Two creative business owners under the same tiny roof

two full-time creatives, one small space

Marie Condo may be telling you to throw away all of your black leggings, but as a creative business owner, how are we supposed to de-clutter?

Living in a small space has its own set of challenges. Add two creative business owners to the mix and now you have a recipe for chaos. Thats what most of my days look like lately - chaos. I have been spending my winter in Texas working under Olie’s Images. Together, we live, travel, and work in a 40 foot Momentum toy hauler by Grand Design (the 397TH for my fellow full-timers who are wondering). At an event, so many people ask about where we live, or where we are from, and most are shocked to learn that home is where we park it.

While we have had the opportunity to see and do so many things in the western US, we have also learned how to run our separate creative businesses under the same tiny roof. So here is how we do it.

Learn to Share

When I started traveling with Olie, he was very happy living his bachelor lifestyle where it was “all Olie all the time”. Creating a shared workspace was one of the biggest tasks we had to accomplish first. When I started traveling, Olie had a different trailer where we had to set up a second table, crawl over the couch if either person needed to use the bathroom, bumping into desktops if you needed food, and don’t even think about trying to set up anything creative, because we were out of counter space before we began. In the Momentum, the table and chairs set up is perfect for us. 

With computers back to back we are able to zone in on our own work or collaborate over the top of the screen. Each of us has our own chair with storage space underneath, allowing us to keep office supplies near our ‘office space’ while moving. This space also allows us plenty of room to move around the trailer while we spend long days working at our computers. 

Organization

I am an organization freak, and thankfully Olie enjoys it too.

For myself, I have notebooks, binders, folders, clipboards, and pads of paper that keep all of my ideas, receipts, and projects combined. It also holds all of my loose papers together while we pack down and move. Target has so many inexpensive, beautiful stationery options to keep you organized.

You might notice both of us with red whips on all of our cords. These whips from Think Tank are a real organization saver. Olie introduced me to them and now I’m hooked! They keep everything together and save you from having a tangled mess of cords. You can find these on Amazon for a good price. 

We added so many Command Hooks to this trailer. From household helpers to gear organizers, these hooks are really amazing, and they don’t need to be screwed into a wall stud to provide great functionality. Olie also used a type of loop and bungee ball rig to store all of his hard reflectors in the garage. This saves the reflectors from being loose while we travel down the road, keeping them from dents and scrapes.

At each event, Olie sets up an interactive viewing station for customers, so most of the garage is filled with booth essentials. These black and yellow Sterlite totes with wheels were a huge upgrade to the booth. No more free-floating seat pads or Olies Images stickers in the garage is a major plus.

Pelican Cases are major around here. A case for audio gear, a major case for Olie’s Images cameras, a case for hard drives, drones, speed lights, and a case for business cards (because who doesn’t have a special case for business cards? *sarcasm*). These cases keep everything safe from damage while we travel down the road. 

Planning

When it comes to being productive together, I think this calendar has made a major difference. This is just a physical reminder of what needs to be done the next day. Here we keep track of events for Olie’s Images, dates that I am out of town, private session photo shoots, and photo ideas for our own content.

A paper planner is what I use to keep track of my week and what I need to get done in my business. I like having a physical calendar in front of me while I tackle the day and plan out my projects. This planner setup gives me the ability to cater to my own needs and move pages/notes/brain dumps from week to week if needed. I love having the ability to build my own schedule with a pretty design. 

Both of us use iCal to sync reminders, event schedules, and client meetings. I LOVE the ability to create an event on my iMac and pick up my iPhone while I am out and about when I forget what is going on or what meeting I should be in. I also use iCal on my Mac to block schedule my days. In the morning I can sit down and block out the hours that I want to work and leave breaks and hours open for getting my eyes off a screen or dance parties.

These are just a few ways that we make our businesses work together. If you are wondering about some of the gear we use to make our business work, check out Olie’s Gear Page

I would love to see your home workspace! Comment below, or share on social media and tag me @brennaramsden 

Thanks for reading, and catch ya in the next one!

I’m Brenna - and I can’t wait to chat with you about all things business and rural life. Thanks for reading!

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