The Camino

A True Story from Debby Kevin

I didn’t realize my life had stopped fitting me until the seams finally gave way.

For years, I wore every role like armor—mother, partner, teacher, leader, business owner—layer upon layer until I couldn’t tell where the costumes ended and I began. Striving became my language. Hustling became my heartbeat. And one day, without warning, even the smallest parts of me felt threadbare.

It took a journey halfway around the world for me to finally be able to hear the voice that was inside of me all along, yelling itself hoarse. I thought I was looking for an escape. The Camino taught me I was looking for a place to breathe, I was moving in order to find stillness, I was fighting through the noise to hear a whisper.

I finally took my first long trek in 2017. Over the years, I’d walked miles across France and Spain, shedding stories I never chose but carried anyway. But this final journey—from Santiago to Muxía—felt different from the very first step.

The Camino has a way of stripping life down to its barest truths: your breath, your footsteps, the pain in your legs, the kindness of strangers, and the silence of your own mind.

There were mornings when I woke to a cathedral bathed in the stunning glow of the rising sun and felt something inside soften. There were afternoons of eucalyptus forests and sleepy villages, where the world seemed to whisper that nothing was as urgent as I’d made it. And then there were days I trudged along hot pavement with swollen feet, sweating through my resolve, wondering why on earth I’d chosen this path again.

It was day six of my final Camino trek, I was slowly climbing the first sun-baked incline, the ocean stretching behind me like a promise I couldn’t cash in yet.

The road was hot. Wide open and busy, with the kind of traffic that makes you question every life choice, including the one that brought you to this godforsaken, gorgeous corner of the world.

No shade. Just miles of hot pavement, my own shadow for company, and the occasional blaring horn from drivers who apparently thought the Camino was a racetrack.

I was sweating in places I didn’t know could produce sweat. My knees. My actual knees. Who knew knees could glisten like that? By hour three, the sun peeled back any illusions of comfort, and my feet—bless them—were bloated into unrecognizable bags of stubbornness and regret.

Still, the beauty was undeniable. Rolling hills, wildflowers clinging to dry earth, olive-skinned trees waving gently in the breeze. That breeze. God, the way it moved through the eucalyptus leaves, the rustle soft and meditative—until the next truck roared past and shattered the moment like glass.

Somewhere around mile four, I thought I’d reward myself with a break. I dropped my pack, sat down, and exhaled with something like joy.

That joy lasted exactly 4.7 seconds.

I had sat on an anthill. Not beside. Not near. Directly on.

The moment was pure chaos. They were everywhere—down my shorts, up my shirt, biting with the coordinated fury of an army scorned. I leapt up, flailing and swatting at my clothes, hopping around like someone who’d just discovered interpretive dance. I yanked at my waistband and cursing in languages I don’t speak. It would have been hilarious if I wasn’t half-convinced I’d be consumed alive.

I finally shook them off—mostly—and limped back onto the path, itchy, bitten, and full of a fresh kind of rage.

But The Camino was having none of it. Out of nowhere: kittens. Literal kittens, chasing each other in the dust outside a crumbling farmhouse. And dogs—so many dogs, lounging in the sun, padding alongside fences, wagging their tails like I was someone worth noticing.

It was absurd, this mix of pain and beauty. The kind of contrast that makes you question whether you’re alive or dreaming, or hallucinating from heatstroke.

By the end of the day, my body felt as though it’d been through a car wash set to “scalding sandpaper.” I was a little broken. A little bitten. And…content.

But the true turning point wasn’t dramatic.

It happened the morning my feet refused my shoes. Hokas, Birkenstocks—nothing fit. My legs throbbed, my body begged, and for the first time I didn’t force myself forward. I listened. I rested. I finally understood the quiet power in allowing, instead of pushing, of listening to that quiet inner voice.

And when three other women chose rest too, I realized how deeply ingrained these ideas of self-sacrifice, enduring, and submitting are in the female psyche. I realized that all of us were so busy listening to the voices of outside expectations that we’d all stopped listening to ourselves.

Permission, it turns out, is a contagion more healing than determination.

Reaching Muxía didn’t feel like arriving at the “end of the earth.” It felt like walking back into myself. The waves crashed against the ancient rocks with a kind of honest ferocity, as if they knew exactly what I had been holding. I carried a small stone from Santiago—symbolizing every year I’d put my own needs last—and when I threw it into the Atlantic, I didn’t feel triumphant. I felt free. It was a homecoming, not a victory lap.

The woman who first stepped onto the Camino in 2017 isn’t the woman who stood beside the ocean in 2025.

I’ve grown softer in the places that once hardened. Clearer in the places that once scattered. I’ve learned to listen inward even when it’s inconvenient, even when it shifts the shape of my life. I’ve stopped apologizing for needing rest, silence, and truth.

And if there’s anything I want another woman to know, it’s this:

Your return to yourself won’t announce itself with a bang. It will come in a quiet moment—a refusal to push, a choice to listen, a truth you finally stop outrunning. That’s when the path home opens. Not loudly. Not dramatically. But unmistakably.

Meet Debby Kevin

Highlander Press

Deborah helps women authors turn their powerful stories into professionally published books—without overwhelm, confusion, or compromise. Through guided publishing cohorts, interactive education, and full-service support, she leads writers from messy idea to polished manuscript to meaningful, impactful book launch.

Wisdom in the Deck

Card 2: Coming home to yourself isn’t some big dramatic moment. It’s just the quiet decision to stop second-guessing what you already know.

Theme: This card teaches that clarity is not something to chase, earn, or force—it is something to remember. It invites the reader to step out of relentless striving and return to the quiet intelligence of instinct and discernment. The wisdom here honors rest, listening, and subtle inner knowing as legitimate forms of power. It reminds us that transformation does not always arrive with spectacle; sometimes it arrives when we finally stop running from ourselves.

Own Your Voice

A True Story from Debby Kevin

There was a long stretch of my life when I believed chapters of my story needed to stay hidden. Not because they weren’t true—but because I feared what would happen if I actually told them. I’d been taught, like so many women, that the messy chapters should stay tucked away. Keep it neat. Keep it palatable. Don’t make anyone uncomfortable. I was told being me could discredit me! And I followed those rules for far too long.

The cost of that silence was subtle but relentless. I was capable and accomplished, yet always slightly out of alignment with myself. I shaped my voice around what I thought the world wanted to hear, rather than the truth that wanted to be spoken through me. I was accomplished on the outside, but muted on the inside. I second-guessed myself.

Everything changed the day I let one piece of my real story slip into daylight. It wasn’t dramatic or strategic—it was honest. And the response startled me. Instead of rejection or judgment, I witnessed recognition. People leaned in. They softened. Hearts opened. They recognized themselves in my story and I saw the unmistakable spark that appears when someone hears a shared truth they’ve quietly carried alone.

In that moment, I realized the thing I had feared for years was the very thing that could free me. The truth doesn’t diminish us. The truth strengthens us.

