JLUX Designs, LLC

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How Intrepid Collective Came to Be…

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Hello my beautiful souls,

I know I have been teasing you all month with bits and pieces about Intrepid Collective over on social media, but I really wanted to take the time to dive a bit deeper and explain in depth what Intrepid Collective is and the value it holds for you.

To start, I think it’s incredibly important to share the backstory of how Intrepid Collective came to be. I know some of you may have heard this already, but truly, without this experience of mine, Intrepid Collective would’ve never been birthed into the world.

It all started a couple months into quarantine when I went way out of my comfort zone and took a hike in a really rocky mountain area in Kentucky. I was in the first stages of planning to launch Intrepid Collective for the first time and realized that my mountain adventure was very similar to the journey my clients are on – everything was about concentration as I attempted navigating rocky and unfamiliar terrain. This path I took required new ways of balancing, required me to slow down and approach every step with intention in order to move forward – no hustle culture here, friends! But like my hike, when you accomplish the slow-build challenging things, you feel powerful, brave, INTREPID!

That’s why I created Intrepid Collective! At its core, it is an online group mastermind for service-minded creative entrepreneurs that supports you in creating deep, lasting connection with your clients – even when you can only communicate digitally.

So how do you know if Intrepid Collective is right for you? If you consider yourself a creative entrepreneur who has big dreams you’re ready to bring forth into the world, but you’re feeling stuck …

Invisible.

Alone.

Overwhelmed.

Intrepid Collective is here to give you a sense of true community. We are an intimate collective of creatives (only four spots in total are available each year) who lift each other up, gather our resources, and help each other to climb to new heights!

We are the rule breakers.

Change makers.

Find your voice within our collective so you can go forth in life, being unapologetically you.

Authentic.

Beautiful.

Powerful.

The world is ready for your fire.

Please keep an eye on your inbox, as my next email I’ll be sharing what the Intrepid Collective structure looks like and the events you have to look forward to, should you decide to join us this year!

Why The Intrepid Collective VIP?

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In the four years that I’ve worked every day with entrepreneurs to design meaningful organic content on both their websites and social media, one thing popped up over and over and over again:

“I don’t want my picture on the website.”

“I’ll create that—but let me lose ten pounds first.”

“Let’s just use a stock photo for this post, I don’t need to be in it myself.”

“It will look like I’m bragging if I’m in the video, let’s just showcase my clients.”

I could go on, but you get the idea. Visibility was a major stumbling block in getting quality content created and posted for almost all of my clients.

It was a struggle for me as well. Perfectionism shows up in many different ways, and often it shows up as a result of our not wanting to do the things we feel weakest in—such as public speaking, or being in front of the camera instead of behind. Our expectations of what we should look like, where we should be at in our careers, or what others might think of us if we put ourselves out there keeps us paralyzed. It often happens when we really want to be creating, sharing, and helping others.

My own journey out of paralysis and into action-taking flow only took off when I began to take the lessons on mindfulness and meditation I learned as part of my yoga teacher training and apply them to my work routines.

When I started my day with yoga and mindful meditation, I was able to flow directly into a creative mode without stopping to worry about the things that usually held me back. I was centered, serene, and ready to show up for myself in bigger and better ways.

I brought those revelations to the women in my mastermind, The Intrepid Collective, and they wanted more! We were all hungry for a lifestyle that supported the work we were trying to create. If we nurtured our bodies and our minds in the same holistic way that we were working to nurture our business communications, we learned that things began to fall into place in magical ways.

Amy, one of the members, said it best, “I love the overall flow of the Intrepid Collective. Once a month Learn & Grow sessions; followed by scheduled, intentional co-work time; and then our one-on-ones to answer any specifics. Through our time together, I am more comfortable being visible on social spaces and more authentically intentional about my messages. I am loving the momentum.”

 “I love the overall flow of the Intrepid Collective. Once a month Learn & Grow sessions, followed by scheduled, intentional co-work time and then our one-on-ones to answer any specifics. Through our time together, I am more comfortable being visible on social spaces and more authentically intentional about my messages. I am loving the momentum.”

