With intent
Shaping the future of a brand-new Coaching Business
NEW BRAND /website/ Naming /Brand strategy/ Brand narrative/Marketing strategy / project management
I had the pleasure of working with Lindsay Hall, a business coach who recently retrained and was in the process of setting up her own coaching consultancy. Working with new business owners is my absolute favourite kind of project as their energy and enthusiasm is contagious. However, many clients find juggling the myriad tasks at this stage overwhelming but I take a lot of enjoyment in providing structure and clear to-do lists to help navigate the process. This project involved everything from naming the business to devising the marketing strategy, designing the brand, and setting up Lindsay's website.
THE BRIEF
The initial focus of the project was understanding the target audience, their needs, and desires, and aligning Lindsay's skills with their expectations. Through a combination of online and offline research, we developed a cohesive strategy that outlined her services, approach, intended clientele, values, and what really makes her different.
It's common for clients to face difficulties narrowing down their target audience in the early stages, as their enthusiasm often drives them to cater to anyone who might need their services. However, I always spend time explaining the importance of having a clear target audience because “if you are talking to everyone you are talking to no one” In Lindsay's case, she fully embraced this concept and was really decisive in determining her target audience.
the brand
A crucial aspect was choosing a suitable name for the business. An emotive decision for any new business owner! After careful consideration around intention and intent, Lindsay settled on "With intent". We conducted due diligence on available domain names and secured withintent.coach, opting for the shorter and more impactful "intent" over "intention". The name really reflects Lindsays core purpose of “helping clients build intentional careers”.
Next, we embarked on crafting a brand narrative that encompassed all the insights gathered during the initial phase. The process of developing the brand identity was then straightforward, thanks to the solid strategy in place. I created logos, a curated colour palette, fonts and styling guidelines that authentically reflected Lindsay's personality while meeting the expectations of the ideal target audience.
"I didn’t know where to begin when I started working with The Stories We Tell. From day one, Emma was an absolute pleasure to work with! With her wealth of experience and clear guidance, she was able to give me great advice on how to approach the branding strategy and encouraged me to think about what I wanted for my business."
LINDSAY HALL - OWNER - with intent
Together we created
THE website
With a well-defined strategy and brand identity, my focus shifted to creating a brand-new website. Websites are often overlooked by new business owners, as the demands of social media often come first. While social media plays a significant role in the marketing mix, it is essential for new business owners to have a website that effectively tells their story, reassures clients of their capabilities, and serves as a central hub for all their marketing activity.
I used squarespace to create the website as I find it perfectly suited to most small businesses. It's easy to update, cost effective and with some time, attention and a bit of css you can make it look exactly how you want it to and its secure, hosted and an all in one solution. Most clients are then able to make small changes themselves saving them from costly developers fees.
the Process
As with all my clients, to streamline the build process I used an online client portal on notion. I find having everything in one place is really useful and saves lengthy email chains or missed amends and ensures smooth communication and collaboration between Lindsay and myself.
With the site live all that was left to do was to create some assets for Lindsay to use in her marketing activity. I created social media templates, workbooks, document layouts and other small graphics.
" Emma's insightful perspective and understanding of my personal values and goals translated into a cohesive and meaningful brand. Her keen eye for design was especially evident in the beautiful website she created for me, which was crafted with incredible attention to detail."
LINDSAY HALL - OWNER - with intent
THE OUTCOME
This project left Lindsay with a solid foundation to grow her new business from and I hope to support her in the coming months as it takes off. I also had some coaching sessions from Lindsay myself and cannot recommend it highly enough. You can check out her website at
Have a similar project?
If you have a similar project in mind, please feel free to get in touch. I would be happy to help. As a dedicated partner, my goal is to assist business owners and managers in achieving growth and success. I bring both expertise and a genuine interest in understanding your business to the table. Let's start a conversation about your project and how I can support you.