Today I’m proud to introduce our BWI Workshop video! It’s our 2 minute way of conveying what the workshop is all about.

If you are thinking about coming to the New York or Seattle workshops and want to talk to me personally about whether it is a good fit for you, please email me at hello@businesswithintention.com.

We can arrange time to chat over the phone about the workshop in more detail to make sure it’s right for you and your business.

Special Thanks to Dan Hale, Michael Lippert, and Derek Cox for making this video! (I can’t recommend them enough.)

Thanks to the lovely Clara, our event manager/planner/hostess with the mostess, we have photos from our DC workshop on May 12th!

We also added some of our DC workshoppers to our Alumni page as well.

These lovely ladies (and Kyle!) were fantastic to work with. So much success is coming their way. I can feel it.

Interested in coming to our next two workshops? Register for New York and Seattle now while early registration discounts still apply.

As I am finding the balance of Business with Intention and MML, I realize there is a large overlap of readers who want intentional life and business advice. To make sure that I address both concepts, I am starting a new email series called I Wish I Knew Wednesday which will share something that I wish I knew back when I was starting Jess LC, or what I wish I knew just last week.

This email series technically falls under the Business with Intention umbrella, but I will also post the topic on Tuesdays on MML so that those interested in getting the emails and seeing the content have a chance to sign up before the email goes out the following day.

Tomorrow’s topic is How to Find Manufacturers. This is something I’ve been working on for a few years now and I’ve accomplished in several different ways.

If you’d like to get the email, simply sign up by clicking on the image below. This email list is also where I announce upcoming Workshops and other BWI updates.

(If you have signed up for the BWI newsletter, you will automatically get this series.)

Thinking about coming to our DC workshop? Sign up by Wednesday to join us!

(It’s also the last chance to grab the workshop introductory rate.)

At long last Clara and I are excited to unveil our next two workshop destinations after DC next week: New York and Seattle!

Each one has a limited time early registration discount, so hop on over and register soon.

New to the workshop? Here’s what our Chicago ladies are saying about it.

It’s time to reveal a photo recap of Chicago!

Here is a quick glimpse of our Chicago workshop taken by Kim Vargo of YellowBrickHome (she’s such a sweet person and wonderful photographer).

I had such a wonderful time getting to know these amazing women entrepreneurs. Below is a smattering of feedback from the workshop participants.

I loved meeting other small business owners and being able to share our thoughts and ideas with them. I loved feeling reassured that you have others to support you. I also loved being able to get clarity on the vision of my business. It was really helpful to write everything out and I think it will make it much easier to stick to. I’m going to hang it right next to my computer, so I’m reminded everyday that there is a bigger picture.

- Amanda Genther, Amanda Genther Design

My favorite aspect of the workshop was  the exercise to ensure that my vision of my personal career matches the vision of my business. It was an interesting exercise to write down my career vision, then write down the business vision, and measure them up to each other.  The parts that didn’t match may not come to fruition, and I’d end up unhappy doing work I didn’t necessarily like.  Even though i may not love 100% of my daily tasks in this new business venture, the overarching visions should be parallel. 

- Renee Davis, Bell & King Eyewear

I really enjoyed connecting with other positive, motivated individuals and getting personalized feedback on my business vision, struggles, and plans for the future.

- Lisa Butler, Elembee Creative

I loved that the workshop allowed me to carve out time and space to really think about my business.  I was able to solidify my purpose and vision, figure out how I want to structure my days, and brainstorm new ideas and ways to grow my business.  It was a fun, supportive, and low-pressure environment with lots of discussion and some time set aside for individual journaling.  Best of all, Jess encouraged each of us to collaborate with at least two other attendees after the day concluded… and I’m already on the way to doing just that!

- Melissa Tydell, Melrose Street Custom Content

I enjoyed the group aspect of the workshop. Being surrounded by like-minded creatives was so inspiring; it was amazing to see the support for each other and watch the ideas grow! The group discussions were thought provoking, and I was able to think about my product and business model as a whole. I had some ideas going into the workshop, but leaving, I was thrilled to get started! 

- Kim Vargo, Yellow Brick Home

The Business With Intention workshop was a great opportunity to take a step back from the day-to-day responsibilities of starting a small business and think intentionally about what I want my company to become. It was great to learn from Jess’ experience and to connect with other likeminded ladies who are driven by similar goals. I left feeling incredibly inspired!

- Alyssa VandeLeest, Prosper Public Relations

You can find more thoughts on the workshop on our Workshop Alumni Page as it grows and evolves with each new group.

I cannot thank everyone enough for their support with this endeavor. And most of all, I would like to thank Clara, my partner in crime and event planner for all of her help and support along the way. She’s a pro as well as a wonderful friend.

Next up: our upcoming workshop locations!

Last week I had two fantastic consulting calls. One of which, is a great example of how thinking small can lead to huge leaps forward in creativity, uniqueness, and purpose.

On Friday, I worked with Flavia, a food blogger with a site called, Flavia’s Flavors. Below, she shares how our consultation helped her narrow in and think “smaller” than the food blogging community at large, to reveal her true purpose and much smaller niche of Italian food blogging. I’m so excited to see her take her blog in this new direction and thank her for what has become, an incredibly kind testimonial along the way.

It was a joy to work with her and I’m so thankful I got to help her find her true purpose with food blogging.

Overall, the takeaway here is to really think smaller in terms of your industry and your place in it in order to reach a greater audience and have a deeper impact.

Flavia’s Revelations

by Flavia S.

For a while now, I’ve been feeling ambivalent about my blog and blogging in general. I love having my own website where I can share recipes, photographs and stories with you, but I’ve been feeling “lost in the shuffle” of the blogging world. I feel like I’m struggling more often with providing you with consistently good content. There have been days where I didn’t even want to look at my blog or even acknowledge its existence. I’ve fallen into the trap of putting an unreasonable amount of pressure on myself based on what I see other bloggers doing, rather than focusing on what I want to be doing with my blog.

