creativebizmarathon

sonya: new directions

noreply@blogger.com (sonyamacdesigns) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:21:00 +0000

If the Lord allows It ... is my plan to continue my business pursuits in a more divine, defined yet directed fashion. My plan is already in motion … due to my FATHER’s prompting … also, I'm the new Women's Ministry Coordinator for Southeast Baptist Church ... here in the Boro. An invitation to Bible Study Fellowship is on my desk and I would super Love to meet Darren, right here in the US.

Laura: Finding My Style on Canvas

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Catherine O) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 02:43:00 +0000

Hi Creative Biz Marathoners! I'm checking in to share an update on finding my creative style. It's been nearly a year since I started my art lessons with the lovely Kelly Thiel. For the past few months, I've been art journaling and practicing as much as I can. Painting is still new to me...my "art" has always been graphic design and jewelry making. Like many other creatives, I felt called to sketching and painting. I'm really, truly enjoying the ride, as Elizabeth would say.

Here's a sneak peek at one of my recent paintings. You can read more about this art angel here.

Also, I hope you'll visit LauraCatherine.co. It's a place I created to share my journey towards living an inspired life. I have continued to blog about online marketing over at Strategic Online Marketing but felt like I needed another home for my art journaling / inspirational posts. :) I hope you can stop by and let me know how you are doing!

xo

Sonya: just getting my feet WET!

noreply@blogger.com (sonyamacdesigns) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:06:00 +0000

now that I've gotton my feet wet ... Single Mom of two ... working for HIM 2 inspire you ... so much more to come ... with HIM ... there is always more and I CAN wait for the special more HE has just for me ... WHAT about you ...

Can You Wait for HIS very best?

Sonya: Are we there yet ... ANYWAY

noreply@blogger.com (sonyamacdesigns) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 20:15:00 +0000

This song was on the radio as we got into the car ... to say goodbuy to Sanbrinia ... my good and new friend from the Congo ...

I was super sad to see her go ... but I knew in my heart ... at this very moment ... this was the only means of a true escape ... so

YES ... I will dream ANYway

Yes ... I will pray ANYway

Yes ... I will love ANYway

In my mind ... but yet to fall on paper ... I've made some adjustments to my Creative Biz Plan to include a new assignment ... Women's Ministry Cordorniator at my Church. This has been an unspoken dream of mine for many years and I Thank my Father for this opportunity! We are crafting coffee cans for our Sick & Shut Ins and a Love Thy neighbor project! I'm so excited to see just what my GOD can do with a recycled coffee can!

sonya la : Video Update

noreply@blogger.com (sonyamacdesigns) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:01:00 +0000

I know, I know ... it's not the 25th of May ... but the 25th of September ... anyway ... just wanted to share my talking head video ... I created the other day for a Marie Forleo contest (with some help of course).

Laura: Video Update

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Catherine O) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 13:14:00 +0000

It's time for a video check-in! Thank you, Sonya, for giving the CBM ladies this fantastic idea. In my video, I share 5 Tips on my Creative Biz Marathon success and a list of 10 accomplishments in 2011. I still have questions/fears but have been focusing on "enjoying the ride" (thank you, Elizabeth) and allowing some of the pieces to fall into place naturally.

Kelly: 6 month Check-In

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 00:25:00 +0000

Hi there!

Today is June 1st so it's time for me to give you guys an update on where I am in my creative business! Here's a little video - it's just 5 minutes.

Thanks for watching!

Robin: Six Month Review of This Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norgren -Life Coach) — Sat, 28 May 2011 21:24:00 +0000

Am I There Yet? Enjoying the Process

noreply@blogger.com (Alease Michelle) — Wed, 25 May 2011 23:13:00 +0000

What's happening with you guys? Share your business progress with me. Would love to hear from you.

Alease Michelle
School of Creative Business

Robin: Beginner Creativity/Christianity Workbook NOW in PDF Format

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norgren -Life Coach) — Tue, 17 May 2011 14:58:00 +0000

We are closing in on six months since the girls and I started this Creative Biz Marathon. I am so impressed by what great strides each of us has been able to make. Collaboration is a beautiful thing. The right people with the right heart and mindset becomes a TRUE support system for what you wish to accomplish. I HIGHLY recommend it. This topic is actually the topic of my next creativity workbook COMING SOON...

IN THE MEANTIME, I now offer my FIRST creativity workbook in PDF format for $9.95.

CLICK HERE to purchase

Sonya: Creative Biz Marathon, dominating google's page one in less than six months

noreply@blogger.com (sonyamacdesigns) — Wed, 11 May 2011 23:36:00 +0000

Out of 2,400,000 results ... Creative Biz Marathon ... now dominates page one ... Why, cause it's key word rich. We all want to dominate page one of Google. How did we do it ... well let's start at the beginning ... OK ... that's a completely separate post ... stay tuned

Sonya: View it for FREE ... Mother's Day weekend only!

noreply@blogger.com (sonyamacdesigns) — Sat, 07 May 2011 20:29:00 +0000

I forgot how much I love ... page turners and link clicking ... but today I was reminded!

Check out the latest issue of Inspired Magazine HERE

Sonya: Rich, Happy & Hot B-School and the sweet spot

noreply@blogger.com (sonyamacdesigns) — Tue, 03 May 2011 15:51:00 +0000

get the above FREE PDF here from rhhbschool

Maria & Laura or Maria & Danielle are ... well yes ... HOT ... follow their smoke signals HERE & HERE and please by all means ... watch this video ... it's just so full of sweet spot info and both Laura & Maria agree on NOT creating custom orders, products & programs!

Robin: It's Friday and...I Have News!

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norgren -Life Coach) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 17:34:00 +0000

 New and Improved Workbook (and official!)

So I am pretty excited by this new development! I re-worked the title on the workbook and assigned it an ISBN and VERY SOON you will be able to find the workbook in the places you purchase books online. This is something I am so pleased to finally complete. The milestone is one that I want to just sit and rest in for a bit (oh who am I kidding?).

Sonya: the goods

noreply@blogger.com (sonyamacdesigns) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 19:46:00 +0000

my photography, my design = your story ... a Charley Davidson OWL

I am so not the best photographer
I am so not the best graphic designer
I am so not the best writer
I am so not the best web designer
I am so not the best artist or creative
I am so not the best biz person
but
my Father
has
supplied me with the TIME to
learn
to listen to the whispers
of your
story
and
share

find out more about Artistic Welding & Fabrication HERE

Robin: Dreams Coming True!

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norgren -Life Coach) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:16:00 +0000

Here It is...

Suddenly... Available HERE

I am pleased to announce the arrival of the website for "My Creative Peace."

CLICK HERE TO VIEW FOR YOURSELF

Laura: A Post from the Heart ~ "Lately I've been _____ " ...

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Catherine O) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 19:17:00 +0000

I shared this post from the heart over on my blog this morning. Notice the last "Lately I've been ____ post" is above my creative biz growing right before my eyes! Thank you, Creative Biz Marathoners. xo

Lately I’ve been _________ (fill in the blank)…

Lately I’ve been enjoying my daily (or twice daily) homemade mocha banana skinny frappucinno. When I don’t have time for much else, I enjoy the few moments of bliss with this creation I blend at home. The banana really makes it delicious!

Lately I’ve been celebrating search engine optimization (SEO) success. I had a moment of celebration on Saturday when a client jumped from the 100th result to the 10th (oh. my. goodness) result on Google. I was so super-excited that I think I screamed. The hard work and writing is paying off.

Lately I’ve been thinking about my health. My days are full of work, family, design, writing, art journaling, cooking, etc. I haven’t left enough time to exercise like I should. I’m a little disappointed about this and have been trying to figure out the best time to get this done. I’ve been thinking about starting a journey to health / fitness blog to get me there. There is no excuse for a former ballerina to not be in fantastic shape. Would you read a blog like this from me?

