More Than Just A Resolution

With a new decade coming up, I thought a lot about larger life choices and what direction I want my life and career to go. I made a couple brainstorming mind-map things, starting with this one. Major things I realized were that I feel like I’ve hit a career plateau and I need to push myself to keep learning new things, especially graphic design-wise. I also need to update my websites to reflect my current brand, and even gain clarity on what my brand IS! I do many things from my own comics (AER HEAD - which I just finished drawing!) to custom comics, to teaching, to design & more.

Also, the end of 2019 has been a bit rough for me, but I know 2020 will be a more positive future! “Know thyself” is key - I recognize negative thought patterns in myself and will take steps to catch myself and replace the negative thoughts with positive thoughts. It’s all about MINDSET!! For example, concerning AER HEAD, sometimes I think I’m working so hard on it but in the end, as an indie comic it won’t reach many people and not many people will care. WRONG! AER HEAD is AMAZING and if I can learn more about how to market it correctly, it WILL reach more people! Even by word of mouth alone - I had 85 backers for my Kickstarter and 27 patrons on my Patreon (yes there is some overlap with people supporting both :), as well as all of you on my mailing list, and that is FANTASTIC! Definitely already blessed with lots of support!

Keep in mind that all the post-it notes in the pic are NOT just “resolutions.” They are action items that I want to work towards in 2020. Sometimes just by labeling something as a “resolution,” it’s almost doomed to fail by mid-January. MINDSET!! I made another action-map based on items from these goals, which I’ll post in a future blog.

Life Tip

Even though this is the time of year when the holidays are bustling, take some time to reflect beyond just a resolution now instead of picking something the first week of January, then dismissing it mid-month. The start of a new decade is time to think BIG! Start with a larger goal and brainstorm some action steps you can take to work towards that goal, like “mini goals.”

Happy Holidays!

Inspiration: Make 100____!

I’m already thinking about my plans for the new year, which is actually a new DECADE! I want to hit the ground running in 2020 and will do a post on some of my goals in the next few weeks, but I wanted to share something cool with you: Kickstarter’s “Make 100” campaign. I’m not participating in it (still working on my own Kickstarter fulfillment!) but if you want to get your feet wet with Kickstarter for the first time, Make 100 is a great way to finally give yourself the push you need!

Make 100 happens every January and you can make 100 anything - 100 copies of zines, 100 bracelets, 100 cupcakes, anything! It’s very advantageous if you coordinate a project you’ve wanted to do with one of Kickstarter’s special promos like this because you’ll probably get a bit of extra attention from being a part of the larger campaign. Kickstarter promotes Make 100, people search for it, and your project may end up in a featured newsletter (happened to me twice for “Small Press Big Ideas.”)

I’m telling you this now so you still have time to plan if you want to launch anytime in January. You could even launch at the end and have almost 2 months to plan. I know that people have various thoughts and feelings about Kickstarter (my launch happened mid-kerfuffle), but you can’t deny that it is the best platform to launch a project in a HUGE way. There were people who just found me “out of nowhere” just from Kickstarter!

Business Tip

Start planning for the new decade now instead of the first week of January and then give up the second week of January. By brainstorming now I feel like I have more time and space to determine what goals matter to me.

Business Basics for Freelancers Class!

Happy New Year!  Are some of your 2018 resolutions to make more money, become more successful at freelancing, or get more organized in your business?  If those goals sound good to you, please sign up for my new class at Shoestring Studio! 

Often, we’re artists first and business people second, and sometimes the business side of art can seem overwhelming to us. I’ll break down some “scary” concepts into bite-sized steps you’ll work on during the class. We’ll cover everything from making a product and pricing it to how to get more freelance work by exhibiting. We’ll also talk about the “not-so-fun” but very important aspects of keeping track of your earnings, banking, and taxes. We’ll also touch upon contracts and time management. All in 3 hours – WHEW!

Probably the biggest question on everyone's mind is how Trump's new tax laws will affect you.  This class is on February 24th, well before taxes are due mid April, so you'll have time to sort it all out.  Take deep breaths - we'll get through it together!  Although I'm not a "tax professional," I have one, and will share what I've learned from them and point you in the right direction.  Really, the whole class is me presenting you with information that I've learned through trial and error, but what you DO with that info is entirely up to you.  I'll provide you with work sheets so you can start taking concrete steps on topics immediately.

Business Basics for Freelancers is a one session workshop on:

Saturday, February 24th from 2-5pm

Shoestring Studio is 640 Classon Ave in Brooklyn, NY 

You must sign up through the Shoestring site (no walk-ins) here:  http://shoestringstudiony.com/classes/business

It's $75, which is cheaper than other Shoestring classes, but in the bigger picture, you'll be saving money in the long run with the knowledge you'll gain.  Feel free to email me any questions about the class at [ mindy at mindyindy dot com ].  Very excited for the class!

Meanwhile, what are your other new year's resolutions?  My theme for 2018 is to "simplify my life," starting with lots of decluttering and cleaning in January! 

New Month Resolutions

Well it's that time of year again.  For the past 5 or so years, my New Year's Resolution has been to finally finish volume 1 of my comic series AER HEAD, without much result.  I realize I never made a REALISTIC step-by-step plan of HOW to accomplish that goal before (for example, getting all the drawing done in one month is NOT realistic under my current schedule or any previous schedules).  But now, because I've been implementing productivity techniques for various goals and projects for awhile, I think I can finally start to make more progress on AER HEAD.  My strategy this year is to set super small monthly goals instead of one huge resolution.

I've also divided my goals into 2 areas:  creative and non-creative.  The non-creative goals are usually financially related.  For example, for February, my non-creative goal is to get all my taxes done before the end of the month, while my creative goal is to write the over-arching outline of the whole AER HEAD series.

When setting these small monthly goals, it's important to seriously take into consideration how much time you can devote to each goal each week, which is something I didn't do in the past.  I've set in my calendar 4 hours a week, from 11pm-midnight M-Th, to work on these goals.  I'll alternate M/W creative goals and Tu/Th non-creative goals.  This leaves me with 8 hours per month to devote to my creative goal, and 8 hours for the non-creative goal.  With my teaching hours and freelance projects, this is a reasonable time I can dedicate.  If my schedule changes, I can add more time, but this is doable for now. 

I also realize that even at taking 8 hours to draw one page, it will take 2 years to finish just the drawing portion of AER, but hell that's more than what I'm doing with it right now.  I've made a road map for myself, and it's OK to deviate from it, but I have to have a concrete place to start.  I've planned up until June, but no farther because life changes and I'm always adjusting plans accordingly.  And that's OK.  Give yourself the freedom to be flexible with your goals.  I'm also curious about some of YOUR goals too!  Would you like to share any of your creative or non-creative goals?