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Ciera Design Studio

Brand identity and design solutions for creative businesses and passionate entrepreneurs

Ciera Design Studio Year In Review – 2021

January 3, 2022 by Ciera Holzenthal

I was feeling a bit defeated as we wrapped up another year with less-than-ideal circumstances. So I decided to take my own advice and instead of getting wrapped up in what I DIDN’T get done, I wrote down all of my business-related accomplishments.

And it turns out… I actually have A LOT more to celebrate and be proud of than I thought. Here’s a quick rundown.

Client Work

  • Brand Identity for Unbundled
  • Brand Identity for Bungalow Blooms
  • Brand Expansion for MyWillows
  • Sub Brand Logo and Web Refresh for Catreese and Co.
  • Supporting Design Elements for Kristy Duke Consulting
  • Numerous projects for a Houston-based brand agency to support their design team on an ongoing basis.

The Template Shop

Sold 240 brand and marketing templates that help small businesses to streamline their processes, look more professional, and stay consistent!

I launched these templates in 2019 with a dedication to creating design that’s more accessible and I’m so proud that I’ve been able to slowly add to my shop and that you all continue to find them helpful! 

Content Creation & Partnerships

  • Official TikTok partner for their #LearnOnTikTok campaign
  • Partnered with Tailwind, Designs.ai, Printify, Melio, Wisestamp, and more.

If you’re ever feeling overwhelmed about your to-do list PLEASE write down what you HAVE accomplished, it feels pretty great!

P.S. If you have purchased any of my templates I’d love to see what you did with them! OR if have ideas for a template you’d like to see, shoot me an email!

Top 6 Cyber Week Sales To Help Your Business

November 19, 2021 by Ciera Holzenthal

I’m sure I’m not the only one looking to save a little money in my business these days. With my toddler still home with me full time, my time is precious and I can’t take on as many clients as I once did, but that doesn’t mean that my businesses expenses go down. I still have to keep up with my client management systems, email marketing provider, design apps and so much more!

So whenever I can, I try to get things on sale or subscribe to apps for the year since you usually get a deal over paying month to month.

The sales that I’m sharing today are all tools that I’ve used in my business for YEARS to keep things running smoothly. Check them out and if they seem like a good fit, I hope my sale codes can help you a bit!

I’m using affiliate links so I’ll get a tiny reward with no additional cost to you!

P.S. I’m publishing this a little bit early so that you have time to plan but please note the dates listed under each sale for when the discounts are live!

 

1. DUBSADO – Client Management System

Dudsado is hands down, my favorite biz tool. It’s a business management solution designed to cut out the busywork. Build relationships, schedule appointments, and create workflows to streamline your projects from start to finish.

You can set up a workflow once and then your systems are on autopilot. It captures leads on your website (your contact form, for example), can automatically send those leads a proposal, then a contact, then an invoice (in whichever order you prefer.) You can set payment reminders, there’s a client portal, bookkeeping, and just so much goodness. 

SALE DETAILS:
$30/month or $300/year. If you sign up now, you’re locked into these rates forever! PLUS get an extra 20% off through the links in this post. So for example, that’s an additional $60 off if you sign up for the year!

SALE DATES:
Tuesday, November 23rd at 10am PT to Tuesday, November 30th at 2:00pm PT. My 20% off code doesn’t expire but the sale price does.

CLICK HERE FOR THE DUBSADO SALE


2. THE CONTRACT SHOP – Contract Templates

Gotta be honest, I had NO idea what I was doing with my client contracts until I grabbed my template from The Contract Shop!

