Nov 1, 2013

Vermont Valley Doggy Treats - Mini Boxes

These are the designs for the trial size boxes of Vermont Valley Doggy Treats.
6 flavors in all



Oct 30, 2013

Vermont Valley Doggy Treats - Box Design

I designed these boxes for the new dog food - Vermont Valley Doggy Treats for Ruff Ideas, Inc.

These were so much fun to create and
I can't wait to see what the real boxes look like.

Oct 1, 2013

Kosher Kurls - KurlFriend Of The Month Contest

I put together the KurlFriend Of The Month Contest for Kosher Kurls  leave in Conditioner.

This is the eblast that I created.
It was also broken into sections and put on the companies social media sites.


To view more of my social media designs, check out my Behance portfolio: Social Media Design,  Eblast & Print Ad 


Launching "Shape My World" Website

My fist full company website is finally up.
I've created a few of my own websites and I have updated a few others. But this one is all mine!

What I've learned: Don't expect 2 web hosts to connect with each other in a timely fashion. Neither of them will do anything for days and you will just end up on the phone for hours.

But no matter, the site is finally up and running. And I'm kind of loving the result.

Check out the Shape My World website at http://www.itsrealentertainment.com/

Enjoy!!
Erica

Sep 26, 2013

The problem with offering freebee services

My first full website (other than my own) is launching this week. Despite a few technical bumps in the road, I am extremely happy with my design work. I did however learn something very important from this project. When it comes to professional services, never give things away for free or else the client will start taking advantage of you.

 It's a really big shame because as a small business owner I fully understand the plight of a startup company. I go into a project with the understanding that a company has a small budget and I do everything in my power to go under that budget. I even teach the client how to do the simple things themselves. So next time, they will make the updates instead of paying me to do it for them. Those that respect me as a professional, will get professional curtsies in return.

Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that once you do one favor, people just start to expect freebies. Even small things like taking $20 off an invoice, brought a client to ask for more than 2 days of free services. Some people just don't seem to understand that every favor that I give comes straight out of own pocket. So my new conclusion, is that unless I worked with you before and can trust you full heartily, no more freebies.

On the flip side, I do have many incredible clients that keep me believing in offering favors in the world of small business. I want to give a big shout out to two individuals who have always treated me as a professional. Glenn Rudin from Always Been Creative, Inc. and Debbie Ginsberg from Uncluttered Domain, Inc., taught me how to survive in the world of small business. Entrepreneurs like these two deserve every little bit of support that anyone can give them. Not only do they appreciate small favors, but in the end of the day if I need something in return, they will be there without question.

Small businesses survive by working together. By helping other businesses in small ways you will ultimately be helping yourself. But we all have small budgets and a limited amount of time. So if someone offers you some help, accept it graciously. Please don't make a fool of yourself and start expecting more then what is offered.