Welcome to the behind the scenes journey as I create my group brand mentoring program ‘The Forest’.
In this video I’m sharing the start of my journey, the roots and mission behind The Forest – my 3 month group brand mentoring program for small business owners looking to improve, grow and put down strong roots for their brand.
A few of the topics I discuss in this video…
• Why I’m creating The Forest
• How it’s taken nearly 2 years to finally get to the point of launching the program
• My current struggles preparing for this
• Who The Forest can help
• How my brand mentoring program will empower business owners
• Why would people choose The Forest?
• How going for. a walk brought clarity after a week of sitting at my screen and feeling blocked.
Watch my journey below (text version too if you’d prefer to read!)
The Forest launches soon! Register your interest below…
Read the transcript
Hello. This is my very first video where I’m gonna be sharing behind the scenes as I launch The Forest, which is my new group brand mentoring program. And I love seeing behind the scenes cause I think it just brings a bit of realness to businesses. So I thought I’d do my own.
I’m just gonna dive into the start of my journey, creating The forest. So looking at kind of my mission for a few of the struggles that I’ve had practically and logically thinking around it, as opposed to just the ideas side, which I found super easy.
why am I creating this Brand Mentoring Program?
I’ve seen working one-to-one and through my Brand Builder course, how powerful branding is and how it’s almost at like Springboard for Growth. The second thing is I’ve bought nature more into my branding process. So before I used to go out for walks. That’s why my brand name’s called Creative Wilderness.
My ideas come from me in the wilderness when I feel overwhelmed with lots of kind of business advice and I’m not sure what to do. I head out and I, I do some night practices out in nature. this year. I’ve brought it in and I’ve worked with my clients on it, some amazing workshops and the clarity it’s brought, the kind of excitement, the vision, the creativity that it’s inspired, getting comments like, I dunno where that came from, but while I love it, , you know, even coming up with kind of taglines for their brand, seeing some really amazing results.
I also sense that we’ve had a bit of course overload with, you know, kind of the past couple of years. So people seem to be more craving a bit of a community, not overwhelmed with things to do, but a space to kind of explore it a little bit more naturally and get more organic. And I also wanna bring a little bit more sustainability and space into my business because I can either be really, really busy on work and then, don’t have space to explore anything else.
So by creating something like this, I’m hoping it’s something that I can do either once or twice a year and people could come back and join me and it’s just really gonna be a lovely space and, um, hopefully see lots of transformation. Transformation .
So basically The Forest is gonna be a three month grand group brand mentoring program, which will give you space to grow, explore, and transform your brand naturally.
And I’ve used the word mentoring because I kind of want people to come and draw on my support and help, but also we’re gonna be helping each other. It’s very supportive and collaborative. And the three themes each month are one, wonder, grow, and thrive.
what am I currently struggling with launching this brand mentoring program?
I’ve got loads of great ideas. Sneak peek of a few of them are some like virtual campfire sessions, a lovely space where people can come together. I’ll be good to give in like nature-based tasks to come and do and um, that’s all fine. I’ve got loads of ideas of what I want The Forest to be about, but my current struggles have been, I really don’t like how a lot of people sell their group program.
And I know I need to promote this a little bit more than I do at the moment because very much people find me organically. I’ve built my business up so that people find me on Google, on Pinterest, word of mouth. I don’t have to kind of go out and, and, you know, search for work all the time because I’m not great at that and I know that.
So I’m kind of trying to play to my strengths. However, I think with this thing I do need to kind of get out there a little bit more and, and send more emails. I know I struggle with that because I don’t want to annoy and overwhelm people. And I’ve also been struggling with the more logical things, and it’s things that I always do with my own clients, but I suppose when you do it yourself, it seems a lot harder.
Who do I help? Why am I doing this? What’s the transformation?
And so I sat with those questions all week in front of my computer last week and I couldn’t come up with anything. But then I went for a walk on Friday and it was amazing. I sat by a tree for a bit, walked, looked at nature and the ideas when I sat down.
Came. So everything I’ve been struggling with all week just came to me and it just made me think, yes, this is exactly what I want to help people do a little bit more when we’re in the forest of really encouraging people to get out, tune into their inner voice so that when you’re making businesses, uh, when you’re making decisions for your brand and business, they feel really aligned and that they’re coming from your truth and you’re not following someone else, you’re gonna tread your own.
The mission of the forest
So bit of my mission for the forest, and that’s one of them is, is to encourage brands to tread your own path. I want to help business owners get clear on their brand and learn how to be a bit braver with it. Introduce that power of getting out into nature and how it’s really helped me and how it can help you come up with more aligned business ideas and just being outside naturally calms you down.
So you’ll be making those decisions from a pace and from a place of kind of reflection as opposed to reaction, which is more. When you’re in like, like anxiety space and they’re never the right decisions and you will probably be doing things that aren’t right for your brand or your business when you’re making decisions that way.
It’s not what you do, it’s everything. I’m really excited about kind of helping people dive into their brand a little bit more. I also wanna help people improve and grow their brands, but keeping them in line with their values and dreams. So if your dream is like mine was to have a campervan and go off in exploring in it.
You know, it’s like how can we craft your business and your brand to empower you to, to, you know, get towards those dreams so that your life and your business are all working in alignment together. I keep saying that word quite a lot. . The other thing I love is, is helping people stand out from the crowd because it’s quite crowded.
Lots of people are setting up businesses, but you do something amazingly unique and it’s really, it’s just a case of understanding how to communicate that, how to use your brand to communicate that, and that again, that will help you to draw people to your business effortlessly without you having to kind of resort to lots of sales tactics that might make you feel a bit uncom.
And I believe once you’ve got a strong brand, that’s kind of the first thing, the roots. That’s what you should do first because then your marketing, your sales, your promotion, it feels easy. It doesn’t feel horrible because you’re proud of your brand, you’re confident in it, you know it’s got strength. You know what makes you different.
So then when you start communicating all these things, it just absolutely flows and you’ll enjoy showing up if you want to. On places like I. Um, I also really want to share the wisdom and experience that I’ve had working with brands, seeing them grow, um, and also my previous experience working at bigger agencies and working on bigger brands, um, to kind of inspire you to do some action brand improvements.
So it’s not gonna be overwhelming, but I really want at the end of the forest to people have kind of be proud and that they’ve done something. And that can be a very small thing, or it can be something big, like create my whole. And finally, it’s to really create that calm space, welcoming, where we’re all supported together.
And it’s a small community. It’s not an overwhelming a hundred people are part of this thing that you just feel faceless. We’re all gonna get to know each other. We’re gonna share as much as we need, and we’re there supporting each other. So the forest has probably been forming in my head for around two years.
When I first launched my brand builder course, I had an idea of maybe doing it as a group program, but I just felt a little bit too overwhelmed and it wasn’t quite right. So I’ve really let it settle and come back to it, and then gone, no, it’s still not right. . Um, and it’s been great because now I’m forming it and it feels like this is exactly what I wanted to do.
Whereas if I did it last year, I wouldn’t have bought in the nature stuff. I don’t think I would’ve felt brave enough cuz I haven’t experienced it with other people. Um, and I’ve been thinking of how the forest fits with my overall vision and it’s that really deep roots, um, intentional growth. So I’ve been spending time getting clear on the roots behind the forest, and I want it to feel aligned with my overall brand.
And I’m a big believer in listening to what people want, what people have said to me, what people have struggled with. When I get an inquiry, I kind of like, okay, I’m getting these type of themes. Um, if we are not gonna work one-on-one, like how can I help? So it’s been great to have space to do it. So after my walk I could easily answer these questions that I’ve been struggling with.
And these are some questions that you might want to think about as well with your brand or if you are putting something out there. Uh, they’re really hard. , I found them really hard to answer, but they were almost, once I got them, I felt, yes. Okay, I’m good with this now. So first of all was like, who is the forest for?
And I came up with these things. So it’s for ethically minded nature, loving small business owners, people that value creating a sustainable business, supports an intentional life. And when I use the word sustainable, I don’t mean that, um, you know, the very traditional sustainable, your net zero, this type of thing.
creating an intentional brand
I mean more sustainable for our life. So that it, um, you know, it’s energetically sustainable. It’s going to grow intentionally and not too fast, and then fall over after three years, it’s not gonna burn you out. So it’s, that’s, that’s my thing. Um, I really hate the typical six figure promises and shouty approach people have taken to selling group programs.
They just don’t feel real. It’s more powerful now to learn from someone who’s like similar to you. And, you know, I’m, I’m not personally don’t think I’ll be a millionaire maybe one day, but that isn’t my dream. My dream is, to have a positive impact.
Freedom’s really important to me. Nature is. I don’t want lots of stress. I want to be able to do lots of things and spend time with people I love. So, um, it is like the opposite of some of those places where you can see them shouting about, big promises. I really love diving deep with people on their brand and really getting them to think deeply about it.
