Give Yourself Permission To Evolve
Listen to the audio or read through — whichever way you like to learn best!
May 5, 2022If you’ve been here for a while, you know I spend time reflecting on my life and business each quarter.
It’s necessary for me since I’ve come so far from starting my design studio, White Coffee Creative, to now coaching as The Colorful Jess.
Throughout each evolution of my career, I was fearful. I had thoughts like:
“I don’t know if I’m going to make enough money with this.”
“Who knows if this will last!”
“No one wants what I have to offer.”
When you start something new or your business evolves into something different, it’s natural for limiting beliefs to come up. But you don’t have to dwell on them.
What you can do?
Check in with yourself. As often as possible (and definitely at the end of every quarter!). This helps you observe whether what you do still lights you up and makes you happy.
Reflection allows you to notice how you feel about your current situation. When you do, you can decide whether you want to continue down the path you’re on or make intentional choices to create a more balanced and aligned life.
Set the foundation
The first few years of business are full of ups and downs, self-doubt, and frustration from testing things out that don’t work. Then it hits you – usually around the 3-year mark, but it may be earlier (or later) for you.
This is when you can come up for air. You feel good about how far you’ve come, trust yourself more, and are confident in what you offer.
You finally take a step back and realize you laid the foundation for a business that makes you money and makes you happy (well, you’re getting there).
It’s around this time when I notice people shift what their business looks like or expand into new services. Because once the foundation is set, you get to put your own sprinkle of magic on it.
Expand into unknown territory
The problem you may have with your business evolving? You’re diving into unknown territory. That’s scary!
Trust me, it was challenging when I realized I didn’t align with my services after I started White Coffee Lettering (my original business name). It took me reflecting on what truly lit me up to decide what to do next.
At one point, I deeply felt that lettering was my calling and even taught a workshop on it with a fellow lettering friend!
I went from offering graphic design services for everything under the sun – like packaging and beer can labels – to only branding, annual reports, and murals.
That’s when I rebranded myself as White Coffee Creative.
I was fearful of how it would turn out but determined to love my life and the work I did. Lucky for me, the new projects I worked on were much more aligned. Because these projects were larger investments, I got to establish relationships with my clients and build trust over time.
That same love of connecting deeply with people and helping guide them is what inspired all of my coffee chats with creatives. That transformed into The Mural Business Course and the launch of my second business – The Colorful Jess.
Throughout these transitions, I had questions to answer at each step of the way:
What’s my niche?
Who’s my audience?
How do I talk to them?
What do I offer?
To be honest, I’m still experimenting with this now! I have low moments where I feel no one’s going to work with me as a coach, and then there are moments of pure excitement as people book me left and right.
Like with any business, growth takes time. Use that time to try things, discover what you gravitate towards, and test out new ways of working.
Learn through experimenting
When you allow yourself to experiment, you're guided by what lights you up instead of your fear.
With that in mind, I want to leave you with 5 lessons I’ve learned throughout my years (and many iterations) in business:
No amount of money or time is ever wasted. There is something to learn from every experience you have.
That fear of starting over is real and valid. Lean into it, move through it, and get support so you don’t hold yourself back.
Take time to experiment. And don’t forget to check in to see what's working and what’s not.
Go with the ups and downs. You may have less money coming in one month or quarter, so either plan ahead or get clear on the sacrifices you're willing to make.
Celebrate yourself and your accomplishments! Keep a journal or spreadsheet and reflect as often as possible. This will give you the momentum to keep going, try new things, and always be experimenting.
Find support during the transitions
I wouldn’t have been able to grow the way I did without the encouragement of my business friends, coaches, and Instagram community. If you need that support, I’m here for you.
You’ll leave with more confidence and the inner validation you need to keep going, trying, and evolving. The permission you’re searching for is already inside of you, I’m just here to guide you to it.
Not ready to book yet? DM me on Instagram to share what evolving has looked like for you. I’m practically a pro at it now, so I’m sure we’ll have a lot to talk about!
Sharing to Pinterest? Here’s a few images [coming soon!]: