Creative Katrina

photo by the Italian voice

There are countless reasons why people start their own small business, but first and foremost, it’s to follow their heart’s passion; to make their own way in the world outside of the traditional sense of a “regular job.” So what do you do when your small business is totally taking off, and the “creative engineering” aspect of your business is buried by To-Dos?

If your passionate expression of creativity (aka your small business) feels more like a chore and you’re drowning in “shoulds”, it’s time to consider outsourcing. But it’s not as simple as a yes or no answer. It’s important determine if outsourcing is best for the technical elements of your business (marketing, accounting, admin, social media and beyond), but also for your creative expression and long-term goals.

Technology, with a Side Order of Creativity and Heart Connection

Being a small business owner is unlike anything else in the world, especially right now. As technology supports us in making more non-traditional choices for how we work, we also have so many more options. Sometimes those options can completely transform our small business, and other times they do nothing but distract us — and create the feeling of being busy.

That’s why it’s so important to sit down and be open to ideas about how to make the best choices for enhancing our business without taking away from our creative spark and joy. Here are some thoughts to get you started, including some simple soul-searching questions:

• Make a list of everything you like and do not like doing for your small business. Out of those tasks can you do some yourself if you create a schedule that makes it manageable?
• Decide if of the tasks you can do, if it’s more expensive to hire someone or do it yourself.
• Is the best solution to use technology tools, a person or a bit of both?
• Am I a micro manager, or can I give away tasks with confidence they will be completed effectively?
• Do I have a clear idea of your long-term business goals? What do I want to achieve?
• Is everything I’m doing supporting my business? Or am I just trying to do all the same things as everyone else to keep up?

Then ask yourself the more heart-centered thoughts and questions:

• Will giving this work to another resource compromise the creativity or integrity of what I provide?
• If I outsource tasks, will I actually do more creative, passion-fueled work for my business?
• Does it make sense to collaborate with like-minded people in trade to get something done, or is it best to pay for services?
• How will I determine who is a good fit to help?
• Will I allow myself some time to play and find new creative inspirations, or will I feel like I’m goofing off?
• When I think about outsourcing certain tasks my heart feels heavy, or my heart feels lighter and filled with joy?

The decision for a small business owner to outsource is truly a combination of practicality and intuition. Getting help only works if you know how people or resources can help you best reach your long-term goals from a business and creative perspective.

This post is part of the April Word Carnival — a monthly group blogging event specifically for small business owners. (It’s the most fun you’ll have all month!) Check out the rest of the fabulous carney work here.

Photo: Sheba_Also

People strive for safety. It drives most if not all our choices, even at the most subconscious of levels, and soon turns into habit. This inherent desire to be comfy, safe and protect ourselves is very instinctual and seems relatively harmless, but can easily transition into a block or challenge in various areas of life.

In my work as a writer and healer, time after time I see people who have no idea that their habits and personal boundaries may be causing limitations or frustrations in their creativity, love life or career. For some reason, they can’t connect the dots or see how one is related to the other. Auto pilot and comfort can seem like fabulous friends, when in reality, they are actually keeping you tied down, feeling helpless and frustrated.

And we all do it. Each and every one of us. Family dynamics set you up to operate a certain way in the world, and paired with personal experiences and struggles, shape you as a person, creating your view of what is safe or uncomfortable. The challenge is, most people are itching to point the finger at anything and anyone else besides their own thinking and actions.

Jumping Along the Habit Trail

People also hide in habits. They are safe and mindless. And not all habits are bad. But if they are making things difficult in your life and cause you a lot of pain and emotional frustration when faced with changing them, then that’s an uber red flag you may be acting your own worst enemy. It’s time to open up to transition and embrace change.

Before I come off sounding like a motivational speaker or self-help guru, let me make one thing clear – there is NOTHING more challenging than seeing your own crap. Really looking at it; taking the courage to see what’s working within yourself and in your dynamic with others. But one of the things I think holds people back most is romanticizing the past, thinking it can continue to fulfill them in the same ways as they move through life. That includes habits. Habits that worked for you before, making you feel safe, comfy or protected, can transition into stunting your personal evolution, fulfillment and happiness.

Time to Change the Tires 

Change is part of every aspect of life; the seed that sparks innovation and revolution. It’s where great stories come from; it’s the key to how we learn, grow and expand our mind to the next level of the human experience.

And things in your life can seem really terrible when you don’t see them as necessary change, and instead view them as threats to your safety and current way of being.

What we really need to be thinking about are the boundaries around behavior. How do you LET people treat you? What are you willing to let slide, and what do you stand up for? Where do you draw the line at helping others, and instead turn that loving, nurturing energy loose on yourself? How may you be holding yourself back or letting others do the same?

