Free and Low-Cost Business Tools for Entrepreneurs

As business owners, we’re all looking for free or low-cost business tools to help us run our businesses more efficiently. I want to share some of the best free marketing tools I’ve found since starting my business. These tools are great for solopreneurs, small businesses, and online businesses. 

Keep in mind that all of these tools are free, but for some, I recommend upgrading to a paid plan. It’s totally worth it to upgrade, but don’t feel like you have to. The free versions of all of these tools will give you the basics of what you need. Let’s get into the best free and low-cost business tools for entrepreneurs!

10 Free Business Tools to Try

Canva

Canva is the best free graphic design tool out there. You can create unlimited designs, customize pre-made templates, and use free stock photos. Canva even allows you to create videos, presentations, and PDFs.

While the free version is amazing, I recommend you upgrade to the Pro plan. For only $13/month, you can add up to five people to your team, remove backgrounds on images, and have access to thousands of extra stock photos, videos, and audio clips.

My favorite thing about Canva Pro is brand kits. You can save hex codes and fonts to easily access when you’re designing graphics. This is the best when you have multiple clients because they can each have a brand kit, and you don’t have to go searching for hex codes every time you create graphics for them. What a lifesaver!

Unsplash & Pexels

Unsplash and Pexels are both stock photo sites that are free to use for commercial use. You don’t want to be hit with a copyright claim by stealing a photo off Google. (It’s the same thing as plagiarizing someone else’s words, and you know how we writers feel about that…) You can use photos from these two websites with confidence knowing that they’re approved for commercial use.

Tailwind

I use Tailwind to schedule my Pinterest pins. The free version allows you to connect one Pinterest account, Instagram profile, and Facebook page. You get 20 posts per month across all three platforms, and you get one login. It’s great for someone just starting out with Pinterest. You can get a taste of the tool and how Pinterest can benefit your business. (Psst, if you aren’t using Pinterest, you may want to consider it! It’s a super effective way to drive traffic to your content.) I started on the free plan and eventually upgraded.

Now I have the Pro plan, which bumps up the posts per month to 100, and you get more advanced analytics reports. I have the Pro Exclusive plan, which means I get 400 posts per month. I have a ton of content, so I want the ability to pin several times a day. 

MailerLite

MailerLite is an email marketing software that allows you to build and grow your audience. With the free version, you can send emails, create signup forms, and build landing pages.. 

MailerLite requires you to upgrade when you hit 1,000 contacts. MailerLite is best for small businesses that are just starting to create an email marketing strategy and don’t have a large audience yet. It starts to get expensive the more subscribers you get.

Trello or Asana

Trello and Asana are both project management tools. They’re pretty similar, so I recommend trying them out and choosing one. The best news is that both of their free versions are perfect for solopreneurs or small teams. 

With the free Asana plan, you get three project views: list, board, and calendar. You also get 15 users, basic workflows, and unlimited projects, tasks, storage, and comments. It’s a highly capable tool, and I use it to manage client tasks.

Trello is very similar. With the free Trello plan, you get unlimited cards and storage space, ten boards per workspace, and the ability to assign tasks to team members and set due dates. I don’t see a need for a paid Trello plan unless you have a larger team, need more boards, or require custom fields. 

Slack

I love using Slack for client communication. It keeps everything organized and in one place, rather than searching through email for a conversation. We all know how messy that can get!

Several clients have added me to their existing Slack channels, which is normal when you join a team. You would need to create your own Slack account if you have a team of your own or if a client doesn’t currently have Slack. The free version of Slack allows up to ten integrations with other apps, 1:1 voice memos, and access to the most recent 10,000 messages. 

Google Drive

Google Drive is my saving grace for file storage and organization. I love that you can easily share files and collaborate on documents. It’s a great, free replacement for Microsoft Office Suite. As long as you have a Gmail account, you can create documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and forms for free. 

I often organize my Google Drive by client, then share the folder with them. That way, they can see everything I’m working on and easily collaborate or leave comments with feedback. 

Google Meet

Another part of the Gmail family is Google Meet. Google Meet is a free meeting software that allows you to meet with up to 100 people for one hour per meeting. There isn’t a limit to the number of meetings you can schedule. It’s a great alternative to Zoom if you want a more integrated set of tools. Anyone can join regardless of if they have a Gmail account. Only the host needs to have a Gmail account to create the meeting.

Google Meet does have a paid plan with advanced features, but this would really only be applicable to large businesses or schools that regularly have over 100 participants in a meeting or need to live stream. 

Linktr.ee

Linktr.ee gives you a landing page with as many links as you want. It’s commonly used as a link in Instagram bios, so people only need to navigate there and find various links related to your business. You can also add QR codes, music links, music embeds, and social icons. The free version is perfect for small businesses and offers several kinds of customizations!

Toggl

Toggl is a great time tracking tool. If you’re working with hourly clients, you need to use Toggl! With the free version, you can add up to five people to your team, track time unlimitedly, create unlimited projects, clients, and tags, and export reports of your tracked time. The free version is highly capable for almost anything you might need. 

Even if you don’t have hourly clients, it’s helpful to track your time and see where it goes throughout the week. If you feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day, track your time and evaluate to see if you need to readjust your time allocations. You might be surprised how many tasks you’re doing and how long they’re taking. 

These ten free business tools are perfect for solopreneurs and small business owners. They’ll help you run your business more efficiently and give you excellent resources for you and your clients. I hope you take advantage of these. Leave a comment below with other free or low-cost business tools you utilize in your business!

