Let’s talk marketing, more specifically, let’s talk about your marketing PLAN. If you’re like me, you’re probably thinking, uh, marketing plan?! What’s that?! Let me tell you, I was in the same boat. Just weeks ago I had no idea what a marketing plan was or that you needed one. And I was thinking, Oh crap! Another thing to add to the to-do list! *cue the sobbing emoji.

When you first step into the world of online business it can be overwhelming, to say the least. There is so much you “need” to do, or “should” do when you have an online business.

I want to encourage you, if you are just starting out, congrats to getting this far –but don’t get distracted with all the “shoulds” cause trust me, there’s a lot.

For a lot of us, our website is the gateway for people to hire us. It’s our welcome mat, inviting people into our “shop” or our space so they can view our products, services, get to know us, see our work, and (hopefully) hire us. But what if…

I think we can all identify with the fact that we have a lot on our plate... and it seems like we're only told to put more on. And sometimes we think there's a cure for this feeling of overwhelm, and the cure is to take a vacation. This is what I thought, at least.

When you start your business, you know that content marketing is important, but you may not be sure how to go about it. Or, quite possibly, you didn't know that it was a thing. Well, let me be the one to tell you, content marketing is one of the most important and valuable ways to find customers and sell your product or service.

As a side-hustler, I feel like I look over the fence to my friends who work for themselves full-time and I sigh and say, ahh that would be nice. You get to work from home, work in your pjs, get to spend all day working on projects you love… the list of wonderful-ness goes on and on.

One of the biggest mistakes I see new business owners making is they think they need a logo when they're just starting out. Heck, that's what I thought when I started out too. And having a logo is important but what you really need is a game plan. A strategy.

There’s a lot that goes into starting a business. One of the main things people (like myself) get hung up on is branding and visuals. But, I'm here to tell you, it's at the bottom of the list of things you should be doing when you first start out.

For those of you who don't know, a side hustle is referred to when talking about a business you nurture "on the side" to your full-time day job. At least, that's what it is for me. I feel like in today's day and age, a lot of millennials think that it's sexy to have a side hustle or to be an entrepreneur, and don't get me wrong, it's fun, but it's also, maybe not as glamorous as one might think. But we'll get into that.

I'm sure you've seen inspiration boards before. Aren't they fun to look at? But branding is more than pretty pictures, it's about strategy and how to communicate the right message to the ideal audience.

Not all businesses have a brand. Some businesses just have a logo, like some gas stations or hardware stores. Maybe even some restaurants. Businesses can survive and do well without branding.

Color psychology is a rich topic. There are many facets to how color affects the human body as well as decision-making and mood. So, in terms of branding, color plays a huge role in the process of how people identify with your brand and how they relate to it. According to research people make a judgement on your brand within 90 seconds of seeing your content. That’s a pretty quick assessment just based off colors alone!

So today we will take an in-depth look into the colors for your brand, find out what they're saying about you and make an informed decision based on research that can attract more of your ideal audience and communicate the right message.

The idea for a business normally comes first, then the dreaded task of finding the perfect name. You want that name that is everything - explains what you have to offer, shows your strengths, represents your unique offering... But how on earth do you go about choosing a name that represents how great you and your services are?

When you’re coming onto the online business arena you are bombarded with all these things to do: get a great brand, build an email list, be active and consistent on social media, blog... it can quickly get overwhelming.

The feeling can leave you paralyzed with “there’s so many things I need to do I don’t even know where to start” and then you either: don’t do anything or try to figure it all out on your own, which is tough.

It happens to everyone. We have a burst of creativity and want to go out and conquer the world. We also have those times where there is no inspiration insight and it feels like we’re pulling teeth to squeeze out one drop of our creative capabilities.

From someone who currently has a 9-5 and a side hustle, it’s easy to see other people who work for themselves, sigh and say, “that would be so awesome.” And in my mind, that is “making it.”