30 Stylish Finishing Touches & Decor for your Home Office

The idea of working from home has gone from strength to strength in recent years, with more of us embracing the idea of working remotely or running our own small home business than ever before.

When I started PhotoFairytales I worked from the kitchen table, sitting on a back-breaking dining chair that really wasn't designed to be sat on for 8 hours! Thankfully now I have my own dedicated studio to work from (with a nice comfy swivel chair), and I can't tell you how important it is to create a work space that's not only functional and comfy, but inspirational too. 

The end of the day at PhotoFairytales HQ!

I'll be honest, my studio isn't always this tidy - quite often I'm joined by a clothes airer full of damp clothes! But when you spend a significant portion of your day working from home, it's vital to be able to create a calm space where you can concentrate. At the end of my working day I always try to have a quick clean down of my desk so that the next morning I can sit at my desk ready for a fresh new day.

Make sure your desk and chair are comfortable and at the right height for you. Ensure you have sufficient lighting too - natural daylight is great, but mix in a great desk lamp too (my desk doesn't get natural daylight, so I have to rely on a wall light and a desk lamp). Personalise your space with artwork, touches of decor and gorgeous stationery to encourage a creative, pleasant environment to work in. Just because you have to work every day, doesn't mean it can't be pretty! Plants look lovely anywhere, so find a corner of your desk or a shelf for some greenery - whether it's real or fake. And keep your desk organised and as clutter free as you can with some practical storage.

Whether you're work space is tiny or spacious, dedicated or shared with other needs in the home (kitchen/work table-type scenario), I've curated a round up of gorgeous handmade finishing touches for your home office space that will make your working day so much nicer! Everything shown is handmade and designed by small, independent creative British businesses...

Part 1: Your Desk

Items featured, left to right, top to bottom:

• Pantheon Bookends/Candle Holders, by Goblin Craft London
• Reclaimed Scaffold Board Desk, by Gibbs Design Furniture
• Personalised Mug, by PhotoFairytales
• Hand Crocheted Coaster, by Gracie's Place
• Mousemat, by Studioart22
• Table lamp, by Chiselwick

2) Wall Art & Decor

Items featured, left to right, top to bottom:

• Ministry of General Cleverness personalised print, by PhotoFairytales
• Hello Gorgeous typewriter print, by PhotoFairytales
• Tickety Boo custom made wooden sign, by PhotoFairytales
• Cloud Plaque custom made sign, by PhotoFairytales
• Hot Pink Letterpress print, by Happytomato7
• Linocut library print, by Of Books And Bees

3) Greenery & Plantlife

Items featured, left to right, top to bottom:

• Glasses Plant Pot, by Sculptech3DPrints
• Honeycomb Wall Pot System, by Sculptech3DPrints
• Personalised Planter, by Carve Creations
• Crochet Rose, by Greenhouse Cat Studio
• Motivational Plant Marker, by Jolly Dee
• Handmade Wooden Planter, by Studio Fifty Six

4) Organisation & Storage

Items featured, left to right, top to bottom:

• Wooden Pencil Pot, by Harley and Steffan
• Blush Pink Basket, by Clare Gets Crafty
• Leather Cable Tidy, by ToriLoLeather
• Crochet Lidded Pot, by Janiemade
• Personalised Wooden Doorhanger, by PhotoFairytales

5) Beautiful Stationery

Items featured, left to right, top to bottom:

• Greyhound Notebook, by Michele Willshaw Print
• Pencil Case, by Bees And Blossoms
• Kraft Notecards, by Crafty Ali
• Pink Bow Paperclip, by Crafty Ali
• Houseplant Stickers, by Tishpaints
• Handbound Notebook, by Victoria Snape - Pretty paper goods

Making your home office work space a creative, serene and inspirational area is key to getting through the working day. Make it reflect your style and personality, and create a haven that makes you productive every day. Your home office should be a place that makes you feel comfortable and motivated, so incorporate personalised touches to make your working day a joy.

