As an introvert, networking events have always been the stuff of nightmares for me. I'm terrible with remembering the names of people I just met because I'm way too worried about having something to talk about next and—wait—is there something in my teeth? I've always hated the small talk and business jargon, and to be perfectly honest approaching random people just stresses me out.

Pushy sales tactics and a heap of business cards from momentary encounters put a bad taste in my mouth, not to mention the multitude of meaningless LinkedIn requests afterward that no one ever follows up. I never thought I'd be good at networking, and according to my understanding of what “networking” was, I didn't want to be.

I'm so pleased to finally share my branding and website work for Fertilust! Between its encouraging and playful feel to all of the symbolic depth behind this beautiful brand, it's one I can't wait to pull back the curtain on. So without further ado, I give you the Fertilust brand!

When folks sign up for my branding newsletter, the first thing I ask is “what are you struggling with in your brand?” When I first created my newsletter, I expected the answers to be all over the place and while there's been a decent variety, over time I've noticed a trend.

Consistency is tough for all of us

It seems like so many of you struggle with being consistent in your brands. I totally get it. Consistency is a complex, relentless beast.

You've got all these ideas, but you don't know where to start. There are so many responsibilities, distractions, and “shoulds” pulling at you every second of every day. Sometimes you just can't find your groove. And on top of all that, you can't help nitpicking at your own brand as it starts to feel lackluster and stale.

So how in the heck are you supposed to be consistent with the weight of all this dragging you down? I wish I could tell you there's some magic formula, and while I can provide a guide I can't promise you it will be easy. But sometimes a shot of honesty and insight is just what you need to get your head right and find your focus.

So with that in mind, these are the steps that help me be more consistent. I hope they can do the same for you!

Last week I had the pleasure of joining Lauren of Elle & Company to chat about the importance of brand guidelines (you can tune into the webinar replay if you missed us live), and had an absolute blast! Anywho, to kick off the conversation Lauren asked me a few questions, the last of which was “what's one thing most people don't know about you?”

My answer for that, friends, was that I absolutely love hot yoga. This is something that people who don't know me personally might not be aware of, but the pursuit of wellness is a big deal in my world. The folks tuning into the webinar mentioned they really liked hearing about my yoga journey, so I thought I'd take some time here to dig in deeper.

I dabbled in yoga a few years back, but didn't seriously commit to my practice until around the time that I started my business. The studio I now belong to in West Chester specializes in Ghosh and Bikram hatha yoga (it's around 100 degrees in these classes), and I cannot get enough! Today I'm actually wrapping up the studio's February challenge of 30 practices in 28 days, and though it's been a huge commitment I'm feeling stronger than ever!

As I reflect on the impact consistently practicing yoga has had on me (beyond physical strength) in the last year, I realize it's taught me aton about myself and balancing my work with life. Today I'm excited to share these insights with you in the hopes they'll bring new perspective to your own journey in life and business.

I'm so excited to share what I've been working so hard on over the last couple months... my first eCourse! That's right—in the next couple months I'll be releasing my very own course teaching creative folks how to harness Adobe Illustrator for their brand needs. It's going to be called... wait for it... Illustrator Essentials!

I'm so excited to finally share the logo and brand identity I created for Sattwa Chai, an heirloom microbrewed chai brand! Since my work with my friends at Function Coffee Labs, I'd been absolutely itching to get back into the hospitality space and work on some more food and beverage branding. This new branding partnership blossomed just in time!

Note: It's been my privilege to deliver fresh brand insights to you each week for over a year. However, my recent holiday hiatus has fostered some new clarity for my priorities and goals for 2017. These require lots of time and focus. As a result, I'll be scaling my blogging efforts back to a couple times each month.

During this time, I encourage you to revisit my archive of posts since your 2017 self may need some reminders and discover new nuggets of wisdom you missed the first time around. I'm excited to continue bringing you new content this year and can't wait to see what this year holds for all of us!

Looking Back at 2016

Seeing all the recaps of 2016 from my favorite brands and talented friends, I've been inspired to do one of my own. Plus, as my amazing friend and accountability partner Alicja Colon pointed out to me, this will give me a snapshot of my first year (and the years that follow) to look back on as my business grows and evolves.

So without further ado, I give you my review of 2016!

The holidays should be a time of loving, giving, and soaking in lots of quality time with the ones that matter most. Many of us (myself included) get so wrapped up in our own agendas and bottom lines that we forget—we forget the real reason for the season.

My first year in business has been such an amazing whirlwind and sharing weekly branding insights has introduced me to such an amazing community of passionate small business owners and entrepreneurs. However, as Christmas approaches I'm recognizing that I need some time to rest, recharge, and dedicate to loving on my dear ones. So in light of this holiday season, I've decided to take my own advice, slow down, and unplug for the rest of the year.

Over the last year I've received quite a few inquiries from people looking for “just a logo.” It seems like a reasonable enough request, right? To some designers it absolutely is, and while I used to work this way at my former jobs, I now turn these projects away. I may be missing out on some business, but it's in service of a greater goal and vision for how I want to work with my clients.

So why don't I offer a logo-only package?