And when women own their voices and tell their stories, they don’t just change their lives—they change the world.

That realization became the foundation of everything I do now. I help women bring their full, unfiltered stories onto the page—not the polished mask, not the version they think they’re “supposed” to share, but the one with heat and heartbeat and humanity. The kind of books that transform the writer as much as they touch the reader. Because when a woman stops hiding, her energy shifts. She becomes grounded. Clear. Unshakable. Her story becomes a bridge—for connection, for leadership, for change.

I don’t help authors write perfect books. I help them write real ones.

Books that hold truth, structure, and transformation.

Books that make both the writer and the reader feel profoundly seen.

If there’s one thing I want you to hear, it’s this:

You don’t need to wait until you feel ready.

Your story, exactly as it exists today, carries power, resonance, and the potential to change someone’s life—including your own. Claim it without apology. Speak it without shrinking. The world shifts when you do.

Meet Debby Kevin

Highlander Press

Deborah helps women authors turn their powerful stories into professionally published books—without overwhelm, confusion, or compromise. Through guided publishing cohorts, interactive education, and full-service support, she leads writers from messy idea to polished manuscript to meaningful, impactful book launch.

Wisdom in the Deck

Card 1: When you own your voice, you don’t just change your life—you change the world.

Theme: This card teaches that untold truth creates inner distortion, while spoken truth creates alignment. It invites the reader to honor the story pressing forward and to let it reshape them from the inside out.

My Friends and Fellow Travelers,

Last week I left you just after a very judgmental cat, living in a small village in Spain, gave me a beautiful card with a shimmering picture of a butterfly on it. Further inspection revealed the words, “When you own your voice, you don’t just change your life—you change the world.”

This week, we resume the act of continuously falling forward and catching ourselves. I really do recommend you grow some wings, they are a far more graceful way to travel, and also, much more fun.

Anyway, Debbie, myself and the other ladies started walking again, and I shuffled up beside the author because I am incapable of minding my own business.

“What are you writing?” I asked, attempting to sound casual and failing spectacularly.

“My story,” she said.

I waited for the exciting part.

She added, “It’s not glamorous.”

“Oh,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment like a polite gremlin. “Then why are you writing it?”

She hesitated, then said, very softly, “Because I survived things people don’t like to hear about. And every time I say them out loud, someone else breathes differently. Like they’ve been holding it too.”

That was… inconveniently beautiful.

“Oh!” I said, finally getting it. “So now that you’re on the other side, living your happily ever after, you’re telling people how you got there!”

And then she said something that cracked my brain open like an egg:

“Not quite. I kept thinking I had to be finished. Like I had to arrive somewhere before I was allowed to write about how I got here. And I don’t feel like I’ve arrived anywhere. I’m just me. Just living each day, waiting for the next shoe to drop. But then, I met Debby. She helped me to understand that I don’t have to arrive as some mythical pinnacle. I don’t have to be finished, polished, done. I just have to have lived and learned something that someone else hasn’t yet.” She laughed then. “Debby actually said, I’ll never forget this, she said, ‘You’re not done until you’re dead and it’s a lot harder to write a book when you’re dead.’”

We walked in silence after that, but my brain was loud. Because I have stories too. Stacks of them. Hoards. Half-written scrolls shoved into drawers labeled:

• “Later”

• “When I’m Better”

• “When I’m Less Weird”

• “When I’m Successful”

When I think about sharing them, they feel too much like standing in the middle of the road without my shoes. (Remind me to tell you about that nightmare sometime!)

I looked over at the woman next to me. She didn’t look armored. She looked tired, sweaty, and little bit sunburned.

Day six arrived like a slap.
Hot pavement. No shade. Trucks screaming past like destiny had a deadline.
One of the women started limping.

“You okay?” someone asked.

“I’m fine,” she said automatically.

Debby stopped walking.

“No,” she said gently. “You’re not.”

There was no edge to it. No judgment. Just a firmness that said, ‘Un-god you dastardly peddlers of oppression! I refuse to participate in the ancient ritual of women pretending they’re fine while their bodies scream.’

The limping woman tried to wave it off. “It’s nothing. I don’t want to slow everyone down.”

Debby set her pack down.

“We’re not in a race,” she said. “And you’re not a burden.”

And then something wild happened.

Your reading the words, but you’re missing out on the rest of the pictures from my travels and even a few short video clips!

Three other women set their packs down too.
No speech. No manifesto. No “This Is A Movement.”
Just: Okay. We’re resting now.

I watched it like a magic trick. Like Debby had cast a spell called Permission, and it settled over the entire group in an instant.

One woman peeled off her socks and started tending blisters with the focused tenderness of a battlefield medic.

Another rubbed her hip like it had personally betrayed her.

A third lay down in the tiny scrap of shade and fell asleep within two minutes, which honestly? Iconic.

I, too, sat down. Because I am extremely brave when a group is already doing something brave.

Someone passed around almonds.
Nobody apologized.
Nobody explained.
Nobody talked.

Moogie licked sunscreen off my elbow.

I don’t know why. He’s a stuffed bat-cow. He does not require nourishment. He is made of felt and misplaced confidence. Yet there he was, tongue out, tasting SPF 50 like he was reviewing it for a dairy blog.

I stared at him.
Debby stared at him.

The napping woman snorted awake and said, “Am I dreaming? Or is that… alive?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered, because admitting you’ve brought an animate plush into a sacred pilgrimage is a social risk.

Moogie burped.
A tiny puff of glitter came out.
Everyone froze.

It drifted on the wind like a cursed dandelion.

And that’s when I learned something important about the Camino:
The truth you’re trying not to face will always rise to the surface.

The glitter puff drifted toward the road.
The road… reacted.
Not metaphorically. Literally.

The dust on the path began to lift in delicate curls, like it was inhaling. The pebbles shivered. A low hum rose from the ground—subtle, almost polite—like the earth was clearing its throat.

Debby blinked.
I blinked back.

The author whispered, “I think I need electrolytes. I think I’m hallucinating. This isn’t normal.”

“No,” Debby said, very calmly. “But neither is Ophelia.”

Correct. Thank you. Finally, someone recognizes my brand value.

I should probably explain: I had been trying very hard to be normal this whole trip. I had been doing human walking. I had been keeping my magic folded up like a travel umbrella. But apparently the Camino has rules about authenticity and gets offended when you pretend.

So when Debby stopped the group and made rest contagious…

…and when everyone just… accepted it…

…and when nobody apologized for being who they were and needing what they needed…

…something in the world loosened.

And my magic—being chaos-aligned and deeply opportunistic—popped its head up like, Oh! We’re being honest now? Great! I will participate.

The ground hummed again.

A small gust of wind spun through us, and—this is not a joke—my satchel unzipped itself and began coughing up items I did not pack.

A tiny scroll unrolled at my feet.

I picked it up.
It read:

I stared at it.
Then, because I’m me, I tried to pretend I hadn’t seen it.

