Retail Therapy

2012-02-01T12:37:12-06:00

I don't shop often but when I have the time to wander home & kitchen aisles, I'm kinda dangerous! Last night I stopped at Canadian Tire to buy a new mop, and I came out with all these little Starfrit and Joie gadgets plus a toaster, coffee maker, rice cooker and flat frying pan. Then I went to Costco to buy more lemon juice (for my water obsession) and I also got a lamp, cabin bag, hair accessories organizer, compact luggage scale and lots of fruit. I really need to get blinders ;)

What are your danger aisles when you go shopping?

Color Couples: Yellow & Orange

2012-01-30T11:36:51-06:00

I've always loved orange and after I got past the 'yellow is pee' stage of childhood, I fell in love with yellow too. Put them together and it's the perfect duo-- all day long (as Darrell Sheets would say).

I've been obsessed with Yellow and Orange for the last four years and my love still hasn't faded. I even painted my eyeglasses Orange and Yellow! This combo is so sunny and happy, they're my perfect signature colors :)

One/ ATC I made and a page from my Color Theory album

Two/ My Yellow & Orange Glasses and my Salt & Pepper set

Three/ Lola's Button Collar and Vintage Enamel Turkish Pot Set

Four/ Kate from Scathingly Brilliant

Five/ My Lala Avatar and Greeting Card from LBCpaper

Six/ Plastic Flowers DIY and my Kitchen Tools

Seven/ Shoes from Rhymes with Orange, Winnipeg

Eight/ Apron Tutorial on No Big Dill and Enamel Brooch from Say It Ain't So

Indie: Compass e-course [Registration Open]

2012-01-26T10:14:04-06:00

Hi everyone! Jill, Kyla and I are beyond excited to let you in on the details of our new eCourse, Indie Business: Compass. We’ve been dreaming, scheming and writing our hearts out since the fall, and are so proud of the finished product! The Compass achieves what the annual Indie course was missing, by offering a thorough, engaging work at your own pace approach to setting up a successful and strong foundation for new businesses and giving existing business owners a chance to perfect and grow what’s working for them. It’s all new, completely original content and a fresh perspective on how you can approach your creative business!

What is Indie: Compass?

Indie: Compass is an e-course built by the creators of the widely-loved and successful Indie Business online class. The Compass is the perfect starting point for your small business journey. The Compass will guide you through eight chapters of teaching and prompts for action and examination that have been specifically developed for people starting, growing or fine tuning a creative independent business. The Compass is a foundation for understanding yourself, your motivation and how what you bring to the marketplace can make your business irresistible!

At the conclusion of each chapter in this e-course, you'll find a section called "Calibrate Your Compass" with an image of that chapter's puzzle piece. Using the printable Compass chart made available in the course, you can track your discoveries and progress and use the your 'Calibrated Compass' to guide decisions in your future.

We believe that your business should be perfectly designed for you. We've written the Compass to help you a) explore your options, motivation and interests b) develop your focus, style, ideas, brand, name and to c) ultimately help you establish a foundation that will guide your entire business' future.

Our Course Outline

1. Your Core Motivation: Different types of people open business for different reasons, impacting everything that lies ahead. This chapter explores the variety of motivations people have for going into business and the unique strengths each brings to the table. Identifying what drives you will help calibrate your business compass.

2. Open Your Sails: A lasting business keeps its options open. It’s important to consider versatility and range when building your foundation. Open Your Sails explores how you can structure your business to carry you farther and serve your customers for the long term. Shifting trends and interests don’t have to rattle your business, with your sails open you can surf the winds of change.

3. Discovering Your Business Style: Style isn’t just about your favorite colors and how you dress- it’s the way you do things and how you transport customers to a world of your making! This chapter offers written and visual cues to help you identify the direction of your business’ style, equipping you to infuse personality and identity into your brand.

4. Creating a Business that Breaks the Mould: Whether you’re a handmade seller, life coach or photographer, at their core, all creative businesses are connected in their ability to enhance the lives of their customers. Through exploring this chapter and "Your Core Motivation" from Chapter One, you can fuse your unique strengths with your chosen field to ignite your passion and build a unique platform for success in your industry.

5. Connected Products & Services: Products and services are opportunities to reach customers & engage in their lives. This chapter redefines how you approach creating products and services, and breaks down the walls between them. Connecting and expanding what your business offers will allow you to create new opportunities, revealing a versatile business that thrives.

6. Your Message, Your Story, Your Brand: Strong branding creates a memorable identity for your business that helps customers believe in you and feel confident about what you offer. Your Message, Your Story, Your Brand helps you discover your story and create a message that partners perfectly with your businesses style from Chapter 3. Through this process your brand will emerge and will reinforce your compass so no matter what the situation, your brand and its true purpose will direct you

7. Elements for a Lasting Name: Choosing a business name is one of the most exciting (and intimidating) defining moments of your new venture! Elements for a Lasting Name helps you make an educated decision through guided brainstorm and fire-tested tips. Using our litmus test, you will feel confident about choosing a name that has the strength to grow with you!

8. Looking Through Your Customers Eyes: With the confidence of Chapters 1-7 behind you, we turn your focus outward. Looking Through Your Customer’s Eyes explores who your ideal customer is, what their needs are and examines what their experience of your business will be. This final part of our journey helps you discover the most impactful ways to engage with your target market so they’ll make a connection and support your business for the long run

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How do I access and read the course?

A. The Indie Business: Compass is a privately hosted online e-course and you will receive access by email as soon as payment is complete. Your e-course purchase will also include a digital copy of the Compass so that you can read it on any device that reads a pdf (tablet, iPhone, eReader, etc). This is a great option for those who do not always have Internet access and want to learn as they go.

Q. What's taking an e-course like?

A. An e-course is a stand alone, self paced experience where students work through the chapters on a timeline that works for them. The entire course is made available to students and they can take advantage of it as soon as they like. An e-course is a little like a blog, so the navigation will be easy and familiar for students, but there are no comments on the chapters.

Q. I'd like to purchase the Compass for a friend, is that possible?

A. How thoughtful of you! Yes, you can purchase the Compass for a friend by using our special Buy Now button here. The course is the same price but this purchase button gathers your friends name so that we can help him or her redeem their gift.

Q. I've taken one of the annual Indie Business classes before-- will the Compass be useful for me?

A. Hey Mogul! The Compass achieves what our annual Indie Business course was missing and we've created completely original content that will set you up with a foundation for success! We'd love to see you benefit from the Compass too!

Feel free to email us if you have a question, Hello@FreckledNest.com

Meet the Teachers

Indie Business courses are created and taught by owners Jill Munro, Leigh-Ann Keffer and Kyla Roma. Get to know us better here:) With over 27 years of combined small business experience, our teaching team has seen it all and we want to help you make your dreams come true!

Hear from Previous Indie Students

Jennifer of Lucky Jackson “The Indie Business course is essential to anyone starting a creative business venture. I have read books upon books on starting and running a small business but they did not offer the clear guidance, resources and support that this course provides. For those looking to start or improve upon their new ventures look no further than Indie Business.”

Dianne Knight of Simply Design “Indie 3.0 helped me re-evaluate and take a fresh look at my business. Even though I’ve been working on my own for a few years, it was valuable to see experiences from other classmates, and learn from the amazing teachers. Owning a business is a journey, it is constantly evolving and never ending and it’s important to keep a fresh outlook. Indie helped me do just that!”

Moorea of Moorea Seal “When I took Indie Biz 2.0, I was still debating over whether I wanted to run my Etsy jewelry shop as a hobby or a business. Taking the class confirmed that I wanted to turn my jewelry business into a full time job, and within a year after taking the class, I made my dream a reality! I have been self employed for a year now and I absolutely love it! Indie Biz gave me all of the tools to market my business well with a clear vision, taught me how to produce my work more effectively, and so much more. My blog following, twitter following, and all of my social media sites began to really buzz after taking the class which is a really important thing in trying to promote your business online. The skills I learned in Indie Biz are what have given me the opportunity to be featured on 50+ blogs and websites, featured in magazines, and interviewed by multiple websites and businesses that I absolutely adore. And my jewelry is stocked in over 20 stores across the globe. It’s all thanks to Indie Biz!”

We’re so excited to put this into the world, and hope that you absolutely love it. You can purchase the course using one of the secure Paypal buttons here or if you’d like to learn more, you can explore the Indie Business HQ :)

xo, Leigh-Ann, Jill and Kyla

LA

Five Alive

Retail Therapy

Color Couples: Yellow & Orange

Indie: Compass e-course [Registration Open]