Introducing Deeper Business

When I launched my business in 2021… I wanted a business that looked like “theirs”.

There were many mentors and models I looked up to when I started my business.

And because I didn’t really know what I wanted, or who I was as a business owner, I followed their roadmaps.

I structured my marketing like they structured theirs, with social media strategies and sales processes that seemed to work for them.

I hired a recommended web designer for a website that was promised to “sell in my sleep”.

I did my first brand shoot based on what I saw other consultants doing - in corporate clothes that fit pre-pandemic (in the literal and spiritual sense). Because I hadn’t left the house in a year when I planned to start my business, and all I had were clothes from when I was in corporate, that’s what I used for my photos!

I worked with a graphic designer to help me develop brand assets - and the directive was specifically “I want graphics that look kind of like [hers]”.

I was so proud of everything that I did in the first year to get started.

I’m thankful I had the roadmaps when I started, because I’m honestly not sure if I would have started without them! I knew what steps to take to start moving.

Yet I spent the next two years learning everything I could from everyone I could learn from - in addition to the extensive business training I had from my traditional corporate days and the number of courses I took when I was side hustling as a coach.

(I mean it. I’m a voracious learner and learning is my love language, so in my first two years in business I actively devoured information on copywriting, digital writing, B2C sales, B2B sales, positioning and messaging, all types of marketing, relationships and networking, agency management, tarot, astrology, the art of ritual, feminist business, decolonization, flow…. Note: I highly highly discourage doing all of these things in the same timeframe.)

Along the way, I started to realize what did and didn’t work for me - and where I was outgrowing my old skin.

I realized that I didn’t want the ​business structures​ that I saw some of my teachers running. Those models work for them, and their stage of business, and their capacity and gifts - but weren’t designed for how I work best and my stage of business.

I started to gravitate towards marketing strategies that align with what I enjoy doing best - namely, long-form writing and building connections. I’ll probably never build a business that relies on short-form daily social media posting as a growth engine because 1. I started too late to make it easy to grow organically 2. I don't write hooks well and don't write meta content and 3. being on social media that frequently isn’t great for my mental health. (I’m inspired by Jay Acunzo who says, “Resonance over reach”).

I spent the last year reintegrating my background in big business, engineering, and consulting. In some spaces, highlighting that experience actually feels like a liability, so I’ve moved out of spaces where I feel like I have to hide that part of myself. The same goes for moving farther away from the spaces where I can’t talk about my feelings about relentless growth and the perils of putting profit over people. Instead, I’m moving towards business messaging and structures that let me get to build spreadsheets AND acknowledge the somatic aspects of growth.

And crucially, I started making peace with my image. I loved my photos when I started my business, but I didn’t recognize the woman in those photos anymore. I have struggled with body image and style for as long as I can remember, but never wanted to get in front of the camera again because I didn’t like how I looked and had no idea how to dress in a way that felt like me.

In 2023, I am designing a business that looks like “this”.

Once I started to know the rules and the structures of the game of business, I got to decide how I wanted to move forward, on my own terms.

Danielle Cohen Photography

I am structuring and pricing my offers in a way that feels resonant and meets MY own needs - financially, emotionally, energetically, spiritually. Even when that’s not how I see others price and structure similar offers.

I had a very clear image of how I wanted to show up visually - I wanted to wear heavy metal and rock jewelry, with a leather jacket, in a forest. (Yes, people looked at me like I was crazy on photo shoot day).

I wrestled with messaging for months with trusted advisors who all helped me keep my eyes on my own paper. Especially when that messaging isn’t going to appeal to as broad of an audience.

I worked with my ​beloved graphic designer Leanne​ to redesign my brand assets like the banner above (and she and I have been working with each other so long that she knew exactly what I meant when I told her I wanted imagery with depth).

I’m so proud to unveil a refreshed website and newsletter where I finally see my whole self represented.

This is what I consider a Deeper Business.

When you’ve hit a plateau, or run out of map in your business - it’s going below the surface-level solutions to design a business that’s truly intentional, right-sized, and sustainable for you.

A deeper business aligns five areas:

Mission: Why have you created your business? How does your business connect to your gifts, your business and life vision, and your capacity?

Models: What is the business model and the profitability model required for that mission? And is your positioning and customer aligned to that model?

Methods: How do you design and structure your sales, marketing, and delivery methods based on YOUR mission and model?

Management: How do you design your rhythms, rituals, and management practices for you and your team to thrive - in concert with those methods?

Metrics: Ultimately, what are the signals of health and sustainability in your business?

Metrics are often at the surface - we look at revenue and clients and profit and followers. But we have to dive below the surface and get curious about where we diverge from the paths we’re “taught” to embrace the path for us.

Moving forward, each week in the Deeper Business newsletter we’ll dive below the surface in one of these five areas.

I’ll be writing about my observations and sharing stories that I hope give you more thoughts to chew on as you build your business. Sometimes these pieces will be long-form with series that continue on for multiple weeks, as I go deep on areas that interest me and I hope are relevant to you!

Thank you for being here on the journey with me.