I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m finally doing it - I'm moving to Asheville, NC in a couple of weeks! 

I'm replanting myself in a new land, a new garden to continue my epic journey in this lifetime, and to continue my path of stepping into being a leader to help bring in this New Age of Conscious Business.   

I’ve had this dream for the last couple of years to move back to the East Coast. And now it’s actually manifesting!  It’s an epic chapter change in my life - hell, it’s a whole new book!  And I’m so excited and feel inspired by this relocation.  

I love the Colorado Rockies so much - it feels like the most beautiful place in the world to me. And... the time has come to leave, to let go, to make room for the new possibilities that lie ahead. And Asheville is a pretty awesome mountain town to explore, expand, and to continue to grow Soul Story Creative into her next chapter.  

It’s been more than a decade since I left North Carolina, my hometown of Durham. And since I left so much has changed with me. I have grown boatloads, and learned about the world and about life. The ‘spiritual ceiling’ I was stuck in with over 25 years in AA blew right through.  

I have voraciously delved into all kinds of Mystery School teachings, including studying Astrology, Shamanism, and explored The Gnostic Gospel teachings.  This is life-school on Planet Earth - the fastest way to grow our soul.  

And I went through marketing and coaching programs and trainings from the best of the best! Donald Miller, Michele Mere, Carmell Clark, and Ahmad Munawar are a few whom I’ve been fortunate to know and learn from. These geniuses taught me the ins and outs of digital marketing, sales, and how to tell a clear brand story - they taught me how to grow my business and find my authentic path.  

Now it’s time to make this move - a move I'm being called to make. To be closer to family, yes, but mostly to do my work in the world - Asheville and the surrounding area are where I’m drawn to. Have been for a long, long time.  

It’s time to plant a new garden. This year the seeds I’m planting are in my heart. The last 15 years have taken me on a journey of reinvention; of moving into being a leader in this new age - this Age of Conscious Business.   

But - it wasn’t always a role I accepted - to be a brand strategist and marketer. This wasn’t at all what I had in mind. 

But it found me… (your soul has a way of doing that 😉) 

How did I grow myself into a Brand Strategist? How did Soul Story Creative become the beauty she is today? 

The same way I do everything - I start at the beginning and build a strong foundation.  

In the analogy of gardening, that is your fertile rich soil.  

You need 1) good soil, 2) sun and water, and 3) your seeds.  

And of course, the success of your garden depends on the soil…Let’s look at all three: 

1) Fertile Soil

For over 25 years I was set as a Professional Photographer, that is until my spine began having problems from the heavy camera work. (I’m only 5 feet tall and a small frame) 

There I was in 2009 out of ideas of how I was going to contribute to my own sovereignty as well as to humanity.  

And in my quest to reinvent myself, in 2013, I stumbled on an entrepreneurial event in Las Vegas which was only 5 hours drive from where I was living in Park City, UT. This event was exhilarating and eye-opening.  

I realized from the training at that event, that with my background in business, and as a creator of beautiful things and lover of technology, the possibilities were endless!   

It became clear to me what my path was to be: to build a new beautiful abundant garden like my photography business had become, but ‘reading light in a different way’ - to guide others to emerge their soul purpose business.  

But HOW?  How to reinvent myself using my innate gifts, the well-earned wisdom of a life-lived? What would people value? What did I have to offer?   

I wish I could give you a super easy answer, but that wouldn’t do justice to the individual you are. 

The wisdom and experience I had amassed from my previous career gave me a great start. Since I didn’t have much knowledge about digital marketing, I set out to learn - voraciously. I couldn't get enough! I loved it! 

There’s no one-size-fits all solution. But there is a Goldprint.

The Soul Story Goldprint is a business that: 

• speaks to your values

• nourishes your soul 

• allows you to live your soul purpose in creating a better world.  

The truth is, your business is not a monoculture like many other brand strategists will tell you. Your business is an ecosystem…complex and deserving of attention.  

A monoculture crop is when a single crop is repeatedly grown on the same land. This upsets the natural balance of soils. This is likened to throwing money at a single marketing tactic expecting that one tactic to produce a full flourishing crop. It won’t happen.  

You can’t just do paid advertising in badly depleted soil - not without a clear cohesive message, and an overarching marketing strategy that results in increased revenue and new business. 

The answer is to start with the soil and make it fertile with rich words and phrases that are compelling and engaging - a story. 

 Build an ecosystem that embraces compassion, spiritual marketing practices, & strategies that lead to perennial revenue streams and sustainable work life.  

Remember, abundance comes in many forms - resources, opportunities, and relationships. We’d all love more time, energy, and love, right?  And there are bounds of joy for each of us that come from transforming lives, and making a contribution. And yes, of course - we want to make more money doing what we love being in service.  

Fertile soil in your business is cultivated by asking these questions: 

• What’s holding you back? What are you afraid of? 

• What do you stand for? What makes you and your service unique? 

• How are you going to make your prospects' life better? What do they want? 

• What’s going on in your market or niche? Who do you love to serve?   

2) Sun & Water

Sun & water are as critical to a garden as your visual hierarchy is to your business.  

Visual hierarchy means arranging and organizing website elements so that visitors naturally gravitate toward the most important elements first - to complete a desired action.  

In thinking about your ideal customer, build your visuals to appeal to them - not you. Your logo, colors, fonts are all to attract and engage your prospect.  Just because you loved your trip to Tuscany, doesn’t mean those images are best for your website - it’s actually a waste of prime space on your site unless you are selling Tuscan wine!

The customer journey must feel easy, natural, and make sense to them.  

By honoring best practices, you will shine like the sun and your prospect will want to know more.  By simply adjusting the position, color, or size of certain elements, you can structure your site in such a way that viewers will be drawn to those elements first.

• What is the one thing you love to deliver that they desire & that is profitable for you? 

• How can you arrange the elements on your homepage to lead them to want to know more about that service or product? 

3) The Seeds

This is the step that most begin with - the marketing tactics - which is totally wrong! 

Marketing tactics (strategies) are like building your website, email marketing, social media marketing with FaceBook Ad campaigns, video marketing, blogging, podcasting, etc.  

But the #1 mistake I see business owners making is throwing money at the wrong place at the wrong time. Then you have to come to me anyway to fix it. (it’s so much easier to just do it at the beginning.  

Ready to talk about what’s possible for your company?  Book a brand strategy call - free. 

Troubleshoot your marketing efforts with these questions:

• Are you making the most of the seeds you already have?

• What marketing strategies would align with you, and with your business plan? 

• Is the message you are broadcasting landing with your ideal customer?  

• Do you have a way to generate leads like a leads funnel on your website? Do you need to sprinkle some funnel food on your website or social platforms?

• Where is your garden? Are you building your thought leadership on the right platform?  

NOTE of WARNING: Your marketing tactics will not grow if you don’t have fertile soil (clear message & brand strategy) or sun & water (an enjoyable and easy customer journey). 

They just won’t - no matter how much money you throw at it, you simply can’t get a seed to grow if it’s not fed.   

Summary: The Seasons

In our businesses, there are seasons - seasons of growth and seasons of evaluation followed by another expansion and growth season - and the beat goes on. 

• What season are you in and how can you shift your approach to make the most of it? 

• How is the season of your life affecting your business and where can you build in more ease?

• Are you availing yourself of the marketing that works for you now? Or have you pivoted in any ways that need to be reevaluated? 

• Is it time to build or enlarge your team? 

Have you become the bottleneck to your own success? 

Our soul will never lie to us. And if you are getting roadblock after roadblock to your progress then it’s time to step back and realign.  

When you do, yes you may need to make changes that are uncomfortable, but I promise, as soon as you commit and make that decision, the Universe will open up for you in ways you can’t even imagine.  

Opportunities come in out of the blue - people find you from everywhere - and money begins to flow in. 

It takes a lot of courage to be a business owner these days. But if we aren’t in alignment with where we are, our soul will continue to nudge us to move on and move up.  

My new chapter, to grow Soul Story Creative, includes a move across the country - not an easy thing to do.  

But the freedom I already feel, and the positive energy flowing into my business is palatable and oh so welcome!!  It makes it worth all the hassle a relocation brings. It feels so good!!  

Is it time for you to address your marketing mess?  

There’s nothing to lose here. 

Book a call and walk away knowing where you can bring some new energy into your ecosystem. 

No pressure ever, it’s not how I roll. Only what’s right for you at this time in your business. 😉