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Michelle Finn

Michelle Finn

About Michelle Finn

Michelle has a strong marketing background in a versatile set of roles including social media, events, and field marketing. She fell in love with design and combined it with her skills to create her business, Pop Design Shoppe. In the future, she hopes to continue her work within design or the arts (including interior design, fashion, the visual arts, and event design). She wants to continue working on projects that create impact. Her perfect day includes a morning workout, sunny day at the beach (preferably with her dog joining) followed by an evening out with friends at an event.

Posts by Michelle Finn:

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Increase Productivity by Ditching These 5 Habits

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A day in the home office…

You’re brainstorming ideas for a presentation, you’re also checking emails and finishing that text back to your best friend before you take a break to make coffee. Next thing you know, the time has passed into the afternoon and you’re left feeling less than accomplished.

Even if your long-term goals are planned and on track, it’s your habits and day-to-day workflow that ends up creating your results.

We’ve all experienced these moments where our responsibilities feel unmanageable, leading us to waste more time sifting through a growing to-do list. Aside from our workload, the true key is our productivity level. Being busy doesn’t equate to productivity, and doing less may in turn be worth more if done in a manageable and organized way.

Close those extra internet tabs, put your phone down, and get out your to-do list. We’re about to jump into what habits are secretly sabotaging your success (and how to combat them).

1. Your Phone

Yes, we all knew this one was coming (much to our despair). Even though this device is your personal assistant, alarm clock, and note taker, this also means that you’re going to be checking up on it routinely. While looking up an event on your calendar, a few notifications later and somehow you landed on a cat meme account. It’s easy to wander from one thing to another on your phone, often without even realizing you’re doing it.

Our tips?

  • Turn your phone off or put it on airplane/do not disturb while working on any given task
  • Place your phone on the other side of the room/another place in the house so that you’re not constantly checking it
  • Silence your notifications
  • Schedule phone breaks within every time period (such as a 10 minute check every hour)
2. Constantly Checking Your Email

This can be a tricky one, because it feels more productive than it is. Making sure there’s no notifications in your inbox can be tempting, but if you’re refreshing all day you might be preventing yourself from efficiently doing other tasks. Understandably, some positions need to frequently check emails more than others, in which they should prioritize the importance of regularly responding. Those of you who keep clicking refresh when you need to finish typing up a proposal, I’m talking to you.

Our tips?

  • Close your email tab if you’re on browser
  • Turn off email notifications while working on other projects
  • Schedule periods of time each day to check and respond to emails and stick to it (you can always adjust the times depending on the workflow).
3. Not Writing Things Down

I’ll say this again: write things down (or add a note in your phone, you catch the drift).

You will save yourself the energy worrying that you might forget something by taking note. You should utilize your mental energy to what’s most important…which is not worrying about remembering tasks. It’s doing them. When your thoughts are scattered, it becomes even more difficult to just get started.

Our tips?

  • Invest in a planner or start making to-do lists (we recommend writing by hand as an added bonus) but your computer notes, any place it’s documented will work.
  • Start making Google calendar invites if you don’t already (especially for the most important things such as calls, meetings, etc).
  • Don’t overwhelm your list with a ton of tasks, instead make a few clear actions starting with the most important first.
4. Multitasking

Even though women have been known to be great multitaskers, none of us are particularly amazing at it. A lot of small mistakes can easily go under the radar when you’re concentrating on multiple things at once, and it can quickly drain your focus.

Our Tips?

  • Try to start at the most difficult (or important) task and go one by one through the list. Eliminate distractions for a period of time and then check in every so often.
  • If you’re finding it hard to budge, shorten your work periods on one task to shift over to something else and then go back rather than try to do them together.
5. Overworking

Working longer hours doesn’t necessarily mean more work will get done. No one is ever feeling their best when they’re overworked. By having more time to spend outside of work, your quality of life improves and you’re more ready and well rested to work again.

The Parkinson’s Law states that “work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” That means if you give yourself 4 hours to complete a 2 hour task you’ll end up taking all 4 hours to finish the work.

It’s often more about efficiency rather than time spent, so work less hours but make those hours count.

 

 

Content courtesy of Michelle Finn, Founder of Pop Design Shoppe

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR, MICHELLE FINN

Michelle has a strong marketing background in a versatile set of roles including social media, events, and field marketing. She fell in love with design and combined it with her skills to create her business, Pop Design Shoppe. In the future, she hopes to continue her work within design or the arts (including interior design, fashion, the visual arts, and event design). She wants to continue working on projects that create impact. Her perfect day includes a morning workout, sunny day at the beach (preferably with her dog joining) followed by an evening out with friends at an event.

Connect with Michelle on Instagram @michellekatheriine and follow her business @popdesignshoppe

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Email Marketing 101 for Small Business Owners

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For anyone looking to amp up their marketing strategy, email campaigns are a must.

To give you some perspective of email usage, there are an estimated 269 billion emails sent each day. To compare the numbers, there are almost three times as many email accounts as Facebook and Twitter accounts combined. Although social media advertising has gained popularity in recent years, you can’t forget to include email campaigns in your plan. 

If that hasn’t convinced you, it also has a great return on your advertising dollar. With every $1 you spend on email campaigns, you can expect an average return of $42 (DMA, 2019). 

Okay, so maybe your business hasn’t been focusing on email marketing, where should you start? 

Don’t let marketing terminology scare you, it can be easy to get lost in the industry jargon when researching techniques. If you’re new to email campaigns, I want to give you a breakdown of some successful email campaign components and terms to know. However, I would recommend doing more research once you get started so that you can properly assert that your efforts are going in the right direction. 

 
Okay, ready? Let’s start with a few basic terms to know. 

QA- This stands for the phrase quality assurance. I like to think of quality assurance as a full walk through of your email campaign. It means you examine it from a trial and error perspective, so that you can make sure you’re getting the best bang for your advertising buck. 

ROI- This stands for the phrase return on investment. In email marketing, it’s a measurement used to determine how effective your campaign was. This gives you a good idea of how your money was spent in gaining customer turnaround. 

A/B Testing (also referred to as split testing)- I like to think of A/B testing as a trial and experiment process to figuring out what does (or doesn’t) work in your campaign. By picking out different factors within your email (such as the time you sent it, the headline, or including images vs not) you can determine what your audience responds to and then improve your email based on the results. 

Now that you’ve gotten familiar with a few of the terms, let’s break down some core factors within any successful email campaign. 

1. Start With A Goal in Mind 

All good marketing starts with setting clear goals, and email marketing is no different. What do you want this email campaign to achieve? Although your click rate is an important factor for determining the campaign’s success overall, you also want to focus on bringing content that’s of value to the right audience. Keeping this in mind as the focus of your campaigns will get you closer to the success metrics you’re looking for. 

Think about your target audience. What content will provide them with the most value? As a business, you always want to provide value to ensure happy and returning customers. Understanding the needs and concerns of your target audience is the quickest way to create valuable content that will provide a higher return. 

2. Build a Targeted Email List 

Before you go sending out emails, you want to identify and target the right audience. You don’t want to send out mass emails to the wrong audience, making it unlikely that you’ll get much of a return. You want to reach people who are interested in what you have to say or are more likely to become a customer. Email marketing gives you the power to choose who you want the email to get in front of (and we can always customize that list as you go on). 

A great way to build a targeted email list is by converting people who already visit your website into email subscribers (this could be done with a pop-up window on your site or a form for users to stay on top of news, discounts, etc). 

3.Keep Your Subject Clear 

One big mistake that people make is creating a compelling subject line that has nothing to do with the email content. Although you’ll want to have a subject line that encourages users to click, you also want it to correlate to the content of the email itself or subscribers will feel misled. Your subject line should be clear, action-oriented, and authentic. You should also aim to keep it short, with around 50 characters or less to prevent information overload. 

Make sure the subject line isn’t filled with spam words or in all caps, we all know those aren’t the types of emails that people are excited to see in their inbox. Do your research to stay up-to-date on what current trends are and compare with competitors in your market. 

4.Use A/B Testing 

Once you’ve created a draft of your email campaign, you’ll want to experiment with different factors to see what works with your customers. 

Since there are a lot of factors as to how well your campaign performs, it’s important to narrow the factors down for testing. There’s no point in testing too many variables, because then you won’t be able to pinpoint what works. You’ll want to test one or two things at a time to get the most accurate results. 

Before you send out a massive email campaign, try it out with smaller numbers first. Take two factors you think will be successful and run it to a smaller sized group (maybe 50 people or so). Look at the metrics side by side to see which one performs better, and you’ll know which subject line or call to action was more popular amongst users. 

An example of some variables that people often test are the send time, content of the email, or subject line to name a few. 

Most email campaign software has built-in tools for A/B testing. However, if your email campaign software doesn’t have support for creating A/B campaigns, you also have the option to set one up manually. For additional details on setting up A/B testing for a campaign, check out this article by Mailchimp that helps break it down. 

A Final Note 

When starting off with email campaigns, it can be a bit daunting to figure out what works. But just like most things, it’s all about practicing and improving, responding to audience feedback as you go along. 

The goal of any successful email campaign urges the recipients to take action, engage with your business, and/or help you to get more potential customers or sales. Use these goals along with the value of brand authenticity and you’re already heading in the right direction.

 

Content courtesy of Michelle Finn, Founder of Pop Design Shoppe

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR, MICHELLE FINN

Michelle has a strong marketing background in a versatile set of roles including social media, events, and field marketing. She fell in love with design and combined it with her skills to create her business, Pop Design Shoppe. In the future, she hopes to continue her work within design or the arts (including interior design, fashion, the visual arts, and event design). She wants to continue working on projects that create impact. Her perfect day includes a morning workout, sunny day at the beach (preferably with her dog joining) followed by an evening out with friends at an event.

Connect with Michelle on Instagram @michellekatheriine and follow her business @popdesignshoppe

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A Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Ads

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Facebook advertising isn’t going anywhere yet…with many companies utilizing the platform to reach key audiences. Facebook has developed ways for brands to target specific audiences, which is amazing for digital brand marketing strategy.

Here are some things you should consider when running your next campaign. Consider this a starting guide if you’re new to creating ads on Facebook and looking for some pointers.

1. Defining your target audience

Perhaps the best part of Facebook advertising is the ​ad targeting function​. With this feature, you can narrow down various factors that you want to target within your audience (such as their location, age, interests, etc).

Getting to know who your customers are and targeting those most likely to buy your products or services is what you want from a successful campaign.

Facebook has 1 billion+ daily active Facebook users, so you don’t want your ad to circulate in a pool of non-buyers. If you’re a women’s clothing brand located in Sydney, Australia you wouldn’t want to target men living in Canada…get the idea? Any audiences that are not likely to convert for you means you’re wasting your advertising budget. You want to save your budget for targeting potential customers.

To create and manage your Facebook target audiences, you’ll have to get familiar with the ​Audience Manager.​ If you’re a brand that doesn’t have much of a following or a customer list, you can use​ ​Facebook’s Audience Insights​ as a tool to help you out.

With this tool, you can start by setting campaign audience restrictions such as age or location. For example, you may want to advertise only to people in the U.S. between 18-24.​ Facebook will give you the freedom to choose your audience (and even compare competitor’s data, check out how on this article by ​Napoleon Cat​) which has helped hold its popularity in the digital advertising world.

There are several types of audiences that you can choose from within the Manager tool, let’s break them down (we’ll stick to the basics). Something helpful you can do is simply go on the platform and take a look around. The easiest way to learn the mechanics of Facebook advertising is to try it hands on and just practice.

Saved Audiences

  • You can define your target by choosing people’s location, interests, age range, and gender

  • You can create Saved Audiences in the Audience Manager or during the campaign setup

  • Custom Audiences – This can be referred to as “remarketing.” It’s different from Saved Audiences because it allows you to connect with past visitors on your website, people who have viewed your products but do not make a purchase, and more.

This customer base is likely backed in some familiarity with your brand already = more likely to purchase.

Ever search for a red dress and start seeing red dress ads? Remarketing is just that concept, bringing brands that you’ve browsed before more likely to show up in your feed. There are several ways to create Custom Audiences, with the primary being that you can use your existing customer files or audiences based on your website traffic.

Custom Audiences are usually high-value as they have connected with your brand in some way before. This makes them more likely to convert (make a sale).

Think of it this way…someone is familiar with your brand and they see a discount for a site wide sale. This incentivizes them to explore the website or finally buy those pair of shoes in their cart. They are more likely to be a customer than someone who learns about the brand that same day, through clicking on the ad.

Lookalike Audiences

  • This audience has similar qualities to your custom audience. This audience targets people who are similar to your existing customer base, which again increases their likelihood of a conversion.

  • To create a Lookalike Audience, you will first need to have built a Custom Audience. You then select a target country and a percentage of targeted users who you would like to see your ad.

  • This type of audience helps you to extend your reach during campaigns by targeting people that have qualities similar to your customers.

2. Picking the right types of ads

Consider first the ​types of goals​ related to your Facebook advertising strategy.
What do you want people to do when they see your advertisement? ​Visit your site, purchase a product, etc. Below are three major goals or objectives to consider, as advised by Facebook Business.

  • Awareness: ​getting in front of more people’s eyes, introducing more people to the brand via ads

  • Consideration​: encouraging interactions between potential customers and your ads

  • Conversions​: taking maybe buyers and getting them to become customers

Having these objectives in mind will help determine the direction you want to take with your ads, including the creatives and ad types.

3. Test and Optimize Your Ad Creatives

You’re going to want to test different versions of your Facebook ads so you can see what performs best and then tweak them to optimize future campaigns.

Even if you’re following a campaign guide book, some optimizations are specific to your case and need to be improved through trial and error.

An example to consider would be a single image ad versus. a single video ad…which one gained the most attention or gained the biggest conversion for you?

A term referred to as​ A/B split testing ​is when you run several slightly different variations of the same ads to find out what works and what doesn’t. This way you can pinpoint your most effective ad elements.

4. Track Your Campaigns

With a handful of metrics and variables, we don’t blame you for getting a bit overwhelmed if you’re not familiar. This is why using the platform and trying it yourself is necessary.

For all you newbies, try to run smaller test campaigns and make adjustments so that you can play it safe with your budget.

There is no “right” answer for how to budget, just stay aware of where your dollars are going by putting ad restrictions. Otherwise your budget may drain quickly or ineffectively.

 

Content courtesy of Michelle Finn, Founder of Pop Design Shoppe

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR, MICHELLE FINN

Michelle has a strong marketing background in a versatile set of roles including social media, events, and field marketing. She fell in love with design and combined it with her skills to create her business, Pop Design Shoppe. In the future, she hopes to continue her work within design or the arts (including interior design, fashion, the visual arts, and event design). She wants to continue working on projects that create impact. Her perfect day includes a morning workout, sunny day at the beach (preferably with her dog joining) followed by an evening out with friends at an event.

Connect with Michelle on Instagram @michellekatheriine and follow her business @popdesignshoppe

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Practicing Kindness (To Myself) in 2020

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As the start of a new decade emerges, 2020 has many people feeling refreshed and ready for something new.

These past few years have been both rewarding and challenging for me as well. Heading into a new decade can be an awakening moment. It asks us to question where we are in our career, passions, relationships, and most importantly…ourselves. If you’ve felt stuck (as I have in past years) it can be concerning to think that you will continue doing the same exact thing next year and the following decade.

With this new point in time, I’ve become more aware that time has and will go by…it isn’t stopping for anyone. This has led me to question why I’ve allowed myself to feel stuck in certain areas and what self-doubts I need to acknowledge in order to progress and break free of patterns that don’t serve me. This new year had urged me to ask what it is I truly want for this next decade as well as a reflection of what’s been holding me back.

I’ve always been an advocate for self-care and improvement, because everything you do starts and ends there. How you feel about yourself carries itself into every area of your life and shows in your performance. If your mental and emotional wellness took a backseat in 2019, there’s no better time than now to focus on how you can fill your cup.

If you’ve been feeling unsure, stuck, confused, or unmotivated… it’s time to get in touch with yourself. Start with kindness. Instead of thinking of all the shortcomings or things that you haven’t achieved, a better place to start is by thinking of ways that you can be kinder to yourself.

That’s why I created a list of promises to myself in 2020. I started with kindness, which will in turn help give me the foundation I need to achieve and better understand whatever it is that’s still on my to-do list.

1. I promise to accept who I am now, as I work to be better

Just because you aren’t where you want to be does not mean that you are not deserving. As we achieve goals, we make new ones…so having a mindset of lack will make you feel like you’re never where you want to be.  Life doesn’t always work on your scheduled timeline. We are constantly growing and changing at our own speed, which isn’t comparable to anyone else. So don’t hold yourself to timelines or comparisons. Being kind to yourself exactly as you are will help give you the strength to allow yourself to heal and become better. Don’t beat yourself up about timing.

2. I promise to let go of the toxic people/habits in my life

This could be others, or it could be you. What leaves you feeling drained? Become more aware of how you feel and what’s holding you back. Our whole life is made up of habits. Things that you do every day over time that add up in the long run. We only have so much energy to give, and giving it to things that don’t serve us is a sure way to leave us drained and uninspired.

3. I promise to give myself forgiveness when I make mistakes

We all know nobody’s perfect, but the fear of failing can still haunt us when we have to make a big decision. Or even worse, we become stuck in thought patterns of where we’ve gone wrong before. This can lead us to living in the past rather than being present. Each day is a new day to start over. Forgive yourself. Life is full of lessons, and that’s where the growth comes from. You know now for next time.

4. I promise to remember self-love by sticking to my boundaries

Only you know what feels right. And although it may feel scary to say no, remember that you are your main priority. You don’t have to compromise yourself for the sake of others. There’s a quote that goes,

“Love yourself enough to set boundaries. Your time and energy are precious. You get to choose how you use it. You teach people how to treat you by deciding what you will and won’t accept.” – Anna Taylor

 5. I promise to always keep in mind that I cannot control everything

As someone who loves to be in control of how things are done, this can be a tough one for me to navigate through. But that’s literally life…uncontrollable. All we can ever do is react to the things presented to us…and that’s where our power lies. Trusting in the universe and ourselves allows us to step back and relax. No, you can’t control everything and that’s okay.

6. I promise myself to take opportunities presented to me

 This can be anything…big or small. Life isn’t going to wait for you to be ready. This tip relates a lot to being present–which is something a lot of people struggle with in a world that’s filled with distractions. But if an opportunity is presented to you today, just go do it. That includes going a spontaneous hike cause your friend asked. We never really know how long we have here on earth, so just go do it.

 

Content courtesy of Michelle Finn, Founder of Pop Design Shoppe

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR, MICHELLE FINN

Michelle has a strong marketing background in a versatile set of roles including social media, events, and field marketing. She fell in love with design and combined it with her skills to create her business, Pop Design Shoppe. In the future, she hopes to continue her work within design or the arts (including interior design, fashion, the visual arts, and event design). She wants to continue working on projects that create impact. Her perfect day includes a morning workout, sunny day at the beach (preferably with her dog joining) followed by an evening out with friends at an event.

Connect with Michelle on Instagram @michellekatheriine and follow her business @popdesignshoppe

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Money Talk: 5 Ways to Get Your Finances Together in Your 20’s

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According to a Business Insider article, “American millennials have an average net worth of less than $8,000, meaning they’re financially worse off than any other generation before them.”

Most millennials have $5,000 (or less) with 58% of them having a balance under $5,000 in their savings account, which won’t last too long as an emergency fund. A lot of people in their 20s are dealing with large amounts of student loans and credit card debt which leaves them to live paycheck to paycheck.

While financially planning doesn’t sound too enticing when you’re young, it’s important to make smart investments with your money over time to add up in the long run. There are basic strategies you can incorporate into your financial plan regardless of your income, which will help you set a stronger foundation to start saving money.  

1. Create a budget

Budgeting is crucial, regardless of how much money you make. It may not be the most fun thing in the world, but it will act as a guide to help you figure out the reality of what’s going in and out.

When you can see how much goes out every month (for bills, eating out, your gym membership, whatever) you can more easily see if certain investments are adding up a little too quickly (such as buying lunch from that cute cafe everyday).

If you calculate everything and see that you’re spending more than you make, you can now decide to make small changes that will eventually add up or cancel an unnecessary subscription. There are a lot of resources available to us now to help too, with several financial planning apps on the market.

An easy formula to follow is:

  • 50% for expenses (housing, food, bills, etc)
  • 20% for financial goals (credit cards, retirement, rainy day savings or investments)
  • 30% for variable expenses (vacations, eating out, shopping, etc)
2. Work on building your credit (and keeping an eye on your credit score)

Your credit score is a number that will follow you and affects a lot of big life decisions you’ll be involved in (such as a car payment loan, mortgage, or employment). By building your credit, you will get a better long-term payment rate when applying for any form of loan.

Keeping an eye on your credit score is also important so that you can see where you stand or improve if needed. There are a lot of online resources available to check your credit score online (so no excuses that you didn’t know).

3. Create a plan for your debt

Make a list of everything you owe so that you can be clear on the facts. Then compare it against your budget so that you can properly gauge how much you can add towards the payments. Start with the highest interest rates and pay the minimum on the rest. This will save you the most on interest. Then once you’ve cleared the highest interest bill, continue moving down the line.

4. Create an alternate source of income

At least 37% of Americans now have a side hustle. Having a side hustle is a great way to pick up extra cash on your own schedule. This is also a great opportunity to get creative or pursue that hobby that you’ve been wanting to perfect.

There’s endless opportunities available now as more people have taken up jobs such as Lyft, Amazon Instacart, or Wag to make extra cash. You could even experiment with your passion by using it as extra income while building your expertise until you  can further pursue your career in a different direction.

5. Start Saving (and investing)

If you have the ability to start investing …do it! Even if you’re not sure what to invest in yet, start small. Put aside a little money every week and it will start to add up. The important part is consistency above anything, even $10 a week over a year could mean a couple thousand in few years so don’t push it away just because you don’t see a point in collecting smaller amounts.

Doing some research into investment types is another key to this step. It’s hard to incentivize yourself when you feel like you don’t have a plan, but knowing about the different ways you can invest will help this. Try going on Google and looking up ways to invest your money. Once you have a better idea about real estate, stocks, accounts, bitcoins (whatever sparks your interest) then it may be more motivating to start collecting your money for a purpose. Knowledge is power.

 

Content courtesy of Michelle Finn, Founder of Pop Design Shoppe

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR, MICHELLE FINN

Michelle has a strong marketing background in a versatile set of roles including social media, events, and field marketing. She fell in love with design and combined it with her skills to create her business, Pop Design Shoppe. In the future, she hopes to continue her work within design or the arts (including interior design, fashion, the visual arts, and event design). She wants to continue working on projects that create impact. Her perfect day includes a morning workout, sunny day at the beach (preferably with her dog joining) followed by an evening out with friends at an event.

Connect with Michelle on Instagram @michellekatheriine and follow her business @popdesignshoppe

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Staying Positive on Social Media (Especially When It’s Your Job)

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As someone who works in social media for a living, I know how discouraging scrolling can be at times. Or even just feeling blah after being online for twenty minutes. At this point, we get it. Our online lives aren’t us, or even close to it.

The images, statuses, and profiles are just tiny pieces of information, leaving room for everyone to piece together what they think is the rest of the story. We have become socially aware of the highlight reel that fosters a lack of reality within social media. But why is it that we can still walk away with a sense of lack when scrolling?

When interviewing several artists for my website Pop Design Shoppe (in the fields of music, art, and fashion) most noted that they felt discouraged in their industry as a result of social media comparison. This got me thinking about what people are taking away from their time online. I’ve always loved social media for its power to spread messages virally (either visual or textual) but also its artistic component, something that comes naturally to me. I love editing photos, creating a visual aesthetic for my brand, and seeing what other creators put out there. But even for me, someone who works in professional social media management, I’ve found myself drained many times by trying to keep up in an instantaneous and unrealistic virtual world.

Scroll through the grids of many popular boutiques, influencer profiles, or brands and you will quickly see agency created imagery, drone shots, and perfectly edited beach shoots.

Photos that teams of people and professional tools create, even if they’re designed to look casual or authentic in nature. When the world of advertising meets online consumers, a lot of content can quickly become discreet commercials mixed amongst user posts. So don’t beat yourself up if your iPhone shot isn’t quite as artistically developed as many of your favorite profiles, especially if these people or brands are monetizing the content.

It’s not all bad news though. Social media brings together people in a way that’s never been done before. I’ve been able to connect with so many great business professionals online, as well as leverage both my personal and professional identity. I’ve always loved self-publishing because it made me feel like I had a voice to say anything on my mind, leading me to question what message I want to vocalize online.

As we all experience the ups and downs of this somewhat new virtual world, I’d like to bring focus back to the positive. Not everything we see online is positive, nor is the engagement of its users (hello comments section). But where do we draw the line, and how can we make social media overall a more positive experience rather than a draining one?

When the mind is left unattended, its focus isn’t to keep a positive thought pattern. If you are not consciously making an effort to choose positive thoughts, you may, by default, end up thinking negatively. Subconsciously scrolling online can leave you walking away with a list of negative thoughts if you don’t choose to be aware. As an experiment, scroll through your feed for a few minutes, being conscious of your thoughts, and notice the stories or conclusions your mind comes to. With so much room left to the imagination online, making up stories in regards to our own worth or insecurities is not uncommon.

You can’t control what others post, but you can affect how they make you feel…which inevitably starts with your feelings about yourself. Although we’ve moved more towards more authenticity online, there will always be people, companies, comments, or photos, that can make you feel smaller in comparison if you allow it. Being present and truly aware of where your mind takes you is a big part of staying positive online.

To keep myself from getting too distracted, or scrolling a little too aimlessly, I’ve created a list of ways to stay positive on social media. Just like staying positive in real life, it can be discouraging or even a little depressing to scroll at times. But having personal limits, purpose, and a lighter outlook will help any of those who may have been finding it a challenge.

Resist the unconscious urge to open and scroll when you’re bored (and try to stay away at the very start and end of the day).

This is a hard one to beat. When you’re bored that an easy solution becomes to open an app and scroll endlessly, making a boring Saturday night feel even more boring in comparison to what others are posting online. It can be easy to compare when you’re feeling bored or unsatisfied in some way. Even though you know their Instagram life isn’t a true representation either. So why do we beat ourselves up about it?

When you’re out doing something that brings you joy, its not quite as detrimental that someone else is out enjoying themselves too. When we play the comparison game, on or offline, we will always end up feeling inadequate. Many companies also promote this socially to us big-time, by promoting certain ideals or expectations as a means of gaining customers interest to their products (but that’s a whole other story).

Just like anything in life, balance is the foundation to keep you from feeling burnt out on social media. And starting your day with a scroll is an easy way to feel distracted and cluttered. The way you start your day sets the tone for the whole day, so checking likes or last night’s stories first thing in the morning isn’t necessarily going to put you in the most focused mindset, Try setting time aside later on in the day or set to ignore notifications if you find it difficult to stay off. It can be addicting to feel like you need to be involved but it can lead you to feeling constantly distracted or validated that your online contacts are engaging (or aren’t). But this removes you from what’s going on in real life. 

This same rule applies at the end of the day, when reflecting and disconnecting is most valuable. Spending your last few minutes browsing posts can leave you feeling overstimulated or not able to fully disconnect from the online world. Since the begining and end of your day are so pivotal to both your day and your mental health, its important to use the time for something more beneficial if you’re looking to feel more on track.

Have a purpose on social media (when both browsing and posting)….and engage!

This is where you need to take a closer look at accounts you’re following. Try finding people or accounts to connect with that inspire you in some way. (This tip goes with #3). Staying connected with accounts that uplift you rather than breed negativity are the ones you should fill your feeds with. It can be easy to get caught up in filler or fake news but if they leave you feeling drained after a 20 minute session, they should get the cut. This includes toxic high school friends or any negative past relationships.

For the people you do follow, don’t just lurk through all the posts. What’s stopping you from liking their photo or commenting if you support them? Sometimes I noticed that I wouldn’t like posts from people if I didn’t want to be noticed that day, but this leaves you feeling even less connected. Don’t be invisible, support others! An easy way to make social media a positive force in your life is to engage instead of lurk. Researchers have found that people who comment and connect with others online are happier on social media than people who scroll without engaging.

Turn your envy into inspiration

Hate to break it to you, but going online to envy on the Instagrammer that has the relationship, car, business, vacation, or body you want will not bring any of those things to you. Hating on someone that has the things you desire is only a waste of your time and energy, and leaves you feeling worse about yourself rather than better. Instead of using our energy to be envious of others, we can use that same energy to bring our desires to us knowing that we are just as capable and use those people as a source of inspiration.

Think before posting

On your own account, think about what you’re sending out to the world. Are your posts positive or negative? Before you click post, consider whether it’s making you feel good, serves purpose, or overall has a positive implication to your audience  (rather than wasting more energy seeking likes, comparing, or overthinking).

Let go of your attachment to the outcome, don’t expect a certain number of likes or use it as a measure of success

Unconsciously, you might think that likes equate validation and that the more likes you get the more liked you are as a person or the better you looked in a photo, leading you to become more dependent on likes as a source of approval. Although it may sound silly to think that likes could be an indicator of validation, it can be easy to get caught up in seeking approval from others; online or offline.

