Photo by Abby Jiu

Happy New Every everyone! One of the exciting aspects of starting a fresh year is taking the opportunity to look back at your previous year, assess what worked and what didn’t, and also consider where you want to go in the coming year. Personally we think this is helpful to do a couple times throughout the year as well, but it’s done most commonly in January for small business owners.
We are involved in a few different areas of business education, both in offering as well as receiving, and we frequently hear statements along the lines of “that’s too expensive” or “I’m just starting my business and I can’t afford any expenses.” First we want to clarify that only you know your own financial situation and what is or isn’t “worth it” to you/your business, but, we can without a doubt share that investing in your business is absolutely one of the very best decisions you can make, both as a new business starting out as well as an established business. Being an entrepreneur does usually involve making investments, whether that’s in education, overhead {although we recommend keeping this one low in the early stages – why you do think so many small businesses start out operating out of their homes?!}, product inventory or one of the many other expenses that come along with owning a business. The key is to think differently about spending for your business than you would about spending for yourself. A $500 charge for clothes could seem a bit frivolous for many trying to get their small business off the ground, but a $500 charge to learn about effective & efficient systems to run your business from the start would be considered a sound investment that will offer an even higher return in the future with saved time, efficiency and most likely direct profits.
The knowledge, advice, concrete resources & inspiration that you can receive from attending workshops {both in-person & online}, taking courses, networking, joining groups, etc is invaluable and not to be underestimated. Below is a list of courses/experiences that we have been part of or are on our radar. We hope you will consider 2017 the year to invest in yourself & your business in some way!
For Aspiring Calligraphers
Laura Hooper Calligraphy Workshops – if you want to get your feet wet and see if you like the art of pointed-pen
Modern Calligraphy Summit 1.0 & 2.0 – perfect for both beginners or those with experience already {all online with instruction from a slew of professionals | the private Facebook group alone is worth the investment}
Calligraphy Business Bootcamp – for those who are hoping to start their own business, or maybe already have but aren’t sure if they are operating effectively or legally
For Those Interested in Stationery/Wholesale
Tradeshow Bootcamp – offers an in-person workshop as well as online options {vendor list is worth the investment alone not to mention the active Facebook group}
ShipStation – sync up shipping from multiple shop platforms
For Wedding Designers
The School of Styling
For All Small Business Owners
Cool Photo School – for concrete help {at a steal price-wise!} getting those blog + social media-worthy product pics
Jenna Kutcher Courses – she offers an Instagram course & is rolling out a new Email List Building course this year {we are currently taking this one!}
Sage Wedding Pros – I know “wedding” is in the title but their online resources can apply to all businesses and include concrete resources for business accounting, personnel documents & general business tips + techniques at affordable price points {use code “LHC” for $10 off!}
Bloguettes – we haven’t done this {yet!} but it looks like a great resource for those needing a boost on their blog, social media, influencer marketing and more
Planoly – get your Instagram feed planned out to perfection!
There are so many more than what we’ve mentioned here, but hopefully this will give you a start plus the reassurance you need to know that business investments are worth it and will result in greater business growth overall.
If you’ve had positive experiences with other business workshops let us know which ones in the comments below to share the knowledge!
Cheers to 2017!
Laura + Alyssa