” Success is not the key to happiness, Happiness is the key to success.”
– Albert Schweitzer

In November, I finished up a whirlwind year of hosting workshops across the country for creative entrepreneurs. The Brand Market was exhilarating to help so many people with their businesses, and I felt very thankful to see a small vision I had come to life. I didn’t take for granted that I was able to teach, create, encourage, and travel as my line of work. I couldn’t have felt more grateful.

But as I sprinted through 2014 with a torch in hand I arrived to the end panting, out of breath, and my head spinning. How did the year fly by? I couldn’t seem to find my motivation anywhere, and I took it as a cue to REST.  A  few weeks later I found out I was expecting. It confirmed to me that God knew I needed that rest, and it was time to take a good look at the next few years.

The past year I learned what it really meant to be an entrepreneur. It’s a passionate dedication to an end vision that involves a big investment of yourself. You have to be willing to sacrifice time, energy, and finances to make that vision a reality. Gabe and I continued to say yes to this pursuit and The Brand Market started to flourish. However, when I arrived to the end of the year, the motivation was no where to be found. It had vanished, and I realized a tired and worn thin version of myself was begging me to take another real look at the WHY. Why did I start this business?, Where was it headed?, What is the end goal?, etc.  I knew at the heart of it all, I wanted to create a business that would give me more freedom of time with my children in the future,  financial freedom (from student loans, medical bills), and the ability to do something I loved in the process. 

As the weeks went by I continued to pray for direction. When you have your grasp on something so tightly, it isn’t easy to see clearly. I knew I had to loosen my grip to step back and see all the pieces to the puzzle and how to reassemble it in a way that would fit. I tried to fit every darn piece into my life, but it wasn’t fitting well. All I knew was that you cannot force an engine to run without gasoline, and my tank was empty. 

The reality became that in order for me to run this business well, it would require, more employees, more investment of time. Time that I wasn’t willing to give up. I already feel the precious moments of my children’s childhood slipping through my fingers before my eyes waaayyy faster than I like. I don’t want to miss any more than I have to, and I want to be FULLY present to them. A mother who isn’t here and there and everywhere mentally and physically. When I started to loosen my grip and tease the idea of letting  The Brand Market go, I slowly saw the peace return to my every day life. A mother has that beautiful role in her family that can set a pace and tone for everyone else in the family. With Gabe working full time, I knew it was important for me to be that steady beating heart my kids could rely on draw strength from. Even though everything I was doing was for them, and it was all very good things, it was very difficult to hold onto a steady day to day pace that I felt was healthy for them.

I talked every emotion, fear, hope, and angle through with Gabe. He has been an incredible pillar for me from the very start when The Brand Market was just a small seed of an idea. His constant encouragement is the only reason it thrived in the first place. His eagerness to be with our little ones while I traveled was the only reason I could ever swallow leaving them for a few days at a time. His ability to pick up the slack during the week when I needed help even after his long work days were the only reason I could keep both the business and the blog going. It was a strong team, even if his work was unseen on the forefront. And just as we make every decision together  that affects our family, he supported and encouraged my decision to step away.  In the meantime, my blog has continued to be something I really enjoyed and was also growing in all the right ways. Suddenly I realized I am at a point where I can just focus on IHOD for the first time ever. After juggling two to three creative jobs at a time for the last 6 years, this is a novelty I am more than excited about. With a fourth little one on the way, I am so happy to know I will be able to soak that baby up, and when nap times allow, I can tackle all the other creative ideas I have for IHOD.

I am seeing a million and two workshops pop up in the last year, by people who have more time, more creativity, and surely more energy than I ever will. I am happy to see so much offered to entrepreneurs, and I know there will not be a gap in the field! In fact, I am going to leave a list of recs at the end of this post for you to find some great learning resources for some of you. I will continue to share much content here as well through the biz tips column, and mayyyy even finally release some of the online videos I had ready to share. 

I am extremely grateful for each person that trusted their business with me, and my gracious co-hosts. I am thankful to Jenny and Savannah who originally started the journey with me, Suzy my event co-ordinator who helped make the workshops run smoothly, and each person who helped me carry it afterwards. I learned so much from each workshop, and I am taking many of those tips with me into my continued journey as a business owner.  If you supported The Brand Market in any way this year, I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Thanks for reading all the way through! 

Much love,
Anna 

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” – Psalms 143:8

*Tote by Off Switch Shop, Photography by Esther Lee, Kathryn McCrary, Diane Hu, and Sterling Graves

Business learning:
Be-Freelance
Marie Forleo
Design Love Fest
Atly Grams
Skillshare
A Beautiful Mess

The post Bittersweet biz news: When it’s time to let go. first appeared on In Honor Of Design.

