|
My son Lennon has been getting into day trading lately. If you’re thinking to yourself, “wait… I thought he was like, ten years old?” you are correct. He’s not old enough to be handling stocks and bonds quite yet. But he’s been really into trading snacks and candy at school. Here’s what I’ve learned: Jolly Ranchers are a valuable commodity. So are mints (they are very rare, I guess). In fact, he told me that he’s been trading mints for cookies which just seems crazy to me, but what do I know? Nothing, apparently! 😆 Last week, he came from school bragging that he traded a mint for one of those packaged chocolate croissants! Those are one of my favorite treats, so I asked (very nicely, of course) if he thought he could get one for me, too. The next day, he traded another mint for a croissant and he brought it home for me to enjoy. What a total sweetheart! 💗  Kids don’t tend to overthink when they’re asking for what they want. I think we can really learn something from them… and I’m mostly speaking about myself when I say that. After several years as a business owner, I still struggle so much with putting myself out there and asking for what I want. I avoid asking for the sale because I don’t want to “bother” people or come across as pushy. But look what happened to Lennon when he asked for what he wanted. He had no hesitation about asking for a croissant in exchange for a tiny little mint. And clearly, that strategy worked! I know we hear it all the time, but you really never know until you ask. How do we know there aren’t a bunch of mint-lovers on the other side of the screen just hoping that I’ll offer it in exchange for their croissant? How do I know unless I ask? Sharing my work is another area where I’m working on building my confidence. I know my clients love what I do, and I always get such amazing feedback from them. But it feels like a whole different thing to put my work on Instagram for everyone to see and respond to. Do you have any advice for getting past the FODT (fear of day trading) or any encouraging words to share? I love when I get comments on my blog posts, so please feel free to share your thoughts with me down below!
0 Comments
I saw a SUPER cute Instagram post a while back from someone who broke down their career in terms of cat lives. 😸 As a crazy cat lady, I loved this and I started thinking about the “nine lives” of my own career. I quickly realized that my career has had way more than nine lives already! Here’s the not-so-straight timeline of my life (so far) that have shaped my career:  2000 - I started my first “business” selling illegally burned CDs. Not the most glamorous, but it gave me enough money to fuel my shopping habit in high school! 2007 - I graduated from The University of Texas at El Paso with a degree in Graphic Design. During college, I worked as a front desk assistant at my university, which taught me how to be less awkward when talking to people – a skill that still benefits me to this day! 2008 - I moved to Knoxville TN, to get "a couple of years of experience” at a media company called Scripps Networks Interactive, which is the parent company of channels like HGTV, Food Network, and the Travel Channel. 2009 - I started an Etsy shop out of part necessity and part creative freedom. I enjoyed playing shop and learning about online selling and customer service. 2018 - Whoops! A “couple of years” turned into a decade working at Scripps because honestly, it was the most amazing corporate job. Unfortunately, I was laid off after Discovery acquired the company. 2019 - After the layoff, we moved to Connecticut and I started working at a small agency. I also served on the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) board. I was trying to get my footing back after being laid off but after just a year, I was laid off (again!) due to COVID. 2020 - Feeling defeated, I decided to go back to my hometown in Mexico to quarantine with my parents. Sadly, my dad passed away two months after I arrived. I feel so fortunate that I got the gift of spending that precious time with him. 2021 - I started interviewing for design jobs again, but I just couldn't do it. I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of being in the corporate world after having location and time freedom. This was the year I committed to going full-time on my own… and I made $100k in my first year! 2022 - This was my second full year of being self-employed! I grew so much this year and learned SO much about business thanks to some incredible courses and mentors I invested in. I grew my business by 50% and I felt more secure in myself and my skills. 