Have you ever realized how a little bit of quiet time can result in some really great ideas? I think this is why people have revelations in the shower. It’s the 15 minutes in your day when you aren’t being distracted or stimulated by email, co-workers, kids or the general buzz of daily life.

A couple weeks ago I took the afternoon to enjoy the rare window of warm weather and sunshine that we were having here. I sat outside for about an hour eating cheesecake and doing nothing. Some might argue that I should have also been thinking about nothing, but achieving the “doing” nothing part is momentous enough for me, and the result was that I ended up having a really important idea for the business. After I finished my cheesecake (of course) I spent the next two days mapping out and implementing this new idea and service plan. Already it has made a significant difference in our ability to appeal to a broader range of clients and budgets. (more…)

It’s official, we’re in business kindergarten! Hmm, maybe business years are like dog years, because it definitely feels more like 40 than 5. In any case, I registered www.pearsestreet.com on March 8th, 2005, marking the birth of a new chapter in my life, and a whirlwind roller coaster ride into entrepreneurship. Five years feels like a short period of time, but it has been so full of activity, growth and learning. Here’s a retropective!

2005.

Pearse Street's First Logo Design, May 2005

As I was wrapping up the writing for my last issue at Destin Magazine, the idea of establishing Pearse Street as my first entrepreneurial endeavor took shape. I had spent the past year profiling local businesses for their features in the magazine, and in the process I could not help but feel that the potential for starting up my own business was well within reach. Thanks to the support of my husband, a military firefighter at the time, I designed our first logo after hours, and first website design came to life in March. Voila, we were in business! My first client was a local author and Hollywood actor, Thom Gossom, Jr. who I met while heading up the Emerald Coast Writers group. We ended up developing a number of websites for Gossom’s various projects, and maximized our circle of friends, cow0rkers and author connections to keep Pearse Street profitable for our first year in business. (more…)

Today the Harvard Business Review published an article, Why Peace and Harmony are Bad for Innovation by Andrew O’Connell. I hate it because it’s true, but I also loved this article because it’s the type of insight that I know from experience is so true. So I figure after two posts on cookies, naps and office synergy I can write a bit on less feel-good circumstances and instead on those arduous journeys that (ideally) bring us to some hard-won nap and cookie time.

Entrepreneurship is survival. If you’ve done it, you know it’s true. No ifs, ands or buts and no matter how much preparation is met with luck or opportunity, building something from nothing in this economy is a trying experience. There are moments in running my business day-to-day that are incredibly intense, frightening and of course rewarding. Nothing is ever certain. Once I start to believe that it is, some unexpected force rocks us into action and reaction.

I write a lot about office synergy lately because for many months, we didn’t have much of it. We started gaining momentum in this area when I made a rather bold move to bridge the gap between executive level detachment and production minutia, taking over both creative direction and the majority of the project management for the company. The transition took about two months to complete, but afterward, life at work was eerily calm. I actually started having some significant anxiety at this point, because that lack of stress was stressing me out. I felt like conflict was coming… Well it did, occasionally, but on a different fronts. Thankfully what started working exceptionally well in our office restructuring keeps working. But that doesn’t keep other annoyances from keeping my blood pressure relatively high. (more…)

It may be an offshoot of my own personal resistance to authority in the workplace, but I have never really subscribed to an especially hierarchical structure in our company. In my pre-C.E.O. days, I was always trying to position myself as independently as possible, making my own hours, avoiding time slots where I would be subjected to a lot of management meetings, even talking myself into a pretty comfortable “work-from-home” schedule at one point. This may sound incredibly clever and lazy, but in truth, I just wasn’t a big fan of hierarchies that were designed to squeeze as many productive hours out of its employees as possible, with the assumption I, the employee, needed that structure to be productive. At the end of the day, despite my little rebellions, I was able to get all of my work done–possibly more than I would have otherwise.

So when I found my way into entrepreneurship, I wasn’t especially surprised when the schedule and flexibility suited me very well. Now that I am the big boss lady of course I adhere to the 9-5 + schedule, because honestly if I didn’t I’d never catch up. Outside of my being the overarching “boss” however, I try to avoid burdening our staff with unnecessary bureaucracy within the company itself.

At a recent meeting with prospective clients, I was asked about our company structure. While we have members of the team who I would call “key players” namely due to their experience and long-term knowledge of the company, we are each masters of our domain in many respects, which is precisely how I answered the question. Our “hierarchy” is based on knowledge of what we do, and together, those who know more or less about a particular subject do not represent a stereotypical “ladder.” At least in our cozy Salem office, our varied skills and expertise represent degrees of knowledge in many fields of this industry. (more…)

Warning: This is probably extremely offensive to both sexes. Sorry, it’s just the way I feel.

As a young female in a professional role  typically occupied by men (C.E.O.), in a male-dominated industry (web/software development and technology), it would be fair to say that in order to get through my day I have to be a bit mannish at times. I also work mostly with men on my staff, and I’d say 90-95% of our clientele and service providers are also male. Now, I’m not the type of feminist who feels the need to de-feminize herself to excel professionally in a “man’s world.” I do religiously wear pants and mundane colors to work, but trust me, I celebrate the sisterhood! There are times, however, when I have exchanges that leave me thinking, Holy Trump, where are your cojones? And why are mine bigger than yours?!

Moodiness, wishy-washiness, whininess and above all dramatics are all qualities that I have a hard time accepting in my male or female counterparts, especially when I’m the one with the triple progesterone levels on a daily basis. (Thanks, baby!) In fact when it comes to women, I realize that I may have even higher expectations for attitude, management and professionalism, because of my role and the responsibilities I carry with it.

It is certainly odd to think about gender roles in our particular professional environment. For all intents and purposes, I am “the man” at work. Decision-maker, bread-winner and even at times defender. And while I sometimes bring the boss mentality home with me, truly, I’m more than happy to come home to my two little babies who love me for being their mommy: the nurturer, meal-cooker and house-cleaner. The way going to work can save my sanity at times, coming home to my domestic role can do the exact same thing. (more…)