Hi Filofaxians! I’m super excited to share our first participant post – this one is from Belen in California who is using her own Personal Red Domino to set up a binder on starting her own business. Let’s meet Belen (and her lovely Filo)!
Hello, People-Who-Love-Filofax-As-Much-As-I-Do!
I started working on a small business in March 2013 and launched in June. During my “startup” phase I used a Filofax to organize myself. At first I used a personal black Chameleon, and later a personal red Domino, which is the one I’ll be showing you.
I chose the personal size because it is big enough to write in comfortably, yet small enough to carry in my purse and have with me all the time. (I tried the pocket size first and found it much too small. Now that my business is up and running I do use an A5 binder for work, but it stays on my desk.) I chose the Domino because it is pretty and it has the rubber band so I can easily tuck in a receipt, an extra notebook, or a bunch of pens.
My blog posts will cover setup, inserts, calendars, sections (ideas, research and money), and plenty of my own tips and recommendations. I will include photos followed by notes and details about what I used. Where I name brands or stores it is only for your information, not a sales pitch. No one paid me to promote their products. My approach is very do-it-yourself. I prefer DIY because I get to make exactly what I want and I don’t have to spend a lot of money. I like simplicity in design because it helps me focus on the content, but I also love color, so I use bright tabs and stickies. You will, of course, want to choose a style that works for you and inspires you to get things done. Go for it!
Tools Equipment, and Supplies
The Basics:
● Computer
● Printer
● Labeler
● Scissors
● Hole punch
● Corner rounder
● Paper
● Sticky notes
● Page flags
● Task pad
Tabs and Accessories
● Today
● 2013
● 2014
Side tabs: What?
● Ideas
● Research
● Money
Basic Accessories:
● Pen
● Today ruler
● Business card holder
● File pocket
● Page lifters, front and back
So much awesome in one one tidy, pretty package!
Next Post
My next post will be a close look at the calendars and diary inserts. If you want to get a head start on building your own Startup binder, here is a list of the free, printable inserts I used. All of these, and many more, are available on Philofaxy.com thanks to the skills and generosity of the Philofaxy community. I have listed them generically because each one has several versions, sizes, and file type options. Choose the one you like the best.
Inserts:
● Week on 2PP, vertical, with notes
● Year project planner, 2013 & 2014
● Timetable
● Meeting planner
● Project planner
● Addresses
Thanks for reading!
Isn’t that a lovely set up? I can’t wait to read about which calendars she uses to keep her business up and running!
That’s not the Domino which used to belong to me, is it? The extra pen loop is missing.
It is! As you can see, it was put to good use. Still love it. (I moved the pen loop because it was too low for me.)
Awesome! I’m SO happy to see it getting good use. It got me through six months of daunting new assignments at work, seems INCREDIBLY appropriate to be serving you similarly now! (Impressed you were able to remove the loop without pulling up the suede inside cover… I was afraid to remove it for this reason!)
Great Post!!! Thanks for sharing the insert links too!
Thanks. The Philofaxy site has many, many wonderful inserts for all kinds of projects and purposes. They are a great group of people over there.
Great first post! Really like the side tabs (Ideas, Research, and Money).
Thank you. I started out with five tabs in business terms, then decided to simplify (and switch to plain English) so “Finances” became “Money”. I like it better this way.
I enjoyed reading your post, and looking forward to more. Nice binder!
Thank you! I love this binder. 🙂
Excellent post. What was your startup?
Thank you. It’s a law partnership. I call it a startup because we did everything ourselves and we’re using technology to super-streamline the practice.