You can absolutely choose who you want to target, speak to them directly through your brand, and build a business that gives you the independence to live the life you want.

It breaks my heart when business owners come to me with a newly launched website asking for branding help. 🥲 Why? Because the odds are that we’ll need to redo the website from scratch. Building a website without developing a proper brand strategy and brand design first is like buying all the furniture for a home before knowing what home you’re moving into. Sometimes, the furniture just doesn’t fit (sorry new couch 🛋).

I don’t know if it’s superstition or the law of attraction, but since launching this branding studio there’s a trend that happens at least once a year. We tend to book branding projects with similar design themes back-to-back.

It's no secret I love playing with color. And I also understand choosing brand colors can be overwhelming because there are so many color combinations. This blog post makes the color-picking process simple. 🌈

“How do I grow my brand?” is a question I get asked during many brand consultations. So I decided to write down my typical response in the hopes it helps you grow a successful brand that gives you the life you want.

If you had to take a guess, what do you think is the number one question I get asked as a brand consultant and brand mentor? ... My most received question, and usually the first question I’m asked is: “How do I talk about my own brand? Help! I have no idea how to describe my business.” Who can relate? 🙋🏾‍♀️ I’ll admit it, I’ve been there, too. Knowing your brand in and out leads to confidence in every business decision you make. 

Whenever I have designer’s block, a good journey down TV lane gives me everything I need to get back at it. So, today, I’m taking 3 recent shows I’ve been watching and breaking down their aesthetic into a color palette. Because I really meant it when I said TV inspires my brand design.

As we get closer to the new year, it’s time to take a breather and evaluate your blooming brand. Is it strong and growing or could it use a little love?

As I continue this wild solopreneur path, there’s one business-building concept I keep happily stumbling upon meeting and talking to people is your best marketing tactic.

Between 2017 and 2022, I split my time between RAW Made and my passion project, RAW Storytelling. If I’m being honest, RAW Storytelling took over my life—in a good way—during those 5 years. What started as an experiment meant to last a few months turned into a monthly live event with hundreds of attendees, a companion podcast, and me teaching storytelling workshops.

The concept of branding can be overwhelming. Hell, breathing can be overwhelming when you're trying to get your business off the ground. Promoting yourself, finding clients, actually offering your service, getting paid—all these little things add up. So when you keep hearing from clients, friends, family, or acquaintances: "You should work on your brand." More “work” is the last thing you want to do. You want to sleep and a night of binge-watching Netflix with a bowl of popcorn and a tub of ice cream. But mostly sleep. 

Many times you’ll hear me say, “Put yourself out there.” Which, I know, is intentionally vague. Each one of us has different levels of comfort when it comes to what we share about ourselves and our business. And that’s perfectly normal. However, I encourage you to put in the work to find out what your boundaries are and how you can maximize your self-marketing skills.

This September 4th will mark RAW Made’s 8th year in business. Actually, September 4th is an honorary date I chose to mark the brandversary because this wild person didn't think to write down the official date when I launched. And, so, this marks my first lesson learned since becoming a small business owner:

One of the most common causes of business death is resistance to change. Think about how much technology has changed in the past 10 years. Like technology, your customers, ambitions, passions, and capabilities have changed and grown over time.

Hustle. Such a complicated little word. The first thing I did when I sat down to write this blog post was google the definition of hustle. I've always had an adverse reaction to the word, even though I use it all the time. 🤪

I recently took a personality test that said, among other things, that I like rules and order. Which, is true, but I’m not sure if it’s a blessing or a curse. Probably it’s a little bit of both. The test results came at the precise moment when I was debating what to do with RAW Made’s Instagram account. As a creature of habit—and apparently rules—I was debating if I was being too stringent with my Instagram posting structure and the grid I had locked myself into.

Let us re-introduce you to RAW Made’s first brand naming and brand design project. Meet Dogs of Fun!

What’s the point of being self-employed when you don’t love the clients that hire you? Running a business is no joke. It’s exhilarating and fulfilling with many ups and a few downs here and there. Hard work, late nights, and sacrifices are all part of the deal. It might sound cliché but life is too short to not love what you do every day. One of the mantras we repeat at RAW Made is live your passion. And, a big part of living your passion and loving what you do is making sure your talent is nurturing a community you believe in.

I recently faced one of my biggest fears. My fear of business cards. And I don’t mean other people’s business cards. Those I’m completely okay with secretly judging. 😈 My fear stems from believing that having business cards printed will jinx by business and forever doom it to the cemetery of failed small businesses. 

It’s the start of a brand new year! While everyone else is rushing to the nearest gym to get a start on their New Year’s resolutions, why don’t you take the time to reflect on what you did for your brand in the past year and think about what you could do better this year?