So, earlier this week, Emylee talked about what it was like to prepare for maternity leave. Boy, am I thankful for every waking minute of work she squeezed in before sweet Penelope graced this earth. It made my job a hell of a lot easier. As one might imagine, with Emylee gone I had grand plans to go into business overdrive, get #allthethings done, do all the research for the year ahead and take some much needed R&R while she was sneaking in snuggle time.

When I started my business, I knew that my daughter, Olivia, would be involved somehow. I had always included her in “big girl” things (age appropriately, of course!). She was my little sidekick, so I ended up naming the company after her. Over the years, I have been surprised by how much of the business she has been interested in. She has learned so much from being involved, and I am here to encourage you to involve your kids in your business, too.

Have you ever walked away from a restaurant or retail store and been so upset about the service you received (or more accurately didn’t receive)? Maybe you’ve been so frustrated with a business that you’ve vowed to never use their services again? It happens to all of us at one point or another in our lives, and it is really frickin’ frustrating! And if you’re anything like us you probably spend a good 2 or 3 minutes yelling – probably to yourself – about it in the car.

But, what if you’re the business that’s giving the poor customer service? Now, before you say, “no, no, no, that could never be me” or lose your mind on us about how unhelpful and unnecessary this post is going to be for you, just think about it….

I’m going to be brutally honest with you: Sometimes, we creatives can be a bit desperate.

When you work in a creative field, you often have to explain to non-creatives what it is that you do and why it’s a real job, and that you deserve to be compensated in real dollars for real work that has real value. It makes you want to barf. But hey, it comes with the territory.

Because of this, a lot of new creatives with new creative businesses immediately start freaking out about gathering clients as quickly as possible. They’re so worried about staying afloat that they take on any and all work that comes their way. I tenderly refer to this panic as “Business-Artist Desperation Syndrome.” It’s B.A.D.S.ville.

I’ve been here before, guys, and I can say with absolute surety that it is not a good look. I want to save you from some of the long-term effects of working with less than ideal people.

We’re gonna start this one out with a mega truth bomb: no one (literally, no one) cares about the price of what you offer. Yet so many of us let this stage of launching our latest products, services or courses hold us up. We learned very early on that the actual number behind what we offered (whether it was photography session, canvases, logo designs, or branding) was the lowest thing on the list of concerns for our buyer. So we put our focus elsewhere.

The topic of pricing comes up a lot in our community (on Facebook and via email) and it’s a hot topic for the creative industry as a whole. We are tied so personally to our offers that it’s difficult to take our emotions out of the pricing. So we fumble with the numbers until we find something that feels comfortable and safe. Sound familiar?

Hate is a strong word. But sometimes, a job is THAT bad. If it is, you’ve got no business “sticking-it-out.”

Before starting my business, I was stuck in a toxic work environment. I didn’t leave because I didn’t think I could. I became someone I didn't recognize - stressed all the time, negative, and just plain unhappy.