Within 10 minutes, I had a contract template and was customizing it to suit my business. It was super easy to add in my own details and I feel waaaay more confident knowing my contract has been vetted by someone who actually knows what they’re talking about! I use their graphic design templates and their terms and conditions template. Want to read more about why contracts are so important? Check out this blog post: 3 Ways Contracts Can Protect Your Business

SALE DETAILS:
20% off courses, 30% off workbooks, and 40% off contract templates and bundles

SALE DATES:
12:01am ET on Friday, November 26th, 2021 through 11:59pm ET on Monday, November 29th, 2021

CLICK HERE FOR THE CONTRACT SHOP SALE


3. CREATIVE MARKET – templates, fonts, graphics, etc.

I started making templates to help small businesses like yours to streamline their processes and look more professional through consistant branding. My shop is curently offering up to 30% off on my templates (Instagram, Pinterest, Lead Magnets, brand boards and more!) and many other creators are also having sales!

SALE DETAILS:
Up to 30% off templates in my shop

SALE DATES:
November 21st to December 2nd

CLICK HERE FOR THE CREATIVE MARKET SALE


4. TAILWIND – Pinterest Scheduler

Tailwind is a game-changer for Pinterest. The majority of the traffic to my website comes from Pinterest (and I bet yours does too). With Tailwind, I can set aside a few hours and schedule out content for the entire month. They also have communities to help you grow faster and Tailwind Create so you can create your graphics right in their platform!

SALE DETAILS:
Get 50% off the yearly plan. Sign up for the Forever Free plan using THIS LINK and Tailwind will email directions for the 50% off deal.

SALE DATES: 11/22/2021 – 11/29/2021

CLICK HERE FOR THE TAILWIND SALE


5. CANVA – Design

As a designer, I ignored Canva for way too long. I thought using my Adobe programs, which is indistry standard, was enought. BUT Canva has been so amazing for being able to collaborate with my clients and I’ve recieved amazing feedback on my Canva templates ever since I launched them in 2019. It’s such an easy and intuitive way to create all the visuals (even video and animated graphics) for you business.

SALE DETAILS: UPDATE, Canva didn’t end up having a sale like I thought but I still highly recommend Canva Pro even if it’s not dicounted. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE CANVA SALE


6. CREATIVE LIVE – Online Education

Creative Live is an awesome platform for continuing education or just learning new fun things! They are an online education platform that broadcasts live classes for free. If you miss the live broadcast or want to watch a class again, you can also purchase all of the archives on their site. Enjoy up to 75% off all classes. It’s a great time to kickstart your goals and end the year strong by sharpening your skills in topics like crafting, design, audio, photography, video, music, and business.

SALE DETAILS: 75% off all classes at CreativeLive

SALE DATES: 11/05/2021 – 11/30/2021

CLICK HERE FOR THE CREATIVE LIVE SALE

There are lots of other deals out there, but I just wanted to keep this short and sweet with the tools I think you’ll really find useful.

5 Ways To Uplevel Your Brand Image

January 9, 2021 by Ciera Holzenthal

The perceptions and ideas a customer has about a brand, based on their interactions with it and the way a brand presents itself, make up a company’s brand image.

Nurturing your brand image is critical because it:

  • Provides a good first impression of your business to prospects
  • Builds recognition with the general audience
  • Boost business credibility, awareness, and equity
  • Sets you apart from the competition
  • Provides direction for the future

So – how do you achieve all that?

By tapping into the five actionable tips below for improving your brand image.

1. Achieve Consistency Across All Channels

The key to successful business branding across different channels and platforms is consistency. It is important that your visual identity and voice are similar on all channels.

Consistent business branding is one of the essential aspects of a business’ growth and survival.

Creating a consistent brand image means embodying your company’s core values in visual elements, messaging, marketing, and digital strategy.

 Your company’s overall brand presence should be consistent through:

  • Visual identity: Create a brand board or brand guidelines to define the proper and consistent use of your logo, colors, imagery, typography, and other elements across all channels. Your signature brand look will make you stand out among the competition.  If your brand is not visually consistent, it may be misused or misrepresented. A signature color makes your brand 80% more recognizable, while a logo is the first thing your prospects see and associate your brand with.
  • Brand tone of voice: Your business should communicate your brand consistently and effectively through every piece of content you create and on every marketing platform you use. Strive to use a tone of voice, taglines, web copy, and mission statements that use similar wording and portray similar messages and emotions. To define your brand’s tone of voice, you need to:
    • Define your brand
    • Identify your audience
    • Examine your copy and content
    • Inspect your visual content
    • Choose your words wisely

Consistent business branding builds trust with your target audience and research shows it can also increase your revenue by as much as 33%. 

