Passions Ignited - My Life is Crafted World!

Many of you know I am going through a rebrand of the Savvy Sassy She to Arienne Gorlach - Luxe Life Adventuress at the moment. This site will be going through a revamp over Christmas time to bring it in line with inspiration and education around life design (yeehaa!). There will be more how-to posts and ways to become an Adventuress in the biggest journey of all...your life!

In the meantime, here's a video to share some of the passion that I have around implementing the gorgeous life you are creating.The reason behind my diary/planner line, Life is Crafted :) Enjoy!




 Make is as you wish Adventuress!
Arienne

Room of Inspiration - Live Aspire Blog Event - Connie Chapman & Alison Morgan

Connie Chapman, Me!, Alison Morgan

Sunday morning saw me adventuring through the sunny sidewalks of Paddington and Darlinghurst to have a morning of inspiration and play.

Jessica Nazarali of Live Healthy Simply and Ursula Williams of The Aspirer have started putting on regular events called LiveAspireBlog. Walking into the room, I was met with a brightly dressed group of ladies (I added to the gorgeous rainbow with an orange and yellow combo) that had gathered to hear the two speakers of the day Connie Chapman of ConnieChapman.com and Alison Morgan of Relauncher.com. 

These spaces are so great to connect with other women. Yes, it can be a little daunting walking in by yourself, but there are others there flying solo too and we're oh so welcoming to each other. We're all attracted there for similar reasons - personal growth, business nurturing, creating whizbang microenterprises  with heart and positive impacts and tapping into the inspiration of others. It's not too hard to find like minded soul sistas there!

We had the opportunity to mingle with the speakers before and after the speeches and had some absolutely wonderful conversations with these magic-makers and met a great group of gals!

Learnings & TakeAways

Alison Morgan - Relauncher

• Customer service is super important. When building a relationship we can  ask customers and clients what they really want and see if we can provide an offering to meet their needs
• Be flexible in the direction of your business. It should be influenced by your customers and what is going on in the world. Sometimes you start out with one type of product and service and it evolves into something  different (small aside, did you know that YouTube started out as a dating site?!).
• The first year is extremely hard. It takes a lot of work and dedication. After a while, even though there is still a lot of work to do, things just start to happen more effortlessly.
• We are totally in charge of what we do. There is no Boss we have to listen to besides ourselves! There are no boundaries - it is limitless - so we can shape and mold what we want our businesses and lives to be.

Connie Chapman - Connie Chapman 

• Always write from a place of love, passion and authenticity as it will resonate much more with yourself and your readers. Write from the heart not the head.
• Transitioning from a full time job to your business, come from a place of real intention, not financial need as it will come through to your readers. Get a part time job to satisfy your financial requirements as you transition if you feel it will help you.
• Look at creating other income streams to supplement your main focus. Programs, products and E-books are great ways to create income and give your clients what they need even when you can't coach them one-on-one.
• Ask your audience what they want.
• Don't listen to the nay-sayers. Connie says, "I'll only take advice from people that have what I want.". Love it!

It is so nice to hear about the journeys of others and be able to relate to what they've been through and get inspired by their stories and advice. Working solo means you're in your own little world for most of the day so the ability to reach out and make real world connections and hear how others have created their businesses is priceless!

If you've not already checked the ladies out, what are you waiting for?! You'll be happy you've welcomed them into your lives :) Thank you Jess and Ursula for putting on such a great morning.

Make it what you wish Adventuress!
Arienne

Feeding Inspiration Into My World

What a way to start the day!

This morning, I kicked the day off with a dose of inspiration and connecting with like minds. Every month, Vibewire and the Powerhouse Museum put on FastBreak, a pre-work morning event and breakfast with 5 presenters speaking for 5 minutes on the month's topic.

Today was on the topic of Craft (close to my heart because of Life is Crafted!). It was five entrepreneurs discussing their take on Craft and Crafting. I always take something away from these sorts of events. Whether a re-determination to take action, a specific thing to do or inspiration to fuel my work and my being.

The pic above was of the first speaker, Rupal Ismin of Andable. Andable is a wonderful online marketplace with a difference - you can buy 'products directly from indie sellers in Australia and around the world. 
10% of every sale goes to fund a micro loan (or 'small business loan') to a person in need in a developing country.'

I've had my Andable account created for a while now, I just need to start stocking my shop there. This morning reminded me to get my Life is Crafted diaries and products organised so I can list them! Meeting Rupal after the presentation was also a treat. I am always interested in the people and personalities behind the scenes of businesses I'm drawn to.

