At Destructo HQ, things can get a little bit nutty like any office. Phones ringing, dogs barking, tweets tweeting and the occasional burp or two from Cpt. Spauldad. Ever since I was a little destructo, I knew that my work would not take place in a conventional office setting, I think I saw the movie Falling Down and I never wanted to have a “9-5 job”, because in my five year old mind… it made you crazy and want to kill people.

Anyways, my younger self would be proud to know that I don’t have to go to a workplace, however being self employed is more like a 5am to 9pm gig. But I am far from the guy in Falling Down, I love the freedom and being able to work remotely since I don’t drive. But before you go, “Wow, I am quitting my job right now!” You have to keep up your own finances, pay your health insurance and job security… you could be making $50 and hour but that may have to feed you for those times you are without work. Well, technically, job security is made upon your own terms to work hard to gain new clients. Your happiness with self employment depends on your goals in life and organizational skills. If you are going to be your own boss, act like it.

First thing… go out and buy this book.

My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire.

This book can tell you everything about freelancing! It gives you the nitty gritty on self-employment as well and real life advice.

Don’t think any price is too high to ask. Research what other freelancers are making and set accordingly to the size of the project and your experience skills. Remember again… you may have 3 clients at a time paying $1000 a month. But at the end of the year if you stay with them the entire time, that’s about $4,000 in taxes you will owe… on top of paying your own insurance, travel, and office costs. Plus any of those times you may be without work. Learn how to budget.

Know your taxes and self-employment deductions. Learn these terms, 1099 and Schedule C… Us freelancers and self-employed have quarterly taxes, so we get to pay our taxes four times a year! Woo hoo. It’s not as scary as it sounds however, just do your research and did you know that even your household pets may be deductible? Keep all your receipts for everything for the year, you never know what may be deductible! Read this book for further help… Self Employed Tax Solutions

If you are lost in tax translation.. I recommend hiring a personal accountant that specializes in freelancers and self employed such as Jason Blumer in Greenville, SC. He rocks my socks.

Keep track of your finances. When working with clients,  I use Freshbooks for invoicing and Outright to keep track of my expenses and it’s made for self employed so it let’s you know when your quarterly taxes are due! Plus it’s integrated with Freshbooks, so all my invoices automatically go into Outright! Tre Cool!

One thing about being self employed you have to keep focused! I am the queen of Moleskines, planners, notepads… seriously… get your self a calendar now. Being a blogger… inspiration comes and goes so planning out topics when you get inspired is the best thing to do. I also deal in social media so I set up my hootsuite to watch all my accounts, while I multitask in finding new clients and working on setting up new projects. Not to mention everything else that comes up in the day to day life… at a normal workplace you don’t have to usually deal with chihuahua poop.

Keep your self motivated. Since you are basically, at your workplace and coming home to your workplace. You may feel the need to work ALL the time. Know when to take breaks, get out… go to the beach. Get inspired. Keep the flow going, the world is your workplace. Take your laptop to the bookstore if things get hectic at home and lastly, take a vacation every once in awhile. Even if it’s for work (tax deduction!) a different surrounding can open your mind (and job opportunities) up… that guy sitting next to you on the plane may be your next client.

Be your own travel agent. A part of being self-employed is that sometimes you’ll need to travel outside the state. I’ve been traveling the world for years now, so I have a pretty good understanding that you need to be smart and you can get anywhere for cheap. Most of the time they’ll pay but when it comes out of your pocket, get those reciepts for tax time!

• Flights… make sure that the layover time isn’t short, because sometimes you can be delayed. You don’t want to miss that meeting.
• Transportation… keep the local cabs numbers on you in case you get stuck somewhere. Airport shuttles are the best and cheapest, but sometimes when you are far away you may need to find someone locally to take you. Make sure your departing airport is nearby enough so if you have to leave early or your local transportation can’t make it on time you can still make your flight out. Don’t almost get stuck in Germany like I did.
• Get a deal… Try Priceline.com and name your own price or Kayak.com to see the cheapest deals from multiple sites.

Contracts. Being self employed you usually need your own contract, depending on the work you are doing. You can find templates online or have a lawyer make a document up for you. When working with a larger company or agency they’ll usually have contracts for you to sign. I usually never will sign anything until I have lawyer look at it unless I understand the terms myself, most lawyers will ask a small retainer fee for looking over documents. This is good to answer any questions you may have and to make sure that you don’t end up selling your soul or name to a company. Also READ those Non-Disclosure Agreements very very carefully, they can be confusing about what you can or can’t say but basically… keep Fight Club in mind. Just don’t talk to anyone about it.

We all make mistakes as freelancers… just less than year ago I can say I didn’t know any of this when entering the Self-Employment/Freelancing field…. there are tons of things I wish I had done or didn’t do and jobs that I thought I had but lost. These things at the time crushed me and I thought would be a monkey on my back of regrets… but we learn from these mistakes. I could have stayed in bed but I didn’t (well, maybe for a few days…) but I got out there and kept my head up while doing as much researching as I could and asking others who are in the same field as I am.

Find a mentor. I wish I could sit Richard Branson down and ask him about all his mistakes as a young entrepreneur, but I don’t have Richard Branson. I have people like Gala Darling, The Brand Builder and Clint Catalyst to give me the inspiration and guidance I need. Find someone who is doing what you want to be doing and just learn the ropes or ask a question or two when in a rut. You’ll find a little piece of them shining through in everything you do.

Above all self-employment is the self-employment of your mind. Keep focused, Let all your past job notions go out the door, if you can dream it, you can do it.. and you can make money from it.

Ladies and gentlemen, are you looking for a few inexpensive last minute christmas gifts? Put that Bath and Body works gift set DOWN… NOW. *in my best Arrrnold voice* Get a few beauty products that work and will show that you really care.

Here’s my three top beauty gifts for anyone this season…

Read more »

“The way I look is just part of it. It sounds affected but I do see myself as a piece of art. People do accuse me of being just decoratve or an escapist. Well, I am. That’s what I do. So long as they realize that I am other things as well.” – Klaus Nomi

Today as sitting eating snickerdoodles with Blue Mayhem soaking on my hair. I thought about all us women go through everyday between makeup, hair to create an image of ourselves. I personally lurve cranking up the stereo, heading to the bathroom and creating new versions of myself through makeup or hair color, I feel almost a sense of therapy as I brush a bright new color onto myself. For many years now, I have been personally fascinated by cosmetics and makeup art. Every time I see someone with amazing facial bone structure and strange features I want to kidnap them and make them up a’la Klaus Nomi. I believe that EVERYONE has something beautiful about them.

In my search for the perfect visage for myself, I have tried out endless amounts of beauty products to find some of the best ones that would be worth my money spent and give the best results. Some of these products may seem expensive, but in the long run could save you time and money of not having to try a bunch of products that don’t work.

Now, I know many of you guys are going… “Argh Miss D! This has nothing to do with me!” Well, hold your horses… read on for you many find great gift ideas for any of those females in your life. A great present for any woman would be a gift card to Sephora.com or to her favorite hair salon.

Now on with the show…

Hair

• Styling Tools: CHI Iron- I’ve tried the all the rest, this is the best straightener out there!
• Hair Dye: Special Effects- Great color selections and lasts the longest compared to other brands such as Manic Panic and Raw. Since I have had a spectrum of different wild hair colors, I have used many different combinations of their dyes. In the future I’ll do a post on hair color and how to’s sharing some of my dying tricks and favorite colors!
• Conditioner: Aussie Three Minute Miracle “Deep”- Since put my hair through so much after all the straightening (im naturally very curly!) and dying I need a powerhouse of a conditioner to fix the damage. It’s cheap and three minutes with this and my hair is saying THANK YOU!
• Deep Conditioner: Coconut Oil! It may sound strange but it works so well, if you want to get that high gloss shine. Set some of this on your head for a few hours and then rinse out with some clarifying shampoo! So soft and shiny!

Makeup

• Powder/Foundation: Mac Studio Fix- After a search for the perfect powder MAC Cosmetics once again proves to be the best, a tad bit expensive but worth it due to it’s amazing coverage, matte/non oily formula and almost photo shop like results….it’s a wise investment with a wide range of shades with names like C3 (that’s me!) and NC15 sounds like I should be looking for John Connor but it’s a technological wonder than should not be feared! Use a kabuki brush for best results.. plus it’s fun to say kabuki.
• Concealer: Benefit Boi-ing- Party hard? No worries…Best under eye concealer!
• Moisturizer: Nivea Creme- Just can’t get enough! Use a little to put on before makeup application, helps keep skin plump and powder set. Can get at any CVS or drugstore!
• Mascara: Max Factor Volume Couture-Waterproof and give you doll like lashes without the clumps and mess. Fake lashes in a tube!
• Matte Powder: Coastal Scents Silica Powder- I’ve tried that expensive HD powder and this works exactly the same. Stops all shine, all night. $4 for a huge jar. A must have for Florida humidity!
• Primer/Sealer: Mehron Barrier Spray- For all you folk that do performance or for ANYONE who wants their makeup to last ALL day. I HIGHLY recommend Mehron Barrier Spray, first introduced to me by a female impersonator. I have used this spray for years now on the most humid, sweaty days and hottest Florida nights. It’s awesome, non pore clogging and keeps all that hard work from sliding off.
• Eye Primer- Coastal Scents Eye Primer- Light, cheap and works like a charm!
• Stage Makeup: Kryolan- When I went to Berlin (where Kryolan has their HQ) it was the mecca of amazing makeup. My favorite is their UV creme eye shadows that glow under black light, always sure to get complements and come in BRIGHT neon colors. Just make sure you get a pack of nylon brushes from any art store to apply these cremes since they can be quite tricky to apply with normal natural bristled brushes. You can buy these in America from Shrinkle over on Ebay.
• Face Wash: Shea Moisture Black Soap- I am bananas for this soap, it’s done a miracle for my skin. It’s made from plaintains, tar, ash and shea butter. It’s not only cleared my skin up but has toned it and shrunk my pores. I don’t know but if I could get a gallon of this I would never stray. It’s amazing and you can pick it up at Target for $5!
  

Do you have a beauty tip you would like to share? I would love to hear any of your tips, tricks or favorite holy grail products and might feature it in a feature Destructo Deviation post. I am still looking for an awesome hairspray and color care shampoo! Let me know your recommendations!

Polish up those claws!

One of my passions is nail art, back in the community college days I used to grow my nails out long (yes, those are my nails!) and paint them up the most detailed designs and brightest colors. There wasn’t a day I didn’t get comments on my nails, and I used to do alot of the fellow students nails during lunch breaks at school. However, I learned by doing this that it was much easier to do my own nails than others, so I never perused a career in nail art. Over the years, I have learned some helpful tricks to get the most unique nail designs to work!

With Halloween only a few days away and many ladies scrambling for the most ghoulish, glam or goth nail designs out there. I wanted to give you all some tips on how to get your Halloween (or year round) nails to be the talk of the town.

How to Get Naturally Long Nails!

• Eat some grass. No, really…. Wheatgrass is incredible for making nails grow in a short amount of time. Legend has it King Nebuchadnezzar grazed on wheat grass, making his nails and hair grow to beastly lengths. I can attest that it really does help grow your nails out quickly!
• Ace of Base. Use a good strengthening base on your nails, it’s usually clear and helps from your nails splitting or breaking.
• Get in shape! Shape your nails and keep them free of snags, rips or tears. I love using those cheap battery powered nail shapers to achieve a round or pointy shape. If you really want to vamp it up, you can make them extra pointy, but be warned they do get sharp and are easier to break.

Pick your Poison

• Paint it Black. Every goth gal has her favorite black polish. One that is shiny and purest black is China Glaze’s- Liquid Leather another good cheap black is made by Sinful Colors (available at Walgreens).
• Make it Glow! If you are going to a party with blacklights, White or Glow in the Dark polish is great for details! Or look for UV or Neon colors that really stand out. (I know this isn’t nail related but Kryolan makes the best UV makeup!)
• Glitter isn’t always gold. Glitter nail polish often looks pretty in the bottle, but turns out to be a chunky mess in the end. The best thing to do is find polishes that have fine glitter. However, in most cases a coat of the thick Seche Vite top coat usually smooths things out. 
• Orly? Yes, really. Some of my favorite polishes are made by China Glaze and Orly…. they have a great selection of bright colors that only take two coats to produce true to bottle color results.  These can be found at Sally’s or your local beauty supply store!

Finish them!

• Dry it up! Use a fast drying top coat, my favorites are Out The Door and my uber favorite Seche Vite, not only does it dry your polish fast but it’s super shiny.
• Devil is in the details! Alright, now here comes my top secret nail art detail. You can easily draw on any designs such as spiderwebs, tiger stripes, or whatever you can imagine. With….something you already OWN. That’s right folks the secret to my nail designs is Sharpie Markers…. you can get them in black or ANY color even metallic silver and gold.  Just add a coat of top coat and you’ll be good to ghoul it up.
• Nails for Males: Guys, you can also rocker it up with some matte black polish or if you are going for a vampire look, take a little wine red polish on a paper towel and rub it around the cuticles of your nails  to give that undead look.