Sarah :)

How to stay productive when you're working from home - my top 5 tips

Ah, that old chestnut - I've been in this game for a few years now, so I'm a bit of an expert. You won't find me getting distracted by the contents of the world wide web, or the dog/cat, or household chores, or my phone... No. Noooo. Not me. Ahem.

OK, so you may be surprised to hear I'm not super-human when it comes to knuckling down - although I do think I'm not all that bad really. Of course, doing a job you enjoy helps, but even then there's still a lot of things you don't want to do/can't be bothered with that leads to all sorts of prevarication and distraction. And sometimes, even knowing it's something you HAVE to do RIGHT NOW doesn't even help give the proverbial kick up the bum you need to get productive.

So, what to do, what to do? Here's a few little tips I've found work for me over the years - hopefully they might prove useful to you too.

The sound of silence...

I hate it, can't work in silence, never have. You may not be the same, but if you find quiet distracting then my tip is to put on the radio (not the TV, never ever the TV!). Personally I listen to Radio 4 all day long while I'm working, plus occasional podcasts when I know I can listen (because most of the time I'm not actually listening, it's there just rumbling in the background in a comforting kind of way). It reminds me there are other people working out there in the world too. Which leads me onto...

Body-doubling...

If you find working at home completely on your own is hard, and background noise from a radio for example doesn’t work, sometimes just having another person present in the room is enough to spur you on. So maybe work in a coffee shop or library for a couple of hours a day.

It's all about timing...

When are you most productive? If you're sitting down at your desk at 9am on the dot and expecting to find the creative juices flowing when you don't actually hit your creative sweet spot until after lunch, then you're on a road to nowhere. Plan your day around when your brain is feeling it. Use the non-creative time to do the mundane stuff. I personally find I can't knuckle down until I've sorted out my emails and done the admin stuff. It frees my mind, knowing that it's all organised and now I can relax and do the productive, creative things I need to do.

Finding your place…

Make sure that the area you work in is comfy, well lit, and YOURS (at the very least, for the time you need to be working at it). And make your area attractive: a nice plant or a fancy pot to put your pens in is sometimes enough - but don’t try to work amongst clutter or housework that needs doing, it messes with your head, your creativity, and it’s super-distracting (as in: “I’ll just tidy up before I get onto to those emails..”)! Get those urgent chores done before you even sit down to start your work day. Equally, unplugging from social media can help you to keep productive - we all know how much of a glorious timewaster it can be! Turn off the notifications so there are no pop-ups trying to lure you back in.

Plan your day…

I find having a scatter-gun approach to work can be really distracting; where you simply react to things as they happen. I know I work much more productively if I can allot sections of my day to certain tasks. As I’ve said, I start my day by going through emails because it also gives me an idea of what needs to be done that day so that I can prioritise. I try to tackle any jobs that I don’t want to do first rather than leave them to later in the day - this includes anything that’s boring, difficult (because I know it will play on my mind all day if I don’t do it early on), or annoying. Take regular breaks during the day, making sure you actually get up off your chair and move. I don’t have set times for this because it’s not always possible to do, but even just getting up to make a cuppa and stare out of the window while the kettle boils is enough to give your brain some downtime and be able to go back refreshed.

It can often feel as if productive, efficient people must be some kind of robot - but they’re just people that have found their workflow: and you can too!

Sarah x

Top 5 tips for working from home

Thousands of people across the country (and the world) are finding themselves working from home now. Whilst this is temporary and life will be back to normal after coronavirus (honestly, it will, this will pass), it can be really hard to adapt to working in a home environment, especially when you’re sharing it with the whole family and you can’t just get up and leave the house to get away from it all - and even more so when it wasn't planned!

I’ve been working from home for about 11 years now and I know from experience how hard it can be to stay focussed and productive. So I want to give you some really practical home working tips that, through trial and error, I’ve worked out and realised over the years in the hope that they might help you too… you can survive working from home, trust me!