To me, changing habits is more important now than ever, as we sit on the brink of transformation as a nation, as a human race and as part of a global evolution. What are you ready to release, change or experience differently? Are you ready to be the best, most kickass version of yourself that you can be in this very moment?

Photo by Mydass

With just about a month left in 2011, people are all a flurry making holiday plans, buying gifts and finishing up year end projects. It’s the proverbial “crunch time” — busting ass to fit in every possible thing you pledged with your heart and soul to do before year end, but some how fell to the wayside. Creative mojo is replaced with a sense of obligation, and attitudes quickly shift to grouchy, irritated and rushed.
 
Throw in family obligations, year end commitments and the looming thoughts of how to plan for the best year EVAH next year, and no wonder people go a bit batty.

Pressure! But where is the pressure really coming from?

Personal expectations, internal judgments and comparing ourselves to others. The should, could and didn’t (s) all pile on, pushing you into over drive, triggering old fears of not being enough, right now. And these thought patterns are not something you picked up last week, they are life long ways of thinking and being. With each coming year there’s pressure to outdo ourselves in a way that is better, more spectacular and amazing than ever before.

And these long-term, out dated ideas play out time and time again – UNTIL you notice the cycle.

The reality is, you need to get a handle on what works for you now, at this point in your life, in this moment. If you are spending time “wishing” things were and could be different, you are squelching creativity at its very source. You are denying the very mother of invention – NECESSITY! It’s the ability and desire for change that is the true inspiration for creativity in the first place.

I think the bravest thing anyone can do is look at their business and themselves with complete honesty and decide to make a change. Is it simple? Maybe. Could also be the most terrifying, gut-wrenching, ball busting thing you ever do. But if you aren’t willing to change the game, what do you really have left worth living for anyway?

The idea of the perfect “whatever” doesn’t exist in the way you expect because that would be predicting the future. The beauty is in being present, open and embracing what’s true in the moment, no “stories” attached, and transforming it into something amazing – in real time.

So if you really want inspiring, creative, on-fire mojo for next year, be willing to be vulnerable. Change your attitude. Open up. Let go. Surrender those ideas that drag behind you like stones, rolling over and crushing the green buds of new ideas in it’s wake. Give yourself the freedom to change, and your creative fire will walk up to greet you.

Photo: cloud_nine

We create all day long. Fantastic grandiose ideas thrown in amongst thoughts of errands, irritations and obligations. And as those moments of creative brilliance shine through, do you say WOO HOO! I gotta write this down! Or do you immediately start picking them apart, reviewing all the angles to convince yourself why it will never work, why it’s not perfect?

Humans have super powers when it comes to our ability to talk ourselves into and out of anything. This very powerful skill helps us move through challenges and stuck points, heartbreak and tragedy, to grow and transform into a more evolved version of ourselves. The very same skill blows up a great idea before it even gets out of the starting gate.

Fear and Expectations

Being infused with an amazing idea is awesome! Let it sink in and savor it. Daydream and play. Visualize how it can be expanded or improved and infuse it with life. Just be open and see how it shapes up.

Of course you need to examine all the angles eventually, but just because a particular idea or undertaking is hard, does it mean you should abandon it all together? Is it a “sign” that it just won’t work? Depends on the difficulties you encounter.

If something is hard to achieve because you need to train, learn something new or there is stiff competition, well, that’s just life. But there’s a sneaky hidden factor often at play in most seemingly challenging situations, and that’s fear. It lurks in the background of everything new you try that pushes your threshold, holding you back and forcing you to over analyze every idea. The result? You never pull the trigger to set something in motion, so great ideas languish smothered by fear.

Ask Fear What’s Up

There is a common belief that fear must be eradicated. As you move through life, experiences and explore tools that open your mind, the fear can become manageable but is not demolished. It changes into something you learn how to co-habitate with, so-to-speak. Then is has the chance to transform into a healing opportunity.

Do your best to move past the worry and explore angles that may be cloaked in fear. Perhaps you have a real, legitimate reason to be afraid? Family dynamics, old bosses that tore you down, crappy experiences you can’t forget — the list is endless. And now that these fears exist, the only way to release their hold on you is to be open to making friends with them.

Fears develop over time, starting out as little seeds watered by frustration, doubt and other misinformation. So what better way to break new creative ground for peaceful coexistence then getting to their core?

Face to Face with Fear

How you do this is so intensely personal, it’s hard to prescribe a method of management. What I can say is that regular meditation, time alone to process the emotions related to each fear and patience with yourself are all important, but most of all, the willingness to finally face your fears is the most critical piece.

