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

6 Simple Ways to Improve Your Website

Your website is your main point of contact for online clients. You print your website on business cards and stationery, put it in your emails, and give it to anyone asking to view your work. If you’re a business owner or freelancer, chances are you have a website.

You use your website as a tool to show potential clients your work, tell them about yourself, explain your services, and present valuable content through your blog posts. Ultimately, the purpose of your site is to drive traffic, gain exposure, and book clients.

When you send potential clients to your website, you want to make sure they have a positive experience. After all, it may be the only interaction they have with your business before deciding whether or not to purchase what you’re selling.

Here are a few simple ways to make sure your clients have the positive experience they’re hoping for.

Branding + WebsiteCasi LongOctober 25, 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

5 Reasons I Switched To Squarespace From Weebly

When I first built my website back in January, I used a platform called Weebly. I chose it because it was affordable and seemed like a simple place to start. It had a drag-and-drop builder that was easy to use and intuitive.

After using the platform for several months, I made the decision to switch to Squarespace. I wasn’t disappointed in my experience with Weebly, and in-fact it is a great place to start if you’re just getting into the website arena. However, I decided it was time for me to move on to something bigger and better—Squarespace—and here's why.

Branding + WebsiteCasi LongOctober 17, 2016 Comments

10 Branding Questions Every Business Owner Should Answer

Branding is more than a logo. A successful brand has a voice, a purpose, personality and a distinct style. A brand is a feeling and an experience for your clients.

Before you leap into choosing pretty colors and fun icons, you need to answer the tough questions. It’s important to establish a direction for your company in order to create a brand identity that meets your needs.

Each of my branding clients are asked to answer these 10 questions prior to the start of their project. I encourage you to consider your answers to these questions as well, especially if you’re considering investing in a branding package.

Branding + WebsiteCasi LongOctober 12, 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

Design Tips for the Non-Designer: Choosing Color

In the past two posts you read about how non-designers can use alignment, white space, hierarchy, and typography to create professional-looking designs.

wanted to wrap up this series by talking briefly about how to choose color.

This can be tricky, because color rules are less concrete than other rules like typography. To get you started off on the right foot, here are a few basic rules for choosing the right colors for your design.

DesignCasi LongOctober 4, 2016Comment

Design Tips for the Non-Designer: Hierarchy + Typography

When someone receives your designed flyer or postcard in their mailbox, they may only spend 2-3 seconds looking at it before they decide to either keep reading or to trash it.

It’s imperative the viewer sees the most important information first to entice them to keep reading. Hierarchy can make or break a good design piece.

In the last post, I walked you through how to use alignment and white space when creating pieces like flyers, cards and advertisements. If you missed it, you can check it out here.

In this post, I’ll go a step further and discuss hierarchy and typography.

DesignCasi LongSeptember 30, 2016Comment

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