Just becoming aware of the feelings you’re taking and receiving from the online world will help you make better decisions as a user. So if you’ve been fixating on the likes or followers, try taking a break or refocusing your content. You will feel happier when you have confidence and believe in what you’re posting, and when you don’t feel the need for it to be liked. Just simply reminding yourself that you don’t need this image or post to be liked, before posting, can be really powerful.

 

Content courtesy of Michelle Finn, Founder of Pop Design Shoppe

CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR, MICHELLE FINN

Michelle has a strong marketing background in a versatile set of roles including social media, events, and field marketing. She fell in love with design and combined it with her skills to create her business, Pop Design Shoppe. In the future, she hopes to continue her work within design or the arts (including interior design, fashion, the visual arts, and event design). She wants to continue working on projects that create impact. Her perfect day includes a morning workout, sunny day at the beach (preferably with her dog joining) followed by an evening out with friends at an event.

Connect with Michelle on Instagram @michellekatheriine and follow her business @popdesignshoppe

sharon-mccutcheon-4jLj-GdRn_A-unsplash

How to Be a S.T.A.R. at Your Next Job Interview

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You’re in a job interview, and things are going well so far. You dressed the part, rocked the interviewer with your extensive background, and even befriended people at the front desk. Then, the interviewer hits you with the dreaded “Tell me about a time when….”

Situational questions can often throw prospective candidates for a loop. Even with adequate preparation, it can still be tricky to properly portray the situation and your relatable skills in regards to the answer that they are seeking out.

You quickly sort through your brain for any relatable situation, eventually coming up with an example that somewhat satisfies the prompt but doesn’t highlight the attributes that the interviewer was seeking. We’ve all been there. Fortunately, there’s a much simpler way to organize information to create a clear and concise answer to make the process behind these questions a little easier.

This method is referred to as the S.T.A.R Method. This technique offers a concrete way to elaborate on your previous accomplishments and skills by giving a situational example and backing it up with associated skills.

How do you know if you should use the S.T.A.R Method? Watch out for key words in behavioral questions, often beginning with:
Tell me about an instance…
Give me an example of…
Describe a time…

 

Besides thinking of the situation, the S.T.A.R Method backs it up with structure so that you don’t end up rambling for ten minutes with unnecessary details. This method provides a framework so that you can stick to the point and highlight the skills that make you a good fit….which is exactly what the interviewer is looking for. It helps you create an easy-to-follow scenario with a clear conflict followed by a resolution.

Now, what is the S.T.A.R method exactly? Let’s break it down. S.T.A.R is an acronym that stands for:
1.Situation: Set the scene and provide situational details.

This is the crucial starting point (and perhaps the most difficult part). You won’t know exactly what the interviewer will ask you, but it’s a good idea to have a few scenarios prepared in your head, so that you can adapt them for different questions.

If the question really throws you for a loop or you just can’t think of one quickly, don’t be afraid to ask for a minute so you can prepare yourself.

2. Task: Describe what your responsibility was in that situation.

After you’ve picked a scenario, it’s time to add any appropriate details. It’s tempting to include all sorts of unnecessary details, but try to avoid this as much as possible before you start going down a rabbit hole. Focus this section on a few sentences and try to keep it concise.

Your goal here is to paint a clear picture of the situation you were in and highlight any particular difficulties.

This can easily become merged with the action portion. However, this section is dedicated to your responsibilities and objectives, then to be followed by the action segment.

3. Action: Explain your actions (and the steps you took)

Now that you’ve given the interviewer a description of both the situation and your role within it, it’s time to explain what you did and what steps you took to resolve the problem. This is the section you want to add extra details. Showcase yourself and your contributions with the details of what program you used, if you worked on a team, any steps that were involved, etc.

4. Result: Share the outcome of your actions (along with the importance of those actions)

Finally-the results! This is your time to shine and explain what effects your contribution had as a whole. Make sure this part is very clear-you don’t want the interviewer to be confused as to what impact your efforts made, that’s the whole point of the question!

Interviewers don’t only care about your actions but also they want to know why it’s important. Make sure to focus on results and include any necessary details-numbers are always a great bonus!

Package all of these components together and you’ve mastered the S.T.A.R method. This process might seem a little overwhelming at first, but with practice it will become a lot more manageable. With enough practice, you’ll be a star in your next interview.

 

Content courtesy of Michelle Finn, Founder of Pop Design Shoppe

Contributing Author, Michelle Finn

Michelle has a strong marketing background in a versatile set of roles including social media, events, and field marketing. She fell in love with design and combined it with her skills to create her business, Pop Design Shoppe. In the future, she hopes to continue her work within design or the arts (including interior design, fashion, the visual arts, and event design). She wants to continue working on projects that create impact. Her perfect day includes a morning workout, sunny day at the beach (preferably with her dog joining) followed by an evening out with friends at an event.

Connect with Michelle on Instagram @michellekatheriine and follow her business @popdesignshoppe

featured image- michelle

How to Determine Your Freelance Value 

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Early on in your freelancing career, you’re mainly focused on finding clients and establishing a name for yourself. When you’re unknown in your field, it’s easy to take on projects for the sake of building clientele. Having a successful career as a freelancer requires hard work and dedication to your craft, and it can be easy to keep your prices at a minimum to stand out from the competition or to solidify more consistent work. 

It’s true that earlier on in your freelancing career you may not make as much as much as you hoped. However, taking on too much work to make up for it or lowering your value also aren’t positive solutions in the long term and will leave you dissatisfied. Staying busy doesn’t always translate into financial success, nor do lower rates equate more work opportunity. Patience is necessary, especially in the beginning. However, as you start gaining experience it’s important to start understanding your value and what you deserve on the receiving end.

Oftentimes, we don’t necessarily price our services relative to the level of service we provide. Many freelancers determine rates based off of their own personal sense of self-worth. In this line of work, many freelancers sell themselves short when it comes to making money. Since we work alone, we’re the ones who have control over our business dynamics and don’t have outside points of reference to guide us. And, because our craft usually is linked to creative work or design, it can be difficult to properly gauge the worth of our work. 

The value of your work is a direct reflection of the quality of what you produce and client satisfaction. Your sense of self-worth has nothing to do with it and it can emotionally affect the rate you decide on. 

