Kismet + Charisma

My podcast other-half, Charisma, keeps herself booked and busy but her candles are the only candles we should be talking about during Black History Month. She sells out QUICKLY and each of these hand-poured, soy candles are sure to keep you in your hygge feels all winter long.

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Heretics Shop

With their resin jewelry, book memorabilia, accessories, and more, Heretics has something for everyone. Did I mention that they also do commissions? Not only is Jade dedicated to their craft, but they have also done an amazing job of curating an e-commerce store that gives you the feeling of walking into your favorite small, town gift shop.

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Andrea Pippins

Honestly, I could host an entire blog post dedicated to my love and admiration of illustrator and author, Andrea Pippins. Her work has inspired me for years and her journey as an artist is awe-inspiring. I highly recommend purchasing any of her published books to add a piece of that bright, happiness that her work illustrates into your life.

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Val’s Cheesecakes

1. Watch Jonathan Morris’s Self Employed on Magnolia Network. 2. Come back very inspired by Val’s story, hungry, and craving cheesecake. Cheesecake is a love language and Val has taken his mother’s legacy and created a cheesecake empire right in the heart of Dallas. This post is also a plea that Val’s can start delivering nationwide, expeditiously.

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Shop After Another

Alyissa is a MAKER-maker. She makes jewelry, art, greeting cards, pins, patches, and so much more. Alyissa’s work is colorful, bold, bright, and empowering. She makes products that radiate joy and embody positivity. I cannot say enough about how talented she is and how you should be supporting her for all of your 60s and 70s revival needs.

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Simisienna

Simisienna is one of three sister brands that have a HOLD on me. As we are still #pandemicliving, athleisure is a top clothing choice for me. I don’t want to wear hard pants. Simisienna makes beautiful options for those who are looking for something stable for their next workout or whoever else wants to elevate their #WFH lifestyles.

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Afrohemien

Afrohemien is everything. This craftily curated shop of handmade jewelry, cultural goods, and vintage finds is my favorite e-commerce find of the pandemic. I could easily have an Instagram feed of the amazing work Lakesha is doing to create this shop. Her eye for details is immaculate and everything highlights the beauty in Black and African culture.

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Namiwear

This is an obvious outlier for my style choices. I am a woven blanket, chai latte person, but, this jacket is everything. Honestly highlighting an anime-influenced streetwear company is all-encompassing on the Black joy scales. For bonus points, enjoy the Sailor Moon Fan Club podcast, a Sailor Moon fan podcast hosted by a Black woman.

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Eso Tolson

Eso’s lettering embodies every feeling of Black joy for me. He has effortlessly created some of my favorite pieces. I have shamelessly highlighted him before on this site. I cannot say enough kind words about his bold block or fluid lettering style that makes you feel each phrase in your chest. 10/10 Must-buy.

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Moonlight Roller

One of my favorite pandemic trends has been the resurgance of roller skating. Growing up in Atlanta in the 90s and early 00s meant that roller skating rinks were a welcomed weekend destination. Insert Moonlight Roller, a black-founded roller skating brand based out of Tennessee. These stylish skates with their signature crescent moon will help you stand out aamong your local skate gang.

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Black Brew Bros.

I am heavily invested in Black people roasting coffee. I discovered this gem out and about at my local farmers market. You can smell the beans before walking to the booth which is nothing but a good sign of coffee worth trying. With a variety of different roasts of their Grade AAA Arabica coffee beans, there are plenty of options to choose from. I can’t wait to gift these beans to all of my fellow coffee-loving friends.

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Brave + Kind Bookshop

This bookshop was also a pandemic find of mine. Located in my hometown, Brave + Kind is a bookshop that carefully curates books for littles and some books for grown-ups too. As a parenting person, it is so much easier to browse the wide variety of children’s literature when someone has done the work of putting together an artful selection to choose from.

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One of the things I’ve learned in my six years of being a podcast producer is that there are some real gems out there, despite podcasting having a ROUGH 2022 thus far. The best way to help support podcasts is to share them, rate them, and consistently talk about them if you love them. Remember how you found out about Serial for the first time? Now do that with some of these podcast gems.

