September 2020 Newsletter

Approaching 1-year

I am so thankful that I’ve been at this solo-preneur journey for almost a full calendar year. I have met amazing people building and evolving their businesses. People have referred me to their clients, friends and family. I could not be more grateful.

With my current work load, I can accept new clients in early November. Wanna chat about how I can help you or a friend with design or website needs? Send me a note through my website.

I have been really enjoying investing with other small businesses in town. For instance, I am working with Rich Methods for recurring brand photo shoots, I hired Emmaline’s Personal Styling to help with my branding shoot wardrobe and accessories and I hired Makeup by Holly to prep my hair and makeup for my most recent shoot this week.

As a small business owner, I love supporting other small businesses. Investing in my surrounding community also creates a bond and sews seeds of economic energy into those around me. I shared this Pro Tip on my Facebook page…let me know if you agree!

I’m still creating journal commissions like these for a recent client who wants to begin a daily journaling / gratitude practice. He also purchased a journal in the colors of his daughter’s high school as a gift for her. You can shop my pre-made journal collection through my Etsy shop – or reach out directly if you’d like to commission your own custom journal.

Networking + community
One thing that has continued to ring true for me is that my network = my net worth. Building networking communities and participating in the business groups where I am a member has ensured the health of my business. I have been hosting a Thursday morning Small Business Owner virtual meetup since late March and have been a member of the Metropolitan Business League since January. I was named their September Member of the Month (THANK YOU MBL!!) and will be attending their Entrepreneur Training Program starting next week. I didn’t realize it, but part of the Member of the Month feature included a write up in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. My Daddy was so proud!!

Business update
So far this calendar year, I have served 15 businesses with their marketing, graphic design, branding and website needs. I am so excited to see each of my clients thrive and grow in their businesses. One I’d like to shout out is LeapIT.

I met Scott Mayo a year ago as I was beginning my own business. LeapIT recently celebrated 1 year in business and their mission is to find and train folks from non-traditional backgrounds to land great roles in IT.

I helped Scott with creating graphics to explain how LeapIT works and to add more pages to his existing Wix website. You can learn more about LeapIT on their website or follow along on their LinkedIn profile.

Recent brand photography

Part of my business strategy includes sharing fresh content and showing my personality. I am the main person a client would have to work with…so I want everyone to feel 100% comfortable with the type of person they’re about to hire.

The images above were part of a recent brand photo shoot with Sha Rich. I chose one of the murals in the Mending Walls series called Liberty Leads her People, located in the Northside of Richmond. I want my potential clients to know what I stand for by having these images in the background of my photos for my company. By including these images and messages, I want to be abundantly clear that I support Black art, I support Black lives and I support healthy, equitable and diverse communities.

My COVID-19 Story

After giving blood again earlier this month (September), the Red Cross notified me that I still had COVID-19 antibodies, which technically means I have been exposed to the virus at some point. It’s unclear the timeframe or how long antibodies can remain in your system. When I did a drive-through test in July at CVS, my COVID-19 result came back negative. I have never felt a symptom during this year, but could have been exposed or may have been an asymptomatic carrier. I still have active antibodies in my system. And I still keep washing my hands and wearing all the masks.

Giving Back to My Community

I partnered with Kim Brundage Photography to offer free headshots for a few members of my business networking group, the Metropolitan Business League.

I sponsored the headshots that Kim offered at a no-frills rate for folks impacted by the COVID pandemic.

Recent events

My team and I hosted our 6th virtual CreativeMornings/Richmond with the topic of Stress in August.
Check out the video of Nadia’s amazing talk.

We hosted our 7th virtual event on September 18th with Jeff Beck, exploring the topic of Spectrum. The video will be posted on the CreativeMornings/Richmond website soon.

September’s Richmond Curious

Richmond Curious is a Friday networking opportunity based out of Gather Arts District, my co-working space.

We had a great lineup of speakers representing local Organizations that support our community. We are hearing a lot in the news about police funding and reform. What other groups already exist that can address community needs? What alternatives exist that can help people in crisis? How can we consider services that truly help people who are hoping to recover from trauma to be contributing members of society?

If you’d like to see a replay of this conversation, you can check it out here.

Thanks for reading. If you’d like to connect over a quick discovery call, please grab a spot on my calendar.