Amy, intrepid collective member

As I took a look at the feedback, and my own journals, it became clear to me that The Intrepid Collective needed a new level—one that offered lifestyle support as part of the weekly offerings, as well as the content creation support. The VIP level was born!

I’m so excited to share this special Mastermind with entrepreneurs who have a mission to connect authentically and make the world a better place for their clients. My heart is full, knowing that my own journey and struggles have led to me being able to forge a path that others can follow—one that might just be a little simpler, clearer, and more fun than my own!

Revisioning

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The Redesign of JLUX Designs

A new logo for a new vision.

When I started JLUX Designs, LLC in 2017, I was excited to FINALLY go independent. I was so ready to flex my creative voice. I’d been working in corporate for a decade, so everything I created was defined by a well-established brand standard, designs were constrained by need to adapt for 21 languages, and my team worked FAST—we didn’t have much time to envision new creative concepts. Working in that environment began to feel gray and lifeless from my viewpoint.

I was stifled in that world, so stepping out on my own felt like taking a deep breath in and letting out a scream of joy. My brain was overflowing with ideas, potential, and hope.

As I look back now, I see that the choices I made for my branding were direct expressions of those feelings of finally being uncaged. I went for a full-on rainbow of color! I love that I was able to create that brand, and I still love the color scheme and the logo I’ve used for the last 4 years…

With this perspective, I see what I created as a reaction to my past as opposed to working well as defining my future—who I serve, what I do, and what I’m all about.

My original logo.

Over the last couple of months, I took this into account as I evaluated the plan for 2021-22. It was time to evolve the brand to reflect the possibilities to come. I put myself through my own brand strategy sessions that I run for my clients to learn what I really wanted to communicate.

Here’s my vision board:

My passion, defined in imagery, color, and fonts!

Authentic connections are my cornerstone

It all started with my clients. My vision for working with entrepreneurs is founded in developing authentic relationships. I work to create a collaboration that feels like going out to coffee with your best friends—only a coffee date that ends with beautiful communications for your brand.

I’ve used this photo several times in my social media and newsletters over the last year, and I kept coming back to it because it really captures that feeling. So this became the image that I began the vision board with.

Stoke the Creative Fire

The mission of JLUX Designs is to give voice to your vision, and to hold space for that vision as we create the perfect communications that turn your audience into clients. It’s an alchemy of sorts, and to me holding that vision is like tending the fire. It’s my sacred calling, and it uses all my innate skills, as well as the skillset I’ve developed over my 20 year career.

Embody joy, creativity, wisdom, & intuition

I used gemstones as visual representations of the qualities I want JLUX Designs to embody.
Citrine = manifesting dreams, activating your imagination and will, envisioning what you want, and having the persistence to see it through.

Amethyst, Labradorite & Blue Sapphire = Intuition, Discernment, Discovering Truth, and Wisdom

Rainbow Moonstone = Joy and Positivity

Take up space

I get my best ideas when in nature. I chose to represent this with the Northern Lights and the beach because they included all of my favorite nature colors: blue, purple, green, and pink.

I also chose these expansive images as a way to represent the concept of “taking up space”. I firmly believe that as entrepreneurs, we must be comfortable with visibility, and with taking up space in the world. I help my clients to get comfortable with showing up.

There are no rules…

Finally, a bit of magic!

One particularly bad day long ago, a friend left me a tiny unicorn on my office door with an encouraging message, and thus began a tradition of people who work with me bringing me unicorn things.

I love this, and I’m not sure how it became such a thing, but it makes me feel like people see the special magic I try to create for them! Unicorns represent infinite possibilities, and one of my creative mantras is: “There are no rules.” That’s really all a creative person could ask for…so it’s now part of my brand!

And there you have it! The new brand gives me so much life! I am so proud of it, full of joy, and excited to share all the new things that come with it: like this monthly blog, the VIP level of Intrepid Collective, retreat experiences, and new social media resources. I can’t wait for you to experience it all!