We’re on the hunt for our newest teammate: a graphic designer with excellent communication skills, a killer work ethic, and a mastery of design software. Sound like you? If so, we hope you’ll read on!

This is a remote, part-time position open to those in within the United States, averaging 3-4 hours per week. You’ll be working from the comfort of your living room, communicating a few times per week via email + Slack (and occasionally by phone) with other members of the Lucky Break team.

You’ll need to have access to Adobe Creative Cloud software including: Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Acrobat Pro.

HERE’S WHAT YOUR WORK WILL LOOK LIKE…

You’ll need to have a very strong working knowledge of Adobe InDesign for editing and creating the following types of assets:

• Workbooks, worksheets, and linked resource lists (including applying and editing headers and footers using Master pages), including exporting to PDF
• Downloadable documents and e-books, including an understanding of saving optimized PDF files for web
• Web-based graphics, such as promotional and social media graphics
• Printed marketing collateral, signage, and print-ready documents (ex. the ability to design for proper bleeds, margins, and other press requirements)
• Creating and editing tables within InDesign to create custom order forms or worksheets

We’re looking for a strong understanding of Adobe Acrobat Pro, including:

• Creating fillable PDF forms from PDF documents
• Editing and organizing pages
• Creating PDFs from multiple documents

Must have a strong understanding of Adobe Illustrator.

Must have a strong working knowledge of Photoshop, including:

• Designing webpage mockups for a developer
• Working in organized layers and groups
• Exporting optimized images for web use

(more…)

October is here and the Lucky Break team is officially in one of the busiest months of the year for my team. As you’re ramping up for the holiday season, we’re ramping up for 2019. This month we’ll spend a lot of team time planning what’s coming next for the Lucky Break community, and it’s one of my most favorite activities of the year. I hope you set some time over the next few months to dream about what 2019 might hold for you and your business, too.

If 2019 is the year you’re digging deep into your brand, then don’t miss enrollment for my Winter 2019 semester of BHB. Class kicks off in mid-January, but enrollment is happening now through Oct 12. My Operations Manager Melissa and I will also be over on Facebook Live today answering your branding questions, so be sure to stop by!

Whatever you’re working on, know that I’m cheering you on!

Click to download + print the October 2018 Lucky Break Calendar

I’m in need of an Atlanta area photographer for a one-day shoot in the famed Serenbe community just south of Atlanta. Here are the details…

WHEN: A one-day shoot on October 24 or 25, 2018.

WHERE: The uber-gorgeous penthouse of the Textile Lofts at Serenbe. My team will be staying in that same apartment for our annual retreat. We plan to shoot inside and outside on the private rooftop, and potentially at other spots within Serenbe. This often-photographed community is 35 minutes south of Atlanta.

WHO: I’m a business strategist that helps creative, product-based companies dive deeper into their brand development, price their products more strategically, and get them onto store shelves. I work with jewelers, stationery designers, artisan soap + candle makers, ceramicists, apparel designers, etc.

WHY: My small-but mighty team of 4 will be publishing a new website soon and we need some fresh imagery! I envision individual headshots, and shots of us gathered around a table, huddled over a computer screen, stuffing our mouths with doughnuts (we’re really good at that!), etc.

If you’re interested and available on those dates, then I invite you to send us a message with a link to your portfolio!

A few months ago, I kicked off a new initiative designed to spark conversations and share resources within the Lucky Break Community.  Each month, I’m asking Lucky Break clients and social media followers to weigh in on a series of questions that revolve around a specific theme. In the month of May, we chatted about productivity.

Ever feel like you’re spinning 7,318 plates and there aren’t rough hours in the day? US, TOO, FRIEND! Read on to discover how to make we’re staying organized and aking the most of each day.!

What’s your best tip for keeping your inbox manageable?

The Lucky Break Community said:

standardwax: This is one of my favorite subjects in the whole wide world. I hope you’re ready for a novel because a clean inbox has lowered my anxiety by about 700%.

1. I don’t let anything sit in my inbox for more than a couple of days.

2. I strive for inbox zero at least once a week.

3. I delete or unsubscribe from crap I don’t even read IMMEDIATELY.

4. This one is the most important: when you’re going through your inbox (I do this first thing in the AM and then try to ignore email for the rest of the day, unless something urgent comes in): Every single message should either be responded to, added to a to-do list, deleted (if it’s marketing and you’ve already read/responded) or saved.

The added to my to-do list and saved are my favorites, because these are the things that tend to sit at the bottom of the email list and stress me out. Typically something will sit in your inbox because you don’t have the time to deal with it yet, or because you’re saving it to reference later. For the first, a to-do list is your friend (I love Wunderlist).

For the second, I love saving a PDF of the email and filing it where it belongs on my computer. For example “Retailer XX fulfillment instructions” doesn’t need to sit in my inbox so that I can see it easily. It can go into a folder on my computer for Retailer XX. I could go on and on but now I just want to sit down and deal with my inbox 👌🏽

Another game changer is a CRM of some kind. For sales-related emails that are stacking up in your inbox so you can remember to follow up with them – archive them and then enter them into a CRM (we use @pipedrivecrm) that will automatically remind you to follow up 👏🏼

kbshimmer: This is a subject I would love to read about. I am an email hoarder. I have 50,000+ emails in my inbox, even with some auto sorted into folders. Right now my phone shows 22,000+. Getting that down to a reasonable number seems daunting.

stellachroma: I loathe having notifications on my phone. That little red circle bothers the hell out of me. So I’ve gotten into the habit of sorting through emails every morning as soon as I get up. I have a lot of folders that I sort everything into (because it helps keep my brain organized) and can move them around later if need be. It’s just one of those stopping blocks – not even stumbling – that interferes with my day.

burlystone: I set up filters. All my stockists get a tag, all my e-courses get a tag, my personal contacts get a tag, etc. it breaks my mailbox up so it’s not one giant wall of spam, and makes it easier to process them. Oh, I still suck at keeping it clean, but it helps

zhibathandbody: I took on a policy similar to puff-puff-pass. 😆 I check – check – delete. My patience can no longer take having thousands of emails so I check email twice a day delete the junk on the second check every day. I limit myself to checking twice so that I no longer waste time checking email several times as I used too.

jupiterjonespinup: FOLDERS!!!! And auto labels. Taking time to set up filters is the best investment ever.

osmiaorganics: I use an app called Astro for iPhone and my Mac desktop. It keeps important emails in one folder and others in a different one. You can snooze messages, Star them, archive them, etc. It asks you once a month if you’d like to archive everything older than 30 days, and I always say YES! You can still search the archived messages, but they’re out of your inbox. It’s a nice interface that works well for my scattered brain!

What strategies or tools do you use to plan your day + keep it on track?

The Lucky Break Community said:

naturallymeandyou: I have a planner and it’s been a life saver. I use post it notes when my calendar gets full on my planner.

makermountainfabrics: My @golden.coil planner is a life-and-sanity saver! I have to use pen and paper to stop my brain from spinning. Then a combo of @plannthat and Buffer for my social media. Oh, and a wall calendar for the out of the ordinary activities that always come up.

urbanessencesalonspa I’m a Google girl! I use the calendar,, google tasks and Google keep for note taking and evernote.

modernmommydoc I feel like I switch it up all the time! Currently have a Google calendar with my appointments, and a hand-written to-do list for my tasks 🙂

Whew! I’m feeling inspired to tackle those to-do lists and implement some systems. How about you? Be sure to stop by the Lucky Break Instagram account, where this month we’ll be chatting about wholesale holiday outreach. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Search the #LBCWantstToKnow hashtag to weigh in!

Oh hey there, June. It’s hard to believe, but we’re only thirty days away from the official halfway mark of 2018. And while the sun may be shining + the beach may be calling your name, I need something else to be calling your name too, sugar. The holidays.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking you to plan your holiday feast or to get a head start on shopping (but high five to you if you do). June is the perfect month to plan your wholesale holiday outreach. Store buyers will begin buying their holiday inventory this summer and it’s important you have an outreach strategy planned out and ready to go. Have a question or two on that? Join me for a free Facebook Live training, where I’ll share my best tips and tricks.

Whatever you’re working on, I’m cheering you on!