October 2021 Newsletter

Hello Fall

As the weather turns cooler, and things continue to ramp up this fall, these are a few things that went down in October:

I returned from Design Ranch, inspired and ready to create
I worked remotely in Austin, TX for a few days before heading home and got to catch a live episode of a podcast I follow – Kill Tony (it’s raw, unedited comedy so don’t click this if you are offended by profanity or insensitive comedic premises)
I took some photos on location for a clients’ company websites
I hosted my second in-person networking event with Richmond Curious in over a year. We have another coming up in November, so join us!
I onboarded a new contractor to help support my growing workload

How are my other goals and intentions going?

Exercising regularly – still going strong with Team Body Project – I joined officially earlier this year but you can do free workouts of theirs on YouTube or by creating a free profile

Competing in volleyball – sand season is over so it’s back to indoor for me. I am playing on Monday and Tuesday nights with my women’s teams

Continuing to build my community and network – I host a Thursday morning virtual small business owner networking group that is going strong

Reading more about business – currently reading Don’t Keep Your Day Job & Atomic Habits

Onboarding clients I value and respect – I have had so many amazing conversations with great referrals from partners in my network. They are not all a YES, but I have really enjoyed these discovery conversations.

Working with people who value and respect me – I am excited for the projects that move forward because I truly feel these prospects know exactly what they’re going to get from me in terms of work and personality.

Collaborating with amazing partners – I JUST learned about kicking off a website partnership with a local agency I highly respect. So if it goes well for all involved, I’ll say more soon!

Learning more about racial and social justice – A Psychologist that I follow online is Dr. Barbara Shabazz. Her content is intentional, truthful and balanced with suggesting work we can all do while encouraging good practices for mindfulness and self-care.

Coaching and accountability – My coach is amazing. I’m investing to be part of her roster in 2022. We have big goals and she’s helped me through a failure in business this year that I’ve learned a lot from.

Looking ahead – events I’m attending

RebelleCon – This is a must-attend event for me. I love being in a room of women designing a life they love.

Richmond Night Market – I’ll be vending in the November 13 market in the 17th Street Market space. Stop by to grab a book or necklace from me or shop with any of the amazing local vendors that will be in attendance.

Richmond Curious – This event series is based out of my coworking space in Gather Arts. Our November 19 event will feature Youth Focused Nonprofits.

Abundance! (my word for 2020)

I continue to believe in abundance and try to work toward managing what comes to me. I do weekly reconciling of my business account and have been paying quarterly taxes to local, federal and state entities. I have an upcoming tax appointment with my usual accounting provider and based on the last two years in business, I will share what I’ve learned.

After implementing Profit First, I realized that there are places I could and should scale back in business, which lead to me also scaling back and being more intentional in my personal finances.

If you are new to the list, you may not know that I started the year unprofitable, which led to my hiring a business coach. Since then she has worked with me to be more profitable and to continue to evolve my business in ways that support my thriving. This year, I have seen a 45% increase in my personal wealth across all of my Mint accounts. I am investing with her again for 2022 – and many people would not want to spend as much as I am spending. But I have benefited from the last 12 months of coaching so much, I can’t wait to see what we co-create next year.

Word of the Year – check-in

In the last month, I have had more conversations with creative folks and entrepreneurs who are eager to hear more about how I’m running my business. I am doing well as an agency of one, with support from a contractor or two from time to time. So the conversation is around things like money and profitability, but I also tend to think it’s on deeper things.

Some of my values in business that affect how I operate:
• to work with urgency, not emergency
• to build relationship with clients as a partner, not a transactional service provider
• to set boundaries that help me serve at my best
• to get paid well for my work
• to rest

There are lots of little decisions I have made that contribute to being in alignment with these values. It doesn’t feel easy most of the time. I am still working against the conditioning of working in corporate environments and for other people. I haven’t often seen people building things that truly lift them up and support a healthy, balanced life. I want that to be the type of business I build. And hopefully my clients and other creatives in my community will be inspired to do the same!

Last, but not least – a new offer!

I have heard from several folks who are curious to know more about what’s going on in my business or who want to “pick my brain.” As I continue to work on building my business, I don’t have the space in my calendar to do coffee chats and unpaid consulting. However, for the folks who are willing to invest in my time I am happy to share a bit more behind the curtain in a paid 60-minute recorded session.