 

Try to focus on client feedback and overall customer satisfaction rather than what you necessarily think your rate should be. 

Now that we’ve removed emotions as a factor of determining value, it’s time to think about the things that really do matter when it comes to figuring out what your time and effort are worth. Some factors to keep in mind are:

Experience

How long have you been in the workplace? Think about past projects and skills associated with work you’ve done. If you specialize in something, make sure this is highlighted as a factor. Anytime you’re an expert or specialist in a particular area, this spikes up the price. 

Your Time

Being busy doesn’t necessarily equate better work, but it’s likely that if you are busier that you are doing something right. With this in mind, it should cost more to get some of your time since it’s a scarcity.

Project Timeline

If you’re project-based and the client is in a hurry, it puts more pressure on you to create quality work in a tight timeframe. Make sure to take this factor into account if it arises. 

Your Location

If you live in a city with a higher cost of living, it’s natural to up the hourly rate a bit due to local competitors. A helpful resource for me has been Freelancing Females. It was founded in 2017 by Tia Meyers, a freelance Social Media Consultant, after not getting paid for her work and now serves as a global community of over 13,000 freelancers. On their website, you can anonymously enter your demographics and specialized service and see how rates compare to you locally. Seeing the rates of other people in my trade really helped me determine how I compared. 

Another important tip is to have income goals. Having income goals (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) will keep you focused on what you’re actually making without the fluff. It can be easy to get caught up in the creative side rather than the finances, but really keeping track of this as well as budgeting will help you stay focused. 

While it’s great to have a satisfied client, you never want to accommodate so much that you don’t feel fulfilled. That doesn’t mean you should never be willing to negotiate a price, but it does mean that you shouldn’t sell yourself short. 

It’s not your responsibility to take on a project just because someone wants you to, so don’t be afraid to turn down work if necessary. In reality, you have to best decide what works for your time and finances.

Content courtesy of Michelle Finn, Founder of Pop Design Shoppe

Contributing Author, Michelle Finn

Michelle has a strong marketing background in a versatile set of roles including social media, events, and field marketing. She fell in love with design and combined it with her skills to create her business, Pop Design Shoppe. In the future, she hopes to continue her work within design or the arts (including interior design, fashion, the visual arts, and event design). She wants to continue working on projects that create impact. Her perfect day includes a morning workout, sunny day at the beach (preferably with her dog joining) followed by an evening out with friends at an event.

Connect with Michelle on Instagram @michellekatheriine and follow her business @popdesignshoppe

Michelle

Six Tips for Being A Successful Remote Employee

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In a 2018 study, 70% of people work remotely at least once a week. Most people associate working at home with convenience, no commuting, wearing whatever you want, flexibility, and control over your schedule. Working at home certainly comes with these perks, but can also come with challenges of being distracting, isolating, demotivating, and stressful due to a lack of office structure or team engagement.

Throughout my work experience, I have always worked in remote positions. Initially, I was captivated by the many positives that came with it, like the ones mentioned above. It meant I got to work from anywhere, added to my personal freedoms, allowed me a lifestyle similar to being my own boss, and saved me the time of having to get ready and go into work everyday.

Although all of these are valid and beneficial perks of working remotely, I have seen both the positives and negatives in my own experience. Being in remote positions taught me self-discipline, reliance, and significantly increased my organizational skills due to the high level of independence within a remote role. I am going to share some of my personal tips and tricks for staying productive while working remotely that I’ve learned in my three years of experience working remotely.

#1. Separate Your Living and Workplace

One problem that can often arise when working remotely is defining the line where life and work separates. When you work from anywhere, that means almost everywhere can become your workplace. It’s hard to escape the work mindset and relax when you’re done without feeling like you’re in the same spot or not knowing how to fully turn off.

That’s why it’s vital to have separate work and living spaces. Co-working spaces are awesome if you have the income or your company offers it, however they aren’t necessary. A library, cafe, or even just a dedicated office (or desk/corner) at home allows you to create boundaries so that work doesn’t end up becoming your life. When you only work in that specific area, it’ll become more natural to separate from that area and work-related tasks once you’re done.

Another tip to add to this is to mix up your environment every now and then. You have the freedom to go anywhere…so why not check out a new cafe every once and awhile? Changing your environment may give you a wave of inspiration just from trying something new and getting out of routine.

#2. Have Set Times (And Breaks) to Regulate Work/Life Balance

Similarly to not drawing boundaries with your environment, the same thing can be said of creating limitations with your time. Working on your own means setting your own schedule, and can lead to overworking by not knowing when to stop or underworking by setting too many breaks. Working too much leads to burnout and ruins your productivity in the long run. “Making up time” by not getting things done within scheduled hours extends your working hours and cuts into recuperation time, which is needed within any job to produce quality work.

Allow yourself to set up a schedule or time clock…and then once you’ve hit your mark, allow yourself to stop. That’s it. Don’t let hours run into the late evening in overtime or always try to get ahead with your work. This obviously is okay sometimes when needed or if you have the extra time, however if it becomes routine (warning) you will burn out.

Without the routines of a traditional office, breaking regularly throughout the day can sometimes be left out in hopes of achieving more work. Be sure to schedule-in regular breaks because no one can work all the time. Plus, it will help keep you motivated in the times you are working if you’re able to see a clear finish line. Take a quick walk outside, check your phone, run an errand, or even just get some air for a few minutes so that you don’t feel tied to the task at hand.  

#3. Get Familiar with online Management Tools

The rise in remote work and need for collaborative platforms has led to cloud-based team management tools such as Zoom, Trello, Skype, and more. Spend some time finding out how your team likes to keep track of projects and what the best method of communication is. Group chats are a great way to stay in touch with your team in real time throughout the day. But it can also be hard to navigate, distracting, or unfulfilling if you like consistent feedback. Finding out what communication method works best for both you and your team is crucial in staying productive and not feeling overwhelmed.  Having that connected network will help you feel less isolated and make tasks much easier for you and them.