2. Invest In A Professional Website

Your brand extends to multiple platforms and channels and a website is only one small portion of it.

When prospects, leads, and casual visitors land on your website, directly, via Google search, or through digital ads, they form a first impression of your business. 

Users form an opinion about your website – and, consequently, your business – within 0.05 seconds of landing on it. Also, almost half of web visitors believe that design is the top factor supporting a website’s credibility.

Studies show it only takes two seconds to lose visitors if your website loads slowly.

According to the design team from a NY web design company Digital Silk, when creating a professional website for your business, best practice is to use:

  • Simple and intuitive navigation
  • Clean and legible typography
  • Fast-loading pages
  • High-quality imagery
  • Bold and enticing call-to-action buttons
  • Concise and to-the-point copy
  • Search engine optimization for better ranking in Google results

Simply put, make sure your business website is to-the-point in terms of user experience and usability, aesthetics and search engine performance. 

A website that ranks and performs well, educates visitors and aligns content with their search intent is hugely beneficial for your brand image and business results.

3. Identify What Makes Your Brand Unique And Provide Social Proof

Defining your brand’s X factor is a good starting point for making your business unique compared to others on the market. 

A brand differentiator is what makes your brand stand out among the rest. This is also a foundation for brand positioning, which we will touch upon later.

Research your competition to find out what brands have the same strengths and weaknesses as you do. Comparing your products and services to others may reveal some of your strengths that you could capitalize on.

Once you have identified your unique selling points, find a way to communicate them to your audience in a convincing and trustworthy way. This is where social proof comes in.

Prospective customers respond strongly to social influence that provides cues saying your products and/or services can indeed solve their pain points. 

By aligning your products with previous satisfied customers, brand ambassadors or influencers, you give your brand support and validation.

The most effective types of social proof are:

  • Customer reviews: Research shows that customers trust online reviews: 70% of consumers need to read at least four reviews before they can trust a business. Online reviews about a product can also increase its conversion rate by more than 270%! 
  • Testimonials: Satisfied customers can also provide full-blown testimonials about how your products or services changed their lives for the better. Featuring their name, job position, and an image of the person giving their testimonial increases trust with prospective buyers through legitimacy.
  • Celebrity/influencer endorsements: Influencer marketing is a growing trend in digital marketing. Social media posts or photos of celebrities and influential figures on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook posing with or using your brand can be extremely valuable in building your brand credibility and trust. 
  • Media coverage: Your business can leverage press coverage and other media exposure as social proof. For instance, on your website, you can create a special section featuring the major publications that have covered your business.

 

Think About Your Messaging And Positioning Statement

Your brand’s messaging is the most effective when it balances between illustrating its benefits for customers and describing the products or services.

Try to summarize your business in one sentence and describe your products in clear and understandable terms. Explain to your audience what your product or brand is, who it is for, and what its primary values are to the consumer.

Next, you want to communicate your brand’s benefits. 

Create short statements around several main benefits for your customers by focusing on your target audience’s biggest needs. Explore areas such as saving time and cutting costs, increasing business efficiency, and organizational boons.

Aim to begin all of your benefit statements with action words such as “get,” “create,” “boost” and so on. These kinds of words can help you focus on communicating the transformation the buyer is expecting.

Finally, focus on some of your products’ features.

When listing the features of your products or services, use statistics and hard facts that build trust in your brand.

One of your brand’s main objectives should be to make your target audience perceive it as credible and favorable.

