ISS.009, Recommended Reading

For Business

My tax-season salvation, Sidney Apple (a perfect name). She is a true expert, ruthlessly efficient, and extremely responsive. Taxes were an entirely awful experience prior, but with my built process and her legitimate guidance, my anticipation has turned eager rather than anxious…? That sounds crazy to read, but Sidney is a legit resource, one to whom I’ve sent my whole family, multiple friends (and she also engineered my cost-effective, risk-minimizing switch from sole prop to LLC) while keeping me informed and in line with the back-end bureaucratic dues. If you need a reliable EA, I will you send you her contact in an heartbeat - let me know :) 

For Creativity

A perrenial soundtrack for spring; temperatures are shifting, flowers are blooming, and the world feels brighter (tangibly, today was 98°, but the desert does its own thing). Creatively, spring is my new year - it's where I feel most awake, aligned, and with momentum behind manifestation, and these songs reflect that — additional suggestions welcome :)

For Design / Dev

My collection of daily desk-top essentials; my most recent and frequent companion being this magnetic iPhone mount* (also an unassuming alternative to a popsocket or fidget spinner). It's a quick 'n easy way to swap in your high-quality iPhone camera for loom recordings, video calls, or direct-to-camera content creation. Not the most obvious recommendation, but a curiously common addition to my workdays.

ISS.008, Recommended Reading

For Business

My six-year standby for client management; Honeybook has evolved exponentially alongside my business since 2019, and now I craft and deliver practically everything process-wise — proposals, contracts, payments, schedulers, feedback questionnaires — through their ecosystem. Their smart-files nearly obviate Adobe for admin docs, while project-specific email templates and automations render asana superfluous. Recent revelation: template sharing between users. Here's my Client Feedback Offboarding template for facilitating testimonials. If you have questions, please ask! For a discount, here is my referral*.

For Creativity

A sketchbook as an analog antidote for digital-dominated design work; While standard for brand projects, my web project processes remained strictly digital until the last couple of years. Now, I rely on my desk-top sketchbook to invite messy, boundary-less ideation for strategy notes, design concepts and initial web page designs. Paper removes the technical constraints and creative limitations that digital interfaces necessitate; instead, paper creates space and opportunity for easier flow of ideas, concepts and unconventional thinking. Worth trying: pen-to-paper ideation as preliminary practice.

For Design / Dev

(Yes, another) notion database of Squarespace-specific plugins, tutorials, and courses. It spans from simple (and free) code snippets to comprehensive education from various professionals with my starred favorites, implementation notes, and personal reviews detailing practical application. As complement: a supplemental toolkit of essential sites + Chrome extensions I use for every development project.

ISS.007, Recommended Reading

For Business

My time-tracking template with built-in value insights; This tool includes keyboard shortcuts (auto-filling current date/time), a clean hour ledger for invoicing, and pre-set equations to show your actual earnings (or loss) against fixed-rate project work. Developing the habit of time tracking was the hardest part for me, but I've refined this template for daily use and clear insights - helping me learn to understand my time's value and adjust accordingly. Intro video walkthrough included.

For Creativity

This tool for finding quality remote workspaces; I love my home office and its inherent convenience, but I've consistently noticed a shift in both focus and mood during weeks when I work from a fresh energy and environment. It's not perfect, but I appreciate Workfrom's practical search filters, user reviews, and helpful details (like wifi passwords, available outlets, and noise levels).

For Design / Dev

My notion database of web design inspiration libraries that I use for research and reference for my web projects. Some are type-forward, some squarespace-specific, and most are easily searchable by style, type, industry, or platform. (Sidenote - I’ve also found this and this email-design-specific platforms that have been valuable for recent client work!)

ISS.006, Recommended Reading

For Business

This functional (and evolving) accountability framework exercise; our weekly Creatives Calls revealed a shared need to create dedicated time and real follow-through in our own businesses. To answer that need, this first-draft notion template (with plans for an analog version) provides facilitated questions, note-space, and calendar planning practice focused on monthly: I. Reflection & Self-Discovery, II. Project Vision & Strategy, and III. Accountability Tracking. Parts I & II are a great place to start before the new year if you’re interested!

For Creativity

This self-led meditation series with spirituality grounded in science*;  months back, I found myself fascinated by Brazilian-born, Hamburg-based ceramacist Anna Morgado who shares a magnetic creative and business presence online. On a whim, I joined her Quantum Jump Camp series, a 15-day program that approaches informed manifestation through visualization & is accompanied by cited scientific context and narrative insight. Unlike other failed manifestation practices, this format feels genuine and engaging enough for me to have re-initiated the practice multiple times. (*Meditations are available in her subscribed content chat starting on 5/11).

For Design / Dev

This AI tool for custom code and web dev script; compared to ChatGPT, Claude is a more contextual, attentive, and accurate AI collaborator with the major advantage of accepting multiple document uploads (CSS sheets, plugin docs, etc.) for comprehensive code analysis (though the chat length limits could be improved on). Claude is my consistent dev companion these days; check out this podcast episode or this Will Myer’s members-only tutorial for more insight.

ISS.005, Recommended Reading

For Business

The most obvious & overlooked local business resource; a basic offering I would’ve otherwise bypassed (thanks Dad!), your local Small Business Development Center can be a hugely valuable tool hub for US-based entrepreneurs. While it took me a couple of rounds to find the right match, I found lasting value in their Free business advising mentorship and literal value from a super accessible $5k state-funded grant a few years back. It’s worth checking out.

For Creativity

The passive practice of sound healing; A couple of weeks ago, I attended my friend Sophia’s sound bath ceremony - if you haven't experienced this before, do it. It's ironically hard to put into words, but it's an entrancing, healing, and wild experience. She opened my eyes (and ears) to the power of sound therapy, including the more accessible format of binaural beats - sound that creates a third frequency in your brain by combining two distinct tones. I've been tapping into it occasionally to help with creativity.

For Design / Dev

My notion database of copyright-free media libraries categorized w/ cost, media type and starred-selections of my favorites. Click-in to see my comments on select resources for my insights and tips into how and why I use them, plus practical tips for each platform. Have resources to add? Please share them!

ISS.004, Recommended Reading

For Business

This subtle & simple pomodoro1 technique timer; it’s a seamless addition to the mac menu bar, plays a fun little jingle when it’s break time, and works pretty well for me (when I actually use it, which is sporadically 🙃).

For Creativity

This high-discipline, low-effort morning brain-dump method for genuine self-grounding; A few months back, I joined a ceramic artist’s Morning Pages accountability group, and found myself 33 days in before I missed a morning. Since then, I've been largely inconsistent and left the original guidebook mostly unread, but for myself, I do notice a real difference in my clarity vs crazy scale on the days with versus the days without.

For Design / Dev

This live feedback tool for web dev or digital design projects; With a super reasonable FREE plan, this tool allows you to collect client comments pinned directly to their target areas, w/ screenshots for reference. It’s built for web dev with responsive viewport toggles but could easily be used for any digital-based design. Besides Markup, Pastel, & Bugherd are a couple of other solid alternatives.

1. In the late 1980s, a university student in Rome found himself floundering between procrastination and productivity. Francesco Cirillo took on a tomato-shaped timer and a time management theory which led to the creation of the pomodoro technique, a natural work/break rhythm for ultimate comprehension.

ISS.003, Recommended Reading

For Business

This online accounting software built for small-businesses; a FREE streamlined and user-friendly alternative to Quickbooks built for small biz & freelancers, I use Wave to track and categorize income, expenses and annual financial reports. For service-based businesses, I’d recommend it for its intuitive interface and uncomplicated capabilities.

For Creativity

This softly stunning pinterest alternative for creatives; Cosmos is relatively young but widely known for its satisfying application of a tumblr-meets-pinterest, functional high-art discovery engine. It’s a designer’s daydream of quality-control and algorithmic prowess. The team’s recently launched sister-project, Public Work, also offers incredible value with a large digital library of copyright-free public domain content.

For Design / Dev

This affordable custom embosser as a client gift; at $35* (w/ shipping) it's a low-cost, high-impact custom client gift. The transition in brand design from intangible to tactile feels like magic, and a hand-held custom embosser is the coolest way to leave a mark with your client (pun intended — I can also speak to their kind customer service; they corrected a printing error and sent me a new plate, for free, w/ an incredibly fast turnaround).

*Alternatively, here is a referral link that will gift you and me 20% off a future purchase!

ISS.002, Recommended Reading

For Business

This FREE auto-organized email manager; for 2.5 years this inbox manager has made my life easier by managing my personal & work inboxes & calendars in one place. My favorite, among other compelling features, is its auto-filter that sorts each email into collapsible categories of: people, newsletters or notifications. It’s incredibly satisfying and liberating.

For Creativity

Unconventional content creators: @samyoukilis, @jasminedowling, @callliemc; My instagram feed is purposefully muted and minimal - these creatives offer art of substance instead of empty consumption, and help me to feel creatively inspired rather than caught in comparison. For a healthier digital diet, pair the above with the blocking app of choice: Opal (iPhone apps), #blockit (iPhone browsers), News Feed Eradicator (desktop browsers).

For Design / Dev

Notion-hosted font foundry database; organized by associated costs (free vs paid) and source (independent designer, foundry, marketplace), this is my ongoing collection for easy reference when project building. Includes bonus font-focused articles for the typographically curious. My initial goal was to rank foundries by favorites and categorize them by emotions, but I’ll get there?

ISS.001, Recommended Reading

For Business

This small-business building book by Paul Jarvis; A painless and affirming small business book. Key takeaway: build your business for integrity and sustainable creativity without sacrificing growth. It’s not life-changing or wildly inspirational, but it is an easy, straightforward read with easily forgotten but intuitively objective reminders.

For Creativity

Your library card turned museum pass; US library cards give you FREE access to your local gamut of museums, science centers, gardens, theatres, etc. for accessible diversion. Monotony leaves me creatively stagnant; a weekend trip to neighboring de young + cal academy was pretentious and playful in the exact dose I needed.

For Design / Dev

A DIY email signature à la an old tiktok tutorial; I stepped into (then quickly out of) the tiktok “rabbit hole” but managed to leave a useful (albeit dense) tutorial for building a responsive and aesthetic email signature. Make it linkable, loadable and compatible for you or your clients’ email provider. (If DIY isn’t your preferred method, I do have a service offering for this here).