If you work alone, spend some time thinking about how you’d like to work and keep track of your projects. Moving your to-do list into a digital platform will help you stay on top of it and aid in task management. Organization is a key factor in working by yourself, so take some time to find out what method works best for you and do some research on what tools best suit your needs.

#4. Figure out your Working Style

If you’ve just started working remotely, it’s a great idea to figure out the environment that you need to work successfully. Do you like white noise? Silence? Being completely by yourself or being around others? All of these factors will help you decide whether you perform best at home, in a cafe, outside, etc.

Other things to consider are whether you’re more productive in the morning or in the evening, and whether you’re motivated by taking small breaks throughout the day or a longer midday break. Since you have control of your schedule, you need to try out different methods and see what best suits. This is the beauty of remote work; getting to choose and work during your best hours.

#5. Remove Distractions

If you’re anything like me, the chance to scroll through your feed for hours can be tempting (especially if you work in social media *sigh*). This is especially difficult in a remote working space where there are no colleagues or management to look over your shoulder. I use AppBlock to block distracting apps until I have gotten the work I need done first. Then, when you’ve hit your break feel open to scrolling guilt-free.

#6. Embrace the Perks of Working Remotely

Working remotely may have its challenges, but it’s also a great way to travel, do your own thing, and basically go anywhere as long as your computer is with you. Take advantage of this system and go new places if you can. You may not be working remote forever, so try to use the advantages you’re given as a way to challenge yourself in being more organized as well as enjoy rocking your sweats during your 8am conference call. Working remotely will be discouraging at times, but nothing in work comes without challenges. Find the positives and roll with it, because working remotely can be pretty awesome.

Content courtesy of Michelle Finn, Founder of Pop Design Shoppe

Contributing Author, Michelle Finn

Michelle has a strong marketing background in a versatile set of roles including social media, events, and field marketing. She fell in love with design and combined it with her skills to create her business, Pop Design Shoppe. In the future, she hopes to continue her work within design or the arts (including interior design, fashion, the visual arts, and event design). She wants to continue working on projects that create impact. Her perfect day includes a morning workout, sunny day at the beach (preferably with her dog joining) followed by an evening out with friends at an event.

Connect with Michelle on Instagram @michellekatheriine and follow her business @popdesignshoppe

 

anxiety

My Thoughts on Accepting Rejection

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You just wrapped up a killer job interview, anticipating the good news coming your way that you’ve gotten the job. Or maybe it was a date that you thought went great. Days go by and you hear no word. Did they not like me? Did I say something wrong? How could this happen again? Negative thoughts may start to slip in about yourself or things you “did wrong” that could have chased away (what you thought was) the perfect opportunity, job, person, or situation. This is where you can easily start going down the insecurity rabbit hole, picking apart reasons why we were at fault when we can’t justify the situation.

Rejection can be a bitter pill to swallow, but it is an unavoidable aspect of being human. We all experience it, and yet it’s hard to accept that there isn’t something we could have done to change the outcome. Rejection can give us a sense of losing something we thought we had, violating our expectations. It scares us because it reminds us that we cannot control people and circumstances and it can be an awakening reminder of our insecurities or old patterns.

Our reaction to rejection is often tied to experiences from our past, using it as justification for the lies we tell ourselves.

It may bring up old feelings or circumstances that you’ve experienced before that you hoped you would never feel again.  Sometimes we are functioning in a cycle of experiences, repeating the same thing over and over because we haven’t coped and dealt with the initial problem. This is why our reaction to rejection is just as important (if not more) than the rejection itself and why learning how to deal with it is so important!

Letting go of expectations will save you a lot of heartbreak in the long run. Accept that life has something different in store for you…and to trust that (often times what’s meant for you is even better than you expect or imagine). Accept that you’re disappointed right now. Accept that this situation happened to teach you something and look into what that is, rather than seeing it as a loss. The more you challenge yourself, the more you’ll experience rejection as an inevitable part of the process. Its either you keep trying and finally get what you want (even if it takes a couple of tries) or you just don’t face rejection at all through inaction, which ends up being the biggest risk of all because you never get what you desire the most.

Something that I do every day on Instagram is read (and save) memorable and inspiring quotes that I come across. Reading quotes from other people normalizes the emotions we all share, and brings light to situations or emotions I may not be able to understand fully at the time in such a simple way. I wanted to share a few quotes about rejection with you that may help put it into perspective and change your perspective about what rejection really is…..an opportunity for you to find something meant for you.

 

“I believe that rejection is a blessing because it’s the universe’s way of telling you that there’s something better out there.”
– Michelle Phan
“We all learn lessons in life. Some stick, some don’t. I have always learned more from rejection and failure than from acceptance and success.”
-Henry Rollins
“Most fears of rejection rest on the desire for approval from other people. Don’t base your self-esteem on their opinions.”
-Henry Mackay
“If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.”
– Henry David Thoreau
“I don’t want anyone who doesn’t want me.”
 – Oprah Winfrey
“Each rejection brings us closer to acceptance. “
– Ramesh Lohia
“Rejected pieces aren’t failures; unwritten pieces are.”
– Greg Daugherty
“Rejection isn’t failure. Failure is giving up. Everyone gets rejected. It’s how handle it that determines where you’ll end up.” 
– Richard Castle
“If we live for people’s acceptance, we will die from their rejection. “ 
– Lecrae
“Rejection is merely a redirection; a course correction to your destiny.”
– Bryant McGill

 

Content courtesy of Michelle Finn, Founder of Pop Design Shoppe

Contributing Author, Michelle Finn

Michelle has a strong marketing background in a versatile set of roles including social media, events, and field marketing. She fell in love with design and combined it with her skills to create her business, Pop Design Shoppe. In the future, she hopes to continue her work within design or the arts (including interior design, fashion, the visual arts, and event design). She wants to continue working on projects that create impact. Her perfect day includes a morning workout, sunny day at the beach (preferably with her dog joining) followed by an evening out with friends at an event.

Connect with Michelle on Instagram @michellekatheriine and follow her business @popdesignshoppe

 

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