Positioning strategies and positioning statements complement your brand’s messaging and make your business extra memorable. Their defining qualities are:

  • Communicating value: Your brand’s website copy and advertising messaging should provide valuable content that is insightful and relevant to your audience. This shows that you are capable of solving their pain points by giving them value.
  • Emotional connection: Learn about your target audience’s problems and establish a connection with them on an emotional level before making a sales pitch. This will build trust with your brand and create a more positive experience with your business.
  • Differentiating qualities: We talked about differentiators earlier and it’s very important to integrate them into your positioning statements. Your unique qualities should be easy to understand through your messaging and in all stages of the user journey and conversion funnel.

Develop A Strong Social Media Presence

Your brand image can benefit from major social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. 

Managing your brand message and overall reputation on social media is essential – for B2B as well as B2C businesses.

On social media, you can get the word out about your brand as well as your new products and services.

After all, 80% of consumers are more likely to consider products from brands they follow on social media. Also, global brands spend up to 75% of their social media time on Facebook, which remains the platform for interacting with consumers.

A strong social media presence enables you to reach a much broader audience that resonates with your brand voice and imagery. It also allows you to interact with your prospects instantly.

In order to leverage social media for your brand image to the fullest, keep these tips in mind:

  • Know your target audience: Different audiences use different social media platforms. Depending on who you are trying to reach, you may want to focus your efforts on a particular social media channel. Or, if you want to create a unified social media network, bear in mind that you should alter and adjust your brand voice and posting strategy for a specific audience on each platform. 
  • Establish your social media objectives: Think hard about what you want to accomplish on social media. Are you looking to reach new, younger demographics? Or to boost your brand awareness? Maybe you want to boost brand loyalty or capture leads. Knowing your goals will inform your content strategy. 
  • Don’t forget about consistency: Remember what we said about brand consistency earlier in the article? All of that applies, even more so, on social media. Align your brand’s voice with your core values that will be reflected in your social media posts and in the way you interact with your followers in comments and messages. For instance, don’t shy away from maintaining a humorous approach on social media if that’s how your brand normally operates and especially if the social media platform and its users resonate well with it.

Brand Image Takeaways

In today’s competitive market, consumers are not looking to buy a product or a service only — they’re looking for an enjoyable brand experience. 

When you get your brand image right, you convey what you want it to say to your prospects via all available channels: social media, advertising efforts, content marketing, and, most importantly – your own website.

Why You Need To Perform An Instagram Audit

October 15, 2020 by Ciera Holzenthal

Do you feel like you’re grinding your gears, putting hours into your Instagram feed, but not seeing the results and growth that you know are possible? You know you need to change something, but not sure what? The fix may be an Instagram audit. 

Why You Need An Instagram Audit

An Instagram audit will help you to:

Keep your goals in check

As with all marketing for your business, you should be constantly evaluating your goals and results. Is your current Instagram strategy helping you make tangible progress towards meeting your overall business goals?

Stay up to date with any Instagram changes

Is the type of content that was successful in the past for you still performing well? Are you trying new features that Instagram rolls out? Instagram tends to favor people using their newest features so it’s usually worth working new features into your strategy.

Reassess and refine your content

You may need to reevaluate and realign your content from time to time to stay relevant with your current launches and offerings. Based on your insights you can also find content that has been successful in order to re-purpose or expand on.

With a frequent Instagram audit, you’ll no longer feel overwhelmed, you won’t be posting just to get something up, and you’ll have a strategy and plan that’s actually effective.

Not sure how to perform an audit? I got you! Your Instagram, Upgraded live training will teach you the same process that I use with my 1-on-1 Instagram Audit clients. This hands-on Instagram refining intensive will help you say goodbye to Instagram overwhelm and hello to a cohesive strategy that speaks to YOUR target audience.

Expert Instagram Review

I don’t want you to devote any more time to a platform that isn’t helping your bottom line. 

It’s easy to forget your actual marketing goals if you find yourself rushing to make your random quota of Instagram posts. 

This is one of the reasons why a regular Instagram audit is essential for pulling you back on track.

In this Instagram intensive, I’ll show you how to go over every aspect of your Instagram account and refine your content in order to reinspire your followers!

With the help of this training, you’ll have the tools and knowledge to view your feed with a fresh perspective to make sure it’s cohesive and speaking to YOUR target audience. 

Why A Don’t Do List Is Important For Business

July 13, 2020 by Ciera Holzenthal

Forget a TO DO list, you need a DON’T DO list!

While I was pregnant with Asher I started a DON’T DO list. I knew I would have very limited time to spend on my business, and I was sick of wasting time on things that were not helping my bottom line.

My don’t do list includes items that I found myself doing because I was “supposed to” or tasks that really aren’t helping me to achieve my goals. I’ve found that it’s just as important (if not more important) as my TO DO list.

I encourage you to examine what’s working and what’s not working for your business and make your own DON’T DO list.⠀

Do you think you’ll try this idea? Leave a comment!

Why You Should Use Your Exact Brand Colors in Instagram Stories

June 26, 2020 by Ciera Holzenthal

I think it’s worth mentioning again – consistency is key to growth and getting customers/clients to trust you.

If you’re using Instagram as a part of your business marketing plan you may find yourself focusing on your feed graphics but being a bit haphazard when it comes to stories. Your stories should use a strategy as well. Not only do you need a game plan for your story content, you should also consider the design.

How and why to use your brand colors in Instagram stories. For starters... Research finds that color increases brand recognition by 80%.

If you’re creating stories right in the app, your font choices are limited, but did you know that your colors can be totally customized?

It may seem easy enough to just tap on the standard color closest to your brand colors BUT taking one more step to use your custom brand colors will actually make a huge difference in your content being recognizable at a glance.

Research finds that color increases brand recognition by 80%.

If you want to take it a step further, you can upload totally custom designs that you’ve created ahead of time in your favorite design program (Adobe, Canva, etc.) but I know sometimes that is just not doable.

Not sure how to make using your brand colors a part of your story workflow?

Here’s a step-by-step how to use your exact brand colors in instagram stories:

1. Screenshot and crop a file that includes your brand colors (your brand board is great for this)

2. Save to your ‘photos’ then open your ‘camera roll’

3. Click the ‘share icon’ then ‘copy photo’

4. Open Instagram and start a new Story

5. Select the ‘text tool’ and press on the screen until the ‘paste’ button shows up – click ‘paste’

6. Use the eyedropper tool to use as many of the colors as you want

7. Before sharing the story – drag your color palette image to the trash

BONUS: Save the file from Step 1 to an album called ‘Biz’ for easy access in the future. Then you can just skip the first few steps next time!

And there you go!

With so many platforms these days, clients should be able to recognize you at a glance through your brand identity. Using your specific brand colors in stories is another chance to build on your consistency and in-turn, trust!

Tag me on Insta if you use this trick!

P.S. In the tutorial, you’ll see me using the brand board that I created for VenturePop. A brand board is a simple document to make sure that everything you put out into the world for your business is consistent. Don’t have a brand board? You can download this easy to update template for only $6!

 

If you’re using Instagram as a part of your business marketing plan you may find yourself focusing on your feed graphics but being a bit haphazard when it comes to stories. Your stories should use a strategy as well. Not only do you need a game plan for your story content, you should also consider the design.

How To Fight Overwhelm

April 10, 2020 by Ciera Holzenthal

How To Fight Overwhelm

I feel ya – the stress of doing it all is at an all-time high.

