Do you currently feel like your business, your ideas, YOUR LIFE, IN GENERAL, is in a slump? I totally can relate as a business owner/entrepreneur who has been working independently for 13 years – I get into these slump periods too. I have decided that they are healthy and good – we can hibernate and go inward for a short time, only to emerge like a butterfly from a cocoon. That’s okay.
However, slumps can last sometimes for longer than is productive. A bear cannot hibernate until summer. There is a period of rest, then there is a period for action. If you have felt like your slump period has lasted beyond what you feel is healthy or productive, then I have the perfect solution for you. But first…
Photos: Unsplash, Collage, Holly Becker
A little background… I started this blog in January 2006, nearly 13 years ago. I had NO CLUE what blogging was, so little of them existed and we didn’t have this term, “Social Media”, and we didn’t have iPhones and apps and Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Back then, you started a blog as a passion project, you couldn’t yet earn money from it. I started my blog because I was working in design and wanted to segway into writing for design magazines and constantly got rejected by editors since I lacked sufficient experience. I started my blog to write about my passions and to hopefully, get in front of some editors and show them that I could write and that I had opinions.
Needless to say, it worked. 🙂 I’ve done a lot of things I’m proud of, and some things I regret (decisions, mostly monetary ones because I always thought money wasn’t important until I made decisions that showed me the truth!)… And I have had periods when I felt really sick of blogging and tired in general of showing up consistently, daily, on my blog or somewhere on social media, to “perform”.
Despite the down days, or the moments of mumbling swear words beneath my breath, I’ve maintained a consistent positive vibe. I’ve maintained a lot of good energy for my profession and the field I’m in overall. I still am really amazed by what people have accomplished – my peers and even new ones who are starting in this field daily. I am so curious by nature, so I just love the design that I’m consistently seeing and meeting – all of the new designers, the ones who are known as the trendsetters, the leaders… It’s all interesting to me to watch and to actively participate in.
Yet there are still phases where I want to pull the plug and open a design shop/cafe on the beach in the south of France and just BE DONE WITH IT. You know? Like just wear flipflops all day and white linen dresses with spaghetti straps, listen to great tunes, and sell pretty things and make coffees. Meet travelers and watch my son surf. I have these visions and think that maybe it’s common for people so deeply involved in online media like me – to imagine these scenarios of unplugging and living life as it was when I was a little girl in the 80s – wild, free and not an iPhone in sight.
THEN REALITY CALLS. And the reality is – I LOVE FAIRS, PUBLISHING MY THOUGHTS, SHARING, BLOGS, MEET UPS, TRAVEL, SOCIAL MEDIA, COMMUNICATING, CONNECTING, MY BUSINESS and my LIFE in the city here in northern Germany. And I am super motivated to keep going in this forward motion and pursue my dreams in this industry because, well, why not?
However, slumps and down times and feelings of OMG I WANT OUT lurk in the hearts of all creatives and all who are making a living doing what they love because it’s only human. You can also bet that even me as the shop/cafe on the beach owner would have days when I didn’t want to be there, I wouldn’t want to open up and make 100 coffees, or I’d feel sick or bored with being a shop owner. No matter what we are doing in life, there are always greener pastures. There is always MORE.
Photo: Susanne Irmer, Shown: Holly Becker
That is why I decided to to others because it’s how I’ve stayed sane and inspired and how I’ve kept going, stayed profitable and accomplished all that I have in the past 13 years. I’d never really realized that I had a method to my madness, but I do and I sat down over the summer and really thought it through and imagined how I could help others and RISE was born, which stands for R= Reassess, I= Invigorate, S= Strategize, and E= Execute your plans and goals.
Now, for the GOOD PART. You can join me and a small group of students online where, for 3 weeks, from September 14 – October 8, 2018, you can get into a new groove – a new, positive, “I CAN DO THIS” state of mind. Our fun, self-paced online class will teach you the RISE Method.
R: With Reassess, we will teach you how to tap in to your energy, take care of yourself first, identify your strong points, and find the weak places in your business to stabilize and strengthen them. We will also cover how self-care is not selfish and why. This will be a super positive series that will jump start you right away.
I: With Invigorate, we will show you concrete ways in which you can organize your workflow, computer and office along with ways to get more positivity in your life, how to deal with downtimes and creative ruts, the importance of developing a strong support network (and how), and ways to develop courage and strength to rise up and power through. Self-confidence is key, so we’ll help you with that before moving on to the next step…
S: For Strategize, it’s time to set a plan. How will you do the things you want to do? We’ll show you how to put together a solid plan of action, how other business owners do it with interviews and case studies, how we do it and lots of tips and ideas for planning using Milanote, basic organization, and follow through.
E: And finally, Execute. No more worries, no more excuses. This is where you will learn how to execute your plans fearlessly and with courage, how to market effectively on social media platforms, understanding SEO and how to use it to boost your business and get more eyes on your website/blog, various apps we love and our favorite things from the best newsletter apps to invoicing software, Instagram Stories apps we love, and more!
Bottom line: I want to help you to get the courage and energy to climb out of your current rut (or if you’re just beginning a new business endeavor, this class will help you, too!) and work on your business and goals with tons of support from us, encouragement, tools and help along the way. The magic is inside of you already – we are going to show you how to tap into it, pull it out and use it.
You can register easily below. Hope to see you in class, it will be nice to work with you personally and you can also make new friends and network in our private student-only forum – which I encourage.
See you!
Love,
Holly