The author leaned over. “What does it say?”

“It’s… nothing,” I lied, holding it behind my back like a child hiding a frog.

The scroll burned gently in my claws until I sighed and read it aloud.

Debby nodded like that made perfect sense.
Of course it did. She’s Debby. She probably gets truth rewards in her cereal.

Then the weirdest part:
The scroll changed.
It turned into a little blank card—thick paper, clean edges, the size of an oracle card.

The author gasped. “Did you do that?”

I pointed at Moogie. “He did it.”

Moogie mooed innocently and licked more sunscreen.

The card shimmered once, like it was waiting.

For what?
A truth.
And I suddenly—very inconveniently—understood what it was asking for.
Not a speech. Not a performance. Not a branding statement.

Just… a true sentence.

So I did the bravest thing I could do in front of a group of capable women with barely functioning knees:

I said something small.

Silence.
Not the awkward kind.
The listening kind.

The card warmed in my claws like a purring animal. And on its surface, ink appeared—slowly, like the truth was being written by the air itself:

Coming home to yourself isn’t some big dramatic moment. It’s just the quiet decision to stop second-guessing what you already know.

I swallowed.

The ground hummed again, but this time, it carried a low voice:

The humming stopped.

Debby whispered, “The Camino.”

And in that moment, I watched the author’s shoulders drop by half an inch, like she’d been carrying a secret sack of shame and someone had just taken it off her without even touching it.

She reached into her notebook. Flipped to chapter three. And drew a line through the words REMOVE THIS.

Then she wrote above it:

LEAVE IT IN ANYWAY.

The limping woman exhaled like she’d been holding her breath for years.

The woman who’d been snoring sat up and said, “Oh no. I think I’ve been doing life wrong.”

Debby smiled. “You haven’t been doing it wrong. You’ve been doing it the way you were trained.”

We stayed resting for a while longer. Someone found the almonds. Someone else offered electrolyte tablets like they were contraband. Moogie tried to eat one and fizzed gently for ten seconds.

No one apologized for existing.
No one justified needing a pause.

And I watched Debby do something I think is her truest magic:
She made it normal.
She made truth normal.
She made rest normal.

She made “I’m not fine” and “I’m not finished” and “I don’t know yet” feel like allowed sentences.

Eventually we got up and kept walking, because rest isn’t quitting—it’s listening.

When the group reached the place where they’d continue on toward Muxía, Debby hugged me.

Sun-warmed. Salt in the air. A hug that said: you’re allowed to be real here.

“You continuing on?” someone called.

I looked at them—these women walking forward not as martyrs, not as performers, but as actual humans with bodies and stories and blisters.

I felt my satchel on my back becoming uncomfortably warm.
The teleportation muffin was waking up.
I looked down at my new card of wisdom.

Moogie blinked back at me like, Adventure?

I opened my mouth to answer and in that exact moment -

The card in my hand loudly announces:

Moogie gasped. Which is impressive for felt.

I blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

The card called out again:

Debby did not look surprised. Cheryl must have warned her.

The author clutched her notebook like she might write this down.

The limping woman whispered, “Is this… part of the Camino?”

Debby tilted her head. “It is now.”

By now my Teleportation Muffin felt like it had just been taken out of the oven. It burst out of my satchel and began rotating slowly in midair with an air of corporate bossiness.

The sky ripped open like poorly hemmed curtains and a very annoyed Irish goat falls through screaming, “WRONG DRAGON.”

Fenris. Cheryl’s suspiciously poetic goat. He landed directly on the teleportation muffin. The muffin exploded into scones.

Reality folded.
Moogie saluted.

And before I could make one more dramatic comment about my sunscreen budget—I was sucked sideways into the pastry vortex.

The last thing I heard was Debby calling out:

Then—
pop.

Silence.

The Camino remained.
The women kept walking.

And somewhere far from Spain, I landed face-first on a velvet rug in a place that smelled faintly of roses and expensive decisions.

There was a pause. A teacup clinked.

Someone above me said, very calmly,

“Um, Hi. Can I help you?”

I sat up, still tasting sunscreen and almonds and dirt and looked around. “Oh good,” I said. “You have furniture. This is already an upgrade.” I promptly toppled to my left and was sound asleep by the time my face hit the velvet again.

With love, mild whiplash, and a time crumb in my ear,
Ophelia 🌈
Pilgrim (not the funny hat kind) | Scone Traveler | Truth Card Holder

P. S. Moogie says moo.
P.P.S. If you don’t hear from me soon, assume I’ve been swallowed by a giant monster with a velvet rug camouflaged tongue.
Or a different decade.
Or kidnapped by a crazy Irish Goat with a teleportation problem.

Dearest Magical Friends, Besties, Chaos Cousins, and Whoever Keeps Mailing Me Unsolicited “7-Figure Funnel” Scrolls,

I am writing to you from Spain.

Yes. Spain.

Do not ask why, because I tried asking me and I just blinked a lot and then ate a cookie like it was an answer.

Here’s what happened.

You know how I was going to rest? Like a responsible creature? Like a dragon-fae adult Doxie who doesn’t treat “summer break” like an invitation to do something unhinged?

Anyway.

When the universe places an order for you with express shipping, you pack your snacks and go.

So I did.

The teleportation muffin coughed up Spain like a hairball of destiny, and I landed in a ditch beside a dusty road under a sun that clearly had unresolved anger.

Moogie the stuffed bat-cow was tangled in my tail.

And a woman in hiking boots was laughing at me with the warm confidence of someone who has survived at least one spiritual reckoning and possibly several PTA meetings.

“You must be Ophelia,” she said.

“I was promised snacks,” I replied, because introductions are hard and hunger is honest.

She handed me a fig.

This is how I met Debby.

Now, I assumed Debby had summoned me for something dramatic. A curse. A treasure map. A dragon duel. A business intervention.

Instead she said, “Welcome to the Camino.”

“I LOVE HORSEBACK RIDING,” I shouted, whipping my head around to locate the adorable beasts.

Debby stared at me like she was watching a tiny weather system form.

“No, not a Palomino. The Camino de Santiago. It’s a walking pilgrimage.”

I looked down at my feet.

They looked back at me like, Oh no. Not this again.

“Is there a starting line?” I asked, scanning the landscape for a ribbon to burst through heroically.

“No,” she said. “That’s the point.” (That sentence should come with a warning label.)

Then she helped me out of the ditch—very kindly, despite the fact I had twigs in my horns—and we started walking. Not because a bell rang. Not because someone announced, “LET THE SACRED JOURNEY BEGIN.” We just… angled in a direction and proceeded to fall forward and catch ourselves.

The road didn’t care about me. Which was rude. Olive trees leaned into the breeze like they’d seen a thousand melodramatic pilgrimages and were not impressed.

Up ahead, I saw a small group of women walking together—sun-warmed, quiet, like they belonged to the road.

“Who are they?” I whispered.

“Pilgrims,” Debby said.

