my story is my power- or so i'm told...

When I decided to throw myself into the blogging world and add to the ever-increasing selection of design and decorating blogs out there, I kept asking myself that one (important) question: "What do I have to offer that is a unique perspective?"


Photograph by marwei (Vanlal Tockhawng)

It was then that I remembered something that happened to me months ago. One morning when I was about to wake up and I was in that hazy, half-asleep/half-awake, subconscious fog (you know, that time when you're almost dreaming but you're not) I heard this voice very adamantly say: "Your story is your power."

What?

Of course, I immediately snap-to and look around for that guy from all the movie trailer voiceovers (and recently a funny Geico commercial). Well, the TV isn't on, and that guy isn't standing at the end of my bed, either. (Thank goodness.) But then I was left REALLY wondering what that little message was all about...?

Now I'm not much of a power-seeker (or Lord knows I would have stayed in the corporate world) but I think I've figured out what to do with my "power" as it was interpreted to me on that day. So here's my attempt at parlaying that weird experience into a relevant and beneficial blog for all of yall...

I'm sharing my "story" about starting and building my decorating business... how I did it, what worked, what didn't, what it takes, and why. Since I get a lot of calls and emails for advice along these lines- now I'll be able to direct everyone somewhere if I'm not able to talk with them right away. :)

Plus, I believe in reciprocity, karma, paying it forward, abundance, and all those other similar things that equal "what goes around comes around". (We'll just call it the Justin Timberlake effect.) If I can help anyone follow their bliss and do what they love, I'm all for it!

Now I want to be clear about what I'm doing here with all this free and fantastic advice. :) I'm not going to be concentrating much on HOW to decorate or design... I believe you can learn principles, but I honestly feel the talent or "knack" for this work is either slapped on your bottom when you're born, or... not.

I certainly am not one to give out legal and accounting advice, so we won't be going there. (I hire that stuff out- like all smart, right-brained businesspeople that know their own limitations!) There are ten zillion books and websites devoted to these aspects- and God love 'em, but that's not my strength.

What I'd like to do with the advice is concentrate on the more dynamic aspects of being a freelancer: the startup challenges, the psychology of being an independent business owner, attracting and working with customers, and marketing and miscellaneous strategies. I strongly believe these areas are what make or break you. For better or worse- talent is secondary.

My info will obviously be from the vantage point of being an independent designer/decorator, but a lot of it will cross over for anyone who is thinking of taking that leap into the world of self-employment. I hope to help or inspire anyone to turn their little "pipedream" into a Kohler Sok infinity tub of happiness! (I couldn't resist- I just really adore that tub.)

So the new section will be called "Peeping the Business Mind of Design". Why? Because "peeping" stays in line with my "design snitch" concept, and search engines rank the words "design business" highest in searches done on the subject.

See! That's already a mini-lesson right there. ;)