Miss Modish- Mojo Maker

Kitty Photo Indefinitely! (until my new site is finished)

2013-03-01T10:49:19-08:00

Sisters! Watching me work...

Wow, it's March already!?!

In case you didn't get into the crux of my last post about decisions, I wanted to let you know I've decided to take a little break from posting here so I can focus on finally transferring my site over to wordpress and re-designing it to not only look more like what I envision in my mind but to be SO MUCH MORE functional!

You're going to be able to tell what the heck it is I do for a living and be able to find what you're looking for- imagine that!

I've spent so much time the past couple years helping other people fix their sites and branding and copy to better appeal to their customers, all the while ignoring my own! I have lists of all the changes I know I need to make and decided that instead of spending more time fixing up this blog that can never be quite what I want it to be anyway, the time is now to start from scratch and create a site that actually matches my skills and enthusiasm and passion for what I'm doing.

So, this is kitty photo Friday indefinitely until I have a new Miss Modish home to show off to you!

I might have spring fever, or something like that ;) Until I return, much mojo to you! Can't wait to have a new site to share with you all!

<3 Jena

Decisions, decisions...

2013-02-27T12:11:56-08:00

Last week I shared this random thought on social media and it seemed to strike a chord in people:

mojo note to self: Stop sacrificing your own projects & desires to put everyone else first. Don't be the contractor living in a shitty house!

Can you relate?

I've been feeling stuck and procrastinatey for months now with anything having to do with making the changes I know I need to make for my own website, for my own business... and I think I finally realized why.

Because I haven't made a clear decision about any of it yet!

I have been wanting to move my site, which I've ran on typepad for almost 7 years now, over to wordpress for the last, oh 4 or so of those years... but it's always been an "I'll do that someday" thing, because it seems like a big heavy load I'm not thrilled to bear.

And now especially, since I've transitioned into talking about business and life, I have all these desires for my website and what I want to do with it in terms of navigation and content and helping people be able to actually find what they're looking for.

But I've been stalled on making the changes, and stalled on creating new posts here, because I've been all flip-floppy and indecisive, hanging around in limbo land of should I move to WP? Is it gonna be worth the hassle? Will I lose something in the process? Should I just stay with what I know? And it's making me stuck, stuck, stuck.

But today, I woke up with the realization that it's never going to be a good time to try to transfer 6+ years of content over to a new site and redesign from scratch. That's never going to sound like something appealing to do- it's just not. Yet it's something I know deep down I need to do in order to create the business I want, and have the online home I see in my mind.

So, I have to make a decision. Finally fix what I have, or move it on up. Either way, I'm sick of being a contractor living in a shitty house of her own making!

So, I'm here to say... I've decided, I'm headed to re-design land.

I'm gonna do it myself, cause that's how I am :) I'm not sure if things will appear kadywhampus around here as I make the transition or not, but either way, this is head's up that I'm not going to be posting regularly for the next little while.

So this is a goodbye for now, until I return with a site I'm motivated to come to myself, that's easy to find your way around, that's clearer about what the hell it is I do.

I'm going to make all the changes I would tell myself, if I were my client, to make! So I guess, in essence, I've decided to take myself on as a client for the next few weeks and give my own self a much needed dose of biz mojo.

So in the interim, I throw it to you... is there a change you've been dreading that you know you need to make? Where can you be more decisive in your business to start to shift out of stuckness? Are your own desires always put on the back-burner to other things you need to get done?

I'd love to hear that I'm not the only one who gets stuck in indecision sometimes, or spends more time focused on helping everyone else so that she forgets to help herself! At least for now, I'm choosing to focus on my own house.

Kitty Photo Friday!

2013-02-22T12:30:05-08:00

It's a dark and dreary day here, but I'm glowing on the inside, just like this photo!

I've been busy with awesome clients this week, busy manifesting front row parking spots :) and I'm beyond thrilled to have a special guest post featured on one of my favorite blogs today, Tiny Buddha!

In the post I share my journey through stress and overwhelm and what led me to my breaking point, and breakthrough point, of deciding to turn my life around. Check it out! I share 7 tips I've learned for helping you love where you're at right now.

Life is bustling and bubbling up all around me and I'm so glad to be in the middle of it all.

Wishing you much love and mojo to carry into the weekend!

<3 jena

Sending some love the old fashioned way

2013-02-14T12:14:26-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm joining in on the Felix Doolittle love note writing challenge, which starts today. They're encouraging people to give 1-7 hand-written notes a week to their loved ones over the next month, and I love a good excuse to get sappy and let people know I care, so I'm joining in!