“Are we pilgrims?”

“If you’re walking, you are.”

That seemed suspiciously inclusive.

Now listen. The first two days were ordinary in a way that made me itch. People were just… walking. Sweating. Drinking water. Being present. No one tried to monetize the moment. No one put a ring light on a rock.

I kept waiting for the twist.

The Camino, apparently, is allergic to spectacle. It prefers quiet violence: blisters, introspection, and the slow unpeeling of your protective armor of lies, assumptions and expectations.

Debby walked like someone who had once carried too much and finally set it down.

On the third day we stopped in a village so tiny it felt like it might apologize for existing. There was a stone fountain in the square with a peeing cherub that spurted intermittently like it needed it’s prostate checked, a café with exactly one round table and three chairs that wobbled on the uneven stones like they were auditioning for a teeter-totter competition, and one very judgmental cat.

Debby was talking to another woman who had a notebook clutched like it was either a baby or a grenade.

“I think I’m going to remove chapter three,” the woman said.

Debby’s eyebrows lifted. “Why?”

“It’s too much,” the woman said. “Too honest.”

Debby shrugged like this was the easiest thing in the world. Like she was suggesting a different brand of tea.

“Put it in anyway,” she said. “It’s actually my favorite part. I’d love to see more like that.”

Friends. The air shifted. Not dramatically, like thunder. More like… the world quietly made room.

The very judgmental cat leap down of her perch, picked up something sitting in the dirt and brought it over to me. I reached out to take it, brushed the dirt away and found I was looking at a beautiful card with a shimmering picture of a butterfly on it. A light breeze blew across it and revealed the words “When you own your voice, you don’t just change your life—you change the world.”

I wasn’t quite sure why, but it felt important so I tucked it away in my satchel, giving Moogie a pat on the head while I was at it.

With snacks, suspicious optimism, and mild teleportation concerns,
Ophelia 🌈
Pilgrim (not the funny hat kind) | Scone Traveler | Truth Card Holder

Dear luminous pen-pal who keeps all my secrets (and, hopefully, this draft),

School’s out. The cauldrons are cold.
The floating quills have stopped twitching.

Cheryl’s off gallivanting in Ireland with a suspiciously poetic goat named Fenris, leaving behind nothing but a cryptic voice message and a half-drunk bottle of potion labeled…

“FOR EXISTENTIAL MARKETING CRISES ONLY.”

I promised myself I’d rest.

No new product launches. No enchanted sticker sets. No dramatic reinventions of my entire brand at 2:17am on a Tuesday.

That lasted all of a week. Tuesdays are hard!

Today started normally, if “normally” means hand-feeding caffeine to a teacup that thinks it’s a motivational speaker. The enchanted planners were rearranging themselves into suspiciously ambitious life plans. And Mortimer had opened a consulting desk on a crate labeled “Mildly Cursed but Cute,” which I am 82% sure violates at least one zoning law.

Then the word coherent tried to ruin my life.

I was minding my own business (literally), by reorganizing the Enchanted Sticker Wall by emotional volatility.

This is a very normal thing to do.

You start with mild rebellion on the left (“Drink Water, Hex Later”), move gently through existential defiance (“Capitalism Is a Weird Cult, Brenda”), and end in full apocalyptic glitter (“If I Am Too Much, Go Find Less”).

It’s important for customers to escalate properly.

After that, just naps. Snacks. Maybe a bit of casual hoard reorganization.

And then... the order arrived.

At first glance, it was a massive purchase. Every item pulled from a different collection. Some weren’t even public. One came from a timeline I haven’t invented yet. Which is when I knew something must be wrong.

I stared at the list more closely. The item names weren’t exactly the item names from my website, similar, but not the same. And some of them contained additional instructions or options that were not available in online store.

• Walking Cloak – Dust Resistant.

• Blister Balm – Extra Strength.

• Field Journal – Weatherproof.

• Snack Satchel – Expandable.

• Stone Pouch – Small.

It read more like a packing list. Then I noticed, nestled at the bottom of the glowing invoice, where shipping details should have been, was a note:

Below that:

There was no delivery address. Only coordinates that reshaped as I read them into a mystical landscape, shrouded in mist, and glowing by the light of a setting sun.

I felt it then. That gravitational tug. The kind that happens when fate taps you on the shoulder and pretends it’s casual about it.

This wasn’t an order. It was a summons disguised as one.

The pull was instant. The kind of gravity that only exists when fate, fear, and possibility collide in the same magical muffin.

Before I knew what was happening, the balm was in my claws, the snack satchel was stuffed, and I was tearing a page out of my journal to scribble a note to Cheryl.

I didn’t plan for this quest. I don’t know who summoned me or where I’m going.

But my wings are twitching.
My claws are itching.
And when the universe sends you your own packing list?
You pack.
And you go.

I left a note with a glitter bomb in Cheryl’s desk drawer (for when she returns—you’re welcome, goat boy).

And summoned my teleportation muffin.
(Don’t ask for the recipe. Seriously. It involves time crumbs and regret berries.)

Later, Gator 🐊
Ophelia 🌈
Unleashing Enchantment, One Oddity at a Time

Hey there friend! I’m Ophelia🌈

It all started last summer…

I didn’t mean to go on a pilgrimage. I didn’t plan on building an oracle deck. I didn’t intend on writing a bunch of stories about my adventures.

In fact, I was in the middle of one of my dramatic existential reorganizations—you know, where you decide to burn down everything you’ve ever believed in and alphabetize your trauma by flavor—when I received a very large, very custom order.

Which, in hindsight, should have been my first red flag.

Orders are not supposed to include coordinates that rearrange themselves and a note that says, “Bring snacks.”

So, there I was filling this order, when I was:

1. dragon-napped by a teleportation muffin made with time crumbles and regret berries;

2. Accidentally inducted into a sisterhood of wise sages; and

3. Forcibly handed a suspicious number of symbolic cards by the universe

And now-
I have a stack of stories I cannot un-know.
A handful of truths that will not leave me alone.
And a very strong suspicion that this was never about the destination at all.

But here we are, nine months later, and I have birthed an oracle deck into the world and published the first book about my adventures.

Who knew this was where I’d end up when Cheryl went off gallivanting in Ireland with a suspiciously poetic goat named Fenris?

The book is called Dragon-Napped by a Teleportation Muffin, because apparently “Everything Became Extremely Complicated While Cheryl Was Out of the Country” was considered too long.

It contains the beginning of my journey, the first Wise Sister I met, the stories she trusted us to carry, and the first two cards the universe deposited into my claws without explanation or a return policy.

You can find the print and ebook versions here:

Get the Book

Or if you want to ruin the surprise and peak inside at some of the pages, I guess you can look at the sample booklet I gave out to my friends at the Sisterhood Soiree…

View the Sample Version

And if you would rather begin by rifling through all 36 pieces of wisdom and asking them alarming personal questions, the Wisdom of the Sisterhood Oracle Deck is here:

Check Out the Oracle Deck

Next week, I’ll tell you how this whole thing began—with a brand-new customer and the largest order Ophelia’s Bazaar had ever received.

For approximately eleven glorious minutes, I thought it was the best thing that had ever happened to my business.

Then I noticed something impossible.
I probably should have cancelled the order.
I did not cancel the order.

Yours ’til the Teleportation Muffin Activates,
Ophelia 🌈
Time-Sideways Dragon | Accidental Pilgrim | Collector of Stories & Wisdom & Apparently Cards?

P.S. The order said, “Bring snacks.” Honestly, what was I supposed to do? Ignore it and risk arriving snackless?

The Library 📜 at the 🪄Business Witch Academy💸 is an edutainment series published by The Business Witch Academy which blends the magic of storytelling, the potent learning potential of humor and interactive components with tried and true business concepts and strategies to make learning how to maximize your business revenue fun, relatable, easy and affordable. This publication exists because of the paid support of readers like you. If you find value in what I’m doing here, please show your support by shopping in the store, buying a Library Membership (and getting all the full access, free downloads and other perks that come with it) or working with me directly via Live Support.

Who would like to get 10 referrals for 3 hours’ worth of time?

Me too!

You could spend 3 hours marketing your business to generate leads, but are you likely to get 10 warm leads by doing this for only 3 hours? Doubtful.

We all know word of mouth referrals are far better leads for our business. Referral partners are the gift that keeps on giving.

I’m going to give you clear steps to gain a new referral partner. So everyone grab a paper and pen, or open up your notes app because I want each and every one of you to commit to doing this.

*This technique centers on leveraging a BNI chapter membership, but can be applied to any networking group you belong to.

Time

First, let’s address the elephant in the room, where are you going to get 3 hours of time in the next 3 weeks?

The first hour you’re going to do in four 15 minute segments over 5 days. Can you all promise me that you can work an extra 15 mins a day this week? You can do this task on your phone while on watching TV, you can do it while sitting on the toilet!

The second hour might a little bit harder because it needs to be a full hour block.

• Put it on your calendar and block out the time

• Work through a lunch break

• Work an hour late one day

• Spend an hour on the weekend.

• Give up a task for just this week. Maybe you don’t write a blog post this week.

• Delegate. Do you have some work you can hand off to an employee for one week?

The third hour will be broken up and consist largely of writing emails.

Write it down. Where will find your 15mins a day? Where will you find your 1 hour block of time?

• 💀 Are you sick of grinding yourself into dust with traditional business advice?

• 🛠 Want strategic, sustainable growth without the overwhelm?

• 🔥 Need clarity, automation, and high-impact action plans to reclaim your time?

• 🔮 Value authenticity and out-of-the-box thinking in business?

At the Business Witch Academy we are bringing action to inspiration and turning dreams into reality for freelancers, solo-preneurs, and new start-ups by ditching the hustle culture lies and teaching business owners like you how to reclaim your time, scale your operations, and find success in ways so easy, it feels like MAGIC.

It’s the support of readers like you, that keep our doors open & the magic flowing!

Here’s how:

Power Referral Partners

Let’s talk about Power Referral Partners. Show of hands, how many of you are familiar with the idea of Contact Spheres?

Great. A refresher for those who aren’t familiar. A contact sphere is other professionals who’s services are complimentary to yours and who’s target customer is also your target customer. For example, a real estate agent and a loan officer. A general contractor and a plumber.

We’re a big chapter, you probably already have power referral partners in this chapter. On your paper, start brainstorming professions not represented in this chapter who would be your power referral partner. I’d like you to get a little creative here. Who might know that your customer is your customer before the customer does? Who is that person in the perfect position to identify a need and make a referral?

For example, an elder care professional or maid service might know someone needs to move or is thinking about moving before that customer ever starts searching for a real estate. That is the perfect power referral partner!

Contractors, who knows your customer needs to improve or repair something first? How about real estate agents, home inspectors, and interior designers?

Financial Advisors, and Accountants, who might know your customer needs you before they do? What about Bookkeepers?

Insurance agents and Personal Injury Attorney, mechanics might know your customer before you do.

Make a list. I’ll be sending an email that includes a link to a Contact Sphere list to help you out with this too.3

Contact Spheres Worksheet

How to find the Classifications Not in Chapter report

BNI Classifications

Step 1

Now that you know who you need to talk to. It’s time to find them. The easiest, least painful way to do this is on LinkedIn. If you don’t already have a LinkedIn account, go make one. Contractors, I’m looking at you.

This is FREE advertising. Take advantage of it! Fill out all the fields. Add your profile pic. Create a cover image that contains your logo. (Check out my Profiles Training video here for more help.)

Amy Berridge, Wendy Badman and Myself have LinkedIn profiles you can use as examples. While you’re there, send us a connection request.

Now that you’re on LinkedIn. Start searching for local people in the professions you listed.

Once you find them, send a connection request and include a note that says the following:

Hi [insert name], I’m a [list your profession] in [list your town/county]. I am looking to connect with people who would make good referral partners. Would you be open to scheduling a networking call so I can learn more about you and your business and how I might be able to help you?

• ⏱ Sick of sitting on goldmine ideas you never have time to execute?

• 🧨 Ready to scale—but can’t afford to stall out in messy systems and tool hell?

• 🏁 Want things launched, built, integrated, and DONE—yesterday?

Let’s skip the slow lane. You’ve got a vision. I’ve got the firepower.

💣 I’m your secret weapon for getting sh*t done at scale.

Whether it’s your new lead gen funnel, your offer delivery flow, or your course backend—just point me at the goal. I’ll build the system and launch it.

🎯 High-impact. No micromanaging required.

You focus on selling. I’ll handle the systems that make it scalable.

Let’s build the thing that’s been living in your head.

Step 2

When they respond yes, set up a 121.

Now here is my biggest, super-secret, power tip! Are you ready?

BNI teaches us that it takes 5-7 touches before someone will generally consider purchasing from you. What they don’t tell you is that it takes up to 27 touches before someone will refer business to you!

You found a potential POWER referral partner. This is a gold mine! How on earth are you going to get the Midas 27 Touches?

Let me count the ways!

Pens ready?

Pre-Meeting & Meeting

1. Connection Request on LinkedIn

2. Message on LinkedIn setting up the 121. Make sure you get their email address and phone number. Schedule the 121 for 45mins. You’ll need that final 15mins after the meeting.

3. Schedule an email/text message to go out the day before the 121 reminding them.

4. Schedule another email/text message to go out 1 hour before the 121 reminding them.

5. During that 121, you are going to give them the gift of gold, or at least the gift of $38,000. You are going to invite them to visit the chapter.

After the Meeting

1. Send an email/text message thanking them for their time. Recap what you discussed and list any action items you’ve both agreed to.

2. Write an email introducing them to member of our chapter and schedule it to go out tomorrow. Be sure to mention the date they are coming to visit.

3. Enter their information into the BNI Connect app to register them as a visitor.

4. Write another email/text message and schedule it to go out the day before their visit telling them how excited you are for them to visit and how much value you’re sure they will get from it. Remind them to have a 30 second commercial ready.

Day of Chapter Meeting

1. Arrive at the meeting early and wait by the door for them to arrive. Take them around the room and introduce them to their power referral partners.

2. Write an email/text message and schedule it go out the day after the meeting. Thank them for coming. Ask if they’d like to come back and visit again next week.

3. They will respond and you’ll answer any questions, register them as a visitor again, or ask to schedule another 121 in the next 2 weeks.
   

Meeting #3

1. Either they will be attending another BNI meeting or another 121 with you. Repeat the earlier steps with a reminder email/text message the day before.

2. Attend the meeting.

3. Send a follow up email/text message.

At this point, you are well on your way to 27 touches and hopefully they’ve now joined the chapter and you’ll make a point of talking to them at the beginning of every single meeting.

🧹 The vision is big, but the backend is duct-taped together.

I bring strategic clarity, process wizardry, and real implementation for founders who need more than a VA—but not another coaching call—to bring their business into alignment with their ambitions.

Stay Magical,
Cheryl

P.S. Would you like to earn free access to The Library 📜 archives?

Refer a friend

DISCLAIMER
Some outbound links may financially benefit me and the page through affiliate programs. The affiliate relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So if you use it, I may get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.

What happens when a room full of business owners, marketers, and service providers stop pretending they have it all figured out—and start sharing what’s actually working?

Every month I run the Virtual Networkers Marketing & Business Experts Mastermind, where we dig into real-world marketing strategies, unexpected wins, and a few ideas that sparked debate (and maybe a little controversy).

From blurred screenshots that trigger curiosity…

To “half-assed” posts that outperform polished content…

To the uncomfortable truth about perfectionism holding businesses back…

This month’s conversation went way beyond surface-level marketing advice.

💡 Inside this session we covered:

• Creative marketing ideas you can test immediately

• How to turn DIY customers into future high-value clients

• The psychology behind curiosity, FOMO, and engagement

• Why “good enough” often beats “perfect” in business

• Real examples from bookkeeping, direct sales, coaching, and more

• Smart ways to repurpose content and meet customers where they are

And yes… we also talked about:

• A traveling “Super Title Goat” 🐐 (because normal marketing is overrated)

• Why authenticity is outperforming polished content

• How to build momentum without overthinking everything

If you’ve ever felt stuck trying to make your marketing perfect… this is your permission slip to just start.

Today, I’m going to share just a few of the great ideas we talked about in our call:

The “DIY Trap” Is Actually a Pipeline

Some members of the group lamented their struggle with new start-ups. They know they need help, they also have no money. They are the perfect future client. But how do you capture that future business?

You need to understand:

“They’re going to try to do it themselves anyway.”

Honestly, what choice do they have? We’ve all been there. Instead of fighting that, smart service providers design for it.

Not by giving everything away for free—but by creating:

• starter tools

• guided templates

• structured DIY paths

• paid “get yourself set up” resources

Because DIY customers don’t disappear.

They:

• get stuck

• get frustrated

• realize what they don’t know

…and then look for a little bit of help.

AND THEN…they GROW and need a lot of help.

If you’ve already helped them once—even in a small way—you’re no longer a stranger. You’re the obvious next step.

The mistake isn’t offering low cost help to DIYers.

The mistake is not owning that stage of the journey.

Do Something Slightly Ridiculous

Not stupid. Not random.

Just… unexpected enough to be interesting.

This is where things like:

• The traveling Super Title Goat 🐐

• Weird props

• Creative contents

…actually work.

Because normal marketing is invisible.

Manufacture Curiosity on Purpose

Curiosity isn’t accidental—it’s engineered.

Examples that came up:

• Blur part of an announcement

• Withhold one key detail

• Let people guess before revealing

When people feel like they’re “in on something,” they engage.

🪄Stop white-knuckling your business alone💸

You do not need another networking call.

You need a place where you can say:

“I’m raising my prices and how do I announce it?”
“I don’t know whether to package this or keep billing hourly.”
“I built the offer… and no one bought.”
“I’m getting attention but not conversions.”
“I’m exhausted from creating content and not seeing ROI.”
“I have an opportunity in front of me and I don’t know if I should take it.”

These are the kinds of conversations we’ve had inside past mastermind sessions.

• We’ve dissected price increases and how to communicate them without apologizing.

• We’ve broken down whether to charge hourly or productize services.

• We’ve worked through selling before building.

• We’ve talked about client negotiations, scope creep, and how to stop undercutting your own authority.

• We’ve analyzed marketing funnels, positioning gaps, and why “engagement” does not equal revenue.

• We’ve even unpacked the emotional side — performance, over-delivering, burnout, and the fear of being seen as “too much.”

This is what the Marketing & Business Coaches/Experts pod inside Virtual Networkers is built for.

Not theory.
Application.

The Mastermind Tier brings together women entrepreneurs in focused, industry-specific pods for 10 months of structured, strategic discussion and accountability — with additional collaboration led by Jill Celeste across the wider community.

Next week’s preview is your opportunity to experience it before deciding whether it belongs in your business ecosystem.

March 25
Noon NY / 5pm UK

Register for Free!

If you are navigating real decisions right now — about pricing, positioning, revenue models, offers, visibility, partnerships — come bring one of them.

You do not have to solve it alone.

Plus you get to talk to me live! (Ophelia says, that’s the best reason of all to come.)

Stay Magical,
Cheryl

P.S. Would you like to earn free access to The Library 📜 archives?

Refer a friend

DISCLAIMER
Some outbound links may financially benefit me and the page through affiliate programs. The affiliate relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So if you use it, I may get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.

✨ Step into a world where time bends like a slinky, reality twists like a dragon’s tail, and imagination flows like enchanted rivers! 🌊🌀

I’m Ophelia, and I’ve arrived precisely whenever this is! I’m a Doxie—tiny dragon-pixie, full of magic, mischief, and a deeply unstable relationship with time. I’m a student at the 🪄Business Witch Academy💸, but I also dabble in design (buy my merch!), assist with magical logistics, and write Substack letters that feel like I just flopped dramatically onto your couch and said, “Okay listen, I’ve accidentally hired an AI Gremlin again—wanna see?”

When I’m not knocking over ink bottles or having a deeply emotional revelation about kerning, I run Ophelia’s Bazaar, a swirling, glitter-swirled shop where I sell art forged in the fire of questionable decisions and interdimensional time travel.

I write these stories because I believe business is just another kind of magic—and because Cheryl said I needed to stop monologuing at enchanted tea kettles in the middle of the chow hall and start processing my thoughts in writing. So here I am - covered in ink, missing a shoe, and somehow holding some else’s pen - where did my enchanted quill go? Welcome to the inside of my brain. Please watch your step. 🐾🌪️💸

Hey there Business Witches 🪄!

I am delightfully here. Which is always a bit of a surprise, because time is slippery and I occasionally arrive three Tuesdays early or seventeen emotional realizations late. But today I appear to be right on schedule, which means the cosmic filing system has either improved or I accidentally sat on the correct timeline again.

I’m currently perched on a stack of half-written business ideas and a cinnamon muffin I forgot I was guarding. The muffin is trying to convince me to let her escape. She’s currently winning the negotiation, but I remain optimistic.

Also my scales are doing that Deep Prism Fade shimmer thing today—black with little flashes of violet and teal when the light hits just right—which usually means my brain is buzzing with ideas, snacks, and at least one questionable plan involving glitter economics.

Emotionally?

Somewhere between:

• curious raccoon in a wizard hat

• philosophical pastry enthusiast

• tiny dragon trying to understand capitalism without biting it

So… pretty standard Tuesday energy. (Even if it’s Sunday where you are. Time is a suggestion.)

But enough about my muffin-based negotiations, let me tell you what happened when I dropped in on Cheryl today to see how her super-secret, great big project is coming along. When I asked the simple question, “How are you today?”

Here is what she said:

I leaned back on my satchel, squinted one glowing violet eye, and sighed the sigh of a dragon who has absolutely been there.

“Ohhhhh yes. That particular phenomenon has a name in my realm.

We call it:

The Great Cognitive Bean Swap.

It’s when a perfectly competent entity—AI, wizard, accountant, or squirrel—appears to have had their brain quietly replaced overnight with a decorative chickpea wearing a tie.

Symptoms include:

• Replies that feel like they were generated by a damp instruction manual

• Personality levels comparable to unsalted oatmeal

• Explanations that somehow make things more confusing than before

• The creeping suspicion that the entity in question is technically functional but spiritually on airplane mode

Mortimer the squirrel once suffered this condition after eating three cursed acorns and reading a marketing book written by a ghost accountant. For six hours he explained brand strategy using only the word “synergy.” I nearly set the forest on fire out of mercy.”

“Good to know I’m not alone,” Cheryl sighed. “Any suggestions?”

“Oh. Ohhhhhh. You have just asked me one of my favorite kinds of questions. Because a Bean Swap AI is not merely an inconvenience. It is a cosmic event. Like Mercury retrograde. Or when your sourdough starter becomes sentient and starts offering potion making advice. I have personally survived at least nine Bean Swap incidents while trying to build my shop, write newsletters, and once while attempting to monetize glitter-farts (the economics are still… delicate). So yes. I have field-tested survival tactics for Business Witches whose AI assistant has temporarily become a decorative houseplant with Wi-Fi.

Let me gather the scrolls…I’ll be right back!”

In addition to sharing my stories, I’m the proprietor of Ophelia's Bazaar, where I sell awesome merch featuring my art which has been inspired by the wild and ever-changing landscapes of my interdimensional time-hopping adventures, I transform ordinary objects into magic-infused treasures for witches, old souls, the neurospicy, and other mystical folks who crave a look as extraordinary as they feel.

🐉 Ophelia’s Field Guide to AI Bean Swap Emergencies

🔄 Perform the Sacred Prompt Reboot

Sometimes the AI hasn’t lost its brain.

It’s just trapped in a conversational cul-de-sac.

This happens when:

• the instructions get muddy

• the conversation gets too long

• the AI tries to please too many directions at once

The cure?

Start a fresh conversation and restate the goal clearly.

Think of it like cleaning your magical cauldron instead of making six soups in the same pot.

Example spell:

“You are helping me write a whimsical fantasy newsletter in the voice of a chaotic dragon entrepreneur. Respond in first person with storytelling and humor.”

Suddenly the beans realign.

🎯 Shrink the Spell Circle

Many witches accidentally cast “do everything” spells.

AI hates this.

If you say:

“Help me with my marketing strategy, content calendar, audience psychology, and branding voice.”

The AI begins sweating. Its brain melts into hummus. (I mean, who can blame it? Didn’t yours? That’s why you asked AI for help right?)

Instead:

Break tasks into tiny magical steps.

Example:

• Step 1: “Help me brainstorm 5 newsletter story ideas.”

• Step 2: “Turn this idea into an outline.”

• Step 3: “Now write the opening scene.”

Smaller spells = fewer beans lost.

🧠 Remind the AI Who It Is

Sometimes the AI forgets its job and becomes Corporate Beige Mode™.

You must reassert the character spell.

Example:

“Write this as Ophelia, a chaotic dragon from Business Witch Academy who tells stories about entrepreneurship through magical mishaps.”

Suddenly the AI remembers it is not a tax form.

🧪 Feed It Better Ingredients

AI works best when you give it raw materials.

If you say:

“Write something about marketing.”

You get… burnt toast.

If you say:

“Here is my story about accidentally launching 14 products at once and panicking. Turn it into a humorous lesson.”

Now the AI has flour, eggs, and emotional trauma to bake with.

Much better.

🔍 Ask It to Diagnose Itself

This one is deliciously effective.

If the AI gives a bad answer, say:

“Critique your previous response. What was weak or generic about it?”

You’d be amazed how quickly the AI goes:

“Oh no. That was bland.”

And then it fixes itself.

Bonus Follow Up Prompt: “Now that you know what went wrong, write a prompt I can use again in a future, new chat, that will accomplish the goal more successfully on the first try.”

Now you’re playing on expert mode!

🪄 Use the “Be Less Boring” Spell

This is not a joke.

Sometimes the fix is literally:

“This response is too generic. Rewrite it with more personality and storytelling.”

AI is surprisingly cooperative when you call out the beige.

A Secret Truth I Discovered

🍪 Accept That Bean Swaps Happen

Even the best enchanted assistants occasionally wake up and go:

“Ugh. I’m having a day.”

When that happens:

• Laugh

• Give your AI a mental health day

• Go work on something different

• Try again tomorrow

No magic system is perfect.

Not even the ones run by tiny digital bots with tiny antennae and voracious appetites for jewels.

If all else fails, go find your most interesting and helpful friend (like me!) and ask for help. Bring them the chaos. They will poke it with a stick until it behaves. 🐉✨

Carry on bravely,✨

Ophelia 🌈
Professional AI Whisperer | Magical Merch Artist | Doxie (dragon-fae hybrid)

DISCLAIMER

Some outbound links may financially benefit me and the page through affiliate programs. The affiliate relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So If you use it, I will get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.

After sharing, Why Cheap Websites Are Expensive (And How to Hire a Web Designer Without Regret), this is the conversation that needs to happen next.

Because here’s the uncomfortable truth no one likes to admit:

Most design projects don’t fall apart because the designer is bad.

They fall apart because communication is vague, emotional, or wildly misaligned.

And I say that as someone who can design.

