My drive and passion for success began at an early age. I could rock a lemonade stand like no one’s business. These entrepreneurial roots assisted me in spearheading a student organization on campus as a college freshman all the way on through to becoming a million dollar producer my first year in sales at age 23, and achieving vice-president level status at a Fortune 100 brokerage firm by the age of 27. It gave me the confidence (and the funds) to turn in my briefcase for a diaper bag and stay home with my kids and build a little entrepreneurial empire of my own.
Following a lifelong love of antiques and a knack for finding treasures in the most unlikely of places, I began a small vintage boutique called Adored Before. I learned to appreciate the value in creating beautiful art from yesteryear’s castoffs, turning trash into treasure (and cash) with my own two hands. My business was tremendously profitable from the very first year, in part due to my (low-cost and no-cost) marketing efforts and having unwittingly created something that resonated with my audience.
Businesses don’t succeed by luck alone. Always inquisitive, I dug deep to see what I was doing that seemed to be working and where I was stuck. It all came back to branding. I shared my story authentically, developed a unique selling proposition, positioned my brand, and like magic, my right people magnetically came to me.
In the past couple of years, I began to venture outside the artisan world into creativity of another sort. I have always marveled at the power of words. I was the kid who had a dictionary stowed under my bed, as I and learned as many new words as I could before I drifted off to sleep at night. And I’ve loved to read from as far back as I can remember, and not just dictionaries. Even today, I read between one and five books a week. I just can’t help myself. There’s so much to devour in literature. So when all of the words, thoughts, and ideas I’d been collecting needed to be shared, the writing was a natural progression. I flexed my creative mind and ventured down a new and uncertain path. I began Designher Brands in late 2010, offering copywriting, consulting, encouragement and resources for women in small business. A perfect combination of left-brain structure and drive and right-brain creativity and spontaneity.
In order to dedicate myself solely to this new adventure, I had to say farewell to an old friend. I needed to let go of yesterday to see tomorrow. I sold the boutique everything in it right down to the last earring and faced a most uncertain future. Again, my first year proved profitable. Suddenly, there was a waitlist. Again, it all came down to authentic, persona-based branding. Finding a niche and working it from all angles.
As I worked with clients to help launch dozens of new businesses I began to notice a trend. They were all spending money on advertising, but not on branding. They put the cart before the horse. And as a result, they struggled. I felt the need to share some of the things I learned along my own journey about successful small business ownership. Everything I preached all came back to one thing: branding. But not just any branding; Personality-based branding drenched in authenticity, and rooted deep in Psychology. And so, here we are.
If my credentials, voice, and offerings resonate and you’re feeling a pull to connect, reach out and hopefully, we can spin some brand magic for your one-of-a-kind self. I offer free 15-minute consultations so we can decide together if we’ll be a good fit. Email me for more details and to set up a no-obligation chat.
GOING EVEN DEEPER
I work with those of you who aren’t ok with ok; Those who want to take things a level deeper. True thinkers who appreciate the value of relationships in life and in business and who want to work to connect with their perfect audience.
I’m not a licensed psychologist. I’m a fellow traveler who is pretty much obsessed with behavioral psychology and the power it has to change lives. In my work, I apply these principles to branding and writing to help bring your business to a whole new level.
Sometimes, less is more. I found that people spend a lot of time adding to their brands in hopes of making them stand out. Sometimes, it’s actually a matter of simplifying. It’s the old ‘work smarter, not harder’ adage. Less becomes more when your content is intentional, well-positioned, and genuine.
I’ve been in the online business game since 1999 and I feel like I’ve earned the ability to lay out some ground rules. Here are a few things to know before deciding to work with me:
On Connecting
I’ve learned that I do my best work when I am in the company of people who appreciate what I do and how I do it. As a result, I won’t work with people who are rushed, pushy, demanding, snide, snarky, or rude. If you fancy yourself to be an overbearing alpha-person, please move it along.
On Discounts
When you work with me, you’ll get more value than you expected. I pride myself on that. However, I won’t work for free or give discounts, so please don’t ask. Time is money, and like yours, my time is valuable. In return, I won’t ask you to do something for me for free, either. What I will do is provide more value and insights than you initially hoped for. You’ll leave our time together with enough confidence and information to maintain our work for years to come.
On Copying
There are some pretty amazing people with some pretty amazing ideas out there. While inspiration exists all around us, I will not help you copy someone else’s business on any level. What I will do is help you find your most genuine self to build your own business around. Something that is as unique and spectacular as you are; Something you can be proud of that will unfold naturally as you grow and scale.
If you’ve been wondering about my title and visuals, this is for you.
Aesthetic is defined as “Relating to the science of aesthetics; concerned with the study of the mind and emotions in relation to the sense of beauty. Relating to, involving, or concerned with pure emotion and sensations as opposed to pure intellectuality.” It’s a few levels deeper than conversion copy which often tends to try to convince. Aesthetic writing is concerned primarily with connection, followed up with using that relationship to convert when and if it is a fit.
Wordsmith is just a fancy term for copywriter.
Brand therapist is something I coined and trademarked back when I began this journey of psychology-based branding. Because I believe the best brands are humanized, the logical way to dissect and analyze them is through a therapy-based approach. My work consists of utilizing a therapy model on brands, much like a therapist does with humans, using the same concepts. If you’re looking for a personal brand tagline, head over here.
The ink pot I sometimes use in my work represents both ink used in writing while also paying homage to Rorschach’s ink blot test.
The symbol used in my logo and avatar are my initials intertwined using a very antique font. No real meaning there- I just like it. It was designed my longtime friend Catherine at Avalon Rose Design. She doesn’t do logos anymore (even if you beg- believe me, I’ve tried). But, you can find some simply stunning graphics over there.
So, tell me- how can I help you?
If you’ve got other questions, feel free to reach out to me at hello@melissabolton.com.