2023 - Here we are in my third year in business. I’m continuing to invest in myself and my business and I’m so excited for the future! This was the year I also decided to build out a mentorship side to my business so I could share what I know about brand design with others! If you’ve been curious about my career or curious about what owning your own business can look like, I hope it’s helpful to see my squiggly career path. It was fun for me to take a look back and actually see the progression of my career laid out like this! Over the past 23 years, I’ve had a lot of different jobs and there’s been a lot of personal and professional growth, although sometimes when I was in the thick of it, I didn’t always feel like I was growing (or growing fast enough). But looking back on it now, I feel so proud. I found a career that makes me feel successful and gives me the freedom to live life on my own terms. So, as you can see, my career has had WAY more than nine lives, but I finally feel like I’ve hit my stride. 😺 And this year, my hard work was validated when I was chosen as one of the “People To Watch in 2023” by GDUSA magazine. I shared my feelings in this post if you’re curious to read them! I’d love to know what your first “career” was. Can you top my illegal CD burning business? Leave a comment below and let me know the very first thing you did to make money! I’ve been home from Guatemala for a little over a week and I still catch myself smiling as I think about all of the amazing experiences I got to have and the people I got to meet there. 🙂 I know I shared some videos and photos from the trip on my Instagram Stories, but I didn’t really explain what I was there to do. I belong to a group of female entrepreneurs and this year, one of our big initiatives was to go on a group service trip to Guatemala. We teamed up with Fundamaya to build wood stoves for families who need them. I’ve never done anything like this and I was worried whether I would actually be able to help. But during the week we were there, we installed stoves in the homes of four families in San Antonio Palopó. It was a beautiful experience meeting them and hearing their stories while we worked!  In a different group coaching program I belong to (yes, I belong to several 🙃), one of the coaches was talking to us about the concept of Misogi. This is an ancient Japanese practice where you bathe underneath a waterfall to create a more harmonious relationship with yourself. The modern version of it is to do one really hard thing each year that fuels you for the remaining 364 days. You want to get yourself used to taking on challenges that alter your worldview and push you to do more. He refers to it as “adding more life to your life” (which I love). I consider this trip to Guatemala to be my Misogi for the year. 💙 I had a beautiful opportunity to serve. I got to meet strong and resilient families that live in challenging circumstances and I saw how kind and generous they were, even in the middle of their hardship. I gained so much perspective from these families and I came back to the states with a renewed drive to grow my business. I want to be able to take more of these opportunities to help more, give more, serve more, and be more.    Of course, I wanted to share my experience and these beautiful photos with you but I also wanted to make sure I said “thank you.” If you’re reading this, that means you have supported me and my business and without support like that, I wouldn’t be in a place where I am able to do these things. Do you dream of closing your laptop for a week to do something like this? Have you done something like this before? If so, I’d love to hear about where you went and what you did! If this experience I shared inspired you, check out Fundamaya and all the amazing work they’re doing! Fundamaya was born from the vision of a group of indigenous Guatemalan, Australian, and American friends who wanted to help those most in need. On their site, you can find different ways you can help (some without even leaving your house) so I urge you to check it out! In early February, I found out that I was selected by Graphic Design USA magazine as one of the “People to Watch in 2023.” I posted about it over on my Instagram page, which I’ll be honest, felt a little uncomfortable because I don’t want it to ever sound like I’m bragging. But, part of being an entrepreneur is talking about yourself and your achievements because if you don’t do it, no one will! It doesn’t come easy, but it’s something I’m working on. 💞 My journey to full-time designer hasn’t been a straight line and I’ve had many moments of doubt. So, it feels surreal that a legitimate publication would choose me as one of their people to watch!  I know I’ve talked about this elsewhere, maybe on this blog, but moments like this help me feel more validated in my career choices. My mom and my dad were both engineers – two very analytical people who always seemed so sure of themselves and their purpose in life. Then you had my brother who was always on the honor roll in school and my sister, who is also super smart and well, I felt a little bit like the odd one out. It wasn’t until I discovered the world of graphic design that I started to feel like I knew what I was good at. It’s tough being a left-brained person in a family full of right-brainers! For a while, my parents didn’t even understand how someone could make money doing graphic design. 😄 I know for a fact that I would never have made the leap to go full-time with my design business or become a mentor for people who want to learn design if it weren’t for my dad. Watching him teach students and make a difference in their lives was transformative. When he passed in 2020, I knew it was time to really get serious and push myself to go after these bigger goals I had. I am somewhat risk-averse by nature, so it wasn’t a comfortable experience in the least. I remember the first few times I got in front of a camera – even just to do an Instagram Story on behalf of my business – my voice would shake and I would rush to get through it. But I knew that I wanted to be proud of myself and I knew I trusted in my skills as a designer and as a mentor. And you know what? Pushing myself and going through those uncomfortable moments paid off. It led to so many new opportunities, projects, and clients. And it also led to this amazing feature!  Lennon's reaction to the news □ I know it sounds like I’m giving an acceptance speech, but it kind of feels that way to me! 💗 I never thought I would be chosen for something like this, and it’s a real “pinch me” experience. I’ve hit the limits of my comfort zone in talking about myself, but the whole reason I wanted to write this post is to thank you for supporting my business and my design work. It means EVERYTHING to me and it’s the main reason I was even able to be considered for something like this. As a designer, I can love everything I create. But if other people aren’t loving it, I’m not going to get very far as a business owner. Your support, encouragement, engagement, referrals, and just general cheerleading means more than you know. Are there ways you’re holding yourself back because you’re scared of putting yourself out there? I know it’s way easier to stay in your comfortable lane, but going off the paved path can bring you to some pretty beautiful places. I’m always here to chat if you want, and you know I’m going to be 100% real with you. 🙂 The other day, I took Lennon shopping to spend the Christmas money he’s been saving up. To my surprise, he decided to use the money to buy rollerblades! 🛼 He got the chance to try it recently at school and turns out, he really liked it. This is a bit of a side note, but I’m actually so glad that rollerblades have made a comeback! I used to rollerblade everywhere as a kid and now I put them on and wonder how in the heck I had the leg strength to do that. It is SUCH a workout! But I digress… 🙈  We got home with the rollerblades and of course, he put them on immediately. But then, he was a little stuck on what to do next. He didn’t have enough confidence to start zooming down the street and I couldn’t give him much advice other than “don’t fall.” So, he thought about who could teach him and of course, YouTube came to mind. If you have a kid between the ages of 6 and 16, you get it. 😂 We found a “Rollerblading for Beginners” video and in no time, he was doing all of these cool moves and just felt more sure of himself. We talked about how he could have probably learned these things on his own, but learning from an expert saved him so much time and frustration. Instead of practicing (and falling) for weeks or months to learn these techniques, he was able to get the hang of them in just an hour or so! In my own experience both as a designer and business owner, I have learned a lot of lessons and techniques from people who are successful in these areas. But do you want to know something interesting? I have actually learned way more from people who are just slightly ahead of me than I have from industry “experts” who are miles and miles ahead of me. I’ve shared this story a lot, but my dad was a teacher and when he passed away a few years ago, a bunch of his past students reached out to my family to tell us how much he had touched their lives and how great of a teacher he was to them. After hearing from all of these people, I had a bit of an “aha” moment. I started thinking, “What if I were to build a mentorship side to my business and teach people how to become brand designers?” It would be a great way to make more of an impact with my knowledge and even though it scared the living heck out of me, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So, I put my big girl pants on and I led a group of 30 women through a virtual design workshop. When it was done, I received SUCH positive feedback from the people who attended. After that, I created my signature design course, The Brand Design Academy. This course is one of the main ways I am able to mentor aspiring designers. You can learn more about the course here! It feels so good to share my knowledge and honor my dad’s legacy in this way. There are always going to be people who wish they could do what you do, and when you put yourself out there to become a mentor – or make YouTube videos – you’re impacting people in a bigger way than you realize. You might be opening them up to a new hobby or even a new career path! Have you ever pushed yourself out of your comfort zone to teach something to someone? Share your story with me – and any lessons you learned from it – in the comments!  |
|
Let's be friends!
© Copyright 2023 Karla Pámanes, LLC ︱ You belong here ♡