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Jennifer Bourn iThemesTraining WebinarRead How To Achieve Higher Profits While Working Less And Enjoying More Freedom
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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.

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Selling a Million DOllars In Design Side ServicesRead Selling A Million Dollars In Design Side Projects
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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.

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Jennifer Bourn Speaking at WordCamp San FranciscoRead WordCamp San Francisco 2014: Champion Purpose Driven Design in Client Work
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WordCamp San Francisco 2014: Champion Purpose Driven Design in Client Work

October 27, 2014 Jennifer Bourn

WordCamp San Francisco — the event, the talks, the people, the fun — was amazing.

I was honored to be selected as a speaker for the flagship WordCamp event and to give a talk alongside some of the most talented people I know and new people I was lucky to meet.

This year, WordCamp San Francisco did something a little different. Instead of each session featuring one speaker, giving a longer talk, they peppered in lightning talk sessions throughout the event, each featuring short 5 minute talks by three different speakers. I spoke in the design and business lightning talk session with Taylor Aldridge and Tracy Levesque.

My five minutes were dedicated to designers and encouraging designers to champion their design and be the expert they are hired to be.

In a world where web design can quickly turn to web decoration, designers are problem solvers who must not only lead clients through the creative process, but protect the integrity of the solutions they deliver. With an abundance of options readily available, it is imperative that designers step up and become the voices of, and champions for purpose driven design, where each element has a specific purpose and only the elements needed to compel action are included. No more, no less.

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Setting A Email Newsletter Publishing ScheduleRead Setting An Email Newsletter Publishing Schedule That You Can Stick With
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Setting An Email Newsletter Publishing Schedule That You Can Stick With

March 4, 2014 Jennifer Bourn

So you’ve decided to publish an email newsletter and capitalize on the number one electronic marketing tool available to you today other than your website and blog, email marketing. Now you need to decide how often you are going to publish your newsletter.

Your email newsletter is an integral part of your overall marketing calendar or marketing schedule. It is used for follow up, continuity, education, positioning, sales, branding, and more. Not only does it need to stand on it’s own, but it also needs to support all of your other marketing efforts too.

Plus, an email newsletter is a great place to include announcements, opportunities, and reminders for your subscribers to sign up, opt-in, register, click, or buy your teleclasses, webinars, events, products, programs, and more. These quick announcements and reminders provide support for your overall marketing and launch strategy.

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How to Alienate Your DesignerRead 7 Ways To Alienate Your Designer & Go From Client to Contract
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7 Ways To Alienate Your Designer & Go From Client to Contract

May 15, 2013 Jennifer Bourn

In a perfect world, working with your designer would be a perfect partnership of creativity, communication, and collaboration — at least that is what designers strive for. But that’s not always the case…

A designer begins every project excited about what they will create and about bringing the client’s vision to life — they wouldn’t have accepted the project is they weren’t. They are excited about solving problems, helping their clients succeed, and building a new relationship or strengthening an existing one. They value their client and look forward to becoming their long term creative partner.

Designers have so much pride in their work and so much invested in their clients’ success, that they will often bend over backward, throw in extra work, and go above and beyond your contract just to make sure the final result is as good as it can possibly be. Mainly because the success of your project puts their reputation on the line.

But occasionally, a switch gets flipped, and the dynamics of the relationship change. Something happens, or several things happen, that cause a designer to shift the way they view a client and a project.

It’s the critical point where a client stops being a client and starts being a contract that needs to be fulfilled — where a designer throws their hands in the air and gives up trying to make it totally awesome, and instead just wants it to be good and done.

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Marketing Tips For Following Up With LeadsRead 5 Marketing Tips for Successful Follow Up
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5 Marketing Tips for Successful Follow Up

January 11, 2013 Jennifer Bourn

Studies show that about 40-50% of all inbound sales leads are never followed up on. That equals A LOT of conversations, potential business deals, opportunities to help left hanging, and too many lost possibilities, all due to follow up failure.

Yes you’re busy, but you should never be too busy to follow up with those you have connected with and met. You should never be too busy to keep a sales conversation going. And you should never be too busy to make good on a promise you made.

Follow up is important — it’s your opportunity to build on your first impression and create a lasting impression, to show the other person you do care and you can be counted on, and to add value to your growing relationship.

Here are 5 marketing tips to help you fix your follow up:

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Communicate Cearly with ClientsRead 5 Marketing Tips on Communicating With an Ideal Client
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5 Marketing Tips on Communicating With an Ideal Client

January 8, 2013 Jennifer Bourn

Defining your ideal client is the first step to generating quality, qualified leads with your marketing. The second step is to communicate with your ideal clients effectively — and about your ideal clients effectively.

It’s very difficult for consumers to refer their friends, family, and colleagues to you and your business if they aren’t sure who you serve or what exactly you specialize in. Likewise, it’s difficult for them to see if they are a great fit for your product, program and service.

If you want to succeed in business, you must communicate who you serve, what you do, and how you can help them in a simple, easy to understand, clear way. With that in mind, I’ve compiled five marketing tips to help you communicate to, with, and about your ideal clients and target market:

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