I’ve had my fair share of nightmares when it comes to free & Paid WordPress themes. I’ve paid top dollar (which in Rands was probably a good chunk of my left arm) for several WordPress themes that totally left me feeling deflated and almost broke! I learnt the hard way because I was trying to take the easy way out of designing web sites for my clients but boy did it back fire, stress me out and cost me over $300!
So I survived my first day as a full time Freelancer. Whoooo hoooo! I couldn’t believe that when I looked up for the first time and it was ALREADY 2pm!
It was a fantastic day filled with some new design work, a little photography, yukky admin invoicing ($$$) and a tea break with my favourite Lucky Bitch book. BUT what I loved the most about my day was that I finally had (made) the time to dust of the B-School cobwebs and say Hello to Marie again!
I’m now feeling completely pumped and ready to set some goals and share them with you a la Melyssa. Weekly Wishes is a weekly thang that Melyssa does on over at The Nectar Collective (a devine slice of the Interwebs). The weekly series is a chance for you to publicly declare your goals & challenges for the week and network with some other fine bloggers.
Today I’m sharing a recent project I worked on that was an absolute dream. I loved every moment of this project because a. it was a complete challenge and b. Caitlyn was a complete dream to work with.
I was super excited when Caitlyn came to me with her vision and long list of ideas for her new site. This was a lady who knew exactly what she wanted! Caitlyn is a life & Career Coach, lecturer, wife, happiness-seeker, blogger, Jesus-follower, runner, traveler, nature-lover & adrenalin junkie. Phew quite something hey?!
Another great Pinterest find that I couldn’t help but share, thanks Erika for the great tips!
It is with mixed emotions that I type this blog post, you see, three weeks ago I took a giant leap of faith and decided that it was now or never. My dreams couldn’t wait until tomorrow, they needed my attention today and so on Monday the 25th I drew The Ruby Orchard chapter to a close.
It wasn’t an easy decision to make because in all honestly it has quite possibly been the best career year of my life and no I’m not just saying this to score extra brownie points with the boss. What I’ve learnt in the last year is unbelievable. I’ve learnt valuable business knowledge that no textbook could ever ever teach you and it’s completely reignited my entrepreneur fire!
If you live in Howick you will agree that The Ruby Orchard is a complete rare gem and a proven that something different can work in a small town. With it’s rapid expansion The Ruby Orchard has proven all the nay sayers wrong, has gained followers from all over South Africa and continues to grow from strength to strength so it is quite clear that the business principles practiced at The RO are ones to aspire to!
Here are the valuable lessons and memories that have shaped the last career year of my life…
1. Forever Organise. And make sure you cross everything off your list. If you plan to do it then do it! Don’t put it on your list and keep carrying it over until the next day. Do it today when it is meant to be done. The Boss (yes that’s you Hannah) is the ultimate organisation queen and I love how she stands by her to do list.
2. Anything is possible. Yes it is! A beautiful 3 Room gift, decor & furniture store in Howick? Yes Possible! A Creative Workshop in Howick? Yes Possible! Customers who plan day trips up to the Midlands just for The RO? Yes Possible! A custom reclaimed timber frame for your beautiful painting? Yes Possible!
3. Be the Heart of Innovation. At the beginning of this year this quote featured on The Ruby Orchard blog because that is exactly what The RO Stands for. Being a leader. Setting the trend and being one step ahead of the game at all times. If you innovate copycats will forever be that, copycats.
4. Répondez, s’il vous plaît. Your customers are EVERYTHING! Without them you are basically and sadly nothing. So respond to them no matter what the inquiry is. Even if it is to say a polite no thank you. Depressingly I found out that not responding to customers was the almost acceptable thing to do in South Africa that’s why when I first started at The RO I was impressed with the genuine interest of each and every customer. And that black book that took your details and got you a phone call back!
5. Know what you want! Yet again Hannah is a big inspiration when it comes to a woman who knows what she wants. If you know what you want then you will make plans on how to get it. And if want you want isn’t available then ask for it. I bet you (as per point 2) it is possible!
And to think I almost never took the job. Gasp!
A true new beginning lies ahead….
The 4th of September saw the launch of WordPress 4.0 ‘Benny’ honouring, as always, one of the Jazz greats – ‘King of Swing’ Benny Goodman. What I love the most about this most recent WordPress update is that they’ve actually really listened to their users and given them a better visual editing experience and an easier to manage work space. These two updates make blogging so much easier for everyone, including the average Joe beginner.
That all sounds great but What are Updates and Why do I need to update my WordPress? If I’m being totally honest with you a while back I just thought they were some annoying thing that popped up every time I opened my WordPress Admin Dashboard. You know like in the picture below…
If you can call learning a hobby and a passion then it’s my number one, it triggers the happy part of my brain and encourages me to keep going after my dreams and goals. I believe that with the power of the internet we all have the opportunity on a daily basis to be part of the school of life and continue to learn day after day.
In the last couple of weeks I’ve learnt some very very nifty techy tips that I am going to be sharing with you today that think you will love. Enjoy!
Ever created the most beautiful menu bar and maybe added the Vertical Line Symbol or a bullet point in between your navigation menu? But then there’s always one silly random one stuck on the end?
Ok so how to get rid of it…
This infographic is courtesy of Pixaal and quite beautifully explains exactly what needs to be considered before you embark on your website design & development journey. I love how Pinterest never fails to inspire me and this little infographic has sparked a few ideas and a little series that will be coming up on my blog very soon.
A distraction free and super productive day… isn’t that what we all strive for on a daily basis?!
Since starting my freelancing journey about 3 months ago I’ve started implementing and using these 5 rules to help me focus and deliver the best I can to my clients. I don’t always stick to them but it’s really handy to have guidelines that I can fall back on in case there is a total distraction take over!
I’ll admit I struggle with procrastination and perfection.
My absolute worst is putting my work out there when it’s imperfect almost to the point where I sometimes don’t even put my work out there. And the point of that is what?
