Career Goals

Interested in improving your photography or editing skills in 2018?

Happy New Year friends! My first blog post of 2018 and I thought I’d kick it off with some goal-getting content! As a creator that relies heavily on the quality of my photos to capture YOUR attention, learning how to not only take great photos but how to edit them is equally critical.

When I decided to pursue blogging professionally five years ago, the first thing I did was enroll myself (and my husband, aka my part time photographer) in a proper photography class. I can’t tell you how much Kyle and I learned from the Photo 101 Class we attended at GTA Photography.  We literally went from not knowing how to operate a DSLR camera to shooting with it on manual mode (properly) ever since.

Years ago, as an up and coming young professional living in the heart of Toronto, I was living pay cheque to pay cheque.  The moment my tax refund arrived at the door (or should I say, via direct deposit), I would use it responsibly towards paying off any outstanding debt or saving it up for my next big expense. Now that I’m more flexible with my finances, it’s nice to have the option of spending my tax refund on something more creative and investable rather than using it to manage debt and expense.

With the deadline to file for taxes approaching in just a few days (deadline for personal income tax filing is May 1, 2017), I’ve curated this list of creative ideas on putting your tax return to good use.

As I was getting ready for tax season in February, I shared some stats and tips on keeping cool during these seemingly stressful months. I’ve found that if you’re organized and informed, doing your taxes can be a breeze!

When it comes to personal income taxes, people typically fit into two categories. Either you are a salaried employee or you’re a self-employed freelancer/entrepreneur. However, like myself, many of us are a hybrid of the two – that means you’ve got a full-time gig and earning income from your ‘passion project’.

When you’re a hybrid freelancer, what does this mean when it comes to filing your taxes and what may you need to be aware of?

I learned early on in my career the positive impact of self-motivation. I remember nearly 10 years ago, I attended a one day workshop on communications. We spent an entire afternoon working through ‘positive self talk’ exercises. And to be honest, at the time, I thought it was silly and never imagined that what I learned that afternoon would be one of the most important lessons in my professional life.

When I began my career as part of a start-up team, it meant that rarely would you be given set assignments, projects, or clients to work on. Being in a start-up environment involved rolling up your sleeves, wearing many hats, drumming up new clients, and often times, figuring out what the heck we were going to do next in order to pay our employees. To succeed in that type of setting, there is no room to be complacent, no time to contemplate, and requires a whole damn lot of self ignition.

It’s been some time since I shared my thoughts and advice from my desk, and with tax season fast approaching, I’ve partnered with TurboTax on sharing a three-part series on how to ace and gain the most from this tax season!

I started to receive stacks of tax receipts and related mail over the last couple of weeks and couldn’t help but to think, who actually enjoys sorting out paperwork and doing their taxes?!

Well the truth is, Canadians are actually early birds when it comes to filing their own taxes, with 80% doing their taxes as soon as they have all their paperwork in order! You wonder why there may be such eager beavers out there? That’s because nearly two thirds of us are expecting to receive a tax refund this year! Which means we’re able to pay down our debts/loans (36%), tuck it away for a rainy day (32%) or put some aside for RRSPs (11%)! And, for some of us, perhaps a little shopping spree (5%)?

I met Lesley Metcalfe, Editor of Wantfolio several years ago at a networking event for women entrepreneurs. Lesley and I connected right off the bat and we managed to keep in touch over the course of the last few years. I’ve mentioned many times that my most favourite thing about blogging is meeting inspiring people like Lesley, and learning about all the cool ventures and start-ups that are being created each and everyday in this digital age.

I connected with Lesley recently to learn about Wantfolio,  a comprehensive platform where you can read, see, save, snap and share everything you want. What you want to wear, eat, drink. Where you want to go. What you want to do. Who you want to be. Wantfolio is unique because the best global content in already curated for you, without you having to go looking for it. I’ve been using this app myself the last couple of weeks, and I particularly love it because the content is lifestyle focused, spanning across many lifestyle verticals.

It’s been some time since I’ve shared tips ‘From My Desk‘! Today’s post is dedicated to some of my favourite desk mates that keep me super focused and also give me a hand when I’m on the run. My equation for maximum productivity includes a dose of morning Nespresso caffeine, blasting my must-have playlists from my smartphone, making to-do lists, and easy to use portable electronics.

Keep reading to see my current must-have gadgets and a chance to WIN the beautiful Bluetooth speakers pictured below!

Whether it’s days in the office or working from home, I always prefer to jump start my day with a cup of coffee. I love the taste and aroma of coffee. For me, it’s an instant wake-up call and also helps with my productivity. Now, if you spend most of your days in the confines of your company office, you may not have a choice when it comes to brewing your own, and therefore, most of us defer to coffee shops for our daily dose. However, if you’re like me, and have the opportunity to work from home (at least a couple times a week), selecting the perfect coffee machine becomes that much more important!

Today, I’m excited to share the announcement of a new partnership. I’ve officially been coined as one of Nespresso‘s Coffee Connoisseurs! This means I will be sharing loads of fun coffee how-to’s, recipes, and exciting news from Nespresso over the next several months!

First on the list, I’d like to introduce you to the life-changing Evoluo coffee machine from the VertuoLine collection.

Happy Thursday! Last week, I launched the start of a new blog series, “From My Desk” to share some of my personal experiences for the career driven, goal-getters out there (I know there are plenty of you!). Juggling between a full time job and a lifestyle blog requires quite a bit of organizational skills. Personally, being organized is tri-fold. It’s a combination of scheduling, prioritization, and setting goals.

Over the last several years, I’ve managed to devise my own plan and discovered a plethora of tools to help me stay organized.

Read further to find out my favourites!

It’s incredible how many people I know juggle between a demanding full time job and a creative outlet, whether that is blogging, freelance photography, wedding florals or being an occasional make-up artist. I have been so privileged to have met so many talented people in the last few years and I want to personally thank each and everyone of you for your inspiration and passing on some of your energy because  I know first hand, the hard work that goes along with it!

Every successful blogger I know has a personal ‘story’. Why they started, how they manage their time, and ultimately what the end game is. I’m beginning a new Thursday series, “From My Desk”, to share my personal journey and experiences in building a startup company that just hit our 10th year anniversary, a fulfilling career in marketing and creating my mini masterpiece, my blog. Today, I’ll kick off by sharing my personal story.

I hope to inspire some of you take a chance, achieve your goals and stay motivated!