Then I rounded it off with a coffee meeting with my weekly mastermind posse - two kickass women doing wonderful things in the world with their social enterprises. As one of them said - it was 40 minutes of Goosebump goodness going around. It is such an honour to have my path growing alongside theirs and to be along for the journey!

Sprinkling inspiration into your everyday is super important to keep you heading in the direction you want. The good news is that it is not hard to do. Here are 5 ideas:

1. Find and attend events in your area that have inspiring speakers and attendees.
2. Find a blog to read that inspires you to be or do more.
3. Make a regular date with people in your world that uplift you.
4. Take a walk and find the awe and wonder in the everyday things that surround you.
5. Connect to your dreams and goals. Have a daily reminder of the why behind what you are doing to push you forward.

How do you feed inspiration into your world?

Make is as you wish,
Arienne

February 2013 Dreams & Behinds The Scenes Update!

Dearest Savvies,
Well, I've turned a corner. I've found a really tangible avenue to channel my passion and energy into. You may have noticed I've not posted a lot here recently. The reason is I've started Life is Crafted. I believe diaries, organisers and planners (or whatever you'd like to call them!) is the basis of lifestyle design.

What you make time for and schedule into your days becomes your life. The pages I've created for Life is Crafted help with inspiration, creativity, productivity and lists for reflection and planning.

Savvy Sassy She is the bigger picture of making life what you want it to be while the products of Life is Crafted is an implementation of it. I've also co-launched LifeTyped which is a manifestation of celebrating your life's moments in gorgeous typographic art.

Anyways, I just wanted to explain what has been going on behind the scenes!

I've done a lot in the last few months, but to draw a line in the sand here are my February Dreams...

Personal

1. Plan trip to Perth - work and social
2. Celebrate little sister's 18th birthday! She's not my daughter but she makes me feel old!
3. Celebrate the wonderful other sister's return to Oz from a few years in the UK
4. Celebrate the Valentine's sentiment on a different day with The Man (we won't be together on the 14th!)
5. Start Healthy Habits Project - deets to come
6. Workout plan to reach health goal on the 1st March 2013
7. Discuss Family Food Blog with youngest sister
8. Look at Christmas Flights to have a snowy European Christmas

Professional

1. Plan personal and professional projects for 2013
2. Create personal branding document
3. Work on Business routines
4. Organise office workflows
5. Release FamilyTyped and RomanceTyped for LifeTyped
6. LifeTyped Etsy Listings
7. Life is Crafted Etsy Listings
8. Create and implement blog plans
9. Create business plan for Life is Crafted
10. List product sections for sale
11. Work on product and production development
12. Do full computer backup
13. Enjoy the business!

What are one or two of your February 2013 plans SSSs?

Make it as you wish!

Arienne

December 2012 Dreams/November Review

Summer Christmas!

I feel as if this month has gone past in a blur of productivity and yummy refreshments. Luckily December is a great month to stop and review the past year and start looking forward to the next. My December Dreams are mainly made up of these activities :)

DECEMBER DREAMS

1. 2012 Year in review session
2. New Year's goals and resolutions
3. Revamp routines
4. Plan projects and commitments for 2013
5. Develop product range for Life is Crafted
6. Develop product range for LifeTyped
7. Maintain Family Christmas tradition - interviews
8. Celebrate NYE with ones I love
9. Finally go to the hairdresser!
10. Other long overdue pampering - massage & beautician
11. Attend Hungarian Christmas party with The Man
12. Host informal LifeTyped launch party and catch up drinks
13. Attend 10thousandgirl Link Up Event
14. Write a gift guide and share goodies with friends and network
15. Attend local Christmas street party and connect with neighbours
16. Check out the Finders Keepers market
17. Wave a temporary farewell to biz partner as she jets off to New Zealand
18. Organise computer - clean up desktop and files
19. Esty and Andable myself up
20. Find awesome basic advice from an accountant for legal set up
21. Tax prep

