Category Archives: Karens Notes

Assume good intent.

creative headspace sketch of person imagining heart

You’ve had it happen. Probably even this week. Someone said something, did something (or didn’t), and you thought: “Well. That wasn’t very nice, because…” And your mind literally filled in the gaps. The truth is, we don’t know. That’s why our brains (wired for story) leap in to “help”. But since we are humans, full

Book Notes: Finish.

Book Notes: Finish. - Karen Reyburn

To be fair the chances of me completing a book called “Finish” seem higher than for other books. The title alone stares at you, judges you a bit until it’s done.  I’ve written before about my tendency to pull back right before something big is completed: Self sabotage, finishing your writing, and the power of

How to identify your marketing strategy “themes”

How to identify your marketing strategy “themes” - Karen Reyburn

Marketing strategy can feel confusing – and even pointless sometimes.  Surely it’s mostly a bunch of talk, and if you have to go through it you will, but really you want to just get some marketing done. “Executed” is the marketing term, but I find that rather war-like and creepy sometimes, so I tend to

The connected circle of space, and speed

The connected circle of space, and speed - Karen Reyburn

“So I see you have values like creative space, and rest… but you also have impact and decisiveness,” an accountant said to me this week. “One is slow and measured; the other gives the sense of speed and movement. How do you see those fitting together?” What a great question. It’s one of my favourite

Time for resolutions, or time for reflection?

Time for resolutions, or time for reflection? - Karen Reyburn

I’ve not always been ready to make resolutions at the start of January.  Some years I pushed myself. This will be my year, I’d promise myself, as I bought or pulled out yet another notebook – or a series of notebooks, like one year when I wrote a different word on each one, like “creativity”

As your business changes, the expression of your values changes too

Company values are excellent things. And sometimes, they need to be revisited. Not because they aren’t right: but because in business, as in life, things change. Your perspective shifts. What was the right area of focus before doesn’t fit the way it used to. I’ve been discovering that’s the case for me and my agency:

The easiest way to get Google reviews from clients

Real client reviews and testimonials have some of the biggest impact in marketing, because they mitigate the buyer’s fear of making a bad decision. Your buyer is thinking something like: “What if this doesn’t work out?” “I’ve heard this before – it sounds good but it did last time too” “Will I really get the

Book edit review notes

Book edit review notes - Karen Reyburn

We all use filler words in writing. We scramble around saying, “The point is, there are things which are definitely most important, which we need to make sure we do…” as opposed to “Do these things.”  It’s similar to filler statements when speaking. “Um…” “uhhh…” “I’m not sure…” “It’s sort of like the thing where…”