Hi guys! I just want to pop in and say that Susie and I are still busy chipping away at the orders from last weekend – the response was so much bigger than expected and we are filling orders as quickly as possible.

In the meantime, my longtime friend, Krista, sent me some photos of “vintage” Jess LC jewelry from high school. Though not quite as ugly as my first piece of jewelry, these bracelets are still testaments to how much one can improve given nine years of moving forward and trying new things. Perfection is impossible, but even excellence takes time to achieve.

So please take this as a reminder that you will improve from wherever you are now, so far beyond your own expectations that you will surprise yourself. I know my 17 year-old self would not have been able to dream up anything I’ve done in the past three years. — And I hope that what I’m doing in three years is beyond any expectation I could have at this point in time.

Thanks for the resounding response, comments, emails, and tweets about yesterday’s post. I normally don’t get too fired up when writing here – but I’ve felt the urge this week to really nail what I’m learning home here on MML and with Piper, our lovely and talented MML Dream Reporter. My perspective on business is changing pretty rapidly over the past two months and I want to share this with all of you so you can use it in your own lives.

Below is an adapted letter I wrote to Piper about advice and getting too reliant on other’s expertise at the expense of our own innate guidance. I have adapted it to suit many of you who shared that you felt similarly caught in the comparison and advice trap. I hope it’s helpful for you as well.

A Letter to All Small Business Newbies

Let me start off by saying I don’t think that advice is always a bad thing, but I think too much of it lends itself to the phenomenon I mentioned in yesterday’s post, Produce Your Own Success Story. I don’t know what it is, but I’m feeling bolder, and more insistent upon you, myself, and everyone for that matter, to start writing our own stories and figuring things out by trial and error. It’s totally underrated in the online world which promises “experts” of every kind telling you how to use twitter, grow a business, grow a blog, grow a garden, even grow penises (ugh, I hate those spam emails!).

Sure, there can be information that help us save some time, but in the end I only know what I “know” about business and blogging because I have done what I’ve “done” for the past 11 years with Jess LC and 1.5 years with MML. I only know more than you because I simply have out “done” you- I have simply “done” more things. And as you go along your “done” to “haven’t tried yet” ratio will shift and you will start to gain more confidence. Just rest assured that you are doing the right thing. Keep blogging, keep commenting, keep going forward with the next step in your business, just keep going! In a way, (and I don’t want to get too strong, but I feel really passionately about this) it is like you are running a marathon and you keep asking each mile how to run. But really, all you have to do is just keep running. Period. Sure, there are different aspects of the business that you are dealing with, but the main ultimate act is “starting a business” that is constant. And so each mile along the way may have a slightly different tone or task, but the general direction is still the same – keep running, just keep going.

Side Note: Asking for advice and looking for reassurance is different than seeking out cut and dry information. If you need to get your DBA (Doing Business As) you can ask someone, “How do you get a DBA in Ohio?” That is something that is simply a gap in process. You can find this information by asking someone who has a DBA or by looking it up online. It is a black and white answer. That is totally fine to keep doing as often as you need. If you need to know how to register your URL, that is completely understandable and black and white. BUT anything that is not a black and white, concrete answer counts as “advice” – how to grow a blog or business is different for everyone and is open to interpretation — and where you are getting stuck thinking too much. That is where I suggest you stop reaching out and start reaching within.

And in a way, I totally resonate with how you are feeling, though I’ve for some reason never struggled with this in business, I remember when I was in fourth grade I was afraid of making mistakes and would go up to the teacher’s desk every time I was unsure, unclear, or worried that I might do something incorrectly. Eventually, the teacher became so frazzled with my constant questioning and fear of mistakes that he stopped allowing me to walk up to the desk and ask any questions. At first, I squirmed, I felt uncomfortable. What if I didn’t do the assignment right? But really, let’s think about this rationally: despite my intense insecurity and fear of failure, if I did even completely fail an assignment (which never actually happened, despite my fears), I would still be fine, I would still breathe, I would learn from the mistakes and move on with my life. I would still graduate from college and I would still start a successful business.

You, my lovely ladies, are the in the exact same boat, you are so afraid of failing and/or comparing yourself to a mystical standard you think you should be at (ie: with your blog or business traffic – big and small, right and wrong, slowly and quickly – it’s all relative) that even if you did fail (which is impossible, by the way, you only fail when you give up on the business – then you fail in business. Any other mistakes, wasted money, time, etc. is not failure! You just learn, become wiser and can later tell someone else what to avoid in the future.) By the way– my failures and successes are all I have to go on each day myself. I am in your shoes just a few levels ahead. That is all. You will be fine, you will still breathe, you will learn from your mistakes and move on with your life.

I hope you make a “mistake” this August. I hope that you have the chance to see the other side of what you are so afraid of. Because, when you are there, it will sting for a day and you will find a sunny way to look at it and keep rolling forward. That’s your personality, that’s the positive part of all of this. You are so capable of overcoming obstacles – which will allow you to be ultimately successful.

So… for this month, I suggest you give updates on what you are doing without asking anyone for advice. You are welcome to tell people all the awesome developments, decisions, choices, and visions you have for your Dream, whatever that is. We will cheer you on! But you are not allowed to ask me for any advice for the month of August. You are my peer now with your business, I want to talk as equals, you aren’t a “student” – you just have less experience at this point. And that is not a big deal.

Here’s another way to look at this: If you were a baseball player, I know that you would have wanted to interview Babe Ruth and find out how he had the most home runs in the league for so long. He was the most “successful” home run player for decades. You would want to know how he did it, so you could replicate his success, right?

Well, his answer seems pretty clear: He has the most home runs because he went to bat the most times. Which means he also had the most strike outs in the league too. Yep, he had the most successes and failures because he simply tried the most times. I’m guessing he wasn’t so much worried about how other people were batting, what their techniques were, he just kept doing what he knew he needed to do and trying. Just kept doing things. I am successful at business because I keep trying, I keep going to bat. I keep failing and I keep hitting home runs. That is the secret. That is what you need to do. No advice required. Your spirit has everything you need in the advice realm.

Maybe you could start writing out your questions, concerns, and fears in a journal and start answering the questions as you go. What you wrote last week might be solvable this week… You will start to be your own adviser.

Phew! I got a little carried away – feeling feisty, but I think you get the point. I care about you and I want you to be successful. If I just wanted to feel important and hear myself talk I would answer all your questions every single time but that is doing you a disservice. It’s the difference between teaching someone to fish or giving them the fish.

I think it could be really transformative for you if you take these days to blaze your own trail and glory in the consequences, both good and not so good.

-Jess!

Good afternoon! I hope you are having a great day so far. I want to pop in and share an interview I did with MML sponsor, Kristi, of the jewelry shop, Mischief by Loki (etsy shop). One thing is clear, this lovely lady knows how to metal smith. And with her designs so refined and site so professional, it’s incredible that she’s less than one year into her business. See how she’s made it a reality in her interview answers.

She’s also generously offered to do a giveaway of one of her gorgeous birthstone rings, contest details are below.

Interview with Kristi, designer of Mischief by Loki

When did you know that you wanted to be a jewelry designer?

I’ve played with color, texture and space in a variety of ways throughout the years, but I never considered myself a designer or a creative or crafty person. I could see a finished product in my head but what I created just never lived up to my vision. I started making some simple beaded earrings several years ago but was never fully satisfied with those either. That was until I decided to add some metal elements and signed up for a metalsmith class at a local community college. Finally! A vehicle that could turn my visions into actual creations.

My husband is the one who encouraged me to open my Etsy shop in January. I still couldn’t quite believe that anyone would want to purchase anything I made–but they do!

What’s your design inspiration?

Inspiration for my designs come from everything I see–the interplay of light and texture and color. Fashion and architecture. Things that are a little mischievous and unexpected. But mostly, inspiration comes from the stones and metal itself. It sounds a little strange, perhaps, but sometimes it seems like the stones I choose ask for certain settings or shapes. The same thing happens with pieces of metal left over from other projects. That means I usually make one of a kind pieces, though many have similar design elements.

The name Mischief by Loki was inspired by my crazy dog Loki. He’s named for the Norse god of trickery and he (and his little sister) are certainly full of mischief. I like to think that their mischievous ways help keep me laughing and looking at everything from unexpected perspectives.

What is your favorite part of entrepreneurship or jewelry design?

My favorite part of designing jewelry is taking kind of plain, individual items and turning them into something lovely. I love to see metal take on new shape and life. There are so many techniques that can be used to create the designs and it’s fun to find new ways to do things.

But I have to say… one of my favorite things is to hear from people who love my creations and get such enjoyment from something completely developed by me. It makes me want to work harder so I can make things even better.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from the business side of jewelry design?

It’s a lot of work! I’m the creative designer, fabricator, supply orderer, shipper, marketer, technical support, and on and on. And that’s after spending all day at my day job. The most important lesson I’m still learning is that it’s so important to take time off. If I try to force myself to fabricate a ring when I’m too tired or grumpy or stressed, I just end up with a glob of melted silver. There’s always something else to do so on those days I work on accounting or learn more about social media or clean my studio.

