Mind Your Own Business

When you've got a small business to run, you simply must mind it -- minding your own business is critical to your success. In the process of planning my move I've been doing some research because I know that some titles that Americans can use here in the states are not legally allowed to be used in Germany. For instance, unless you were trained as a photographer and have a degree to prove it, you are not allowed to call yourself a Photographer in Germany. Same with Interior Designer. That is why I've decided to drop my title as an Interior Design Consultant to just be safe and to call myself an Interior Stylist which is somewhat of a decorator but more in the direction in which I want to take... not decorating for personal settings but doing more for shop owners (window displays and such) and also styling for photos and magazines, things of that nature.

Of course, I don't have high hopes that I will do this professionally in Germany but I may see if I can get a few freelance gigs going since I have solid contacts in Europe and they may be interested in utilizing my vision and eye for beauty, my American/global design style, for their book or magazine. So we shall see. I'm primarily a writer, so that title will stay. But given that I only did a certificate Interior Design program I do not have the education to back me to earn the title of Interior Designer or even an Interior Decorator by German standards so I must be careful as titles are taken very seriously there. In America you can call yourself nearly anything and get away with it, people are constantly calling themselves whatever they want without any legal problems. Though I know ASID is trying to change things so that one can only call themselves an Interior Designer here in America if they meet a specific criteria. Some states already enforce this, others like N.H. are currently trying. But still, unless you are in a field like medicine or whatever, you can be a Graphic Designer without a degree in it, a Photographer without a degree in Photography, etc. and that is completely fine. It's good and it's bad I think. But I'm not about to march into a new country and call myself something that in their terms I'm not. So stylist and writer will do. And that sounds fitting and completely good to me. Do you like my new business cards? Yes, they are letterpress in a pale turquoise color. My friend Tara Hogan designed them for me from Ink & Wit. I love Tara, she promised to someday visit me in Hannover and I'm holding her to this publicly right here on my blog. So Tara this is your official public invitation to come see and stay with me once I move. As far as these gorgeous cards, I simply told Tara what they should say, what color I wanted, and that a butterfly with a dotted swirling line was needed and she took my vision and translated it so well in this beautiful card with elements she designed by hand. I ordered only 100 of them in white since I will be moving in the late Winter/early Spring to a larger flat with a new address. But I'm sure 100 will be enough. Though I want to give them to everyone I meet because they're so delicious. :) So! I have my new business cards ready to go with me... and new address labels too. I'm takin' care of business and it feels good -- I didn't want to forget something this important in the whirl of planning. Thank you Tara for your beautiful work. If anyone wants cards like these, please let Tara know. This design is unique to me of course, but she can design something for you to fit your specifications. (image: holly becker for haus maus)