Your work area: If you have the space, establish a work area - whether it’s a proper desk, the dining room table, a piece of board over your lap Roald-Dahl-style, whatever. That way you can walk away from it (or commute, if you will!). It’s important to be able to get work out from under your nose at the end of the day. If you can’t physically shut a door on the room you work in, make sure you clear and tidy your work area at the end of every day. Even if that just means stacking paperwork into neat piles, putting the lid of your laptop down and putting your pens in a pot, it will make it feel less intrusive when you walk past it during your days off or evenings, and it’ll make everything feel more controlled (in an already chaotic time). Working from home is all about creating divides between work-life and home-life. That’s easy to achieve when you work in a different building, but you have to consciously make the effort when you work from home - otherwise home and work can blend and you’ll never be able to switch off properly. At a time like this, when we can’t just go out whenever we want, that’s more important than ever.

Get yourself comfortable: Make sure you’re working in enough light - whether that’s natural light (ideally) or an improvised table lamp. If you find yourself frowning or working in your own shadow because the window is behind you, that’s far from ideal. You might be improvising with a dining chair that’s not the right height, so if that’s the case make sure you sit up straight (I’m world class at hunching over my desk, so I know how easy it is to end up with backache and a stiff neck at the end of the day!). Stand up and walk around the room at regular intervals. And don’t make yourself too comfy: whilst it might be tempting to put the coffee machine on the table next to you, it’s better to keep it where it is so that you’re forced to get up and move to get yourself a drink! But remember, chances are you’re going to be working from home like this for a few weeks, so make yourself comfortable and create an environment that’s as pleasing to work in as you can.




Keep to regular hours: If you’ve got very young children or others in your home that need attention I know this can be really hard. When I first started PhotoFairytales I worked from the kitchen table and my daughter Amy was very little. Even little things like her interrupting me to ask for a biscuit would cut through my concentration and it would take time to get ‘back in the zone’. If your children are old enough to understand and cooperate, try working in hourly chunks that mimic their own school routine. At the end of each hour you make yourself available - and maybe even have a 15 minute ‘playtime’ with them. That way they have a routine, the same as you. You might find yourself getting up a bit earlier to do some work before they wake up, or working later after their bed time - but just make sure you’re not tempted to dip in and out of work when you shouldn’t be. Turn your phone off, turn the laptop off, make yourself step away when you’re ‘out of hours’. When you go out to work there are structures to your day: the commute, the lunch hour, the clocking off time. But when you work from home those things can get blurred. You might not be able to stick to the same hours as usual, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a bit of routine (having a proper lunch hour is a good place to start). Maybe think about setting an alarm on your phone to remind you when to ‘go home’ at the end of the day: bzzz bzzz, home time!

Happiness is still important: Bring in a bit of what my Amy calls ‘the aesthetics’… put a nice plant by your workspace, get yourself some nice pens to write with, a pretty pot to put them in, a nice ‘work’ mug. Whatever little touches you can add that makes the environment more pleasant to work in. Chances are you’re going to be working from home for a few weeks, so you may as well make the best of things.

Dress the part: It’s so easy to just work in your pyjamas - or even get so engrossed in work you forget to brush your hair or teeth (I’m speaking from experience here, trust me on this). So, every morning make sure you get dressed just as you would if you were going to work (I mean, you don’t have to do the full shirt-and-tie-power-suit thing, but dress like someone might be coming round to the house and you wouldn't want to be caught on the hop). It sounds crazy, but the act of getting properly dressed makes you feel like you’re going to work. And it means that in your downtimes like the weekends and evenings you can still get that relaxed feeling. For example, I work from home but I never wear slippers during the day. I have a pair of shoes that I never wear outdoors, but they feel like shoes and that makes me feel different - and act different - during the day. They’re less comfy - so at the end of the day when I’ve finished work I take them off and put my slippers on - and that’s my sub-conscious indicator that tells my brain it’s now relaxing time! (I’m confessing all my secrets here, you do realise that?!)

Bonus tip: This one is all about distractions… How houseproud are you? Do you make the beds every day? Keep the carpets hoovered?  Keep things basically tidy at home? If not, you might want to get on top of things a bit. It’s hard to keep focussed when out of the corner of your eye there’s a pile of dirty plates in the sink. So every day, allot 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening to do a swift tidy. Make the beds, do a sweep of the rooms and pick up anything that doesn’t belong - even if that just means chucking stuff in a box until later, just get it out of sight. I’m not suggesting you do a full clean of your house, just a straighten up. Rope in other family members and get them to pull their weight too. It’s easy to get distracted by housework when you’re supposed to be working - personally, I find the washing is the main culprit for this: I’ll find myself dashing to the washing machine to get the next load on, or get it pegged in the garden while the sun’s shining. That’s fine, it gives me a reason to step away from my studio and straighten up and switch my focus - but I draw the line at shoving the hoover around when I should be answering emails. That sort of thing can wait - when I’m at work, I’m at work. You’re spending a lot of time in your home right now so keep it organised, delegate chores if you can, only do housework during out-of-hours - a tidy home is a tidy mind!

Also, does your phone constantly ping and buzz with notifications from social media? These might be a nice distraction normally, and you might have a routine of checking your Instagram or Facebook account during your lunch break, but they can cut across your concentration if you’ve got your phone beside you because you’re working from home.  Think about switching it off or muting the notifications - you’ve probably got enough distraction going on in your home with kids and partners interrupting you, so you don’t want to add to it with notifications that an old school friend has just seen a squirrel in their garden (or whatever)!

Above all though, remember this isn’t going to be forever. It’s a strange moment in time that we’ll all remember, but it will become a memory and life will go on.

Stay in, stay safe.

Sarah x

I'm open as usual at PhotoFairytales!

I know that with the shops shut and everyone being told to stay home, it's now more than ever that people need to be able to rely on online shopping for lots of items. Just because we can't see friends and family in person, doesn't mean that birthdays, anniversaries, and 'thinking of you' gifts can't still be sent to loved ones. I just wanted to reassure you that it's business as usual here at PhotoFairytales: I'm well, I'm open for business, I'm creating and dispatching all orders as usual and within the normal turnaround times.

Business as usual at PhotoFairytales...

If you need me to send a gift directly to a loved one that's easy - just enter their delivery address when you place your order and I'll send it direct to them for you. If you'd like me to enclose a gift message for you I can do that free of charge (just pop the details in the 'special instructions' space in the shopping cart). Don't worry about the price being revealed either: I never enclose invoices with orders, so they won't see!

Worried about gift wrap? Don't worry, just let me know and wherever possible I'll wrap the gift in pretty tissue paper for you too. I'm offering this free of charge at the moment wherever possible, however there are a few items on my site that may not be available for free gift wrapping as they're created on my behalf by other suppliers - it may still be possible to offer gift wrapping on those items, but there may be a small charge. If you'd like gift wrapping please contact me before placing your order and I'll be happy to confirm whether this can be done free or will be a charged service.

Need to send someone a card? I've got lots of gorgeous cards for all sorts of occasions on the site, and they can all be personalised too - so you can request personalisation on the front of the card AND a personal message on the inside of the card. Plus I can send it direct to the recipient for you too.

Self isolation doesn't mean you are cut off from everything, or that you have to miss important dates. Even if you just want to send a 'thinking of you' style present to someone you can't go to see in person, or send something to help raise their spirits and bring some cheer, I can sort that out for you.

Whether it's a special occasion, friends or family - I've got loads of great gift ideas for you! No matter whether it's a birthday, anniversary, arrival of a baby, or just a 'best wishes' style present, you'll find lots of really unique and creative gift ideas on the site that are all available today.

A note about me personally - as I said, I'm well, open, creating and dispatching as normal. Absolutely no one is allowed in my studio other than me: I'm keeping everything clean and my handwashing is unsurpassed! Like most of you, my family are now working from home too and are absolutely behind the cleanliness regime - we're all in this together!

I now have a dedicated page on my site with updates about dispatch and deliveries during this time - you can find it under the Delivery & Info tab at the top of the website. I'm here to help, so if you have a question about anything please don't hesitate to get in touch.

