it comes to offering childcare

Christian Science Monitor - How parents cope with America's child-care 'crisis'

Mashable - 7 coworking spaces with childcare designed for better work-life balance

A Valentine for My Galentine

Dear Galentine,

I love you. I really do. If I've met you, I love you. If I haven't, guess what? I love you, too

You're great. You are! You're doing new things or you aren't. Either way, you're enough.

You're sitting on your couch, you're stirring a pot of pasta, you're on the, ahem...toilet and you're a power.

On this great day called Galentine's Day (made up by the incredible and inspiring Amy Poehler) I wanted to give you something — a big ass box of validation. You deserve it. 

So go forward, my gal pal. Do that thing that scares you. You know, the one you're afraid the girl in your spin class will hear about and make fun of you for with the somehow muscly yet graceful instructor behind your back. Do it anyway. 

Do it. Do it do it do it. Yes. Just do it™.

You got this. I believe in you. 

But mostly, believe in yourself and give yourself a big ass box of validation. Consider this box a box from yourself. 

Happy Galentine's Day, my Galentine,

xo,

n

FEMINEST BOOK CLUB: THE UNIVERSE HAS YOUR BACK

Wanna join the Feminest book club? Of course you do. ;)

The first Tuesday of every month, I'm selecting a feminist, business, or self-help book to review for that month. And, rest assured — if I'm featuring it — there’s something you oughta know! 

Last month, I covered Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine, by Mike Michalowicz. He's a cheese ball, but a cheese ball that is one of the top people I reference in my business.

This month, I'm reviewing The Universe Has Your Back: Transform Fear to Faith by Gabrielle Bernstein. 

Takeaway #1 - The power of the "holy instant"

I loved this lesson that Gabrielle reinforces in her book — that a "holy instant" can be a moment you claim in your day to reset and empower yourself. We can fill our minds up with a lot of garbage and instead of going through a long period where we just feel terrible about it, we can take a moment to clear our minds, have some peace, and start over.

Takeaway #2 - She references my least favorite book like it's the Bible

In December, I wrote about The 33 Books I Read in 2017 with A Course in Miracles being my least favorite saying, "it felt like a bunch of gibberish" but "there's a huge following around it, though, so I'm obviously in the minority." Gabrielle references this book in 70% of her pages. I'm not joking. It's shocking, and was a huge turn off for me.

Takeaway #3 - Gabrielle's personal stories can be really moving

She really brings it with sharing experiences where she has struggled and overcome. Instead of just being preachy, she comes off as human and relatable. At one point she shares an experience she and her husband had of house-hunting in the daunting New York City market. She said that in the flurry of frustration she asked that they say a prayer and ask the universe for direction (something like that). The idea then came to her that they had been wanting a country house in the future, so instead of trying to compete in the city, why not start now with the dream countryside home? SPOILER ALERT Gabrielle went on to talk about her success with finding her "Mountain Home."

Takeaway #4 - Looking for animal signs

Gabrielle encourages you to pick an animal and visually look out for it to help validate your decisions. I don't know about you but I'm not much for animal signs, or signs in general to tell you what you should or shouldn't be doing. I'm all for serendipity and the universe coming together for your good. But animal sign validation? Nah.

A post shared by Business Coach For Creatives (@feminest.co) on Jan 14, 2018 at 9:41pm PST

Takeaway #5 - She's all about the love

I mean, I can't fight that. I'm all about the love, too, and truly feel like it can solve all of the world's problems. With quotes like "the universe doesn't respond to manipulation, the universe responds to love," I'm all in. 

Rating:
2/5

Recommendation:
I wouldn't. Some nice points but overall too much name-dropping, New Age glamour and not enough substance. There are 10 spiritual self-help books I would recommend before this one.

Now, for your thoughts! If you’ve read The Universe Has Your Back, what would you rate it? Do you agree or disagree with anything the book has to say?

Have a book suggestion? Let us know in the comments section below!

Next month I'm featuring White Hot Truth: Clarity for Keeping It Real on Your Spiritual Path from One Seeker to Another by Danielle LaPorte! Read it with me!

Image credit: Sprit and Soul Blog

How To Use That Damn Google Keyword Planner Without Setting Up an Adwords Campaign

So you're tryin to log into the google keywords planner?

When researching SEO I kept reading about the amazing google keyword planner but had the hardest time logging into it.

Above I'm showing how annoying it is that google forces you to set up an adwords account and prompts you to give them your credit card! (eye roll) Don't do it. Watch to see the work around I use by entering my personal email account instead of a business account!

Below you can see my video demonstrating how I then actually use the google keyword planner. 

To say I love the google keywords planner is an understatement. It's a huge asset to your business!

