The Big Whisper Nº17 // growing pains = good

A community + newsletter for women who want to build thriving businesses.

If we don’t change, we don’t grow.
If we don’t grow, we are not really living.
Growth demands a temporary surrender of security.
-Gail Sheehy

Hi all,

I hope this note finds you well.

I’ve been a little quiet with The Big Whisper, I know. November I was actually in a bit of a depression. Combine all the emotional ups and downs of building a business and embracing your true entrepreneurial self + the change of seasons and it getting darker earlier, I had to take a few steps back and give myself some self-care time to sit with how I was feeling before rushing to “next.” I came across this graphic by Mari Andrew, it perfectly captured how November was for me, I have a feeling some of you may be able to relate.

I’m excited to be back at the newsletter with a fresher mindset on the heels of having done a bunch of reflection. While I’m still clarifying what's next for The Big Whisper, the format of today’s newsletter is a step in the direction, and there will be more tweaks/updates in the coming weeks.

For those who have been subscribed, you’ll notice the newsletter a bit more streamlined and a few sections slightly updated. For those just joining, WELCOME, and, if you’d like, check out our most recent editions here: 16, 15 and 14.

I cannot believe we’re already 10 days into December. I hope you're all having a lovely holiday season so far, and that you enjoy this week’s e-mail.

Warmly,
Alison

REAL-TALK FROM THE TRENCHES

"I think the biggest takeaway was that I had to trust myself. I had the answers. I was looking to someone else, someone with ‘all this experience.’ What I finally realized is, there’s so much of me in everything that I make that I couldn’t have someone else really create what the rebrand was, I had the answers, I had to trust it and that was really hard."

Saskia de Vries, founder and CEO of SASKIA, an Industry City, Brooklyn based handmade jewelry company, shares how her 8+ year company grew from hobby project, to full-on business, and evolved through a complete rebrand in a recent Facebook Live with our founder.

In our conversation Saskia shares:
1- Why rebranding was the right next step for her growth strategy [2:50 - 3:40]
2- Her insight about what branding *actually* is [3:40 - 4:54]
3- Her biggest learning from the rebrand experience [5:01 - 6:15]
4- The challenge of embracing her dual Dutch-American identity and how that ultimately became core to the rebrand [7:20 - 8:06]
5- The step-by-step rebrand process [8:30 - 9:59]

Further reading about Saskia’s insights and rebrand tips here.

Watch the Conversation

TOOL FOR GROWTH

A Minimum Viable Product is not a Product, It's a Process

So much of what business owners get wrong about starting a new venture is not planning for just HOW MUCH iteration and experimentation goes into getting a product or service to a place where you figure out exactly WHO your target audience is and how what you're offering fits with their needs and wants. Determining how to change, tweak, adjust your product or service to get to customer-fit is THE WORK, it's a PROCESS.

More about the Minimum Viable Process via the Y Combinator blog

BIG WHISPER(ER) OF THE WEEK

And We Evolve

Our Big Whisper(er) of the week is And We Evolve, a fashion subscription service for secondhand clothing in like-new condition, available in sizes 00-30. It’s like if Stitch Fix and your favorite consignment / vintage shop had a baby.

The second most polluting industry to the environment is fashion. With And We Evolve, founder Liz Funk, is on a mission to lower the carbon footprint and unethical conditions of making new clothes, by building out this subscription business model to use what already exists in the world. We’re loving what she’s doing, and thought you may too!

Check Out And We Evolve

IN CASE YOU MISSED

Most read links last month

The Founder of S.W. Basics Reflects on What's Led to the Success of Her 10-Year-Old Beauty Brand

Out-of-the-Silicon-Valley-Funding-Box: Different Ways to Fund Your Business Beyond VC Dollars

How to Put Together an Influencer Marketing Strategy

You Don't Need Millions of Customers to Build a Thriving Business, You Need 1,000 True Fans

THE WHISPER ABOUT THE BIG WHISPER

"I’ve read every weekly newsletter and the content is fantastic."
-Paolina Calabro, founder of Financielle

Paolina wrote these words in a recent interview with our founder Alison Gilbert.

WEEKLY WISDOM

Growing pains = good

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