My Top 5 Girl Crushes, Make it 6.

Each week I have homework from Blogging Your Way 2.O which I'll be sharing here. I love my homework today: List my top 5 blogs, which I'm tweaking a bit to be my top 5 Girl Crushes, which turned into 6. Why they inspire and what we can learn from them.  Who inspires you? Please share in the comments below!

A Beautiful Mess by Elsie Larso
Hooray, this site is proof you don't have to micro-focus on ONE thing. Elsie is a designer, boutique owner, blogger, e-course teacher and she just wrote a book. So there. I love that. But guess what, she's not an overnight success, she began with Red Velvet almost ten years ago.

The Lesson: It's OK to have lots of interests and projects, you can be a success, you just have to find the thread that binds your interests to make sense as a brand. And, be patient, success will come if you are diligent. It takes time. Belief +  Love +  Action  + Patience = SUCCESS!


Do What You Love: Beth Nicholls
 

PostCard Swap on Do What You Love

 I've mentioned this site before because it really is very closely related to the work I do. I completely agree with Beth, "I believe the world would be a better place if more people were doing what they loved ".  Much like Elsie, I like the multi-creative approach Beth uses in her biz. She teaches e-courses, sponsors other e-courses, has an amazing retreat, and interviews creative women doing what they love.
The Lesson: Beth has figured out how to gain and keep the attention of her audience by engaging them in a meaningful and inspired way. By allowing people to write their own stories in "shared stories" she has a constant stream of content coming in which frees her up for other projects. Another way people are connecting is through the Stitched Post Card Swap- a great way to connect with her niche market. What ways can you connect on a creative level with your niche market?

Marie Forleo

Marie Forleo

I love MarieTV! I watch it every Tuesday. Today she interviewed Mastin Kipp, founder of The Daily Love with over 100K readers around the world.  His message, and Marie's overall message, is that you just need to DECIDE AND GO FOR IT. I believe that too. I think the hard part is deciding for most people. I've finally decide. Have you?

The Lesson: Here is a smart woman who is using the Internet to build an empire. She's funny, she's accessible. She uses VIDEO. Hum, I use video :). She talks a lot about email lists. I think I need an email list. I should get on that. What's your email address anyway?

Danielle Laporte
This lady is inspiring me big time right now with her Firestarter Sessions book. Read more here.

The Lesson: Don't sit around thinking about everything you want to do. Start taking action now. From a business perspective, I think what I can learn from Danielle is the importance of branding and making an Internet presence in a confident, kick ass kind of way. No apologies here.

Girl Crush Tea Party by The Jealous Curator
First off, there's probably nothing more enticing for me than the combo of getting together with like minded creative women to drink tea, eat sweets and make art. That's just about as good as it gets. So, I hope to go to a Girl Crush Tea Party and secretly really want to host one 'cause I love that kind of thing. Also, I see this particular group of women as a tribe I'd like to be part of. I can relate to their sensibility and style.

The Lesson: I've thought about this concept before and didn't act on it, but I'd really like to use the Girl Crush Tea Party as a model for local day long workshops in my area. There are SO many creative people that I'd like to connect with IN PERSON. I'd like to expand on this model and make it into a support group where women can encourage, inspire and keep each other on track. Wouldn't that be nice?


Decor8 by Holly Becker
And of course I can not leave Holly Becker off my list! Founder & editor of my favorite blog, decor8, Holly she infuses her authentic self into her business and I just love that. She is totally transparent in her work and freely shares her story and how by taking a risk and quiting her day job she became a huge success doing what she adores. Like my other girl crushes, she dabbles in many creative forms from writing, to teaching, to interior design consultation and more.

The Lesson:Be authentic. Don't copy, there's room for us all! I'm learning a ton from Holly's class, read about it here.

OK- so, spill the beans. Who are you crushing on? Who inspires you? Instead of being jealous of them, what can you learn from them??