So, last week, I made the decision to get a little help and guidance from a new friend. I invested in some consulting from Jessica Constable of Jess LC. I have been following Jess on Twitter and reading her blog for almost a year and I admire her philosophy of leading both your life and your business with intention. It has been a pleasure getting to know her through our conversations on Twitter and on our respective blogs. Her blog posts are always thoughtfully written and encouraging. This recent post of hers was the catalyst for me to make the decision to get her insight on why I’m feeling “stuck” with my blog. I knew she was the right person to give me the guidance I needed. Speaking with Jess one-on-one was one of the best investments I made for myself and my blog. We focused our discussion on honing in on the purpose of my blog, looked at what’s working and what needs tweaking, and from there we were able to zero in on why I’ve been feeling challenged with blogging.

I can’t believe how much I learned in an hour and a half. I took 4 full pages of notes! Jess gave me ideas for blog posts and told me that it’s OK to give myself permission to abandon ideas for my blog that I don’t think would work. I also discovered that the bulk of my writing talent lies in teaching and explaining rather than story-telling {hence the constant struggle to write a good story for every post}. She even came up with a tag line for my blog {something I’ve always wanted but could never figure out}!

The biggest realization I came to is that I haven’t been bringing you the content that I’ve always wanted to bring you because I’ve been stuck in the keeping-up-with-other-bloggers trap for so long. Now that I’ve been freed from that cage, I’m very excited to tell you that going forward, Flavia’s Flavors will be focusing on Italian food and recipes. I used to think that getting specific with a blog theme would be limiting, and maybe for some people it is. For me, “niching down” is liberating. To know that from now on, I’ll be sharing the food and recipes that I know and love the most has me very excited. You may still see a smattering of American recipes, but as my new tag line says, Flavia’s Flavors will be bringing you “a taste of Italy in your American kitchen” from here on out.

(And in other news… there are just two days left to sign up for the Chicago Business with Intention workshop.)

As we are getting ready for the Chicago workshop next week, Clara and I would like to let everyone know that registration for Chicago ends April 25th.

We are almost full right now, but there are still a few spots left!

As we roll into April, I’m getting the word out about the upcoming Chicago and DC Business with Intention Workshops. I am excited to say that though the workshops are filling up, there is still room in both cities to attend!

This week I’m starting a three-part email series called Three Things I Wish I Knew. As you may know, I started my business from scratch when I was fifteen without a clue, and have “trialed and errored” my way to success. Throughout the thirteen years I’ve been doing this I have learned a lot about what works and what is a waste of time and money. With that in mind, I’ll be sharing three of the biggest things I wish I knew, ten years ago and last month, in the series.

In a sense, I will be downloading my business brain and heart into the day long workshop so people can find profit and meaning in their businesses much quicker than I did.

This email series will do two things: it will give you a flavor of the actual workshop content and why you might like to come, and also help your business right now.

The emails will be sent out on this Thursday, next Monday, and next Wednesday.

The First Thing I Wish I Knew will be: How (and when) to delegate and take on help for your business.

Sign up for the Three Things I wish I Knew email series.

Also…

If you or anyone you know might be a good fit for the workshop but aren’t sure if it’s a great fit for you, I’d be happy to jump on a call with you and discuss one-on-one whether the workshop would be beneficial.

To do so, please email me at hello(at)businesswithintention.com and let me know about your business and your phone number. I’ll follow up with a quick phone call this week!

While we are on the topic of branding, I think it’s easiest to learn how to identify good branding by example. And one of my one-on-one consulting clients, Kathryn, has the perfect company to demonstrate the difference between blah and beautiful branding.

When I first met Kathryn and her company, Protect Your Pumps, she had a killer business idea to help women keep their shoes in mint condition by selling non-stick transparent adhesive to protect the soles of high heel shoes. To me, it was like she had started a new frontier in beauty and accessories and had the chance to be the next Sara Blakely.

However, despite her amazing idea, one major component was holding her back from success in sales and wholesale accounts:

Her branding at the time lacked sophistication and a unique personality. 

So while we worked together and I shared my insights on her branding, I suggested she reach out to the incredible Claudia Smith of Fig. 2 Design Studio. I knew that Kathryn herself didn’t need to be the world’s best graphic designer or brand specialist; she just needed to be connected to someone who is talented in those areas.

Luckily, Claudia and Kathryn hit it off and came up with a stunning look for Protect Your Pumps.

Below you can see branding elements before the makeover.

Kathryn’s take on the original branding

When I first started my business I thought all you really needed to make it work was a cool product. Since I knew my product was amazing, I was convinced everything was golden! I found someone overseas to make a website for me quickly and inexpensively.

The site again wasn’t that aesthetically pleasing, but again I figured people would be so in love with the product that wouldn’t matter. Before I under went the re-brand of my company, the company was getting great press write ups and pretty good traffic, however the conversion was not as expected. I felt stuck at this point and consulted with Jess, who suggested re-branding. 

And here is the new Protect Your Pumps look, re-branded.

Kathryn’s take on the new branding

After my eyes were open to the true importance of branding, I took a serious look at the branding of other companies where my target customer shops and accepted the reality my current look was not up to par.

I worked with a very talented graphic and web designer, who Jess put me in contact with to come up with a new logo, packaging, and web site. The new branding has a more clean, feminine and professional feel to it. People have responded positively to the branding and I’ve seen an increase in conversion on the website.  

As you can see, the transformation is overwhelming. As Kathryn shares,

I now understand that people will make a judgement about your company within a matter of seconds, which is why its so important to put your best foot forward.