Voting for next year’s panels, talks and convo’s, at South by Southwest, is now in full swing! SXSW, or “Spring Break/Camp for Geeks” as many of us lovingly refer to those 5-10 days, is one of my most favorite times a year, and I’m beyond thrilled to be a part of the actual conference, too! I’m up for two rad panels (and have linked to a few recommended panels, at the end of this post):

• Social Shopping: The Future of Selling Stuff Online
• Brand Your Friends: Social Asylum at SF Embassy

Below you can read about the talk that I’m giving, which will be structured very much like what SXSW calls a “core-convo”, even if it gets listed as a talk, because I’m a firm believer in the power of many minds and voices for the process of reflection and learning! It’s somewhat similar to talks I’ve done previously, but this one has a new twist. I’m really interested in thinking about how we’ll be buying and selling online in a few years from now, and am excited to discuss the topic in that realm, in addition to best practices for selling online today.

So, I would greatly appreciate it if you would take a minute to read through these, and if you like what you see, give me your thumbs up vote! I also welcome any comments, suggestions, questions, etc. Actually, if you can click through and add those right on the SXSW Panel Picker website, that’s best.

Social Shopping: The Future of Selling Stuff Online

Markets are conversations. As the web continues its neverending voyage toward Social, indie merchants must learn to engage and interact with their existing and future customers in new ways. The era of Social Shopping has begun, so get the info you need to stay ahead of the curve. Learn how to take advantage of the social web to help your indie business make more sales, connect with your community, and build devoted followers around the world. Perfect for small business owners, artists, crafters, musicians, authors and anyone else with something to sell.

1. What online tools make it easiest for your fans/customers to share your products throughout the web?
2. What is the Social Graph, and what does it mean for my independent business?
3. How can sellers use their online presence to reach a global audience?
4. How to create a network of support – both through your online social media networks, and with friends in your own city.
5. Beyond Twitter and Facebook, what online communities can add value to your brand?

Vote & Comment »

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Then, I’ve also been included on an awesome panel, based off our phenomenal SF Embassy experience earlier this year (SXSW’10). I’m really excited about this one (as well as SF Embassy ’11!), and truly honored to be a part of it alongside Gabe, James and Micah. My friends are rockstars. <3

Brand Your Friends: Social Asylum at SF Embassy

With a bag of one inch round buttons featuring San Francisco’s Sutro Tower and the promise of bacon and a band at brunch, the SF Embassy helped a couple hundred people form instant, powerful, trusted connections at last year’s SXSW. By branding a group of connected apartments in the madness of 6th Street as a place of social asylum, the SF Embassy gave this spontaneous community a framework to navigate the conference and their relationship with it and each other. Brand has played a powerful role in identifying and differentiating our communities for as long as we’ve had community. Increasingly, this identity is provided not by tribe or nation, but by lifestyle brands, technology companies, and rock bands. In this panel, we’ll explore the hunger for cultural identities unmediated by corporate interest, how the SF Embassy satiated that hunger for its citizens, and discuss how to apply several design patterns to strengthen ad hoc communities of all kinds. Towards the goal of creating a United Nations at SXSW, we’ll also provide downloadable templates and tools that you can use to establish your own embassy!

1. How are corporate and cultural branding different? What do they have in common?
2. What responsibility does a branded community have to make it’s intimacy gradient (how inclusive or exclusive it is) clear?
3. What came out of SF Embassy, both during the week of SXSW and in the year following?
4. What went horribly wrong?
5. How can I start my own embassy?

Vote & Comment »

Lastly, I want to tip you off to a few others I’m really looking forward to attending. Note, however, this is just a start, and a running list, as I still need to take the time to do some scouring. Therefore, feel free to give me a heads up on ones you think I should see! Post a link in the comments, or tweet @ me & I’ll check em out.