Here are a few things that have helped me out over the past few weeks.⁠

  • Pick ONE key task for each day – I used to have a top 3 of the day, I’ve slashed that down to 1 key task per day.
  • Ask for help – big or small, try to ask for help when you can.
  • Take a break from social media – try to set a time limit or certain time of day when you use your phone, then put it away.
  • Go easy on yourself – these are unprecedented times, you don’t have to be super productive if it doesn’t feel right.
  • Batch tasks – I am such a fan of batching, I think I’ll do a whole post on this!
  • Limit watching the news – we listen to the news on the radio in the morning and evening for about 30 minutes and then only listen to music during the day.

Is uncertainty in your business causing you to feel overwhelmed? Do you feel like your business needs to make a pivot? Like you’re in a rut? Or are always playing catchup?

I’d love to help you get reinvigorated and start each day confidently knowing what to do when it comes to your digital marketing.

Introducing: Brand + Marketing Audits

Your current approach, evaluated.

I’ll review your current approach to marketing including aesthetics, brand voice, website, social media posts, and your email marketing plan and provide feedback and suggestions for how to improve your strategy and better reach your target market.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
An audit is an economical way to get an objective, professional review of what’s working and where there may be gaps.⁠

Shoot me an email if this is something you may be interested in!

Why You Need To Be Using Pinterest For Your Business

February 5, 2020 by Ciera Holzenthal

Did you know that Pinterest is not just for personal pins like recipes and travel inspiration?

Pinterest is the top traffic driver to my website. It brings WAY more visitors than all other social media combined (yes, even Instagram).⁠

Pinterest is one of the easiest ways to get new people consistently coming to your site with EXISTING content!

Pinterest is the top traffic driver to my website. It brings WAY more visitors than all other social media combined (yes, even Instagram).⁠

Pinterest is the top traffic driver to my website. It brings WAY more visitors than all other social media combined (yes, even Instagram).⁠⠀

Want work on your Pinterest strategy but don’t have a ton of time? Here are three easy steps to easily up your game:

MY TOP 3 PINTEREST TIPS:

1. The right graphics make a difference. Stop wasting your time fiddling around with design programs and getting frustrated that it’s still not what you’re envisioning. With a template, I do the design work and you just fill it in with your images, colors and content! Easy Peasy. Get more traffic to your site with less work. I have two styles available bright + bold or light + delicate.

2. Pin your own content. This may seem obvious for some, but many people don’t take this simple step. Create boards that are relevant to your business niche, and then pin your own blog posts, portfolio images and articles to them on a regular basis.

3. Use a scheduler. Pinterest doesn’t have to take tons of time or a daily commitment. Use a platform like Tailwind to spend an hour or two every month and knock it out. Get a free month of Tailwind here.

I hope these simple steps help you to better utilize Pinterest! If you see results from using these tips, let me know, I’d love to hear about your experience!

4 Tips From My First Few Months of Motherhood

August 7, 2019 by Ciera Holzenthal

This post is sponsored by Evivo but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

I’m excited about sharing some more personal things on the blog again. As you may know, if you follow me on Instagram or subscribe to my newsletter. I had a baby in May! And needless to say, he has taken over my life (in a good way) for the time being!

4 Tips From My First Few Months of Motherhood Including Probiotics

I’ve been on a casual maternity leave (still sending emails, publishing blog posts and designing items for my template shop).

I’m loosely planning my return to work but want to be open to change in this transitional time in my life. So I’m leaving things a bit open-ended and trying not to have too many expectations for myself one way or another.

We’re getting used to our new normal around here. Keeping business goals simple for now: if I do one task per day I’m happy. That can be as simple as getting through a few emails. Because my little dude is priority right now.

But I won’t sugar coat it… it’s been HARD.

Zander works long hours and late nights so all of baby duty falls on me.

My thoughts go a little something like this these days…

which swaddle helps him sleep best… is he getting enough milk … is he getting enough tummy time… enough stimulation… too much stimulation… do I just live covered in spit up now… how can I protect his future health… wow, that was a SHORT nap… another dirty diaper… does he realize that it’s 3 am?

4 Tips From My First Few Months of Motherhood - don't be anxious to set a schedule too early

I’ve realized right from the get-go that things will not go as planned. He definitely didn’t enter this world as planned.

When I got to the hospital I was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia and was put on medication that basically turned me into a zombie. After a day of labor followed by 6 hours of pushing, I had to have an unplanned C-section followed by a recovery much harder than I could’ve ever imagined. The first few days I didn’t even trust myself or don’t think I was physically capable of picking up my newborn out of his bassinet in the hospital.

We had to supplement with formula for a few days in the beginning because he did not gain his birth weight back due to my milk not coming in because of the medications I was on.

Once we got home, one of the biggest struggles we’ve been having is with spitting up and gas at night. There was a point where I swear he was grunting the entire night – I probably didn’t get more than 30-minute chunks of sleep at a time because every noise he made I woke up and I still continue to wake up for every little peep that comes out of him. The exhaustion is real y’all.

So I started thinking of solutions… maybe it’s the swaddle, maybe he’s cold or hot, maybe I need to try infant massage, what about probiotics? I started looking into probiotics and found Evivo and it really stood out to me because it’s the first and only clinically proven baby probiotic.

By taking a proactive approach to your baby’s gut health now, you can set baby up for lifelong health down the road. Evivo is the first and only clinically-proven baby probiotic that restores the good bacteria, B. infantis that is critical for a healthy infant gut. There are other probiotics on the market, but Evivo is the only one specifically formulated to partner with breast milk. Evivo transforms the nutrients in breast milk into valuable nutrition for baby. 

Good bacteria is critical for the development of a healthier metabolism and stronger immune system. Without B. infantis in baby’s gut, bad bacteria can thrive.

Bad bacteria in baby’s gut is linked to a higher risk of autoimmune and metabolic issues like colic, eczema, allergies, diabetes, and obesity later in life. When more good bacteria are present in the gut, it creates a strong, protective wall and crowds out the bad bacteria. Unfortunately, today, 9 out of 10 babies are experiencing a disruption in their gut causing more bad bacteria to thrive. 

Here are a few myths that I found really interesting about baby health:

MYTH #1: Baby probiotics are only needed when symptoms appear.

FACT #1: Probiotics are not just for fixing symptomatic conditions. In fact, Evivo is the only probiotic clinically proven to repopulate baby’s gut with the good bacteria they are missing 100% of the time, every time.

MYTH #2: There’s not enough science to prove probiotics are really helpful.

FACT #2: Evivo is the result of over a decade of research and clinical trials studying the importance of B. infantis in the gut, and the many benefits it provides to baby’s gut health.

MYTH #3: All probiotics are the same.

FACT #3: Strain does matter. Evivo is the only baby probiotic clinically proven to be 100% effective in restoring B. infantis to baby’s gut while reducing bad bacteria by 80%.

One by one things slowly become better, so if you are in these beginning stages of motherhood, I want to give you a few tips for what’s helping me get through it!

1. Find A Community

Attend some sort of mom/baby group or get together with mom friends with children around the same age at least once a week. At around 6 weeks I finally felt the confidence to get out of the house by going to local mommy/baby groups. I knew this would be a safe place with other moms in the same stage of motherhood as me. While going to a coffee shop or the grocery store felt totally unmanageable in the early days, getting to one of these groups felt doable. This really helped to make me feel not alone and getting out to baby-friendly exercise groups to get my body moving again. It’s so important not only keep your baby healthy but to keep yourself healthy as well so you can be a good parent to your child.

2. Follow A Routine Not A Schedule

Download a tracking app to help you notice trends – but don’t be anxious to set a schedule too early. Try to pay attention to a routine or cycle (like eat, play, sleep) and your baby’s cues more than watching the clock. I really like the Hatch Baby app for this. It has a great hour by hour view to help you compare days so you can somewhat know what to expect.

3. Talk To Your Pediatrician

Talk to your pediatrician about things you are struggling with early on and talk to them about probiotics. Evivo even has a PDF you can provide with all of the important details. Keeping an open line of communication with your child’s doctor helps to provide your baby with all the support early on to set them up for lifelong health. The first 6 months of baby’s life is critical for autoimmune and metabolic development.

4. Don’t Overthink It

Try not to Google every little thing and TRY not to overthink things. This one is hard. Because when you’re up in the middle of the night, it feels like mindlessly scrolling Instagram or Googling every little thing are your only options. Now at 3 months, I’ve finally cooled out a little bit with the online forum rabbit hole. As soon as I let go of the stress of how something is ‘supposed’ to be it always seems to fall into place soon after without me forcing anything.

I want to know… have you given probiotics to your little one? Have any tips to add to help other moms in their first few months?

Learn more about Evivo and the benefits of B.infantis and how it can help keep your baby healthy for life. Make sure baby is set up from day 1 with the good gut bacteria needed with Evivo. 

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4 Tips From My First Few Months of Motherhood

Simple Ways To Get More Done In Your Work Day

July 20, 2019 by Ciera Holzenthal

As a small business owner, you only have so much time in the day to get everything done. Sure, you could work overtime or start work especially early in the morning to give yourself a fighting chance, but this could lead to burnout if you push yourself too hard.  Thankfully, there are some simple ways to get more things done each day, without the problem of exhaustion affecting your life. Take a look at our ideas.

As a small business owner, you only have so much time in the day to get everything done. Sure, you could work overtime or start work especially early in the morning to give yourself a fighting chance, but this could lead to burnout if you push yourself too hard.

Thankfully, there are some simple ways to get more things done each day, without the problem of exhaustion affecting your life. Take a look at our ideas below.

 

Make a To-do List

Such a simple thing to do and yet so vital. If you have a to-do list in front of you, you are less likely to forget something important that you have to do, and you will be better placed to prioritize those tasks that need to be completed to a deadline. Download a to-do list app on your phone, or go old school and use a pen and paper to create your list. I reccomend having a top 3 for each day. You don’t want your list to become overwhelming so designate 1-3 items that MUST get done that day and make sure to do those first!

 

Get Rid of Any Distractions

The more distractions you fall prey to during the day, the less work you are going to do. It’s simple logic, so think about those things that distract you and deal with them. So, you might install a website blocker on your computer if there are any sites that you are tempted to visit for personal and not work reasons. You might turn off your phone if you know you won’t be needing it for any business calls. And you might also declutter your desk, because not only will you be better able to focus on your work without any messy distractions, but you will also be able to find what you need when you need it, without having to waste time looking for something.

 

Let Technology Be Your Friend

You have much to do in the day, from managing your clients to generating leads for your business. Some of these tasks are more time-consuming than others, and if you’re reliant on manual processes, then you are going to struggle to get everything done. Thankfully, there are all kinds of programs and apps available to make light work of some of your most complicated tasks, so take advantage of them. As examples, Netsuite for your accounting, Copper to help you generate more leads, Dubsado for automatically sending proposals and Tailwind for Pinterest and Instagram scheduling. Take a look at my recommendations page for more apps and programs that could help you, and implement them within your business.

 

Stop Multitasking

You might assume you are getting more done when you’re multitasking, but according to psychology, this can actually be counterintuitive. Rather than speeding up your day, you might actually hinder your productivity as your mind and brain aren’t built for handling too many things at once, according to the study. You might disagree, of course, especially if you have nailed multitasking at home managing your work needs with your family’s needs, but if you have ever found yourself in a mental muddle in your business and if you have had to redo work because of some simple mistakes, it might be because you are trying to do too many things at once. Focus on one thing at a time then, as this might improve your productivity during the day.



Finally

There will be times when you do have to work longer than usual. It’s something that many business owners become accustomed too. However, this doesn’t have to be the norm, so follow our tips to better manage your work day, and if you have any ideas of your own, please feel free to share them!

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