Camille Outside The Box

08/04/2022

Hey guys, noticing some new faces around here and thought I'd do a little reintroduction!

I'm Lauren and I run the business here at Camille Outside The Box.

What do I do? Well, I’m a content writer for tech startups and I have three main services:

The most booked service: Article-On-Demand - I craft a well-researched article (typically in the range of 1000-2000 words) for your website, Medium page, or LinkedIn based on a topic that you select.

My VIP service: Content, Outreach & Social Package - I keep an eye out for journalist queries and podcast opportunities, help you plan out your social content each week, craft routine email newsletters, and two articles for your website/social channels each month. (I only have the capacity to take on one more client for this service!)

My best-priced service: Jane-of-All-Trades Support - This is a flexible, hourly option for startups that are looking to hire a second set of reliable eyes on a project (or long-term). We can talk through the scope of this and make it cater to your needs.

Of course, my doors are open to anyone who needs help, but the people I see the best results with? They're the kind of people who:

Are tech startup founders and teams that are ready to see more traction and eyeballs on their solution. As in, they literally just want to get their "purple cow" in front of as many people as possible so they can help as many people as possible!

Has already identified their ideal customer and how they can serve them

Also feels strongly that content shouldn't be created for the sake of creating content - it should be purposeful, sharable, and resonate with their audience. Plus, there are so many ways to repurpose and make said content go further...and free up mental space for ALL the other aspects of running and scaling a business.

If this is you? Let's be friends, I want to know more so I can see if there's any free content or opportunities I can create with you in mind. Send me a DM introducing yourself and I'll share more about myself!

01/20/2021

We’re all making our way through 2021 as best we can. 🙂

For real - we can talk goal setting and fresh starts, but it doesn’t mean hard moment and feelings leave the building in light of a new year.

2021....

It still involves all the moments of tiredness, frustration, stagnation, anger, sadness, etc.

The list goes on.

We likely feel all the above each and every week.

For all these emotions, it’s important to feel them. Feel the emotions in their true form.

If you feel like crying, do it.

If tiredness feels pressing, take time to nap for 20 minutes, or go to bed - even with the sun still up. Don’t press on with work until utter exhaustion peaks.

If you’re frustrated, punch a pillow or take a walk.

In a society where bottled emotions are a social norm - we need to feel what we need to feel.

The typical reaction time of an emotion is 3-5 minutes.

If we don’t express our emotions they becomes internalized and manifest into something worse.

We sit and stew on stress and bottled emotions.

We continue hold on to + circle back to the things that bother us.

And when we don’t ever fully experience our emotions, we never complete the normal reaction cycle.

It keeps going and keeping us up at night.

In a time, when we feel all kinds of ways - it’s important to just...feel.

It’s healthy to feel in real time.

And you’re not alone in feeling the way you do.

Feel your feels 💛

Pictures: Up at White River Sno Park going sledding and just enjoying a day where I can sled down a mountain and laugh like a kid. I can’t take credit for the snowman - someone else made it but had to share the artistry. ✨

11/10/2020

It's easy to feel guilty in your "free time". 😰

If you own a business, run a blog, create content, or coach others, you know what I'm talking about. 😑

Those sneaky moments when your brain reacts to "free time" in the schedule with the following:

"I could/should/need to work on ______ right now!" ‼️

You believe in free time for self-care, but your brain has you trapped into a vicious cycle of "Get things done and make the money!" type mindset.

Does this sound about right❔

It's funny - this weekend - I had every opportunity to really dive into that cycle on this hike at Mt. Tabor one of my friends.

But I didn't.

What I did instead was place scarcity on time on the side of being with my friend and valuing that "free time" for what it was - time to recharge.

I had a scarcity mindset in a positive sense.

There's scarcity in the limited time that we have to enjoy new experiences, conversations, meals and memories with the ones we love.

There's scarcity in the time we have to care for ourselves. 💙

There's scarcity for all things in our lives, but putting pressure on enjoying the good and positive moments fully for what they are, is the best use of our time.

Not thinking we need to rush on building a business, creating content or hustling when we know we feel tired and need to charge our batteries. 🔋

The battery charging comes first.

It's like trying to exercise when you're tired. It's not effective - you end up having bad form and then you hurt yourself.

Same with trying to make the most of "free time" when you've worked yourself out and need some time to yourself.

You overextend your energy, when you should just take "free time" for what it is - it's time that you're free to step back from business and enjoy life.

I hope you get out and enjoy nature where you are! 🌱

I hope you are making time for free moments for you and not feeling guilty about it. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Share this post with others to remind them to step back and enjoy free moments too. 😌

11/05/2020

If it’s been a rough week for you...

Know you’re not alone. You’re never alone, okay?

Take time for you if you need it.

Reach out.

Be in alignment with yourself.

Understand what keeps you going + lights a fire in your belly.

Hold on to that.

Hold on to what you are grateful for.

Journal out three things when you first wake up.

Ask yourself - what does my day to day look like to protect my energy and confidence?

Your energy is so vital. It’s important at all levels of your functioning body and mind.

You can’t continue to push to your goals and best mindset when you’re sapped of good, necessary life energy.

Surround yourself with people that radiate energy that you can reflect back + then some.

Be kind to yourself. For a number of reasons this week has been hard.

Sharing love - so keep sharing this post and pass the love on. 💙

10/25/2020

I see some new faces here (hey, hi, hello), so I wanted this next post to be intro focused...some biz stuff and a few random facts about me.

Firstly, I have some fun stuff coming here with mindset, strategy, and other insights and secret sauce.
It's all in the inbox - you have to sign up for my email list! (Link in bio, and you won't be sorry - it's the stuff that will having you thinking deep all week long.)

I'm doing a weekly Monday memo that goes out to you and helps give you advice that switches you from a bandaid approach in business to playing a long-term game on a strong foundation.

As an intro to me if you're new here - hey, I'm Lauren. Middle name Camille. And I have a blog and business entity all based around business strategy.

It's what I love and where I love serving others. I love poking holes in things and challenging people on a 1:1 or small group basis. It's what gets the good things happening in businesses for ya.

Fast Facts

1. I'm a coffee fiend, but I love a good tea party (my boyfriend is steeping some tea as we speak). Our favorite tea is butterfly pea - which if you haven't seen what color this is..you're missing out.

2. I love black pepper on everything. I literally make my food cRunCHy with it, I swear.

3. I'm a hella introvert. Think INFJ on the Myers Briggs test. I like being a fly on the wall, and like actively listening and taking a lot of thought before sharing thoughts in a meeting. It's a major strength in what I do coaching business owners.

4. My new major hobbies in quarantine have been ax-throwing, podcast listening (I didn't do it much prior - don't come for me) and vegetable gardening.

5. I'm a nutrition major, turned techie and systems nerd. Yup, I graduated with a degree that a lot of people would say “why business?”and I say "all the marketing, management and economic classes”- a huge lightbulb went off.

That's why I'm here sharing the message now. I LOVE what I do.

And I'm so thankful that I changed my path to align.

Questions for you - how have you changed your path for you recently? And if you’re feeling brave - what’s a fascinating fact about you?

10/21/2020

🧐🧐You might have heard of this - the content creation hamster wheel...

I'm gonna guess it's been a source of stress in some way - whether it’s in your business or personal social media.

Whatever we do, it seems like we're sourcing content for the 'gram or some other platform.

We're constantly seeking to “push out content” on a regular basis.

(Also why do we make it sound like we’re giving birth when we post? 🤔😂)

I want to challenge the idea of "putting something out" every day for the sake of doing it.

I've worked with a couple business owners in the past that basically put the cart before the horse.

They push out the content without these four questions in mind (well, five in my mind - if you're reading this and want to guess right, I'm tempted to venmo you $15, because that means you already get it.)

In any case, content creation involves getting clarity on your purpose.

That means challenging yourself to dig deep on WHY you're creating that piece of content.

What purpose does it serve?

Is it actually in line with what you do and your business goals?

Is it actually in line with the platform you are on?

Is it effective and intentional?

Or are you just creating content for each platform and not maximizing your potential and efforts.

Because that, man, is just a recipe for burnout.

Not only are you putting out content - you're totally just hearing crickets....

