10/365: Another lazy day ahead. James gets to play XBox 360 while I play online and do some work in-between.

9/365: Today was a lazy day. James had to work so I just chilled out at home and wasted far too much time online. Thankfully, the day wasn’t totally unproductive. I eventually pulled it together and responded to emails, cleaned the condo and finished a knitting project. When James got home he made me hot chocolate. Seems fitting that a little love heart formed (see inside the mug near to the handle) within it.

8/365: Lunch today was leftover chicken curry from last night. I always thought dishes liked this tasted better the next day but not this time. It was good nonetheless and much better than my usual quick fix of a sandwich or cereal.

7/365: James and I are making more of an effort to get out and about this winter. I have a habit of hibernating at this time of the year. So going for a walk everyday most days is becoming a ritual I look forward to. I was sorry to see the snow fall we had earlier this week was melting. Come back!

6/365: Today was just one of those awesome days that required a wee bit of celebrating. As James and I headed out to indulge in a few drinks we got immersed in the rush hour traffic that can be found at Yonge & Dundas.

5/365: Still feeling mentally clouded today so I went for a walk with James to clear my head. We had the most beautiful of snow falls all day long and while the high traffic areas where covered in dirty slush, within the parks it was easy to find undisturbed beauty.

4/365: Exhaustion + headache + an achy body called for a low key day around here. While the day itself appeared to be on fast forward, I spent much of it feeling mentally clouded and at a stand still. At times like this, I’m thankful I can set my own work hours.

In honor of my Project 365 endeavors, it seemed only fitting that this week’s Etsy Hunt showcased the work of photographers I admire.

1. Autographic by f2images 2. American In Paris by Kristybee 3.Vintage Photos, Military Honors by sadieolive 4. County Fair by urbandesign
5. Lemon Still by kristinenoel 6. Camera Love by LolasRoom 7. Fall Morning by Kristybee
Images © of their respective owners.

We all have our comfort zones in life and let’s face it, they can be nice places to reside, but what about in business? Do comfort zones have a place in business? Or do they simply hinder our professional growth?

Comfort Zone
Definition: an environment or situation in which a person feels secure or at ease; also figuratively, an established lifestyle in which a person feels comfortable as long as there is no drastic change
Dictionary.com

After living in my professional comfort zones last year for longer than I care to admit, for the most part, I believe they are a hindrance. Some might argue that a comfort zone in business is finding your niche, sticking with that niche and not exploring others. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Depends on your business goals and other factors. However, for today, I’m just going to talk about comfort zones that you need to run beyond. The ones holding you back.

The reality is, when you step outside of your comfort zone once, you’ll find yourself wanting to take more steps down new and exciting paths. Essentially, your expanding your comfort zone and causing a ripple effect. Here’s how…

For me, the first step outside of my comfort zone will be getting my wholesale division up and running. In 2009, I approached this project intermittently, often putting it down after a day or two. There were many reasons but the main one was fear. Would retailers buy my projects? Was my line-sheet and catalogue professional enough? Did I have enough products? Would I be able to handle the orders? How would I handle invoicing? The questions where endless and perhaps if I’m honest with myself, just served as great excuses to stick where I was – in my comfort zone.

The matter of the fact is, I won’t know until I try. I can’t leave my business in the hands of the “what ifs”. It’s my job to steer it. Of course, I’m not saying that one should jump right in to things with the blinders on and hope for the best. Some planning has to be done and certain structures put in place. However, sometimes you have to leave things to the unknown because you won’t find the answers until you truly ask the question and that can mean taking a walk to the other side.

Funnily enough, I was chatting with Jan DiCintio of Daisy Janie yesterday regarding wholesaling and here’s some advice she gave me…

“Try not to get too hung up on the precedent-setting nature of how you handle your first forays into wholesale – if you do, you’ll miss out! I know I did – I got so worked up about everything being just so that I often missed the window of opportunity.”

This mindset can be applied to many areas in business (and life!) and here’s what she went on to say later that is equally relevant…

“So many times we feel our presentation to the world has to be so perfect and impressive that we waste valuable time getting ourselves out there. Like… my logo’s not good enough, my website isn’t right, my photography looks horrible… and while it definitely is a good idea to have these things look good and properly branded, sometimes we set the bar so high for ourselves that we never get over it!”

This advice was just what I needed. Sometimes you need to reach out to others and simply learn from their experiences. Often, you may hear what you already know, but sometimes you don’t truly hear it until someone else says it. Again, this can mean stepping outside of your comfort zone.

Now, here’s where I think the ripple effect comes in. Deep down, I’m confident retailers will respond to my product offering positively. If I wasn’t, then really, what the hell am I doing here? Do I believe that once I see a “return” on my wholesale adventure I’ll have the confidence to expand my product line? Yes! Do I believe order fulfillment will eventually lead to production outsourcing? Yes! Do I believe the increased revenue will allow me to explore other business ideas outside of paper goods? Yes!

Guess what? All these answers mean I’m successfully adhering to my business plan. My goals. My hopes for modernemotive. And all I had to do was step outside of my comfort zone. Of course, I don’t expect it to be easy. I’m sure I’ll be stepping on the “roller-coaster” of business many times. But this time, this year, I’m going to sit back, let my hair blow in the wind and scream in excitement. I’m ready for the ride.

Now, my question to you is… what are you going to do to step outside of your comfort zone this year?

November and December of 2009 were a total blur to me. My shop was the busiest it has ever been, for which of course I’m thankful for, but come late December I was thoroughly burnt out. Every waking moment was dedicated to working and I simply needed to decompress. I think when you work for yourself, or have a busy life in general, it’s quite easy to forget the small things that bring you pleasure. For me, one of those things is knitting. Aside from a few projects here and there, I didn’t pick up my needles much in 2009 and with the yarn stash that I have (trust me, it’s ridiculous), I need to start making a major dent in it pronto.

As a result, I’ve finished quite a few projects recently – one scarf and 3 hats to be exact. While admittedly I’ve worn the hats already without weaving in the ends, that’s all that remains to be done on them.

Being a little selfish, all the projects I started were for me. So over the weekend, I cast on something for James which is aptly named The Boyfriend Hat. He’s happy.

What small things bring you pleasure? And more importantly, do you remind yourself to slow down and experience them when life demands you do otherwise?

3/365: After spending most of the last 48 hours indoors, both James and I were hit with cabin fever. While still not the warmest of evenings, we ventured out anyway and found refuge in a pub on Church Street. Sadly, the homeless chap we chatted with that evening didn’t have the same luxury. Hopefully the few dollars we gave him, plus the hot coffee, helped a little.

2/365: Today was as cold as could be and resulted in a severe weather alert for Toronto. Besides venturing outside for the weekly groceries, the rest of the day was spent indoors in our PJs playing XBox 360, watching movies, working on knitting projects (for me) and then ended with a lovely roasted chicken dinner made by James. My contribution to dinner was some homemade fruit filled (read: strawberry jam) oatmeal bars topped with some good old English custard, albeit rather lumpy custard, but oh well.

1/365: January 1st, 2010, delivered the first real snowfall for Toronto. So, James and I hit the street for a nice walk as it fell. Don’t you just love walking outdoors as the snow falls from the sky? It was quite lovely to see everything covered in a blanket of white.

Along with a new blog, I’m also introducing some new weekly features. While I don’t want to structure my blog too much, I do want to bring a little more focus to it. Here’s what I have in store.

Green Motive
If you’ve been reading my blog since early last year, you may remember this series. Well, it’s coming back. Originally, one of my intentions for this blog was to provide regular content to promote more eco-friendly choices in both life and business. So, not only will I be interviewing other eco-friendly designers, I also hope to share tips, DIY tutorials and much more.

This Self-Employed Life
This series is probably the one I’m most excited about. Self-employment isn’t the easier of careers to choose and last year was a huge roller-coaster of ups and downs for me. That ride often resulted in lack of focus and a scramble to just do something. I’m hoping to steer myself differently in 2010 and I want this journey captured – the good and the bad.

I also have interviews planned with others that are self-employed, as well as guest posts with business advice and more.

Etsy Hunt
Another series I’m bringing back that I originally started in 2009. It’s simply a showcase of beautiful handmade goods I’ve discovered on Etsy.

Project 365
You’ve probably heard about this project over on Flickr or elsewhere, so I’m sure it’s needs no introduction. Basically, I want to capture my life, because if I’m honest, I barely have any photographic recollection of it. It’s kind of sad really. So, being able to look back on a whole year, day by day, kind of excites me and of course, it’ll also force me to become more comfortable with my camera.

The only thing that I’ll be doing differently is posting my photos weekly (every Sunday) rather than everyday. I think Project 365 comes with enough pressure as it is (trust me, I found even the first 2 days hard), so I thought a weekly post to document each day of week was more feasible. Also, I kind of like the fact it’ll take on a journal feel as I plan on writing a brief description about each photo and how it related to that particular day.

What do you think? My goal is to bring more valuable insights and content to those that read my blog. I hope this does the trick.

A new year. A new decade. A new start. A new blog.

Where’s the old blog you say? It’s gone. Deleted forever. I went back and forth on whether I should archive it elsewhere but my desire to start fresh was too strong. So, welcome to the new blog for modernemotive. This quick redesign is just the start, so please bear with me as I iron out the kinks and add new features. I’ve got lots of new content planned, as well as new directions for my life and business, so I hope you’ll come along for a ride.

Here’s to 2010. I hope it’s a beautiful year for all.