I'm Ashli, the owner and lead designer/developer at Basis. We design brands and build websites for ecommerce retailers. In this newsletter, I share weekly small biz reflections and helpful tips and tricks to help you grow your brand.
Finding what you don't know to look for
The last time I wrote a newsletter was a month ago, and I wrote about how I wished I could take a break and fix everything. While I haven't done that exactly, I have had a pretty spacious month personally and professionally, and I've experienced so many moments of serendipity during these widened spaces of time. For example, I found myself with time to skip my usual Instacart order, and instead went to the store myself and walked up and down the aisles, checking out foods I've never tried, and taking photos of packaging that I found inspiring. A photo I took that day ended up being the primary inspiration for a new branding client I just started working with. Another one: I bought a picnic basket on Facebook Marketplace during the early days of the pandemic in 2020, and creepily followed the seller on Instagram. Years later, she's become one of my best small business friends in Jax, owner of Levity Interiors, and we are getting ready to embark on a big project together to make her digital space as amazing as her physical one. And this: I had a free Saturday morning a few weeks ago, so I decided to learn how to repair our broken piano myself instead of hiring someone. It made for a really sweet moment with both of my daughters as they learned how to snip the old plastic elbows off each lifter and replace it with a new one. The eldest one wants to take piano lessons now, after yearssssss of me trying to get her interested. For me, the answer is in the tricky practice of clearing the road of distractions, but embracing the detours. It’s allowing the time to indulge in the pleasures of search and discovery. Muddling through a recipe without asking Google how to do it. Seeing a knickknack on someone's shelf and asking about it. Meeting someone on Facebook to buy houseplants and becoming instant best friends with their pet donkey (true story about my dad and his bestie, Violet). There's an art to finding something when you're not looking for it. Random Round-Up
Thanks so much for reading! Would love to hear any moments of serendipity you've experienced too! Just hit reply! :) Have a great week! Ashli |
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The Basis Newsletter
I'm Ashli, the owner and lead designer/developer at Basis. We design brands and build websites for ecommerce retailers. In this newsletter, I share weekly small biz reflections and helpful tips and tricks to help you grow your brand.
Last week was the summer solstice, and with the lengthening of sunlight with each passing month, I have felt a lengthening in my capacity. I mean that in a very literal work-sense: I have more capacity for projects, more time in my calendar. But also feel myself growing in capacity for those less tangible things, too. I have more capacity creatively. My kids are now ten and six... old enough to sleep in a tiny bit, dress themselves, entertain themselves for longer bits of time... and with...
I've been thinking a lot about the Slow Food Snail of Approval. Do you have this in your area? I hadn't heard of it before we moved to Jacksonville, but it's a certification that many restaurants proudly display that shows their commitment to: Sourcing local or sustainably Creating a positive environmental impact Offering cultural diversity in food Being actively involved in the community Providing significant support for staff Holding inclusive business values I was joking with a friend that...
Last year around this time, I wrote a vision for what I wanted Basis to be like in 2023. I just revisited it and am now sitting here teary-eyed. I'm proud to say we achieved 90% of the items laid out in the vision, but even moreso that I didn't waver from it: I knew myself and my desires so deeply that nothing was able to steer me down I path that I didn't proactively choose. For a Type A People Pleaser, this is huge. Some of the highlights from that document included: It’s January 9, 2024....