mnicolecolley

I started my entrepreneurial journey back in 2014 upon graduation. I was so excited to work for myself and COMPLETELY disillusioned as to what it would take to make that happen. There are lots of new faces around here, so hi! I’m Meg, I’m a full-time artist, designer, and creative consultant! HOWEVER, it took me 6 years to finally be able to say I work for myself with CONFIDENCE instead of wanting to add well, trying to! onto the end of that sentence. Honestly, I was jus...t winging-it. I didn’t have a concrete business or content plan so I was taking any job and underselling myself at every turn. I would feel bad asking for full-price, not knowing how to value my time and work properly. I really thought I was trying all that I could do by being the ultimate people-pleaser, that having something for everyone was making myself more accessible. That was when I discovered branding and niche market research after a frustrated trip down the YouTube rabbit-hole one night, and realized that in trying to cater to EVERYONE (wedding calligraphy, custom paintings, design work, etc.) I had made it so I didn’t really have a committed audience. Just a very confused one! I started content editing for my own social media as well as through my part-time job these past few years, and discovered that it not only encompasses so many of the creative avenues I love, it also allows me to share the knowledge I’ve learned building my own brand with others so that they can be more confident in their business! When I begin applying niche marketing and streamlining my brand goals, I finally started to see more engagement, more customers, and stronger outcomes from my efforts. Now I’m happy to be able to help other creatives and entrepreneurs streamline their goals into a cohesive, fruitful brand as well! I’m so grateful to not be winging-it anymore, honestly. I think back to those years and almost laugh now Comment below!! What are your favourite pizza toppings? let’s talk about where you’re at in this journey and get planning! . . . . #brandmarketing #brandbuilding #socialmediagrowth #smallbiztips #creativeconsultant #canadiansmallbusiness #smallbusinesscoach @ London, Ontario

Thank you so so much to everyone who entered the 1K Giveaway! The winner of the random draw was @autumndawnn ! woooo ! . I'm so incredibly grateful for all of your support, and I'm excited to share more with you! Thank you all for joining me on this journey . .... . . . . #1kgiveaway #canadianart #canadianartist #smallbusinesscanada #smallbusinesssupport #watercplorpainting #artgiveaway #artforsale #originalart #watercolor_now #watercolormoon #watercolourmoon #watercolorart #artistcommunity See more

Admitting weakness is not a sign of failure. I wish this was something I had accepted sooner in my business journey. It’s human to strive for perfection, but that means we have to be aware that our imperfections are the areas that need to most attention in order to get there. Ignoring them, while a natural self-preservation, is doing yourself a disservice. When I tried to focus only on what I was doing well and sharing my victories, my business honestly had no traction. It... wasn’t until I started asking for help, looking up videos on areas where I knew I was slacking, and teaching myself to learn/grow from my past mistakes that I started to see REAL improvement. I would tell myself that since everyone else looked so picture-perfect if I asked anyone for advice or invested in my business they would think I was a fraud that couldn’t do it on my own. All while forgetting, we can’t truly grow until we acknowledge what’s holding us back. When people started reaching out to me, I realized that I wasn’t the only one forgetting. I wasn’t alone in that feeling of defiant stubbornness to do it all. Many entrepreneurs that I’ve spoken to were a bit intimidated by the seemingly all together brands they follow on social media, and it made them feel like they were failing for having to ask for help. I think it’s time we push our pride aside and agree that our weaknesses make us human, and make us stronger when we can identify and nurture them. We need to lose the false charade of coolness and be more willing to learn, if we want to grow. Let’s embrace our mistakes, learn how to be better, accept that doesn’t mean failure, and get to growing! Comment below if you’ve ever thought that admitting you could have done something better feels like admitting defeat (I’m with ya!) PS: If you’re struggling with any of the above or feeling like you don’t know how to move forward, send me a DM, I’d love to chat! . . #brandbuilding #branddesigner #smallbusinessgrowth #smallbizowners #entrepreneurmindset #mindfulbusiness #canadiansmallbusiness #smallbusinessontario #creativeconsultant #nichemarketing #canadianbusiness #businessinspo #smallbiztips #mindfulbusiness @ Tillsonburg, Ontario

You likely already spend 15 minutes a day on Instagram. Why not use that time to improve your own engagement? I've broken down my proven method for you, swipe for the bullet points! Here's how it works:... . 5 MINUTES- HOMEFEED TENDING Answer your DM'S. Reply to comments on your posts. Drop some love to your community in the homefeed. HOW IT HELPS: DM interactions are pushed to the top of home feeds. People who commented recently will likely see your content more. Tells Instagram you're actively building community (yes, they know how much time YOU spend interacting.) 5 MINUTES - COMMUNITY OUTREACH explore your frequently used hashtags under the Recent tab to find smaller, like-minded pages. leave genuine comments on their recent content, "love it" or an emoji are not enough, be specific and tell them what it is about their content that stands out to you. HOW IT HELPS: Likely to check out your profile if you leave a thought-provoking and kind message. Let's people know you have common interests. 5 MINUTES - PIGGY-BACK OUTREACH Find the gurus in your niche, those with 50k or more followers, and reply to comments that have gone unanswered where you can add value. Follow the commenter and from there find 10-15 suggested accounts with high follow-follower ratios and take the same approach as the last step, leaving genuine feedback on their content. OR find the RECENT posts from these larger accounts and be the first one to comment, leaving insightful information. . HOW IT HELPS: Poaching from a community that someone in your niche has already established, those people are more likely to find value in your content than "cold-pitching" to anyone. Instagram is suggesting accounts based on the community that you already have. Leaving value on recent posts increases chances traffic on that post will be directed to your comment. . Save this post for later! . . . #brandbuilding #brandmarketingtips #contentmarketingtips #socialmediagrowthtips #socialmedoagrowth #smallbusinessgrowth #instagramgrowth #engagementroutine #canadiansmallbusiness #smallbusinesscoach #brandingcoach #marketingtips #smallbusinesshelp #entrepreneurialtips @ Tillsonburg, Ontario