Blog | Willo O'Brien | Inspiring Creative Sustainability in Life & Business

WilloToons Connect Episode Two: Meet Mati Rose!

Hey, guess what!? My second full-length episode is live, featuring one of my favorite artists, Mati Rose McDonough!

As a full-time artist and painter, Mati (prounounced like “Arrg, Matey”) has great advice on staying connected to your creativity while running a business. Furthermore, talking to Mati about her creative process is so inspiring. Not only for her brilliant artistic abilities, but for her willingness to consistently be brave. She doesn’t sugarcoat things when times are tough, and she’s very up front with how long and often challenging her path has been. Mati works from the heart! <3

To see what it’s all about, watch the quick trailer:

Loved it? Go check out the episode, and please leave a comment to say hello or let me know what hits home for you! Also, since this is only the second one in my little seedling of a series, I would love it if you would share it around to all the other creative beings in your life.

Put the trailer on your blog!
Grab the embed code by hitting the little share button on the video above, or you can embed it from Vimeo or YouTube.

Thanks for watching… and a big thanks to Mati Rose for sharing your wisdom! <3

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WilloToons Apparel: What’s Left (Hint: Not Much!)

Since January, when I announced letting go of WilloToons apparel, the last of my ‘geek meets rock ‘n roll’ line has been flying off the shelves. Now, six months later, only a *very few* items remain. So, I thought I’d show you all exactly what’s left… get it while it’s hot!

i’m not sarcastic at all
Women’s scoop
Small: 9, Medium: 7, Large: 14, X-Large: 7
Men’s organic tee
Small: 1, Medium: 7, Large: 6, X-Large: 2

eat.sleep.rock.repeat.
Women’s scoop
Small: 2, Large: 3, X-Large: 4
Men’s organic tee
Small: 1, Large: 1

rock squirrel
organic baby bib
metallic silver on black: 10, dragonfly blue ink on black bib: 3
toddler tee
6T: 9

i heart my internet friends
Red scoop – Large: 3
Light Blue tee – Small: 2, Medium: 4, Large: 7

geekyfantastic
Light Blue tee – Small: 3, Medium: 3, Large: 4, X-Large: 2
Black tee – Medium: 7, Large: 7, X-Large: 1

you would blog too if it happened to you
Small: 3, Large: 1, X-Large: 3

cat power (embroidered) boat neck
Large: 8

kitty face
Medium: 13, Large: 17

Don’t you know who I am?
Grass Green scoop – Medium: 2, Large: 10, X-Large: 2
Asphalt scoop – Large: 5, X-Large: 3

There are also a few other baby items, jewelry and greeting cards left, too. If you have birthdays, baby showers or fun summer days in the park where you’ll look fabulous wearing a new designer tee, WilloToons is your one stop shop!

Thanks again for all of your awesome support over the years. I still hear stories about friends running into other (cool) people wearing one of these shirts. Happy to have united the geeks ‘n rockers all over the land!

p.s. Keep an eye on my Facebook Page & Twitter, as I’ll be running some sales & contests to get you guys hooked up with some of these fine collector’s items! ;)

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My City’s Made of Toothpicks

Whoa, I love seeing my city made out of unlikely materials! One of my favorites is Liz Hickock’s Jello San Francisco from 2006:

And then, back in 2008, The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco hosted this sculpture of the city made by Zhan Wang out of kitchenware:

But move over jello and silverware… recently, artist Scott Weaver presented his masterpiece of the Bay Area made with 100,000 toothpicks, which took him 35 YEARS to complete! Now you might be impressed by those big numbers, but wait until you watch this video (below). His sculpture has several different TOURS. I can’t even fathom how he did this (let alone transported it to the Exploratorium)… I’m blown away!

Scott Weaver’s Rolling through the Bay from The Tinkering Studio on Vimeo.

Amazing, right? No doubt all of these were a serious labor of love. Three cheers for being dedicated to your craft!

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LIDL Russian River Retreat

Last month we completed our very first LIDL retreat, and it was so fun!

What is LIDL?
While LIDL does happen to be a German discount supermarket chain in Europe (which I spotted on my recent trip to overseas)… in my world, LIDL stands for Ladies in Design League: a collective of artists, illustrators, photographers and crafters who meet weekly to support each other as creative small business owners.

Made up of a handful of amazing artists, I’ve been grateful to call myself one of the LIDL ladies since January of this year. Come spring, we started brainstorming going on a LIDL retreat, and before we knew it, we’d found a fabulous little house up in Russian River and the trip was planned!

Arriving at our peaceful Russian River destination

For me, this retreat couldn’t have come at a better time. After getting back from my trip to Prague & Berlin, I dove into working, launched my brand new website and WilloToons Connect, and had a whirlwind birthday weekend. Busy, awesome times, but all of that meant I hadn’t been getting much sleep! So getting away to a cabin in the woods, with six other crafty awesome women was just what the doctor ordered!

Nail polishin’, deck chillin’, embroiderin’, hot tubin’ LIDL Saturday!

It was such an amazing weekend, full of writing, drawing, good wine, yummy food, fancy s’mores, giggling, daydreaming, reading, walking through the trees and more. I love these girls, and I can’t wait for our next one!!

View my full set of photos, check out Stef’s photos and be sure to visit Cindy’s fabulous recap on her blog, too!

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A year from now you will wish you had started today

I have been doing a lot of inner work in the last couple years. Listening very closely to the creative guidance within me, so that I may lead a happy life, and within that, a satisfying career.

Recently I made a commitment to listen really closely to my ‘if onlys’ and I feel like, with this intention, every day I get clearer on what drives me; what my purpose is here, and how I can truly serve the universe with the unique gifts I have been given.

Right Now Is All We Have
Today, right now, I don’t need awards or trophies or badges. What’s important is that I’m happy. I am healthy physically/emotionally/mentally, and I have amazing friends and a loving family. I have a beautiful little home and a sweet loving kitty. I have listened to my heart and my creativity close enough to know who I am and what’s important to me in my life. I am making choices every day to give myself the life I want today. Not next month or next year, but really being present and creating the life I want in the everyday.

If this hits home for you, or there has been some part of you longing to do something that you haven’t done yet, simply start by making a commitment to listen. Listen to your heart. Listen to the ‘if onlys’. Listen to the small little voice within you that keeps piping up every once and awhile and is just hoping and praying you’ll stop, get quiet and take the time to listen.

What small thing can you do today to start listening?
Ask yourself what that might be for you. For me, it’s writing. Writing is a powerful tool for listening to the small voices within that are trying to be heard. Start with writing down your “if onlys.” What are the things you wish you were doing? If it were up to you (hint: it is), what would your life look like?

Most importantly, stop comparing yourself to others. “They” are not you. You are the only one who is exactly YOU. You are unique. That’s why it’s extremely important to listen to what YOU want.

Remember, it all starts right here. Right now. You can start doing one little thing every day that will take you closer to where you want to be a year from now. You gotta start somewhere! Now is the time.

I offer consulting and coaching for those who want support as they walk through this process. It can sometimes be difficult to untangle it all ourselves. Work with me and we’ll find the clarity around how you can get closer to making your “if onlys” a reality. Contact me and let’s talk.

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Twitter Pro Tip

I’m a huge fan of Twitter. I’ve been on since 2006 (account #419, baby!*), all of my friends are on Twitter, and over the years I’ve cultivated so many great new friendships with awesome people around the world. It’s truly my community, and I love it!

Note: I’m now @WilloLovesYou on Twitter! :)

Lovefest gushing aside, there’s a really common mistake I see people do all the time, and, because it’s difficult to explain in 140 characters (the character limit of any tweet), I thought I better do a geekyfantastic post explaining what’s up.

My Twitter Pro Tip for You

If you’re writing a tweet that you want everyone [who follows you] to see, be careful about starting the tweet with a username. Here’s why:

When you start a tweet with an @username, only the people who follow both you AND that @username will see that tweet in their timeline.

For example, say you’re wanting to give a shout out to me, and tell all your friends about my site (hey, just a thought ;) – you might write:

@WilloLovesYou is awesome, you should check out
her incredible Harvest & Thrive course! http://bit.ly/HnThrive

However, if you send it with my username at the very beginning, ONLY the people who follow both you AND me will see that tweet in their timeline. Which, may defeat the purpose of your shout out, if you had intended to spread the word to friends who haven’t yet started following me on Twitter or discovered my site yet. Make sense?

It works like this so that when you’re reading through your timeline, you only see your friend’s conversations back and forth, and you don’t have to read your friend’s tweet to some random person you don’t know.

Now, should you want to start your tweet with a username, that’s ok! You just need to put some kind of character in front of it, like a period, dash or asterisk. Anything works, but you most often see people using a period, like this:

.@WilloLovesYou is awesome, you should check out
her incredible Harvest & Thrive course! http://bit.ly/HnThrive

When you send it like that, everyone who follows you will see it!

This can also be helpful when you’re replying to someone. For example, say your reply is actually something you want your entire network to see… simply place a period in front of the username you’re replying to, and everyone who follows you will see that tweet.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any further questions… I’m happy to answer ’em.

*A fun fact about my being on Twitter since 2006
My public account is @WilloLovesYou (formerly @WilloToons), but my original username registered is @willo (which I now use as my private account), and it’s account #419! Super OG. I have my friend Noah to thank for that one. Here’s my first tweet.

Are you on Twitter? Say hello!

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WilloToons Connect on iTunes!

Want to make sure you catch every episode of WilloToons Connect? Well, good news, they’re now available via podcast! Simply subscribe in iTunes, and you can watch them in the comfort of your own home, on your big screen, or take them with you on any one of your devices while you’re traveling. Neat!

While I wouldn’t want you to miss the pretty pictures in the videos, it is pretty cool that you can load them on your iPod or iPhone and listen to them while you’re walking, running or doing yoga. Hey, you can practice a healthy lifestyle while learning about creative sustainability! :)

All you have to do is subscribe, and set iTunes up to sync new episodes of this show to your devices, and then they’ll appear automatically and be ready for your next outing.

My favorite podcast lately has been the Indie Soup Runner podcast. Fantastic playlists to run to, and I’m always discovering new bands.

When do you listen to podcasts? Do you have any favorites? Let me know in the comments below! I want to get more good ideas.

Note: You can also subscribe via RSS, RSS via Ema il (receive new blog posts by email) or subscribe to the WilloToons Newsletter. See? I got you covered. ;)

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Our Awesome Launch Partner: The Fearless Women Entrepreneur Network

The Fearless Women Entrepreneur Network (FWEN) completely aligns with the mission behind my new WilloToons Connect video series, and I’m so pleased to have them on board as my launch partner for this exciting new endeavor!

I discovered the Fearless Women Entrepreneur Network last year and immediately resonated with their goal to “support emerging women entrepreneurs by celebrating the unique voice within each of us.” YES!

FWEN believes we can all make a difference, and fosters the growth of women entrepreneurs by offering business building programs, individual or group coaching and consulting, and monthly networking events to their members.

“Our mission is to enable women to reach their full economic potential through entrepreneurship. Ours is an authentic community of strong, successful women who are committed to fostering the best in each other.”

Having FWEN as a partner on the first full-length WilloToons Connect episode couldn’t be more perfect either, considering it features successful woman entrepreneur, Helen Jane Hearn! FWEN is made up of similar dynamite women who are pursuing their careers, businesses and dreams, and all it takes is getting involved and you’re in for instant inspiration and solid step-by-step guidance. Connect with this powerful group of ladies on Facebook and follow them on Twitter @Fearless_Women!

If you are interested in becoming a WilloToons Connect partner and aligning with one of my upcoming episodes, I would love to talk about all the amazing opportunities coming up! Also, be sure to check out the other ways we can work together.

Now some thought-provoking questions for you…
Man or woman – what makes you a fearless entrepreneur?
What’s something you were fearful of in business, that you have overcome?
What are some hurdles you’re still working on?

Let me know in the comments below!

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The Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs is coming up!

Back in May, I blogged all about the fabulous speakers I’m honored to be rubbing elbows with while speaking at next month’s Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs (August 5th – 7th). Now that we’re finally firming up the schedule and the session descriptions, I wanted to fill you in on how I’ll be contributing to this epic 3-day inspiration-fest:

Advanced Social Strategies and Analytics with Willo O’Brien

So, you’ve had your business for a little while. You’ve got your Facebook Page, your blog and your Twitter profile, and maybe you’ve even managed to amass a fairly humble little community. What next?

In this session we won’t be covering the basics. Nope. Instead, this session is going to speak to those who have been doing this for awhile, and discuss ways you can engage and leverage your community to take your brand to the next level. More importantly, we’ll be discussing how to quantify and qualify the ROI (Return on Investment) of your efforts utilizing these powerful (and free) social media marketing tools. Creating and implementing a social media marketing campaign based on concrete data and analysis will help you optimize your communications and get the results you’re looking for.

DIY is Overrated: How to Sustainably Grow Your Business While Keeping Your Sanity with Willo O’Brien

While being an independent entrepreneur is exhilarating, there is a considerable amount of responsibility that comes with having to manage all sides of your small business. DIY (Do It Yourself) is empowering, but there’s a point when Doing it ALL Yourself gets downright overwhelming and exhausting.

Do you like the idea of working with a partner or a team, but don’t know how or where to find them? What if you know you need help, but don’t have the extra funds to pay for an employee? Is it impossible to think that someone would actually believe in your idea enough to volunteer their time to grow your vision?

All of these are common stumbling blocks that keep many independents from asking for help. This session will arm you with the inspiration and know-how to stop doing it all yourself and build a team that will support you as you grow your business.

Creative Collaboration: Don’t DIY Alone with Willo O’Brien, Kelly Wilkinson and Jaime Zollars

Connecting with other creatives online, or in your local community, is a great way to kick-start your ideas or support the launch and growth of your business. This session will give you the inspiration and direction to think strategically about collaboration.

In this session you’ll learn:

When does 1+1 really equal more than 2?
How to size up and approach potential collaborators for new skills and support
Easy ways to start a community or collaboration, online or off
Plus, local groups and organizations to get involved with right now
BONUS: We’ll be doing a little ‘speed-collabodating’ exercise to connect you with complementary creatives

Whether you’re a wanna-be creative or a full-time entrepreneur, join us and let’s create something awesome!

Building a Successful Online Shop
with Kelly Lynn Jones, Christiana Coop, Janette Crawford and Willo O’Brien

Learn how to launch (or improve) your own online shop from this panel filled with seasoned e-commerce veterans. We’ll discuss issues like increasing traffic, managing inventory, accepting credit cards and integrating your shop with your blog or social media accounts.

Getting More Done with Lauren Smith, Derek Fagerstrom and Andrew Venell (moderated by Willo O’Brien)

Most of us wish there were more hours in a day. Learn how to make the most of the ones you’ve got while reducing stress ulcers in this panel moderated by Willo O’Brien. We’ll discuss ways to manage your correspondence, to-dos, and finances that get the busy work done faster and leave you with more free time. We’ll also discuss ways to organize your workspace, projects and paperwork so that you never miss deadlines or misplace important items.

Chock full of awesome, right? I’m so excited for this conference!

View the full schedule and register before it sells out. I look forward to seeing you there!

UPDATE: Click here to see how you could win a free pass to the conference!

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OONA rocks WilloToons Connect

OONA is an Oakland, CA band led by the fierce Oona Garthwaite, and I could not be more stoked to have two of their songs, ‘Forbidden Sky’ and ‘There’s A Bridge’, featured in the very first full-length WilloToons Connect conversation, with Helen Jane!

When I saw OONA the first time, I was blown away. Oona herself is an absolute force on stage, and combined with the talented Dave Tweedie on drums, you’ve got one high energy rock show! OONA was also one of the first to implement BandPage for Facebook (created by my friend J’s company, RootMusic), which is basically the best way to finally get your band off Myspace. She’s an awesome Twitter friend, too!

You can find ‘Forbidden Sky’ on Tore My Heart, and after you fall in love with that, you can snag their new album Shhhhout! Whatever you do though, don’t miss them play live. This girl was meant to be on stage, and you cannot help but move when she’s up there rockin’ it! Watch this video for a little taste:

You can also find ‘Forbidden Sky’ in the sneak peek trailer for the Helen Jane episode. So if you haven’t had a chance to watch the full episode yet, you can start with the little 1-minute trailer.

Thanks, OONA! So happy you’re a part of this.

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