Where do you see the company going in two years?

At this point I’ve been in business less than a year. It’s hard to imagine where I could be in two years after so much has happened in only a few months! I’m in the process of building a website, which will include a blog where I hope to provide design, creativity and metalsmithing tips and inspiration. But if we’re dreaming big… in two years I would like to see my designs featured in a magazine and on strangers that I pass in the street (ok, even just a few strangers would be fantastic!). I’d also like to make enough money that my husband and I can take an amazing trip every year.

Giveaway – (1) Birthstone Ring

To enter to win your own customized birthstone ring, simply visit Kristi’s shop and comment here on which design is your favorite. Comments will be accepted until next Tuesday, August 10th.

Pardon me, but I’m a little fired up today. While standing in line at the CVS to pick up some contact solution yesterday afternoon, I glanced at the cover of one of the weekly magazines and saw a feature on how “Ali from the Bachelor lost 10 pounds as revenge”… or something like that. Regardless of why she was losing weight as revenge (which is a pretty strange notion to begin with) or what she actually did to achieve the weight loss, I found myself with ruffled feathers.

I know that on another day, in the not-so-distant past, I would have stood there and wondered what she did to lose the weight, wondered how she might be happier now (I mean look, she got a cover feature), and speculated about whether I should try her methods to lose weight myself. But something inside me has shifted (at least for the moment). Ever since the trip to NYC and realizing my intention to pursue PR for Jess LC, my paradigm has changed. Rather than look to others successes for guidance in my life, I’ve become much more interested in my own actions and using those to propel myself further. I’ve become more interested in how I want to become successful than how others have reached their own successes.

Though I think there is a lot to be said about bibliographies, success stories, advice, and research, I also feel many of us are getting too comfortable sitting on the sidelines reading and watching other people achieve their dreams — and then attempting to replicate their achievements in our own lives.

The problem with this copycat method, I believe, is that it leaves us with a second-rate version of what worked for someone else, which doesn’t take into complete consideration all of our own unique factors. And therefore, whatever plan we follow, is innately going to clash with our individual abilities, motivations, and values – which ultimately leads to dissatisfying results, unmaintainable goals, or a simple lack of follow through on our part. Our actions need to speak to us on all levels, spiritually, physically, and mentally, and it’s very hard to really grasp that in a cookie cutter plan or a shadowed routine.

The one major concession I make in the above paragraph is when a particular plan does meet your individual spiritual, physical, and mental values – then the plan could quite possibly work with flying colors. Take my brother, for example. He has been preparing to follow the P90X routine this summer for almost a full year. He researched, thought about it, planned his meals, and devoted the hours he needed in order to reach his goal. He became so intrinsically motivated by the plan and the outcome that he faithfully executed each exercise and nutrition requirement to it’s fullest. He also reaped the rewards he desired in the process. On the other hand, I tried the Weight Watchers program for several months but finally realized I wasn’t seeing results because I wasn’t dealing with the right spiritual issue.

I maintain that many most of our failed attempts come from the fact that we are trying to fit ourselves into a prescribed routine that isn’t capturing our real desires. Or, we are fearful of failure and rush to find comfort in something that has worked for someone else. This constant focus on the information itself keeps us so busy listening to others that we are unable to actually devote the full amount of energy and attention that it takes to reach our goals.

I think this is because we underestimate how much time and devotion it requires to take action, follow through, and maintain progress. We think that if we “know” everything, we will be able to “do” everything. But the real knowledge comes from personal experience, until then, it’s just information in our brains. To follow with the magazine story example, we don’t really know how to lose weight until we actually drop the pounds. Until then we “have the weight loss information” without any experience to back it up.

So, back to my ruffled feathers, I am finding that for the first time I feel bold, less fearful of failure, and more focused on what I’m going to do next. I’m writing my success story each day that I take new actions and try new things. Not all of the things I try will lead to the success I am looking for, but each step ahead is one further away from where I started. It is a constant process that takes into consideration my personal values and goals. My path will be one-of-a-kind and unrepeatable because I am following my gut and trusting things to fall into place. I am following my purpose which is unique to me. Everyone is capable of doing this exact same thing for themselves, they just need to start tapping into what they know and stop looking around at the people next to them.

My Challenge to You

I challenge those who find themselves easily caught in the research and advice trap to take a minute this afternoon and write your own success story. Write out a future magazine feature story detailing how you are successful in three months, six months, or two years from now at the thing you are working towards.

For example, if you want to create a full-time business but are in a desk job, write the story explaining how you made your business so profitable you were able to quit your job after nine months. Explain what actions you took, what marketing efforts you made, what hiring decisions you struggled with. Write it all out and then use that as your own road map to success. Because when you stop and think about it, the story you just wrote captures your spiritual, psychical, and mental abilities and values. Your plan understands you perfectly and you resonate with it 100%.

In summary, stop reading someone else’s success story and start writing your own.

At long last! I am proud to say that we are all caught up with work from the past few weeks and I finally have a chance to sit down and tell you all about the press tour in New York.

I will start by saying there was incredible amount of clarity and purpose throughout this trip. As you know, I’ve had a lot of uncertainty in my life over the past year. And now that I’m heading out in a totally new direction, this trip helped clarify what my future might hold. It was also fascinating to reflect on my last trip to NYC two years ago. At that time, Jess LC was a 90% wholesale business and I was checking out trade shows like ENK and Moda tricking myself into thinking that I might actually want to be in a booth at one of these large huge scale events. But the reality was that I disliked the whole trade show process from participating in Magic in Las Vegas and StyleMax in Chicago. And I was just trying to do what other people told me would be best for my business. (Note: Trade shows are a great way to grow a business (and I might do some in the future), I recommend them for those looking to increase their wholesale business. However, it’s not my cup of tea nor part of my intentions at this point in time.)

Since that trip, I have decided that what was really important to me was working with retailers and customers one-on-one via my website and by spending time doing what I am meant to do: help people design a life with intention.

I decided upon this press tour and desk side trip in order to broaden the Jess LC audience and customer base to include those who are not already plugged into social media and blogging – magazines and traditional media still play a huge role in raising brand awareness.

So I had the amazing team at Red Light PR, my PR firm, connect with magazine editors at Lucky, Real Simple, People StyleWatch, and Brides Magazine. They scheduled appointments for me to meet with these accessory editors one on one in their offices. Here’s some snap shots in between meetings (apparently I’m not very good at remembering the camera when around actual people, just buildings).

Day One

Hello, Conde Nast. One thing to note about the building and lobby was that it was full of beautiful people. Some of the best fashion from the whole trip was seen while waiting for my press pass to enter the offices.

My first appointment was with the editor at Brides Magazine. She was super nice and low key, I felt immediately at ease and ready to chat about anything and everything. I instantly realized I wanted to do desk sides like this All The Time.

I had a bit of time between the Brides appointment and the Lucky meeting, so I hung around the block and tried to stay dry during the random showers that hit the area. Trying to look cute with 13 bug bites welts on my legs, frizzy hair, wet wedges, and 90*+ weather was Not Easy.

Here’s a quick shot of the Lucky office (cue the harp). I have imagined Jess LC in the pages of Lucky Magazine since I was in high school. When entering this space I’m not gonna lie, I had A Moment.

As expected, the assistant editor at Lucky was laid back, friendly, and inexpressibly chic. She looked like she walked out of one of the pages in the magazine. Not to mention that she was my age and totally living a life I would love to have in an alternate universe.

After the first day of desk sides, I headed out to Brooklyn for the first time to meet up with Jessica of WhatIWore. We’ve been online friends for about a year now, and it was great to chat with her in person. Of course, I again forgot to whip out the camera at Dizzy’s the adorable coffee shop we went to. But you can see how cute she looked here.

By the way, how much does this area look like San Fransisco? I was mesmerized by the homes and totally imagined walking my future kids to school on this block.

Day Two

On the second day of desk sides I walked up to Time & Life to see the editors at People StyleWatch and Real Simple. They happen to be right across from this iconic building.

(I will also mention that I was much smarter on the second day and packed my heels in my bag and wore sandals up to the appointments. Though the wedges may be comfortable, there is only so much walking one can do in 4″ heels.)

When I met the editor at People StyleWatch I immediately felt like I was talking to someone I had known for years. She was engaging, witty, and obviously was great at her job. She mentioned she was working on a big boot article for the October issue and had dozens of pairs in the back room (she recommended I get suede wedge boots for fall). The entire office, I might add, was covered in magazine tear-outs. It was like the office was wallpapered in inspiration. Such a creative and exciting space.

Then I headed over to Real Simple. What I realized immediately was that if I was ever to really actually work at a magazine personally, Real Simple is where I belong. It had a fresh, fun, clean look which was totally the intersection between Jess LC and MML. The women there were all equally intelligent and adorable. Plus, the editor was down to earth and also happened to grow up near my parent’s new house in Pennsylvania.

When she nonchalantly mentioned they did a segment that morning on the Today Show it took me a minute and a half to realize that she personally had been on the Today Show that morning. The segment was about transitioning your summer wardrobe to fall. So Cool.

What Desk Sides Are Like

As you can see from the descriptions above, I totally loved every minute of the desk sides. Though I went into them with no idea what to do, I quickly learned that they are meant to be an informal introduction to your brand, line, and story. I shared how I started, what I was doing now, and showed them my samples. They in turn told me about themselves, the stories they were working on, and what they liked in my collection.

The goal is essentially to develop a relationship with the editors so that when they have a new story about “Jewel Tone Jewelry Under $50,” they think about the adorable paisley post earrings that I have coming up in Fall 2010 and request a sample for the shoot. It’s about being on the top of their mind when they are considering features. The appointments themselves can take place at their desk, in the lobby, or in a conference room. In general they can be a quick half hour, or a relaxed sixty minute conversation.

What’s Next for Jess LC and PR

Now that I’m one week out from the trip, I’ve already had a new sample request from People StyleWatch. Though I can’t say that this is strictly due to the meeting, I can say that it didn’t hurt. And my fingers are crossed that Jess LC jewelry makes appearances in the holiday/winter 2011 issues of all four magazines. But there is definitely a waiting game in PR. You don’t know whether your styles make it in the magazine until the PR firm gets a credit request (which basically means they shot it in a photoshoot and intend to put it on a page in the magazine and need to know where to say the product is available). And even after the credit request there is the chance that it might get deleted from the pages as layout and content changes are made closer to publication.

Going forward, I’m pumped to revisit New York again this October to debut new samples from Fall 2010 and Spring 2011. My PR firm is having an event at their showroom in Soho which will bring a lot of editors into the space at one time. So I’ll be there to introduce myself and the samples. And of course, I’ll be sure to recap that event as well, hopefully with more photos of people this time around!

Hi Guys,

As you know, I am now in NYC and will be doing a press tour of sorts for Jess LC. I’m going to do my best to photograph and document the whole process so I can share it with you here on MML next week.

In the meantime, I want to share this awesome online magazine I’ve finally gotten around to reading (it’s been on my desktop for months now). It’s called fear.less and is dedicated to helping you get motivated and pursue your purpose past fear. Though I’m still going through the first issue personally, I thought you might like to browse their newest e-mag and check out their archive.

Have a great day,

Jess!

Hi Guys,

I hope you had a great weekend! I spent the last few days barbecuing, hanging out with friends outside, going to the Green City farmer’s market, and sleeping. Man, did I need to catch up on sleep!

I’m excited to say that I am leaving for my parent’s house outside of Philadelphia on Wednesday and then next week will be heading to NYC to meet with accessory editors at magazines to introduce them to Jess LC. My intention is to give you a behind the scenes look at the PR side of the business since that is something I’m sure many of you with businesses are thinking about doing now or in the future. So consider this your all access pass to what it could be like if you decide to take the plunge into public relations for your company. And if you really want to know, the most nerve-racking part of the “desk sides” for me is deciding what I should wear to the meetings…

In other news, since I will be gone until next Wednesday, July 21st, all orders placed on jesslc.com after 4pm on Tuesday the 13th (tomorrow) will ship on Thursday, July 22nd. And I’m sweetening the deal by giving you a secret MML code good to use on Jess LC today and tomorrow only for 20% off your order – type in the code NYCTRIP NYCTRIP2 before tomorrow at 4pm to get the discount and have your order shipped on Wednesday morning.

Susie, my assistant will be in the studio this week gearing up for the huge sidewalk sale in Daley Plaza on July 20th and 21st. If you are in Chicago either of those days, check out our booth and see the new Franklin collection in person among the rest of our styles.

I also can’t forget to mention the business cards and pencil cups in the photo above. The cutest package ever arrived from Karly at Sweet Beaker this weekend filled with these adorable supplies. I can’t wait to take the cards to NYC and hand them out in business meetings. Up until this point, I’ve had to tell people about MML at cocktail parties and then hand them a Jess LC business card saying “just click on the blog link to get to MML.” Which doesn’t have the same impact as these adorable chevron(!) cards.

Have a great day,

Jess!

Today I’d like to share how I’ve gotten many of my business projects off the ground over the past 11 years. There are three practical ways to accomplish big things without a big checking account. I should know: I started Jess LC back when I was 15 with a $5 bag of seed beads. Everything I’ve earned up to a month ago went straight back into the business with no outside investment: there was no venture capital, angel investors, or business loans for 10 years. But I never let that stop me from growing the business… one step at a time.

Below, I explain how I grow my business without running out of money. I’m sure other business owners out there will find themselves nodding in agreement with many of my examples. We all had to get scrappy – especially during the economic downturn of 2009.

This tactic is all about pulling up your Rolodex. Or in today’s terms, your Facebook, Twitter, and blogroll.

Go through your contacts and find out where you luck out. Do you just happen to have a friend that does photography and you need your pottery photographed for your website? Give your friend a call and offer to barter or babysit her kids for the weekend. Do you just happen to have a friend of a friend who knows a store owner who might be interested in your products? Give them a call. Don’t underestimate the power of the fortuitous connections you already have sitting right there in your Facebook account or cell phone.

Many times your friends and colleagues will offer to help you out at a fraction of the cost of a stranger. And when you think about it, the project is good for them too: they know you personally and can trust that you will pay on time, be honest and responsive, and super appreciative. And don’t underestimate the power of enthusiasm! Everyone wants to do something that’s meaningful. And if they can find meaning in your project, that might be worth cutting their prices for you.

In my case, one golden connection I have is the friend who photographs my jewelry. We met in college and have worked together on almost all of my photography projects. Though he lives in LA now, we still keep in touch and he totally understands what I’m looking for when I send him products to photograph.

The only major pothole* along this avenue to project success is that the enthusiasm of a lukewarm friend might wane over time, leaving your website unfinished for months. So be sure to establish a professional agreement, make sure the project payment is a win-win for both parties, and confirm that their skills match your expectations.

* The one place I have never seen successful friendships turn into successful business partnerships is in the line of sales representation. If your friend doesn’t already rep companies full-time or part-time, don’t waste your products or friendship over this trade. Stick with the professionals when it comes to reps and you will see real, sustainable results.

Getting crafty means recognizing where you need to put your dollars and where you can save your cents.

Time to think like a CEO: What is the secret sauce to your success? For a clothing designer the fabric, construction, and fit will determine whether the customer checks out or puts it back on the rack. On the other hand, the tags she puts on her garments are not the most important part of the sale; they are an accessory which add and aid to branding, but with a bit of creativity and careful planning – can be done by hand.

For example, the clothing designer might realize that she can order hang tags on business card size card-stock from Vistaprint.com for free, punch a hole at the top, and run some string through the hole and save herself hundreds of dollars on custom printed hang tags. And when her business has reached a level where the business card style tags aren’t reasonable, she will hopefully have the financial stability to order the more expensive custom tags.

I do want to warn that I’m not suggesting to throw out quality in all the less important items: but I am saying that you might not need expensive return address labels for a business that only sends mail to vendors. And there are many tricks to making something look more expensive than it is: like refinishing thrift store furniture for a clothing boutique. But remember, anything that will ruin a sale is subject to a share of the pocketbook.

I myself was fortunate enough to have a minor understanding of Photoshop and Dreamweaver and for five years built and maintained my own website. Sure it took tons of time, but I had time to give: money was the premium. On the other hand, I spent money on skilled help and gold-fill and sterling silver metal – things that my customers care about more than checking out on a site with lots of Flash programming.

This is where integrity is the name of the game. Don’t be shy about getting real with your freelancers. Tell it like it is.

Do you need to rehab a bakery but don’t have the funds to afford the contractor’s asking price? Say so. Be prepared for the contractor to walk away from the deal; but don’t be shy about sharing what your budget really is. They can’t fault you for the truth. Also think of alternative ways to bolster the bottom line through bartering, referrals, testimonials (hello, blogging!), portfolio projects, free products or whatever else could help improve their business.

It’s also a good idea to take stock and think about what you can bring to the table to make the project run smoother: could you do some of the grunt work yourself? That might cut their time commitment and thereby lower their rate.

My only word of warning is that you have to be honest: don’t low-ball someone just to save cash if you have a bigger budget. There is a balance in terms of price and quality. And in my opinion it’s just good karma to offer the best you can, responsibly.

–

So no more excuses! It’s time to get to business. Get lucky, get crafy, get real.

Just make it happen.

Whoa. This interview (3:50 min clip) was aired in January and I just realized that I mentioned the Franklin intention necklaces way back then!

I also talk about what I have learned about the intersection of blogging and business through MML and Jess LC. Could be helpful for any other entrepreneurs.

(You can see all of the interview clips and the full 30 minute piece on MML Videos.)

So… the Franklin Collection will be (hopefully) launching tomorrow. I just need to program the shop pages and do some finishing touches to the awesome lookbook.

But in the meantime, I wanted to share this video (21 minutes long) I found a few weeks ago from Elizabeth Gilbert at O Magazine’s 10th Anniversary. She does a beautiful job explaining how to manage the conflict between family and career, and how to do our best in this moment.

Enjoy!

Over the past few months I have been getting more emails from women writing me about advice for their businesses or blogs. In talking with many of the women, I am noticing a pattern: people want to make things more complicated than they are. I am all for due diligence and research, please don’t get me wrong. I think that is an important part of being successful. But ultimately, I think the research and constant “what if-ing” will halt all progress which leads to the launch of the actual business.

Please don’t let your dream or purpose lie dormant in your heart (or in a business proposal binder) because of any uncertainty – all entrepreneurship will involve uncertainty. The key is to just begin, and then keep going. To cross the start line and then start tripping, then start falling, and after each tumble you get up and continue onward.

Another obstacle lurking before the start line to avoid is the “everyone else has it figured out” trap. When you look around at your competitors or even businesses that inspire you, please do not assume they all launched with perfect clarity, perfect graphics, and perfect products. They stumbled and fell many, many times on their way to success. And the key is that they learned and grew after each failure and honed their craft to the beauty you see today.

Take my business for example, though I’m pretty darn proud of what it has become, I make no bones about where it began: with ugly ankle bracelets. Not exactly a threat to Tiffany’s & Co. But at 15-years-old, I didn’t let that stop me. Some women bought them from me at a pool. And the first thought in my head was, “how can I sell more ankle bracelets?” I didn’t think about creating the perfect company, I thought about how to improve from where I began. I started with selling ankle bracelets made from seed beads. Then I taught myself to wire wrap. Then I bought crystals. Then I built a website. It was all done one step at a time. It’s that simple.

It’s always that simple.

Don’t let your ego talk you into thinking you need to be anything other than incrementally better than where you are now. This is not a race for anyone but yourself. As long as you are getting faster and moving forward, you are winning. And winning beats the heck out of spraining your ankle before the race.

Good morning! Today I’m adding something new to MML- a video series called the Jess LC Strategy Session. The goal of these videos will be to give you a behind the scenes look at what is going on at Jess LC right now and in the next few weeks to come. Rather than learn a lesson and share the experience in a blog post like the Designing a Business with Intention posts, this is a more minute-to-minute account of upcoming events.

Hopefully these peeks are helpful for other small business owners and for those who love Jess LC and want to learn more about how we’re growing.

After you watch the video, let me know what you think!

Okay, I’m usually a pretty predictable blogger (in my opinion) with the DESIGN YOUR LIFE interviews faithfully airing each Thursday. But lately I’ve been thinking about lessening the regularity of this series until the fall. Blame it on the nice weather, the stuff on my very full plate, or just a bit of a pause for new growth here on MML. Not that I know specifically what the new growth will look like… just leaving the options open.

Designing a Business with Intention: Time Off and Field Trips

Today I’d like to talk about my intentions towards business and taking time off. When I first moved to Chicago and started Jess LC full-time, I found creating a work schedule incredibly perplexing. How many days off should I take while unpacking before working everyday? When should I start work each morning? When should I stop working? If Erwin or my other friends with “real jobs” have X number of vacation days, should I have the same number myself?

I know that my younger self wasn’t alone in these organizational debates because as each of my friends begin their own businesses, they ask me the same questions.

Over the years I’ve learned to trust the rhythm of my work flow and to take days off when needed (and not needed). A few vacation periods are obvious for me: Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving, and most weekends. But there are other times that I also recognize that I need to relax and step back. And I’m even getting pretty good at mixing some “vacations” with business. Take this summer for example: I’m heading out sometime in July to see my parents and youngest brother in Pennsylvania. These four days will be all about relaxing, shopping at an awesome J.Crew outlet, and doing a Jess LC trunk show for my mom’s bunco group. Then I’ll take a train into New York City to stay with a friend and try to schedule a few “desk sides” (showing my new line to magazine editors in their offices, at their desks) as well as meet my new PR team in person. Heck, I’m even going to meet up with as many of my blog friends in NYC as possible. This hybrid business-personal trip is perfect for me because it allows me to take time off without really “abandoning” my shop.

Another form of relaxation comes in the form of “field trips.” Yep, similar to the trips we had when we were back in grade school. I’ve decided that I need to take advantage of my self-employment and recognize the power that comes with creating my own schedule. I hold myself liable to enjoy the flexibility I’ve afforded through entrepreneurship. I can’t blame “my boss” for my lousy attitude, burnt out brain, or unhealthy workload. I am therefore responsible for making sure I enjoy this life and company I have to the fullest. No guilt required.

And so every few months, I take field trips. In the past I’ve taken the day off to go to a museum with a friend, go to Six Flags with Erwin, or even to go shopping. In fact, the inspiration for this post comes from the field trip I’m taking today: watching an early taping of the upcoming Nate Berkus Show at Harpo Studios with Crystal of Plush Palate and Alaina of Live Creating Yourself. It’s going to be a great day away from my desk enjoying two of my favorite things; good friends and good design.

The work will still be there tomorrow, and I’ll be more refreshed when I’m doing it.

First, I’d like to say that I’m sorry that I seem to have bowed out a bit in the last few weeks on the blog in terms of personal updates and so forth. Though I haven’t done it intentionally, I’ve been going through a lot of personal changes lately and I have been working through some tough stuff, which I’ll be discussing in the weeks and months to come. As I have been going through these shifts, I’ve kept it to myself. Once I’ve learned the lessons, I will report back. And I have to say, though things haven’t been easy, they have been incredibly powerful and ultimately, will bring positive change to my life.

Anyways, my intention is to now to inject a bit more of my day to day activities into blog post intros so that if you’re even mildly interested on what I’m working on, you’ll be a bit more in the know (though I already do a pretty good job with personal updates on Twitter, @JessConstable).

Designing a Business with Intention: Soc Chic

Okay, so now, let’s get down to business. Literally.

Given that this week is the huge Soc Chic All Week Giveaway, it’s the perfect time to discuss how Soc Chic started and why I have created this necklace line to benefit social causes. Below I’ll break down how things got started and why it works.

The Genesis of Soc Chic

Believe it or not, this social cause line of necklaces began by accident. While I was in college, I created a fortune cookie necklace with a red stone and nicknamed it the “Lucky In Bed Necklace” since it combined the lucky Chinese color, red, with the longstanding tradition of adding “in bed” to the end of fortune cookie messages. Given my target audience at the time, college women, it was a huge success and by far my best-seller for several years.

In November of 2007 I decided to train for a marathon with Team In Training. In order to participate, I needed to raise a considerable amount of money (about $3,000) for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Since a close family member survived Lymphoma several years earlier, I had a personal connection to the cause which propelled me past the fear of raising the substantial sum during a very lean time in my business.

I immediately decided to create a necklace that would benefit my fundraising and the cause. At that point, the Silver Lining necklace was born. It was an instant hit.

After running my first marathon in Nashville(!), I decided to help other runners fundraise by letting them sell the necklaces to their supporters. Soon after, Bright Pink, a local non-profit, heard about the Silver Lining necklace and asked to have their own design made to support their cause in a similar manner. We named Bright Pink’s necklace the Pink Lemonade necklace. It too, was a success.

At this point, I recognized that I was easily able to help causes raise money doing something that I knew best; designing cute necklaces with positive messages. So I decided to open the line up to a variety of causes helping them raise money and awareness through the Soc Chic collection whose tag-line is “chic necklaces benefiting social causes.”

How Soc Chic Works

The structure of the Soc Chic necklace collection is pretty simple. They are sold through stores, jesslc.com, and the non-profits themselves. Here’s how it works:

Wholesale (boutique) Orders – 10% of the wholesale price is donated to the cause.

Retail (jesslc.com) Orders – 10% of the retail price ($4) is donated to the cause.

Non-Profit Orders – 40% of the retail price ($16) is donated to the cause.

The causes who work with us are not required to pay any fees for the creation of their custom necklace. We do however request that the non-profits order 50 of the necklaces in the beginning to help cover our initial expenses. Once the causes sell those necklaces to their supporters, with the 40% donation they each raise a total of $800 for their missions. Which is a win-win for everyone. After that point, all the necklaces sold continue to support the cause.

As you can see, though this wasn’t something I had a grand plan for in the beginning, it’s evolved into an amazing way to collaborate with non-profits across the country. If you are involved with a non-profit who might be interested in Soc Chic, email me at jess@jesslc.com and let me know!

Today I have a real gem for all you web business owners out there! I’m sure many of you are familiar (especially if you read fashion blogs) with the awesome web clothing and lifestyle site, Modcloth.com. I have been in awe of what the founders Susan and Eric have accomplished in such a short period of time! Their company has over 100 employees and they are just 25 years-old! It literally blows my mind and expands what I think is possible for all of our web shops.

I recently had the (amazingly) good fortune of chatting with Susan by phone about how she has grown her company and gotten some realistic insights on what we can do to make our businesses successful. Since we chatted for quite a while, I wasn’t able to write down what she said word for word. Instead, I took copious notes and I have summarized her thoughts below.

Enjoy!

I love that you started your company at 17 years-old with your husband (then boyfriend), Eric. What was the vision for the company when you started?

Susan said that the site started out of her dorm room and she spent most of her time selling vintage clothing online. During one of Eric’s junior year marketing classes (they were both business majors), they did a survey of Modcloth.com customers and found that there was a large demand for vintage and new vintage inspired clothing. That later became the direction they headed in when they started to buy from current clothing companies and saw tremendous growth.

Eric handles most of the finance and business related tasks like HR and planning, while Susan stays in control of the branding, buying, and design aspects. They focused on Google rankings in the beginning, but she doesn’t see it as important today as she used to a few years ago, now that customers are looking for more “trusted resources” like review sites and blogs.

Though the company has seen outstanding growth year to year (400%-600% year to year!), they also had some tight months during their expansion in 2006/2007.

A lot of companies (myself included!) want to have a thriving online shop. What three things do you think most shop owners do wrong?

Susan said one of the main mistakes a small company can make is pretending to be bigger. Having a flashy site that appears like it has tons of employees confuses the customer when that is really not the case. She recommends making it clear on the site that the company is young or small and use it to their advantage. For example, if we are the ones filling the orders and packaging the goods, it should say that on the website. Susan feels that customers are looking for the story and aren’t afraid to buy from a young entrepreneur or a small business.

She also mentioned that companies shouldn’t try to market towards everyone and that they should know who their target customer is and really cater to that psycho-graphic. From talking to Susan during the interview, she mentioned the personality and interests of her target customer as if she was describing her a good friend. I really felt by the end of our talk that I needed to hone in on who is a “Jess LC customer” and make sure that what I did with the business really speaks to that person. For much of my own marketing is based on what I think I’d personally like and want to see as a customer, Susan seemed to have a broader perspective of who her target shopper is apart from her own personal preferences. One example of an upcoming marketing task is to create a Modcloth.com profile on Good Reads. After discussing with her marketing team, they feel strongly that their customers are interested in exchanging book recommendations and so they want to be there participating in the conversation.

The other piece of advice she had was to use social media differently for each platform. She cautioned not to use Facebook, Twitter, or blogging in the same ways but to be true to each one’s unique style of sharing and not repeat the same information on all sites. She also doesn’t feel that you can really compute a ROI (return on investment) from social media methods like blogging. To her, it’s not about blogging to get more sales it’s about investing in the community and benefiting the customer.

Along the same lines of social media, I found it fascinating that Susan talked about having a plethora of things for customers to do every day on their site, regardless of whether they have money to spend on any given day. Their initiatives like online contests and their Be the Buyer program allow customers regardless of shopping habits to interact, build their selection, and get involved. In fact, the Be the Buyer program has been such a success they are looking to expand this aspect in the future.

Now that your company is so large, what does your nomral day look like? What things do you delegate?

Susan said that she spends much of her time traveling for trade shows, visiting vendors, and buying new products for their site. When she is in the office in Pittsburgh, she spends her time going to meetings and giving final approval to marketing efforts. From time to time she also stops in to see photo shoots in progress and her evenings often involve answering emails. The thing she was most looking forward to delegating in the beginning was the writing and how they have a team of about eight writers which handle product descriptions, product naming, and blogging.

****

In summary, here’s what I took away from my conversation with Susan and how I hope to infuse some of her advice into Jess LC:

• Continue to make sure I keep each social media platform (FB, Twitter, blogging) differently and to consider expanding my social media activities to other sites I feel Jess LC customers might be active within.
• Define who a Jess LC customer is beyond my own personal interests and perspectives to better serve them.
• Don’t be afraid to delegate important aspects of the business to those who are more skilled.
• Dream bigger!

Good morning. Today I’d like to start a new mini-series called Designing a Business with Intention as a riff on both the purpose of MML, designing a life with intention, and taking into account the business side of Jess LC. Though I don’t have any grand scheme for this series, I plan to share the intentions I have for the company and how that relates to my business strategy.

Lesson: Just because you can grow your business in one way, doesn’t mean that you should.

I’d like to start by jumping into a very important turning point for my company.

Summer 2008: During the closing ceremonies for the Summer Olympics in Beijing, I lay sobbing on a bed in at the Palms in Las Vegas at the end of my first day debuting my Soc Chic collection at Magic, a fashion trade show. That August marked the first year anniversary of working Jess LC full-time. Up to that point in my life, everyone who knew about my company in high school and college thought the story was inspiring and what I had done was commendable for someone so young. Though the first year of business was certainly no cake walk, I was still accustomed to compliments and sometimes astonishment from friends and customers.

Until the first day of Magic.

The shoe designer who generously allowed me to share his booth space at the trade show was a veteran in the shoe industry. His decades of experience made him a wealth of information and advice. But I didn’t expect his (mildly) critical feedback. Rather than tell me how amazing it was that I was self-employed at 23, he looked at my company and told me how I should improve and expand.

In retrospect, the event itself wasn’t that negative. But in that moment I felt scared, uncertain, and overwhelmed. I was just 23! Didn’t he know that all I had accomplished to that point was pretty dang impressive?

So after crying and having a pity party for myself that evening, I was able to recognize that he didn’t mean to point out all I was doing wrong, he meant to show me how to do the right things going forward.

Among his advice was to do trade shows to get more store wholesale accounts and gain industry recognition. This is a standard way to grow a business, especially in fashion, and many well-established brands have taken this route with success. So I convinced myself that I should do trade shows for Jess LC. All the while ignoring the fact that having done Style Max in Chicago twice with my sales reps, participated at Magic with the shoe designer, and visited NYC’s shows – I knew I hated doing trade shows.

For me, the costs, set up, long show hours, and tear down were tedious and unpleasant. Besides talking to buyers about my jewelry, there wasn’t much that I actually enjoyed about the process. But by the end of the trade show three days later, I talked myself into thinking that I might actually like trade shows if I had the ability to decorate the booth with lots of white marble tables, gray walls, and cute lamps.

This (almost) was the end of the story.

Spring 2009: After starting MML and experimenting with online advertising for a few months, I took a moment to reflect and seriously ask myself what I wanted my life to look like. Did I want to be doing trade shows for the rest of my life? The answer, white marble tables or not, was “no.”

What did I really, really want my life to look like?

I wanted to help people through sharing my message of making under. I wanted to have a Westie puppy named Elsie who hung out with me all day while I worked. I wanted an assistant to come in half a day and fill an average of eight online orders and ship them. I wanted to write gift messages for online Jess LC customers. I wanted to work with store buyers directly. And so, for the past year and a half I have done everything I can to make that vision a reality.

And you know what? I couldn’t be happier.* Each day I know that I’m on a path that comes from a deep place within myself. I could have easily settled for the shoe designer’s vision for my company, but by asking myself what I really wanted to do, I realized that just because you can grow a business in one way, doesn’t mean you have to. Furthermore, I cannot deny that in the future I might decide to do trade shows again, but this time that decision will come from my heart, not from others’ expectations.

* Note: My life is far from perfect, and I’m certainly not happy all the time, but I do feel peaceful and purposeful overall.

Last week I watched a video about the Sean Stephenson, author of Get Off Your “But” and though I haven’t read the book itself, I think the title is pretty freaking awesome and it applies to today’s THINK ABOUT IT topic, moving forward past fears.

People have asked me how I stay motivated, move forward, and generally grow Jess LC. And the answer is that I just keep going and eventually progress is made. Anything you do for 9-10 hours a day, five days a week, is bound to grow.

Except when I get stuck.

Getting stuck happens to us all. Sometimes we get stuck because we don’t know what to do next, sometimes we don’t have the resources or time to move forward, and sometimes we freeze from fear. It happens to everyone – absolutely everyone.

The difference between successful and less successful people, as Sean Stephenson mentioned in his video clip, lies in how long we stay stuck. He calls the reasons we get stuck our “buts.” And our buts leave us sitting… on our butts.

The question is: how do we get off our buts?

Here’s how I got off my but yesterday:

In the next few months I will be debuting jewelry at some pretty big-time retailers which have specific vendor requirements. In order to work with these companies, I need to make sure I follow their protocols. If I don’t, I’ve heard stories of charge-backs and penalties that decrease my check. Not fun, right? So I felt the need to do everything exactly right. But since I felt intimidated by the process, I avoided opening the Excel attachments with the information because I thought it might be hard to understand or execute perfectly.

Avoiding the task actually caused additional stress. I knew I was procrastinating, and that made me even more frustrated on top of the fear I felt about the contracts. Needless to say, my anxiety around both orders increased. I found myself with a little nagging voice in my head saying, “But I don’t know what to do. Geez, if only I had a boss to show me how to do this, my life would be so much easier. All my friends with bosses get taught how to do new things. I don’t get that at all. Blah. Blah. Blah. But. But. But.”

Then, I calmly and firmly responded to that nagging voice, “Get over it, Jess. It’s true, you don’t have a boss. But every time you’ve needed to learn something, God has put someone in your life with the right information. The same will happen today.”

So after swallowing that reality pill, I called my friend, Kristin, and told her about how I was avoiding the next steps to working with these new retailers. She listened and serenely told me that I had a ton of things on my plate and these new partnerships’ delivery requirements were adding stress. She said that I just needed to drop off the orders in my hands at the post office, go back to the studio, write down everything I have to do this week, and then divide it up day by day.

Hearing her objectively assess the situation and give me direction helped immensely. She acted as my “boss” and told me what I needed to do next. So I promptly went home, wrote down all my tasks, and started checking them off. And when I got to those shipping requirements, I printed them out and read them. Sure, I still have some questions. But I know that I can call the buyers at the companies and they will help me do things correctly.

Like our posteriors, the longer we sit on buts, the bigger they get.

So let’s go bust some ass, shall we?

Today we have a great guest post by Rebecca of Loving.Living.Small and her newest super-cool venture, Sweetline Agency. Since I know there are quite a few dream followers and small business owners in the MML community, I think Rebecca’s post about social media voice is super important for long-term success and to for making the biggest impact.

Enjoy!

Defining Your Social Media Voice

Hi there, it’s Rebecca from Sweetline Agency and I am so thrilled to be contributing a guest post to Makeunder My Life’s small business series. I truly love and relate to the message of Jess’s amazing blog – living a life with intention – yes! I live my own life embracing this idea of being true to yourself  as I experience life adventures, in particular with my career journey. I feel that my topic today – defining your social media voice – relates completely to the Makeunder My Life vibe. Keep it real!

As I just mentioned, today I am chatting about small business owners + defining one’s social media online voice. As a small business owner, getting your company and brand up and running takes time, is equally challenging as it is rewarding and finding time in a day is sometimes hard. As you tackle your daily to-do list, consider adding one thing that is always at the top – provide service to your own brand.  One of my main messages for Sweetline is that you are your biggest client and taking time to curate + define your own brand is important. Your website is your professional voice and your social media communities are your personality, a peek behind the curtain of who you are and what your company stands for. One of the best ways to do this – social media.

The social media wave is still going strong and the neat thing about it is that you can jump in anytime to begin building your community. A great first step is to define your online voice. What does this really mean? Well, it’s basically deciding the tone of your communities – your blog, your twitter, your facebook fan page. What type of blogger do you want to be – maybe a curator of ideas, a creator of new content, a news collector, a mood board, etc? Another tip – keep it real. Always. Social media communities are connections + relationships and being authentic and sincere goes a long way. A third thought – know your audience.

Here’s a story – I recently went to Sonoma for a weekend of wine tasting + bike riding + good food. (um, doing all of these things at once is not a great idea, fyi!) and I discovered a neat olive oil company, The Olive Press. When I got home, I checked out the company online and clicked on their blog to find impressive + interesting reads. They decided to blog about olive oil from a cultural standpoint offering amazing recipes, health benefits, cool events they were part of, wine country, wines they love, etc.  I would say that they defined their voice 100% – they are embracing the curator of ideas tone, their vibe is super authentic even when they talk about awards they win (it’s as if they are sharing with their family good news) and they writing to their audience of wine lovers. Yes across the board!

Ok, small business owners, get out there, blog your heart out and tweet your style. Make time everyday to share who you are and what your brand is about with you’re your communities – they’ll love you for it! Check out more ideas about your online voice in my post – 12 Tips for Defining Your Online Voice – over on the Sweetline blog.

Today I’m gonna jump right in. Hang on, its gonna be a bumpy ride.

Here’s where I get real and share some of the tough stuff I’ve learned from the past three weeks of the “new” Jess LC. Though I usually wait a bit longer to share lessons, I think it’s safe to take this moment and really get into what I’ve learned and gone through the past 21 days since I re-launched. As you know from the behind the scenes series, the process to make the new brand took six months and a ton of work, miracles, and amazing help. I was ecstatic, elated, and overflowing with gratitude.

For 72 hours.

On the third day after the re-branding, I had what I now call The Pilgrim Effect. What is the Pilgrim Effect you ask? Well, let’s put it this way (in my fuzzy and distorted recollection of American history), I’m sure that when the Puritans decided to leave England to practice their religious freedom, they felt that God had put a knowing-ness in their heart, they knew deep in their bones they were destined to move to the New World and start afresh. They made plans, built boats, sailed countless days in said boats, struggled, survived, and eventually landed on our dear shore. I’m guessing that they were ecstatic, elated, and overflowing with gratitude.

For 72 hours.

Because you see, I too had a similar vision on a much more personal scale. I felt last November that I was meant to make this shift to the new site, the new brand, the new look, the new jewelry. I knew deep in my gut that I could no longer keep Jess LC in it’s previous state. I simply felt it was meant to be new, different, improved. I also had a bigger vision for the new site and bigger company goals. So I worked, and planned, and struggled, and had amazing help to get me to the new shores of the integrated shopping cart, video, lookbook, Division collection, and logo.

But what I (think) the Pilgrims and I forgot to realize is that after spending so much time and energy throughout the journey, we started to build up a vision of what that hard work would manifest. Sure, the Pilgrims got to worship however they wanted and I got a sweet new website and look for my company – but the reality of that shore near Plymouth rock was hard (pun intended). It was cold. The winter was setting in.

And they didn’t even have a city or home to live in.

Not that I think that the Pilgrims were dumb, but I am guessing that if they were any thing like me, by the time they got through traveling, they half hoped they’d find a quaint bed and breakfast or at least a Sheridan Inn on the other side of the ocean so they could finally rest in the Lord’s blessings and 500-count Egyptian cotton linens. And maybe even have a continental breakfast the next morning.

But it didn’t happen.

When I finished the site, I expected 75% of the female population to find out about Jess LC, fall in love with the jewelry, and buy for everyone they knew. I expected Daily Candy to write it up again, Lucky Magazine to call me begging for samples for their upcoming photo shoot, and if Obama or Oprah called to wish me luck and much continued success, I wouldn’t have batted an eye.

But none of that happened.

I definitely got lots of great support, feedback, comments, and orders came in at average to slightly higher rates. But not a fraction of the expectation I had built up to that point. I expected things to come to me, when the reality was I needed to work even harder to see those new opportunities come to pass. I, like the Pilgrims, needed to build a city in the New World and that meant even more hard work.

Needless to say, it was unsettling and worrisome for a week and a half.

But then I started to see myself react to the situation, after hanging my head for a few days, I started to pick up the phone again, I started to make calls to Lucky Magazine, to Daily Candy. I started to go to new networking events and I started to talk to designers with bigger followings to learn what my next steps should be. I started to take risks and actions that I never dreamed of making while the “old” Jess LC was around. And over time, I’m starting to see results. I’m starting to see the possibilities open up.

I’m starting to build my city, just like the Pilgrims, brick by brick.

And so I guess what I’ve learned after this whole experience is that when we take a leap of faith on something we feel so inwardly compelled to do, we must not assume that the outcome will always be easy. But once we make that shift, we can expect ourselves to rise to the occasion and bring the outcome we seek to fruition.

It’s finally here! I’m so pumped to share the new Best Day Ever music video we shot during our lookbook shoot for the Division collection. It’s taken us a bit longer to get this piece finished, but the result is definitely worth it. Take a look and feel free to share it as well!

(More behind the scenes details about the video to come later this week.)

… how does it feel to live in an ocean where the waves that carry you along are the markets, the weather, and other factors that are beyond your control?

That’s just part of it.

Part of what?

Part of agriculture. Part of life. It’s actually kind of liberating at a certain point—you do the best you can with what you can control, and you pray about what you can’t control. And you have faith that it’ll all work out in the end.

Amen.

To continue my ‘behind the scenes’ series about the re-launch of Jess LC I’m excited to feature the best part of the whole process: shooting the lookbook. What a fun day after months of planning. To help with the process I had a little dream team.

Photo Shoot Theme: The Best Day Ever

As you are well aware by now, I decided to choose the scenes for the lookbook based on what I considered one of the best days in Chicago I could imagine. It started with waking up in the morning, lounging around the apartment, eating cupcakes and drinking champagne at Molly’s Cupcakes, playing with puppies, wandering the streets with a big bunch of yellow balloons, and having a foamy latte at Noble Tree.

Of course I also wanted to include some of my favorite dresses and pillows, so I called upon ModCloth and AphroChic to help with the styling. They were so great to work with. And I can’t mention the lookbook without thanking Megan, our wonderful stylist intern. She was totally on top of securing the clothes for the shoot, creating the looks, and making my life oh-SO-much easier. Not having to think about the shoes, hair, makeup, and scarves saved me a lot of time and headaches.

Obviously the other key element of the lookbook was photography. I was fortunate to find out about Jon Hamblin a few months before the shoot. After seeing his work, I was sure that he’d be able to nail the indie-polish I was looking for. Jon was so easy to work with, upbeat, and I couldn’t recommend him enough to anyone else needing photos in Chicago.

(Erica, our videographer, is still completing the video, so more on her later.)

And last but not least, the new face for Jess LC, Tieka of Selective Potential. I think she’s the perfect fit for two reasons: she’s freaking adorable and because she also has such an inspiring and relatable story. I wasn’t looking to have a glossy high-style photoshoot with a glamazon, I wanted to show someone just like you and me, living her life with intention, having a great time in Chicago. And Tieka captures that beautifully.

Overall, I’m so happy with how everything came together. It was a long time in planning, but the product is well worth the effort. To see the full lookbook click here.

As you can see, the old site wasn’t exactly ugly, it was really clean and simple actually. To save money, I have used Dreamweaver to create the site myself since 2005. Dreamweaver was easy to learn and I gradually picked up a tiny bit of html understanding. The shopping cart for the old site was programmed with PayPal.com and I simply entered my styles and prices and then embedded the code in my Dreamweaver files before uploading onto the web. The best part about this system was the low cost (like Etsy, you only pay when you get orders, with no monthly fees).

But the biggest downside to the old site was the PayPal shopping cart, I couldn’t do discount codes and customers were directed away from jesslc.com to complete their transaction. This was fine, but wasn’t as professional and seamless as other sites with integrated shopping carts. And with the new identity, I was ready to take the website to the next level as well.

I actually found my web designer, Meghan Radke, via Connie of Moderne PR. Once I knew Meghan developed the Bailey Doesn’t Bark site, I was sold.

After going through a variety of navigation and layout options with Meghan, we settled on the final product you see now. I love how she came up with the tiny dotted border on the navigation at the top, it adds just enough pattern and texture to be interesting but not distracting. She also created a creative way to navigate using the coral drop down menus so you can shop quickly if you know what you’re looking for.

(Note: I recommend viewing the site with a Mac or using a Firefox browser, we have found that Internet Explorer does some strange things to the coding and makes some elements appear incorrectly.)

For the shopping cart and hosting, I trusted my good friend Tim, who recommended that I choose Shopify.com. Shopify makes product page loading a breeze, updates your files as you make changes automatically, and integrates with a lot of payment providers (including Authorize.net, Google Checkout, and PayPal). There is a monthly fee for Shopify, but so far I think it’s definitely worth it for the higher quality site.

To collect payment, I decided to go through my bank (Chase), and Authorize.net. The cut that each takes is slightly lower than PayPal, but I recommend running the numbers with your bank and with PayPal to see what works best for your products and order volume. Though getting approved, moving the paperwork along, and getting my accounts with the bank and Authorize took a few weeks, once I had the accounts confirmed with the bank, plugging the connection into the Shopify site was a piece of cake. I was able to process transactions in about an hour.

Personally, I’m not a big fan of “business-only” blogs (especially if the store only talks about its products and has no readers), I think the Shopify blog feature is the perfect place for me to easily update upcoming events for Jess LC. It’s simple, and to the point. (Inspired by Jeanine.)

So basically, to sum everything up, I hired Meghan to create the templates, web layout, and overall site navigation and structure. She did a fantastic job, was super friendly and professional, and was patient as I made a million little suggestions. Since I was so prompt returning all her requests and vice versa, we were able to complete the website a week or two ahead of schedule.

I then talked to my bank and got the shopping cart account set up and plugged it into my site with a few phone calls to customer service. After that, my buddy Tim and I spent a few hours making the domain transfer from the old site to the new one. And voila, Jess LC now has a new home to grow into.

As promised, this week I’m going to share the process I took to make the new Jess LC become a reality. The first thing I did was create a new logo that captured what Jess LC was about. Though I had a slew of other changes I wanted to make, I needed to get this piece in place first. It became the compass for all other decisions ranging from the website layout to packaging style.

I wanted something fresh, clean, and modern that also could double as a mark or image for future items or special logo tags. I decided to start my graphic designer search with my muse, AprhoChic. After speaking to (the amazing) Jeanine, she put me in contact with her logo designer, Abbie, who was super sweet, but was unable to take on another project, since she just became a new mom. Instead, Abbie referred me to her friend, Herdah Sukandi.

Herdah and I hit it off right away. She had me fill out a form explaining my style and what I was looking for. After just a few weeks, she created the most professional identity package ever. She thought about everything I shared and exceeded my expectations.

The logo she came up with was perfect from the moment I saw it. We didn’t edit it one bit. Before I saw the logo, I had no idea how she would manage to use my three initials (JLC) and create something that didn’t look like an engraved monogram. But she managed to nail it – the logo makes the most perfect mark.

Herdah also presented a whole identity package in addition to the logo. Above is the business card template she made. In my initial survey for her, I mentioned I might one day want to branch out into handbags or home goods (ahem…). So she turned my logo into it’s own pattern(!!!) for use in future products.

I just about died.

Then, she outdid herself. She came up with the perfect packaging for our online orders. These pillow boxes are ideal for our bubble mailers because they can be shipped flat and puffed open upon delivery. (We went for white instead of the silver).

And she still didn’t stop there, she also gave us lots of ideas for stationary and even the website. It was a dream to work with Herdah and I couldn’t recommend her enough.

To reach Herdah, please email: herdah@gmail.com.

Usually, I prefer to go through a difficult situation and learn the lesson from that experience. Then, I like to share it here on MML in the form of business advice, inspiration, and so forth. But today I’m making an exception.

As you are (very) well aware by now, Jess LC will look pretty different come next Tuesday. I have devoted six months to this project and invested personal savings to help get the re-branding off the ground. During the entire journey, I knew deep in my bones that these changes needed to be made. So excited by the new vision, I almost immediately separated myself from the “old” Jess LC (mossy green color, vintage logo, handmade website, PayPal shopping cart, even the font!). In came the new company color (coral), modern logo, professionally made website, integrated shopping cart, and cool new text. I loved every minute of it.

There were some potholes along the road, which I will share once the lessons have been learned. But by continuing to persevere during the rough patches,  I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel this March. How incredibly exciting, right?

Well, this week I’ve started to have some doubts pop up in my mind. Some had tiny voices and I quickly dismissed them, while other thoughts whispered more convincingly. The worries that surfaced asked me, “What if people like the old look better than the new look?” “What if people don’t like the new jewelry as much as the old jewelry?” “What if people can’t really see the differences between the old look and the new look… or worse, what if they just don’t care?”

The truth of the matter is, that these worries, though largely just figments of my imagination, might actually be true for some people. Odds are good that there will be a part of the population that doesn’t prefer the new look, new jewelry, or might not care about the changes. It’s inevitable. I’m just hoping that the majority of people do appreciate the evolution I’ve made and my business grows.

Now, just four days away from the debut, those worries have seemed to quiet down. Maybe they’re taking a nap, only to rear their ugly heads closer to Tuesday. But in their place has come a sense of excitement, adrenaline, and impatience. I feel like I’m about to run a marathon. The training has been done, the course has been set, now I just need to run and give it my best shot.

So thanks for sticking with me during this process, I feel like I have my own special cheering section along the racecourse come March, 30th.

First, I’d like to give a huge hug to all of you who responded so positively to the re-posts yesterday! I was shocked at the response. Sometimes when talking to people about MML, they ask about something I’ve written about in the past. And for some reason it never clicked, just because I’ve written about something doesn’t mean that newer readers have read it. Duh. I get it now. My apologies. I’m also planning on doing an “about me” renovation in the near future to help point out those foundational posts so it’s easier to find in the future. Thank you for helping me improve MML!

THINK ABOUT IT: Pick Up the Phone

Today’s THINK ABOUT IT topic actually came from a lesson I shared on Spring not too long ago. You can see my video explanation here. And you can also watch/read about Michelle’s revelation about the challenge here.

When I was in college, I had a mentor who did (literally) everything in her power to help me publish my (not-yet-existent) book, Makeunder Your Life. Among her efforts included picking up the phone and calling anyone who might be helpful. Including the CFO of Coach when I mentioned I might want to design handbag catalogs instead. This woman had no hesitation to call anyone she could find who might have the influence to make my dreams come true! And what was even more astounding was that she never premeditated her call, she didn’t write out a summary of points, rationalize why she needed to make the call. She just picked up the phone and started punching in the digits. All the while I sat there with my mouth slightly open in awe. Sometimes she reached the person directly, sometimes she reached a receptionist, sometimes she reached a machine. Though she certainly didn’t have a 100% success rate, we definitely got more than a few connections.

Over the years, her moxy rubbed off on me. As I started Jess LC full-time, I picked up the phone or knocked on the doors of the gatekeepers who could help my vision become reality. And like my mentor, I didn’t have a 100% success rate. But I was leaps and bounds further along than I would have been otherwise. To this day, I rely upon these long shots to help me gain traction and make connections for the re-launch of Jess LC in April. I can count eight people who are active in helping me make the new changes, which met me through an out-of-the-blue phone call or email. Using this technique, I have acquired a dream team of people making my dream come true.

Clearly, knowing how helpful this lesson has been for me in my life, I wish the same for you! And if you don’t have a mentor to observe calling everyone short of the President of the United States, please use my story as inspiration. You have nothing to lose. If the person you reach out to does not answer or worse yet, declines your request, you are no worse off than before you picked up the phone. And if they do decide to help you out, how much more you have to gain!

PS- If you want to feel a bit more confident about the call, try to find a way that you can help that person in their life or career. Offering a service or favor is a great way to turn a cold call into a warm one.

Since I got such great responses from the business pieces I have posted, I will continue with this question from last week.

What are the biggest leaps you have taken in starting your own business?

This is a great question and the answer varies for each business owner. When I speak with someone who is thinking about starting a small business, 50% of the time I am a huge cheerleader. If she says “it’s too hard to start a business” I respond with, “It’s not any more difficult than a lemonade stand.” Then, once she is excited to start, I find myself bring up all the difficult aspects of small business.

I might be bi-polar when it comes to entrepreneurship, but I think from the dozens of small-business owners that I know, this is a reality. On the one hand it is exhilarating and rewarding to create something tangible from a vision. One the other hand, it requires a tremendous amount of faith in oneself and _______ (insert spiritual provider here: God, The One, Great Spirit, or Consumer Confidence). Below were the puddles that I found the most challenging to leap when I launched Jess LC full-time.

Unknown Income

Business plan or not, there was no real way to know what my income would be. I calculated what my weekly revenue needed to be to cover my monthly expenses like rent, health care, and food after paying for supplies. It was a simple technique which kept me motivated and out of debt. Some weeks I reached the goal easily, others took a bit longer. And a few weeks I even experienced anxiety and chest pains from the agony of not knowing whether I would be able to pay my credit card in full. Budgeting was an interesting idea, but not quite feasible considering cash flow varied from week to week so drastically.

The silver lining within the worry and stress was the realization that I had not considered applying for another job because Jess LC was my job, this was what I was meant to do. This revelation then gave me confidence to get through hard times, knowing that I would succeed. There was no other option.

“So What Do You Do?”

The second murky puddle after graduation was creating a new identity. If someone asked if I had a job, it would have been easy to say “I am a financial analyst for JP Morgan” like the other 345 business students in my graduating class (okay not all 345 students…). But when I responded, “I have a jewelry business” most of the time I just got funny looks. “What kind of jewelry?”  “Who do you sell to?” “Do you have a store?” Owning my own company required a conversation where people tried to estimate how “big” I was. Over the years this has gotten easier to handle, but I will never forget the day a store buyer, while placing a jewelry order (aka: the way I make a living), looked up and asked me, “So what do you do?”

At that point I questioned whether starting a company at 22 years-old was feasible. If customers don’t believe it, who will? Fortunately, this phase wore off, and almost two years later, not being self-employed is unimaginable.

Work Schedule

Being my own boss requires me to create tasks to guide my day and grow the business. Friends would claim they could not handle self-employment because the lure of 24 hours of TV in their pajamas would be too tempting. I always found the opposite was true. Bills come in four week intervals, and if I did not have the money to pay them, there was a big problem. I suppose after bills have been paid, motivation could fizzle, but growing the business beyond utility and rent checks is the exciting (and less stressful) part.

During my first six months, I questioned what my actions should be each day. What should I work on first? When should I stop working? Over time these answers became instinctual, and now I revel in the flexibility the business allows me. Yesterday for example, I took a few hours off in the afternoon to get fitted for new running shoes, and later worked on the couch watching the NCAA championship.

In summary…

As I read this post aloud, I notice even amidst the most difficult parts of the business, I found the up side to each obstacle. This wasn’t my intention when writing the piece, but it does prove my split view of entrepreneurship continues. The positive and negative aspects of entrepreneurship are so inter-woven it is impossible to give a honest, complete account any other way.

A few weeks ago I realized that I haven’t ever clearly explained why I started MakeunderMyLife. People have asked me about it in person, but I’ve never taken the time to share the background here. Which is a pretty sad reality, considering that you might be interested to know.

Planting the Seed

In college, I had a huge realization that my best self was laying dormant beneath a pile of “stuff” (read: clothes, junk, head junk, candy bars, fat from said candy bars, and illusions of perfection). At that moment, I realized that my purpose, my vocation, is to share and inspire others to makeunder their lives.

Charting a Path

At the same time as this epiphany, I had an extraordinary mentor named Mary who completely believed that I could become and do anything that I wanted. So I started to research how other women have shared their personal visions (namely, Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey). In Martha’s case, the path to her success was clear. After starting a successful catering business, she wrote a book called Entertaining. This book became extremely popular. In many ways it launched her media empire.

After reading about her success, I decided to do the same. I wrote attempted to write a proposal for a book called Makeunder Your Life. But the process was overwhelming and I was concerned about content and authority. Who was I, as a junior in college, to tell people of all ages what they should do with their stuff? Taking a step back, I realized I was a green banana, unripe without any post-grad experience to share. So I let the project marinate in my head.

1.5 Years Post-Grad Later

As you may know, I moved to Chicago after college and started Jess LC full-time. I envisioned a point in my life where I could juggle the jewelry and writing the book. But starting the business took all my attention the first year and a half. I barely had a moment to consider Makeunder Your Life and put it in the back of my mind.

January 1, 2009

In my new year’s intentions, I decided to revisit the book concept. I had been reading blogs for a month by that point, so the natural step was to start a blog to collect personal content for Makeunder Your Life. This way I could improve my writing, gather new ideas for the book, and start my vocation a bit early.

I never imagined anyone would read it.

But lo and behold, it did find an audience (Jess LC customers clicked the link to the blog and started reading) and here I write today. I have realized that since Martha’s Entertaining was published, things have changed quite a bit. I don’t need to have a book to start helping people all over the world. I just need a small corner of the internet to publish my thoughts and learn from readers as I go along.

Who knows where this blog will take me or Makeunder Your Life. But one thing is for sure: ever since I’ve discovered and pursued my purpose, some amazing opportunities have come my way. And if you are fortunate enough to know your own vocation, I urge you to follow it and see where it leads.

For those who are still finding your calling, it never hurts to makeunder and see what’s beneath your “stuff.” You might even find your life’s work.

And hey, it doesn’t hurt to blog along the way.

How to build a home from scratch with intention

You’ve taken pictures of your apartment and chronicled your move from one home to another. I will be moving too in a few months, and I was wondering if you have any advice for the process and how to build a home from scratch (with an intention!), and with almost no budget. I just don’t know where/how to start!
- Dee

What an exciting time for you! When I was moving last August, I had a great realization about the move and what I actually needed to take with me. I suggest checking out this post about vision and environment and this (somewhat controversial) post about emotional clutter. Doing what I speak about in these posts has helped me avoid bringing unneeded stuff with me to my new home.

How to pursue a passion

I am thinking about how I have so much more to give this world, specifically in improving child health – I have passion, creativity, smarts, and drive. I just don’t know how to realize these qualities.
-NEPD

First, I’d like to commend you for having a desire and passion for helping improve child health care! That is such an admirable and valuable vocation. My suggestion is to research others who are doing something similar to what you’d like to do, or simply find people who are in the field of child health care. I’d reach out to the two or three people who embody most closely what you think you’d like to do. Calling or emailing those people asking for an informational interview is the easiest way to learn quickly what opportunities there might be and whether their expertise is helpful.

Then I’d consider volunteering or advocating on behalf of child health care in some capacity. Volunteering can be a great way to get a foot in the door. But above all, take consistent baby steps towards making that your reality. Best of luck!

Job vs. passion / Finding a great accountant

I’m currently in a situation where my current job may be non-existent in a month, and I’m wondering if it would be wise to just stay in the same field (which I’m only somewhat happy in) or try to pursue something that I really enjoy, yet have no real-world experience in (including the possibility of having to go to school). It’s good that I’m in a transition period, but not so good that I’m really not sure what to do about it. Oh, and I am the breadwinner right now, as my husband is currently starting his own business. Any advice?

Also, one from my hubby…being an owner of a small business yourself, how do you find a good accountant that knows the small business stuff, but also won’t make you poor with consulting fees and such?

-Nicole

Hi Nicole, it sounds like you are going through a very uncertain, but high personal growth time right now! In regards to staying in your field or branching out into a new industry, I don’t feel qualified to tell you which way to go. There are a million ways to proceed from this point forward, and everyone has a different path to blaze which works for them. But, I do believe that if you take time to think and listen to your heart, deep down, you will eventually find an answer. And also don’t be afraid to do something non-passion related if you steadily make efforts to grow into that true purpose at the same time. The key is to start hustling to make your life align with your vision as circumstances allow.

As for finding a great accountant for your husband, I would recommend asking a fellow self-employed person in your area for a referral. This way you can find out from a trusted source whether the accountant is inexpensive and worth their salt. I found my own accountant this way, and it has worked out very well.

This month we’ve decided to have conversations around the theme of “support.” This week’s topic is called The Roll of Support Systems. Check it out here (it runs about 20 minutes). We also have a nifty giveaway at the end.