I Call It My THINK TANK

It's May?  The year is vastly zooming by and I have plans...resolutions....goals.  This self-inflicted stress I put on myself is confusing.  I don't mean to do it, think I'm unaware of it, can't help it, in denial about it...and, it sometimes causes a crash-n-burn type of result.  My menu of services has increased tremendously this year.  As a by-product to being a "designer", I'm self-taught in a number of areas...graphics, branding, marketing, web design, etc.  I design my own content and, as it turns out, I have been fortunate to have many cheerleaders out there that love what I produce.  This has resulted in not only interior design projects but I have designed a few websites, took on a couple branding projects for logo design and creating other smart brand collateral for clients to use on their social media channels.  It's been interesting and I've enjoyed the process as I continue to grow.

The "designing" aspects come fairly easy and pretty natural to me.  What has been the learning curve in all of this is the important background details like what pricing models to use and how to keep the revenue stream consistent while I sail away in my mental land of "creating beautiful things". :)  I assume this is the challenge for most solo-preneurs whose work is project-driven?  We are in love with the creative process but we also need to live/eat.  My most recent tool is the good ole MARKER BOARD...I call it my "Think Tank".  I had my husband hang a really large one on the wall in my office, it's feels very corporate-y but I find myself creating a column for deadlines, an invoicing SCHEDULE (extremely essential), updating project statuses, etc.  Trust me, I've used many types of electronic tools for this purpose but somehow abandon them right after my first entry.  I've been using my marker board since February and that is a record for me.  It has really helped.

What is your go-to "tool" that makes {You, Inc.} function better?  I'd love to hear about it. Let's grow together.