I'm going to be sending hand-written notes of love, luck, thanks and mojo out every week over the next 4 weeks (and who knows, maybe even longer!) to the people who mean the most to me.

I'm starting today by sending some love notes out to some of my awesome clients!

I'm planning on sending some notes and letters to friends and family too. And watching the Grammys this past weekend, when they were talking about honoring our music teachers and the people who've brought us to where we are in life, it made me want to reach out to my old piano teacher! So, she and some other past teachers and meaningful peeps are gonna hear from me over the next month too.

I think it will be so fun to share my feelings the old-fashioned way. I have saved just about every letter or hand-written note I've ever received, and I can't wait to spread some of that joy and love around, and make sure people know just how special I think they are.

Want to join in on the challenge? Just leave a comment on this post at FD and say you're in, and start spreading the hand-written love!

I'm interested to see what positive changes it will bring to everyone involved! And will update here a couple times to let you know how it's going.

Wishing you so much love! Share it. Show it. Eat it up. It's what life is truly all about.

<3 jena

Kitty Photo Friday!

2013-02-08T11:02:41-08:00

contemplative kitty...

When it's kind of slow around here on the blog, you can bet it's bustling behind the scenes. And that's exactly what's been going on this week- I'm a little up to my eyeballs in projects but happily so.

But of course I'm planning more special goodies for you here this month! During February on the blog, I'm going to be focusing on how to romance your customers and the media into loving what you offer!

I'm starting next week with a new mo' mojo podcast on how to find and attract your ideal client, a subject I've spoken with people about in almost every mojo session I've done, so I realize it's really something people need to hear and start thinking about.

And I also wanted to thank you all for your great feedback on my post last week on how to get in the mindset for gettin' out there! (If you missed it last week, check it out!) I'm working on a pretty printable version of the advice from that post so you can pin it up on your walls. Coming soon :)

Giant e-hugs to you all until next week,
<3 jena

Dear Morning,

2013-02-06T12:28:58-08:00

One little tidbit you may not know about me- I majored in poetry, of all things, in college. But I don't think I've actually sat down just to write a poem since, which was almost 10 years ago now! (damn, those white hairs I'm getting ain't lyin...)

So it was a pretty strange experience of having, what appears to be a poem, literally spill out of me this morning, from nowhere, for no reason. I felt compelled to write and a poem came out.

And since poems are meant for sharing, it felt right to share it here with you!

And now, for something completely different (if you get that reference, you're tops in my book!)

Dear Morning,

I like you slow and easy,

just like this,

so I can settle down

into you.

Curl into your crevices and

open space.

So I can revel, for awhile,

in daydream

and possibility.

I like you curtained in fog, wrapped

in cozy mystery,

as crows call out to each other, their sounds

echoing off the corners

where land, mountain and an opaque sky

meet.

I like you clear and early,

stained with moonshine and jet trails,

colored in a cotton candy glow,

your arms outstretched and

open wide, receiving,

forgiving,

just waiting for us.

I like you with rain pattered windows,

blanketed in warmth,

tangled up in sheets so soft I want to be held hostage

by them,

greeted with purrs, wet

nuzzled noses,

a scruffy kiss goodbye.

Dear Morning,

I like you,

just like this.

A quiet pause.

A reverberation.

A brand new day.

-Jena Coray

Kitty Photo Friday!

2013-02-01T11:51:06-08:00

{cheek to cheek}

Happy Friday! TGIF indeed today, it's been a looong week. But at least it was a long week of gettin' stuff done!

And I have been getting into the new VINE app- have you checked it out yet? It's like instagram but with 6 second looping videos. You can check out one of my videos to hear a little piano and see some kitties in action!

The app is pret-ty buggy right now, but I have hope they'll work out all the kinks. There's just something about the addition of movement and sound that I am really loving! It's cool to get glimpses into people's lives thru photos, but getting to hear what they're hearing, and what they sound like, and see what they're seeing in a new way adds a whole new dimension that's really engaging. And easily addictive (watch out!)

And it's been fun to see so many people getting SO creative with it already! If you're on there, follow me @Miss Modish- I'd love to get a little glimpse into your world! (that's mildly creepy, I realize, but you know you like spying into other people's lives too ;)

Now, I'm off to resist all temptation to just lounge around and eat and play piano all day, because that's about the energy level I'm at... we'll see. Resistance can be futile, especially on Fridays...

