Branding, Business & the Bravery to Do Things Differently.
14 months ago, I was sitting in Italy with my co-founder after an impactful day during our first-ever Business Renaissance Retreat. The entire retreat was designed to help us get out of our day-to-day and leave the grind of entrepreneurship behind.
We designed it to expand our senses. Move slower. Taste better. Feel deeper.
The Renaissance, which also happens to be one of my favorite periods to study, was a time of cultural, artistic, scientific, and intellectual transformation in Europe, often described as a "rebirth." It was a period of profound change and innovation with a focus on learning, art, science, and exploration (my first-year Art History professor in college would be astounded with my recall here). I digress...
Naturally, Italy is a perfect conduit for channeling deeper questions about the universe, its purpose, and our role within it. And while I could see the transformation take place in front of my eyes for the founders who were there, I knew I wasn't ready.
Italy was beckoning me to invite in transformation. I couldn't let her settle in. I was still cocooning.
The truth is, I was still grieving and moving through acceptance towards understanding exactly how much 12 years of entrepreneurship had impacted my health. The signs were becoming more and more clear — I needed to make a significant change if I truly wanted to take care of myself. The version of me that built, hustled, and grinded for a decade was not the same woman who would usher in this next era of growth. I have deep love her, and I appreciate her for everything she did to get us to this point. It was becoming clearer to me that it was time to (finally) let her rest.
Upon returning from our trip, I knew that I would eventually have to reckon with the seeds that were planted in Italy.
Months went by as we navigated Her Brand & Co's acquisition into Full Tilt, our family was devastated by a tragic and unexpected loss, and during that time, I got off social media and gradually focused inward. I focused on my girls, made a promise to myself that I would be an ever-more present parent, and I said no to pretty much all networking events and opportunities.
I was so tired and tapped out from the personal brand that I had intentionally and painstakingly built for a decade, that the thought of continuing to put myself out there as a thought leader just didn't feel right. I needed to get quiet before I could find my voice again.
If you've been following along, you know that I wrote extensively about our acquisition and my personal journey here. I also followed it up with a Part 2, here.
As we fast-forward a year later, I've started to reclaim important parts of my story by excavating the value of what I really do.
Branding has always been my bread and butter. There's just something about sifting through the unique traits and characteristics that transform a brand (something intangible) into a real thing that others can visualize, empathize, and connect with. Even taste. The words that we choose, the photography we select, the typography and the art we design to support the vision of the brand are all important ingredients to creating connection. Because that's what the best brands do. They softly tug and nag at you, they find ways to pull at your heart strings so that deep in your subconscious somewhere lives a story that you've associated with that brand.
Over the last 12 years, I've touched over 500 brands (big and small) and had a hand in helping them think about what parts of their story are worth telling. So, naturally, when it came to working on my own, I had to apply my best knowledge to myself (which we all know is easier said than done).
And when it comes to personal branding, there's an extra layer of complexity because there's a fine veil between what someone does and who they are. My time overseas taught me this. For decades, I thought what I did defined who I was, and I'm happy to have come through the other side understanding how to hold those two things are separate entities.
I grappled with this when working on my new personal brand, and I asked myself the same questions I've asked hundreds of founders before:
Who are you, really?
What does your brand care about?
What makes you truly, you?
And for me—who am I if I'm not a "founder" anymore? What is my true value if I can't hang my hat on that external label in the same way as I did before the acquisition?
Branding, Business & the Bravery to Do Things Differently.
"Agency-trained and founder-forged, I build and grow brands people love. For over a decade, I’ve been the one businesses call when they’re stuck at the crossroads between vision and trend-chasing. I don’t just build brands—I unearth what makes them matter."
And how do I do this? When you pair it down to its essence: I write, speak, and teach.
WRITE
From brand storytelling to motherhood, entrepreneurship to reinvention—writing is where I make meaning. It’s how I ask better questions, challenge assumptions, and connect real people to powerful ideas.
My words have fueled brands, inspired founders, and sparked conversations on platforms around the world. Whether I’m writing a keynote or an essay—I write to move my energy and inspire others in the process.
SPEAK
From Red Bull to Target to TEDxWomen, I bring heart and clarity to every stage I step on by delivering powerful talks on brand building, entrepreneurship, and redefining success on your own terms.
My talks are honest, high-impact, and deeply human—because I believe all audiences should reconnect to their vision, rewrite the rules, and walk away ready to build something bold.
TEACH
Over the past 12+ years, I’ve taught thousands of founders and small businesses—guiding them through the vulnerable, brave work of building something from scratch.
Whether I’m in the classroom, on stage, or through digital platforms, I love to take complex ideas, break them down, and present them in a way that galvanizes people to take meaningful action. My work has always been about helping people see what’s possible.
And if I were to wrap it up in a nice little bow:
"My work has always been about helping people see what’s possible."
That. That right there is the real essence of what I do. It's simple, but to me, profoundly honest.
And isn't that what branding is really about? Drawing a line in the sand and being unapologetic about your value. And if you're lucky, you'll galvanize people to steward your brand forward, creating a collective of those with shared visions. But before you can do that, you have to hold, own, and communicate the vision for yourself, first.
So without further ado, I'm proud (and finally ready) to present my new personal brand. It's about bravery, doing this differently, leaning into my unique story and owning my own journey.
Let's finish this post by taking a trip back to The Renaissance.
"To the scholars and thinkers of the day, it was primarily a time of the revival of Classical learning and wisdom after a long period of cultural decline and stagnation." (Britannica)
Wisdom is the word that stands out to me. As I get older and life experiences shape and shift me (as it does us all), I find that coming back home to my own wisdom is where the real magic lies. So whether you're working on a personal brand, like mine, or an external or company brand, I would encourage you to cocoon for a little while. Get quiet and honestly explore how you create connection, this will point to the true value that lies beneath what you do.
Humanism, one of the movements during The Renaissance, was intended "to help men break free from the mental structures imposed by religious orthodoxy, to inspire free inquiry and criticism, and to inspire a new confidence in the possibilities of human thought and creations." (Britannica)
To inspire free inquiry and criticism.
Between my own personal brand journey and work with many legacy brands that needed to usher in a new era, I have found that this is the essence of doing so successfully. We must invite free inquiry and criticism, "firm ideals, loosely held" is a term I love to use.
And we have to be brave enough to brand, build businesses, and do things differently.