Amiright?

At the end of the day, get real about what intentional content means for your business, personal brand or social media account in general.

For example, in IG - hint - it's all about content that gets sends and saves.

As another question geared just for those of you who focus on IG, what would your strategy look like if you were focusing strictly on content that is "highly sharable".

Share these four questions with anyone you know who's working to dig deep and get out of the dumb content creation hamster wheel!🤬

We all want to be set free in creating content 😌

10/15/2020

I'm smiling but know behind-the-scenes it's been more than a few 12-hour days. ☕️☕️☕️☕️

The reality of working on building a business and working launches and software development on the side for the month of October. (There’s a lot this month.)

I'd be lying if I wasn't feeling the following emotions right now:

🔸Frustration
🔸Anxiety
🔸Excitement
🔸Impatience
🔸Sadness
🔸Hopelessness
🔸Happiness
🔸Pride

They all come with the territory of being a business owner/entrepreneur and working on your business to make it work for you.

If you're a business owner reading this - I can say with the utmost certainty that you know what I'm talking about here.

The long nights, hair-tearing sessions, cups of coffee (or tea), the crushing feeling that things are just not panning out the way you want.

The imposter syndrome that comes with the ever present question of...."can I do this?"

The feeling that there is so much to do and so little time.

The massive struggle to juggle everything while having a life and maintaining a sense of balance...

All while feeling guilty for having "free" time where you're not thinking or working on your business.

It's a lot, and it's valid.

I'm here to support you with these words: Keep going for the little wins. 🌟

Keep pushing on for the progress I know that you're making, and the victories that are headed your way. 📈

Keep pushing on to give it your best shot. Keep learning, adapting, and growing. ✨

It's hella hard, but you're not the only one. 💪🏻💪🏻

Know that you can reach out anytime to share your thoughts, struggles and obstacles with building your business, being an entrepreneur and taking a risk to follow your ideas and goals.

I have business chats open in my calendar (in my Linktree). Come and say hi - the virtual Zoom office door is always open. 👋🏻😊

I know how you feel.

But guess what??

WE GOT THIS!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

10/12/2020

Step 1: Show up.

Step 2: Show up again.

Step 3: Repeat Step 2 for results.

Step 2 & 3 are difficult. It's a matter of us determining where we are and where we want to be and how to get there.

The later steps are a system of trial and error.

We learn how to show up continually and how to do it in a way that serves us and gets us where we want to be.

At the root of most advice when it comes to success - is consistency.

Whether it's writing a book, posting online, building a business, studying for your exam, finding a job, or working on a creative piece.

Nothing ever came from just showing up once and hoping it will work with a little bit of input.

It always comes from putting in the work, documenting what works, and then consistently showing up in a way that's sustainable for you.

It comes from finding your flow and personal routine to make the most of the time that you have in your day-to-day to make it work.

Everyone is going to be different in this regard.

Whether you have a few minutes or a couple hours daily to devote to where you are trying to succeed, make it a promise to yourself to show up and continue to consistently work toward your definition of success.

Consistency makes it work.

Happy Monday.

10/05/2020

“Sometimes, growth is found in stillness.”

Post inspired by a quote shared by the ✨

This weekend has been a time to recharge.

It's all been hinging around changing the scenery and appreciating being still and not rushing to finish a to-do list.

In a time where I've spent the last weeks at home, my thoughts and motivation hit a roadblock.

My boyfriend and I felt uninspired, our productivity at work felt stagnant and we were really just in a funk.

My content was gathering dust in my blog draft box and I just wasn't feeling great.

Then I changed it up in a way that I haven't since March - went out for a staycation in a remote little village.

It was the best thing that Dave and I could have done.

(Not to mention, we love the sea and want to move here if we can soon...)

When I went away, I wasn't thinking of all my emails in my inbox. I was thinking of creating and building, and growing.

This weekend was a lot of stillness. I spent more time just reflecting. No phone, no Youtube, no headphones on.

I just strolled the beach. I left my phone in the hotel room and just walked through the icy waves and didn't think about pings, emails or notifications.

I just focused on my thoughts. I focused on being present. I practiced gratitude.

And it got me more excited for the work that I want to do coming back.

All my drafts are posted.

Feeling fresh.

Feeling better.

I don't think my fingers can type this fast enough for how inspired I feel.

More blog posts, more stories, more business advice to come.

If you have questions on business aspects or blogging, or really anything, I just want to open the comments (if you're reading here hehe).

Sending love, sea salt and inspiring vibes your way to end your Monday.

P.S. I still have sand in my socks.

10/05/2020

Fresh off the virtual press...

I was so excited to connect with Life Coach Jewel and feature her business origin story on the blog.

What's important about her story, is not only the start, but the momentum involved.

She did it all without a website and built it all from scratch.

I wanted to share her journey over the past year in her coaching business' formation and scaling to multiple figures.

She shares key tips on her coaching approach, how she started out in obtaining clients, and the trainings and masterminds involved in going from day 01 to day 365+

Her interview (blog post linked below) and her page post (highlighted below) best speak to how she truly sets the bar high.

Plus, she shows without a shadow of a doubt that you don't need 10+ years in the industry to FINALLY be able to follow a dream or be "good enough" to help others.

Years of experience don't exactly equal the magic formula in acting and achieving from a place of confidence and ability.

It's also about the work you do between you and yourself.

The hard work is essential in all that you do to grow, learn, reflect, strategize, crystallize your goals, and combat your limiting beliefs.

Jewel is all about helping you build that confidence in being the person you want to be and what you want to do.

I can't wait to see where her work takes her in her 2nd year of business.

Check out her story.

What is brain-based coaching? How do you start AND effectively scale an online coaching business? Jewel H. shares the industry secrets.

10/03/2020

Failure is NOT who you are.

Truth: it's been a year where none of us could really count on any of our plans panning out the way that we wanted.

In general:

Everything we do, every risk we take, every action that makes us go out on a limb - there’s a fear there of things not turning out the way we intended.

When things don't work, we internalize that it reflects us being less than adequate.

This could be related to a role in your life, a job task, a business venture, trying something new, sticking your neck out, etc...

In any case...

This is a reminder for you - if you are broken down by a previous event not going as expected, if your trial was in error, if you made a mistake -

THAT IS NOT YOUR IDENTITY.

You are not a failure.

In time, the mistake will matter for the better in being the feedback that helps you plot a path forward.

Don't feel that your misstep is an indicator of your self-worth and allow that to impact how you set the bar for yourself.

Don't let it impact how others set the bar for you.

Don't let that dampen your drive, your taking risks, and doing what you do best.

See the silver lining in what it can be instead - your feedback for future success.

10/01/2020

Eeek! October 1st is here. Happy pumpkin month. 🎃 In honor, peep the new blog posts in my bio todayyy! 😁

BTS secret, I am still shook by how much time goes into blog posts and I’ve been doing this for years.

The serious blogging I do now is a whole other level of involvement. 😂

Keyword research, post writing, affiliate creative, resizing photos, renaming files, editing links, making sure keywords are optimized, format for readability, permalinks, indexing, posting links. Doing secret SEO stuff. Social sharing. Backlink building...
..are you tired, because I’m tired ‼️😂

Not just from lugging around pumpkins hehe.

So, how long does it take to write a blog post? 🤔

For me, I try to incorporate moderate research at least. So anywhere from 3-10+ hours.

I’ve been carrying around some heavy drafts this week and finally posted.

The first on buyer personas and how to craft one (you NEED this for your business to gain traction and grow).

The second post is on the specific holiday customer types + how to target them in your business promotions.

(Hint: Start applying these strategies now - people are buying for the holidays already.) 🔎👏🏻

I also include a few outsourcing recs in that post for other companies to look at for helping you. (Non-affiliate).

And finally the Uber HUGE gift guide (it took so long) for work from home professionals, entrepreneurs, business owners and really anyone leveling up their home office space.

Check it out and get some new home office supplies. Note: This is full affiliate (I get a cut at no extra cost to you) and it really supports the work on the blog and here on Instagram. 🙂

Happy 1st!

If you’re still reading - keep blogging, keep creating and keep doing what makes you feel full of passion! 🥰 I believe in your hard work.