Happy weekend to you!!

<3 jena

How to Get in the Mindset for Gettin' Out There!

2013-01-31T12:02:23-08:00

After being self-employed for 5+ years and writing this blog for even longer, I am starting to realize more and more that success in business really boils down to one thing: your mindset.

Your products, photos, copy and marketing plan don't give a lick if your head isn't in the right space to believe in yourself and what you're putting out there.

I think most often the hurdles we face along our journeys into growing our business can be remedied simply by thinking of them differently.

So if you're feeling stuck either in doubt or in the details about getting yourself out there...
Or find that you just "don't have time" to really market yourself...
Or if you've tried and things didn't work and now you're over it...

I've been held back by all of those things before too, in the past, so I thought I'd share 3 ways I've been able to shift my own mindset to clear those obstacles, and make it a whole lot easier to get out there!

Remember that WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER IS WANTED & NEEDED

Your customers need what you make, what you do, who you are. Remember that.

So when you have something to offer that could be of benefit to your customers, your trying to tell them about it and get the word out about it is not about you- it's to help those customers.

No matter what business you're in, you're in service to your customers, clients and the people who are going to be paying you for what you offer. So don't think of it as slimy or salesy or like you're "selling yourself". When you try to put in front of them something they'd find of benefit or useful or just their style, that's you being of service to them.

When you think of it like that, it can shift how you approach people in general, it can shift how you speak about what you do, it can shift how you start to get the word out about what you do.

When you're coming from a place of service, of I have/create/do this thing that you, my ideal client, might really appreciate it, then it's coming not only from a more genuine place, but it doesn't feel like selling.

It feels like matchmaking, like placing what you have to offer in the hands of the people who want and need it.

You're actually doing a disservice to people who could be right now using your services to benefit their goals and lifestyle, by shirking away and not self-promoting or letting things get in the way of marketing yourself.

Stop worrying about judgement or criticism or "not doing it right", and just think about how to best get what you have to offer into the hands of the people who WANT it and NEED it, cause they're out there waiting!

You MUST MAKE TIME TO MARKET YOUR BIZ in big or small ways, each day

If you're looking for more time to market yourself? You ain't gonna find it.

You need to shift your schedule and your mindset to MAKE time for marketing yourself because you realize it's an absolute priority that directly affects the growth of your business.

You can spend all the time in the world perfecting your product or service and getting everything perfect with the website and copy and photos, or telling friends and family all about it, or chatting up about your cats on social media (or maybe that's just me :) but unless you're ACTIVELY putting yourself out there and actively telling people about your what you have to offer, there's no way for your business to grow.

You've planted the seeds, now it's time to MAKE IT RAIN (pun intended, because when you start creating time to get yourself out there, you are taking the steps that will lead to more money and more growth.)

It's time to MAKE TIME to market yourself.

And it doesn't have to be a chore or just another to-do you "have" to do- it can feel fun! And natural.

Remember, when you're sharing your message, your work, what you have to offer with the people who need it and are looking for it, then you're doing them a service. If you want to serve more people, then you need to make sure more people know about what you offer!

Where can you fit more marketing in? Here are some ideas for you:

Create a marketing calendar, or add to your schedule or to-do list specific marketing activities to do each day, so that you can make it easy to go forward with them. example: Add "Write and send pitch to Daily Candy" to your todos- take 30 minutes to write a thoughtful, personalized pitch, and done. Marketing task accomplished for the day.

Use tools like hootsuite to schedule out tweets and facebook posts so that you can write out some messages in a batch and schedule them to go out during the week and you don't even have to think about it.

Take a break from pinning your fave recipes to hop on your fave blogger's boards and leave some comments on things that excite you and re-pin others- take time to like/say thank you to those who pin images from your own site.

Just hanging out on social media is not necessarily marketing yourself- make an effort to connect, engage, share, for even 10 minutes a day, on whatever your fave platform- I don't even use them all each day, do what works for you- and you'll be putting yourself out there.

Make a list of 3-5 marketing goals you want to accomplish each week- pepper them into the week, or do them all in a batch for your monday marketing afternoon or something- just get them done.

Write the emails. Place the ads. Reach out. Say thank you. Make connections. In order to serve better, you have to make it a priority to get yourself out there!

Know that WHAT YOU PUT OUT THERE WILL COME BACK TO YOU

It's the law of psychics, actually- "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

So, if a lot of your actions are 2nd guessing yourself, constantly comparing where you're at in your business to where other people are at, trying half-assedly to get out there and then giving up cause it didn't work, or spending all day on facebook wondering why you're not raking in the sales- no wonder marketing feels gross or awful or ineffective to you.

The actions and the energy that you're putting out there is coming right back to you.

If you're acting out of "why me", or "why not me", or "I can't" or "this won't work", then those are the results you're going to get out it.

If you instead act out of "I am enough", "I can", "I have a unique point of view", "I want to honestly connect and share what I do with others", then that energy is going to come right back at you.

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

When you get active about getting out there, by pitching, placing ads, reaching out to make some real connections on social media, even if it doesn't look like it immediately, you're going to get the energy you put into it, right back out of it.

You may not hear back from 10 pitches and then on the 11th one, bam! The editor loves it and it goes up that day.

You may get written up by a blog with a smaller audience that the editor of a larger blog or magazine reads and get discovered through there

You could pitch a blogger 3 times and never hear back and then randomly connect with them over twitter about your favorite kind of pie one day and get retweeted and gain 100 new followers.

You could pitch a blog or magazine that says no at first, but then the editor passes you along to another editor who loves your work, or you could end up being perfect for a story 3 months down the line.

You could run an ad and get no sales, and 3 months later have a customer who says, oh yeah, I found you from this blog I read!

Don't judge your experience of "is this working??" by immediate responses/write-ups/etc, because when you're judging your success on immediate results, that's often when we give up, or start to 2nd guess ourselves- if it seems like it's not working, or like our efforts are not being met back.

But in reality, I think it's just not happening fast enough for us. A lot of success in business also depends on patience. And little bit of faith.

So, just know this is going to be a journey, and start walking- take it step by step.

Keep acting on the things that you know are going to get you closer to where you want to be, that are going to get your work out into the world more, and you will start to see results- I guarantee it!

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Which of these mindset shifts do you think could help you most in getting motivated to get yourself out there? I'd love to hear what you think in the comments!

My #1 secret to getting press

2013-01-28T09:10:58-08:00

I decided to record part of the introduction to my new PITCH-KIT for you guys not only so you can get a sense of what it's like, but because right in the intro, I share my #1 secret to getting press mentions- it's really what it allll boils down to.

You'll also get to hear details about what's included in the pitch-kit so you can be the judge if it's something that might be useful for you, before you fork over any dough :)

Give it a listen to get some mojo for gettin' out there!

I've heard from so many creative entrepreneurs about how the pitch-kit has helped them, it makes me smile daily. I get emails and tweets and posts on my FB wall about people not only loving all the how-to info and insider knowledge, but of it actually motivating them to get themselves on out there!

I hear from people who've used the kit to start pitching and they're getting samples requested from Daily Candy, getting write-ups, giveaways and interviews on great blogs. They're seeing for themselves that it is possible, and maybe even easier than they thought.

I hear from people who are feeling more fearless and not as held back in self-promotion, because the pitch-kit armed them with both the tools and confidence to toot their own horn, with style!

So, don't take it from me that the pitch-kit is something that totally belongs on every entrepreneurs e-bookshelf (ok, that one was from me, but I totally believe it :) Check out what other artists, makers, bloggers, designers and creatives, like you, have to say about how it's helped them not only pitch differently, but see themselves differently- you'll find their words at the bottom of this page.

And if the kit seems like something that could be helpful for you too, you can find it right over here in the MOJO SHOP.

Happy listening!
<3 Jena

Kitty Photo Friday!

2013-01-25T10:31:39-08:00

{another old pic from some film we got developed recently- back when we had a trampoline in the yard!}

Dang, are you sure it's Friday? Feels like Thursday to me! These short work weeks still screw me up. And for the past two days my site has been down/acting wonky because of something on the server level, so I didn't get to post until now! Ugghh, the horrrah!

It was only a horrah for me, I'm sure. And good news is, now I have two new posts all ready to go for you!

First, I'll be sharing an audio of the introduction to my new PITCH-KIT, because right there in the intro I share my #1 secret to getting press, and I want you to be able to get that info whether you purchase the kit or not, so... look for that on Monday!

And on Wednesday, I'll have a new post about how to get in the mindset for gettin' out there, because this whole self-promotion thing can be pret-ty darn weird sometimes, so I have some tips to help motivate you to get out there with confidence!

So look for those next week, or you can sign up to get them delivered straight to your inbox.

In the meantime, there's always kitty photo friday... :)

See you round here next week!

<3 jena