GrapeSeed Designs

09/23/2023

11/04/2021

ICYMI I've been working on a bit of a rebrand for Aville Cowork, my community supporting solopreneurs in growing a business aligned with their authentic values.

We are now aligning that community with the foundations and insights of GrapeSeed Designs, bringing even better resources to our full community.

GrapeSeed Designs will still be around to service your branding and marketing needs, but all our best tools, tips, and tricks will be shared under the GrapeSeed Collective umbrella. Check out the new Facebook and Instagram to stay in the loop!

We're excited to officially launch the new brand, merging Aville Cowork and GrapeSeed Designs! We can now bring more tools and resources for solopreneurs and small businesses together under one roof.

03/02/2021

I have a confession to make, although I'm sure you've already noticed.

I have 100% fallen out of practice posting here regularly. A big part of that is focusing all my extra energy launching an official membership over at Aville Cowork, and providing valuable content to my newsletter list.

So I want to extend an invitation: If you're still interested in hearing from me on a regular basis, I'd love for you to join the newsletter list!

I'll be back to regular posting here again soon, but I don't know exactly when.

But on the newsletter list, you can be sure to hear from me every single week. We've been chatting about things like:
✨ authenticity in marketing
✨ strategies for reaching your ideal market
✨ how often should you be emailing your audience anyway?
✨ how to structure your business (and marketing) in a way that feels whole-hearted to you, and resonates with the clients you REALLY want to work with

So head over to grapeseeddesigns.com/ to sign up.

I'll of course never sell your info, you can unsubscribe any time, and it's an even better place to just hit reply and get all your own burning questions answered!

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📸 on Unsplash

02/02/2021

As we head into Black History Month, it’s a good time to reflect on the past year.

8 months ago, a national conversation absolutely exploded — an issue that was not new, but had hit a massive breaking point. We saw a huge influx of support for BIPOC issues, with conversations centered on their daily experiences, protests in the streets all across America, and many, many long-overdue conversations.

At the end of May and early June, millions changed their profile pictures to a black square, demonstrating solidarity and stepping themselves back from the spotlight. The intent was to feature the faces we’ve ignored too many times, and to .

Millions took pledges to support their BIPOC neighbors, and to not shy away from the hard conversations.

Now, almost a year later, how do things look in your world?

Have you leaned in when it felt uncomfortable? Have you sought out information and stories that highlight a world you’d never seen before?

Are you supporting Black-owned businesses?

Are you listening to Black speakers (whether on YouTube, podcasts, or otherwise)?

Are you reading books and stories by Black authors? And not just the “heavy” ones — celebrating the Art is just as important, too!

Have you held to your pledge.

I try to continue leaning in every day. It’s far from perfect, but when I stumble I try to pause my reaction, listen, and do better. It’s a journey to be an .

I’d love to hear how you’re continuing your journey to support our BIPOC family and neighbors.

Have you read any amazing books? Found incredible podcasts? Had enlightening conversations?

I’d LOVE to hear about your highlights below! 👇

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01/25/2021

Today is my birthday.

I’ve always felt a little weird about birthdays. They feel like they’re supposed to be this big social thing, but that’s never quite worked out well.

And forget about me ever trying to plan anything! Usually my birthdays are quiet unless someone else does the inviting.

I like the idea of using your birthday as a sort of reflection on the year past and consideration of the year ahead, but with my day so close to new year’s, that’s felt a little redundant.

So today I just turned off the alarms (though my new foster dog let me know when she thought it was time to get up). I don’t plan to do a whole lot of work — I’ll probably spend a fair amount of time today reading. And I’ll kind of just take the day as it comes.

What about you? Do you celebrate you birthday any special way?

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01/11/2021

Since I’ve been talking a lot about planning for the year ahead, I figured I’d share a little of my tools.

I’ve been an avid user for right at 2 years now. It initially started as a way to track (and then fine-tune) some chronic health issues. But my weekly spreads have been a great way to stay productive with both work and life.

Now that I’m focusing on quarterly planning in 2021, it made sense to set up this spread.

I have two businesses to run (on top of client work), so you can see both here. One is this account, GrapeSeed Designs. The other is a coworking community (and eventually space — for added delays in opening 🙄) .cowork.

My quarterly focus for each business is at the top, along with the goals I want to reach and habits I want to build.

Below that is a monthly breakdown of which projects (or focus) will move the needle closer to my goal.

It’s important to make sure I’m not overloading between the two businesses (lol — we’ll see how that works out), so the pages are reflections of each other to keep monthly tasks together in the center.

Then from there, each month is broken down to a weekly focus.

Now, one business lends itself more to a rigid weekly plan, and the other doesn’t. (Mostly because one is in a launch phase and the other is not.) So those monthly tasks are more modular and can swap as needed. That side is more of a to-do list than scheduled tasks.

Then I’m also building in white space. Because sh*t happens 🤷‍♀️ So (at least until I get used to this format) the last space each month will be left blank.

I’m also writing tasks and intentions beyond the first month in pencil. I’ll revisit each month to assess progress and plan the next few weeks.

What tools are you using to stay organized as we kick off 2021?

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01/06/2021

Every January, I set an intention with a word of the year. For 2021, that word is PURPOSE. As in: “Live, work, grow — in all things, do them with purpose.”

I'm not the biggest fan of setting goals per se (the whole pass/fail aspect sets me on edge), But I AM a fan of establishing new HABITS.

And my new #1 habit for 2021 is quarterly planning.

Q4 of last year was a good start to this, and finally got my butt in gear producing consistent content — on the blog, in my newsletter, and on Facebook/Instagram. The quarter focused on DIY branding, with a few other nuggets slipped in between.

But now I'd like to know what you want more of.

I have quite a few ideas rattling around in my head, but I want to check in with my community — your priorities are important to me. So I'd love if you let me know what would help the most right now.

Leave a comment, send me a message, or join the newsletter list (GrapeSeedDesigns.com/ ) and reply to the welcome email to let me know!

MARKETING MINDSET — from targeting the right audience to getting in your customers' heads and creating sustainable habits. Get consistent messaging out in the world!

WEBSITE FOUNDATIONS — nail down your web presence with everything from what to include on your site, what the hell SEO is anyway, and quick tips for where and how to set up and actually launch.

BUSINESS OPERATIONS — it's not easy running a solopreneur business, and I've learned a lot along the way. Let me share insights into some of my habits and routines, business tools, and lessons learned over the years.

Other burning questions? Even if you're not sure I have the answers, leave a comment or send a message! I love making connections for my community, and if I don't have the answers, I'll search my network to find them.

Let's hit the ground with a plan to show up for a solid new year.

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01/04/2021

How do you feel about a blank page?

Some people LOVE the freedom and opportunities. Others HATE the analysis paralysis that comes with those infinite opportunities.

Which are you?
🥳 team
🥶 team

As much as I love dreaming and scheming, I’ll admit that blank page can stop me in my tracks. 🙋‍♀️

The new year can be a bit like a blank canvas.

While there's no magical switch that flips just because 0 rolled to 1, it is a great time to hit a mental reset and create new goals for the year.

Now, full disclosure — I'm not the biggest fan of goals. The recovering perfectionist in me resists rigid pass/fail milestones. Hard.

But I AM a big fan of intentions and directional guideposts.

I don't do new years resolutions, either.

But I DO assess habits I want to build over the year. You know, slow roll into it rather than blast off at a pace that's impossible to maintain.

This year I'm focusing on habits around planning — particularly carving out space to plan my business every quarter.

A framework to help tackle that blank page.

What about you? Have you set any resolutions, intentions, or goals for 2021?

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