I am SO excited to announce a new Paper & Honey venture: coaching for small business owners. This is so near and dear to my heart that I feel silly it’s taken this long to come to fruition. So often I get emails seeking assistance, whether it’s a list of detailed questions or just welcoming any and all advice. These emails tend to get buried within my inbox because my current brides are my top priority and I want to be able to clock out at the end of each workday. And that burial leads to a lot of guilt. I want to help!
Enter coaching! This service will allow me to give you the attention and detail that you deserve. I would LOVE to chat with you and answer the questions that Google just can’t seem to no matter how hard you search! Getting to know other creatives, learning their story, encouraging them and helping them get one step closer to their big aha moments just lights me up. And the best part? You’ll gain a new friend in the industry who is cheering for you and cheering for you HARD. And I’ll reap the benefits (and get so much joy!) of watching you and your business grow. Community over competition, friends.
You have big, BIG dreams and you CAN make it happen.
So, who is this for?
Paper & Honey coaching is currently open to all creatives — any profession at any point in their entrepreneurial journey. She could be an up-and-coming stationer wondering how to work with a commercial printer or book more clients. She could be a corporate America nine-to-five-er, reading design blogs by day and practicing calligraphy by night, dreaming of starting something all her own. She could be a seasoned designer looking for a different viewpoint and some extra encouragement. She could be a photographer wondering how to enhance her client experience or establish a social media presence. Anything! Anyone. Just want to pick my brain? This is for you, too.
What topics can we cover?
I am an open book — no questions are off limits. Branding, portfolio reviews, pricing what you’re worth, establishing your creative process, learning or digitizing calligraphy, marketing, having a killer contract, budgeting tools… if you want to know it, I would love to pour information and a healthy dose of love to you and help in any way that I can. Remember: nothing is too small or silly. Running a solo business is hard! There’s so much to learn.
How will this work?
Through the power of the internet! We are SO lucky to live in a time and a place where it’s possible to talk face-to-face (you know what I mean!) with someone halfway across the country. Or across the world, even!
Once you inquire and we agree on a date and time, I’ll send over some comprehensive homework. Don’t worry, it’s not too intimidating — just some basic questions to give me some insight on who you are and what you REALLY want to know. That will allow us to jump right into the juicy stuff during our Skype call! We will have a full 75 minutes to cover as many topics as we can.
Wooo! Giveaway!
To celebrate, I’m giving away one full session with me! The only caveat is that afterwards I’ll be picking YOUR brain to hear your feedback. 🙂 To enter, comment below with a quick intro of yourself as well as one big dream of yours. What would you love to be doing one year from now? Five years from now? When you find yourself daydreaming, what’s it about? How do you want to spend your days?
I’ll be selecting the winner at random on Monday, January 12th! Good luck!!
EDIT — Thank you SO much to everyone who entered! I am beside myself and humbled by the response, and so excited that I decided to pick TWO winners! Big, big congratulations to Julie Wylie and Johnna Hetrick! I cannot wait to get to know you two beauties better and dig deep into how we can help your businesses flourish.
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Don’t want to wait until the giveaway ends to get in contact? No problem! Feel free to email me for more info at hello(at)paperandhoney(dot)com 🙂
Hi Laura!
I’m Ally Skeer (almost Ally Allison – June 13th!) and I’m the corporate 9-5er, blogging during my morning commute and reading about styling and coordinating until all hours of the night!
In one year from now, I would love to be designing and coordinating events for excited brides and grooms all over the East coast! In five years, I’d love to be nation-wide planning, styling and even coaching people like me – working the 9-5 but dreaming for something more fulfilling 🙂
My daydreams consist of tablescapes, beautiful landscapes for picturesque weddings and ceremonies, and lots of details. I envision girl talk all day with my future brides, taking them for champagne when they find their dresses, and loving on them and their future husbands!
I want to spend my days making sure brides and grooms have the most perfect, serene, and memorable day of their lives – the beginning of their “cord of three strands.” I want to love my clients and their families, and be great friends throughout their journey as a new family.
It was so great to meet you! I’m glad you made it home safe!!! 🙂
My name is Sarah! I’m 26 and my husband and I are currently missionaries. I do calligraphy/lettering in my spare time and have fallen in love with learning and growing in the skill! It would be my biggest dream to be able to do this full-time. My heart is to encourage women through words and paper products, things that will speak to them around their homes and in their hands. I simply love the power of words and the way it moves someone. One year from now I hope to be living in Charleston and possibly starting a family! Along with that, dreaming of doing wedding invitations and addressing envelopes and creating new products, taking classes, always learning and growing from others that are farther and wiser than me in this skill!! A few dreams with lettering — be featured on blogs, create wedding products, write on different materials. It would be a dream to get to be coached by you, you’ve been one of my biggest inspirations in learning!!! xoxo
Hi there! My name is Elissa and I am an editor by day and the jewelry maker behind LucyMint boutique by night. I recently started selling my handmade creations through Etsy and hope to one day take this side hobby and turn it into a full-time gig.
Reading your IG post, I could instantly relate. Though I make jewelry, a very tangible thing, my goal for my small business is for it to have a positive impact on people–I just don’t know entirely who those people are.. My hope is to one day integrate my jewelry line with an organization that is making that positive impact, or to one day become that type of company that changes the world, one necklace at a time. At the moment, I don’t know when or how that will happen, but I do know that is something I want to build toward.
Can’t wait to see this new coaching endeavor enhance others and flourish your own brand, I know it’ll be amazing!
Xo,
Elissa
LucyMint
Hi Laura!
Ask and ye shall receive! I have been talking to my husband about this for about 6 months now-I just need some coaching…a mentor…someone to nudge me along. I follow you on instagram and just squealed with excitement. What a wonderful gift you can give so many nervous entrepreneurs! I have been dabbling in the stationery world for a year now and I am ready to take it to the next level. I just had my first baby and that put the business on pause almost as soon as it launched. On top of that we just moved from the city to what I lovingly refer to as “the sticks”. I have a lot of quiet time here in my new small southern town that is just bursting with charm and inspiration. My dream 5 years from now is to open a store on Main St.- not just for stationery-I have this desire to have a children’s book store/library slash reading time (think Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail) and of course offering lots of stationery services. My dream for a year from now is to have my website go live with several collections and to reach more potential clients via instagram. I need confidence and I need to portray that to my clients without feeling silly and saying things like “Oh I don’t know if you’ll like this, but I hope so…” when in my heart I know I am putting all my love into creating the perfect suite for them and I know I would love to open a package like the ones I send. My blog has been put on the back burner, the social media accounts have been on the back burner, and my business self-esteem has been on the back burner. I wake up thinking about stationery and I go to sleep thinking about stationery. Paper and bringing to life a client’s vision is like honey in my tea for my soul. “Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created.” Esther 4:14 keeps coming back to me as I look at my son and I look at my unpacked office sitting with all of my beautiful paper just waiting to make someone’s day. I don;t think this was brief, but I am just so excited and hopeful for a shot at the giveaway!
Hi Laura! This is so exciting and I’m so glad I stumbled on it on your Instagram. My name is Madison, I’m a blogger and small business owner. I have a graphic design and photography studio. My goal is in one year to be able to be running those two businesses and to be out of the corporate world working 8-5. I’d like it to happen much sooner than that but we will see what God has planned! Each time I come back from a weekend or vacation, I’m dreading having to go back to the corporate world instead of being able to continue pursuing my dreams of working for myself. Fingers crossed to win and work with you! 🙂
Hi Laura!
I’m Bobbi, SAHM by day, and owner of/designer for BW Prints (bwprints.etsy.com) by night! I’ve recently done some freelance work for companies like Hobby Lobby and Papyrus, but it really wasn’t fulfilling for me (I definitely prefer to be my own boss/creative director). With that said, I’d love to have my work sold in more boutiques, but I haven’t had any luck with that route so far. I’d also just love to have my work recognized by some larger retailers, but I’m not so great at the marketing and networking part of small business owning. Thanks so much, and I’m super excited you’re entering into the world of business coaching!
XO, Bobbi
Hi Laura! How exciting! I have been following your work for a while and it’s just absolutely beautiful! I am a small business owner and recent blogger. Writefully Simple was created when one of my girlfriends was getting married and in order to help her save money i designed her stationery – and INSTANTLY fell in love! After that, I sent a few emails out to my other friends who were getting married and the next thing I know they are spreading the word. I truly launched my company in February of 2014 (a month before my son was due) due me having to leave my PT job. Although I have definitely grown in the last yr or so, I am so ready to be doing this full time and being able to replace my salary. So currently, my typical day is scheduled around my 3-1./2 yr old and 9 month old. — so during naps, after bedtime and up early to get orders complete. Right now, my list of “things to accomplish” other than just orders in 2015 are constantly growing and I cannot stop brainstorming to come up with the next amazing idea that can help out my customers!
In a year from now I would love to be able to do this 9-5pm! In 5 years my goal is to have a store front so I do not have to outsource my printing, I can have displays of my stationery (as I do other items than just wedding – personal stationery and just started to dabble in small business branding) and have a place where I can have consultations than just some coffee house (although coffee is quite delicious)!!
On the blog side of my world, I recently started to collaborate with other wedding vendors to have a guest post each month. My goal is to obviously expand my readership, while providing them with some authentic, trusted kick-butt information!
But overall, I just want to bring back the beauty of stationery that so many people have forgotten about in this never-ending technology based world! Being married to an IT guy – he laughs at my hand-written daily planners, notepads and sticky notes, but I absolutely LOVE them!
Hi sweet Laura,
I’m Kelsey! A 23 year old, Texas native and long time admirer of your work/part-time instastalker 😉 One big dream of mine – really my biggest – is basically to be Oprah! In my own sense. But to fulfill similar roles of helping to instill hope in many people, giving back in ways bigger than I can currently fathom, providing resources and knowledge to many through multiple platforms, and interviewing inspiring, creative, and interesting people in the world!
I don’t really have a deadline I’d like this to happen by. However, within the next 10 years would be great! Thanks for helping me begin the thought process of a timeline haha.
Five years from now, I would like to be putting more of my goals/dreams into reality. I’d like to be running multiple businesses, or at least one and have multiple projects in full effect and be consistently interviewing people.
When I find myself daydreaming it’s about traveling throughout the US and abroad, meeting different people and having eye opening conversations over delicious and authentic food and drinks. Sometimes I daydream about falling in love! Sometimes about being a mom. But more frequently, it’s the first thing because it currently seems the most near/tangible 🙂
SUPER excited for you and this giveaway. You are amazing and I know whoever receives this will be so blessed this experience with you! Hope you’re 2015 is already off to such a lovely start! <3
Hi there!
I’m so glad you’ve decided to do this!! Ever since I discover you, I’ve wonder many things, curiosities really, how you get to Wher you are. Amongst other things. Anyway! In a year or less from now I would like to work for one of the big book publishing companies such as HarperCollins, Disney Hyperion, etc, as their designer. I love book and whenever I buy a new book, the first thing I do is marvel at the cover, then spent my time reading the copyright page (is that weird?). I’ve always have an interest for hand lettering and calligraphy, but haven’t found a good technical way to say that “Yes, I can accept this hand letting job!” I would love to pick your brain about many things! I hope 2015 is starting out great for you, and it seems like it is!
P.S what typeface is the body text?! I’m loving it 🙂
If I by some miracle get randomly chosen for this amazing giveaway, it will mean the stars have aligned and I am meant to move forward with my own dreams!! I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit, but what I want most is to be able to do something creatively that adds meaning, purpose, and value to people’s lives. I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out what that would be, especially now that my youngest is in school and I have a wee bit more time! Haven’t quite figured out what it is that I’d like to do, but something along the lines of calligraphy-either teaching it or making gift cards that are unique and funny-something that will bring a smile to people. Because I really believe that laughter is the best medicine! Laughing is a necessity of a truly happy life and I’d love to be able to figure out how to provide that.
Hello friend!
This is such an exciting thing that you’re doing! How wonderful that the conference worked this into your heart. I think it is absolutely wonderful.
My name is Johnna and I am the owner and designer for Twila & Co. I am a full-time business owner and designer in Fredericksburg, VA. Owning a business has ALWAYS been a dream and passion of mine. And while I absolutely LOVE it, I have definitely hit a bit of a rut the past few months and have felt a little lost and directionless. I love my clients and what I do, but I know I am missing a huge…something…and I just can’t seem to figure it out. As much as I’d love to be able to hire someone to help, my budget as a full-time small business owner just doesn’t allow for it at this time, so something like this would be absolutely amazing!
My BIG BIG dream is to own a stationery and paper goods store. I love designing, I love printing, and I love COLOR, as well as working with clients on a one on one basis. I do have an Etsy store that helps fulfill part of this dream, but I know it could use some help and revision to make it a little more fun and be more representative of me.
This month I am attempting at a rebrand and restructuring of the business to see if I can figure out where my head is, and your coaching advice would mean so much and be so helpful. Thank you so much for your time and this giveaway!
Congratulations to you and best of luck in the future! I can’t wait to continue following and see where this takes you 🙂
xoxo
Johnna
As I sit here at my day job in a freezing cold, sterile cubicle, I dream of breaking free and being able to work for myself on my back patio with my pup by my side. I’m a graphic designer with a heart for designing wedding & event stationery and branding, which is what my small side business is focused on (Legacy Loft). My short-term goal is to build up Legacy Loft to be able to support me full-time so I can leave my 9-5. My long-term goal is to have children and be able to work from home while raising them.
I’ve been following your work for a while and am so excited that you’re starting to coach. I feel that there are a ton of business coaches out there, but none in the specific industry of stationery and paper goods (at least that I’ve found). Good luck and I can’t wait to keep up with you!
Hi Laura!
I’m Favi. I’m a 9-5er in the corporate world for a creative industry. I have been at it for over 6 years doing something that dulls my heart.
One of my dreams is to put my creative energy out there – a two fold process of having a creative outlet as well as seeing smiles brought on by my work. My ultimate goal is to make people happy and to inspire, and simply spread positivity where I can!
I day dream about paper and ink – flourishes and swashes and upstrokes and downstrokes. I daydream about working from an inspired space to create inspiring work.
I want to spend my days in love with life – and for me, part of that means to do something that makes you happy as a career.
I’ve so enjoyed seeing your work and hearing your thoughts! Keep ’em coming!
Oh Laura, this is SO exciting!! You had so much wisdom to share at the conference and I’m so glad you will be continuing to share that wisdom and passion with others.
My name is Amy and a few months ago I took the scary step of starting my own calligraphy business. It has been hard and down right frightening at times, but so, so worth it. This journey has been above what I could have ever envisioned.
When I think about my dreams and where I want to be one year or five years from now, I see a lot of similarities in where you see your business going. I LOVE calligraphy. Beautiful letters and paper have always made my heart flutter and there is really nothing better than snail mail. I love getting to be a part of all of those fun things. But my dream is to take what can seem so small (beautiful letters and paper) and use it for something great. I want to be a business that gives back and when I think about a year from now, I have a large number in my head that I would love to donate to a very worthy cause. Giving and serving is what gives this little business purpose and it’s what is driving me to continue to grow. I don’t want to take a second of this gift God has given me for granted. I’m dreaming up ways I can use lettering to give back, not just financially but also with my time, with my purpose and with my mission and vision. I want something greater than a calligraphy business and I’m seeing more and more every day that dream is possible.
Thanks for giving away an opportunity to have a coaching session with you! I’ll be crossing all my fingers and toes! 🙂
Hi Laura! I love this!
My name is Sarah. I’m a 25-year-old social media manager by day and brand new business owner by night. I just relaunched my business, Darling & Bliss Design, this past Monday and I’m already dreaming of the day when I can do it full time. I currently specialize in mostly web design and custom hand-lettered and calligraphed pieces, but I’m really hoping to expand into the wedding industry this year — I just have no idea how to actually get there.
The dream to run my own business full-time is relatively new — or more so, the idea that it could ACTUALLY happen is relatively new — but I hope to run a business that reminds others they are dearly loved and adds more encouragement, joy, and hope into the world — even if it’s in tiny ways. To help individuals and entrepreneurs create an online space that is as uniquely them and welcoming as their living room. To help brides craft paper goods for their wedding that tell their love story in the most exquisite and perfect way possible. To create beautiful and inspiring art prints and note cards for people to put up in their home or send to their family and friends as a reminder of all the beauty and goodness in the world. I don’t want it to just be a business about numbers or revenue. I want it to be a business about people — I want to create things that bring people joy in every possible way. And I want it to be a business that brings honor and glory to the Lord, because He’s the one who’s given me the talent in the first place.
Thank you so much for giving away this opportunity to pick your brain and get all sorts of incredible wisdom from you! I’ve definitely got my fingers crossed! <3
I am dreaming stages of an online boutique that specializes in cute and trendy plus sizes. Within the next year I hope to be up and running. The idea started as a hobby. I dream of it being bigger. I also dream of using all my creative skills in one way or another. I love painting, mixed media work, photography, party and event planning, and am trying to revitalize my calligraphy skills that I was good at in high school. I am in much need of some coaching and I just adore your things.
Hi Laura!
I am so excited for you on this new venture; your passion and enthusiasm for coaching is undeniable. It is so very generous of you to kick off this start with a giveaway, and I sincerely hope you are able to gain as much as you are so clearly willing to give. 🙂
I must admit that I ALMOST didn’t comment to enter, because I wasn’t entirely sure of what my goals were (there are too many! where do I even start?!), and that in itself made me realize how much I could benefit from some coaching. I started Wildship Studio two years ago with the goal of being a wedding stationer, but my passions have since drifted away from the wedding industry and I am now flip-flopping between three things that I get REALLY excited about (in no particular order): branding, stationery, and illustration. My background is in illustration and while I was pursuing children’s book illustration in college, I am currently most captivated by the surface design and licensing world (think SURTEX). But then I am also torn between pursuing illustrated stationery AND the saturated world of branding. There is definitely creative overlap between these three industries, but each of them is already so competitive that I feel I really need to focus in on one to establish a niche and reputation before evolving/expanding to another.
In short, the areas I need the most coaching in involve discussions on developing a clearer sense of direction, followed by a fool-proof plan of action and routine/schedule to stay motivated (kick my bad working habits!) and get me there. I feel as if I haven’t accomplished much over these past two years, and I want to unlock more of the potential I know I have. In one year I want to have a strong body of work. In less than five years I want to be an exhibitor at SURTEX or NSS, but which one will it be? I can’t realistically do both!
Laura, first of all, I am so thrilled for you. I can totally see you doing this (even though I don’t even know you THAT well). However, I remember once about a year or so ago, when I decided to push past my nervousness and email you. I was on the hunt for a good printer, and was scared to reach out to others for fear that they wouldn’t want to share their sources… but you, you definitely helped me big time. Thanks to you, I currently have a printer that I love working with a decent amount. However, I have been on the lookout since the beginning for a printer that better suits my needs for my stationery business. I always see such top quality work being produced by stationers that I admire (Rifle Paper Co., Green Tie Studio, Quill & Fox, Wit & Whistle, My Dear Fellow Co., etc.) and I just wish that my work could feel on that level, but it’s not quite there yet. For that reason, I am constantly trying to find a new printer (preferably local) who can produce the kind of work I want to sell, but the few who I’ve met with in the past just couldn’t do what I wanted or needed. It can be kind of frustrating, so I would love some help with possibly finding a good printer + figuring out how to actually work with them to produce goods for my shop! I would love also to pick your brain for freelance projects, as I will take them on every once in awhile if it seems fun, manageable, and as a good second source of income. I could really use some help with my contract, as well, for this very reason. Overall, just having someone to talk to about all of this, especially someone who is so talented like yourself, who has been in the industry for a bit to understand and be able to help… that would be invaluable.
So far, I’m pretty proud of where I’ve come with Whimsy + Wild. Within the first year I have gotten to do some things I didn’t think were possible so soon, but in a year from now, I’d love to say I’ve done even more! A dream of mine would be to exhibit someday at NSS, of course. I’m not sure how soon, as I’m not one to rush into things. I want to be comfortable with my business + really feel like Whimsy + Wild is solid before I take that jump, but it’s definitely a goal of mine, at least within the next 5 years.
Anyway, I’m so proud of you + happy for you with where you have taken Paper & Honey in such a small amount of time. It is seriously so inspiring, and I love knowing someone like you, even just a little bit… so if I won, I’d love to get to know you even more! 🙂 Congratulations again on this new + amazing adventure. It is sure to be successful.
Hello!
So excited for you and your beautiful new endeavor.
It’s really an amazing feeling to discover what it is that we are supposed to be doing. I recently made the decision to put most of my energy into the creative projects I’m most passionate about. I’ve been a wedding florist for over 11 years, but I’m most fired up about floral fashion, jewelry, and editorial work. I am full of inspiration and ideas- including 2 book projects- but find it’s hard to break these dreams down into bite-sized pieces. My head is spinning a bit- I need to identify which project to take on first, how to break these large ideas down into actionable steps, and how to get these projects in front of the right people to make them successful.
This biz coaching session is exactly what I need!!
Fingers crossed!!
~Susan
I just LOVE this! You are going to be so awesome at coaching! Proud of you for what you’ve been creating this past year!
Can we nominate someone else? If so, I would love to enter my sweet roommate from college, Hollee Meador. She’s a current 9-5er with a heart of gold who dreams about all things paper and is looking for resources to start learning the biz. I think this would be a wonderful foundation and a great way to learn from a talented #bosslady! 🙂
Hi there!
My name is Hilary and I’m a 28 y/o wife, mother of 3 and daughter of Christ! I have the typical 9-5 along with being super mom when the husband is called to his military duties. Daydreaming, I am on a beach shooting a destination wedding or sitting in Katelyn James’ home for one of her workshops and most recently working in my own studio shooting newborn portraits. Within the next year I hope to have a full legit business up and running (after figuring out the ins and outs/legalities) hopefully some sort or branding, a logo nailed down and months of blogging officially done. 5 years down the road is love to be part time in a 9-5 as well as part time in my studio photographing newborns. 10 years down the road is love to be school debt free with no 9-5 working my dreams and my aspirations w/me (and the Lord) as my boss!
I want to spend my days giving back, in the sense of giving my gift of photography at a fraction of the cost bc good photography is hard to come by cheaply!
God Bless You All!
Hilary Tebo
Hi Laura!
I love that you’re starting this new business venture! I just think that you are going to be SO good at it! I’m Kristen and I own Kristen Caudill Invitations. I love designing wedding invitations because I get to meet with brides during one of the most magical parts of their lives. I love hearing about their love stories and talking about every aspect of their big day. It never gets old! I pour lots of love and passion into my designs and I love crafting each invitation suite for each couple. In one year I would LOVE to be full time with my invitation business. Right now I’m a 9-5er and I do my side business during every other waking hour. There are lots of things I can do to improve my business right now. I would love to re-brand my business, but I need to figure out who I really am and what I’m about. I’m terrible at finances, and I really need to figure out a better way to plan/decide/systemize how many clients I can take a month. This past year has been a year of disorganization and I’m ready to be more serious about my business and make sure it’s running as smoothly and successfully as possible.
In five years I would love to be running a successful full time business and have a small family of my own. I would also like to start a small consultation side business (similar to what you are doing!) mostly to encourage young creatives and small business owners. I have been so lucky to have amazing mentors and friendors that have helped me get started in the industry and I would love to return those favors as well! Once I have it all figured out! Haha But mostly I want to be happy in my life and business and able to run a business at home while taking care of my family and future babies!
I daydream about filling lots of empty sheets of paper with pretty designs! I dream of learning calligraphy and bettering my watercolor skills. I yearn for more time just to be creative and work outside the boundaries of my client’s requests. I would love to spend my days doing more design then paperwork. Being creative with my hands. Having coffee with friends and women in the wedding & invitation business to chat and bounce ideas off of. Taking more time to reflect and journal. Ahhh it sounds amazing 🙂
So, in conclusion 🙂 I would LOVE to have a personal session with you! I love the personality of your business and you are so inspiring as an artist. I would love to be able to chat with you and have a coffee date (dark roast, duh!) over the Internet! And just soak up anything and everything you have to offer as a small business owner!! I have my fingers crossed!!!!!!
xoxo
kristen
[…] of me will always love talking shop with other business owners. After all, that’s why I began offering one-on-one coaching sessions! This will cover the practical (my favorite calligraphy supplies, what it’s like to own a […]