Amanda Sue on why she works with nerdy creatives, her typical workday with four kids, and staying true to yourself

1. In a sentence or two, could you tell us what you do?

I help quirky creatives maximize their potential by balancing their business, creativity, and home-life.

2. How did you get started?

I had friends who started asking for advice on organizing their lives. It was weird to me at first…I mean…I’m only 27, and I had older friends asking for help. I figured out a lot of the problem was that they were super right-brained, and it just wasn’t their thing.

3. What three words best describe your personality?

Quirky, random, stubborn.

4. What character {from a book, movie or television} do you most relate to? Why?

I used to think I jive with Scarlett O’Hara…I mean she’s SASSY & Southern…two traits I hold dear. But then I took an MBTI (cause I’m weird & like tests, lol), and my personality type is the same as Melanie (also from Gone With the Wind), and I realized that’s more accurate. Scarlett is horrendously self-centered…not to toot my own horn, but I love to help people. Melanie has a sass all her own…a quiet confidence that shines through. She does what she has to do, but she doesn’t feel the need to make other people’s lives miserable in the process.

5. What’s your favorite part of your creative business?

The people I work with! When I first started, I just knew I wanted to work with creatives. Then I figured out I like working with nerdy creatives. The kind of people who know who The Doctor is, and who will debate Star Trek vs. Star Wars, and have really random hobbies.

6. What’s a typical workday like for you?

Oh gosh…I have four kids, one of which is school age (and we homeschool), and my husband is in the fire academy, so I don’t know that any day is typical for us. Prior to this, he was military…so I understand crazy lives, crazy schedules, and the need for flexibility. But it basically goes like this: while she’s eating breakfast, I check my email and see if anything needs answered immediately. And I check to see if there’s any new comments on my FB page…okay who’m I kidding? My FB comes to my phone so I’ve probably peeked at it while feeding the baby in the middle of the night, lol. Then I do school with my oldest, and wrangle the other three. After lunch, the oldest two go quietly read in their room, and the youngest two go down for naps. This is one of my prime work times. My husband’s fire academy is night-time classes, so he holds down the fort and I work like crazy until dinner time. Then we do dinner and family time, and after the kiddos go to bed. I either do more work or I have me time. Me time can be anything from Pinterest, to editing photos, or quilling (my current plaything!).

7. How do you stay productive working for yourself?

I actually have more problems trying to make myself take some chill-time. I love working, and I’m a tech-junkie. I have portions of the day that I put my phone on vibrate or silent, because I know if I hear it, I’ll feel compelled to check that tweet/email/Facebook update.

8. Do you ever experience self-doubt? If so, how do you deal with it?

Oh my gosh yes! Especially if I write posts late at night. Despite being a night-owl, nighttime is when all the questions creep in, and I start wondering if I’m writing anything anyone cares about, or if I should have made different editing choices on the photography, or if anyone can see the flaws that I see. How I deal with it? I try to remember that I’m my own worst critic. I go look at my “as seen on” section, and remind myself that people don’t ask you to guest post if you stink. If all else fails I drown myself in Pinterest and dark chocolate.

9. How do you balance family, friends and business?

Most of my friends are either working women, or homeschooling mamas, so they’re usually just as crazy-busy as I am. I see most of them at church, which gives us all that needed detox time. One of the biggest things I do for keeping the family balance there is I make sure my kids take priority. My kids know not to mess with me if my office door is shut. If it’s open, then I make sure to stop what I’m doing and look them in the eyes when they come ask me a question. If I’m too busy/lazy to look up from my computer/tablet/phone when they need me, I’ve lost my perspective. When my husband gets back from academy, I’m his for the night. No computer, no phone…just us. Okay, okay…just us, and the wiggly baby who wants to be fed.

10. What’s the first step a creative business owner should take if she’s struggling with balancing work with family and life?

Stop and reassess. Where is the problem coming from? Is she working too hard? Is she getting enough support from her family? A support network is vital…we can’t feel like we’re drifting alone out there.

11. What’s been the most difficult thing about building your business?

It’s one thing to know that building a business takes time, but it’s still frustrating. You want to be that overnight sensation, you want to be the person who wakes up to hundreds more fans of Facebook. Unrealistic? Of course. But we can still dream.

12. What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received?

Stay true to yourself!!! That’s what I’m all about passing on…I can’t count how many times I’d hear things like “well I hate how your site is structured/I’m not fond of the colors/I don’t get what you’re talking about…but then again I’m not your target market so you probably shouldn’t listen to me.” So frustrating! And it can be really hard when it comes from super successful people…you don’t want to ignore sound advice, but if they’re not your target, and they don’t understand your niche, it might not be sound advice for you. Sometimes your best business weapon is your gut. Be yourself: your awesome, crazy, quirky, random, awesome self!

13. What books or magazines are you currently reading?

“Success in {High} Heels”, “You Are A Writer (So Start Acting Like It)”, “5K Sales in 365 Days”, and “Number the Stars”.

14. What are your top three favorite blogs?

Besides yours & Mayi’s? TheMogulMom.com (great biz advice!), ThePioneerWoman.com (the way she writes her recipes is hysterical!), TaraGentile.com (I LOVE how nerdy/geeky she is!!!)

15. What are you currently working on? Anything new coming up?

Right now I’m easing myself back in, because I just had a baby. Our fourth baby was born May 1^st (so proud!), so I’ve given myself until June 1^st to get back in the swing of things fully. Then I’ll be taking on new clients (woot!), and I’ll be working on a course. My plan is to create 30 days of creative ideas/prompts to kickstart you if you’ve lost your mojo.

You can find out more about Amanda Sue right here and connect with her on Facebook.