When she first started her business, Chelsea was just a college senior looking for a fun, money-making hobby. In the years that followed, her little Etsy shop evolved into a custom website design business and booming template shop, all of which she runs while working full-time corporate job. In all of her work – custom Squarespace design, template creation, and even her courses – Chelsea maintains her quirky, one-of-a-kind brand and encourages her clients to do the same. She’s all about creating a business that looks and feels *exactly* right and being unapologetic with your brand. In this episode of the Intentional Creative Podcast, Chelsea and I chat about how she found her unique selling point, niched down her offerings, and created a bustling passive income stream – all without sacrificing the brand that makes her special.
I use Canva for *tons* of things in my business, but there’s one thing I won’t use it for: hosting my ‘link in bio’ page. While I still create the *design* in Canva, I always prefer to host these pages on my own website. Not only does it drive more traffic to my URL, but it also opens the door for *tons* of tracking capabilities. (You know I love data!) Here’s why you shouldn’t use Canva or Linktree for your ‘link in bio’ page *and* how to set up an alternative on your own site.
Fellow small business owners, you know the feeling. In the early days, you take on every client that comes your way, say “yes” to projects that don’t excite you, and take on way more than you can handle. It’s a rite of passage that seemingly every creative entrepreneur goes through, myself included. After a couple years, I got so burnt out on client work that I gave it up altogether.
Claire happened upon her first client in a coffee shop, and that single client became her top referral source to this day. Since then, Claire has established herself as a true expert in the web design space, and Blooming Design Co. has proven itself to be a reliable, sustainable business. Listen to us chat about starting a web design business, networking, and landing your first client in this week’s episode of the Intentional Creative Podcast.
When I first started my business, I really struggled to tick off all my to-do list items throughout the week. I’d end up moving tasks to the next week, then the next, and then letting them fall off the list altogether. In the past few years, though, I’ve developed a system that keeps me productive and eliminates the stress of an ever-growing to-do list.