"Why can't it be simple?" tl;dr: it can be. Sorta. One of the reasons I'm so anti-hustle / bro-marketing (one reason of many) is that it's victim shaming: if their formula doesn't work for you, then it's your fault...not the fault of the formula. One of the reasons I love permaculture design so much is that it's agile, responsive, and iterative all while being based on what's actually happening on the ground. As an entrepreneur,...

Have you ever drawn out your clients' journey? Let me rephrase. One of the things I see over and over again in my clients' business models is a disconnect between their clients' feelings and circumstances...and the services they offer. On the one side, there's the services they want to offer (the services they're good at providing) and on the other side are their clients. The disconnect is in the middle. The middle is often where...

  A dilemma came up in the Motorcycle Club call last week that I wanted to share with you because it's such a common experience I thought it might resonate. We were talking about marketing with integrity, feeling unsure where to start, and how to talk about services in a way that didn't feel sleezy or gross. The marketing gurus tend to teach that you're supposed to educate your audience as a way of nurturing...

I was in a podcast interview this week where the host asked, "okay, but what is a brand voice?". I talk about brand voices a lot and in that moment, I realized that there's an opportunity for you and I to establish some shared language. So if you've been stuck on "how do I find my brand voice?" or "what the heck is it anyway and how does it connect to branding, marketing, and all...

If you've been around here for a hot minute, you know that I'll tell you how it is : behind the scenes and in front of them. The last couple of years, I've been exploring my neurodiversity and it's been enlightening, self-forgiving, and it's given me a new perspective on running my business with my brain, not against it. I've been integrating the thing I've been telling you all along : you can be you...

We've spent a bunch of weeks talking about building a values-based brand, your integrity, and owning your magic. But what about your clients' needs? Many times where entrepreneurs misstep (or find themselves unsatisfied in their work) is because there's an imbalance between their brand, their offers, and their clients. The sweet spot (or Resonance) is: work that aligns with your values delivered by services or products within your skills and capacity that your ideal people...

It's the Spring Equinox up here in the Northern Hemisphere. A time for change, a time for transition, a time for blossoming, for showing the world who you are. It's also a time when the world shows what's been hiding beneath the surface, a time of truth, if you will. In that vein, I have to set something straight. There's a real misunderstanding about vulnerability, what it is, and the place it holds in your...

You know, for a quick moment there last week, I nearly succumbed to the external pressure of what to do in my business for my birthday. You know what I'm talking about: a FB charity campaign, a discounted service, a hybrid discount/donation, a new product...we've seen all of these. The trouble is that none of them sat well with me...and if I'm being transparent, thinking about which charity and how much and top ups and...

The weather has been looking good for a maple syrup boil down. Our trees are tapped and we started the boil this week. I love that we make our own maple syrup. It's important that I model what I preach: margin in business for a whole beautiful life, regenerative systems that allow for personal and professional growth, stepping away from the screen as a way of boosting creativity and productivity. Making our own maple syrup...

It's been a rough week news-wise. So many atrocities front and centre, in our lives and in our feeds. Most of my clients are sensitive people, humans who care, humans who try to make the world a better place. It's hard to not feel bowled over by the bad news. It's hard not to feel triggered by the collective and individual trauma. If I have anything for you, it's this: remain informed enough that you...

Recently I was having a conversation with a client about their business. They were telling me that one of my recent Instagram posts about defining your methodology had them worried they don't have one."Because everything is pretty custom" Yes and. The way you move your people from where they are to the results you provide is fairly similar every time. Even if you customize the individual pieces, the overarching elements are the same each time....

Let's talk about LOVE. Not romantic love and certainly not the Hallmark-style giant stuffed unicorn and chocolate-dipped roses kind of love. I want to ask you about the love you share with your clients, with your business, and with the work you do in the world. Do you love your business?Have you created the right structures and foundation pieces so that you CAN love your business? I think we spend a lot of time as...

Last weekend, I spent some time over on IG Stories talking about our feral cat situation. Living country as we do, we seem to attract a new feral cat every couple of months. We've been able to socialize most of them and send them off to loving homes. Last weekend, I tried to befriend a ginger tabby I've seen hanging about for a while now. I think Captain Mandarin Fluff-Muffin (tbd) lives part-time in our...

  Last week, I hosted the inaugural Build Your Business Foundation event inside the Love & Badassery Facebook Group: Your Values, Your Magic. You can catch the replay any time you want. Real quote from last week's session:​This has been GREAT! So much juicy work done in this short time! I launched the BYBF series so that you have the opportunity to look at your structures, your systems, your foundation in a really accessible, hands-on,...

  I've been over here promoting that you show up as yourself and that your values are your magnet, but what happens if your values are unpopular? Talking about your beliefs in a crowd of believers is one thing, but sharing your opinions in the public arena is a whole other beast. Fear of (even light) conflict is a really common reason entrepreneurs stay inside their comfort zones. Fear of reprisal (or trolls) keeps us...

Recently I was telling you about defining your values and why that's important, but there's a MASSIVE piece to this that I didn't go into. If you aren't acting on your values, they aren't values: they're just empty words. There. I said it. But what happens when your values don't align with what the rest of your industry says you're supposed to do? Sometimes the tactics and techniques that are being shared as quick success...

  If you've been around for more than a hot minute, you know that I spend a lot of time talking about aligning your work with your values. That's because the first part of my entire business development methodology is Defining Your Values. When you know WHY you show up the way you do, WHY you do the work, what you truly believe in, then you start creating a business foundation that is unwavering. A...

Happy New Year! With all this talk about resolutions and "New Year, New Me", I needed to tell you a little story. Last year, I had a marketing company do a little customer research for me. They also included peer reviews in their process. All this information would theoretically provide me with words and concepts of how I'm already perceived by my clients and peers. Good, right? Yes - except here's the lesson:When you're soliciting...

I'm on deep holidays this week and I'm sneaking away from my commitment to my couch to write to you (always breaking rules, even my own). You see, I've been thinking about the power of rest. This is something we speak about a lot in the Love & Badassery Motorcycle Club: creating margin in your life for renewal. What margin looks like is very personal but the premise is the same. When you give yourself...

  9 years ago this morning, I became a parent for the first (and only) time. The last near decade as this little human's caregiver, guide, and support staff has simultaneously been one of the best things I've ever done and easily the most challenging. If you've been around here for a hot minute, you know that I draw business metaphors from all aspects of my life and where I learn the most about my...