Shannon's Blog: Minding My Own Business

Decisions like this make me want to hide! I'm in touchy territory here.  I admit, until recently, the mere topic of incorporation vs. sole proprietorship (yuck!) used to trigger anxiety. Researching this kind of stuff is onerous, and yet it feels so important. There's pressure to get it right.  When I think back to my pre-biz days, self-doubt around business mechanics was a real barrier to expanding my horizons. But it won't stop me now. So when I write about incorporation vs. sole proprietorship, it's not with a ton of expertise. It's based on skimming a bunch of websites, then back-checking my understanding on a few others. Consider this more of a musing than actual advice.  You're not reading this for actual advice are you? A few of my friends have incorporated in the past year or two, and from the sidelines, it feels like there's a certain cachet attached to it. They are fancy business people now.  They get to put Inc. at the end of...

Helvetica is the sweatpants of typefaces.   - John Boardley, typography whiz and fellow blogger I've always been a content gal. Get the words just right, and they'll speak for themselves. If the content needs a little extra oomph,  someone else can deal with that. It's rare for me to deviate from whatever the default font happens to be: Times , Arial , Helvetica .    I know some of you are cringing right now.  But through the process of creating a business card and logotype these last few months, my thoughts have been consumed with fonts. There are millions of options out there.  And fonts have meaning.  They silently convey personality, even attention to detail. Don't believe me?  Let's go to the movies... Maybe you'd like to see: Passions and fortunes come and go, but frankly my dear... a few party favours make everything bright and gay! Or how about: The film that finally explains why men and women can't be ...

Buildings and bridges Are made to bend in the wind To withstand the world That's what it takes.   All that steel and stone Are no match for the air, my friend What doesn't bend breaks What doesn't bend breaks.                                        - Ani Difranco, singer Resilience is a hot topic in the workplace right now. I don't know about you, but when I'm having a bad day, I like to really wallow in the muck,  eat too much chocolate, and then pick fights with my family - really spread that misery around!  #KiddingNotKidding. But sometimes there's just no time for a pity party. Or maybe the party's gotten stale. That's where resilience comes in: the ability to recover quickly from setbacks.  To get back up one more time than you fall down. A couple of mont...

Without humility there can be no humanity.  -John Buchan, Canada's 15th Governor General I had coffee with a friend this summer, and we got talking about confidence. Specifically how much of it I'll need to get my business off the ground. I've touched on this topic before: it's the difference between maybe I can help?   and I can help. I agreed with her. I continue to monitor my personal presentation in terms of confidence. I'm deliberately pushing myself to talk more about my blog and ask for help reaching a broader audience ( yes please: share my blog! ).  I'm also learning from missed opportunities. But there's not much more to that story. We all know about the connection between confidence and success right?  That territory's already been charted.    What I've been reflecting on more since that conversation, is the role of humility in success.  Unlike confidence, humility is a trait that sometimes gets overlooked. The fear...

Photo courtesy of Ylanite Koppens @ Pexels "Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day of your life." - Unknown Every week? people typically ask when I tell them about my blog posts. Me: Every week. That feels about right to build discipline,  exercise my writing muscles and stay on the radar. What if you're away? I can post remotely. What if you're sick?  Well, okay, I always prioritize my health, but I don't get sick very often.  That sounds busy... The question I get asked most since I launched my blog goes something along the lines of: You're doing this in your spare time?!  You must be busy...   The truth is, it does take up quite a bit of time outside of my day job.  There's so much I want to write, research, plan and create to advance the project. And only limited hours per week. But - much like the burn in your legs after a long run - it's the good kind of pain. I've struggled with the oth...

Don't compare yourself with other people; compare yourself with who you were yesterday.                                                                                                - Jordan Peterson, psychologist It's easy to compare ourselves to others. I'm prone to it, and something tells me you might be too. As I start up my own little startup, it's very compelling to compare myself to those who are also going through the process, or those who have gone before.  But that's usually when the doubt starts creep...

You just have to find that thing that’s special about you that distinguishes you from all the others and through true talent, hard work, and passion, anything can happen.  -Dr. Dre I came across a blog this week on CareerShifters.com, about a British public servant who left his job to (successfully) pursue a career in photography. I'm sharing it here, as I was inspired by his success. People sometimes ask me if I'm aiming to grow my business into a full-time job that will allow me to quit my 9-to-5.  The honest answer is: I'm not sure yet. I'm still at the very early stages, and for now, building is its own reward.  Ask me again in a year or two! I enjoy following the CareerShifters' newsletters, as they take a different approach to changing careers than other traditional job advice websites.  There's a real emphasis on discovering your passion, more so than leveraging your existing skills. If you've ever wondered " what if...? " ...