NOVEMBER DREAMS REVIEW

1. Launch Life is Crafted - printable planner refills that are more than just an appointment recorder - Done! So excited to finally see the tangible outcome of one of my dreams!
2. Launch another biz of which I have a wonderful Co-founder :) - Done! www.lifetyped.com is live! Gorgeous prints around celebrating life!
3. Do more videos for my Life is Crafted YouTube channel - feel free to subscribe! - Done! I'm so chuffed to have over 100 subscribers now - I've got some great videos in the works too :)
4. Organise Perth christmas trip (mostly Zander related organisation - we'll have a flying puppy!) - Done! We just need to get a crate now...
5. Spend quality time with the Daddy-O - It has been challenging with so many business things going on, but we've managed to have wonderful dinners together most nights and we went out for a lovely lunch yesterday!
6. Write my non-fiction version of NaNoWriMo - Not done! I mean really. What was I thinking?! Launching two businesses and writing a book?! This has been postponed!!
7. Help out at Bookclub Fundraiser join us if you can! - Done! What an eye-opening evening. I laughed and I cried and I got inspired to help. If you've not already heard of Geraldine Cox and her Sunrise Children's Villages in Cambodia, I strongly suggest you do. One way of supporting is buying candles
8. Attend lovely friends' baby shower - Done! Some great ideas and activities!
9. Jazz in the Park, dinners with friends, Bday celebrations and nothing more! - Done! I really tried to keep focussed on what I had to do in the short-term. I worked hard and had a few outings - but nothing too over the top!
10. Remember tear myself away from the computer to exercise because it is good for me - Hmmm, so so. I did start yoga back up for a few days, but I really need to get back into the swing of things now that the urgent launch dates are over
11. Maintain date nights with The Man - Hmmm, not so great at doing this. Luckily The Man is uber understanding and supportive!
12. Breathe, be grateful and enjoy the busy-ness! Remember the big picture. -  Done! I'm not saying it was easy and I didn't get stressed, but most of the time I remembered to try and enjoy the journey - It helped when others noticed I was very stressed and pointed it out and reminded me to breathe :)

What's one of the things you're planning for December Savvies?

Make it as you wish,

Neglecting Me

I'm having a really off few days. Not sure if it is because:
A) I've launched Life Is Crafted and having a bit of a lull (even though there is still heaps to do!)
B) I worked 16+ hours for a few weeks in the lead up to the launch and I didn't balance it with healthy living (not much exercise at all)
C) I had a big weekend and let loose after being so work focussed and my body and mind is not handling excess alcohol and the repercussions...
D) There is something else going on and the Universe is sending me signals to pay attention.

You'd think I'd have learned my lesson from the experiences in my past to try to live a more balanced life - to listen to signals and know how beneficial doing yoga, journaling and theta is for my mind, body and soul.

Everything was going so well that I think one side of me said I didn't need to do all that 'good' stuff. I was in the flow, kicking goals and my attention was taken up by positive deadlines and getting all the necessary stuff done. My priorties seemed right, but skewed that in the end I neglected my core health and the habits that give me strength, sanity and stability through challenging, and even enjoyable times.

I guess this post is me talking out loud a little. Trying to work through these icky feelings and attempting to understand what is going on.

I know the solution and the lesson is here, I just have to be patient and attentive and catch the penny when it drops.

Do you ever feel anything like this SSSs?

Making it as I wish,
Arienne xo

My Portable Office

I mostly work from home, but also work at the 10thousandgirl shared space once a week and then at random places on an ad hoc basis when I just need to get out!

This means I have to have all my important stuff together so I can do what I need to wherever I am.

Some people are very minimalist. I am not one of those people.

I am visual - I need paper.
I need lists I can see and schedules that are in front of me.

So here are the items that make up my portable office (and yes, sometimes I am really daggy and I cart them around in a wheelie case - it was not sexy enough to photograph for this post.):

Phone & Headphones

I love listening to podcasts on the go and the headphones are also good for handsfree conversations.

iPad

I gave up on my internet dongler because it really was hopeless! Now I just quickly check and send emails from the iPad if necessary.

 

 Laptop & Mouse

I don't like the mouse on the laptop so I always have my wireless mouse on hand. It is especially helpful when I'm fussing around with excel spreadsheets and jumping between different programs.

Diary/Organizer/Planner

I cannot live without my planner. It has all my important information in it and its where I schedule and prioritise what is going on in my week.

 

Blog Planner

Since I created my own blog planner I wonder how I survived before! It helps me plan what posts should be ready when and keeps it altogether and clear for my chaotic mind.

 

Notebook

While my diary keeps me on track I use my notebook to scribble out plans and details of the projects I'm working on. I prefer paper first and then I put things together and edit on the computer.

Pencil Case

It makes such a difference writing and planning in colour with nice pens as opposed to just boring old blue or black ink. That's why I carry around my pink polka dot pencil case. It holds all the important writing and work tools including:

Whiteout

Pens

Coloured markers

Highlighters

USB stick

Post its

So, that is my portable office!

Do you lug around as much as I do or are you much more minimalist or digital??


Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne