A Time to Hustle
I'm a firm believer in taking care of ourselves and avoiding the hustle-for-hustle's-sake culture that seems to be so prevalent in the business world these days. Hustle isn't a badge of honor, it's a means to an end.
To be perfectly honest, I've been more than a little burnt out from the early years of hustle in my career and the rollercoaster of building my own small business. I've been living the slow life for several months now, feeling like I've been in hibernation in order to heal and replenish myself. The culture of glorified hustle just isn't sustainable, and I'm proof that functioning this way is a nosedive towards burnout.
Hustle isn't a badge of honor, it's a means to an end.
All of that said, I believe there's a time and a place for hustle when it's handled in a healthy way. With my Illustrator Essentials launch deadline looming on July 10th, I've spent the last month waking myself up to the steady grind and increased flow of productivity.
What's different this time? I'm taking breaks. I'm making intentional time for the things that sustain me, like sleep, yoga, delicious food, and loved ones. I recognize that this season of hustle is just that—a season. And once this season winds down in a few weeks, I'll rest once again and take some well-deserved time to bask in the beauty of what I've created.
An Illustrator Essentials Update
So with the launch approaching, I took a hard look at how I wanted to handle marketing for it. So far everything for the course, and my brand in general, has been pretty organic which is how I prefer it.
Rather than running ads or some sleazy hard-sell campaign, I thought “What if I could use this launch occasion to support other small businesses I believe in?”
So that's exactly what I'm doing!
A NEW APPROACH TO LAUNCHING
The Illustrator Essentials launch will kick off with a bang (including a stellar grand prize)! Registration will be open for 2 weeks during which I'll be running a series of giveaways over on Instagram, featuring amazing small businesses that deserve your eyeballs and love. These giveaways will be non-sleazy ones, I promise, focused on community and supporting others.
Better yet, these brands are all amazing creatives in their own right who use Illustrator to create some truly magical things, so with each respective giveaway I'll be interviewing the founder(s) live for your viewing pleasure! We'll chat about how they got started, their small business journeys, and how they put Ai to work in their brand. If nothing else, this will introduce you to some amazing brands and show you the kind of magic you can create in Illustrator.
I'm sure you're wondering who's in on this launch party. Well, here are some hints... 😉
To find out what brands I've landed for this launch, what the schedule will be, and what I've got planned for the grand prize kickoff... well you'll just have to stay tuned now won't you? 😊