• Are Your Customers a Crowd or a Community?
  There is no better person to speak on this topic than the loving, darling, and “community cultivator” Thomas Knoll.
• Agile Ain’t Just For Developers: Agile People Manifesto
  Two great friends (one of them is my NBFF/Canadian Husband, Jay!) & incredible minds in the field of HR and managing/cultivating successful teams.
• Abolish The Hourly: How Value Pricing Wins Clients
  As a freelancer for 8+ years, I can relate to this one!! Right on, Lee.
• The Future of E-Commerce (Spoiler Alert: It’s Social)
  This is my friend Jon‘s talk, and while it may seem similar to mine, he’s got an AWESOME lineup of panelists joining him (to be announced soon). His viewpoints take on a more grand scale view of the innovation we’ll be seeing in the technology behind e-commerce. I’m excited to hear what they all have to say.
• Empowering Conscientious Consumers: Take the Power Back
  Jon’s wife, Janette, is also doing a talk… and this one is one that is close to my heart! My eco-friendly, organic-loving, let’s-change-the-world hippy heart! :)
• Love Can Pay The Bills
  Not only am I new fan of Evernote, I’m fascinated with the premise of Freemium. So going to this!
• Everything You Wanted to Know About Launching Websites
  Jay Goldman has been in this industry for so long (seriously, read his bio), making waves on everything from design to coding to management & HR… this is going to be super informative for anyone looking to hear what you need to know for a successful launch.

Bah, there’s so many more, I know – sorry for those I’ve missed – but I’m running out the door & want to get this posted. Again, please post a link in the comments, or tweet @ me with a heads up on ones you think I should see, and I’ll gladly check em out.

Thanks in advance, my friends! I’m excited to see you all in Austin for another year of making mistakes. Um, I mean, memories. :)

p.s. Seasoned SXSWers, you might also be interested in the other post I wrote (aka ranted) today, The Evolution of SXSW & the Hive Mind. I’d love to hear your comments and perspectives on that one (after you go read/vote on the panels above, of course. ;)

Seven years, two businesses…
For the last six months I’ve been looking back at all that I have learned running my own business(es) over the last 7 years.

I started my first business almost by accident, after being laid off from my last “real” job in 2003, where I worked for 3 years as the Lead Web/Flash/Graphic Designer, at a small firm in Potrero Hill. Wasting no time in the few weeks after I got the news, I quickly put together a quick website and business cards to launch WilloToons Baby, offering custom wall painting for nurseries and playrooms. However, it wasn’t long before I started getting inquiries to do freelance Web & Graphic Design, and next thing I knew I had a full client load.

The years to follow were full of a lot of great experience. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some great clients; designing & launching sites for both small and large organizations. I learned valuable skills around managing projects, timelines and client expectations. I hired developers, copywriters and did all my own bookkeeping. And I learned a lot around managing my time, and maintaining a healthy work/life balance. (Raise your hand if you relate to that one. A common side effect of being a passionate, driven person, I suppose, but I feel like I could write a whole book on it! :)

However, after a few years, I started thinking, what’s next? I really didn’t want to start my own design firm, but instead – for as long as I could remember – I’d been wanting to do something more with my illustrations. So, in May, 2007 I dove in to do just that: designing, producing and launching WilloToons – my super fun product line of tees, onesies & bibs (that since then has developed into greeting cards, jewelry, totes & more) – where geek meets rock ‘n roll! [Note: If you're interested in reading about this transition, check out my launch post or my mission/vision post.]

Up until then, most of my professional experience had been in services, but I was ready to learn… and boy, did I! The last three years I have learned a LOT about product development, e-commerce, marketing, Quickbooks & bookkeeping, inventory management, COGS, cashflow, customer service, you name it! And honestly, while I could have done a lot of things differently (read: better/smarter/faster) in hindsight, I feel like I’ve been fairly successful, given my means and experience prior to diving in. I feel grateful that in this time I have met friends, and gained happy customers and fans, all around the globe. It’s provided me the opportunity to step into more speaking roles, sharing what I have learned, and consulting other crafters and small business owners in everything from how to get their business online, to marketing through social media, crafting your community, and to some of the more philosophical and psychological realms of being a small business owner (yes, this is another area I could write a whole book on :).