The post Bittersweet biz news: When it’s time to let go. appeared first on In Honor Of Design.

I have been really lucky to have such a good team of co-hosts with each workshop:

Tiffany Mitchell of Off Beat + Inspired
Liz Young of Haven Magazine
Chris Sutton of Noble Denim + Victor Athletics

Each have a different story of how they started their businesses,  and each had a wealth of helpful advice to share on building an authentic business or blog from the ground up. 

If you haven’t yet experienced Haven Magazine, dive into their story and sign up for their premier print only issue. I have been devouring mine! Liz Young talked about the experience of navigating her way into editorial and the incredible process of funding a print magazine.

Chris Sutton and his wife (they work together on this business!) broke down practical steps of building and growing Noble Denim and launching a sister brand, Victor Athletics. It was fascinating and extremely well done.

Tiffany Mitchell shared her step by step process of creating an effective business instagram brand and even gave us a lesson on styling and photography.

We had such a cool mix of entrepreneurs at the event and I look forward to seeing them continue to grow.

Paper Whites & Whimsey was the talented gal behind these florals.

I got to meet long time friend Andrea Dozier who captured the day behind the lens so well. Mark her down for your go to photographer for the midwest.
Hope you all have a rain free spring weekend:)

The post The Brand Market Cincinnati Recap first appeared on In Honor Of Design.

The post The Brand Market Cincinnati Recap appeared first on In Honor Of Design.

We won’t talk about how nervous I got this time around, but anyways… on to the fun pics…

How about this swoon worthy set up by Blue Eyed Yonder? Those vintage bleacher chairs did me in! (Atlanta on the Rise sign by Wild Standard)

The event was held at Foster ATL which was such a cool experience.

I don’t think I could have asked for better co-hosts and guest speakers!
Waiting on Martha
Phil Sanders
Moe Blake
Adam Lindenau

The insanely beautiful florals were brought together by Allison Song (who just launched a monthly flower subscription service btw!)

Lovable Foods killed it with their food set up, and provided a wholesome and delicious lunch for everyone. You have to check out their catering for deliverable lunches and events!

Jessica Garvin hand wrote some of the fun signs!

We had some fantastic companies send prizes for our guests:
Kelly Moore Bag (You have to read the winner’s story!)
Foto Strap
Julep Maven
Aspen Summit
Tiny Prints

Sterling Graves provided all of the photos for the day. He is incredibly talented.

It was quite a year 2014! You can sign up for the newsletter on The Brand Market website for some big announcements coming soon and new city reveals!

Grateful to each person who was a part of the day:)
x, Anna

The post The Brand Market – Workshop for Entrepreneurs first appeared on In Honor Of Design.

The post The Brand Market – Workshop for Entrepreneurs appeared first on In Honor Of Design.

The centerpieces, double sided backdrop, and table decor was done by the talented Tiffany of A Splendid Occasion. I wanted to take it all home!

Vintage Furniture Set up thanks to Shadow Box Dreams. (Such a fun set up!) The fun geometric pillows were done by Tiny Prints.

And Rent Vintage Chicago sent over china for us to use for coffee and lunch. (So cool of them!!)

We had some really cool swag for each of our attendees thanks to these shops:
Casetify
Lucy Darling
Rifle Paper Co.
Black Bird Letterpress:
Tiny Prints
oh, hello friend.
Chykalophia Design
By Luciana

And as always, my co-hosts were fantastic. I learned something new from each of them:
Matthew Hoffman You Are Beautiful Project, Hey Its Matthew Shop
Mandy Kellogg Rye – Shop Owner, Blogger – Waiting on Martha
Ari Krzyzek Graphic Designer – Chykalophia
Jess Keys – Marketing Manager – Dean Street Society, Fashion Editor – The Everygirl

Their advice, tips, and stories reminded my how unique each person’s success story is, and how each person’s definition of success is different from the next.

We are finishing out the year in Atlanta on November 8th. You can grab your spot here.

*All photos by my talented sister, Angela!

The post The Brand Market Chicago first appeared on In Honor Of Design.

The post The Brand Market Chicago appeared first on In Honor Of Design.

Got to meet long time blog friend and co-host Rebecca Beach of A Daily Something, as well as newer instagram friend Joy Janes of Mornings Like These. Both of these women killed it on delivering relevant and relatable content to grow your business and do it with passion and success. So grateful to have worked with them!

We also had the pleasure of working with Misha’s Coffee, Out of the Box Bakery, and Honest Tea to keep us going with happy tummy’s all day long.

Tickled Photobooth showed up with photo fun for the guests with backdrop by A Daily Something team. Gina Paola Design custom made the polka dot totes! They were perfect.

A Special thanks to our Market Tote Sponsors:
Valentina Black
Gina Paola Designs
Paper Finch Studio
Sapling Press
Casetify
Rifle Paper Co.
Kate Aspen
Design Dotted
Mes 2 Petites Etoiles

Thank you to Anna Clair Photography for capturing the day! 

The next workshop is in Chicago this weekend which you can keep up with on The Brand Market instagram, and finishing the year here in Atlanta (registration went live yesterday!)

The post The Brand Market D.C. first appeared on In Honor Of Design.

The post The Brand Market D.C. appeared first on In Honor Of Design.

These last few months have chased me down, and I can hardly believe it is mid September! Before I had a chance to announce the D.C. workshop, it sold out! So I wanted to make sure and post more details about the Chicago workshop on October 11th! We had originally planned for August which was a little too tight of a deadline for all involved….

It will be held at the stunning Palm Court at Loyola University and co-hosted by the super savvy Mandy Kellogg Rye of Waiting on Martha and I. If you don’t already know Mandy, she is best described as an extremely talented jack of all trades who I am honored to call a friend. She focuses on “creating a beautiful everyday” through her successful online shop and blog.

The day will be split into segments on Marketing, Branding, Business Growth, Social Media, and more.
I really wanted to try something new and bring in extra doses of wisdom to this workshop. Cue the guest speakers!

Jess Keys –  Jess just recently traded her day job in corporate advertising to go after her dreams. She is the new Brand Manager for Dean Street Society, Fashion editor for The Everygirl, and lifestyle blogger at The Golden Girl blog. 

Matthew Hoffman – A Chicago based artist whose work is internationally known. His astounding work has been installed throughout the city. Just check out Hey, it’s Matthew. He is also the founder of the remarkable project You Are Beautiful which seeks to impact lives in big and small ways. Get to know Matthew in this video, and while you are at it, this Huffington Post article.

Ari Kryzyzek – Ari and her husband run their own design studio, Chykalophia! The vibrant vitality of her design garnered Ari the winner of the annual design award in 2010. Besides her experience in corporate branding for both print and web, Ari has her own paper line seen on Ruffled, Green Wedding Shoes, and more!

Quite a crew, huh?! I cannot wait to be in the Windy City and hope to meet some of you there!
You can register right here.

P.S. Mark your calendar Atlanta! We are ending the year with a bang November 8th!

The post The Brand Market: Chicago first appeared on In Honor Of Design.

The post The Brand Market: Chicago appeared first on In Honor Of Design.

Each and every Brand Market workshop so far has had its on vibe to it. This workshop by far was the most color and light filled thanks to Studio DIY HQ! It felt like stepping into the world of Rainbow Brite (which of course I am more than okay with;))…

We had fresh coffee and mugs to start the day provided by Verve Coffee Roasters, which you can order straight from L.A. to your kitchen FYI! Such a good crew.

We had some sweet and savory pastries made from scratch by Katie the Baker (she even made gluten free options!) They were divine. She made The Brand Market cookies too! I died. Lunch was catered by Lemonade L.A. (Which was so good I had to hit it up again before I left CA.)

If it were up to me, I would have tried to smuggle the floral arrangements back to Atlanta…can you believe how fresh and fun they are? All created by La Fleur Kitchen.

Caitlin Crosby and Brit Moore of The Giving Keys started the day with how they got started (pretty unreal!), and how they grew their business. Social media focus, hiring a team, systems they use, etc. I was fascinated by it all. These gals are such a blast. Was so happy I got to know them.

Kelly Lanza and I tag teamed sessions as well. If you don’t know Kelly, you need to know that she is a creative DIY genius who has built a successful business out of her blog in a short amount of time. So happy we got to hang out and talk about entrepreneurship together.

Our Market Totes were made possible by the following:
Darling Magazine
The Coastal
Retro Menagerie
Shop Rkitekt
Field Trip
Off Switch Shop
We Love Citrus
Kate Aspen
Verve Coffee

Seriously, my co-hosts were incredible, but so was the class of women. I was completely in awe of ladies that came through that door. I am already looking forward to the next one.

All photos were taken by Esther Lee (her work is remarkable!)

Washington D.C. and Chicago are next! We finalized dates and locations so tickets are now avialable!

P.S. Palm Print Top and Skirt Combo from ASOS!

The post The Brand Market L.A. first appeared on In Honor Of Design.

The post The Brand Market L.A. appeared first on In Honor Of Design.