The Bourn Creative Blog | Bourn Creative

Why You Should Invest In Attending Live Events

December 11, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

Autumn is always a crazy time of year. When summer ends and kids go back to school, the vast majority of people get back to work with a focus on getting specific things done before the end of the year. Often, those specific things include a brand redesign, a website redesign, or website improvements and feature additions to start the year off strong. Business is always busy and booming in the fall, and this year it was even crazier than normal because of all the live events we attended or spoke at.

I LOVE live events.

Create Clear Communication By Speaking The Same Project Language

October 27, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

Have you ever been in a conversation where you’re communicating you’re point and the other person is communicating their point, and you find yourself getting increasingly irritated and frustrated because you’re talking about the same thing, but speaking a completely different language?

Have you ever shared something important with another person, and they respond with some comeback that makes you say, “Yes, that’s what I just said!”

Have you ever been listening to someone explain a topic only to be left confused because they use a completely different vocabulary than you do?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re not alone.

Clear communication is a skill that is developed over time, and without it, professional conversations between service providers and clients can devolve into a frustrating and confusing experience. That’s why one of the very first things we do with new clients is ensure we’re both speaking the same project language and using the same vocabulary.

Here are 3 important tips to empower you to communicate clearly with clients and equip clients to communicate clearly with you:

International Food Blogger Conference Hits Sacramento, California

October 2, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

Earlier this year, I was invited to speak at the ninth International Food Blogger Conference on What Bloggers Need To Know About SEO. Speaking and training is one of my favorite things to do, and the conference was happening at the Sacramento Convention Center near my home, so saying yes was a no brainer.

Plus, in April 2016, I started my own personal blog Inspired Imperfection, where I share recipes, family adventures, and candid commentary on life, so this event was also going to be an awesome opportunity to meet other local bloggers! While I travel to business events and conference after, the International Food Blogger Conference was actually my first blogging-specific conference.

The two-day food blogging conference ran Friday and Saturday with back-to-back sessions and add-on events happening the Thursday before the event and the Sunday after. Sessions were delivered by a mix of individual expert speakers, moderated panel discussions, and sponsored sessions.

WPBlab: Encouraging Community Members To Speak At WordPress Meetups And WordCamps

September 25, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

This past Thursday Bourn Creative founding partner, Jennifer Bourn, joined Jason Tucker and Bridget Willard for WP Blab, a WordPress-focused, conversational interview show. WPblab streams live every Thursday at 7:00 pm Pacific and is part of the Watercooler Network.

As a co-organizers for the Sacramento WordPress Meetup, co-organizers for WordCamp Sacramento 2015, and lead organizers for WordCamp Sacramento 2016 and WordCamp Sacramento 2017, Jennifer and I book a lot of speakers and beg a lot of community members to share their knowledge with us through speaking.

#FREECON: The Freelance Conference In Austin, Texas

September 13, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

The Freelance Conference claims the spot as the longest running, industry agnostic, freelance business conference in the world.

#FREECON is an event created by freelancers, for freelancers. It was born in the spirit of those who leave or are desiring to leave a job with the dream of time, freedom, better income, and the ability to control your own careers and life. The conference combines that shared vision with the reality of what it takes to make the dream of self-employment come true; a set of skills that few of us come equipped with in full.

Until this fall, I had never attended the Freelance Conference… But earlier this year, I had the opportunity to connect with event founder Emily Leach for a personal and frank conversation about freelancing and our experiences over the many years of being our own bosses. Not only were our experiences similar, but our views and philosophies were aligned so well that she extended an invitation to speak at the Freelance Conference — and of course, I said yes right away.

Creating Profitable Project Plans

August 16, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

What do your project plans look like for client work? Are they working for you, or just more work for you? If you’re looking for a better process for your business, I teamed up with WPSessions to share a practical system that Bourn Creative has not only tested and refined over five years, but used on hundreds of real client projects. This is a battle-tested solution that will help you relieve stress, boost your profits, add value to your service offerings, and create happy clients.

Have you ever felt like you’re drowning in your business and just can’t get ahead… like you’re so busy doing the actual work, it seems like you’ll never have time to work on your own projects and ideas?
Did you begin freelancing to have more freedom and spend more time with your family, but that isn’t exactly how things shaped up?
Are you making good money, but wish you had better margins and higher profits so there was some “wiggle room” in your business?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, this webinar was created just for you!

How To Achieve Higher Profits While Working Less And Enjoying More Freedom

August 9, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

“I want to work less and make more money,” is a common desire among internet business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs, but often with so much work to do, it seems next to impossible.

If you focus on sales and marketing, you end up falling behind on client work, and if you focus on client work, you risk losing potential new business. Sometimes it’s a struggle just to get ahead of the work you have so you can take the evenings or weekend off… and maybe you’re even so busy that things are starting to slip through the cracks? I have been there, and almost 10 years ago, it all came to a head one night when I realized that I had a big problem in a very embarrassing and public way, and that it needed to be fixed as soon as possible or my business would begin to suffer greatly.

After celebrating Bourn Creative’s twelve year anniversary this July, I decided to share my story, the lessons, learned, and how I overcame exhaustion and stress to run the streamlined, freedom-based business Bourn Creative is today.

11 Steps To Get Off The Freelance Income Roller Coaster And Improve Cash Flow

July 13, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

Freelancers, entrepreneurs, independent professionals, and even small agencies at some point, all have the same problem — riding the income roller coaster, where in some months you’re overflowing with cash and in others you’re barely scraping by.

When income fluctuates between extreme highs and lows, stress levels rise, sleep is lost, and a constant state of worry begins to take over. I know because I’ve been there.

In the early years of Bourn Creative, I didn’t have a problem finding new clients or landing new business. So while my income has never been a challenge, my cash flow was a big challenge, and that affected the forward movement of my business and the stress levels associated with being a freelancer.

Here’s exactly what I did to get off the income roller coaster and improve cash flow:

How To Get Testimonials That Work For You And Make Sales

June 13, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

Client testimonials are an incredibly powerful marketing and sales tool that can solidify credibility, build trust, and compel action. When done right, testimonials become a lens through which prospects see what is possible.

Taken one step further, testimonials become stories — mini case studies — that prospects can relate to, identify with, and place themselves into as the main character.

The problem is that most business owners have a hard time getting useful testimonials and clients stories because they don’t ask for them the right way or at the right time.

Here’s how to get testimonials that not only work for you and help make sales, but become personal and persuasive stories:

Selling A Million Dollars In Design Side Projects

May 18, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

Development is clear cut. It works or it doesn’t. The code is well-written or it’s a mess. Design on the other hand, is subjective, with the success of a project often based on the client’s ideas, perceptions, opinions, and personal experiences of what good design is.

Jennifer Bourn (that’s me) is founding partner and lead designer of Bourn Creative. While she spends her days designing high-end, complex, custom WordPress sites and brand suites, she has also sold well over a million dollars in just side projects and add-ons ranging from in price from $75-$3,000 — and the journey has been good, bad, and at times, down right ugly.

Jennifer recently teamed up with iThemes Training to deliver a free webinar called Selling a Million Dollars In Design about selling design services that skips the hype and sugar-coating, and gets right to the mistakes made, lessons learned, and business practices implemented over the 12 years Bourn Creative has been in business.

Red Flags: When To Not Hire A Designer

April 24, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

Design shapes perception and perception is not only reality but the foundation of your brand. Making the decision to invest in professional design for your business is making a decision to put your best foot forward, actively shape perception, and show up in the world as professional, authoritative, credible, valuable, and trustworthy.

While investing in professional design is a no-brainer for savvy businesses who want to accelerate their success and increase sales, making the decision to hire a professional designer can be wrought with stress, worry, and frustration if you don’t know what to ask when interviewing a designer or what to watch out for when signing a contract.

Bourn Creative celebrated its 12 year anniversary this past summer, and for 12 years straight, I have heard horror story after horror story from business owners who signed contracts without understanding the terms, didn’t receive the files they should have, ran into problems and delays, and encountered challenges that caused them to walk away with nothing or a design they didn’t like.

Each and every time I hear these stories, it breaks my heart a little bit because these situations can be avoided with a little due diligence up front.

Listed below are eight red flags to watch out for when hiring a designer. If you encounter any of these situations, say no thanks and move on.

You Need A Break To Get Things Done

April 15, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

WordCamp San Diego is a WordCamp that we attend every year. Yes, we have many friends in San Diego and I was invited to speak — which makes the event extra fun — but more important, the event offers an curated business track.

A lot of WordCamps offer a business track or business related content, but the sessions are all based on whatever happens to be submitted. WordCamp San Diego does it differently. More specifically, Chris Lema does it differently. Instead of relying on what gets submitted, Chris takes a more proactive approach. Each year, he hand-crafts the entire business track, selecting the topics of each sessions so they build on each other and create a cohesive curriculum. He then identifies the right people to deliver those talks. It makes for a much better attendee experience because all of the talks and speakers compliment each other.

Your Website Contact Page Deserves To Be A Priority

April 7, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

When anyone thinks of creating a new website, writing website content, or interacting on an existing website to improve user experience, the onsite customer journey, or conversions, they almost always begin with the key services, products and sales pages. They then look at the checkout pages for online purchases, the home page, testimonials or reviews, the about page, maybe an FAQ or support page. They even look at the blog. Rarely does any website owner prioritize the website contact page.

When it comes to the contact page of a website, most people barely give it any thought.

Even some of the most beautiful, well-designed websites in the world have ho-hum contact pages. A basic contact form is added to the page, the page is checked off a list of website to-dos, and focus is given to something that matters more. Or worse, the website contact page is viewed as a necessary evil and is created to be more of a barrier than an invitation.

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage — to move in the opposite direction.”

E. F. Schumacher

How to Build a Strong Brand and Design for Your Learning Platform

April 4, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

I’ve been lucky enough, at industry events and at CaboPress, to spend some quality time with the talented folks over at LifterLMS. Not only do have they created a great product, the LifterLMS WordPress Plugin, they are also really good people. So when Chris Badgett reached out about being a guest on their podcast, LMScast, to talk about branding, of course I said yes!

In this podcast episode, Chris and I talk about branding as it relates to creating an online course.

Brand To Boost Referrals, Attract Clients, and Expand Possibilities

March 31, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

Your brand is your core business asset. It is the reputation you have in the market, the perception your audience has about your business, and the feelings and thoughts they associate with your products or services. With a strong, clear brand, decision-making is easy, your value is clear, and you can charge your worth with confidence and certainty.

Today, I led a one hour, free webinar for the awesome iThemes Training community on branding. More specifically, how Clarity Breeds Opportunity and the steps needed so you can Brand To Boost Referrals, Attract Clients, and Expand Possibilities — and the recording is posted FREE for you to watch anytime you want.

This webinar provides you an overview of five critical stages of effective brand development, then focuses on a few of the foundational steps needed to get true clarity and begin transforming your business into an extraordinary brand. You will leave this webinar with a deeper understanding of how to communicate your brand message and stand out from the crowd, and the difference branding makes in securing new clients and receiving more opportunities.

If you have ever struggled to communicate your value or speak effectively with prospects about what you do and why you’re the best choice, this webinar helps you do just that with confidence and ease.

WordCamp Sacramento 2017 Embraces Peace, Love, And WordPress At The Sacramento Convention Center

March 23, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

After an incredible inaugural WordCamp Sacramento in 2015, that sold out in only two hours, it was clear that our Sacramento WordPress community wanted to improve their WordPress skills and meet other WordPressers in the greater Sacramento region — and that a weekend conference, separate from the monthly Sacramento WordPress meetup was very appreciated. I signed on to be lead organizer for WordCamp Sacramento 2016, moving the event to the Sacramento State University Alumni Center, where we welcomed 31 speakers and 350 attendees of all skills levels for a weekend of learning, eating, networking, and fun.

For WordCamp Sacramento 2017, I am once again lead organizer, and once again moving to a new venue — a larger venue we won’t outgrow and hopefully can continue to host WordCamp at years to come. WordCamp Sacramento 2017 will be held September 16-17, 2017 at the Sacramento Convention Center, just steps from the California State Capital, historic attractions, and amazing restaurants, as well as mere blocks from the brand new Golden 1 Center and K Street Mall.

It was really difficult to turn people away after tickets sold out last year because of venue capacity, so I’m really excited that this year we’re taking over the entire second floor meeting space of the convention center and will have enough space to welcome everyone who would like to join us (as long as they buy a ticket by the pre-event cutoff date). We’re expecting around 500 WordPressers this year!

Traffic & Conversion Summit 2017

March 14, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

This past weekend, Brian and I traveled to sunny San Diego for some gorgeous weather and an enormous internet marketing conference hosted by Digital Marketer. While Traffic & Conversion Summit has some “basics” sessions for beginners, the conference best serves more seasoned marketers and marketing agencies — those who have existed for a while, have data to look at, products to sell, and systems to improve.

Brian and I co-organize the Sacramento WordPress Meetup, we helped bring WordCamp to Sacramento in 2015 and I was lead organizer for WordCamp Sacramento 2016 and WordCamp Sacramento 2017, and we speak at and attend WordCamps up and down the west coast. But every once in a while, you’ve got to get out of the WordPress Bubble.

At times, the WordPress community can sound like an echo chamber, views can become limited, and understandings of how WordPress is positioned in the market can get warped. WordCamps, WordPress meetups, and other WordPress focused events like Pressnomics, WooConf, CaboPress, and Loopconf all, not surprisingly, focus on WordPress, and while the events are very valuable for those of us in WordPress, too much of that like-mindedness or only that like-mindedness can be dangerous.

This is why we go to non-WordPress business events and invest in attending at least one non-WordPress conference every year. We also believe that if you ever stop learning, you’ll plateau and be less valuable and helpful to your clients. Part of the reason we invest so heavily in traveling to and attending conference of all types is to:

What Is The Difference Between A WordPress Page and A WordPress Post?

February 7, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

For those of us who work with WordPress daily, concepts like the difference between WordPress pages and posts seem obvious, but then I go to a networking event, blogging event, or conference, and I am reminded that what we as professionals see as obvious is often seen as complex and confusing to new users. This is especially true with WordPress posts and pages — and when custom post types are thrown in the mix, it gets even more confusing.

Just a couple weeks ago, a new client was asking new to explain the difference between WordPress pages and posts. I grinned, told them that I had already written an entire blog post on this very topic, and went to grab the link and email it to them. But I couldn’t find it. Had I really never clicked publish on this post? Did it get buried under newer posts and forgotten about? Yep. It sure did. So needless to say, I’m publishing it now and hoping it sheds some light on this topic for you too!

Brian Clark of Rainmaker Digital Interviews Jennifer Bourn for the Unemployable Podcast

January 26, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

Many people have asked me if I would ever take a job and go to work for someone else again. I always answered, “Maybe. I’m always open to possibility and at least a conversation.” Over the last few years, Brian and I have both been offered jobs — jobs normal people would jump at. But really, neither of us are interested in giving up the freedom we have as design agency owners.

While some years were rougher than we’d like, Bourn Creative turns twelve this summer, and we could be happier. We’re fortunate to have a full roster of amazing clients we enjoy working with. We get to work on projects that fulfill us professionally and have time to pursue passion projects and hobbies that fulfill us personally. We can work from anywhere in the world and travel as much as we want (around the kids’ school schedule of course). Business is good. Life is good.

After almost twelve years of making my own schedule and managing my own day, I’m basically unemployable. So when Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger and CEO of Rainmaker Digital, reached out about being a guest on his Unemployable Podcast, I of course said yes.

Build Your Email List Fast With An Irresistible Free Offer

January 10, 2017 Jennifer Bourn

While brands and businesses are all but racing to social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, SnapChat and Instagram, they still are only reaching a small amount of the market. The irresistible email opt-in offer can change that.

The cornerstone of any successful business, online or offline, is its coveted marketing list — the list of customers, clients, prospects and other interested folks who have given you permission to market to them.

Email lists are critical to the success of your business because while not everyone uses social media (it’s crazy, but true), everyone has an email address.

Want to sign up for a social media site? Go ahead. They’ll require and email address.
Want to buy a product? Sure. They’ll need your email address.
Want to subscribe to a publication? No problem. Give them your email address.
Want to become a member? Great. They’ll also ask for your email.

“Innovators have to be open. They have to be able to imagine things that others cannot and be willing to challenge their own preconceptions. They also need to be conscientious. An innovator who has brilliant ideas but lacks the discipline and persistence to carry them out is merely a dreamer… But crucially, innovators need to be disagreeable… They are people willing to take social risks — to do things that others might disapprove of.”

Malcolm Gladwell

How to Build a Sustainable Referral-Based Business

December 29, 2016 Jennifer Bourn

If you’re a business owner, freelancer or entrepreneur, you’re probably going to networking events and conferences, being present on social media, and investing time and resources in blogging, cold calling, advertising, email marketing, search engine optimization, free offers, teleseminars, webinars, online challenges and direct mail. You’re doing it all to chase new leads, make more sales, gain new clients… and it’s exhausting.

Yet even though you’re working hard to close new sale after new sale and avoid the dreaded self-employment income roller coaster, it feels like you’re always behind.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to be able to stop chasing clients and instead have them chase you? How transformational would it be to have all the new clients and customers you need seek you out, and all you have to do is serve your clients and do what you do best?

This shift in new client and custom acquisition strategy can happen by focusing your efforts on building a sustainable business based on referrals.

How to Create A Website That Works When You’re Not Working

December 21, 2016 Jennifer Bourn

Today, a website is a fundamental requirement for every business. The process of planning, designing, and building a website is a critical step in establishing and launching a brand, yet website building is often fraught with problems caused by common misconceptions, misinformation, dangerous shortcuts, and poor guidance.

While no one thinks it will ever happen to them, even the most careful and savvy business owners fall victim to potential threats that sabotage their website’s success from day one.

Luckily, with the right mindset about your small business website, the right approach to creating your site, and the right website strategy to gain conversions, you can create a powerful website that works when you’re not working.

When you’re beginning to think about building a new website, the first step is getting in the right frame of mind so you avoid these three common website fallacies: