Well hello Reader. ๐
I'm in the middle of my CanvaOS launch - so it's been all systems go around here! But I honestly enjoy these launches (weird I know! ๐คฃ) - I love getting to know new people and I'm so proud of what CanvaOS has to offer. (But it is a lot of work ๐). Anyway....
I've been doing this whole content creation thing for a couple of years now, and I've started getting sponsorship enquiries from brands - which is flattering. But it's also a bit confronting, cos it forces me to ask a question I maybe haven't thought about in a while: who do I actually want to be associated with?
It got me thinking about brand values more broadly. It's a topic I've always been really passionate about, and I think a lot of that comes from working with some amazing brands when I was in agency, and seeing the impact REAL values can genuinely make.
But I have to be honest - most brand values I encountered were completely decorative. An agency picks a few words (Innovation. Integrity. Creativity. ๐), pastes them on a website, and calls it done. Very few companies can explain how those values actually impact the daily lives of people who work with - or for - them.
When it comes to small business and solopreneurs though, here's what I've come to believe - your real values aren't something you need to invent. They're already there. You just have to look at yourself with a bit of honest curiosity.
Try these questions as a start:
- What shapes your behaviour, even when no one's watching?
- What do you turn down, even when it costs you?
- What makes you quietly wince when you see another business doing it?
- What would you never compromise on, even if a really good client asked you to?
- Who would you NEVER work with?
Your gut reactions to those questions are worth paying attention to. The client you said no to without quite knowing why; the project that felt 'off' from the very first email; the opportunity that looked great on paper but sat wrong somewhere in your chest. That discomfort often has a value disconnect behind it.
But discovering your values is only half of it. Cos a value you haven't examined isn't really a value. It's just a word you liked the sound of.
Take kindness. It's one of mine, and on the surface it sounds obvious - who doesnt want to be seen as kind? But when you really examine what it means in practice, it changes things.
For me, it means I'll always try to hear a different point of view. BUT, it also means I will not work with brands whose messaging dehumanises ANY people. It means turning down a sponsor who works with people or organisations that are contrary to that - even when the money looks good. It means being willing to lose followers when I take a public stance on something, and being okay with those consequences.
Kindness isn't just being warm in my content. It has edges. And knowing where those edges are is what makes it an actual value rather than just a vibe.
That's true for pretty much every value you can name. The moment you start asking "What does this actually require of me? What am I willing to risk for this?" is the moment it stops being performative.
But I've also learned that the way we used to look at brand values not only no longer works, it's plain outdated. A while back I had a client who was completely paralysed trying to write their values. They kept staring at the page, trying to find the right words in the right order. Nothing felt true. Everything just felt like something they 'should' list.
So we changed the approach entirely and framed them. Each 'value' instead started with "We believe that..." and suddenly the whole thing unlocked. "We believe that good work takes time." "We believe that kindness isn't optional." Specific, honest, personal. There's no single right way to do this - values, beliefs, principles, promises. Call them whatever feels true to you, and explore any way of finding 'em that hits home for you. (Despite what the old branding gurus may tell you. ๐)
Why this matters
When you get genuinely clear on your values, something shifts. Not in a dramatic, overnight way - in a quietly practical one. As a solopreneur or small business owner, you're making decisions constantly, and mostly on your own, without a team to bounce things off. Who do I work with? How do I position this? What do I charge? Do I post about this? Do I take this opportunity? Most of those feel hard cos there's no obvious right answer. But when your values are clear, they become your filter for everything. You're not making it up as you go - you're checking it against something solid that is important to you, and is how you want your brand to show up in the world.
And the other thing that happens is the right people find you. Not just customers who like your work, but people who like why and how you do your work. Those people tend to stick around. They come back, they refer friends, they forgive you when something isn't perfect, they allow you to be vulnerable - cos the relationship isn't purely transactional. It's built on something shared.
Brands without clear values tend to gain and lose followers quickly. And they have to keep finding new traffic - because there's nothing to anchor anyone! Brands with strong, lived values build something much steadier - and that matters a lot when you're a one-person show without a marketing budget and a big agency behind you.
Meaningful Creations
My partner is an illustrator - so we spend a LOT of time geeking out over the myriad techniques and styles of different artists. And today's Meaningful Creator is one who I really find captivating.
Taylor Mazer is an award-winning pen and ink illustrator whose work is all about light and shadow, and the technique he uses to achieve it is fascinating - he works with masking to protect certain areas of the paper while he builds up layers of ink around them, gradually revealing the most incredible contrasts of light and dark. The results feel almost cinematic.
I am addicted to his videos revealing the light. ๐ There's something so magical about seeing a technique like this unfold. The masking isn't just a method - it's a whole way of seeing. It's like he's decided that light is the subject, and ink is just the thing he uses to reveal it.
It's a brilliant reminder that the most interesting creative work often comes from artists who've found their own specific angle on a medium - something they've discovered not though shortcuts and productivity hacks, but through practice, patience and process.
And another thing: showing the technique made the work mean even more. So maybe there's a tip in there for us all. ๐
Check out their website and Instagram, and tell 'em I sent ya.๐
That's it folks. Thanks for being here, and have a fabulous weekend. I'll be back to my normal tutorials and emails next week. ๐ค
PS: CanvaOS 3.0 enrolment ends on Sunday night! If you would like to join us, or know anyone who may be interested in learning to use Canva like a Pro - enrolment is only open for another coupe of days. Find out more:createdbywayne.com/canvaos
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