Want more of this SEO goodness in your life?

Check out my ecourse all on SEO!

Video Interview with Jamie Nugent

I'm kicking the year off with a brand spanking new video series!

Here's the deal. I don't like writing all that much. I mean, I'll do it. I'm here. BUT I love talking with people! Instead of just lamo podcast though (jk I love podcasts), I thought, let's do video! I like seeing people's faces and reactions and I think you do, too.

We're starting off the series with my smart sweet sister Jamie Nugent! She's a badass futures trader with some great insight into money, intuition, and emotions. You're gonna want to watch this.

Not sure you want to watch the full video? Above is a little 1 minute tidbit for your viewing pleasure.

Loved it? Feel like you're in for some more? Here's the full 1 hour interview!

If you're wanting to skip around here's an outline of what we chitchatted about:

0:00 - Talking about visiting Vegas (it's not gonna happen) and how we're sisters!

3:00 - Introducing Jamie, why I am interviewing her (she's a futures trader).

4:25 - Jamie talking about getting hired as an admin and how she moved her way into trading full time! She's the American Dream I'm telling you!

10:23 - Jamie lists some contributing factors why she was successful at what she did.

12:32 - Jamie discusses her relationship to her boss Mike, who was influential on her career.

16:50 - Mike teaches Jamie a life lesson about decision making, "When you don't make a decision, that is your decision".

19:18 - No one can make it on their own. We all need people to help lift us up and teach us. 

21:04 - On how to ask for what you want (it might look like the 1 minute version above!)

22:58 - On how to manage expectations, get what you need to succeed, be grateful and move on.

28:04 - How money and emotions will always be tied together

46:17 - Jamie shares her favorite books and links below!

The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance by K. Anders Ericsson, Ralf Th. Krampe, and Clemens Tesch-Romer

The Common Denominator of Success by Albert E.N. Gray

The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar

The Disciplined Trader: Developing Winning Attitudes by Mark Douglas

The Psychology of Trading: Tools and Techniques for Minding the Markets by Brett N. Steenbarger (Jamie didn’t recommend this in the original video but sent this later)

49:03 - Jamie answers, 'what makes you feel strong?'

50:43 - Jamie talks about the feminist topic she cares most about.

Jamie! Thank for being the first interview! I love you!

FEMINEST BOOK CLUB: PROFIT FIRST

Wanna join the Feminest book club? Of course you do. ;)

The first Monday of every month, I'm selecting a feminist, business, or self-help book to review for that month. And, rest assured — if I'm featuring it — there’s something you oughta know! This month I'm a little behind due to moving our lives to Australia! But I'll be back on the horse for next month!

Last month I covered THE 33 BOOKS I READ IN 2017. It's a long list and a lot of the titles I'm sure you've heard of. So be sure to check there first to see if I think it's worth a read!

This month I'm covering Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine, by Mike Michalowicz

Here are my major takeaway's. 

Takeaway #1 - Every Industry Needs To Pay Attention To Their Money Margins, No One Is Excempt

Mike talks about this a lot in his book and I've also found it to be true with the businesses I've worked with. Some people think their industry should deal with different types of profit margins or maybe not pay attention to their money at all.  The point of having a business is having money. If you're not interested in making money and/or you're just bored looking for something to do with your time, start a hobby. Seriously, money has to be a focal point of your business. 

Takeaway #2 - Business Percentages Breakdown

This. This right here is real damn life.

One of the first things I look at when I determine the health of someone's business is their revenue and expenses. You can be making 1 million dollars and if your expenses are 1.1 million? Well...you can do the math.

These percentages are great ways of looking at your money in a very practical way, there's nothing new here except for the 3rd "Profit" row. Which is kind of the whole point of his book, which honestly, I've only just kind of adopted, and I'll talk about that in the next takeaway. 

The percentages that I think are the most important to look at are the expenses and the taxes. Are you setting aside 15% of your revenue to taxes? And how do your expenses look? Are they more or less than 30% of your revenue? Those two things right there will give you a serious leg up in getting your business to a healthy flow.

Takeaway #3 - Money Flow

I'm really into how he has you set up all different accounts so your money flows automatically from one account to another. Unfortunately my month to month is so drastically different I have to do this manually.

At the end of the month I total up my revenue and then I total up my expenses. Then I set aside 15% for taxes. Then I see how my expenses percentage looked. If it's over 30%, I dig in and figure out why. For example, one month I bought a new laptop, which threw my percentages off. But I still want to make sure that overall in the year I'm at or below that 30%. 

I haven't set up a profit account yet. But it's so easy to set up a savings account (I use Chase), I may just do that right now.