I feel it's super important for both you and me to try to keep life as normal as possible. I want to thank you for supporting my micro business - I know we're in worrying times at the moment, but I won't let you down and your continued support is MASSIVELY appreciated. We're all going to need each other that little bit more over the coming weeks. Just because we're confined to our homes and apart, doesn't mean we can't all be together. I'd love to hear from you, so if you fancy a chat do head over and find me on Facebook.

And finally... as Gisele, the owner of Mir Skin Care, said to me the other day:

"Micro businesses are the safest, goods pass through a limited number of (thoroughly washed) hands and the business owner is in full control of every process."

And she's absolutely right!

Stay home, stay safe - shop online, support micro business.

Sarah x

What I love this week...

Even the screen cycles through soothing colours....

When I'm sitting hunched and round shouldered straight-backed and posture-perfect at my desk, one of the things that keeps me company (apart from the dog at my feet) is the radio. I've never been able to work in silence - as a child doing my homework I always had to have Scooby Doo/Blue Peter/Rentaghost on in the background...

Music radio is too intrusive I find - plus I nearly always end up with an unwanted earworm while laying in bed at night. So my background noise of choice is talk radio; something I can mentally tune in and out of without too much effort. And the channel I normally choose is Radio 4 (which is, I think, both slightly farty and cool at the same time).

But... I've discovered something this week which has actually worked just as well (and hasn't involved my listening to The Archers tum-tee-tum-te-tum-te-tum, or Gardener's Question Time discussing plum rot, or Woman's Hour talking about the menopause - all of which are very entertaining of course, but sometimes you need a bit of variety eh?!). No, I'm tuning into www.noisli.com - and I love it!

You can control your own soothing background sounds - the pitter patter of raindrops and the wind rustling in the leaves... or tweety birds and the sound of a nearby stream... or a cosy crackling fire with a rumbling thunderstorm. In fact you could have all of those at the same time if you want - and the sound of waves on the sea, crickets chirping at night, and the ambient sound of a coffee shop thrown in too. If you really want!

You can adjust the levels, sending that thunder into the background or bringing up the noise of the rain - tweaking it to your hearts content. Or you can put it on 'random' and it'll cycle through sounds for you.

I had it set on 'thunder-rain-crackling fire' yesterday afternoon which was lovely and cosy (for the middle of July). And right now I'm listening to a forest filled with birds and a gentle breeze. Ahhhh.....and reeeelax.

There, that's my little gift to you for today - enjoy :)

Sarah x

Office inspiration...

PhotoFairytales HQ is not a grand affair - my office is, let's say, compact and bijou! However, amongst all the paperwork and general organised chaos (if you've seen my hole punch by the way, let me know) there is a little oasis - one that I often sit back and look at during the day. Sometimes I'm gazing at it in contemplation, often I'm not particularly focused on it, but it definitely has a calming affect!

The item my eyes travel towards is my Annora Spence picture - I've had it for years, can't remember where I bought it, don't even know it's title (probably something like "Man with Dog and Sewing Machine") - but it is without doubt one of my favourite things. The colours are stunning, the style is simple, the image is one of stillness. And I love it.

Annora Spence is without doubt one of my favourite artists - should I ever be in a position where I can afford one, I would love LOVE to own one of her works "properly". Annora studied printed textiles in Liverpool and Birmingham in the 80's, and since the early 90's she has worked successfully as an artist exhibiting in the UK and abroad. Her work uses various mediums, and the colours range from deep and warm tones, through to soft, pale shades as seen in her current gallery. I'd happily own any of them - please!

If you haven't discovered this wonderful artist, you can see more of her work by clicking here.

I know that whenever I hit an inspiration wall, sitting back and gazing at my beloved picture hanging above my computer will point me in the right direction. And along with the phrase "keep it simple, stupid", the other phrase I like to ask myself is: "what would Annora do?"...

What do you have that fires your creative juices? - leave a comment and let me know!

Sarah x

The Sound of Silence...

