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Hey Bootstrapper,

Each week, I deliver a fresh, feminist-inspired, creative marketing email to your inbox...let's dive in!

Prefer to listen to this podcast style? You're in luck! Check it out here!

This week, I noticed something interesting. One by one, several top business experts I follow sent emails with strikingly similar messages: they're tired. Exhausted, actually.

The constant ups and downs of the world, combined with the rollercoaster of entrepreneurship, is genuinely exhausting sometimes. One minute you feel on top of the world, and the next, you're questioning everything (hello, imposter syndrome, my old friend).

It got me thinking about why we're doing this in the first place. Most of us purpose-driven founders didn't start our businesses just to make money. We started them to make a difference – in our lives and in others.

Maybe for you, it was also about having the flexibility to parent on your own terms or to finally pour into your own cup, and yes, to pay the bills doing something that actually matters to you.

We're all out here trying to heal from capitalism and its insidious message that money = worth. And yet, no matter what stage you're at in your journey, there's always that voice saying you should be doing more, growing bigger, performing better...

But what is your "enough"?

When we chase "more" without defining our "enough," our branding becomes confusing. We start trying to appeal to everyone. We dilute our message. We lose the bold distinctiveness that makes our work powerful.

I see this with clients all the time. They come to me with Pinterest boards full of trendy, minimalist, "beige" websites. But when we dig deeper, we discover they actually want very different things. The disconnect happens because they've absorbed the message that "successful" brands look a certain way.

This is the same with how we operate our businesses. We think that success means being fully booked, having thousands of social media followers, launching new offerings every quarter, and scaling to six or seven figures.

But what if your version of success is working with just five deeply aligned clients per year?

What if it's creating space for creativity, maintaining a four-day workweek, or being fully present for your family?

What if it's making a profound impact on a smaller community rather than a surface-level impact on thousands?

When we chase someone else's definition of success instead of honoring our own version of "enough," we end up with businesses that drain us rather than fulfill us and brands that never quite feel authentic, no matter how beautiful they look.

And let's be honest about something else...real success doesn't happen overnight, despite what those fancy Instagram reels might suggest.

Hustling relentlessly toward some imaginary finish line of "success" isn't what gets you there.

In fact, that approach often just leads to burnout, resentment, and work that lacks the care that actually attracts your ideal clients.

Sustainable success comes from consistent, aligned action over time – building relationships, refining your craft, and staying true to your values. The finish line isn't a destination but a way of being in your business that honours your definition of "enough" each day.

And I'm right there with you in this struggle. Right now, I'm rushing to get my new website up and launch a template shop – which means I'm spending less time on marketing and client work than I "should" be.

When this makes me feel like a failure, I remind myself that I'm not failing. I'm building.

It's sometimes tiring fighting against the learned behaviours of capitalism and patriarchy...but it's so worth it.

My definition of success and enoughness is a work in progress, but I'd rather be working towards this version than trying to fit myself into someone elses (and let's face it, probably a man's).

Freshly Baked Dr. Elayne Daniels (Psychotherapy & Coaching): This was such a FUN brand to work on! Dr. Elayne Daniels is a therapist and coach who helps highly sensitive women reconnect with their bodies and quiet their pesky inner critics! Just as her brand tag line suggests, "The waves don't hold back...why do you?!" I loved weaving Elayne's sunny personality, vulnerable strength, and beach inspiration into her brand! It perfectly captures all of her warmth and humour.