What are Writing Sprints and How to Do Them

Being a writer comes with many challenges, one of which is the dreaded writer’s block. There are some lucky writers out there who never experience writer’s block, but for most of us, they’re simply part of the experience. 

If you’re struggling with writer’s block, or just want to get some writing done (but can’t seem to find time), a writing sprint may be the perfect solution.

What is a Writing Sprint? 

A writing sprint is a form of timed writing. You set a timer for however long you want to write and go. Some common time limits for a writing sprint are 20 minutes, 40 minutes, or an hour. You can do more or less depending on what you want to get accomplished and how long you’ll stay focused. 

If you’re doing a longer sprint, it can be helpful to break it up into smaller portions with a short break in between. The Pomodoro Technique can be incredibly helpful for writing, too.

Once you choose the length of time and set your timer,  all you have to do is write. The most important thing to remember for sprints is that anything goes. Don’t worry about making sense, correcting or using great grammar, or whether what you’ve written is “good.” The main goal is to get words onto the page. Sometimes you’ll find you’ve written a masterpiece in this time. Other times, you want to delete the whole block when you’re done. What matters is that you wrote. 

Why Use Writing Sprints?

Writing sprints can help you to make progress on your writing project and defeat writer’s block. Whether you’re writing a novel, short story, or an article, sometimes we need help to get back into the swing of writing. 

Writing sprints help you get into writing faster. It forces you to think fast and dump your thoughts onto the page without a filter. This is a great way to test out new ideas and storylines. If you don’t like what you wrote in the end, you’ve spent less than an hour instead of days. 

By breaking writing into smaller chunks of timed writing, it makes the whole task less overwhelming. Writing anything can be a daunting task, which is how writer’s block can set in. The feeling of not knowing where or how to start is something writers have been navigating for hundreds of years. 

With writing sprints, you don’t have to worry about it. You’re just putting words on the page during the time on your timer. You don’t have to try to write the next American epic. All you have to do is put some thoughts onto paper (digital or otherwise). If it’s not a good fit for your work in progress, you can always edit it later.

When you’re writing with a timer, it gives you less time to dwell on the minute details. Knowing you’re on a time frame pushes you to keep writing rather than look back over what you wrote. You can lose so much writing time by worrying about what you’ve already written. When you get obsessive with editing as you write (it’s happened to us all), you won’t get very much done. 

There’s less pressure to be perfect when you do writing sprints. If you make a mistake, you have it in the back of your mind that you can or will have to fix it later. If you realize what you wrote is a tangent and has nothing to do with the overall story, you can take it out later. You never know when you may write a few great sentences that will take your story to the next level. You might also write garbage you’d never share with anyone. Anything can happen.

Even if you realize you need to delete the whole block you just wrote, at least you know that’s not the direction you want to go and you can try something else. There’s always a benefit when you’re writing - whether it’s progress in your project, or experience to learn from. 

5 Easy Steps to Do Effective Writing Sprints

1. Choose an amount of time - we recommend starting with 20 minutes first to see how that goes. If it works well, then try more.

2. Set a timer - You can use an app that makes it more fun, like the Forest app (which grows trees while you stay off your phone!), or a regular timer.

3. Do the sprint - Write words and have fun!

4. Take a break - If you’re doing a longer sprint, try to take a break mid-way through. If you want to keep writing, go for it, but breaks can help rejuvenate your brain and body and increase creativity.

5. Do another sprint if you feel like it - Sometimes we reach the end of our sprint and want to keep writing. If this happens to you, that’s awesome and you should definitely keep going. If it’s not, that’s okay, too. Schedule your next sprint session and congratulate yourself for making some progress. 

BONUS: Find an accountability partner & sprint with them. This can be a friend, someone you met on social media, or just someone else who likes to write. If you can’t find a partner, you can also text someone you trust and let them know you need an accountability friend. Let them know when you are sprinting and when you’re done. Make sure to choose someone supportive and who will cheer you on. 

Happy sprinting!

How to Stick With Your Business Goals

It’s the month to make goals. And in another few weeks, to fall off of them. We know ‘em, we love ‘em: New Year's Resolutions. 

I’m all for people trying to improve themselves personally and professionally. I just think we need to be better about how we set goals and make sure we stick with them. 

It’s easy to say you’re going to do something…but life gets in the way and you forget about it or continue to push it off. 

Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen to you in 2022!

Why Business Goals are Important

According to Positive Psychology, “Setting goals helps trigger new behaviors, helps guide your focus and helps you sustain that momentum in life. Goals also help align your focus and promote a sense of self-mastery. In the end, you can’t manage what you don’t measure, and you can’t improve upon something that you don’t properly manage. Setting goals can help you do all of that and more.” 

You might have an idea of where you want to be in five or ten years, but how are you going to get there? Goals are meant to help you achieve your dream life. They’re small wins that add up to big wins. Goals motivate us and remind us what we’re working towards. Goal setting is important because it gives you the confidence you need to achieve success, whatever that looks like for you.

How to Stick with Your Business Goals/Accountability

So how do you stick with your goals once you set them? Here are a few of our favorite ways to help keep you moving forward. 

SMART Goals

We’ve all heard of SMART goals, right? If not, it means your goals are:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Attainable

• Realistic

• Time-bound

SMART goals are the perfect way to stick to your business goals. The purpose is to get really specific about what you want to achieve. For example, you wouldn’t say, “I want to increase my revenue.” A SMART goal would be, “I’m going to increase my revenue by 10% by the end of Q1 by bringing on three new clients at $1,000/month.” 

You know your timeline (end of Q1), how to measure it, it’s super specific, and it’s attainable and realistic. Start making SMART goals, and you’ll reach your goals faster. 

SMART goals also work particularly well for writers, in case you’re a creative professional looking to get your writing on track this year, too.

Accountability Partner

Another way to stick to your business goals is to find an accountability partner. Someone to give you a kick in the ass when you need it (kindly, of course). This could be a business partner, friend, family member, significant other, or anyone else who you trust to keep you accountable. 

If you’d rather work with someone you don’t know as well, you can find accountability partners in Facebook groups. Find and join a few that relate to your business, and look for someone (or a few people!) who you can build a relationship with. Then you can be an accountability partner for them, too. We love a good, supportive community!

Write it Down

Writing down your goals makes them feel more real. They aren’t just a thought; you have them right in front of you. Better yet, put your goals in several areas of your office or workspace so you have a constant reminder of what you’re working towards. On mirrors, behind your computer, on your desk, and anywhere else where you’ll see them every day.

Have a Mix of Goals

It’s really helped me to have short-term goals and long-term goals. If you only have long-term goals, they don’t feel as attainable. Like, they’re so far away that you have time to procrastinate. On the other hand, if you only have short-term goals, you don’t have a clear vision for what you want to achieve in the long term. Have a mix of both. I like to scaffold my goals, which means that my short-term goals work toward the long-term goals.

Celebrate wins

Goal setting doesn’t have to be boring. Celebrate when you reach a goal! If you plan to reward yourself for hitting certain goals, you can post that next to the goals to keep you motivated, especially on days where it seems really hard to keep moving forward. Celebrate all wins - big and small. Everything you did to achieve your goal is worthy of celebrating. 

Business Goal Ideas

Sometimes it’s hard to think of goals - I struggle with it sometimes myself. Maybe you have a goal in mind (or too many), but you’re not sure how to get there. 

Here are a few templates you can customize to your goals: 

• I’m going to increase my revenue by % in [timeframe]

• I’m going to grow my [social media platform] following by # in [timeframe]

• I’m going to book # new clients at $X/month in [timeframe]

• I’m going to create # lead magnets per [week/month/quarter] in [timeframe]

• I’m going to post on [social media platform] X times per [week/month/quarter] in [timeframe]

• I’m going to send # emails per [week/month/quarter] in [timeframe]

Which goal are you going to set and achieve first? 

I’ll share a few of my goals for 2022.

• I’m going to post on Instagram at least once a week by the end of Q1. 

• I’m going to increase my revenue by at least $30K by the end of the year. 

• I’m going to hire a VA to help with admin tasks by the end of the year.

I hope this blog has inspired you to create a few smart, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound goals (see what I did there?) I want to support you along your journey! Make a post sharing your 2022 business goals on LinkedIn and tag me!

4 Creative & Productive Ways to Use Post It Notes

Do you use post it notes? In school we used them for taking notes in lieu of highlighting in books, or as bookmarks. As an adult, I’ve found many more uses that help to keep me productive as a writer. Not only do they help me stay organized, but I use them to keep me on track and keep me motivated. 

There are many ways to help yourself be more productive. If you haven’t tried to use post its in these creative ways, you should. 

4 Creative Ways to Use Post-Its

As a writer, all the thoughts and ideas that swirl around in your mind can be overwhelming. Sometimes you need new techniques or tools to help you organize them and keep you moving forward towards your goals. 

Here are four of the best ways I’ve found to use post its for my productivity.

Making Notes when You’re Reading 

Whether you are reading fiction or nonfiction, taking notes as you read can help when you find something you want to take with you into your own writing. What better to make a quick note than a post it? 

Anytime I come across a certain technique, trope, or tip I like in a book, I stick a post it on the page, noting what I want to remember. This allows me to move on without too much distraction. It’s also helpful when I’m working on my own writing and want to try out some of the same techniques. I can go back to my post it notes instead of wasting precious writing time skimming that part of the book.

There are so many ways you can use post its as you read. It might mean noting the way a certain author uses dialogue, or the way they describe a character. It can even be as simple as liking a word and not wanting to forget it. Writing is a process and you can use sticky notes to fit your style. Have fun with it! 

You can color code, like using yellow for dialogue and orange for descriptions. Whatever helps you remember the best, try it out! No harm in testing new strategies, right? 

Organize Writing Notebook 

If you have a writing notebook, you can use post its to organize it. Writing notebooks are a great resource for anyone working on creative projects, especially long ones. Curious about what goes in one? Read this.

Post its can differentiate the sections of your writing notebook. If you already have tabs, you’re ahead of the game! Post its can still be useful to flag information you’ll reference a lot or that you know will be important later in the writing process. 

Sticky notes can also keep your scenes in order. You can mark each section within your notebook with a different colored post it, or label them if you don’t like to use color coding. 

Everyday Reminders & To Do Lists

Whether you’re a full time writer, or simply write for the love of it, most of us are busy. Planners are useful, but sometimes you may need a little extra reminder. When there’s something pressing that I have to get done in a day, I use post its to remind myself. 

I’ll make a to-do list and stick it on my computer or put the most pressing task on my bedroom door so that when I inevitably exit, I’m reminded of that task. We can’t remember everything, and we don’t need to with helpful reminders like this around! 

Motivation

Just as you can stick to-do lists around the house where you’ll be sure to see them, you can (and should!) stick motivational quotes or sayings around the house, too. Even if you aren’t someone who believes in manifestation or the power of positive thinking, having words you love around you will put you in a good mood.

For example, try writing “You can do this!” on a post-it. Stick it to your mirror and every time you look at yourself in the mirror, you’ll get a little happy reminder. Being your own cheerleader is a great way to keep yourself motivated. It’s nice to have others cheering us on too, but we spend the most time with ourselves. We need to be able to boost ourselves up when we need it. 

When you’re feeling down, look at your quotes and let them remind you why you’re doing this. You are strong. You are brave. You can do this. Don’t let negative thoughts or imposter syndrome get the best of you. Use your post it notes as an easy way to surround yourself with positivity. 

Keeping inspirational quotes handy can also help when you encounter writer's block. You never know when you’ll need a little extra spark of inspiration to get the writing juices flowing again. Have a few of your favorite inspirational quotes written on post it notes in your writing area and look at them whenever you get stuck. 

Find your favorite post its, try out some new strategies, and see what works best for you. Incorporate that into your daily life! Sometimes we forget that there are ways to make our lives easier, and need a reminder that we don’t have to do this (or figure it all out) on our own. If there’s something else you use that helps you stay productive, let us know so we can share it with our writing community!

Hope for the New Year

Friends, 

It’s the last day of 2021, and I’m both shocked and thankful that it’s finally here. 

This year has been HARD. The kind of hard that feels impossible.  

Usually this time of year I find myself reflecting on all the things from the year. Good things typically outweigh the challenges, and I almost always feel like there are some redeeming qualities that make the year a “good” one instead of the notorious so-called “bad” year. 

This year, though, I don’t feel like rehashing the events of the year is a productive exercise. Sure, I will reflect. Sure, there have undoubtedly been amazing things that have happened! And I’m entirely grateful for them. 

But for the first time, it doesn’t feel like a good year as a whole, and I’ve come to terms with that. As my good friend told me earlier this week, it’s best to ride with our emotions, whatever they may be, rather than fight against them. We can’t always control the things we’d like. Most times they’re things we shouldn’t be controlling anyway. 

So as we finish this year, I wanted to share a message of hope. 

I’m entirely joyful about the new year. I know there will be more challenges, because there always are. But after this year, I’m sure I can face anything that might dare to come my way. I hope that for you, too.

I wanted to share my hope with you today because I think it’s what we all need. The whole world has had a rough year, and we all could stand to use a little tiny slice of hope, and the warmth that brings to our heart. 

So here it is:

I hope you have amazing things to look forward to next year, even if this year has felt like a big dumpster fire (same). 

I hope you’ll continue working to be who you want to be, and not who anyone else wants - because you deserve to. 

I hope you have a dream as big as the stars and that even when you’re afraid of how big it is (as all huge dreams tend to be), you’ll keep stepping forward one step at a time. One day at a time. 

I hope that no matter how you’re feeling today, or have felt this month, or the rest of this year, that you’ll wake up tomorrow and see it as a chance to start fresh. 

Cheers to a new year, a new us, and new beginnings. 

May we be open, willing, and ready to accept new challenges and be brave enough to face each new day no matter what it holds. 

We’ve got this, together. 

Boundaries for Business During the Holidays

Ah, the holidays. It’s the most wonderful time of the year… and the most stressful. You’re getting pulled in all sorts of directions from family, friends, clients, employees, and contractors that you barely have an hour to yourself in December. Sound familiar?

This is the time of year to set boundaries, if you haven’t already. You need to set boundaries with clients and people in your personal life. It’s challenging enough to balance everything that’s asked of you this time of year. Let’s make sure you're set up to be a ray of sunshine this holiday season.

What Does it Mean to Set Boundaries?

Boundaries allow you to set expectations with people in your life. You should always set boundaries so you can maintain a healthy work-life balance, and not be put in uncomfortable or frustrating situations.

The word ‘boundary’ can come off a little harsh, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can set boundaries in a respectful, kind, and subtle way. In other words, you don’t have to say, “You’re breaking my boundaries!” Calmly let someone know how their actions make you feel. (We’ll get into the “how” of this more in a minute.)

Why it’s Important to Set Boundaries

Work boundaries are especially important during the holidays. Your time is stretched by more people, activities, and things to do… It can get stressful if you don’t have boundaries set in place!

In business, setting boundaries will allow you to show up as your best self. You won’t come to work run ragged or angry or frustrated or sleep-deprived. It’s up to you to take care of yourself so you can perform your best work. When you set boundaries (and stick to them), you and your clients will benefit. 

The question is: what boundaries do you need to put in place to help you do that? 

It’s much harder to set boundaries in your personal life. Saying no to mom or dad is different than saying no to a client. But it’s how you show up as your best self. You have to do what’s best for you, even if it means disappointing people you care about. 

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t be respectful and explain why you’re making the choices with your boundaries. Your loved ones care about you and want the best for you. If that means you have to set a boundary with them, they’ll learn to work within it or around it. 

3 Steps to Set Boundaries in Your Business

So we know we need boundaries, but how do we establish them? Let me let you in on a little secret: it’s not actually that complicated. Notice I didn’t say “easy” - it can be hard to maintain boundaries, especially for small businesses, during the holidays. 

That being said, these 3 simple steps will make a world of difference! 

1. Inform Clients of Time Off

It’s okay to take time off, especially during the holidays! A lot of people are taking time off, and no one will blame you for doing the same. It’s a much-needed break that we encourage you to take!

But, be clear about when you will be unavailable. Give your clients time to accommodate your absence. You don’t want to leave them high and dry, so give them plenty of notice about your time off and what you can do for them before taking vacation time. 

Setting an out-of-office reminder is also a must-do. Just because you inform your clients of your time off doesn’t mean they’ll remember. They have enough on their plate (which is probably why they hired you). They don’t have time to remember your schedule. Set an automated out-of-office email as a gentle reminder that you’re not available. Don’t forget to mention when you’ll be back online and include a way to contact you if it’s an emergency.

2. How to Communicate with you

How do you prefer to communicate with your clients? Personally, I don’t mind texting and phone calls, but some people don’t like that. With so many means of communicating nowadays, you need to make it clear what you prefer. 

When you tell clients your preferences up front, you won’t be stuck in an awkward situation of a client messaging you on Facebook Messenger (and missing the message entirely) when you prefer email or texting. It sets a clear boundary between your work and personal life.

3. Say No

Everyone understands that the holidays are ultra-busy. If you say no to a project or extra meeting because you don’t have the time or energy to do it, it’s okay! Let your client know, respectfully, that you would prefer to push it back to the new year because you don’t have the capacity to take on anything more. If they need something done quickly, they may have to find someone else to complete the project. That’s okay, too!

I learned this lesson the hard way, and in fact still sometimes have the urge to take on more than I can really accomplish. I said yes to too many clients at once, because I wanted to grow my business and income faster. But as soon as I turned to examine what was actually on my plate, it immediately became overwhelming. I was working all the time, feeling the constant presence of burnout. It honestly sucked. So when I was able to finally say “no” to a stressful client that wasn’t a good fit for my business, it felt like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. It’s hard, but saying no is a good thing.

3 Ways to Set Boundaries in Your Personal Life

Setting boundaries with family and friends is one of the hardest things to do. Especially around the holidays, your time and attention are requested more than usual. You might be seeing family you only see once a year. Maybe friends are flying in for the holidays and want to hang out. It’s generally just a hectic time of year. 

During this hectic time, your boundaries will be your besties. Here are a few ways you can set boundaries with people in your personal life.

1. Say No

Yes, I’m saying it again! It’s okay to say no to things you don’t want to do or simply don’t have the time to do. It does you more harm than good to squeeze in another lunch date with a friend or spend five hours shopping for the perfect gift at the mall with your aunt. You get to decide what’s most important to you. 

2. Explain Your Boundary

Establishing new boundaries isn’t easy. People may not understand why you suddenly stop doing something you used to do. While you don’t owe anyone an explanation, it’s a good idea to let people know the basics of why you’re making the change. 

You can say something like, “I’m going to stop doing XYZ because it makes me uncomfortable.” Or, “I’m going to start doing XYZ so I can have better balance in my life.” Inform people of your boundary and kindly remind them if they accidentally break them. Eventually, your boundaries will become a habit for them, too.

3. Don’t Accept Less

How often do we accept someone being 10 minutes late, breaking something they borrowed from you, bailing on plans, or not following up on a promise? I’ve been burned many times, and it stings each time. I know things happen, but it feels like “things happen” with certain people. Every. Single. Time. 

Eventually enough has to be enough. It’s okay to make less time for people who flake out on you at the last minute every time you get together, and it’s okay to express disappointment when someone breaks a promise. That doesn’t mean you have to cut them out of your life (unless that’s the boundary you want to draw), but it should make you evaluate what you want and expect from the relationship. 

Start to set boundaries with those around you. It’s okay to let people know your expectations. PsychCentral suggests, “If you’re dealing with someone who is perpetually late, communicate this to them ahead of time — let them know you will be leaving after a certain amount of time has passed. Still, try not to sound accusatory. Consider acknowledging that you two have different personalities. You’re not trying to change them, but you need to set time boundaries for yourself because you can’t afford or don’t want to wait any longer.” 

If  there’s a main takeaway here (or if you’ve scrolled to the bottom - hi, friend!), know that it’s good to set boundaries for yourself. You need them to have a happy, healthy, and balanced life. No one will set them for you. It’s up to you to decide what boundaries to set, who to set them with, and how to enforce them. You’ve got this! 

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy holiday!

25 Inspirational Quotes for Writing

Finding the motivation to write can be difficult some days. You probably don’t want to force yourself to write, but if you need to get some writing done, an extra push can help get you going.  Sometimes all we need is a little inspiration before we dive into writing.

Here are 25 inspirational quotes to spark your inspiration!

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”

— Toni morrison

“Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.”

— lisa see

“You fail only if you stop writing.”

— Ray bradbury

“If the book is true, it will find an audience that is meant to read it.”

— Wally lamb

“Don’t forget-no one else sees the world the way you do, so no one else can tell the stories that you have to tell.”

— Charles de Lint

“If I waited for perfection… I would never write a word.”

— Margaret Atwood

“The Six Golden Rules of Writing: Read, read, read, and write, write, write.”

— Ernest Gaines

“Writing—the art of communicating thoughts to the mind, through the eye—is the great invention of the world.”

— Abraham lincoln

“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”

— Jodi picoult

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

— Maya Angelou

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.”

— Richard Bach

“This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it’s done. It’s that easy, and that hard.”

— Neil Gaiman

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”

— Louis L’Amour

“Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with.”

— Henry David Thoreau

“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.”

— William Faulkner

“To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard.”

— Allen Ginsberg

“Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.”

— Annie Dillard

“It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long as you edit brilliantly.”

— C. J. Cherryh

“When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.”

— Carol Burnett

“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.”

— Robin Williams as John Keating in Dead Poets Society

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”

— C.S. Lewis

“First, you write for yourself... always, to make sense of experience and the world around you. It’s one of the ways I stay sane. Our stories, our books, our films are how we cope with the random trauma-inducing chaos of life as it plays.”

— Bruce Springsteen

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”

— Stephen King

“I believe there is power in words, power in asserting our existence, our experience, our lives, through words.”

— Jesmyn Ward

“People are going to judge you all the time no matter what you do. . . Don’t worry about other people. Worry about you.”

— Jacqueline Woodson

There are so many great quotes that can help inspire you to write. Hopefully some of these will spark your creativity and get the words flowing.

Do you already have a favorite quote that inspires you to write?

Let us know in the comments!

How to Show Gratitude in Business

It’s the time of year to reflect on what we’re grateful for. Although we often focus on gratitude for the holidays, we should practice gratitude more than once a year because it will help our businesses grow. 

Yes, showing gratitude can help your business grow.

It’s one of the easiest things to do but somehow always gets forgotten. People start to feel resentful, unvalued, disrespected, and unappreciated, which leads to an unhappy workplace with high turnover - unappreciated customers who don’t return to purchase from your business. 

Establishing a culture of gratitude is an easy way to set yourself up for success.

Why Gratitude is Important for Business

Are you more likely to do business with someone who takes your money and runs, or someone who shows genuine appreciation for your business? I’m guessing the latter (let’s face it, we all want to be appreciated). Showing appreciation for “your people” greatly improves the amount of business you receive and builds your loyal customer base. People will keep coming back to you when they feel truly appreciated and valued. 

On the other hand, employees and employers need to feel appreciated, too. An excerpt from Intelligent Change reveals something interesting about U.S. workplaces: 

“Recent research conducted by the John Templeton Foundation revealed that for Americans, the workplace is the least likely place to express gratitude. Although as many as 93% of the respondents agreed that a grateful boss is more likely to succeed, and almost all of them agreed that a simple ‘thank you’ at work made them feel valued and respected, only 10% were actually prone to express gratefulness. The majority, or 60% of the respondents, have never expressed gratitude at work, or have only done so once a year!”

That’s pretty sad! How does showing gratitude once a year foster a positive work environment? It doesn’t. Employees and bosses need positive affirmation, encouragement, and to feel respected and appreciated to be their best selves in the workplace. It will make work more enjoyable for everyone, which is important since we spend so much of our one life doing it. 

How to Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude

It takes a conscious effort to choose an attitude of gratitude. It’s not something that happens overnight, and even for those who practice gratitude regularly, it can be harder on difficult days. Adopting a gratitude mindset and intentionally practicing gratitude every day will get you there, though. And it’s definitely worth it.

Mindset

I like this definition of a gratitude mindset from Lucemi Consulting: 

“When you have a gratitude mindset, you focus on the limitless opportunities available in business and life because you already appreciate what you have. When you are grateful, you choose to focus on the positive things rather than the negative things.”

Mindset is key when adopting an attitude of gratitude. You can see opportunity everywhere, but you’re aware of and thankful for where you are and what you have today. No one can take away your choice to be grateful for the life you have or the opportunities you’ve been given.

Attract What You Put Out in the World

You attract what you put out in the world. (Yes, it’s the law of attraction - you knew it was coming.) If you’re constantly throwing negativity into the world, you’re going to get negativity back. If you switch that mindset and start putting positivity into the world, you will attract it back to you. If you constantly show gratitude to people, they will return the favor. 

Another aspect of this is that whatever you’re putting out in the world, you notice more in your own life. In the case of gratitude, when you constantly praise people for the work they’ve done, you notice when people do the same in return. Sometimes small notes of praise can go unnoticed, but when you make that a core value of your business, you notice when people are expressing gratitude towards yourself and others. 

4 Ideas for Showing Gratitude in Your Business

Obviously showing gratitude is important to growing your business, but how do you go about actually doing that? Here are a few ideas of how to start.

Keep a Gratitude Journal

I like to practice gratitude journaling in the morning. It sets me on the right foot for the day. I make a list of 10-15 things that I’m grateful for. I try to be really specific, too. Not just “food” (which, of course, I am grateful for). Instead, I would write something like, “I am grateful that I have the means to purchase food I want.” Be specific when you fill out a gratitude journal. It will be fun to look back after a few months or even years to see how much you’ve grown and developed as a human. 

Be Grateful for Small Things that Happen Every Day

Do you know how many small things happening every day that you can be grateful for? Probably hundreds. During your gratitude journaling, identify small things that have happened to you in the last day or two that you can be grateful for. In addition (or alternatively), you can log your gratitude each night in a journal or app like Pixels. 

Send Gifts to Clients or Customers

Client gifts aren’t just for the holidays. You can send thank you letters when they sign with you, a quick birthday message, or a small gift of congratulations when they hit a milestone in their business. It’s always nice to receive “fun mail,” as I like to call it. It makes clients feel special and appreciated. 

Show appreciation to employees

We’ve all been part of the corporate world and felt unappreciated. If you haven’t, you’re one of the lucky few. It makes you dread work every day, resentful toward the company, and often straight-up miserable. Create a culture of gratitude and appreciation among employees. Give them positive affirmations, small gifts or thank you cards, and encourage employees to show gratitude among themselves, too. An appreciated employee is happier and has a higher job performance. Who doesn’t want that for the people who work with them?

P.S. Freelancers and contractors who do work for you count, too! 

I encourage you to practice showing gratitude daily. Start a daily gratitude journal, send gifts to clients or customers, and create a culture of gratitude by regularly showing employee appreciation. Not only will your business flourish, but you and everyone around you will be happier and more grateful people. We need more of those people in the world, don’t you agree?

6 Simple Ways to Build Creative Confidence

Doing creative work requires some semblance of confidence, whether to help get you started, or to keep you going. Without confidence, you can run into problems like writer's block, imposter syndrome, and overall fear and anxiety about your work. 

Having confidence in your own writing takes it to a whole new level. When you feel confident in your own work, other people will feel more confident about it, too. 

What is Confidence?

In the most basic sense, confidence is the “quality of being certain of your abilities or of having trust in people, plans, or the future.” 

Confidence has everything to do with how we feel about the actions we take (or could take) to be successful. When we’re confident, we feel sure we can accomplish what we need to serve others and ourselves, as well as succeed in the future. 

In other words, confidence helps you on your road to success. (If you want to read more about confidence, we did a mini-series about it.)

Why Do Some Writers Lack Confidence? 

It feels like it should be easy to stay confident in yourself, but it’s often hard to do. You’ve probably wondered whether your writing is “good enough” - and so it is with many writers. We’ve all been there. It’s a human thing to question yourself - and completely normal. 

When you tell other people you're a writer, they ask questions, too. Some questions seem harmless, like “What do you write?” Other questions, such as “When are you going to get published?” can create a sneaking doubt in your mind and make you wonder if you’re good enough to get published. And if so, what will people think? Will people want to read it? And what if they do and they don’t like it? 

Then there’s the ever-famous bad experience that seems to happen to all writers at one point or another. For those of us who love writing and have been doing it since we were young, we often started out full of confidence - of course our ideas were good! Then, we have a moment or an encounter where someone gives us negative criticism we don’t know what to do with that alters the course of our writing lives. It sometimes takes years for confidence to grow (and for some it never quite comes back in the same gleeful way). 

So what do you do about these doubts? And how the heck do you gain confidence in yourself and your writing when it feels impossible?

6 Ways to Build Creative Confidence

These are some of the ways we (and our clients!), here at Capturing Your Confidence that work - writer to writer.

Journaling

Journaling is great because you never have to show it to anyone, so you never have to worry about whether people will enjoy it. Journaling is all for you. It’s a safe space where you can write about anything you want.

It can be a daily routine (like Rachel’s morning pages practice); a place to write out all your story ideas; a place to vent all your fears, successes, or memories you want to remember; or, you can use it for all of the above. 

If you need multiple journals, that’s okay! Journaling is meant to help you, whatever that might look like.

Start Small

If you want to write, but it seems too daunting, start small. You can always work your way up to your longer term goal. For instance, say you want to write a book, but you’re not sure if you can (because it is a lot), you can start with a short story or essay.

It doesn’t have to have anything to do with what you want to write your book about. The process of writing that shorter piece will help you figure out things like how quickly or slowly you write, what style and genres you prefer, and whether or not you actually want to write something longer.

If you’re thinking about writing professionally for readers online, you can start small by writing guest posts on someone else’s blog. Doing this helps you test the waters before you make the commitment to building your own blog. You can also publish on sites like Medium, where you don’t have to pay to post, but you can see if what you’re writing about is something people are looking for. 

No matter what you want to write, there are ways to work your way up to that end goal. 

Read Your Writing & Find Things You Like (On Purpose)

One of the best things you can do for your writing confidence is to read your writing. Be intentional about it - find your favorite parts and best lines. Ignore the pieces that you feel aren’t up to par (let’s be honest, it can’t all be gold), and really feel the pieces you’re proud of.

Whenever you’re feeling self-doubt or just need some inspiration to keep writing, go back and read those pieces you picked out. Remind yourself that you are good enough, no matter what anyone else says. It’s easy to forget your own capabilities when you aren’t looking back at your work.

Writing is a constant growth & learning process and it’s important to look back to see how far you’ve come.

Share Your Writing with One Person

When you’re ready to share your writing with someone, choose one person you trust to start with. Tell them exactly what you want from them, whether it’s honesty, or simply to hype you up. It’s okay to want someone who will point out the good pieces of your writing for your first outside perspective.

Eventually you’ll need them to tell you what needs work, but if you’re not ready for that, don’t feel pressure to ask for that on your first share. The worst feeling is giving someone your work and having them tear it apart when it wasn’t ready for that type of criticism yet. Don’t ask for the brutal honesty until you you’ve edited and worked to make your draft as strong as it can be without an outside eye.

DO NOT CHOOSE SOCIAL MEDIA AS YOUR ONE PERSON.

Let me repeat that: when you select the first person to read your work, DO NOT share it publicly on any type of social media platform. This is a recipe for a shitstorm of criticism, which is not what this first person share is about.