It’s not you, it’s me…
WilloToons has been my baby over the last 3 years, and I’m really proud of all that it’s become, but I’m at this place now–7+ years in, owning and running two fairly successful businesses–where I have some options. I’ve actually been wrestling with this decision for almost a year, really. Because, while I still haven’t seen WilloToons to the full potential I see in my vision, I’ve also learned what it would take to realize that vision. Therefore, causing me to seriously reevaluate if this is even the business that I want to continue growing. I mean, I of course still love illustration and design, I’ve just started feeling like there’s more I can do with ALL of my skills.

It’s kind of like that point in a relationship where you’re like, “sure, we could try to work on this… but I think we both know we need a break.” It’s been rather difficult to get clear on that. Like any relationship, I want to work on it. I don’t want to give up on it, but instead I want to do everything I can to know that I’ve taken responsibility for my part in all of it, and get clear on what it would take to make it better, or to know (really KNOW) that it’s best to just let it go.

Now, I’m not saying I’m letting go of WilloToons at all, which I think has been a big scary thought in this process for me. WilloToons is a part of me! I am WilloToons! :p But, thankfully the store runs itself for the most part right now (with big thanks to my Merchandise Manager, Jen!), and I have a relatively steady stream of client work that comes my way, so I’ve sort of had the luxury of doing this soul searching. I knew one thing was for sure though, just like in any relationship, figuring out what was best for me, meant taking care of myself first. And that, for me, is all about getting back to my creativity. My source. I want to get back to designing, creating, and giving birth to new ideas. I’ve needed to for a long time now, but as any creative in business knows, it can be hard to do that while you’re busy keeping all the plates spinning!

So, over the last few months I’ve been REALLY digging in to look deeper at what I want. For one, after juggling SO MUCH over the last 7 years, I’ve really felt called to unplug a bit more. Since I’d been feeling lost and stuck, instead of allowing myself to stay there, I decided I wanted to flip my life on it’s head, shake it up a bit and see what wanted to rattle out. A big part of this has been clearing and making way for the new to come through. First and foremost, decluttering and refreshing my wonderful little home, that I’ve lived in for these last 7 years, and worked out of for the first 5. Which even included getting rid of my TV, and all the habits that surrounded having that in my space, in order to transform my living room into more of an art studio… huzzah!

So much happened exactly 7 years ago, that has led me into my life as I know it right now… that I think mostly I’ve had to really allow myself to release who I have been – my identity – and how I have let this time, and these businesses, define who I am. I have *reveled* in owning my own business, and launching my dream! I mean, so awesome, right? Aren’t I living the dream, of what so many people in Corporate America™ wish they were doing? So how could this be not enough for me anymore? These are all rhetorical, mind you, but you can imagine what a rollercoaster it’s been trying to make heads or tales of it. All I knew was I just kept hearing my mind say, “I want to be a part of something bigger.”

Well, thankfully these last few weeks have *finally* brought some clarity… YES!! And the answer? Waaaaait for it…

I want to be a part of something BIGGER!
That’s what it comes down to. I have accumulated SO many awesome skills over the last 7 years and I have SO much to offer now more than ever! I have done this. I have worked on my own and experienced developing and running a business two businesses, giving me experience in both services and products; I’ve managed my time, clients, and employees; I am passionate & motivated, and not afraid (in fact, downright good at) working hard to make something happen, and I want to be a part of a team!

So, over the weekend, I started getting even clearer on what this means for me. Here are some of the questions I have been asking myself:

What does it mean (to me) to “be a part of something bigger?”

• I see so many of my friends, whom I respect so much, accepting positions or starting companies that are developing products on the cutting edge. The tech space has changed SO much over the last few years, and in my opinion is truly more exciting than ever!
• I want to work and learn from other business owners, and professionals who compliment my skills.
• I want to have the means to hire and manage a rockstar team.
• I want my creativity and all that I have to offer to reach a larger population.
• My WilloToons’ mission is to celebrate individuality and expression, so how can I do that on a larger scale?

What are the qualities that are important to me, in feeling good about working with another team or company?

