Changes to this website

I have imported the personal blog http://www.christinahooley.wordpress.com into http://www.christinadoro.com – the photography website. I strongly feel that, in artistic businesses, clients should know the person behind the service as well. Small local businesses-like myself, should use the personal touch and social marketing on and off-line! A lot of businesses have been to the road to hell- some went back, some died there- business owners either going on search of employment or starting over with next to none budgets or with debts to their name. Yet, some will succeed. For those that want to, this is someone’ story that is going through the same trials-my story might give you encouragement, especially if you are a work at home mum with a toddler.

I don't remember being so happy my entire life

@Art_of_Building all photos submitted:https://secretworld2photo.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/the-art-of-building-competition/ #competition #Photography #photos #building

This is my today’s last tweet. I don’t remember being so happy my entire life. We’re as poor as church mice, yet never ever been breathing so much…grace.

Sticking in a marriage is hard. Sticking in a marriage with a blended family is even harder. Sticking in a marriage with a blended family during a world wide economic crisis begins to look like walking the tight rope above Niagara. Add bad pregnancy- hormones and disloged bones. Add baby. Cope with depression. Stick with it all. Add mum having cancer. Add not having seen the mum for four years.

Above all add sticking with your dream of building a creative business for the two of us: me and my husband!

With no money- banks won’t lend. Just with sheer determination. And lots of highs and lows. Mostly lows. Tears. Doubts. Determination.

To do this one just has to let herself go. Let myself fall on my back in a sea of grace. It’s faith that propels me.

God, grace and faith.

So: achieved

– Growing Avon business
– exhibiting as a photographer
– growing interest in my plus size fashion drawing

Working at home mum- debriefing on progress

So, I am trying to write this more to clear my head. My son, Luca started walking. Correction. Running. I used to have a system. It’s gone- my to do pads and notebooks are all over the place and so seem to be my ideas.

Whilst I am promoting my photography designing a plus size fashion collection, selling Avon because I need to be active, and to support the global fight against breast cancer, writing an “art of living” online magazine looking to monetize it, tweeting on 3 accounts, organising a photo studio in our living room- I am full day mum. I pick one million toys a day. Cook and feed several meals, potty training and cleaning a selection of most disgusting slimy things I never thought I would come close to ever in my life.

Working at home mum isn’t the smiling woman wearing a White top whilst holding an angelic toddler in front of a laptop! For God’s sake! A professional uses shortcuts on keyboard! Have you ever tried that with a wriggling baby on your knee that occupies one of your hands? My Luca even managed to pull the key G from my keyboard!

Still I have come an amazing long way: whilst my son is using potty at 14 months, started to feed himself, and have a relatively tidy house, I have 3 photoshoots booked, a wedding, and very well rounded blogs with nice numbers of visitors. They definitely need improving but they are working. They are defining my business plans, my goals

Bootstrapping-start a business with almost no money

Principal project: volunteering for creative businesses support organisation Loca in tutoring artists in the use of web 2.0 tools for promoting their artistic statement and work with exemplification using 2 projects- visualising do’s and don’ts.

Project: define and raise artistic brand awarness using web 2.0 digital tools for artistic photographer Christina Doro(www.christinadoro.com )

Project: define and raise artistic brand awarness using web 2.0 digital tools for visual artist Mark Hooley(http://markhooley.wordpress.com/)

Digital tools: WordPress, Facebook, Google Analytics, Google Docs, WordPress stats analysis, Blogger, Twitter, Youtube etc

Team: 2 persons

Project stakeholders: 3

Which is basically business boostrapping: start a business with almost no money, which in the present conditions, of what it seems to become a prolongued downturn, is the only chance the art and knowledge has.

And not to be an hypocrite standing in front of hopefull artists, I am doing it myself. Running two projects and documenting the edeavours in this blog.

Bootstrapping or booting refers to a group of metaphors that share a common meaning: a self-sustaining process that proceeds without external help. The term is often attributed to Rudolf Erich Raspe’s story The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen, where the main character pulls himself out of a swamp, though it’s disputed whether it was done by his hair or by his bootstraps.[1] quote from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootstrapping Bootstrappers – people who start and grow successful companies with almost no money. Is this group going to be a gathering of munhauseners ??

Only time will tell.