Ready Brand Notes
Brand and personal identity insights for solopreneurs, founders and creatives looking to build a personally aligned, and deeply resonant brand and businesses.
On Personal Identity, Minnesota, and What We Know in Our Bones...
Hi Friends, I was planning to restart Ready Brand Notes this week. The draft was finished and ready to go—but sending it, with everything happening around us right now, felt off. Disingenuous. Like pretending it’s business as usual when it isn’t. While this note may look different from what I usually send, I still want to talk about identity—because identity is ultimately the work I do. And because there’s a very real thread between identity and what’s happening in Minnesota, and across the...
My 30-Day Practice of Not Spiraling on the Internet...
Pulse Check: What Are You Practicing I’ve been thinking a lot about practice. Not to perfect anything or reach a certain goal. Just practices that stretch you in some way. That ask you to get comfortable with something that once felt sticky or anxiety inducing. A month or so ago, I had a realization that sharing things online still made me deeply uncomfortable. In my head, my brand feels like a cozy cabin. Fire lit. Doors open. Easy conversation. But when it came to actually sharing anything...
When Your Brand Doesn’t Quite Feel Like You
Pulse Check: Personal Resonance Last week I shared a brand identity with a client I was really excited about. The concept was strong. It fit her ReadyType. It looked beautiful. But when she saw it, she said something felt off. She liked it, but her she said it made her feel “sad”. She couldn’t explain why, but her body knew what her brain couldn’t name. This is a matter of personal resonance and it's an integral part of brand building. It's the quiet signal that tells us when something aligns...
PULSE CHECK: Is your brand style sending the right signals?
Pulse Check: Your Brand's Style Sometimes I hesitate to bring up style because I know I'm biased. I'm a designer. A deeply visual person. Fonts, colors, kerning, pattern. They are my love language. But I also know the psychology behind style and why it matters. Our eyes take in information long before our brains can process it. We see something and instantly decide. This feels right. I want to stay. Or this is not for me. I’m out of here. Style is a hook. It’s the thing that pulls people...
How does your brand says “come on in”?
A brand pulse check for building aligned brands with clarity, personality, and substance. Today I want to talk about the invitations you and your brand give out to welcome people in. You most likely found your way here because you took the ReadyType Quiz. That quiz is an invitation into my world, but a good session with my therapist last week made me realize that it’s not how I deliver my best work or how I connect best. I’m a one-to-one kind of person. The Lover is part of my ReadyType...
Owning your expertise (and showing up as you)
A brand pulse check for building aligned brands with clarity, personality, and substance. Hi Reader, I’ve been thinking about what it means to own your expertise, especially as a solopreneur. Lately, I’ve been realizing how much I’ve hidden behind my own studio name. Good + Ready is my space and my body of work, but at the end of the day it’s still me. I’m the one designing, strategizing, and guiding clients through the process. For a long time I thought that was a branding question. Now I...
PULSE CHECK: What kind of guide are you?
A brand pulse check for building aligned brands with clarity, personality, and substance. ⚡️ Pulse Check: How Do You Guide? If you’re in business or doing any kind of work that involves another person, you’re probably a guide in some way, shape, or form. Some people lead from the front. Clearing the path ahead, fast pace, lots of confidence. Others guide from the side. Quietly encouraging, holding space, and letting others find their footing. Part of my own ReadyType blend is the Lover...
Why listening might be your best brand strategy 👂
A brand pulse check for building aligned brands with clarity, personality, and substance. ⚡️ The Pulse Check This week, we’re pulse-checking how you handle your audience’s pain points. Every business exists because someone needs help. Sometimes that need is light, low stakes....“I want this because it’s beautiful!”. Sometimes it’s more vulnerable...“I need this because my life is in shambles.” A good brand (and business) knows the difference. It listens first so it can meet people where they...
What are your brand’s non-negotiables?
A brand pulse check for building aligned brands with clarity, personality, and substance. ⚡️ The Pulse Check This week, we’re pulse-checking for how much personal integrity lives inside your brand. “Integrity” can sound heavy, even rigid. But at its core, it’s really about this: Do you know yourself well enough to know what’s a make-or-break for you—and are you willing to stand by it? When you’re clear on what you do and don’t stand for, people feel it. They know they can trust you. And trust...
Your brand’s “welcome mat”—how’s it looking?
A brand pulse check for building aligned brands with clarity, personality, and substance. ⚡️ The Pulse Check This week, we’re pulse-checking for how well you welcome people into your work. In a world where so much marketing feels transactional, the brands that deeply resonate are the ones that offer a sense of belonging—the ones that treat people like people, not just leads in a funnel. Welcomes happen at every brand touchpoint (whether you are being intentional about it or not. Each point is...
Brand and personal identity insights for solopreneurs, founders and creatives looking to build a personally aligned, and deeply resonant brand and businesses.