Everyone has an origin story.
And as Seth Godin says, “The only thing they have in common is that they are all different.”
This is ours.
The writing on the wall
Not too long ago we faced a number of challenges.
#1) Complacency.
We had all the work we could handle, provided everything stayed the same. Famous last words.
This led directly to challenge #2.
#2) Our client base was no longer growing.
Even though we were busy, it felt like we had all our eggs in one basket. A significant reduction in work from just one client would be devastating.
#3) We were too busy working in our business to work on it.
This meant we weren’t doing anything about #2, which led to #4.
#4) We were becoming the best kept secret in our field.
We were essentially invisible to the public except for the few clients we had.
#5) We were stuck.
The lack of working on our business, because we were too busy (and comfortable) working in it, had finally caught up with us. We were operating in reactive mode. The business was running us.
The domino effect
We had lost our way and were disconnected from our work and our business identity. And since our design business felt like an extension of us, we felt disconnected from our personal identity as well.
The final nail in the coffin came from realizing we couldn’t fix what we couldn’t see. We had blind spots and couldn’t adjust our mirrors enough.
Our business problems began affecting our self esteem and confidence. We knew that if we didn’t solve our problems soon, there would be other serious consequences.
Introducing our newest client, ourselves
The first thing we did was focus on finding the answers. We did this by asking ourselves questions. As we asked better questions, we produced better answers. Our answers made us realize several truths.
The biggest truth was we needed to pivot the business if we were going to continue.
We desperately wanted to realign it with our ideal clients. Even more important we wanted to realign it with us.
We wanted our business to once again feel like it was on purpose and connected to our uniqueness. We wanted to ensure our message, our identity and therefore our brand was an authentic expression of what we stood for and that they spoke a cohesive language.
Simply put, we wanted communication clarity.
The next thing we did was reach out for help.
We knew that successful entrepreneurs using business coaches to help them could achieve breakthrough results and accomplish their goals faster than they could alone. So we found ourselves not just one coach, we found two.
Our coaches helped us with many things, especially our blind spots. We helped ourselves by creating a new brand identity.
We developed a strategy that took into consideration where we were and where we wanted to be. It made it possible for us to see our path, know where we were going and understand what we needed to do. It allowed us to convert our challenges, as well as our opportunities into inspired design solutions.
This included renaming our business. We developed a name that would help us stand out yet, in a creative way, speak of what we do.
We created a tag line that reinforces our focus on developing brand identities, while saying something more profound.
We designed our logo with the idea, “Speak less, say more” in mind. We wanted it to be as minimalistic as possible while expressing the essence of what Mind Tattoo means.
We developed photography that expands on traditional portraiture for businesses because our photography had to work harder for us. We not only wanted competent photography, we wanted images that were creative and added to the conversation of who we are.
In the end, we truly felt we had reached our goals. We felt more connected and aligned with our business because we identified and pursued the kind of work that resonated most with us. We now felt on purpose and therefore could more readily connect with our ideal clients.
Mind Tattoo is born
We recognize that the challenges we faced are not unique to us. Many small business owners deal with these same problems and more.
That’s why we’ve dedicated ourselves to helping other small businesses the way we’ve helped ourselves.
We do this by first learning about our client. We talk with them and ask them great questions. We uncover answers to develop a comprehensive understanding of the need that brought them to us, as well as the bigger picture that includes their challenges, opportunities and goals.
The insight gained here is utilized to create their unique plan of action. It also allows us to convert their challenges and opportunities into coherent, inspired strategy and design solutions.
Then we get busy creating their visual elements.
We create design that uniquely expresses who they are. Whether it’s a brand identity, a website or branded portrait photography, we help them stand out and be remembered.
We’re on a mission. Are you with us?