So instead of the desire towards perfection, re-frame it into a desire to come face to face with your fears. It’s an experience in transformation that will be one of the most powerful in your life.

Photo by NortoriousJEN on Flickr

The holidays are gone and you are once again alone with your thoughts. Are you racing to start a million new projects? Tweeting your heart out? Or have your copious 2011 goals combusted into oblivion already? Maybe you are stalled at the starting gate as your ideas run amok like M&M’s on crack?

What ever your reasons (or excuses), I think one very important thing is usually missing in people’s big ol’ life plans – daily fun.

Sure, you can write all about that amazing fantasy trip you want to take some day in your notebook. Maybe you will actually take it when all the details are in order and the wind is blowing out of the northeast at 10 miles per hour. OR you can think of ways to build fun into your life every day.

Bite Size Fun Resets the Creativity Button

Find a way to enjoy that cup of coffee sans whining from anyone, or a day free of scooping the litter box. Maybe even a nice walk, with no purpose other than to wander around and look at the beauty that surrounds you. Perhaps wallowing in raunchy trash television while jamming your stomach full of cupcakes is more your idea of indulgence. Whatever works! I don’t judge! Just honor yourself enough to actually THINK about what would be fun, responsibilities be damned. Then sprinkle in a little in each day. Well, everything but the glutenous eating of cupcakes anyway.

I encourage you all to do this because I am in rehab myself. Creativity is part of my work and I love using it to enhance my business and help my clients and friends. Its fun and rewarding to be able to use your passion to help others. But the tank has to get refilled, too. Without a way to pause and get re-inspired, I am no good to my clients or effectively supporting my creative soul.

Leave Room For the Dance Party

That is why having fun is one of my main priorities this year. And yes, that might sound like a goal in terms of how its worded, but what I mean is I am READY to leave more of the business of business behind to open up to a more well-rounded life. Fun can’t fit if its just getting pushed up against the door of a stuffed closet.

And as I was thinking of what I want more of in my life, the conga line seemed like perfect illustration. They are fun and silly, but the best part is that you aren’t sure what or who you are going to get hooked up with in the moment. It a chance affair that can lead to surprise and requires minimal commitment and no planning. Sounds pretty kickass to me!

“The Taste” hosted at the Fort Collins Hilton last week was about more than fancy food samples; it was about bringing together caring members of the community to raise money for the Food Bank of Larimer County and Neighbor to Neighbor.

Over 30 local, non-chain restaurants from Fort Collins, Wellington, Windsor and Loveland participated and prepared food for an expected crowd of over 700 potential tasters. Some offered special menu items just for the event prepared in the on-site kitchen, others brought along the fan favorites that put them on the map.

Several local breweries and wineries handed out sizable samples, offering a wide variety of flavors for folks who wanted to explore something new or stick with a favorite. It was the perfect place to nibble and check out tons of restaurants, all in one convenient place.

Copper Spoon Awards for “The Taste”

My favorite part of the evening at “The Taste”, (other than sampling), was being a Copper Spoons judge. I was able to tour the tables to focus on more than the food itself, and really take in the presentation and crafting of the food. As I sailed from table to table with my five column checklist, I noticed how I was drawn to certain tables with their dramatic, ethnic flair, and slightly turned off by tables that looked boring, institutionalized and lacked personality. I also appreciated the creative energy and innovation that goes into really good food, and the unique vision each chef had put together to truly represent their restaurant.

Restaurants including Island Grill, Rasta Pasta, Jay’s Bistro, Rio Grande, Nordy’s Bar-B-Que Grill, Chimney Park Restaurant and Bar and Tortilla Marissa’s all had really wonderful booth displays, and their food was equally unique and colorful.

My Favorites From “The Taste”

• Fort Collins Brewery with a Wheat Wine Ale was an interesting blend unlike anything else I have ever tried!

• Duck Taquito Chimney Park Restaurant and Bar

• Beauregard’s Grill and Tavern Andouille Macaroni and Cheese and Cherry Wood Smoked Teriyaki Flank Steak

• Okle Maluna Kalua Pork

• Jay’s Bistro Tuna Wasabi Cone, my hands down favorite for presentation, uniqueness, overall flavor and taste

The silent auction was also a big draw, with several local businesses donating goods and services ranging from take-home items, to travel to jewelry and more. I loved the fact that Zero Hero was called in to make sure “The Taste” was a zero waste event, and slowly building awareness that large events have a responsibility to be as green as possible.

Raising money for the homeless and hungry and doing it sustainably? What more can you ask? My advice…GO next year. Support your community, stuff your belly full of delectable goodies and meet great people who are excited to help support their community through the artistic expression of great, amazing food.