from the blog

I was 17 when my mum threatened to never speak to me again. But it wasn’t my fault – it was Perfect Margot’s fault.* Perfect Margot had perfect scores across the grade. She spoke fluent Shakespeare and could calculate advanced algorithms on the fly. And she did it all...

It’s the week after my latest launch of Design Biz Bootcamp (if it were a TV series, we’d be in season seven now!) and I’m officially doona-deep in celebratory Bed Week.   Ah, Bed Week. Not only is it my post-launch celebration and ritual, it’s also my pathway to...

Four shitty mindset mistakes I’m making in my business right now(But that I really don’t want YOU to make.) Everyone has bad days. It’s a known caveat of this whole ‘life’ thing. But when bad days bleed into bloody horrible weeks, your chances of catching Shitty...

Everybody knows that great branding, funnels and email marketing will help you grow and build your design biz.But the secret overachiever in my biz-building mix? Cake.MOTHER-LOVIN’ CAKE.Don’t believe me? Keep reading. I recently had the opportunity to chat to one of...

I recently celebrated a BIG birthday: My 19th 21st .(For the mathematically challenged, that’s my 40th birthday.)And with this important day came the arrival of my Fully-Fledged, Responsible Adult papers. From now on, I’m a middle-aged mastermind with her shit...

How to prove to your clients that your designs are awesome (And, like, require zero revisions but #alltheapproval from them.) Hold my hand. Take a breath. And let’s take an imaginary day trip back in time to your school days. You’re there, bright-eyed and optimistic,...

Your zero-bullshit guide to running your own business as a mumAs women/mums/business owners, we always have a lot of shit going on.Today, I have my seven-year-old home sick, plus a one-year-old that insists on cuddling the germ-ridden seven-year-old. Cute, for sure....

I remember when I first charged $1,000 for a logo design. There was a sense of giddy euphoria - followed by a disturbing dumping of dread. What had I done?! I worried. … And was it about to ruin my business? The answer, in hindsight, was a big, “Hell no.” In fact, I...

"Life isn’t always easy, Anna."   These are the words my mother used to repeat when I was growing up. And as I sat at the dinner table in my freshly mum-washed clothes and waited for her to serve me the meal she’d lovingly made, I didn’t really get it.   Er, of course...

“How are you?”   This was the question I asked eight different lady bosses last week. And you wanna know how they all responded?   “BUSY!” Yep, I get it. We’re all super fricken busy. And sure, we could go into a debate about how busy we really are and how this is all...

Three designers walk into a bar.   (And no, this isn’t a joke … or is it? Keep reading to find out,) Each of them has a paper bag on their head with a price written on it in black marker.  In front of them, their dream client must choose just one designer to go ahead...

If you’re anything like me, you’re not willing to rest on your laurels iMac: You want to constantly grow and get better as a graphic designer. Still here? High-five. You’re my kinda lady. Now, I know I’m not the best designer in the world… but after 20 years of...

Tired of wrestling with two choice ‘f’ words? No, I’m not talking about FUDGE … but yes, please, if you have some. And no, I don’t mean FUN … but yes, please, go ahead and have some. Instead, I’m talking about the infamous two ‘f’ words fuelling your entrepreneurial...

I get it: You want to be the business that bends over backwards to make their clients happy.   But … at what cost to you?   Last week, we celebrated International Women’s Day. Seeing all of the positive posts on social media made me feel even luckier than normal to be...