Sincerely, Jackie

Folks, I am ready to share my little secret, the project that has been consuming every moment of my life lately, and the one thing that feels so true to my purpose, that I cannot even begin to explain it.

Back in February, I got a phone call from Jess Lively. It was out of the blue, and I sat, shocked, for quite some time after we chatted. She wanted to work with me. Somebody I have admired reached out to me, to work with me. It kind of knocked my feet out, I was so floored. Little did I know, but that conversation would change my life. It put into motion a new business purpose, new design projects,  new confidence, and a handful of new friendships.

In March, I attended Jess's Business and Life With Intention Workshops, where my future continued to take shape. I had been struggling with Believe Notes for some time, and I was allowing myself to make excuses for holding back the business because I felt like the business wasn't truly representing me and what I had to offer. During Jess's workshop, all of the participants were asked to write down the things that come naturally to them, and to think about how those things help people. I jotted down words like "talking, connecting, designing, simple, clean, quality, cherish, believing in yourself, vulnerability, let it be". As I wrote, I was getting more into the real meaning of who I am, and I was getting farther away from what I had set Believe Notes up to be. We went around the group and shared what we wrote, eliciting strategic thinking and feedback. When it was my turn, I was floundering a bit in connecting Believe Notes to my purpose. Then, Elizabeth interrupted and said "Jackie, you are so sincere in who you are, and I just don't think 'Believe Notes' is you".

Jess had kept saying that the things in your business should feel like a warm cozy sweater, so when Elizabeth said "what about 'Sincerely, Jackie'?", I was suddenly transported to a comfy spot in front of a fireplace, wearing my favorite sweater and sipping hot tea, I knew I had my new business name and purpose.

So, with that, the wait is finally over. I am so thrilled and excited to announce that, coming as soon as possible, Sincerely, Jackie will be my new name.

I love designing charmingly simple, yet perfectly sophisticated wedding invitations. I love getting to know my clients and becoming a part of their life - from weddings, to new homes and births. I love having the opportunity to do what I love and love what I do, and I am so excited to able to bring more of what I love into my business.

Over the next few weeks, you will notice new branding, a new blog & shop title, and some other small updates. As I continue to roll out Sincerely, Jackie, I will be sure to share what is happening and if there are any changes that you need to know about. I invite you to join me in my journey and I'd love to hear what you think of the new business direction!

March 2013 Recap - Rebranding, Finding Purpose, and Custom Projects

Every time I get together with friends or family, they always ask "what's new", or "how's the business", and I always give the same answer "nothing new, business is good". But the truth is, there's a lot new, I just don't know where to start, and, since the questions are probably more courtesy than curiosity, I don't want to bore anybody with a long-winged answer about what's been going on with the business.

This month alone has been huge, so I thought I would do a recap, including things I already shared on the blog, and some of the things that have happened behind the scenes.

March started off with a bang, when I attended Jess Lively's Business and Life With Intention workshops up in Boston, MA. I met a group of amazing ladies and they encouraged me to take the next steps that my business truly needed. With their guidance and support, I decided to bring a more focused purpose to my business, change my business name, and start a newsletter. (ps - if you want to hear more about the business name and purpose, sign up for the newsletter). I've also been working with Jess on one heck of an awesome project, and I cannot wait to share the fruits of our labor in April.

With all of the new things going on, and adding a rebranding to my plate, my free time has dwindled to less than nothing. I have learned the beauty of outsourcing, and I have not been disappointed. My free time suddenly became very valuable, and hiring people to help me do the things I needed to do, but didn't have time to do, has been so nerve wrecking and rewarding. I didn't realize how much of a control freak I was until I decided to start letting go, but boy, I am so glad I did. I hired one of my most favorite designers (and friend) to create my new logo, and I cried when I first saw it. Guys, I just cannot wait to share it with you! I'm also going to be hiring somebody to rebuild/update my new website - I build the Believe Notes website myself, and I just don't have to time to fiddle with it. I'm also starting to think about hiring an intern, assistant, or marketing specialist to help free up some of my time for designing while still growing and marketing my business. (a formal announcement hasn't been made yet, but if you or somebody else you know is interested in joining me, please let me know!)

One of the biggest things for my new business is growing my portfolio. I want to offer brides the most stunning custom invitations ever, so I took a leap of faith and decided to waive my custom design fee in order to attract more brides. So far I have had mixed results, lots and lots of inquiries, but only a few bookings. The offer is still standing, so please continue to take advantage of it an spread the word.

Ironically enough, my #1 blog post this month was my curly hair guide. The post has gotten more than 10x my average views and was pinned over 200 times. I should have known that there were a ton of you curly girls out there, just waiting for the best tips ever - trust me, I've been there! I'm contemplating a monthly post dedicated to curly hair. Would you be interested in reading it?

Behind the scenes, my home is a wreck, my fridge is empty, and my eyeballs are so dry (from the constant computer screen exposure) that I started leaving eye drops next to all my hand lotions.

Speaking of outsourcing, my husband and I have decided it might be time to hire a cleaning service. Between my full-time job, business, and graduate school, and all of his overtime, we acknowledge that we just cannot keep up with daily maintenance. I'm a cheap chick at heart, so we've been waiting to see a groupon for a cleaning service.

But even thought our dining room table is covered in samples and my office has been taken over by orders and packaging supplies, I think it's all kind of great, because it means I am growing, growing, growing. Using social media efficiently has helped cut down a lot of my time during the day, but I think that once I add a few extra pairs of hands, I'll start to be able to breathe again.

Here are some of my personal highlights from March:

1- Finding my business purpose
2- Establishing a relationship with amazing specialty printers
3- Seeing my work in print in the latest issue of WellWed Hamptons magazine
4- Finishing up an amazing project with Jess Lively
5- Doing some logo work for a few local, talented photographers

So there you have it, my March recap. It's no wonder I sprouted my second grey hair! Thank you everybody for your continued support in my business and blog, if there's ever anything you want me to talk about or share, please let me know, as I want to give you as much value as possible - and, as always, I love comments, so please leave one if you're feeling the urge.