Braid: One Year Later

It seems like just yesterday I was posting my one year recap of freelancing for myself. This past year has gone by at lightning speed and the amount of growth I've been through in just 365 days leaves me like a teenage boy with a ravenous appetite for more, in spite of my somewhat achy bones.

Over the past year my job description has evolved in a way that it became tricky to identify exactly what it is I do for a living. Tara and I started our business knowing that we wanted to specialize. We both come from an advertising background working with credit unions - so we thought we might go in that direction (doesn't that sound so ... out of place?). I told my sister that I had grown to love working with other artistpreneurs like photographers, bloggers, jewelry designers, crafters and designers - that I wanted to find a way to service them too. I was surprised that as my business grew the creative clients I love working with matured to meet my more sophisticated offering.

My sister quickly saw that we make a real difference when working with creative entrepreneurs - that it felt good and it felt right. She fell in love with you guys too. Do artists have as much money as credit unions? No. Would we find a way to make it work? Yes. We decided if we couldn't do it our way it wasn't worth doing.

So here's what I do:

1. Graphic design. I create brand identities (logos, stationery, print collateral and sometimes websites). I think some people are confused by the fact that Braid doesn't have a portfolio. That's intentional. While the work we create solves problems and alleviates pain for the individuals we serve one-on-one the Braid site is a resource for all creative entrepreneurs - regardless of their level of engagement with us. I don't want the message that your brand is more than just a logo to be clouded by the identity I've designed for someone who is not you. You can see what my design work looks like here.

2. Brand Story & Positioning. If my focus is on the graphic design then Tara's is on writing an authentic brand story and positioning statement that aligns what our client does and for whom with their true voice and vision. I think it's the single most powerful thing we offer.

3. Business Visioning. I found that you can't really separate the person from the brand from the business. So when we go through our method to uncover our customer's brand we also uncover a business model at the same time.

4. Process Defining. So along with branding, positioning and visioning we also help our clients with more intangible products (like consulting, for example) define and package their own method and expertise in a way that gets them hired.

5. Writing. I've become a writer. I spend the bulk of my days writing. I write blog posts here at J&K. I write blog posts at Braid. I write letters for creative entrepreneurs (if you want on that mailing list sign up on the sidebar either here at J&K or over at Braid). I write emails and love notes and lists.





And more recently I started writing an ECourse. 

I've always been all about sharing my secrets through my Freelance Matters series and wanted to take that philosophy of transparency and sharing over to Braid. So over there we share branding exercises and the way other creative entrepreneurs are carving a living out of what they love. We don't have anyone sponsoring this content so we only get paid when people hire us to develop their brand, uncover and craft their story and help them get clear on what they do and for who. But not everyone can afford us.

With that, I wanted to provide something at an affordable price point ($75) for people who need our help but can't afford a one-on-one engagement with us. So over the past 6 months Tara and myself (with HUGE help from Emily at Indie Shopography) wrote, designed and developed an ECourse offering.

Braid ECourse: Shape Up Your Content from Braid Creative on Vimeo.

Our first ECourse is called Shape Up Your Content: Tame Your Ideas and Tell People How to Buy You. I'm really proud of it. It's four lessons full of visuals, downloadable PDF worksheets and videos to help walk you through a few exercises. If you feel like you don't have your shit together or are all over the place with your ideas this course is for you. If you feel like you don't know how to clearly say what you do and for who then this course is for you. If have trouble getting people to actually hire you for your creative services then this course is for you. Read more about it here. If you think this ECourse will help you meet your needs then use this code to take it for $50: BRAIDFRIENDSEPT2012.

So this is what I do. Thanks for your support over the past two years. I couldn't have done it without you all.