Since being a child, I've always found it near impossible to work in silence - my homework was always done with the sound of Scooby Doo or Hong Kong Phooey in the background! And as an adult, I'm no different. Whenever I'm working I always have the radio on, usually tuned into Radio 4. Now, apparently, the average age of listeners to Radio 4 is 55 - and before you ask, no I'm not! Call me an old fogey, but I've actually been listening to it since I was in my twenties - and favourites include Woman's Hour, The Archers (of course), and the fantastic comedy (if you haven't discovered Milton Jones, The Unbelievable Truth, Just a Minute or the News Quiz - well, quite frankly, you're missing out!).

As well as those favourites, I do end up listening inadvertently to a large amount of news bulletins throughout the day. And on budget day this year I found myself putting orders to one side and seizing on a bit of inspiration that seemed to appear from nowhere. Although, with the budget and politicians whittering away in the background its' actually quite easy to work out where my idea for a series of three new print designs came from!

You can find all three designs in my Folksy Shop, or at wowthankyou.com

Now, Money Box Live has just started, wonder what that will inspire...!
Sarah x

Work at Home Mum: what I think I do

I've seen a few of these on Facebook recently for various jobs, thought I'd add my own for all those fellow working mums out there - enjoy!

Sarah x

8 ideas I use to make my business work for me - and my customers

What should you do to make your business successful for you - and a great experience for your customers?

I’ve been thinking about the way that I run PhotoFairytales recently, analysing what I do and why, and what things I need to look at changing. I know why I started the business originally (wanting to get back into work after having a baby, the need to do something creative - oh, and the need for an income of course!) - but what was keeping me going? I love what I do - I think about it every day and I’m always planning new designs, new products, new ideas. So here’s what I think helps to make my business right for me, and my customers (who seem to like what I do!):

1. Be honest
   I'm always clear and honest in the things I do, both in work and out of it. I think this is important in business too. We can all pretend to be wheeler dealers, or JR Ewing - wanting to make the money, not really caring. But, honestly, how much of a success would my business really be (given I don’t have an oil well like JR) if I dealt with my customers this way? I am honest in my dealings with customers, I'm honest in knowing what I like and don’t like (although sometimes it takes a while before I work it out!), and I try very hard to be true to myself and my beliefs.
   
   
2. Have your own voice
   When you start out in business it can be very easy to emulate what other people do and how they do it. Go with the crowd, that’s what they all do so it must be safe/how it’s done. But if the voice you use isn't truly yours its impossible to keep it up long term. Of course, you need to adapt to different situations - we speak differently to a potential boss during an interview compared to the way we speak to our friends - but it needs to be different versions of YOU, not someone else. It has to be authentic. And being who you really are will give your business heart and honesty, and individuality.
   
   
3. Don’t undervalue yourself
   You do your research, find out what the “going rate” is for something, and that’s roughly what you charge. And that’s fine if you are selling a specific commodity that has a recognized value, but when you work in a creative business it’s harder to put a price on something. The basic fear is: don’t make it too expensive, people won’t want to buy it - but don’t make it too cheap, because people will think its not very good. It’s very tricky to put your prices, and value, in the right spot. As well as all the usual things you would account for such as materials, postage, fees and overheads, etc, think about what you are worth. No doubt you are pretty damn good at what you do - a bit of an expert in fact! You've got years of experience and you know what you’re doing. Your customers are in safe hands. So bear those things in mind too. (I need to pay attention to this one a bit more myself, it’s one I struggle with constantly!)
   
   
4. Take time out
   It’s so easy to throw yourself heart and soul into your business, making every working minute productive. But taking time out is important too, not only for your health and peace of mind, but because taking a step back sometimes helps you to see where you need to go next. Take a breather and it will give you a chance to see things differently, come up with new ideas, be inspired by the things you see around you. Your business will thank you for it. (I also need to lecture myself on this one a bit more!) If you’re having a bad day, try writing a list of all the strong, positive sides of you and your business and look back at the list in times when sales slow down a bit and you need a bit of reassurance. If you work alone it can be isolating, so its important to have contacts and support (my lovely mate Nicole is mine - she runs a business too, and knows exactly what I’m going through!).
   
