Q1 of 2025 is coming to a close which means it’s officially been one year since rebranding my business — a crazy realization because it feels like it’s been both 10 times longer and also the blink of an eye.

I’ve been working as a creative freelancer since I was a teenager. 

I fell in love with photography at 14 (cliche, I know), and ever since then, I’ve always had a creative side gig shooting friend’s weddings and family portraits.

In 2018 I started taking on social media management clients as another side hustle. Then, near the end of 2020, I launched full-time on my own as a marketing freelancer. That is still, to this day, one of the decisions I’m most proud of in my life.

Ever since going full-time, I’ve explored all types of marketing, content, writing, and brand development work. I watched a LOT of YouTube videos, developed new skills, and worked with a lot of cool people.

I was a fractional marketing director for an incredible startup and scaled them up, fell in love with websites, fell out of love with social media, produced some podcasts, developed email marketing strategies, designed brands for small businesses, repositioned mid-sized businesses, built a network, and I’m SO grateful for it all.

But after four years of full-time freelance work and fractional marketing roles, I was ready for a change. 

The Decision To Rebrand

I was ready to grow both personally and professionally. I also started looking a little into the future and I KNEW I had to create some different revenue streams if I wanted to build a work-life relationship that would support my dreams for a family.

I decided to rebrand and focus specifically on websites and copywriting. This meant ending some long-term partnerships, rebuilding my service offerings, and really reconsidering how I wanted to present my business to the world.

The decision to focus on websites and copywriting didn’t come to me right away. I was probably sitting on the idea for a year or so. 

I knew I loved website projects, I like the variety of working on larger projects with different brands, but I also love supporting brands with email marketing, case studies, blog writing, and brand messaging.

The clarity finally came when I noticed how relieved my clients felt about having a website designer who understands page flow, visuals, and sales strategy, but who ALSO can write clear, captivating copy. Working with ONE contract partner instead of several was a huge asset to my clients so I decided to lean into that in my services.

What Exactly IS Rebranding?

Rebranding is often misunderstood as simply creating new visuals, a logo, or a website. In reality, it involves thoroughly assessing your services, audience, and how you present your brand online to ensure everything aligns with the new/updated direction of your business.

Rebranding is NOT always a good solution. If your business has a lot of amazing recognition or awareness already, changing up your visuals or changing your business name may confuse your clients or lead to decreased traffic to your website.

But as a business owner who never really had a strong visual presence online and is mostly known as a personal brand, I knew updating my visuals, services, website, and messaging would actually HELP me as I ‘re-launched’ so to speak. 

The Rebrand Process

So I went through a full brand audit and rebrand process with myself, and it opened up so many new ideas and helped me get clear on how I wanted to move forward. The process included…

• Auditing my current positioning, marketing, messaging, and services.
• Competitor research, SEO research… Lots of research!
• Building a brand strategy (audience, positioning, voice, differentiation).
• Designing a new logo, color palette, and visual style.
• Creating a new marketing and sales strategy.
• Mapping out updated services and offerings with messaging for each.
• Designing and writing a new website.
• Trusting my gut, my research, and my ability to figure things out.
• Leaning on community and the network I’d worked to grow.

My big priority for rebranding was to create a visual identity that felt like ME and would grow with me as my business (inevitably) will grow and evolve over time. I ended up hand-drawing a simple fern logo that is clean and classic and portrays a wholesome, down-to-earth brand. 

I also decided to use the term ‘website design and copywriting studio’ to clearly share what I do and use the term studio to connote a small, boutique experience. I share some of these details with you because it gives you an idea of how each step of the process above leads to making certain decisions in the branding phase.

Lessons From Rebranding My Business

I learned a lot from the past year (and more, rebranding my business took about 3 months or so) and although it’s tough to condense all the lessons and experiences into a few concise paragraphs, I wanted to share some of the big takeaways…

~ Community is Everything

Building community both in-person and online has been a HUGE focus for me this year and without a doubt, the most transformational aspect of my rebrand. The people and brands I’ve met and worked with are the best part of this business. Putting yourself out there consistently can be challenging, but I’ve found it so, so worth it.