Lately I’ve been letting go of our dream to have another baby. For many reasons, it must not be in the cards for us for now. I have to trust that there must be a reason this has been so difficult for us. I’m sad and disappointed in my body for not allowing it for now, but also relieved to be sharing it with you and moving on.

Lately I’ve been falling in love with WordPress. I’ve built several sites on WordPress now, and can say that I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m a bit of a WP enthusiast now. This makes me happy.

Lately I’ve been feeling magic happen. Just last November I declared my dreams of leaving my full-time desk job to pursue my design biz dreams. 5 months later I’m completely blown away and amazed at how the faith the size of a mustard seed was enough to plant something so special. I’m not sure where this is all going, but I’m grateful and excited.

If you have time this week, create your own “Lately I’ve been ______ “ list. It’s therapeutic and eye-opening all in one!

Laura: New Site Launch and Blog Redesign to Share!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Catherine O) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:58:00 +0000

Hi Creative Biz Marathoners! I have something exciting to share that has been in the works for months.

I've launched my official website for my design business. Along with the site launch came a blog redesign, too!

During the Creative Biz Marathon, I worked the marathon for both my jewelry biz and my design biz. Most of what I talked about in this space was tied to my jewelry biz. It just seemed more appropriate, since we're all artists and I was just discovering my love of watercolor art.

Since January, I've seen exciting (and surprising) growth in the design side of my biz. Logo, blog design, web design, Facebook biz page design, Twitter background design, etc. It's something I asked the universe to send me last year, when I left my full-time job to pursue my art and design biz dreams. I wrote about it, I prayed about it, and boy oh boy was I scared. Even still, I knew could do it!

I'd like to formally invite you to visit my official website and updated blog.

I'm still working away on my art and jewelry dreams, and can't wait to share those updates with you soon.

Visit me at www.StrategicOnlineMarketingWorks.com

Laura

Sonya: Woman, Thy Name is Entrepreneur

noreply@blogger.com (sonyamacdesigns) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 18:26:00 +0000

just for your viewing pleasure ... and a few awesome links

IC4U
The Boss of yoU
Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs
Savor The Success

love is a verb ... sonya la

Robin: New Directions

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norgren -Life Coach) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 04:01:00 +0000

Soon...

My new venture will begin with My Creative Peace, a website which will offer creativity workbooks and resources for those who are interested in integrating Creativity with Christianity in their daily lives.

I will give you details as I move forward. But for now, my target date is Summer 2011.

I am incredibly excited about this and I hope you will be pleased by the evolution.

You can learn more about the first workbook in the series by CLICKING HERE

Sonya: thoughts on the first quarter

noreply@blogger.com (sonyamacdesigns) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:12:00 +0000

The first quarter is almost over. The calendar announces the arrival of Spring. Trees are blooming in Tennessee. But hold on to your seed packets, cause it's time to plant spring bulbs not seeds.

It's time to tally your first quarter results ...

It's time to note the results ...

It's time to work the old spread sheets ... adjust your numbers ... REVISE the plan ... and anything else that needs adjusting, cause we're just in one quarter and the best is yet to come ... soon and very soon ... you'll be scattering seeds for blossoms in May.

I shared the outside of my game board HERE. This is the inside ... the green dots represents, my photography and video or shall I just say shooting pictures. Shooting pictures and videos allows me to communicate with any and everyone. That's why the green dot ... dominates the game board. So, I'm wondering what dominates your creative biz game. Let us all know in the comments.

Sonya: Creative Biz Marathon EVIDENCE of plans in ACTION

noreply@blogger.com (sonyamacdesigns) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 23:12:00 +0000

I am loving the Right Brainers in Business Video Summit ... the energy and the momentum reminds me of dancing with the marathon JV's here ... right after Christmas, but before the New Year. And, as I checked out Kelly's new logo and FB pages, I noted other changes for the CBM friends and I would like to note some of them here as well.

Alease has an awesome new header and a FREE product offer and a paid product offer

Kelly's new logo and FB pages ... new business approach ... welding class

Laura is working on a prototype for her jewelry line and painting ...
Kelly and Laura have an ART meeting day

Robin has a new header and a new business approach ... working on a new website ...
self published My Creative Peace.

Soon I'll be reveling my new website/blogsite and I'm self publishing my first book as well

I'M SO HAPPY to have found a few Joint Venture Partners last year! So we could begin to work our plan this year!

Kelly: New Business Image!

noreply@blogger.com (Kelly) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:43:00 +0000

I just wanted to share a huge change that I announced yesterday - a completely new business image on Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, and my website! It was something I've been thinking about for a couple of years now and I finally was able to move on it. I think it reflects all the changes in me and in my business goals! I think it is super important to have a logo that fits your style and unified look for your business, so that you can increase your brand recognition. I am so excited that I'm finally able to present a much better and cleaner look!

And to celebrate, I am holding a Facebook Sweepstakes giveaway, where I am giving away one of my little birdies and an original mixed media painting. This is the first time I've ever done this, but I am having a ball, so I may do these from time to time. Come check it out! The painting you see below is the one in the sweepstakes...

Whispered in Her Ear, mixed media, 6x6, 2011

I wrote about this biz change in my blog, and really touched on the inspiration behind it. Please head on over and check it out, if you are curious.

The other thing I wanted to share, is that I knew when I decided to make this change, I would need help to do it properly. So I enlisted the help of Laura Otero, (which most of you already know) to help me get it done. This girl blew me away with her ideas and organization, and I will be forever grateful for all the care and attention she gave to my project. If you EVER need any help with this sort of thing, please, go to Laura - you will not regret it!!

Hope you guys are starting to fly on your creative business! Isn't it fun????

~Kelly

Laura: What Were Your Top Words of 2010?

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Catherine O) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 23:06:00 +0000

Last week I shared an epiphany that came to me: Your future is only as big as you dare to dream.

If you have big dreams for your future (I know you do!), have you taken a careful look at your words/thoughts/actions to make sure they are in line with what you are dreaming about?

As I was reviewing my Facebook apps, I came across an app called “Top 10 Words of 2010”. I remembered installing it several months ago. I thought it would be neat to review my Top 10 Words in 2010 one more time, to see if they in any way helped shape where I am in 2011. While we may not be able to control everything that comes our way, we can control our attitude. I have found many trials I have faced have helped shape me into the person that I am today. It’s difficult to feel grateful and hopeful when we are in the midst of a painful situation, which is why I think it’s so important to recite positive words/phrases and be gentle to ourselves as we get through those times.

Here are my top 10 words used on Facebook in 2010, along with an analysis of each word.
I. am. amazed.

My Top Word	Definition
1. Today	: on or for this day : at the present time
2. Up	: in or into a higher position or level : with greater intensity : in or into a better or more advanced state
3. Hope	: to cherish a desire with anticipation : to desire with expectation of obtainment : to expect with confidence
4. Brianna	Of Irish, Gaelicand Celtic origin, and the meaning of Brianna is "high, noble, exalted". May also possibly mean "strong"
5. Week	any of a series of 7-day cycles used in various calendars;
6. Great	: notably large in size : large in number or measure : remarkable in magnitude, degree, or effectiveness
7. Time	: the point or period when something occurs : an appointed, fixed, or customary moment or hour for something to happen, begin, or end : an opportune or suitable moment
8. Over	: across a barrier or intervening space : forward beyond an edge or brink and often down
9. Post	a piece fixed firmly in an upright position especially as a stay or support : a pole or stake set up to mark or indicate something
10. Tonight	: on this present night or the night following this present day

Are you on Facebook? Run the app for yourself and see what your words were!

Robin: Results from Writing my Business Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Norgren -Life Coach) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:46:00 +0000

ONE of the items on my list was to research the world of self pubishing. Doing something like this really helps you to assess whether or not what you are producing is what you TRULY BELIEVE IN. Are you willing to invest in yourself? Are you willing to do the marketing? Wait it out? Produce it and then keep moving forward despite the results? For me, I am so very happy that I did it and Lulu Publishing is PHENOMENAL.