I’m not going to lie, when I started this series, I wasn’t quite sure how it would pan out. After all, how many tips on balancing small business with LIFE could there be?! Boy, was I wrong. Every time I receive a new entry, I am amazed at the responses: even though every girl has had the same questions, a unique and powerful perspective pulses through their words!

Kristen’s distinct focus on productivity today is one I needed to hear — it jumped out at me from the very beginning and could not ring more true! I am so thankful to be sharing her thoughts and advice today and know you will love them, too :)

Meet Kristen!

Introduce yourself and your business: What hats are you juggling every day?

Hi! I’m Kristen Caudill, #girlboss and graphic designer behind Kristen Caudill Invitations. I create custom designed invitations and styled paper goods for your once-in-a-lifetime events. I’m obsessed with romantic love stories, gorgeous paper and jaw dropping style and typography. I am also a full-time graphic designer for major Baltimore hospital, wifey to my hubby, Patrick, puggle + pitbull momma, sister, daughter, friend, the list goes on!  In my free time…wait, what free time?! I enjoy a good chai tea latte, a true crime book, sunshine and the best of friends.

Why did you start your own creative small business?

I’ve always had a passion for design and when I was younger I would spend my time drawing, sketching and painting. After finished my undergrad in business and marketing (because my parents wouldn’t pay for an art degree!) I started a big girl job working in marketing. I still knew in the back of my mind I needed to create things. After a few years of trying to find myself and my passion I went back to school and received my Master’s in graphic design. During this time I met Patrick, got engaged and was planning a wedding. I had always loved invitations but couldn’t find anything that screamed “Patrick and I!” I knew I could create something that I would fall in love with. I then began my love affair with paper and invitations. Everyone loved our wedding invitations, and shortly after I started receiving requests from friends to do their invites as well. Kristen Caudill Invitations was officially born just over a year ago when I finally took the risk to put myself and my work out there. It was terrifying, but I haven’t looked back since!

What has been your greatest challenge as a small business owner?

Just one?! :) My biggest challenge is work/life balance and scheduling my time while not overworking myself which all kind of goes together. I realize there are only so many hours in a day, so many days in a week and I have a lot to cover during that time. I have 8 hours a day that I need to be at my “real” job and then I come home and take care of my pups, make dinner, and see my husband. Then I’m back at my computer doing work for KCI. Every. Night.  There were nights I would be at the table assembling invitations until one in the morning, or days when I would be teaching Patrick how to cut ribbon and assemble so that I could make a deadline. Not okay!!!

In order to fix this, I’ve been going through a number of changes. At Creative at Heart we were asked to plan our perfect day. I think about that perfect day and how I can fit everything I need to into that day. And you know, maybe I don’t get to the dishes or laundry every day, and maybe Patrick is stuck ordering pizza for the third night in a row, but that’s OK. I’m OK with these things. I’ve also been reading a book called, “The Fringe Hours” and it talks about finding that extra time in your day to get things done for you. I’ve started getting up 15 minutes earlier, 30 minutes earlier every morning. I use that time to make myself some tea, sit down at my computer and start a blog post or finish a design. I go to bed every night at 10 or 10:30, because let’s be honest, no good work can come from me after those hours. I plan date nights with my husband at the beginning of each month. And I keep a book in my purse at all times for when I’m waiting in line and have nothing to do.

It’s little changes: like not answering your email 50 million times a day, deleting Facebook from your favorites and iPhone to de-stress yourself, or knowing that you CAN do everything…just maybe not this second!

What was the biggest game changer in the way you run your business and manage your time in this last year?

Systems. HOURS of time can be saved by really thinking step by step what you do for each project and how you can minimize the amount of work you’re doing for each step. I’m not going to lie, I’m not perfect. I’m still trying things out and seeing what works. Since Creative at Heart in January I have made a constant effort to blog at least once a week, and I make this part of my project system. Sometimes I hit twice a week and that’s great! Blogging is great for building community and voice, however it’s also super amazing for answering all those questions you receive multiple times! Now when I need to answer a question, I write a blog post about it and direct my bride there! I only have to write it once AND it helps my SEO! Bam! I can also let potential clients and brides know what I’m working on. They see the project on my blog from beginning to end!

Templates have been great too. I have set up templates in my Gmail account to respond to emails. We receive SO many emails, and think about how much time you spend on each one! Those extra minutes could be spent coming up with a new design idea!