I’ll do my best to highlight Black creators and businesses on Instagram stories throughout the month in this Celebrating Black Joy series. This is just a small snippet of everything I want to share but let me know of your favorite Black businesses, creators, artists, and technologists in the comments below I can follow along.

The post Black Businesses & Creators Guide appeared first on Studio 404 Paper.

I’m so happy to have been able to speak at this year’s The Blog Connect conference in Philadelphia. After having a podcast for a year, I’ve learned so much and wanted to share some insight into what you can do to expand your blog into a new platform. I will say that Nicalia Matthews of the Side Hustle Pro podcast wrote a fantastic article a few days ago which is in-depth over most of the things I covered in this talk. So if you want an additional resource, that blog post is definitely the one I would recommend. I would also recommend Paul Jarvis’s guide to podcasting which is what we referred to a lot in our podcasting journey. I hope you find the guidelines below helpful and I really enjoyed sharing this content with all of the attendees. I’ll be sharing more about what I did in Philadelphia when I get back! Enjoy!

The post #TheBlogConnnect – Growing Your Blog into a Podcast appeared first on Studio 404 Paper.

Happy Monday! I hope you’re enjoying your week thus far. I’m deep in the trenches with a site development project that is near and dear to my heart. As I’ve grown, I’ve learned to stop being apologetic for not having enough time to be as present as I would like to be. I would feel badly about not being able to churn out content here as often as possible but with everything happening all of the time, it’s hard to make quality content as often as I would like to. I’m sure you’ve noticed the blogging scene has most bloggers being present once or twice every month as opposed to the old three to five times a week. I’m always thinking of ideas and getting involved into something so don’t think I’m not busy. I’m always thinking of ideas for this space.

Speaking of being busy, I’m back from WordCamp Atlanta and I can honestly say I had a blast. I didn’t talk about it too much here but I was one of the many speakers at this amazing event two weekends ago in my hometown of Atlanta. This year, one of my goals was to be more present and active as a public speaker to share my experience with those who are willing to learn. In the tech space, the diversity and inclusion of speakers has been a hot button issue for years as the rise of the tech and creative conference continues. As a woman of color, seeing people who look like me is a rare occurrence on the speaker stage. After making an effort to attend creative conferences in the past few years and having an amazing time, I decided to look into what I could do to contribute. I want to share my experiences as a creative entrepreneur who has jumped into the small-side of public speaking and what you could do as well.

Public Speaking for Introverts

When I talk to my creative friends about taking the stage at conferences or getting in front of even an intimate crowd, I get the push back of how hard public speaking would be for an introvert. I, surprisingly enough, am an introvert myself and three years ago the thought of giving my business card to someone else was terrifying. The first time I spoke to a group of peers, I think I lost my life five times. My palms were sweaty, my voice cracked, and I was very pregnant. I got through it and have taken the stage a few times since then and here are some things that helped me get past my inner INFJ.

• Knowing that I could do it. Some people have very real phobias of public speaking. If the thought of speaking in front of even your closest friends on a stage starts to make your anxiety climb, public speaking may not be for you or maybe it’s not for you right now. If I had gotten on stage right after high school nine years ago, I would have completely passed out. After seeing the ins and outs of what happens behind the scenes and on stage, I knew that maybe I could do it too. I left many a conference or a meetup, practicing what I would say in my head if I were in those situations. I wanted to give it a try which was enough for me to get past the idea of passing out on stage.
• Starting small. I don’t think I would have ever spoken in front of hundreds of people or even a hundred people for my first speaking opportunity. I was offered the opportunity to speak with to our local WordPress meetup about blogging and I was excited to do so. The meetup attendance ranged from very small to filling the room. I was confident in getting a small number of people. Little did I know that I was speaking with an amazing local influencer and she brought the crowds with her. The room was full, even when I spoke at the every end two hours later. Even though the audience was unexpected, I was in a room full of people who I’d become familiar with over time. There were definitely not as many people as I felt it was at the time.
• Getting comfortable. It was important to me to be comfortable with the group I was speaking with. David and I made a a conscious effort to be more involved in the local tech scene which as more than paid off since then. If I weren’t comfortable with the organizers, I don’t think I would have ever given it a shot. Even if I did poorly, I would have gotten honesty which is what I wanted from the crowd. Get comfortable with the people you want to speak with and it will make things a lot easier.

