How to Get Funding and Keep Your Business Running During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

How to Get Funding and Keep Your Business Running During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

Small businesses, entrepreneurs, freelancers, artists, makers, and performers have seen their businesses all but disappear during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic. In this blog post, I go into detail about the CARES Act, recently passed in Congress, that provides emergency funding options for small businesses and all individuals whose primary compensation comes from self-employed work. Download my one-page quick start guide to funding eligibility, preparation, and application to keep your business running today!

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How to Work from Home and Advocate for Teleworking

How to Work from Home and Advocate for Teleworking

Employers are still keeping employees at work and considering furlough, layoffs, and other “solutions” to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that leave employees jobless or without income. Instead of waiting for the axe to fall, I’ve put together a guide to help you proactively advocate for yourself and your team members to work from home. Apps, steps, considerations, and step-by-step “How to Telework” guidance from my six years as a remote worker, manager, and leader.

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Interview with Hannah Theissen: New 2020 Book Launch - Seasonal Slow Knitting

Interview with Hannah Theissen: New 2020 Book Launch - Seasonal Slow Knitting

Author and knitwear designer Hannah Thiessen discusses her creative process and her upcoming book: Seasonal Slow Knitting. Get a peek into Hannah’s creative process, how her new book expands on the principles established in her first book Slow Knitting, and how you can incorporate some of the tenets into your life.

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Miss Americana: Taylor Swift's New Documentary Tells My Story, Too

Miss Americana: Taylor Swift's New Documentary Tells My Story, Too

Despite what you’ve heard, Taylor Swift & Lana Wilson’s Miss Americana is not a “pop star doc” you should watch for juicy details or any kind of ‘explanation.’ In the 85-minute Netflix-hosted documentary, Swift tells her story in her own words and her own voice through the lens of growing up with her career. Like millions of fans who have grown up with Taylor Swift, the documentary struck a chord with my personal experience, too: Pursuing dreams with reckless abandon, wanting to be seen as a ‘good girl,’ bearing the weight of expectations on women’s bodies and behaviors, sexual assault, and coming of age in a derisive political era.

In Miss Americana, Taylor Swift not only tells her story, she tells mine too.

Content Warning: Sexual assault and discussion of an eating disorder.

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Hello Goodwill, It's Nice to Meet You

Hello Goodwill, It's Nice to Meet You

I had the opportunity to tour my local Goodwill-Industries in Knoxville, TN. Director of Marketing Erin Rosalina gave me the lay of the land, the building, and the mission driving Goodwill's community impact. If you've ever donated to Goodwill, shopped secondhand, or wondered what they're doing behind those enormous thrift shops, this article explains everything.

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Book Review: All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

Book Review: All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

At the recommendation of a friend, I gave All The Birds in the Sky a read - and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Written by trans author Charlie Jane and published in the fast-growing speculative-fiction genre, this sci-fi/fantasy mash-up gave me plenty of think about and many moments to enjoy. However, I'm completely honest in my review and share my reasons for opinion in this post. 

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Story Review: Monkey King, Faerie Queen by Zen Cho

Story Review: Monkey King, Faerie Queen by Zen Cho

Riding on another stellar recommendation from Didi, Monkey King, Faeire Queen by Zen Cho opened up another small pocket of the literary scene I'd long-forgotten from my childhood: Speculative Fiction. My story review is short and sweet but comprehensive, highlighting the important themes, narrative elements, and historical ties this story seamlessly interweaves. 

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Embracing the Cultural Renaissance in The New Paris by Lindsey Tramuta

Embracing the Cultural Renaissance in The New Paris by Lindsey Tramuta

As a prominent food and travel journalist, Lindsey's perspectives on the named neo bistro evolution of dining in Paris and her commentary on subsequent industries: Desserts, Coffee, Cocktails; are without a need of introduction. However, the back third of the book, dedicated to: Shopping, Crafts, and her personal favorites left me hovering dangerously over a one-way ticket on Kayak.

Makers and business owners of all ages, ethnicities, and perspectives of those every in-between color the deep depths of the new Parisian class. These individualists have so much passion, a sense of daring (as opening a business in Paris isn't the easiest of endeavors), and dedication to celebrating their cultural roots down to the brand and packaging of their products and services. 

Lindsey is an American with a decade of Parisian living under her belt, with seemingly no intent to turn back. Speaking with her briefly at her signing in New York City last month, she detailed how welcoming and generous the featured individuals were with their stories, and further debunked the widely-believed American rumor that this were an unkind community. On the contrary, The New Paris illustrates a new wave of welcoming, creative, and collaborative people. 

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Creating a "Capsule Wardrobe"

Creating a "Capsule Wardrobe"

There are a lot of blogs out there that are entirely about capsule wardrobes.

You can find innumerable tips and lists and videos all about the creation of a capsule wardrobe. However, going through it is messy - a list doesn't prepare you for that. For years, I was "trying" to minimize and simplify my wardrobe (for the psychological/performance enhancing benefits alone), be more conscious of my consumption (buying quality, choosing a classic to wear long-term, etc), and to be truly voting with my dollars. It's clear to me that I was expecting a list or a worksheet to tell me everything I needed to know, how to budget for it, how to let go of pieces you love but never wear, and how to allow myself to feel comfortable in my own skin.

This is how I'm starting to create my capsule wardrobe. I'll write posts along the way, share what worked, what didn't, and what I discovered. 

Photo credit: Atelier de Curiosite

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