Best place to buy nail polish online is: Head2toebeauty.com (Fast shipping and lowest prices!)

I would love to see your Halloween inspired nail designs! Feel free to post them as comments to inspire others!

The Miss Destructo Press Kit

One of the most important things you can do as a creative or freelancer is to CREATE your identity and MAKE a press kit.  When I became unemployed many months ago this is one of the first things I did.. Now, it isn’t a golden ticket to a job. I am currently still unemployed, but my press kit has allowed me to gain a few amazing supplemental freelancing gigs and helped me create more of a solid brand for myself.  The color scheme for example, I use on my website and social media accounts… make all of these things scream YOU!

For all of you others that are unemployed, this is a time for us to create ourselves into the people we want to be more than ever before. Use your time wisely and these tips will help you put together a nice presentation of your future and who you want to become.

Creating Your Identity

Create your business cards, promo items, postcards, letterhead graphics, contracts/invoice sheets. Whatever you think you may need in the future while promoting yourself or your business. I know I am thankful that back in the day instead of wasting my time in college partying, I spent most of the time as a pixel jockey designing what would come to be the Miss Destructo identity.

• Color Scheme- I really wanted to encapsulate the mystery of Miss Destructo yet keep a modern, classy style. How did I find what fit me? I created a folder of inspiring images, then I went through and picked what I thought represented me the most and used elements from them. Loving the green of absinthe and the loud yet stylistic color of my magenta nail polish. What inspired me the most would have to be The Perfect Drug video by Nine Inch Nails, it’s dark moodiness, entangled with haze of absinthe green in an anachronistic way. I wanted to make sure I mixed modern elements from a time period forgotten.
• Logo- The peacock feather is representative of the colorful, regal and mystical nature of Miss Destructo. I also wanted the “eye” to represent the curious and knowledgeable side of me, speaking to the viewer that I’ll always have my eye out for them. Plus, it’s been shown that your brain automatically recognizes any shape that looks like an eye, focusing on that point. That’s right folks, I do research. Don’t forget: Use your logo on everything.
• Slogan- Miss Destructo’s motto is “Nothing is Impossible” where Destructo Deviations slogan is “Destroy Your Boredom”. It’s good to have a tag line for each part of your identity, since it can separate your personal identity from your brand and help you explain your mission in less than 140 characters. Perfect for explaining exactly what you are about on twitter or a brief conversation.
  

The Almighty Press Kit

One of my addictions is putting something together, especially if it has to do with organizing and creating a product. I could seriously spend all day in a paper and printing store picking out the strangest materials and options to put a press kit together. You bet I would have a press kit made of steel that blew fire and had a freshly baked cupcake inside of it. Except that costs money, and to make money you have to sell yourself or your product to get a job. This is why you need a solid press kit, to sell yourself beyond the resume.

So, how can we make a press kit with little money? I’ll show you, but expect this to take a few weeks to crank out and you will at the least need about $100 (if you do all the designing yourself).

• Resume- Okay, you do not need to buy $150 dollar paper to get a job. But you should look at the design of your resume. Does it stand out in a crowd or is it Captain Blah? Play with fonts and incorporate your personal style and logo into it as well. Remember to also make a separate text based resume for some do not accept fancy PDF’s. Look for inspiration in others, find those people you admire and see if you can find their resumes online. Look at the design, I bet you a can of yams it isn’t boring. Mine is actually on transparent paper, which looks awesome with pink paper behind it, you don’t have to go that far to succeed. Just make sure it’s written well and has a bit of unique style. Price= $10-$20 (paper)
• Coversheet- It’s always good to let your client know what they mean to you and who you are beyond the resume. For this you’ll need to design a letterhead using your logo and contact information. Price= $0
• Business Cards- Study design books or do an Internet search for inspirational business cards. Some are drool worthy but realize just rounded corners is going to cost you another $30 plus dollars. Stay realistic and flexible (in case you may need to change info in the future) create a few designs. I have a personal one and one for Missdestructo.com. I highly recommend Overnightprints.com Price= This varies depends on what you want or how many you want. Mine were $50 for 500 (color both sides, glossy with rounded corners)
• Folder- Some printing companies suggest you sell your house to get a printed folder. You do not need this! Get some cool labels (some are transparent!) and print a logo yourself for the cover. You can get some nice folders (Mine is black with pinstripes…) at Jampaper.com that have the slots for a business card and a CD. Price= $20 (labels, folders and shipping)
• DVD Portfolio- If you are an artist of any kind you should have a portfolio that can easily be viewed. These days you can’t exactly send your huge briefcase of artwork out to everyone, this is why getting your artwork scanned and put on a DVD is very valuable. Price= $20 (DVD’s)
• Brag Sheet- One page sheet of everything that you have did that was more than notable and seriously rockin. Include awards, volunteer work, press mentions and every bit of awesome you’ve ever done. Brains of Fire recently had a great post on the Brag Sheet. Price= $0
• Promo Item- Postcards, buttons or stickers, throw them in your press kit. People love free stuff! I am still personally looking for some good promo item ideas or companies to make products for cheap. Any ideas?