[Tweet “Be comfortable with the group you’re speaking to.”]

Practice, Practice, Practice

When I said earlier that I would practice what I would talk about after I left events, I wasn’t kidding. There are so many nights that I would lie awake just going over the imaginary speech in my head. Watching other speakers allowed me to find the things that I liked versus the things I didn’t like. I knew the ideal length, style, and small distinct things that speakers who were engaging or unique did. I practiced how to do those things or what about my expertise could I share that would offer me the opportunity to share those things from my point of view. Here are my tips for practicing prior to getting on the stage:

• Talk in front of a mirror. I know it’s insane, but seriously do it. I make terrible faces while I’m in casual conversation. I make weird faces and crazy voices. Speaking in front of a mirror, while making me severely uncomfortable, allowed me to find those things about myself. Also as someone who photographs live events often, I know how hard it can be to get a good shot of someone on stage when they are animated or talk with their hands. Talking in front of a mirror allowed me to get over some of my bad speaking habits very quickly.
• Yes, that’s how you sound. Most people hate hearing the sound of their voice recorded. After speaking a few times, I learned to get over it. Getting past your voice issues sooner rather than later allows for clarity and focus.

[Tweet “Watching other speakers allowed me to find the things that I liked”]

Getting Prepared

Say you’ve done it, you’ve decided you’re ready to pitch for your first speaking opportunity. You want to get on the stage and share your expertise. You know what you want to talk about. How do you get there? How do you find the opportunities? Where do you look and what should you do?

• Develop a signature talk. We had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Michelle Mazur of Communication Rebel a couple of weeks ago who gave us so much great advice. One thing that she shared with us that really resonated with me as the idea of developing a signature talk. While I have and will continue to speak on different topics, I really loved the idea of having one talk, your talk, that was your public speaking brand. It allows you to focus on one thing and really get into the groove of what you have to offer.
• Pitch strongly and smartly. You know what you have to offer and now it’s time to sell yourself. Share with conference organizers what you have to offer to their conference audience and why you would be a valuable asset to their lineup. Please keep in mind to pitch to events that match with what you have to offer. As much as I would love to speak at a yoga conference, I have absolutely no professional experience that would qualify me to take the stage. No one wants to pay money for someone to take the stage and talk about how much they like to nap during savasana. (If they do, please call me.) Be smart about where you pitch and always bring your best. Use good grammar, be authentic, and offer a unique experience.
• You will get rejected. It seems hard to think of, but you will get a no. I applied to speak at a conference that I wasn’t so sure about but seemed to be a good fit earlier this year and got a quick no. It’s not the end of the world and it inspired me to keep applying to speak. You’re not the best fit for every audience and that is OK.
• Keep design in mind. I know this isn’t really super important, but it should be. I really get tuned out if I attend a presentation and the slides are awful. Keynote and PowerPoint are a pain but it’s not impossible to create beautiful presentations. One of the things I fell in love with about Creative South was how unique each presenter’s slides were and how beautiful they were. Don’t let the design of your slides become an afterthought. Having beautiful slides really pays off.

[Tweet “Don’t let the design of your slides become an afterthought.”]

Seriously, this post is way too long. I could go on and on and on but it’s all about experience. Having different experiences with different organizers has been so exciting for me. I really have enjoyed having different platforms this year to share things, especially because the thought of maintaining a video platform sounds exhausting to me. You can see me on stage next at WordCamp Jacksonville which is taking place from April 16 – 17th. Tickets are on sale right now. I will keep you guys updated on where I’ll be speaking and visiting next so I can hopefully meet more of you in your cities!

Photo of me by the amazing Beau Moffatt

The post Public Speaking for the Creative Entrepreneur appeared first on Studio 404 Paper.

Hello friends! I’m super excited to announce that my wonderful friend Charisma and I have started a business-lifestyle podcast. After getting into podcasts a few years ago, I really got excited about the opportunity to create more content in a different space. I really have been thinking of new ways to create content outside of this blog and podcast with a blog friend seemed right up my alley. Charisma and I always talk business whenever we’re together and it just made sense for us to work together. She is definitely the more balanced and understanding of the two of us while I am the go-getter who is driving for more and we need each other to help grow as entrepreneurs.

Heart + Hustle Podcast is a weekly podcast that will focus on business, life, and everything in between. We’ve already have a fantastic array of topics scheduled from time management to health and wellness. We have some fun people who we will be interviewing which I’m so excited about. Right now on the website and Soundcloud you can listen to our first three episodes. We’re still waiting on iTunes to approve us and I’ll be adding everything to Stitcher at the end of the week. I will be sharing here when episodes are added (Wednesdays!) but it’s super important to go over and subscribe to the newsletter so you don’t miss out on anything.

I do want to talk about some things that Charisma and I thought about and did prior to even recording our first episode. With creating anything new, it’s important to have an idea of what you want to do and how you want it to be done. It’s overwhelming sometimes to think about the possibility of creating another identity under your brand but it’s worth it to just go for.

Make It A Reality

After meeting for lunch and coffee a few times, Charisma and I noticed that we mostly talked about business. Being two entrepreneurs who have many roles and love what we do, it was almost impossible not to. We joked about the idea of recording our conversations but eventually the idea came up more and more. We finally decided around last spring to make it a reality. Knowing that we were actually going to create something new together really solidified the conception of Heart + Hustle.

Being Partners

I run my business with my husband so it didn’t bother me at all to decide to partner with Charisma. I think it’s often frowned upon or even discussed at length integrating business relationships and friendships. As I got into my third year of working solely on my own, I’ve found that friends have made the best business partners. It’s not easy for everyone but I think some personality types are easier to collaborate with. (Charisma and I are about INFJs.) I really have enjoyed working with her throughout this process and cannot wait to see where this takes us, even if it’s just our offices 🙂

Allowing Room for Growth

Adding another thing on my plate is definitely not what I needed to do. I have a toddler, an agency, a blog, and a paper shop just to name a few things. I really needed time to get things automated and in order before committing to this. Knowing I want to do something and having the ability to do them are two different things. Learning to surrender some of my “free-time” to make this happen wasn’t too hard of a process for me but it was something I needed to do. Sometimes the best opportunities arise out of sacrifice and that’s ok.

I won’t keep bothering you guys on this busy Wednesday. I’m just so pumped about this podcast and being able to reach you more without doing less! I hope you enjoy!

The post Launched: Heart + Hustle Podcast appeared first on Studio 404 Paper.

Hi friends! I’m finally back to write about my experience attending WordCamp Orlando 2015. It was such a jam-packed three days, being a speaker and as-needed volunteer. My husband is an organizer so we are just always involved and I love it! The Orlando group is full of amazing people who are doing great things with the WordPress foundation and local tech scene. I really have enjoyed spending the past two and half years getting to know them and working together to put on a great event. Last Friday was the kick-off of WordCamp with a day full of workshops. We then had two days of talks with six (seven?) different tracks that featured 40 different speakers. Now that I’ve attended a few conferences and have seen things from the attendee, volunteer, and organizer perspective, I thought I’d share some tips on attending a conference.

Invest in Yourself

I think the biggest thing that people have when it comes to conferences is spending the money on the tickets and the travel. It’s hard to quantify results from conferences or how it will improve you or business, but aren’t you worth taking a chance on? We had planned on attending conferences for quite some time so when Creative South came onto my radar, we decided to buy tickets. It’s now a “must-attend” in our books because we are filled with some much inspiration after each one. I am constantly creating new work and feel inspired to connect with other creatives. Try to figure out how you want to invest in yourself and do it! You never know what opportunities may come of it.

