Wow I honestly can't believe it has been exactly one year since I started Cali Jae Designs. I have learnt so much, built incredible relationships and have grown so much from this experience and I am truly blessed to be able to pursue my passion. It has been an honor to work with such passionate incredible boss babes and I am so excited for what the future has to hold!

5 Lessons I Learned In My First Year Of Business

Building Strong Relationships Is Key

By collaborating and networking with other people in your niche, you are building relationships that will not only help you and your biz, but you may even get a great friend out of it! I have made so many friends through building relationships with others and we are always happy to share each others work and help support each other in our endeavors.

Visibility + Engagement Are The Dynamic Duo

Without being visible or engaging with your audience, you will have a very hard time getting noticed among your target market. You want to constantly be putting out great valuable content and engaging with your audience asking them questions, providing value, answering their questions and so on. A great way to increase your visibility and engagement are in Facebook groups filled with your target market! Check out my post on Facebook groups HERE!

Protect Yourself

As a service based entrepreneur I don't do anything without a signed contract as well as having a terms & conditions and privacy policy on my website. It is so important to protect your business and assets!

Systems + Strategies Need To Be In Place

Many of us are solopreneurs and we wear many hats. Systems and strategies help us manage our business and ease the stress a bit. Some of my favorite systems include Google Apps For Work, Hootsuite, Mailchimp, Adobe Creative Suite, Asana, and Evernote. You also need to put in place strategies for email marketing, social media, blogging, etc. This helps put together a workflow that you can follow so you can be prepared and not have to reinvent the wheel every time.

Taking Time Off Is Important

Last but certainly not least would be taking time away from work. As a creative entrepreneur it is extremely easy to get stuck in a rut and work nonstop. By taking weekends off, turning the computer off after a certain time and taking time to really pamper myself, I have become less stressed, have increased my creative flow and have felt less cluttered. We all deserve some time away to breathe, spend time with loved ones and get back in touch with our purpose.

To help celebrate our first birthday, I will be giving away a branding package including the following: