One of my goals this year has been to be booked out at least three months in advance, and now, for the first time in a long time, I’ve exceeded that.
Maybe it is true what they say about how, once you make more room for life away from your business, things start really working. Because here I am without a post on Instagram in—forever.
Not even a story update or a good morning from the garden.
With three weeks OOO up ahead. To, ya know, get married.
And ur girl is booked and busy in the best way.
With just enough time to squeeze in one Brand Brushstrokes that was an immediate “Oh hell yeah” before transforming myself into a married woman.
Bippity boppity woooooooo
Business is going so well that I actually can’t launch Brand Brushstrokes after all because, as soon as I finished outlining the launch email sequence, a lead hit my email—and then another, and another.
And while there is something to be said for having really great offers + services that make people want to refer and rebook with me, it’s more than that.
Because most of the people who have been booking right now aren’t seeing my content at all.
They are being referred to me by someone else, going to my website, and inquiring (+/or just signing up for a Studio Session on the spot and entering the world of Cedar June that way).
The trust that comes from a referral—combined with clear offers and a brand that gives you a clear idea of what it’s like to work 1:1 with a real person—has given me the freedom to book my design calendar through the end of the year.
Business is, in fact, better than ever, despite this being the busiest season of life thus far (did I mention we are less than four weeks away from my wedding? AHHH! 😵💫) and despite me not doing a damn thing for marketing outside of this weekly newsletter.
And, of course, this is just this season.
And if I had more time, god knows I have content ideas I’d be making right now.
But in the meantime, I’ve hit the sweet spot where my brand has earned me the right to coast a little.
I’ve built a brand that does double duty—it works for me, and it feels like me—which now means that people get to trust me before interacting with me at all.
If you ask me, that’s kinda the dream: launching and creating content because you want to and not because you have to. And trust me—I really want to launch Brand Brushstrokes!
But you can join the waitlist to be the first to know about the three spots that open up to the waitlist on 11/30.
In the meantime, I’ve still got a little more to talk about on the brand identity front.
Questionably the most important part of your brand’s identity.
You.
And, more importantly, how much of you shows up in your brand.
How to create a brand that feels personal for your business while still, ya know, being professional.
There is a difference between having a personal brand and having a personality-packed, personified brand for your business.
Can you have a brand that feels professional and polished but still feels like you? That’s the big question here.
My POV is yes, because there is a difference between having a personal brand and having a brand for your business that feels like you.
You get to pick and choose what to include.
Your brand can feel like you and still be about the service you provide and the problem you solve.
AI only exacerbates this need because, yeah, you could vibe-code yourself a brand identity pretty easily, but it is still not going to look or feel like you. That takes imagination, vision, and creative direction.
The difference between having a personal brand and having a brand for your business that feels like you.
A lot of brands I work with have the same concern in common: they want their brand to feel like them, but they also want it to be clear that they are not an influencer. Even if their name is quite literally the name of their brand, their brand is still about their service—their business.
Which leaves you to question: How do you build an identity around both who you are and how your brand is positioned?
Ignoring what everyone was saying during the era of “build a brand to attract your niche” and developing a process that helps you create a brand that feels like you and communicates your brand positioning was the best thing I ever did for my clients and for me.
Because, yes, it makes showing up easier, but the real end game is peacing the eff out and your brand still having its best quarter in the meantime.
I won’t lie: it takes work to get there. Hell, it has taken me years. But it all starts and ends with how well your brand can connect with someone through a screen.
Here are three tips for bringing more of YOU into your brand.
- If something you enjoy personally - metaphorically fits into your brands messaging, it is a great thing to include in your branding. For example. I love a good road trip, and adventure, hiking, and going off the grid - all of these things work really well into metaphors I have for branding so that imagery makes its way into my brand identity - and more specifically some of my strategy based offerings.
- If something is part of your story - and skill set, it should be part of your brand identity. For example, I talk about my background in Fine Arts in my brand identity and illustration offer Brand Brushstrokes.
- Trust that you are the common thread - Fine arts and road trips don’t really have a lot to do with each other. I also have a lot of metaphors about home renovation since we’ve been renovating our house for the last few years. At the end of the day - you the person are still the common thread, and these are things that help you explain and create context around what you do + create touch points for people to connect to you.
