The ability to customize their planners and products is what sold me on Purple Trails planners-- my cover is customized with my business name and website and I added pages for passwords and log ins to help manage accounts. It has plenty of space to keep track of both my daily schedule, as well as my daily posting schedule for clients. I keep track of everything in there, even my hours, invoicing, and mileage!

I start every week sitting down with my planner and looking at the week at a glance to see what I need to prioritize and then each day make my list of "must do's." With freelancing in social media there are a lot of moving parts and I'm not sure how I would manage it all without my planner.


In addition to my planner, I rely on a few other tricks to maintain productivity. When working from home I aim to take 15 minute breaks every hour. This keeps me from getting too distracted with tasks at home while still ensuring that the laundry gets done and dinner is prepped. I also try to take care of any email or task that will take three minutes or less. By immediately taking action on smaller tasks, it prevents my inbox from getting filled with small, mindless tasks.

Speaking of email, my biggest tool for keeping organized? Google's Gmail "Snooze" button. It's a game changer for those in PR or communications, giving you the ability to push emails back to the top of your inbox at a specific date and time. This function makes following up on emails and deadlines so much easier-- it's saved me from missing some important deadlines and contacts.

 That’s exactly the situation I found myself in last March when the Canadian retailer I worked at told me they wouldn’t be renewing their lease and would be shutting down U.S. operations. I was devastated. I absolutely loved my job, the company, and my coworkers. The timing wasn’t great; I had just ended a relationship, was dealing with some health issues, and on top of it all was out of a job. Needless to say, I felt overwhelmed.

First, I had to decide what I wanted to do. I could continue my career in retail where I was moving up the ladder fairly quickly, or I could turn on my heel and take the years I had spent pouring over my own social media (and the accounts of the companies that I worked for) and use the opportunity as a time to change gears within my career and apply for jobs outside my current field.

Then I had to decide exactly how I was going to do it. I had no idea where to begin my job search and I turned to what probably isn’t the most reliable resource out there-- Google. I spent what felt like endless hours scrolling through job boards and sites, trying to figure out what the heck I was qualified to do, and how the heck I was going to stand out in a sea of applicants.


Fast forward to last week’s Cocktail and Careers event at Bleacher Bar with Monster.com; endless resources at my fingertips, FREE resume analysis, Traitify Career Assessments, and a panel of expert HR and hiring managers. I felt foolish for not looking beyond the quantity of job listings on the site and missing out on all of the incredible resources from Monster.com. Their Graduated & Unemployed guide is packed with information for someone in a similar situation to mine. I’ll never know but I’m pretty sure I would have been called back for 50% more interviews had I passed my resume through Monster.com’s free online resume analysis tool…


After running my resume through the online assessment I realized so many mistakes I wish I could do over. Improving key words, common mistakes to avoid, getting resume feedback, to name a few. Coulda, shoulda, woulda, huh? After interviewing for a few jobs I didn’t feel super passionate about (and being effectively rejected) I took some time off and headed home to Texas. During that trip I decided there was no time like the present and I actively began building my own business.

It’s something that is certainly not for everyone, and I feel so extremely lucky to have had a steady flow of clients that keep Style Wire Services in daily operation. I wake up excited to shoot, excited to create content, and excited to help grow my clients’ accounts.


While I didn’t land the traditional role I set out after, I am so happy and grateful and fulfilled that my career allows me the flexibility to make my own schedule and can still blog and be creative in my downtime, but I can’t help but wonder what type of job I could have landed with the help at resources from Monster.com….

There’s one relationship that’s truly changed my life over the last five years. It’s allowed me to grow an immense amount personally and professionally, realize my full potential, and given me some truly beautiful moments... 

When I first started blogging, I didn’t realize where it would take me or how it would alter my career path. I’ve met so many people and followers at events, and have been able to create a little community of like-minded individuals who resonate with my life and the tips, tricks, and style that I share. I’m lucky enough to call some of the people I’ve met blogging among my best friends. Additionally, the relationship that my blog has created with my readers and fellow Boston Bloggers is so, so important and valuable to me.


And I won’t lie, I always get super excited and flattered when people out and about in the city hesitantly ask, “Are you Style Wire?” It really never gets old. Every relationship and connection with my readers is unique and important to me.

Without that relationship, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do or have the career that I do, and that means so much to me. In the same vein, Rockland Trust values its customers and its relationship with them in the same way. As a community bank based right here in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Rockland Trust aims to curate similar, lasting relationships as the foundation of their business.




They are truly inspired by these relationships offering products and services that effectively serve their customers. From banking and investment, to insurance services for both individuals and businesses, Rockland Trust is committed to serving their customers, no matter how large or small, old or new. Learn more about Rockland Trust and follow along with them on Facebook and Instagram!

The alarm still needs to go off at 8am: As reluctant as I am to get up, it's super important to keep a normal schedule. Yes, you're your own boss and if you really want to sleep in you can, but good things come to those who (get their ass out of bed and) hustle.

Ready your arsenal: Before I start taking on clients and accepting gigs, I'm getting all my equipment ready, cleaning out my desk, and organizing my files. I just bought a new laptop so that's good to go, but my cameras need to be cleaned and realigned, so those babies are heading back to Canon HQ. I'm also replacing and getting extra bulbs for my lighting kit, and oiling and repairing my tripod. I even ordered a whole slew of new business cards from Basic Invite! I'm ready to get to work. 

Bring out the big guns: I'm SO glad I have Verizon FIOS; with my old internet provider there were frequent outages, inferior customer support, and an inconsistent connection speed. That's no way to run a business! With Verizon FIOS I have peace of mind that I have a reliable connection with the fastest download and upload speeds. Let's be real, time is money, especially when you're a solo-preneur, I don't have time to wait for slow connections when I could be creating content and hustling new clients.

Tap into your network: It's all bout who you know, especially when you're freelancing. Look up local networking events both within and outside of your existing networks. So many of my potential clients have come via word of mouth or fellow friends and colleagues who I've networked with and told I'm looking for work.

The first few months of 2016 have come and gone meaning we should be about 20% closer to achieving those New Years resolutions we set months ago, but are you? I know I had big plans for myself and my business and I hate to admit that it's been harder than I anticipated to "crush 2016" like I planned. 

Jeff, my store manager and partner in style.