Finally, I have loved using out of office messaging for your Gmail account. I work full time, so sometimes I can’t respond to an email within minutes, and honestly it might be up to 24 hours to respond to a bride or 48 hours to respond to a vendor. That’s OK! But putting it out there as an out-of-office enables your peeps to know what to expect.

What are some of your productivity tips? 

As a designer, a lot of the things I do revolve around paper and pen. I write to-dos on post-it notes and have way to many notebooks and journals. I could invest in all the technology in the world, but for me there is something about writing things down that helps me remember. So I keep a planner, a gmail calendar (that I share with my hubby), a journal for notes and a sketchbook with me at all times. This is my life. And it’s why I have a huge purse! Haha! The only consistent technology I use is Dropbox (to store files across multiple devices) and Gmail (email, calendar).  

My real productivity tips don’t come from paper or technology. They come from taking care of you. YOU are your business, and if you aren’t running smoothly nothing around you will run with care either. So here are a couple of really important things I have implemented this year have totally changed my outlook on life and business:

• I wake up early and I go to bed early. If anyone knew me before they would laugh out loud at this. I am NOT a morning person, and Patrick used to not be able to talk to me in the morning until my SECOND cup of coffee! But going to bed at 10/1030 allows me to be able to wake up earlier in the morning and I realized I actually LIKE getting things done in the morning! I’m creative, I see things in a new light. Also, going to bed past 11pm for me means I lay in bed and make lists until midnight…not good!
•  I gave up caffeine. I KNOW. CRAZY. I realized I was drinking way too much coffee and espresso every day. Not only was it cleaning out my wallet, I was feeling anxious, uppity and overwhelmed. The coffee that was supposed to be helping me get work done was making me worry about my work! So now I have black tea in the morning with some milk and honey, and green tea through out the day. I feel amazing. I really can’t tell you how good it feels to not feel the anxiety that a couple cups of Starbucks coffee used to give me! And I’m feeling good and happy! You should try it….give it at least two weeks!

What’s the one tool you couldn’t manage your time without?

My gmail calendar (that my hubby and I share! Just in case I forget to tell him things!), and pink lined moleskin for to do lists.

What’s your favorite non-essential business tool? :)

Instagram. While I guess it is pretty essential in terms of word-of-mouth and sharing what I’m doing, however I think I mostly use it to be inspired. I love see what my other #bosslady friends are doing, encouraging others and spreading the #communityovercompetition love.

What is the key to staying on top of your small business and not getting too overwhelmed?

Let’s face it, we get overwhelmed and we stress ourselves out. We overcommit and sometimes underachieve. It’s life. That’s what growing a small business is about. There is no perfect person running a perfect business out there and you need to realize what you can do for yourself to de-stress. For me, it’s knowing that once a week I can grab a jade mint citrus tea, go to my acupuncturist in a cute little spa room and de-stress for about an hour. Or other weeks, it’s the reassurance from my husband when he brings me Coldstone and tells me I’m doing an awesome job. And it’s my core group of creative friends that are my cheerleaders. Make sure you have these people and these de-stressers in your life to keep you balanced.

How does your business bring you joy?

When you finally drop off that beautiful baby (ahem, invitation) of yours to your bride-to-be and she is just so elated and filled with joy. She is so thankful and so excited that it’s now really legit that the big day is so close! THAT is amazing, and that’s why I do this! I remember their smiles when I’m gluing 100 glitter paper envelope liners!

If you could give one piece of advice to all the #bossladies out there, what would it be?

YOU’VE GOT THIS, GIRL!  And you can SO do it. If you don’t have someone supporting you and your dream, find me. I’ll be your supporter! Because we should all be able to achieve our dreams and live the life we were set out to have!

And that’s a wrap! I hope you were encouraged by Kristen’s words.  My favorite part? When Kristen got real with productivity.

“My real productivity tips don’t come from paper or technology. They come from taking care of you. YOU are your business, and if you aren’t running smoothly nothing around you will run with care either.”

Too often we try to do it all. We put the health of our business over the health of our body, and it’s just not right! At the end of the day, you can only give as much as you are, so take the time to invest in yourself for a change! This weekend is the perfect time to start :)

Want to hear more from Kristen? Follow along: Blog \\ Facebook \\ Instagram

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 Hey there!! Is this your first time here?? If so, thanks for dropping by & spending time with Sami Renee Photography! My name is Sami Orndorff, and I am a Midwest Wedding & Family Photographer based in the greater Cleveland area with a strong belief in telling stories & spreading joy. Read more here…