Your end result really depends on your skill, budget and patience. I have smeared ink, had to get business cards reprinted, had artwork lost, trashed many hotel rooms and possibly killed a small nation of coffee beans to get everything how I liked it.

I have to thank two of my professors Chuck Egnazack and Corey George from University of Tampa who gave me the guidance and knowledge of the craft to help me become the person I am today. I didn’t know how to use Photoshop at all until I met Corey last year and Chuck gave me some spent lots of time sketching out what is now the beginning of a new life for me. I spent months on creating all of this and they sat there been through many changes, color schemes, business cards, crappy photoshop jobs. Find a mentor and don’t give up!

I would love to see some of your finished press kits or cool promo items you have made!

Sleek Like Jaguar,

Tweet me up before you go go….

If you live in the Tampa Bay area and want to meet more social media/twitter tweeple in an ultra cool environment or you want to experience a twitter tweetup like never before…  join the Missdestructo.com crew at The Castle in Ybor City on Monday, November 9th. It will be a night of dancing, tweeting and the best music from the 80’s and early 90’s.  One thing is, this is one tweetup you’ll never forget.

If you have any trouble finding the place just find Centro Ybor and walk north. It’s the building that looks, well, like a castle. The interiors match the mood of the clientle. It’s dark. Downstairs a more laid back, and usually older crowd, can be found anchored around a pub style bar. Take a walk up the Victorian staircase and you’ll find the main dance floor where, gasp! People are dancing to music you’ll rarely find on any top 40 station.  If you want to enjoy the atmosphere, leave your inhibitions at the door. Monday is 80’s night, with a heavy rotation of Old Wave videos playing upstairs. – From Metromix.com

Click here for more info about Monday Night at The Castle! http://www.castle-ybor.com

What time should I arrive?

If you want to be an early bird… tweeter… bird.. whatever. I recommend getting there around 10:45-11:00pm

The Castle closes at 3am.

How much will it cost?

Around $3-5 dollars for parking. (There is a garage right around the corner, or if you don’t want to walk to far there is a parking lot across the street on Palm Ave)

Cover for: 18+: $4 and 21+: $3 (Cheap! and they also have wonderful drink specials!)

Oh, that’s that “goth” place… i’ll never fit in…. what should I wear?

Against all myths…. you don’t have to wear black! Monday night is usually a mix of older professionals/old-skool goths/art school kids from the 80’s… not too many younger kids or hot topic socialites…  You can wear your  suit and tie, work casual or that latex catsuit hanging out in your closet. Whatever you feel comfortable in! If you are a fan of 80’s music, you may want to wear some good dancing shoes.

Where should we meet inside?

When you come in the door, take the stairs in front of you….Head upstairs to the main dancefloor, i’ll be by the DJ booth or on the dancefloor. Mostly, enjoy yourself and have fun!

Best place for conversations (it’s a bit loud!) are “The Red Room” (the bar at the top of the stairs) or the downstairs/bar Patio area…

Are cameras allowed?

Yes, for personal use.  Just don’t take any video or footage of the staff dancers or anyone without their permission. If bringing in a professional SLR camera or video please contact The Castle ahead of time for permission.

Where can I sign up?

Please RSVP at Twitvite so we can all get an idea of who to look for!

(Don’t make me pull out the big ole “Hello my name is tags…”)

RSVP HERE…..

Here’s the link for re-tweeting…. http://twtvite.com/hj48lm

Feel free to invite friends, co-workers or anyone you would think would be interested in attending.

Thank you all, this will be my first tweetup in Tampa… maybe next time i’ll be able to rent out the VIP area (for a more formal/networking setting) if there is good feedback and turn out from this one… if you have any questions feel free to comment or tweet me at @missdestructo