Do Your Googles

It’s so important to research any conference and know why you want to attend. I spent the weekend mostly listening because I love hearing the attendee perspective. The people who were the loudest complainers or were unhappy were those who clearly didn’t understand what the conference was, hated WordPress, or had no interest. If you hate WordPress, you probably don’t want to attend a WordPress conference. Make sure you understand what you want to accomplish and reach out the conference organizers beforehand if you have any questions. They are usually happy to help! There will be things at any conference that don’t apply to you, and that’s ok! Just know what your plans will be.

Have a Conversation (or Five)

Most of the people attending conversations are just like you. Don’t be afraid to say hi or be approached because that’s usually what happens. If you have any questions, get in touch with speakers after they’re done. You can always learn so much more and meet people at conferences. It also helps to go with a friend to help break the ice. I noticed the groups of friends or couples seemed to have a lot of fun being able to spread out and see more talks versus having one person trying to see anything.

Be Prepared

Know what tools you’ll need and bring them! At a WordCamp you should probably bring your laptop, notebook, business cards, cell phone, and extra charger. Workshops are hands-on, there are opportunities to contribute to WordPress core, and the Happiness Bar is a place where anyone can go to give or received help. I was fully prepared each day for anything that could happen (and with a baby no less) and it helped so much. Take some time to figure out what you need and have plenty of it.

Enjoy Yourself

Don’t forget to enjoy yourself! There is just so much to learn and you have to enjoy yourself! Our WordCamp was great, offering a fun theme (Hogwarts!), and making sure everyone was taken care of. I was sad towards the end because it was over but happy for the opportunity to do it again! When you get to attend an active, fun conference, you’re definitely lucky. Take some time in 2016 to go out and attend a conference or two.

The post Tips for Attending WordCamp (Or Any Conference!) appeared first on Studio 404 Paper.

Branded Content

https://gathercontent.com/blog/tone-of-voice-guide

Editorial Calendar

http://www.daydesigner.com/

http://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/6-tips-for-creating-a-killer-editorial-calendar-in-wordpress/

http://www.elleandcompanydesign.com/blog/2015/9/15/5-benefits-of-scheduling-social-media-and-our-buffer-strategy

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Passive Income

http://xosarah.com/2015/11/11/ebook-vs-ecourse/

http://woocommerce.com

http://gumroad.com 

The post WordCamp Orlando – Content Workshop appeared first on Studio 404 Paper.

Happy Wednesday! As we cross over into the last half of the week, I am knee-deep in WordCamp Orlando preparation. On Friday, Andrea La-Rosa, Jen Cox, and I will be braving a three hour content workshop covering everything from finding blog ideas to e-mail marketing. When I was told I was leading the workshop, I was terrified. I have never done a larger-scaled workshop in person, let alone at a conference that will be broadcast live. What I love about WordCamp is the ability to support the WordPress community. As a strong believer in open-source, it’s important to me to do my part in giving back to something that’s larger than myself. Today, I’m going to share some reasons why to support your community, whomever that is, and how to do so.

Get Active

I often get asked how I’m able to keep up with so much among the blog community and several other online communities I’m a part of (design, development, WordPress, etc.). The key to knowing what’s happening with your industry is to get active. You cannot support anyone else, or yourself even, if you are not using your blog as an active space. Passive blogs become a part of Internet history. Use your blog to begin to speak about the people you want to reach, how you intent to do so, and encourage your readers and peers to do the same.

Finding Your Community

What’s great about the blogging community is that the landscape is so different for many types of bloggers. As a blogger who has blogged for many years, I have been a part of several different communities. The start to feeling included into something larger than yourself is finding the people who relate to you.

• Get Social! By using social media as a means to connect to your readers and peers, you will easily find groups through outlets like Twitter chats and Facebook groups. If social media hasn’t been a large part of your blogging outreach, today is the day to start.
• Check the sidebars. When I want to find communities, I often check the sidebars for buttons or badges. You’d be surprised at how many communities are out there for niches and local support groups. When I joined Sunshine Bloggers with two fellow bloggers, we made sure to include a badge as part of the site to increase visibility of other Florida bloggers.
• Read the comments. I don’t recommend this for YouTube but on my fellow bloggers sites, I almost always read the comments. I’ve found some amazing people by just reading what their thoughts were on something I felt passionate about.

Get Involved

Find out what you can do get connected and connect others. We didn’t know about our local WordPress group until discovering it via Meetup. Soon after our first meetup, we were already excited to go back and help volunteer. By volunteering quickly, we were able to meet a lot of other people who felt as passionate as we did about WordPress. We are now in the days prior to our second WordCamp with these amazing, passionate people and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

• Make a move. It’s not easy but just introducing yourself is one way to start the conversation. Meetups like Creative Mornings always have a question related to the meetup topics on the name badges to stimulate conversation. Just a quick hello can change your position within a community.
• Write a review. Upon talking to a new Orlando WordPress member, she mentioned how it’s hard to find honest feedback on meetups and groups. Even if you just enter a new Twitter chat, use your blog space to be honest about your experience. I’ve been participating in some Twitter chats and I have plans to do just that. It helps others understand what they are getting into and find out about something new to try.

Paying It Forward

One of the things I do here is showcase fellow artists, designers, illustrators, and other types of creatives. I really have been limiting myself to only connect with other bloggers who do the same. Life is too short for competition and it’s easier to share an audience than it is to isolate them. I love seeing other bloggers feel passionate about using their space to shine the spotlight on others every now and again. Try it out and you’ll be surprised at the benefits it offers! Just by reaching out, I have two great blog friends that I will always use this space to promote them and their journeys.

How do you support your local blog community?

The post Supporting Your Blog Community appeared first on Studio 404 Paper.

Hi there, I’m Kate and I’m a creative consultant at Clear Creative Consulting where I help bloggers develop the tools and confidence they need to blog with passion and ease.

The most common complaint I have heard during my time as a consultant is that bloggers feel they simply do not have the time they need to do all they want to do. While it is true that life’s responsibilities can sometimes get in the way of your blogging endeavors, there are ways you can regain control of even your busiest week, simply by making the most of your time. By practicing the following tips, you can build new habits that help you use the time you have now to create more time for yourself later.

Set Realistic Priorities

Trying to do and have it all, at at once, is the quickest way to reach burnout. However, when you set realistic priorities and create do-able deadlines, you set yourself up for success. At the beginning of each day, I set three main tasks as my focus. There may be other things I need to get done, but I only choose the three most important ones to tackle first. With such a clear focus for my day, I am most often able to accomplish these tasks easily and move on to others. Prioritizing in this way encourages me to use my time more wisely, instead of endlessly shuffling from one task to another.

Find Your Productivity Window

Every person has a part of the day that I call the “productivity window.” Your productivity window is the timeframe during the day when you think most clearly, feel most awake, and do your best work. I have found that my productivity window is in the morning and begins about an hour after I’ve woken up. If you don’t know when you work best during the day, you may be working at off hours and this can really harm your ability to get things done as efficiently as possible. Take note throughout each day of how you feel and how well you focus in order to determine where your productivity window lies. Hopefully your life schedule allows you the luxury of taking care of your priorities during your most productive hours.

Take Time To Schedule

The work of keeping up with blogging and all its related responsibilities can feel like a burden when you aren’t making the most of your time, but there are many things you can do to alleviate the burden and make it feel more fun. Batch scheduling (writing multiple posts to schedule ahead of time) and keeping post drafts on hand are both great things to do when you have time and are feeling productive. If you feel like you don’t have time to write extra posts for your blog, consider taking a break from your current posting schedule in order to get ahead. Pausing one week to set up the next automatically puts you two weeks ahead of schedule.

Give Yourself A Break

Especially if you are the borderline-workaholic, entrepreneurial, go-getter type, you can sometimes find it really hard to take a proper break. (Insert hand-raised emoji here.) I am a gifted multi-tasker and this really comes to bat for me when I need to get work done efficiently, but it can really hinder my ability to relax. I often need to remind myself to put away my phone or shut off my laptop in order to truly take a break. Putting away the social media and email-checking while you unwind, helps your mind recharge more fully so you can get back to work later feeling more refreshed.

What are your best tips for making the most of your time?

First Photo: Unsplash

The post 4 Tips For Making The Most Of Your Time appeared first on Studio 404 Paper.