1 Myth About Time + Why I Consider It A Myth

Time is something that many people have trouble getting a grip on.  There's just not enough of it!  When you take an hour to get ready in the morning then an hour driving to work, nine hours at work, another hour driving home, then possibly fixing dinner and having family time in the evening, when do you have time for your blog/biz?  Many experts suggest waking up an hour early to maximize your time and get blogging/biz tasks completed.  They act as if this is a key way to capitalize on time.  I believe this is totally inaccurate.

This is a myth because you cannot create one solution for everyone.  It's impossible.  Our lives are different, we have different priorities, we have different family structures, etc.  To tell someone that they should get up one hour early to work on their tasks is absurd to me.  I find it absurd because I really enjoy sleeping and have a problem waking up at 6AM as it is (my alarm is actually set for 5:40, but you know, snooze button).  My lifestyle nor creative peak time allows me to get up one hour early.  I am a true night owl.  I have been known to stay UP until 5AM working on business tasks, and I've created amazing content during that time. 

I think the best approach to this advice is to decide on which end you would rather take a hit, because it's going to be a hit from the front end or the back end.  I choose to take my hit from the back end and go to sleep later.  My logic behind this is that:

1. I'm already awake, so there is no struggle to have to wake up.
2. My creative peak time frame is definitely in the late hours of the night, so this works in my favor.
3. There's something about working late at night knowing that "everyone else is asleep", so it's like I have the East Coast to myself.

This is what works for me, but I have a feeling that many of you can relate.  On the other hand, there are people that can get up an hour early and would prefer that method because they want to start their day on a positive note and accomplish something before heading to work.  They also enjoy the natural sounds of the morning, love to make a cup of coffee or tea and get things done.  I get it, totally cool!  If this approach is best and you find that you get your best work done in the morning, go for it!  Ultimately, we should be capitalizing on our time based on our personal peak time for creativity.  You may even be someone that has a creative peak in the afternoon.  That's fine, too!  You would be a person that would use their lunch break to get things done.

So tell me, are you a night owl or an early bird?  Do you know when your peak creative time is?  If not, you should consider experimenting with different times and see when you are most productive!

Renaming Your Blog/Biz and Why It's Okay

The thought of renaming your blog or business can be exciting and scary at the same time.  I know this because I've been there.  Before Color Hug came to be, my business name was LrnM Design and was a classic example of a brand that was not well thought out.

To start, the R and N in "Lrn" had a line over it on my logo representative of a long "vowel" even though they aren't vowels.  The name was pronounced "LaurenM Design".  Unfortunately no one ever pronounced it properly (everyone pronounced it L-R-N-M or "LearnEm"), and I had to explain it every time I spoke with someone.  Initially I had no tagline, then a year later I tweaked the brand (kept the same logo, changed the company colors).

This was also a crucial time in business where I decided that I was going to create products to sell rather than designing for clients, so I added a tagline, "Paper Goods for the Modern+Eclectic+Chic".  I felt really good about this brand and the tagline and kept it up for two years.

After much thought, I finally decided that I didn't want to keep a confusing name for a company, and the tagline really didn't reflect the products that I created.  I was trying to make my company into something that it wasn't (the products were definitely not eclectic).  Then doubt started creeping in.  I realized that there were so many paper goods companies out there and I wondered why anyone would purchase my products over others?  I then had an epiphany.  There are billions of people in this world with so many different tastes.  I realized that there are people that will enjoy my products enough to buy because everyone's tastes are different and there is more than enough of the market to share with other paper goods designers.  Because of this I decided to create a brand that would carry products that I love and that reflected who I was inside:  a person who LOVES a multitude of color combinations, LOVES beautiful design and LOVES paper goods.  I also wanted to provide colorful, witty products for other people that were color lovers.  Color Hug was born and has been around for four years and going strong.  Now when I meet someone and tell them my business name, I say it with pride because I love it!

Color Hug has expanded its offerings to include services and tech training courses.  The paper goods will still be around but in a different capacity (specifically for bloggers and creative entrepreneurs).  I decided on offering tech training because I have used various systems for blogging and in my business that have worked wonders and have saved tons of time!  I love to share this information with other bloggers and entrepreneurs to help them to do the same, because let's face it...time is something that we could all use more of!

I encourage you to take a look at your brand and business name and ask yourself if it makes sense and if it reflects you.  Also, consider if it is parallel with your ideal customer/reader.  Of course you want your brand to appeal to a particular audience, but are all of your products/services geared towards something that doesn't reflect you in some way?  You want to love what you're putting your heart and soul into, not just doing something because it's the "next big thing" or because you think you are going to make boat loads of money.  If this is the case for you, please consider re-evaluating your brand.  You will be much happier and proud of your company if you do. 

To get you started I have created a FREE e-mail mini course, The "Heck Yeah!" Guide to Naming Your Blog/Biz.  Click the button below to sign up!