My Favorite Educational and Business Resources

As a former educator, virtual assistant, and creative business owner I highly value learning and adding skills to my toolbox! It can be hard to prioritize learning when things get busy and we get exhausted. Luckily, learning new skills can be recharging and motivating!

5 Tips For Prioritizing Education

1. Schedule your learning time! We schedule everything else; Why not schedule a designated time for you to learn a new skill?

2. Make it a ritual, whether it's making a cup of tea, getting cozy, setting up your materials, or preparing your space and your mindset for learning.

3. Set a reminder or alarm. It's easy to get caught up in work so set a reminder or notification so that you don't miss your time.

4. Plan ahead! Plan what you are going to work on during your learning time so that you can get the most out of it. What supplies do you need? Do you need to RSVP or sign up for something online like a webinar? Prepare so that when your time comes, you are ready to go and you won't have excuses to make.

5. Hold yourself accountable or have someone else do it. Whatever will work for you to make sure you protect that time. I like checking things off a list so I will add these to my list. Maybe plan to share what you learn with someone else as a form of accountability. Just have a plan for how you will hold yourself accountable!

TIP: Join a workshop or group that focuses on a skill you want to learn

My Favorite Educational Resources

Online Learning

• Skillshare (this is a referral link, if you sign up you get $50 off and a month free)

• Coursera (I got my Google certificate in Digital Marketing and E-commerce from here)

Surface Pattern Design - People I enjoy learning from

• Elizabeth Silver - She’s got a fun sense of humor and focuses more on freelance surface pattern design work.

• Bonnie Christine - She is such a joy! She focuses on licensing and creating patterns using Illustrator.

• Sketch Design Repeat - They often do great prompts and have some really helpful blogs.

• Stacie Bloomfield - She is great if you are interested in creating your own products along with licensing.

Learning Procreate

• Every Tuesday - Great doable procreate tutorials

• Lisa Bardot - Fun drawing prompts, brushes, and tutorials

Business Workshops

• Craft Industry Alliance - Amazing resources for small creative businesses including webinars, podcasts, articles, and resources.

• Dear Handmade Life - They do an amazing yearly conference and have great social events and online classes.

• Guru Events - They are marketing-focused and often host virtual marketing conferences.

Books I've Learned From

• $100M Offers by Alex Hermozi

• Two Weeks Notice by Amy Porterfield

• Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

• The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin

• Fascinate by Sally Hogshead

• Two Week’s Notice by Amy Porterfield

• Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller

Professional Organizations or Groups

• The Graphic Artist Guild

• Craft Industry Alliance

• The Art Brand Alliance

• Connecting Things

• Creative Mornings

• Ladies Wine and Design

I would love to add to my resources, if you have any recommendations please let me know!