Our philosophy

I came to marketing through writing, teaching, and an interest in why people decide to build something of their own. Along the way, I’ve worked with people who were just getting started and people who had spent years learning their business. The part that draws me in is getting to understand what they care about, and helping them communicate it.

You know your business in a way I never will. You’ve put time into learning the work. You’ve made decisions, taken chances, and figured things out as you went. I want to hear about those experiences. They have a lot to do with how we should approach your marketing.

Finding the story#

When I was 18, I moved into a van and drove across the country looking for an idea for a book. I wanted to find a story worth telling. That curiosity is still a big part of how I work, even if the questions look a little different now.

What made you want to start this business? What do you wish people understood about your work? Where do you want to take it?

I like these conversations because there is so much to learn from someone who cares about what they do. A detail you barely think about might be the thing that helps a customer understand why your work matters. You might explain something to me in a conversation that says more than anything currently on your website.

That’s where I want to start. We can work together to find the words, choose the images, and build the things that help you share that story with other people.

It should still sound like you#

It’s easy to spend enough time looking at other businesses that you start to lose track of what you wanted to say. You see how someone else presents their work, and wonder whether you should be doing the same thing.

There’s plenty we can learn from other people. But I want you to feel comfortable sending someone to your website. I want you to read the words and think, yes, that’s what I’ve been trying to explain.

To me, authenticity means being honest about what you care about and what you can offer. It means letting your experience and personality show up in the work. You don’t need to have everything figured out to tell people where you are and what you’re working toward.

And if something I write doesn’t sound like you, I want you to tell me. You should have a say in how your business is represented. Working through that together is part of the job.

Making it fit your life and your business#

You can have a lot of good ideas and very little time to act on them. You’re already doing the work, answering questions, managing relationships, and trying to keep the business running. Adding more marketing tasks to that list takes time from somewhere.

Alignment means being honest about what you want and what you can give. We need to talk about your ambitions, but also about your week. How much time do you have? What do you enjoy doing? What keeps getting put off because you simply don’t have room for it?

Maybe a regular newsletter makes sense. Maybe the first step is fixing the website so people can understand your services and get in touch. Maybe you need someone to help you decide which of your ideas to pursue first.

Those are the conversations that excite me. We get to look at the business you have, talk about the one you want to build, and decide what to do next. Then we can get to work on something you actually have the time and support to use.