Takeaway #4 - Batching

Batching means scheduling specific tasks at specific times instead of trying to react to everything as it happens. Mike talks about doing this especially when paying expenses and choosing to do it twice a month, the same time every month. That way you save time when you have all your spreadsheets up and ready to go. This way you also can see if you're making double payments or if there are payments you don't want to be making anymore. It helps you keep it all straight.

Batching in general is a great way to run your business. I'm batching blog posts right now as I type! You can batch emails, client work, marketing, social media posts. The world is your batching oyster.

Rating:
4/5

Recommendation:
Mike will probably be the first to tell you that he's one big ball of cheese but he does have some great insight. This book is great for people who are new to business and growing and figuring out money allocation and margins. 

Now, for your thoughts! If you’ve read Profit First, what would you rate it? Do you agree or disagree with anything the book has to say?

Have a book suggestion? Let us know in the comments section below!

Next month I'm featuring The Universe Has Your Back: Transform Fear to Faith! Read it with me!

A Year Recap Through Instagram Analytics

When the Instagram Business account became available, I obsessively checked my analytics daily. I loved seeing what worked and what didn't. I've since slowed this down to monthly, but I still think it's super fun to see what people respond to and what they don't.

As an end-of-the-year reflection, I thought we'd go through my past year of Instagram analytics. But for the sake of time, blog post length, and all things good, we won't review all possible 24 analytic combinations. Instead, we'll just stick to the "All" option (as opposed to choosing "Photos, Videos, Carousel Posts). Let's dive in!

Impressions - The total number of times all of your posts have been seen. (One person can view it multiple times.)

• It wasn't all that surprising to me that my Top 5 posts from the year were pictures from Let's Camp 2017 — a lot of women came and tagged back to my account. That's just how the internet rolls.
• I love that the "One day this will be 20 years ago," quote post was the 6th highest. I'm not quite sure why, but it's a good quote.
• Whitney Lundeen from Sonnet James was tagged in this post, so I'm assuming that's why it earned so many impressions? Perhaps people were seeing it in her tagged photos.
• The gorgeous naked woman was a model from the Glossier #bodyhero campaign. She's so striking, and I think, more than anything, the post timing was in my favor. I posted the photo right after it came out.

Reach - The number of unique accounts that have seen any of your posts (only counting the account, not the views).

• Again, the winning post was from the retreat weekend. (Read posts on that here and here.)
• A second quote post pops up here: "You often get what you expect." Love it.
• Also popping up is my rebrand announcement. 🎉 

Engagement - The number of times your post was linked, saved, and commented on.

• So, again, the retreat photos rank highest here, but we do have a new contender: a group photo from one of my workshops. I don't typically use hashtags. (After shadow banning came out, I just lost interest in even trying.) But, I heavily hash-tagged this photo.
• Personal posts, like ones of my family, are always really high up there. This makes sense to me - I know that I like to see pictures of other people and their families, too.
• Travel. My trip to Costa Rica post received a pretty entertaining response from people. I wrote a quick and dirty reaction to my trip, and I actually had people text me to say they were sorry it went so poorly. It wasn't so bad (I actually enjoyed it)- I just wanted to be honest. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows the entire time!

Likes (You know this.)

• New posts here, including this Tina Fey quote (which is so good). I have no idea why this post has more likes, yet it doesn't show up in any of the other categories.
• Also, this new post — I call it a "sandwich series" photo. For some reason, I have numerous pictures like this where I look like I'm describing a recent large sandwich I consumed and enjoyed.

Comments (You know this, too.)

• Here's where we get some variety — travel post takes the #1 #3, and #6 seat!
• Then, my re-brand announcement comes in at #2. 🎉 
• Post #4 is a video (which goes to show that I'm obviously attracting the right people in my life, as it was a) one of my funnier moments, and b) all about organizing with a spreadsheet - my favorite.)
• Dinner pops up here! I host dinners every once in a while, and I was inviting people to attend my next one.
• The quote has a lot of comments because I announced that I'm moving to Australia. (!!)

Saved - The number of unique accounts that saved your posts. (Remember that new feature they rolled out this year?)

• Who whoa whoa WHOA - these analytics might be the most interesting. Some of the quotes I posted didn't really pop up anywhere else, but people apparently liked them enough to save them (just not enough to like or comment). I think a "save" is pretty flattering - people want to go back to it, to be reminded of it. The quote posts make sense for this.
• Event announcements make sense for a save, too - so people can come back to remind themselves they want to attend.
• Also, my video recommending an email app.
• And, of course, an amazing cross stitch. That makes sense.

Overall, lessons learned:

• The retreat was a hit. Don't worry - we'll do it again!
• I need to work on my post timing, like the Glossier #bodyhero campaign.
• More travel posts (which should be easy since we're moving across the world!)
• Keep doing the quotes!

What's working for you in your analytics? Anything that surprises you? Would love to hear!

What’s Your Big Hairy, Scary Goal?

What do I mean by big hairy, scary goal?

When I first sit down with clients, we start by defining the "why" behind their business. Next, we discuss their big hairy, scary goal. What's that, pray tell? A big hairy, scary goal (let's abbreviate to BHSG) is something that's in your heart and mind, but you're too embarrassed to say it out loud. When I meet with a client in public, they might even want to whisper their BHSG so no one around them hears it.

This BHSG is inside of you. And only you. Sure, other people may have their own versions of it, but yours will come out differently. I promise.

So take a moment, breathe in and out — maybe close your eyes. Concentrate on your heart space, fill it up with love, and envision what that big ass hairy scary goal of yours might look like. What's your dream for yourself?

Three Biggest Obstacles For Creative Entrepreneurs

I've been around the block long enough to see that there are three main themes holding creative entrepreneurs back from even starting to set their goals, let alone achieve them:

1. FEAR
2. TIME
3. MONEY

FEAR. So many fears. I'll be honest here — this is something I've started to get impatient with. I know I need more patience, but sometimes, man - I just want to shake the person standing in front of me who's scared of this or that and tell them: "Stop. It. Stop it. You're a strong magical warrior who can do anything and everything you want!"

Too often, people have fears of failing before they've even started the damn thing! Most common fear: "What will people think?" Here's my response... people are way too busy thinking about themselves to think about you, and even if they are thinking about you, they'll think "good for her!" And the 2 percent thinking "that's dumb"? You don't want them in your life, anyway.

TIME. We all have the same amount of time. If you're not making time for something, it may not be a priority for you. If it is, try waking up earlier or going to bed later. Watch less TV. (Hey, I love TV. I didn't say cut TV - just watch less of it.) According to Laura Vanderkam in I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time, we have more time then we think we do. Time is all we have, and yet it's relative. Essentially, lack of time should never be a reason for not doing something.

MONEY. Similar to time, lack of money is another reason people give for not doing what they say they want. Girl, get scrappy! You don't need this or that to do what you want. Think you need to pay $10k for a website? Nope. I know of companies who make over 6 figures, and all they have is a landing page. Think you need to pay $1k for head shots? Prop that phone up, turn on the timer function, get some good lighting, and start snappin'. Need money for space/materials? Raise it beforehand, crowdfund, take out a loan, get investors... I'm not saying you should be reckless here — by all means, do your research first. Then, make the plunge. 

There are seriously no excuses you could throw at me that would convince me you shouldn't do the next thing in your business you're wanting to do.

Three Tools to Help You Reach Your BHSG

1. Having a strong “why”
2. Hard ass work 
3. Revisit frequently and pivot

A Strong "why." Simon Senek is kind of a master at the "why." When you uncover your emotional attachment, reason, and purpose of doing what you're doing, you gain the motivation you need and the urgency to figure out exactly what drives you. Some people are driven by money alone, while others need to realize that if they want to achieve their goal of having a team some day, they must make enough money to pay them. Typically, I find that the more you can uncover the emotion and "heart" of why you do what you do, the better.

Werk Werk Werk Werk Werk. I really don't like the term "hustling." It's just setting yourself up to crash and burn (not to mention, it just seems like it's filled with lots of testosterone - no thanks). But, here's the deal... at the end of the day, you just have to do the work and put in the time. The more you can get over yourself and just do the thing, the better. Set your ego aside, and let creativity flow through you. You have so much to offer — you just need to get out of your own way and start putting in the time to get it out into the world.

Revisit frequently and pivot. "You attract what you track" - Kelly Exeter. The more you revisit your goals, break them down, and track your progress, the more likely you'll achieve them. You'll also learn if that goal is still relevant for you or not. Maybe, six months ago, your business model focused on shoes, and that was working for you. Then, as time went on, you found a lot of success in hats and realized that the margins were much better. You didn't know that six months ago, so having a goal around shoes isn't as relevant as it was before (you get the idea). Be committed to your goals, but don't be afraid to pivot.

You've got this!

It helps to have the genius and support of likeminded badass women.

So, join the V Formation Mastermind!

1. Support + celebration
2. Accountability
3. Industry know-how

Support + celebration. Being an entrepreneur can be really lonely. And having people there that "get it" can be really validating. Sometimes you just need to celebrate! You have your spouse, your best friend, maybe your sister (and they're all great and supportive), but explaining that you were able to cut your expenses down by 12 percent last year might not get the "wow" reaction you were hoping for.