   
5. Be open to ideas - and determined in your pursuit of them!
   If you’re not a huge business with pots of money to throw at things, you need to be creative in how you promote your business and, well, think around corners I guess! I think its important to not give up at the first hurdle or feel too dispirited when results don’t come quickly - know that things will take time and you will be prepared. You’re building an empire, not running the 100m dash. If things take a while maybe that’s a good thing - it will give you a chance to grow in your experience and get better at what you do. So when those customers do come flooding to your door you’re equipped and ready for them!
   
   
6. Organisation = less stress (trust me!)
   The chances are, you have to juggle your business with home life and 100 other things too. Time is always short, there are never enough hours in the day and so managing and using each minute effectively and resourcefully will help. Identify the things that drain your time (being a clickaholic doesn’t help!), file things away and keep your workspace tidy so that you don’t feel swamped. I only have a certain number of hours in the day when I can get a clear, uninterrupted run at work - I make sure I don’t get distracted with doing household chores (the peril of working from home!), I do everything at the start of the day and the end, and not in the middle. OK, it means I have to get up at 6am every morning to achieve it but at least I can sit at my desk with a clear head!
   
   
7. When inspiration hits, grab it!
   Whether its an idea for a blog post, or a new creation or design - when the idea hits, drop what you’re doing. You may not have the time to see it through to the end there and then, but grab a bit of paper (or the palm of your hand!), and right it down so that you don’t forget. Even if you don’t have the time or ability to put it into action now, when you do have the time or need for something new it will be there waiting for you, like a little jewel!
   
   
8. Put your face on!
   OK, this might seem as if I’m contradicting point No2, but what I actually mean is basically present your good side at all times. Don’t let standards slip and remember that everything you do - whether its writing on your blog, updating your website, social networking - is an opportunity for people to see you. Put your virtual lippy on, and not your virtual baggy leggings!

I’m sure you’ve got some ideas and thoughts of your own too, so do feel free to leave a comment as I’d love to hear from you. So, now all I need to do is make sure I listen to my own advice!

Sarah x

I'm running a business, not a hobby!

About 8 weeks ago I had a brief online chat with the lovely Nicole from Kenzo Crafts. Basically, we were both bemoaning the fact that when you work from home or run your own business, somehow it never gets taken all that seriously.... People (quite nice, intelligent people usually!), make comments about your work as your "little thing", or refer to it as "your hobby".

We were holding this conversation on Facebook, and so (never one not to seize a moment!), within 5 minutes I'd created a new page: "I'm running a business, not a hobby!". No, I know it's not catchy - but at least it gets to the point!

Just 8 weeks later and there are now over 200 fans of this page - all of them equally frustrated that so many people simply think they are working purely to fill in their spare time. And some of these are mothers to young children, run households, AND run their own business! The page is just growing organically with new people joining every week - and the message from everyone is the same. Just take a look at some of the comments on there!

So why is it that people who run small businesses and/or work from home don't get taken seriously? It is quite odd, especially when you consider most of us work much longer than the average full-time 40 hour working week. And that many of those hours are either at the crack of dawn, or late at night when other workers are either tucked up asleep or watching telly.

A huge number of women decide to run their own business as a route back to work after babies. I know that's one of the reasons why I set up PhotoFairytales. It means we can juggle work and homelife in a way that probably wouldn't happen if we were employees. Society is always discussing how to best allow parents the flexibility to hold down a career and look after children - and in the meantime while these discussions are taking place, many women are just getting on with it: setting up their business, making it a success, looking after their home and family. But just because those hours of work are from home and are split up over the day, it seems there is a blur between "working from home" and just "being at home all day".

So, lets get one thing straight: people who work from home and run their own business often work longer and harder hours than the standard employee. We are totally committed to the business we run - not only do we want it to be a commercial success, we want it to be a personal success too. We are creative people who take on many, many roles: book keeper, marketing manager, website developer, customer service officer, administrator, technical support, purchaser, business developer, office cleaner, tea trolley operator... I could go on!

If you're one of those who works from home too and gets frustrated from time to time, head on over to the "Business, Not Hobby" page on Facebook and have your say. You'll feel so much better afterwards and you'll be in good company!

Now, get back to work slacker!

Sarah x