Who is The Forest natural Brand Mentoring For?
I think it might be for people who are overwhelmed, dunno what to do, dunno how to improve, um, just keep seeing lots of different bits of advice and they’ve just like lost sense with like their own vision and, and internal.
It’s for people who want to grow a business that doesn’t sap all their energy. So looking for freedom a little bit more and want some ideas of how they can introduce that into their brand and build a brand that will draw people to them. It’ll be for people who know they need to stand out from the crowd and celebrate individuality in branding.
And finally, it’s people who are craving a bit of community and connection with like-minded people, perhaps feeling like you don’t really fit into a lot of the business places. You might have gone to events or online events. And again, people aren’t talking about the things you want to talk about.
They just feel like they’re selling or shoving their business cards in your face. So I want the forest to really be a real space, where we can kind of, yeah, connect and grow together. . So then I had to start thinking, right, well,
why would people choose my choose my brand mentoring program over another program?
And I thought, well, I’ve got a different approach to business. I go out into nature. I’ve got a love for nature, and I understand it’s power. So I feel like people who are either want a little bit doing that already or want to do that or want to bring more nature into the business, um, they will come. Um, I’m all about inspiration to create a brand that does good, feels good, and is good.
So it’s not just focused on making lots of money, it’s all those things.
I think like we’re so sick of being in front of a screen, so there’s gonna be lots of out in nature activities to help bring clarity and connection that you can use over and over again. It’s really empowering that you finish the course and you’ll just naturally start doing these things when you’re struggling with your business or your brand.
I think it’ll be a space to learn how to be braver and more offensive with your brand. So it’s very much like an organic response to what people are struggling with. So it feels aligned with you and not a formula to follow, but I’ll be encouraging you to tread your own path. I feel that’s a little bit different cuz a lot of the time I see programs and it’ll be like, Do this, learn how to do this.
And, and I want it to be different. I want it to be kind of like, what do you need? Okay, here’s some practice to empower you or ask me a few questions on it. I’ll get back to you. I’ll answer it. What are you struggling with? And I’ll give you some prompts. So it’s like a mentorship, but you are bringing what you want to it.
what does the forest help your small business with?
So the first thing is The Forest is gonna really help you get clear on what makes you your brand unique. Your brand might have changed, um, it might be different from last year. So it doesn’t mean that you, you know, everything sets in stone. It’s ever evolving and it’s gonna encourage you to form stronger brand roots.
We’re really gonna think deeply and more strategically so that everything that you do around your business is gonna take you in the right direction. And like I said, you’ll come to it and you might change things and then next year things might change again.
I believe that a strong brand will lead to greater confidence, vision, and aligned action. It’s gonna give you the support and space to identify what needs improving and work on it with support and. I also want to help you improve your brand so that it attracts wows and brings in more customers organically so you don’t have to exhaust yourself marketing in a way that you hate.
And finally, the most important thing, I think, is just a bit of clarity and accountability on how to grow or improve your brand. You might come and you’re not really sure what you’re gonna come out with at the end, but I’ll be there. You can ask me and the, the supports there as well. And you’ll be learning a bit more about branding, but in a very un overwhelming way.
There are gonna be my own unique brand exercises out in nature because I know what works when I’ve built and improved brands myself. So I’m gonna bring that to you. There are gonna be these amazing virtual campfire sessions where we all come together once a month.
I’m hoping it’s gonna feel like a campfire. I’ll explain more about that. We’re gonna all light a candle together, drink some tea or whatever you want to drink at the time. Um, I’ll do a little bit of a talk. We’ll bring in things that we’re struggling with. We’ll share things that we’ve done that month, um, and then ask.
There’s gonna be gentle guidance and prompts from, for me on the, on the group kind of area. Um, there’s gonna be intention and accountability, so I’ll be, um, encouraging you to set intentions so that it’s, you don’t just feel lost in the woods. I’ll be creating some mini workshops focusing what I feel like you all need help with that month.
organic brand coaching mentorship and guidance
Twice a month you’ll be able to ask me anything. So you can send a voice note, you can send me an email, you can do a loom like this and I’lls end back my wisdom with a bit of kind of guidance from me. You’ve got that twice a month as well where you’ve got that direct support with me.
And then you’ve got a community space where we can all share and inspire each other. If you’ve got anything that comes up, you can ask the group.
Thank you for joining me and I will be sharing loads more with you very soon!
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