Lettering Works Business Journal - March in Review
March’s highlights included relaunching Cool Beans, working with the National Kidney Foundation, wrapping up Self-Made Artist Academy’s first cohort, and participating in the GovCon-Airports program.
If you’re new here, welcome to my business journal. This fifteenth edition of the monthly business journal blog post celebrates the wins and serves as a space of reflection of this business journey, which has been such an important practice for me since January 2020. I’m excited to keep up with this in 2021 as well.
The Big Wins
I’ve been participating in GovCon-Airports and learning about how to work with O’Hare and Midway. Throughout the month of March, I’ve been meeting with other small business owners who are eager to work with airports in a program run by the Women’s Business Development Center. Lots of learning is happening behind the scenes! If you know someone in the airport space, feel free to pass along this link to a landing page I created specific for airports.
I relaunched Cool Beans (and celebrated World Kidney Day)! Advocating for kidney disease awareness has become a part of my business since I was officially diagnosed back in September 2019 and it became a main activity this National Kidney Month between my work with the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois and new connections.
I got my first Covid-19 Vaccine! This first shot came with so much optimism. As someone who fell into the 1B+ category due to my chronic kidney disease, it was a huge relief to take this step to protecting myself and the community. I can hardly wait until everyone gets their turn and we can start getting back to our new normal.
General Updates:
I wrapped up the first cohort of Self-Made Artist Academy. The six-week program with 21 students closed out at the end of March, but students will still have a handful of months to work through the self-paced content. More details on the second launch will be coming soon.
I started working with the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois on rebranding one of their educational programs. It may have taken a year for the stars to align on this one, but it has been one of the most enjoyable client projects I’ve had because it is so heavily inspired by the Cool Beans passion project. The NKFI has been so incredible to work with.
The PKD Foundation interviewed me and I shared more about my advocacy efforts and personal connection to polycystic kidney disease. You can read the full interview here. I was also interviewed by Abby of For Her Empire for a new podcast episode. And asked by the National Kidney Foundation to share my story via their podcast too.
I taught a branding webinar in partnership with the WBDC. I covered branding basics, how to know if it is time for a rebrand, and how to work with a designer. I’ll be speaking on branding again next month at the WESOS Naperville Chapter Meeting.
I read How to Consciously Design Your Ideal Future by Benjamin P. Hardy. It felt like a SparkNotes version of all popular professional development books in one. It inspired me to start a more consistent morning routine, which has been helping me better focus on my purpose, priorities, and productivity.
I saw my brother after over two years. He lives in Colorado and was finally able to visit my parents in Wisconsin for a quick weekend trip.
I networked with local business owners. I attended virtual WESOS Chicago + Park Ridge meetings, a Bossy Chicago meetup, a Chicago Graphic Design Club Office Hours event, and also set up a small handful of 1:1 meetings with other participants in the GovCon-Airports program to get to know them and their businesses better.
I created a logo for a local woman-owned business. Stephany and I connected at the end of last year and I knew instantly that I wanted to work with her one day. In a twist of fate, she hired me to help her with rebranding her business of over seven years.
I began an expanded branding project for a favorite client. Connor Parkhurst of Hoop House Creative and I met years ago when we were both new in business. We’ve collaborated and supported each other in many ways over the years. He came back to me recently to help with updated brand guidelines for his growing videography company.
I wrote 20+ Google reviews for my favorite local businesses. In an effort to overcompensate for one negative review I felt compelled to share about my experiences with a doctor, I spent multiple hours spreading positivity across the internet.
I made art! I was feeling inspired after my much-needed vacation as well as after I received my first COVID-19 shot.
Thank you for being here, for supporting me, and for following along with this beautiful journey entrepreneurship has taken me on.
PS - Have a project you’d like to chat about? Book your 2021 project today! Bring on all the logos, branded merchandise, and brand identity projects… let’s make some beautiful and impactful things together in 2021.