Accountability. A little accountability can go a long way. It's amazing how the likelihood of you doing something goes up drastically when you tell someone else you're going to do it. Accountability is really popular in the fitness world, and it's gaining popularity in business. Sometimes those relationships can be hard to find (and also hard to keep up), so let me do the work for you.

Industry know-how. What might take you two weeks to figure out (like deciding which accounting software to use, or if you should even use one), can take you two minutes when you have a group of women who've gone through the same thing. V Formation is just that — a mastermind of female entrepreneurs that combines experience, expertise, and research all in one place so that everyone can help each other get a leg-up. A "big brain" at your fingertips.

What works best for you in setting your goals? Join the V Formation Mastermind today to help you stay committed to your BHSG! Still have questions? Sign up for a free 30 minute phone call with yours truly to see if it's a good fit for you!

The 33 Books I Read in 2017

Instead of publishing a book club review this month, I've decided to wrap up the year with quick and dirty reviews for each book I read this year (including the top four books I refer to my clients). I won't be fully explaining what each is about — you can click the hyperlinks to find that out for yourself — instead, I'm giving you with my biggest takeaways.

Top Referred Books of 2017

These four books came up time and time again with my clients this past year, and I highly recommend reading each of them:

1. Steering by Starlight: The Science and Magic of Finding Your Destiny, Martha Beck - I really really liked this book — it was easily my most-recommended book of this year. Martha Beck is such an entertaining writer, and she really helps calm your logical mind (with her Harvard education and anthropology background) to be able to speak to your spiritual mind. She's funny, a lil' nerdy, relatable ('cause I'm a nerd, apparently), and super insightful. Most memorable takeaway: her dream interpretation exercise. 

2. You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life, Jen Sincero - Also one of the books I have recommended the most. Jen Sincero makes you feel like she has tried it all (including writing a love letter to her vagina), and she wraps all her life lessons and self-help research into a modern, relevant, and hilarious book. This book really helped me to jump start my 2017 mindset and to accomplish many of my goals for this year.

3. Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill - Aka, the self-help bible for money mindset. This is probably one of the most referenced books in the entrepreneurial industry. It's from 1937, so you need to take some of the things he talks about (like sexuality) with a grain of salt. But, overall, it's shocking how contemporary it reads. This is a really important read if money is something you generally struggle with.

4. Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine, Mike Michalowicz - Mike is a bit goony... but, if you can get past it, he offers some really great nuggets of insight into the financial health and logistics of your business. I recommend this to my clients who aren't making the profit they should be, and/or if their expenses are higher then they should be (typically no more than 30 percent). 

And all the other books

I've more or less listed the rest of the books I read in 2017 in order of most liked to least liked (top to bottom). You're obviously welcome to read through each one, OR you can go to the top of the post, look at the book covers, and ⌘F the titles you're interested in reading my quick thoughts on.

Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl - This is a classic that I hadn't read yet. Big takeaway: perspective is everything. I loved his insight into human nature — very beautiful and moving. Read it.

As a Man Thinketh, James Allen - Super important book on the power of our thoughts! READ IT if you haven't yet. It's really really short and empowering.

Playing Big: Find Your Voice, Your Mission, Your Message, Tara Mohr - I love Tara. This is a great book for female entrepreneurs and corporate climbers. Biggest takeaway: I still do the future self visualization exercise she references in her book and have my clients do it before they meet with me!

The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear, Gay Hendricks - This was great, though I don't remember much from it. Marie Forleo said it was one of her most influential books, so I thought I'd give it a try. My big takeaway: we all hit a threshold of greatness, and we can decide if we want to continue on to the next great thing, or not. (Continue on to the next great thing.)

You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth, Jen Sinero - Also by Jen Sincero - I liked this too, but I found myself just wanting to read the books that she referenced instead (like Think and Grow Rich).

The Science of Getting Rich, Wallace Wattles - Published in 1910; major inspiration for The Secret. Talk about bibles — this book is basically a bible for money's law of attraction. I like these money mindset books, to a point. To be honest, I'm still processing all my feelings on money mindset in general.

I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time, Laura Vanderkam - Don't love the title, but I do love her intense research. She takes a practical look at women's weeks and breaks them down into 30-minute increments. I broke down a week for myself and included it in my April 2017 newsletter (which you should probably subscribe to, just sayin'). Biggest takeaway: we all have more time than we think we do, including personal and family time.

The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand - I never read this in high school. I liked it. I love authors that have amazing insight into human nature, like East of Eden. The power dynamics, the greed, the egos, the class systems, the meaning of life, politics, religion, fame... she covers a lot here. Biggest takeaway: who cares what the mainstream is doing? Create what you think is important.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, Cal Newport - See my full review here. Biggest takeaway: make time in your life for uninterrupted depth of work. You won't regret it.

Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans - Written by design professors from Stanford. I thought it was fine. Seems to be geared more towards the soon-to-be post-undergrad crowd, but I ultimately think it's a great resource to really break down your days/weeks/months/years to figure out how you're spending your time. Are you spending it in the way that feeds you the most?

The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires, Brian Tracy - Biggest takeaways: learn every detail of the business you're in before you delegate it to someone else (so you know how to delegate), and take excellent care of your physical health — something I need lots of reminders of!

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World, Gary Vaynerchuk - I'm not into his energy at all. He comes off like such a know-it-all, and it's off-putting. He seems like a real dude's dude. All of that aside, my biggest takeaway (that I always tell my clients): ADD VALUE. The three "jabs" stand for giving online content away for free and adding value to the online world, and the "right hook" stands for some kind of call to action (CTA) or "ask." I've started calling this "three gives and an ask." It's the exact same thing with a little less douche.

Thank & Grow Rich: A 30-Day Experiment in Shameless Gratitude and Unabashed Joy, Pam Grout - I read this because I heard so many people reference it. I think it's so crucial to be grateful for what you have, or else you'll just continue to search for more and more (even when you achieve what you wanted). However, I did get a little bored with it. Biggest takeaway: for about six months, I wrote down three specific things I was grateful for that day - a practice I'm wanting to pick up again.

Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation, Charna Halpern, Del Close, and Kim "Howard" Johnson - I took an improv class at iO Theater in Chicago (I highly recommend doing it), and they give you this book to read. Biggest takeaway: "yes, and..." - when someone say something, anything, anywhere in life - say "yes! And...." I promise it will make your life 100% better.

Rework, Jason Fried and Nora Roberts - See full review here. Biggest takeaway: don't have an ego about your business - just do your own thing and build it up.

Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less, Kim Brooking-Payne and Lisa M. Ross - My kid's Waldorf teacher recommended it. I liked it. It's helpful to remember to slow things down, but in general I don't really love parenting books. They just make me feel guilty that I'm not doing all of the things. The best parenting book I've read is Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year (maybe because it's not a parenting book). Conclusion: I don't like parenting books.

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams, Deepak Chopra - I really like Deepak. I mean, Oprah loves him, so I have to (I did their 21 day meditation challenge, which was real good). With that said, I do not remember anything from this book. Overall, reading books like this helps me feel more zen and centered.

Yes Please, Amy Poehler - I love Amy. This made me laugh. I'm not going to lie, though - I wanted a little more from her.

Too Much and Not the Mood: Essays, Durga Chew-Bose - Love her thoughts on being a daughter of immigrant parents in Canada, body image issues, and being a woman. Biggest takeaway: it felt like reading really long Instagram posts.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo - As you can see, I read very little fiction! This made me really sad, but it offered a really enlightening insight into the poverty in India.

The Seat of the Soul, Gary Zukav - Oprah said this was one of the most influential books she read in the 90s. How many times can I mention Oprah in one post? Not gonna lie, it was hard for me to finish. I think all of the principles are relevant, but it reads a little dated.

Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World, Michael Lewis - I love Michael Lewis and was obsessed with his The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine book in 2011. But this left me wanting more, and I didn't feel like it had as much "heart" as his other books.

The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds, Michael Lewis - Same as above ^^^

The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field, Mike Michalowicz - Like I mentioned above, Mike leans on the goon side, but he offers some good insight. This one wasn't as helpful as Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine, but I still think it's great if you're just starting out. However, I don't think I'd recommend it to any of my clients - his voice/jokes get a little old after a while.

The Complete Stories, Flannery O'Connor - I try (I really do), but fiction isn't for me. Flannery is obviously an incredible author, but I just can't.

Boundaries & Protection, Pixie Lighthorse - This was fine. I feel like I'm pretty good with boundaries, so it didn't really feel like I needed it. I'd recommend using it more as a reference book than reading it front to back. Biggest takeaway: have boundaries.

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!, Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter - Speaking of mindsets, I feel like this was one of the first go-to books for entrepreneurs, but I don't recommend it. Kiyosaki’s energy is a little gimmicky and hard to read. Biggest takeaway: you can have one dad that can teach you money is bad and another dad that teaches you it's good. Got it.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini - Semi-insightful. A tad bit manipulative and off-putting. Biggest takeaway: people equate high prices with quality (it's too bad, really). Everlane is a perfect example of trying to buck against this stigma by offering radical transparency on their pricing.

