In this post:

• Naming and building the Night Shift Creative Co. brand
• Insight into Beechwood Consulting’s approach to unique client needs
• Multiple mini-launch website development and design story 

Erin approached us with nothing and everything all at once.  She had a beautiful, handmade product; a story that pulls at your heart strings; a creative talent working with textiles (and anything, honestly); and a pretty little idea to monetize a hobby.  She didn’t have a name, a business plan, or know if or where to start.  “Do you think this is stupid?” she asked. 

“F*&%, no!” we responded resoundingly.  “It’s going to be fun!”

To Be or Not To Be

The nerdy policy analyst in us loves proposal drafting (a.k.a. proposal dreaming).  At Beechwood Consulting, as part of this process, we define the client’s primary concern, prioritize decision-making criteria, gather evidence, and map out graded potential solutions. In this case, the client was primarily concerned about the worst-case scenario.  

With a full-time job, relationship, dog-mom life, and wanderlust for outdoor adventure in her free time, what would happen to her business’s home base if her side hustle gets sidelined by life?  We helped Erin understand her investment, the cost breakdown of “doing nothing,” and established inquiry/sales strategies that ultimately allows her to pick and choose projects as they aligned with her adventure calendar and creative interest. Problem solved.

From the Foundation Up

Before diving into design, website, and content work, we listened.  It’s story time! We learned about Erin’s serendipitous business origin story, the clients/past patients she intends to serve, and about the healing power of a creative outlet for her as a healthcare worker during the Covid-19 pandemic uncertainty.  Simple, soft, and whimsical themes continually emerged during brainstorming sessions, and we knew this was a vibe we wanted to carry throughout brand development.

Then, pretty sure we brainstormed potential names for all of 5 seconds before one just jumped out and immediately felt right: Night Shift Creative Co.  Erin was all in, but we wanted to mull it over and mini-focus group it before moving forward.  But we couldn’t help ourselves: that night, Beechwood Consulting sent over a hyper-excited, first iteration logo design via text message for her immediate input because we were that excited.  Shortly thereafter, Erin shared a piece of sunset artwork that resonated with her for brand color pallet inspiration, and the beginning of a lovable, meaningful, representative brand was born onto paper.

The Website Home Base

Erin’s Showit website and WordPress blog serves as an online home base for her new creative endeavor.  For the near future, she was less concerned about SEO, google analytics, and driving traffic; rather, she simply craved a pretty, informative place to showcase her work, communicate her passion, and direct word-of-mouth referrals (for project inspiration, streamlined communication, etc.). 

Instead of launching the site in a couple months only when everything was as perfect as possible, the client wanted it live asap, as a working website under construction—just like her growing business.  What was originally caused an immediate stress sweat for perfectionist professionals, is turning out to be a pretty cool lesson in acceptance.  Plus, the major bonus of the multiple, incremental phased launches = more opportunities to celebrate!

Learn more about Erin and Night Shift Creative Co. by visiting www.nightshiftcreativeco.com or emailing Erin at Erin@nightshiftcreativeco.com.