#BEYOUROWN MEETS RACHEL GREEN

Rachel Green is the designer, writer, educator, and encourager behind Intentionally Designed. She believes in building purposeful and intentional lives and businesses, that serve each other well. For the last 5 years, she’s been serving women just like you. Women who want more from life - who want the freedom to do what they love and live the life they dream of living too. Through intentional business development, valuable education and resources, and a place of community, she has been wholeheartedly devoted to giving you that dream and helping you pursue your passions.

Can you share your journey with us so far Rachel?

I started like every other creative business owner, doing all the things. But over time, I've found my focus and what fits best for me. I started my business in the summer of 2012 after working as a web and graphic designer at a local agency. When I started my business, I had a different name and a different focus. I specialized in invitation and stationery design and had high hopes for growing a large stationery business. But in early 2015 I realized that my passion and focus lied in other areas. I shifted my business specialty to include branding, website design, and intentional lifestyle products. Instead of trying to do everything, I started focusing on just a few. In August of 2015, I officially changed my name to Intentionally Designed and redefined my mission to give you the tools and encouragement you need to design a life and business of intention so you can focus on the things that matter.

What is the story behind Intentionally Designed?

With the right tools, resources, and encouragement, you can create an intentionally designed life and business. I am passionate about helping you do this through intentional business development, valuable education, and a place of community so that you don't have to do it alone. I want to help you grow and thrive in your season. Intentionally Designed is rooted on living faithfully, purposefully, and intentionally. I am a mama, wife, encourager, designer, and writer, and my mission is to give you the tools and encouragement you need to pursue your dreams well, be more intentional with your life and business, and create a business you love and a life you love even more.

What motivated and inspired you to start your own business development company?

Living in a small town, there aren’t many job opportunities in the industry I wanted to work in, so I had to create my own. I knew that if I wanted to fulfill my passions, I would have to create my own avenue for that. On top of that, I wanted the flexibility and freedom to create my own schedule so that I could stay home and raise our children while still earning an income too. My biggest motivation has always been my kids and I work broken hours so that I can be with them during the days. I am passionate about being able to run a successful business while being a stay at home mom and am proud of the fact that my business doesn’t take away from that. I want every other business owner to have that freedom too and strive to help others find it.

What outlets do use to market and promote your company?

I mostly focus on email marketing, my blog, and Instagram to connect with others and grow my community. I love the personal touch that comes with each of these platforms and being able to give the most value I can through my content.

What are the top 3 marketing tools you use that are the most effective?

I love using ConvertKit, Buffer, and Squarespace (for the blog), to help streamline and automate my marketing processes. It is such a big help to have reliable tools like these to help keep things organized and make it easier when scheduling marketing campaigns.

Where do you source your clients from?

I get most of my clients from referrals from past clients and connections I make through my blog and website. I honestly have reached a point in my business where I don’t do a lot of marketing for new clients and am able to book new clients consistently along with working with past clients often to make up my workload. 

What advice would you give to other young female entrepreneurs?

Over the years my passion for entrepreneurship has grown the long I’ve been a business owner. I truly believe that it can be an incredibly rewarding lifestyle and love to see others successfully create their own businesses that help support their lives. My number one piece of advice is to always put your life first. Don’t go down the path of working more hours for yourself just because you think you’re supposed to. Your business can and should support your life, not the other way around. Figure out what you want your life to look like first and then create a business that supports that life.

Are there entrepreneurs or leaders that you feel you resonate with the most?

I have always respected and Katie Selvidge, Lara Casey, Shanna Skidmore, and Valerie Warner. All of these women are relatable and passionate about what they do, and it shows. I look up to them for their faith and their ability to live intentionally. They are encouraging in their own ways and I’ve learned so much from each one of them. I feel that they share my passion for faith and intention and are striving for the same goal of living for what matters first while creating a business that supports that life.

As a small business owner, what about any challenging times you have had to overcome? When were they and how did you learn to overcome them?

Every business owner faces challenges and I’ve learned over the years that it’s all about how you handle them. In my years of entrepreneurship I’ve had to deal with everything from production mishaps to difficult clients, but each one has taught me something different that has helped me to move forward better in business. My faith has always been the one thing I can lean on in any challenging situation, and I always pray over difficult situations or decisions to get me through.

Looking back as an entrepreneur what would you tell your 18 year old self?

When I was 18 I had big dreams for my future career, but I never saw this coming. Honestly, this is better than anything I was dreaming about, and I would tell my 18 year old self to be patient and wait for God to show you what you need to do. It doesn’t have to be flashy or fancy to be meaningful, and we all have our own specific calling.

What 3 tips would you give on first time business owners on how to get up and running?

I always tell new business owners to start small and start with intention. Take it one day at a time and think through your strategy before getting too far. I also like to tell new entrepreneurs that sometimes you just have to start something even if you don’t feel ready to see how it pans out. There will be many things that you’ll do that don’t work out, but you will always learn something in the process. The first 3 things to do when starting your business is to make it legal (and do your homework), make it professional (with professional content, photos, and visuals), and build a community first (so you have someone to sell to when you’re ready).

Lastly what is on the horizon for 2018 for you?

Like many business owners, I’ve got big dreams for my business this year. But to be honest, I am taking it slow and still trying to figure out exactly what that looks like for 2018. I have limited work time so I am trying to determine how to maximize that and where I should be investing my time most. I’m not sure when exactly these things will happen, but in the near future I am working on upgrading my shop with tons of valuable resources for business owners and releasing a mastermind/mentorship program focusing on being intentional in life and business and how to find balance between the two.

www.beyourown.org