A Course in Miracles, Helen Schucman - Oy oy oy. Have you heard about this one? I got it, read some of it, and just had to stop. The author wants to be anonymous, and it kinda feels like the bible, but it says it's not affiliated with religion...? There's a huge following around it, though, so I'm obviously in the minority. Gabrielle Bernstein quotes it a lot (like, in every chapter) in The Universe Has Your Back: Transform Fear to Faith. (I'm still reading Bernstein's book, hence why it's not on the list.) Biggest takeaway: I don't even know — it felt like a bunch of gibberish.

What are some of your most recommended books of 2017? I'd love to know which books you have on your must-read list for 2018!

The Best Time To Send Out An Email Campaign

Disclaimer: there's a ton of conflicting information on this topic!

So let's dive in...

What Google tells you

If you google it, this is what the top responses say:

CoSchedule's - Tuesdays at 10 AM

MailChimp - Thursdays, between 8 AM and 10 AM

OptIn Monster - Weekdays, in the morning

Customer.io - Tuesday afternoon

At the beginning of my coaching career, I'd tell my clients to send their newsletters on Tuesdays at 8 AM. Why? That magic timeslot was consistently coming up in my online marketing research.

What outlying research says

But then I saw this graph from Experian, and my mind was blown:

It clearly shows Sunday and Saturday winning in every category.

Another study that backs up weekends being the best time to send email campaigns is from the book The Science of Marketing: When to Tweet, What to Post, How to Blog, and Other Proven Strategies, by Dan Zarrella:

My email campaign results

So I decided to experiment with different times and see how it would go:

(The blanks are times I sent an email that wasn't typical, so I thought I'd leave it out.)

There are a couple of things you should consider when reviewing this data: there are only nine emails, and I wasn't super methodical about it (but it's still fun to look at). Also, keep in mind that subject lines can make a huge impact on your results (perhaps more than your send time)! But that's a post for another day...

The photo above represents a month-by-month glance of my newsletter statistics.

Highest opens: Friday mornings (kinda). My newsletter with the highest opens was in February, on a Friday, 6 AM, at 70.8%. But, that was also my very first newsletter. The second highest was June, also Friday at 6 AM, again at 62.9%. However, the trend breaks — my newsletter with the least amount of opens is July, on a Friday, 6 AM, at 55.6%.

Highest clicks: Saturday morning. A click is considered after someone opens your email and then clicks on a hyperlink and/or button placed in the email. It's a good indicator of whether or not the content you're putting out resonates with your subscribers and if they're wanting to "buy," "read more," etc. Saturday mornings in October and April are clear winners here.

Future Experimentation For Email Times

Even though Fridays and Saturdays have been pretty good to me, I'm realizing that I've never experimented with Tuesday mornings (because I was so swayed by the other research)! I'll absolutely give Tuesdays a chance next year and see how it goes. Although I do suspect that weekends will still be my jam, I think I'll also experiment more with sending in the evenings, as opposed to mornings. Only once did I send in the evening (September), and that was a top-performing open and click.

Want more of this online marketing goodness? Need to start sending out a consistent email campaign or newsletter? I've got you! Check out my e-course dedicated to setting you up for email marketing success. I go over the more technical details as well as how to brainstorm your unique content in my Newsletters For Creatives e-course.

Would love to hear consistent times that have worked for you and times that haven't. Have you seen any overall trends? Are Tuesday mornings your jam? Tell me below!

Where my family is moving to next....

Guys. We’re moving. And it’s not to a bigger apartment in the city or a single family home or out to the suburbs or even another state. We’re moving to Melbourne, Australia (apparently there’s a Melbourne, Florida - so I felt the need to clarify).

Then the questions start coming, “Oh, did Brandon get a job there?” and I respond with “No, this was my idea, we're just going.” [insert pow emoji]

Then I get, “So, why are you moving there?”

Lots of reasons, but here’s what I say to people:

• Change - Brandon and I are different. Brandon could’ve gladly moved out to the suburbs eight years ago and stayed there for 50 years, and I could’ve had a full head of dreadlocks and be living in a hut in Fiji if we hadn’t met. With that being said, Chicago is an incredible city and for 10 years it has been great for us, up until now.

• Adventure - Australia is a good middle ground. It’s a developed country, they speak English, and it’s comfortable enough for Brandon. If he wants to get a job there, he can, and his brother lives there. It feels adventurous enough for me, it’s really far (literally one of the longest flights from America), we can do weekend trips to southeast Asia on the cheap, and I really love what I see from the creative industry there!

And then the reasons I keep to myself:

• The gypsy life is a part of my soul. When I went on study abroad to New Zealand at 19 and met so many travelers in hostels, I vowed to become a gypsy-nomad at some point in my life. I was a month away from moving to China, but then I met Brandon here in Chicago and totally had one of those “shit, I know you’re my soulmate” moments, so I felt the need to stay, and I'm so glad I did.

• Traveling is a part of who I am before and after kids. In the most amazing book Great with Child: Letters to a Young Mother (read it if you haven't), she talks about people with kids saying to people without kids “travel now, because you never will when you have kids,” and then she goes on to say something like, “those people didn’t travel before they had kids either.” Which is so true. Kids don't have to dictate how you live your life (for the most part, haha).
• It’s a huge priority for me. When Brandon and I were dating, we talked about how traveling would be a big priority for us after marriage. We’ve made it work on whatever amount of money we’ve had in the bank, and really I think anyone making more than $35k a year can take a yearly international trip if they really wanted to - it’s all about what you prioritize, and we highly value traveling.

• If not now, when? There’s never going to be a good time. It feels very much like one of those things where if I don’t decide to do this now, then when are we going to do it? When we’re retired? Boring.

• Why not me? When I saw families like Oh Happy Day and Design Mom taking their families for a year to France (they’re sisters, btw, and planned it at the same time = dream world) and other families like this, this, and this - I had this epiphany moment - what’s the difference between these families and other families that say they want to do it, but they don’t? I know what you’re thinking right? Money - every single one of them are millionaires and/or trust fund babies. But they’re not! Well, except for this one. The difference is - they just made the decision and committed to it. And really, isn’t that what makes the difference for everything in life? The difference between want and must.

• The world is calling me. I just had one of those “click” moments, and it forever changed me. Before we had finally decided to go, I was expressing to a friend how much I wanted to do this but what about insurance and money and kids and yadayadayada, and she said “Nikki! The world is calling you!” It was so powerful and resonated on such a high vibration level. I couldn’t deny it.

Other questions we get...

Q: So yea, what are you going to do about health insurance?

We’re just going to get international insurance - where you’re covered everywhere in the world except the US and Singapore and it's insanely affordable, like $600 for all of us for a year.

Q: And your kids?

Long answer:

We’re really into the Waldorf method, a philosophy that’s essentially to never teach your kids anything and just live. (Just kidding!) But really, our kids are 1 and 4 years old. Sloane turns 5 in February, and honestly — I just Googled this now — this article indicates that she could start public school in January (they’re on the year-round system) but who knows if we're just on a visitors visa... I'm not worried about it. Can you tell? 

But even living in the highest rated elementary school district in the city, we were still considering keeping Sloane in Waldorf. Jeez, I know that’s super controversial and sounds so privileged, and there’s a lot of feelings around public education… uhhhhh see this post.

Short answer:

Preschool, daycare, nanny, Brandon and I switching on and off. We’re going to figure it out when we get there.

Q: What are you going to do for work?

Keep doing what I’m doing.

For my 1:1 work, most of my clients meet with me virtually right now. For my clients who meet in person, I told them that come January we can try virtual, and if it’s not for them, we can go our separate ways.

For my in-person events, I probably won’t do anything for a while. I feel like I’ll need to build a rapport with the local community and go from there. And from what I've researched is looks amazing.

Next year’s Let’s Camp retreat is still in the works. We’re getting some feedback from people who went and trying to make adjustments to see if we can make it even better for 2018. So I'm planning on flying back for it. See my posts on that pre-retreat and post-retreat.

I’m planning on still doing online events, so stay tuned!

And my e-courses are good anywhere/anytime (shameless plug), Remember, the convenience of doing it in the comfort of your own home, “no bra, no judgement!”

Q: How long are you going to be gone?

I don’t know. It all depends on our finances, to be totally frank. I feel like things are always more expensive than what you plan for, so we’re trying to plan for that too, but you never know. We’re considering moving to Thailand/Vietnam/Bali if Melbourne is the worst decision, and if that’s the worst decision, then we’ll probably move back to America.

Q: Can I come visit?

Hell, yes.

Some of the places we’ve been and this isn't to do any face rubbing - it's just because I'm always curious in other peoples travels and thought you might be interested in ours!:

NIKKI - New Zealand (where all these pictures are from in 2005), Mexico, Vancouver BC, China, London + Costa Rica

BRANDON - Panama, England + Mexico

NIKKI + BRANDON - Israel, Barcelona, Paris, Rome, South Africa + Bali

NIKKI + BRANDON + SLOANE - Puerto Rico + Iceland

NIKKI + BRANDON + SLOANE + ROMY - Montreal, Melbourne (ASAP) + TBD

We are so excited! And if feels really surreal to be selling our house, car, and all the things but we're just doing it!

How important is travel in your life? Are you working towards location independence? Tell me in the comments!

Illustration found via Cup of Jo by Elizabeth Graeber