B.Collaborative

Twelve years ago this month, I hit publish on my very first Facebook business post.

It wasn't B.Collaborative.

It wasn't even under my own name.

It was called Zhuzh-it with Brooke & Wildtree 😂 Come to think of it, I followed that up with B.Collaborative. Maybe difficult-to-spell business names are just my thing.

Back then, Riley was 3 years old, Roby was 7, and I was teaching freezer meal workshops to help busy families get healthy dinners on the table.

At the time, I thought I was building a business around food.

What I was really building was relationships.

Wildtree introduced me to mentors, taught me more about communication and human dynamics than I ever expected, and led to one conversation that became my very first consulting client.

She introduced me to another client.

Then another.

Most of them are still with me today.

Looking back, I had no idea one page, one conversation, and years spent teaching freezer meal workshops would help shape the business I have today.

The best restaurants aren’t just serving food.

They’re creating an experience.

The menu matters.
The atmosphere matters.
The detail matters.
The people matter.

People may come for the food, but they come back because of the experience.

I think the same is true in business.

People hire you for what you do, but they stay and refer you to others because they know they can count on you.

My husband understood the assignment. 🇺🇸😂

Our back porch is officially ready for the Fourth of July... and I kinda love it!

Wishing you and your family a safe, relaxing, and memorable holiday weekend!

Sometimes people ask me for "just a landing page."

And technically... yes.

It is just one page.

But if it's the very first thing someone sees about your business, your event, or your newest idea, it's also your first impression.

Of course, part of the process is deciding what should go on the page.

But I also ask myself questions like...

What should someone feel when they first click on it?

Should they trust you?

Should they be excited?

Can they quickly understand exactly what you do?

Can they see the why behind your business?

Because a good landing page isn't just about filling space.

It's about setting the tone for everything that comes next.

Happy early Father's Day to our guy, Branden. For the past 11 years, we've worked from home together. I often joke that he's my favorite coworker. 🤣

We've spent 19 years raising kids together, and one of the greatest gifts has been getting to watch the way he loves them. He leads by example, works hard, shows up when it matters, and has is a steady presence.

The older our kids get, the more I appreciate the example he's set for them and the countless ways he's supported all of us along the way.

Branden, we love you and are so grateful for you.

Happy Father's Day to you and all the dads out there. ❤️

And for anyone who finds Father's Day a little hard, we're thinking of you too. Whether you're missing your dad, grieving a loss, navigating a complicated relationship, or carrying a heartache that others may not see, you're not alone.

This will be our second Father's Day without Branden's dad, and we're reminded that these days can hold both gratitude and grief at the same time.

One of my favorite parts of summer so far has been getting to spend extra time with my son, Roby.

Most people know he's been running his mobile car detailing business, but he's also been working at one of our favorite local restaurants, Le Ono, helping me with branding photo shoots, and last night photographed his very first senior session.

He's always had such an artistic eye, so watching him behind the camera and getting to walk alongside him has been really fun. Sometimes that means helping him make connections, sometimes it's talking through client communication or the business side of things, and sometimes it's simply stepping back and watching him create.

I genuinely enjoy watching him behind the lens almost as much as seeing the photos afterward.

Selfishly... I've loved the extra time together too. ❤️

I came across an article recently that got me thinking about AI, branding, marketing, and design.

One idea in particular stuck with me: AI can be really good at generating answers.

The challenge is that branding, marketing, and design rarely have just one right answer.

The best answer is usually found somewhere between strategy, experience, intuition, and understanding people.

That's the part I don't see AI replacing anytime soon.

(Sharing the article below if you'd like to read it too. It was an interesting perspective.)

Current office situation…
1 college kid home, popping into my office a few times.
1 high school kid dropping her phone from the upstairs porch straight onto the concrete outside my office.
17 tabs open.
27 unread texts.
4 different beverages.

Somehow simultaneously discussing:
~ a food hall
~ elder care
~ updating operational processes
~ a website audit and refresh
~ and a marketing campaign

Wouldn’t have it any other way.

Hellllooooo summer!

Have you ever had a season in business or life that you prepared for, worked for, only to have it not go the way you planned?

Honestly… that’s happened to me more times than I can count. And this year, it happened to my daughter too during her first high school lacrosse season.

After working incredibly hard to make varsity as a freshman and double rostering for both JV and Varsity, she ended up sidelined for several weeks with a medical issue right in the middle of the season.

I wasn’t sure how she’d mentally come back from it.

There were multiple doctor appointments, missed school days, and a lot of watching from the sidelines.

But by the grace of God, she recovered much faster than expected and was able to return before the season ended. And while she was cleared physically, mentally getting back into the game was still hard. The stamina and agility she had worked so hard to build had taken a hit during her time away.

But then she had one game that completely relit the fire.

You could see her confidence return. She locked in, learned a new position, worked her way back onto the field, finished the season strong, scored her first varsity goals… and in one game put away three.

Today was also her last final exam of freshman year, and I’m just really proud of her.

Not because everything came easily.
Because it didn’t.

But watching someone learn how to adapt, regroup, and come back stronger will impress me every single time.

The same is true in business too.

Growth rarely looks the way you planned it would.

The people who learn how to pivot, adjust, and keep showing up are usually the ones who last.