• Forward thinking
• Social/economical awareness
• Environmental awareness
• Fun, easy going people, with healthy communication
• An understanding around what it takes to build a smart team. i.e. Building a team where members are encouraged to work within their strengths

What skills come naturally to me?

• If I look at the last few years in this business, I think one of the most rewarding aspects has been helping people. Through my speaking engagements, teaching, consulting and connecting people… it’s what comes so naturally to me! I love offering perspective to other creatives and small business owners, sharing my process, mentoring and giving tips on how they can make money, develop their community, step into their creativity. I’ve loved helping my clients; I enjoy the communication, knowing that I’m making their lives/businesses easier (not to mention prettier!), and helping them position themselves for success.
• Design & illustration (of course), but now even on a broader scale, with creative direction & strategy. I’m a natural problem solver, big idea thinker, and rapid implementer. In addition to the joy I’ve experienced designing my own site/shop & product line, I’ve taken great pride in working with my clients, designing and developing their vision, and consulting them through the various phases of growing their business.

What am I most passionate about in business? aka What do I have to offer?

• Excellence in Design & Usability
• Awareness and Experience in Social Commerce
• Big Vision & Creative Direction
• Developing Strategy for Implementation
• Marketing, Community, Communication, Connection, Promotion
• Management: Client, Team & Product

Now, how can I wrap all of that up into my next step?
Honestly, I’m not quite sure where all of this is going to take me, but, being the excitable, positive person that I am, you can bet I’m on the edge of my seat! :)

I envision myself being a part of a core team. So, whether that means I’ll be starting up another company of my own, or joining a company at the ground floor (or close to it), I’m really looking forward to being able to really have an impact, utilizing my strengths and passion for the ultimate good of a great product or service. I’ve been talking to some friends, and we brainstormed a few things. Even that it might be a good idea to talk to some of our friends who are investors, or on Boards of startups who have the business, finance and tech aspects figured out, but need more creative direction. Who knows, but I’m putting it out there, and I’m ready!

Thanks so much for those taking the time to read this, and so many of you who have been with me on every step of these adventures thus far. I feel incredibly grateful for every single one of my friends and supporters out there, so seriously, thank you. I’d love to hear if you feel I’m missing anything in all of the above, or if while reading it you had a vision for what you see me doing with all that I have to offer. I’m looking forward to taking this next step, and you know I’ll be sharing it with you… that’s what I do! :)

I was so stoked when Leslie Henkel, curator of Tom Tom Magazine’s new feature series, “Crash Crash Craft!” contacted me to do an interview & feature, all about my rock squirrel design!

Crash Crash Craft features spectacular crafts made by and/or for female drummers.
How fantastic is that?! \m/

Leslie’s interview was one of the most entertaining I’ve done, with questions like, “Is Rock Squirrel going to steal my brownies or gank my beer if I let him/her crash at my pad?” Ha!

A few of you probably didn’t even know that my partial* inspiration for rock squirrel was because I used to play the drums, huh? True story! *Partial because the other part can just be blamed on liking small cute creatures.

Anyway, read all about my short time behind a kit, and much more in the interview posted on the Tom Tom Magazine site!

Thanks so much, Leslie & Mindy… you girls rock!

» View All Press & Interviews

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And, yes, I did edit the image above, it’s not supposed to look that way on the site.
Signed, the Designer in me.

I’m delighted to report I’ve been invited to speak again at this year’s Summit of Awesome!

Last year’s Summit (the first one!) was held in Washington D.C., and I led a talk, with Danielle Maveal of Etsy Success/Virtual Labs, called “What’s a Social Network and How to use it for Good.”

• Read my announcement post & 2009′s talk details here »
• Here’s the wrap-up post, with photos, too »

This year’s Summit, however, is coming to the West Coast… wooo! Just over a month away, it will be held in Portland, OR., from June 16-18th, 2010, at McMenamins Kennedy School. I am thrilled I’ll be surrounded by so many talented, like-minded crafters & speakers! Plus it’s just a few days before my birthday… fun!

The details & official descriptions on all of the talks/workshops haven’t been posted yet – however, registration is now open! This year, I am confirmed to speak twice, on the following topics:

• Accepting Credit Cards
  In this talk, I will share what I have learned through both accepting credit cards online, on my shop, as well as being a beta tester for the raved-about & in-high-demand Square, which is an adapter for mobile phones, enabling anyone to not only accept credit cards on the go, but get a swipe/imprint of the card, too! I’m really excited about this talk, as I’ll be able to bring a few of the devices with me, enabling the crafters present to sign up & get started on the spot! Read all of the posts I’ve written about my experience using Square »

Speaking of Square, it deserves to be noted that *just today* they officially launched, and it’s now open to the public! They released clients for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Android devices, and are sending out their first batch of free card readers. So exciting… congrats, guys!!

UPDATE: I’ll now be speaking with my awesome friend & fabulous crafter, Caitlin of Rebound Designs! Our official course description, we just submitted today:

Mobile credit card options
Learn the ins and outs of accepting credit cards at craft shows, or anywhere! We will discuss the pros and cons of integrating credit card processing into your bookkeeping process, handling chargebacks, and more. Various mobile credit card processors will be reviewed, including PayPal, ProPay, and the new in-high-demand Square. We will even have few Square devices there, enabling Summit of Awesome crafters to sign up & get started on the spot!

The second talk I’ll be a part of is one that I’ve done a few times before, and I really enjoy:

• Using Social Media To Grow, Market and Sell Your Product or Service
  Sounds like I’ll be co-leading this with Richard Fox of DIY Lounge, too… awesome! Here’s the summary:
  “With all the social media websites and services out there, it can be daunting to pinpoint which ones are the most effective for marketing your products or services. In this call, you’ll learn what it means to develop and engage with your community both online and off, as well as the best practices for each.”

I’m really looking forward to it! I learn so much every time I’m around fellow business owners and crafters/creatives. If you are called to learn more about how you can make a living from your passion or craft, register and join us!

Ooh, and it is worth mentioning, for those of you into this type of conference, there are two other really cool ones coming up soon, too:

• The Illustration Conference, July 14-17, 2010, in LA
• Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs, August 13-15, 2010, in Seattle

I’m hoping to go to at least one of those, if not both! :D

Are you going to any of these? Or do you have any questions, as a small business owner or crafter, that you would love to learn more about at a conference like these? Let me know in the comments. :)

I just added Facebook’s new Like button to both my product pages & blog posts. Pretty cool, I gotta say!

For my shop, since I use Shopify, I was able to find a helpful tip in the Shopify forums & it worked like a charm! Then, to add the like button to my blog posts, which are powered by WordPress, I found this helpful post/code. But there’s also an easy plugin, too (although FYI I haven’t tried that).

The cool thing is that you can also post a widget showing the recent activity. So, here’s some of the most recent activity from people liking products in the WilloToons shop:

And here’s posts that have been recently liked on the WilloToons blog:

If you could, maybe go like some of your favorite products & blog posts so these don’t look so empty. (haha, as I publish this, the blog one is empty, besides one like from me – hope to see a few more in there soon! :p)

My integrating all of this, this morning, was somewhat inspired by seeing this site Likebutton.me, which Maya (@mbaratz) posted a link to this morning. Thanks, lady! On that site you can even add other sites on the fly to see their recent activity. Man, all this technology… it’s like MAGIC!!

What do you all think of this?
I sort of threw them on (and should really get outside & enjoy the sunshine!!), but – for example – on the product pages, I used to have the “Share This” & “Add to Universal Wishlist” buttons located down below the photo thumbnails on the left. But, after adding the Like button, it seemed too hidden down there. So I mocked it up to have them all be right aligned under the add to cart button (see image below)… but couldn’t get the FB iFrame content to do that. I’m sure it’s doable, but in the interest of actually leaving my house today, I decided to just go with the left aligned.

Here’s a mockup of how I wanted it to look (props to my awesome friend Wes for being on IM with me & giving me feedback. AND ordering his first eat. sleep. rock. repeat. organic t-shirt!!)