Building community is hugely important, but so is leaning on your community. I find myself reaching out to fellow creative business owners for advice more often than before and connecting more referrals/potential connections than I ever have. Attending events, scheduling coffee dates, and just overall SHOWING UP for your community is a key step as your network grows.

~ Do Amazing Work + Be A Good Person

I knew this already, but in the past year it has become even more evident that the key to growing a freelance business is to do amazing work and be a good person to work with. Be kind, communicate CLEARLY, and deliver great results. These are the building blocks of growing a network, referrals, and a thriving business. 

~ You Have To Get Honest With Yourself

As part of the rebranding process, I had to get really honest about the type of business I wanted — Did I want to hire a big team? No. Do I want to scale this business to make millions? Not really. 

Getting honest made all the difference as I went through each phase of the process. I could better understand what I wanted my business to look like (and not look like) which helped shape my visual identity, services, messaging, and more. 

~ Niching Doesn’t Need to Limit You

I used to work on all kinds of marketing projects. When I started thinking about this rebrand idea, I worried that focusing solely on specific services would feel limiting. Instead, I’ve discovered how freeing it is to concentrate on projects I love.  

Plus, if you position yourself strategically, there’s always room to try new things or add new services when you work for yourself. 

~ Embrace Each Season of Business (and Life)

I’ve experienced periods packed with projects, edits, and events, as well as quieter times focused on internal business improvements. These fluctuations used to cause me stress, but this year I’ve worked on embracing both for what they offer.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy to deal with the crazy fluctuations of running a business, especially as a solopreneur, and I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t cry daily for the first two weeks of relaunching my brand.

It’s a lot of work, and the ups and downs are a lot to deal with. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth it, but it also means that there is a lot of mindset and confidence work that needs to be done to help you as you grow.

~ Every Path in Life Will Be Packed with Challenges

Even paths you’re grateful for and that bring you joy come with obstacles. Read that again!

I’ve faced significant self-doubt and fear during this transition – fear about finding new projects, financial concerns, and anxiety about the unknown. But I’ve also learned better ways to handle these challenges: trusting the process, facing problems directly, and giving myself grace.

I learned at a really young age that there is no ‘right’ path for your life. There are SO MANY paths you can take and they all have good and bad sides. It’s just about assessing your options and deciding what is worth some downsides!

~ Find Ways to Celebrate Small Wins

I’ve made it a point to celebrate achievements, big and small. Having a dance party when initial calls go well. Getting ice cream when projects are completed. Finding ways to acknowledge progress ensures these moments don’t go unnoticed.

Because I work alone in my house almost every day, I find that taking time to celebrate is even more important! When we acknowledge progress, even when it’s relatively small, it allows us to feel new motivation to continue forward.

~ Sharing the Journey is Important

A key part of this rebrand was showing more of my work, my process, and the realities of running a business – both successes and setbacks. 

Sharing my experiences through email, social media, and in-person conversations has connected me with new clients and friends. This transparency has been crucial to my growth in the past year and I’m excited to continue to be a voice sharing a real look at business ownership and living a life I’m excited about.

~ A Rebrand Is Not Always The Answer

One of my big lessons in rebranding my business was that rebranding is not the only way to grow and evolve your business. Sometimes you need a new service offering, a shift in your operations, a refreshed marketing strategy, or a new a new website.

Your visuals may remain consistent, but your brand and business will continue to evolve ALWAYS, and your website, content, and sales tools will need regular updates to reflect these changes.

This Is Just the Beginning

The most important lesson from this past year is that this is just the start. There will always be more lessons to learn and more growth ahead. 

For that continuing journey, I’m ever so grateful.If you’re interested in support with a rebrand, refreshed website, or copywriting project, reach out to book a call for us to chat more about working together.