Take a Break from Social Media

First, a note: we’re not anti-social media here. You can make connections with fellow writers, and run effective marketing for your book on social media. It’s a great opportunity to meet people you probably wouldn’t in real life!

But it’s a double-edged sword. If you’re scrolling through Insta or TikTok for hours on end, you have less time for your own creative work. It’s easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others, which saps creativity, sometimes without you even knowing it’s happening. Imposter syndrome anyone?

Much of what you see on social media isn’t real anyway.

Someone may say they write for five hours everyday, or read twenty books every month, but you don’t know that’s actually the case. Even if it is, they’re not you. Everyone is different. Everyone writes and reads at a different pace, and everyone experiences self-doubt sometimes (even the loudest people). 

So, make sure to take a break from social media every once in a while. Even if it’s only for a day, take a step back and remind yourself of who you are and why you’re writing. Take a day to explore and inspire yourself, or to rest and relax. Whatever you need to do, allow yourself those moments to rejuvenate yourself. 

Keep Practicing, Even When You’re Not Feeling Confident

Even when you’re not feeling confident, write anyway. It doesn’t have to be your best work. In fact, if it’s something that feels like garbage, that’s okay, too. We all do it, words don’t come out perfect, even for the best of us. That’s what editing is for.

You don’t even have to do anything with it. All the time you spend writing is making you a better writer. Practicing even when you’re not confident can sometimes (inadvertently) lead to some of the best work, which is sure to restore at least a little confidence. Remember - all you have to do is write. Everything else is peripheral.

My challenge to you is to try these tips when you need a confidence boost and let us know what works best for you!

Spooky Cookbook Author Bridget Thoreson Talks Recipes & Writing

Our October author is Bridget Thoreson.

Bridget Thoreson is a writer and booklover based in Brooklyn, New York. Her other books include XOXO: A Cocktail Book and consulting for Are You My Wine? Clearly, Bridget is very interested in drinking, eating, and pop culture.

If you’d like to purchase a copy of The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook, you can find it here.

Tell us a little about your writing journey. Have you always wanted to be a writer?

I always knew that I wanted to work with books and for a long time I thought I wanted to be a writer. Then, I started my career in books and the desire became more focused on helping other people write books.

Then, a couple of years ago my first book project came along, XOXO, A Cocktail Book: An Unofficial Gossip Girl Fan Book and I had so much fun writing that, the bug was reawakened!

What inspired you to put together your book The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook?

The film is all the inspiration I needed! I’ve always been a huge fan. But, the timing was inspired by the exciting news that, after almost 30 years, a sequel is coming out!

How did you choose the recipes to include? And do you have a favorite?

The recipes are all either based on people or events in the movie, or are classic fall comfort foods. Hocus Pocus is a Halloween film, but I didn't want to just make it about ghoulish Halloween foods like peeled grape eyeballs. I also wanted to capture the vibe of Salem at Halloween. So there are a lot of hearty stews and seasonal flavors.

My favorite recipe to eat is the Dead Man's Chungs (crab cake balls with a delicious remoulade sauce). I'm from Maryland, so crab cakes are always high on my list! I love baking, so the Brown Butter Boooook Blondies are another favorite.

What was the process like putting together a cookbook?

It definitely required a lot of organization. Since the cookbook's theme is a movie rather than a food category, I wanted to put a wide range of things in there--breakfast through dinner, drinks, sweets, etc.--and to organize it based on the movie themes.

I needed to make sure I had enough side dishes vs. entrees and enough alcoholic beverages vs. virgin ones. I also had to make sure each section had a good mix. So organization was key.

Describe your creative process.

My creative process changes depending on the project I'm working on. In general, I definitely do best when I have some space from the project. I suffer from blank page syndrome, so often what I'll do is a mind dump on the page--half-ideas, words, random notes--so that there's something there I can pull from and get the ideas flowing.

Then, I will step away, sometimes for days, and let those ideas bake. I'll think about it when I'm watching TV, or driving, or just laying on my bed staring at the ceiling. But I take the pressure of the document off. A lot of the best things I've written I wrote in my head first before I typed the words out.

What’s your biggest hope for this cookbook?

My biggest hope is that other members of the Hocus Pocus fan club will read it and get a chuckle out of the headnotes, or see a reference to a classic line they forgot about.

Or maybe use it as an excuse to watch the movie again, and introduce someone new to it!

What was your biggest writing obstacle and how you did you overcome it?

Blank page syndrome! It's hard to start such a big project. I didn't even start writing until I had a full brainstorming document of recipe ideas, important events and references, random phrases, etc. so I had something to pull from when I got stuck or needed inspiration.

What is the part of your published work or writing process you are most proud of?

Of this book, the parts I'm most proud of are the headnotes I wrote in verse. Each recipe has an introduction that relates to the movie. There are a couple I wrote in the same rhythm as the Sanderson Sisters' spells - that was very difficult to match the rhyming scheme and also have it make sense to the recipe, so I'm very proud of those!

Do you have any plans for another book or writing project? If so, could you tell us about them?

No set plans as of yet, but I’m always open to new projects and have my eyes open for them!

What motivates you to keep writing?

Fun projects on topics I’m passionate about!

What is the biggest piece of advice you would give to aspiring writers?

You don’t have to be published to be a writer. If you’ve written anything and want to be a writer, you are one. Identity is a huge part of our behavior, so if you identify as a writer, you will act like a writer.

If you’d like to purchase a copy of The Unofficial Hocus Pocus Cookbook, you can find it here.