I’d love to hear any & all feedback. My one concern is that it might be slowing down my site more. There’s optimization stuff like that I could use help with (I largely do all this myself, and I guarantee it’s not the best way! :p) So I’d love to hear what some of you smarter-than-me peeps think. Both from a visual and code POV.

Lastly, thanks SOO much to those of you who saw my tweets this morning & have already been pushing those like buttons! You’re THE BEST!! <3 <3

We’re having a huge sale in the WilloToons shop! Not just any sale, but a huge, bring the house down, clear out the closets, make room for new inventory, SALE.

We can’t wait to bring you more organic items and some new designs (yes, really!) but we need room for them. To make that happen, we’re giving you the best pricing we’ve ever offered on many of our baby onesies and selected adult tees. We’re talking onesies as low as $10 and adult tees as low as $12! Head on over to the store to pick up some goodies now. Hurry because the sale is for a limited time and quantities are limited!

While you’re there, don’t forget that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. We’ve got a ton of new jewelry in the store as well as our delightful, perfect for Valentine’s Day, Bacon Lover greeting cards. What says love more than bacon??

All single item jewelry orders are only $2 shipping and
FREE Shipping for all orders over $50!
(these are domestic rates only, but we ship internationally, too!)

Sometimes it’s hard to decide just what to buy that special someone… so let them pick out their favorites!

A WilloToons Gift Certificate is a great idea for when you just can’t decide what to get. Let the recipient decide if they want a sassy t-shirt or a pretty new pair of earrings.

Our gift certificates are available in email format – perfect for last minute shopping! Send us the recipient’s name and we’ll email you an attachment to forward on to the recipient or print out and give to them.

We’re looking forward to an awesome 2010 with all of you, with new and exciting happenings at WilloToons. Stay tooned!

I’m leading a workshop here in San Francisco, called “Using Social Media to Grow Your Fashion Business.” I did this workshop once last year, and it was a lot of fun, so I’m looking forward to presenting it again in a few weeks! Keep in mind you don’t have to have a fashion business per say for this information to be relevant.

Details:

There is a lot of talk about the importance of integrating a social media campaign into your marketing and sales strategy! Come learn how to navigate and sort through all of the social media sites and figure out which ones you should invest your valuable time and efforts on.   In this workshop will learn how to build and engage your community and create increased product awareness.

Topics will include:

• Creative, low cost marketing strategies
• Maximizing your network to test or launch a new product
• Increasing online sales
• The importance and value of maintaining authentic communication with your community

Presenter: Willo O’Brien moved to San Francisco at the dawn of the first Internet bubble and has spent the last decade building long-lasting friendships with the entrepreneurs and trendsetters of the Internet 2.0 phenomenon. Her experience in social networking has fueled the success of her business as a designer, illustrator and music lover who turned her lifelong passion into a fun, eco-conscious gift line: WilloToons.com – where geek meets rock ‘n roll.

Using Social Media to Grow Your Fashion Business
Tuesday, March 2nd
6pm – 8:30pm

The Art Institute of California
1130 Market Street
10 UN Building
4th Floor
San Francisco

Cost: $35/$20 for FBI members
Register: Click Here!

View Event Information on the Fashion Business, Inc website

RSVP on Facebook!

Hey pals! I’m so excited for Austin this year… and it’s coming up fast!

If you’re attending SXSWi this March, you can click the links below and add our core-convo’s to your schedule:

• SXSW SARS

  Friday, March 12 @ 2pm
  Core-conversation led by Jay Goldman & myself (Willo O’Brien)

  Add to my.sxsw
  Add to Sched

  Each year at SXSW, you hear about “SXSW SARS” or “SXSW Scurvy.” Days packed with panels, movies, and concerts are exhausting and wear down your immune system. Learn some ways in which you can prepare for, and stay clear of getting sick at SXSW.

  UPDATE: Take our survey about staying healthy at SXSW!
  (or whilst traveling to any conference)
  Here’s a link to a tweet to RT, too, if you please.

