6 Guidelines for How to Set Achievable Goals

It’s that time of year where we dream of all the things we’re going to accomplish in 2017. We love to dream BIG dreams of getting in the best shape of our lives, traveling the world, and building our businesses into six-figure success stories.

I, too, am a big dreamer. I lie awake at night thinking of all the things I want to accomplish in my business. I then lie awake stressing out about how much time it will take and how little time I have.

All of our BIG dreams are 100% attainable, but they can seem overwhelming when you don’t have a plan for how to reach them.

I personally like to break my goals up into categories: health + fitness, business, spiritual + emotional, relationships, and financial. Once I’ve done that, I follow these six guidelines for creating achievable goals.

BusinessCasi LongDecember 12, 2016Comment

Six Easy Ways to Stay Organized in Business

How many of us are guilty of dropping random files on our desktop because we aren’t sure where to save it in our files? Or what about a “junk folder” similar to a junk drawer in our house? And I know I’m not the only one who gets anxiety when my desk is messy.

Earlier this year, I spent a lot of time getting my life—and business—organized. It was no easy task to take on, but I’m so glad I did it. I now have a system for everything and it prevents me from frantically searching for things or getting flustered by the stack on my desk.

I am by no means perfect at maintaining my system, but It’s leaps and bounds better than having no system at all.

If you’re looking for ways to be more organized, keep reading.

BusinessCasi LongNovember 28, 2016Comment

How to use Buffer to Schedule Social Media

I can't tell you how many times I would forget to post to Facebook or Instagram and then I would be away from my desk and unable to post something of quality.

I started scheduling my posts ahead of time and it made a huge difference in my daily routine. I was no longer glued to my phone or constantly worried if I had posted for the day.

I experimented with several different scheduling tools before eventually landing on Buffer. I love the interface and how user-friendly the site is. I recently upgraded to the awesome plan and have been happy with it so far.

If you’re looking for a way to relieve the stress of social media, let me tell you how Buffer can help.

BusinessCasi LongNovember 11, 2016Comment

My Journey: From Doodler to Designer

I never really considered myself “artsy” or creative. I was athletic. My brother was known as the smart one and I was known as the athlete. My dream was to play college softball and I never really considered what I would do after that. I must have assumed life as I knew it would be complete once I reached my goal.

Thinking back now, I guess I have always been a little bit creative. I loved to doodle and draw from a young age.

When I was 3 I painted my mom’s vacuum cleaner with white out. The entire thing. A few years later I gave the underside of our butcher block a nice makeover—it included our home address and a lovely flower drawn with sharpie. I remember getting in trouble often for drawing on myself, too.

Like I said, I didn’t put much thought into what I wanted to be when I grew up, but once I started college I was kind of forced into deciding. I didn’t decide to become a designer overnight. My journey to where I am today was both unconventional and unpredictable.

BusinessCasi LongOctober 21, 2016Comment

6 Helpful Tools & Resources for Every Entrepreneur

Have you ever heard the saying, “It takes a village.”?

Typically this statement is referring to raising a child. While I have zero experience in the child-rearing department, I do have experience in running a business and I will say this statement certainly applies.

It’s a lot of work to operate an entire business by yourself. You likely find support and advice from loved ones, mentors and peers, but ultimately you are the one who has to do the work.

You are the one putting in the long hours, and stressing over what to post to social media. You are the one figuring out how much to charge clients and how to collect their late payments. You are the one trying to stay organized and on-task without anyone holding you accountable.

I, too, share in these struggles. And yes, it can definitely be overwhelming at times.

To make it easier on myself, I started using a few resources to help my business run a little more smoothly. Hopefully, you’ll find them helpful too.

BusinessCasi LongOctober 8, 2016 Comments

How to Create Quality Photography for Social Media, Part 2

If you read my last post How to Create Quality Photography for Social Media, Part 1 you learned all about how to choose your props, set up your studio, style your photos, compose your photos, and capture your images. You learned a few rules of photography like rule of thirds and balance.

ow that you’ve had time to practice styling and snap a few images, lets talk about selecting the right photos and how to edit them.

Today, I’m going to walk you through my process and talk about the tools I use. I will also break down some of the adjustment tools in Instagram and hopefully give you a better understanding of what each function does.

BusinessCasi LongSeptember 2, 2016Comment

How to Create Quality Photography for Social Media, Part 1

When I began to work on launching my new company, I knew I would need to develop a specific look for my business and social media platforms. I knew I wanted my brand to be clean, airy and simple with pops of color, but I wasn’t sure how to accomplish that through photography.

I started doing research.

I would google, “How to take professional-looking images,” and “how to photograph for your blog.” I also spent a lot of time looking at what others in my industry were doing. I took notes of what I liked, what I didn’t like, and what kind of props they were using. I debated whether I liked the more organized, aligned style or if I should go for a more organic, messy feel.

While it was great to do research, and it gave me a base knowledge of what I needed to know, I realized I would only truly learn by doing. So that’s what I did.

I started experimenting and figuring it out. And that’s when I really came into my own. Now I want you to do the same—here are the first five steps to taking quality photos.

BusinessCasi LongAugust 28, 2016 Comments

5 Practical Ways to Overcome Self-Doubt

Have you ever said to yourself, “I’m not creative enough,” or “I’m not qualified,” or “I don’t have what it takes.” Every entrepreneur on earth has had these same thoughts at one point or another. I can’t tell you how many times I have questioned if I have what it takes to be a successful designer or business owner.

I had these thoughts this week actually, which is what prompted me to write this post. Through a lot of trial and error, I’ve discovered a few ways to silence that little voice in our head telling us we can’t…

BusinessCasi LongJuly 20, 2016Comment

The #1 Reason I Wanted To Be Self-Employed

Since high school I have dreamed of being self-employed. Back then I liked the idea of being my own boss and sleeping in as often as I wanted. But the older I became, the more I realized being your own boss comes with a lot of responsibility. It's not always easy and accommodating, but more often than not it requires a large amount of discipline. Discipline to work even when you don't necessarily feel like it.

When deciding to leave my full-time position I had to weigh all the odds, create a pros and cons list and prioritize all aspects of my life.

For many people, being self-employed means they no longer have to answer to their terrible boss or go to a job they really don't enjoy.

But for me it wasn't about that. For me, it came down to one really simple yet important thing—Freedom.

BusinessCasi LongJuly 11, 2016Comment

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