• Snappy Strategies for Selling Art & Craft Online: Part Deux

  Tuesday, March 16 @ 11am
  Core-conversation led by Rebecca Marshall & myself (Willo O’Brien)

  Add to my.sxsw
  Add to Sched

  More people than ever are starting their own art/craft businesses or supplementing their income with passion projects and, as always, technology rises to meet the challenge. Even as the economy worsens, our passions strengthen! Come discuss all the online tools and creative strategies that can help you sell your work online.

  Listen to our audio clip about this convo on the GetCrafty site!

As per usual, I’ll be there for both Interactive & Music. Looking forward to reuniting all my kick ass friends from around the globe, and meeting new fabulous faces, too!

Sorry for the build-up on this news. I didn’t mean to make it such a big deal, but it IS an exciting move in my world, I just had to notify a few specific people before telling the internets. You all are so incredibly darling for being interested and so supportive. I truly, truly <3 my internet friends!

So, the “big move” is exactly that… WilloToons HQ has moved offices. The short story is that I was in the Renaissance Center last year, and now I’m working out of the Irata Labs office (which I expound upon more in the last 1/2 of this post). Now, this might not mean a thing to the rest of you, but in my life, it’s kind of a big deal… and, for those of you interested, I’ll happily detail why. :)

But first, a little background for those who don’t know me, or my story, that well:

I spent six years, working from home, doing freelance custom illustration and web/graphic design*, and while I loved working out of my house, my office was in my bedroom. Which, probably goes without saying, made it that much harder to create any kind of work/life balance. I launched WilloToons, my product line, in 2007, which meant I went from juggling one business, to two. Including storing inventory and shipping orders out of my garage**.

* I’ve pretty much let go of my freelance design business, but still take on small web/graphic design jobs + custom illustration work for cash flow.

** I now have a rockstar Merchandise Manager, Jen, who stores & ships all my inventory (among many other helpful tasks)

My First Office
In the fall of 2008, I was approached by the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center and awarded one of the few grants they had available, from the Mayor’s Office of Community Development Women’s Grant Program. This enabled me to enroll myself, and WilloToons, into RenCenter’s year-long Incubator Program. This program included office space in their SOMA location, as well as one-on-one consultation with business, marketing and finance professionals. As you can imagine, I was beyond thrilled! I’m very business-minded, and an entrepreneur no doubt, but the truth of the matter is I’m an artist. Meaning, I can use all the business guidance I can get! :)

Also, starting a company can feel really isolating and overwhelming. I am fortunate that I had (and have) a lot of really amazing, supportive friends… but at the end of the day, it’s me bootstrapping it all and having to figure out what move to make next. Granted, that is the task I’ve taken on by owning my own company(s), but doesn’t lessen the immeasurable benefit of having solid advisement from friends and business professionals.

For the first year (2007-2008) I worked my butt off promoting WilloToons – learning from every transaction and experience, collecting data, brainstorming new ideas, defining and re-defining my vision – all the while still taking on clients for my design business, but found it harder & harder to juggle both. Becoming involved with the RenCenter at the end of 2008, and starting the year with my offices there in January 2009, I decided to let go of my design business even more and “get serious” about WilloToons. This involved taking their Business Planning course and – finally, 2 years in to my business – writing a business, marketing and expansion plan, drafting up financial projections, and putting a framework around how I wanted to see my business grow and what it was going to take to get there. I have mixed feelings on if doing a plan is absolutely essential for every business (as many have done just fine without), but it’s an excellent exercise and taught me a LOT nonetheless. Plus, at minimum I need the financial projections for any fund-raising or small business loans.

I’d have to say one of the best, best, BEST parts of it all was having an office outside of my house! My bedroom is now just my bedroom (I have space on both sides of the bed… huzzah!), and the fact that I’m able to occasionally leave my laptop, and therefore work, at the office, and just enjoy my space/time at home is nothing short of dreamy. :) This transition alone has created so much more peace of mind this past year. And, as a small business owner, peace of mind is gold.

2009 started off with a bang! And while it was a difficult year overall, I have a lot to be grateful for. The support and consultation of the professionals I met through the classes, workshops and individual sessions at the Renaissance Center were life changing, and I am so grateful to know these resources are available moving forward. I sincerely think one of the biggest challenges we face in business – or even life in general – is learning how to ask for help. We have all these amazing minds around us all the time, and so much of it is just knowing what questions to ask, and being willing to receive support.

Making the Move
I actually didn’t think I was going to move offices, but as the year was ending, so was the end of my year-long grant. Which meant, in order for me to stay, I was going to need to re-up my enrollment into the incubator, which meant providing them with my financials, P&Ls, and paying rent. I had a choice. I mean, if I was going to be actually paying rent, I had the option of where that office would be. I certainly didn’t want to move my office back into my house, but as a business owner, I had to consider the additional monthly overhead rent was going to add to my already tight (bootstrapped) cash flow situation, and had to make a decision.

Thankfully, as I was trying to figure out what to do, I was chatting about it with my friend Chris, and he mentioned how much space there is in his office at Irata Labs, and that while he couldn’t promise it would be long term, we could arrange for me to have my office here for awhile. YAY! (Actually, Chris will tell you it wasn’t quite that easy. We seem to have a pattern where he offers up his help, and me and my independent (stubborn?) self doesn’t allow myself to receive, and next thing you know it’s in the 9th hour & I realize I *do* need his help, and he’s magically there for me. Heh. *sigh* I love my friends. And yes, I’m trying to work on that whole asking for help/receiving thing a bit more. :)

Moving into the RenCenter was a big move, so my moving on from there, in to another office space, is just as great in my book. I think this one feels especially big, too, because it actually marks me having my *2nd* office ever. One where *I* made the choice. And, BEST OF ALL, I’m with my awesome friends! I am so stoked.

I now work in an office with my super good friends, Chris & Keith (and Ben, who I’m just getting to know). Keith (@dkr), in particular, has been a friend for years, AND he’s a badass, creative designer (not to mention great taste in music), so I’m thrilled to be working near him. I was telling them both yesterday, “I am with my people!” :p Plus, I’m all excited about this new location (2nd & Harrison), because I’m near South Park and have a TON of great friends who work around here:

• My awesome TicketFly peeps: Ali, Amy, Marianne, and founders Dan & Fraser (who were my clients at TicketWeb!)
• Susan Wu, who is a rockstar CEO I met initially through CFC in ’08, but recently reconnected with (thanks to Randy), and we had an awesome business meeting. I’m THRILLED on her business guidance… and it’s been such an incredible reminder for me to tap into the amazing brains I’m surrounded by (and not just dine & have drinks with them, but actually seriously sit down & talk business :)
• Citizen Space is right downstairs, where my good friends work: Hillary, Seth and occasionally Thomas, just to name a few. AND this is conveniently where I host my Church of Craft monthly meetings (this month is most likely going to be there January 24th… get on the list if you want to join)! Oh, and coincidentally, Irata Labs is actually in the space where Citizen Space used to be! So I’d been here many times already.
• South Park awesomeness, including being able to eat lunch in the park, meet friends for lunch, and take part in all of the awesome SF street food carts that frequent this area! Most notably @banhmai, my friend Mai‘s Vietnamese sandwiches that I’ve yet to try. Update: Oh yes, AND The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen, who is Heidi from my business planning class… they’re opening up soon just a few blocks away. Yum!

The move happened pretty fast, and yet totally felt right. I love it when that happens. After meeting with Susan on Friday, I stopped by to say hi to Chris & Keith, and saw once again how cavernous this office is, and realized how completely easy and great it would be to work out of here. I made a call to my friend Brian, who recently offered me to share some of his storage space, and asked him if I could store my desk & a few other things I wouldn’t need to bring with me, and he said he could help Saturday… so literally less than 24 hours later, I was moved!

Alright, I could go on & on, as I have a few points I want to expand on, wrapping up some of the other amazing things that happened in 2009, as well as discussing my plans for the new year, but let’s publish this bad boy once & for all.

Thank you all again SO much for your interest, support and friendship. Some days I feel like the luckiest girl in the world, and having you all in my life – as a part of my amazing community, both online, and locally – is truly what keeps me going. Group hug! And for you locals, let’s do lunch in South Park soon. :)

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