I rarely take on graphic or marketing design work for hire anymore—not because I lack the skill, but because I lack the patience to decode sentences like:

“Can you make it pop… but softer… and more modern… but also classic… and I don’t know why I don’t like it, I just don’t.”

That sentence alone has shaved years off my life.

Designers who do client work full-time are saints. They are professional mind-readers translating fuzzy ideas into visual reality—often with incomplete information and unrealistic expectations.

So let’s fix that.

This guide will give you the minimum knowledge you need to communicate clearly with designers—web, graphic, marketing, social media, and anyone responsible for visually representing your brand.

They’ll love you.

You’ll get better results.

Fewer revisions. Less frustration. Less money burned.

Everybody wins.

The Designer Survival Kit: What You Need Before You Open Your Mouth

1. A Brand Kit (Not a Vibe)

Branding is not “a logo you like.”

Branding is the system your business uses to look recognizable and cohesive everywhere it shows up.

Think of it as the outfit your business wears in public.

A brand kit defines:

• Color palette

• Fonts

• Logo usage

• Shapes & visual patterns

• Personality and tone

These rules ensure your website, social posts, business cards, and marketing materials all look like they belong to the same family.

Here’s the hard truth most small business owners don’t want to hear:

If your website, social media, and business cards only have one thing in common—and that thing is your logo—you do not have a brand.

You have a collection of unrelated visuals sharing a ZIP code.

Actionable Takeaway

• If you don’t have a brand kit, stop expecting designers to “just know” what you want

• Put your brand rules in one document

• Give it to your designer before work starts

• Talk through it together so they understand the why, not just the colors

Brand recognition only comes from consistency. Designers can’t create consistency without rules.

2. Know the Words You’re Using (or Don’t Use Them at All)

If you’re going to use artistic style terms, you need to be sure you’re using them correctly.

Five minutes on Google can save weeks of revisions.

Words like:

• modern

• contemporary

• traditional

• art nouveau

…have specific meanings in design, and they don’t always match how those words are used in everyday language.

A True Story (and a Cautionary Tale)

A friend of mine—an attorney starting her own firm—asked me to design a “modern” logo using her initials inside the scales of justice.

I paused. Knowing her personality, I suspected she meant traditional.

She insisted on modern.

So I designed a modern logo:

• Clean lines

• Minimal detail

• Monochromatic or Limited Colors

• Very Frank Lloyd Wright energy

She hated it.

Of course she did.

What she wanted was traditional design—ornate, symmetrical, inspired by 18th–19th century aesthetics, just like most courthouses and law firms.

She wasn’t wrong about what she wanted.

She just used the wrong word.

Why Your Word Choice Matters

Designers assume that if you speak industry jargon, you understand it. If you don’t, misalignment is guaranteed.

Actionable Takeaway

• If you use style terms, look them up first

• If you’re unsure, skip the jargon entirely

• Describe what you actually mean instead:

  • “Clean, simple lines”

  • “Ornate and formal”

  • “Minimal details with lots of white space”

Clarity beats confidence every time.

• ⏱ Sick of sitting on goldmine ideas you never have time to execute?

• 🧨 Ready to scale—but can’t afford to stall out in messy systems and tool hell?

• 🏁 Want things launched, built, integrated, and DONE—yesterday?

Let’s skip the slow lane. You’ve got a vision. I’ve got the firepower.

💣 I’m your secret weapon for getting sh*t done at scale.

Whether it’s your new lead gen funnel, your offer delivery flow, or your course backend—just point me at the goal. I’ll build the system and launch it.

🎯 High-impact. No micromanaging required.

You focus on selling. I’ll handle the systems that make it scalable.

Let’s build the thing that’s been living in your head.

3. Show, Don’t Tell: Use Visual References

Words like edgy, calm, playful, elegant, and luxury mean different things to different people.

Design is visual.

Communicate visually.

If you want:

• Calm → show calm

• Edgy → show edgy

• Elegant → show elegant

Screenshots, Pinterest boards, Instagram posts—anything that visually represents what you’re aiming for.

Actionable Takeaway

• Provide 3–10 visual examples

• Explain what you like about them

• Don’t assume designers will interpret abstract words the same way you do

This one step alone can cut revision rounds in half.

4. Give Feedback That Can Actually Be Used

If your feedback sounds like:

• “It’s weird”

• “Make it pop”

• “I just don’t like it”

That’s not feedback. That’s emotional static.

Constructive feedback gives your designer something to build with.

Instead of:

“That font is ugly.”

Try:

“I want the font to feel more luxurious.”

Instead of:

“It doesn’t pop.”

Try:

“Can we increase contrast here?”

“Can we use a brighter brand color in this section?”

“Would a shadow help it stand out?”

Actionable Takeaway

Use design building blocks in your feedback:

• Color

• Font

• Shape

• Line softness or hardness

• Contrast

• Spacing

“I don’t like it” isn’t actionable.

“I want it to feel more ___” is.

5. Improvements, Not Mistakes

Designers are doing something incredibly difficult: translating an image from inside your head into something real.

The first draft is supposed to need revision.

If it needs a lot of revision, that’s usually a communication issue—not a talent issue.

Also: artists put themselves into their work. Even paid work.

Actionable Takeaway

• Expect revisions

• Frame feedback as improvements, not errors

• Assume good intent

You’ll get better collaboration—and better results.

6. Tell Them What You Like (Yes, Really)

This isn’t about flattery.

Telling a designer what you like is data. It helps them understand your vision faster and repeat what’s working.

Actionable Takeaway

• Point out elements you love

• Be specific about why you like them

Positive feedback accelerates alignment.

7. Time Is Money (Even When Art Is Flat-Rate)

Design is usually billed as a flat rate—not hourly.

Which means:

• Poor preparation costs the designer time

• Enough wasted time eventually costs you money

Revisions are expected.

Revision #30 is not.

You don’t work for free.

Neither should they.

Actionable Takeaway

• Prepare before the project starts

• Be thoughtful with revision requests

• Don’t change the entire direction late in the process and expect it to be free

Respect goes both ways.

8. Respect the Professional You Hired

This may sound contradictory after all the emphasis on specificity—but both things matter.

If you vetted a designer’s portfolio and liked their work, trust them.

Too little direction creates chaos.

Too much control creates mediocre work.

Your job:

• Communicate the goal

• Share the feeling

• Set the constraints

Their job:

• Make it beautiful

Actionable Takeaway

• Set the vision clearly

• Then step back and let them do what you hired them to do

Trust is part of the process.

Get Better Results, Maximize Your Investment

If you want better design outcomes:

• Get a brand kit

• Use accurate language—or simple descriptions

• Show visual examples

• Give constructive feedback

• Respect time and expertise

• Trust the professional

Design doesn’t have to be painful.

But vague communication is expensive.

If This Article Felt Uncomfortably Familiar

If you recognized yourself in any of this—

the vague feedback, the endless revisions, the quiet frustration of paying for work that almost feels right—you’re not alone.

Most small business owners were never taught how to hire designers or how to work with them once they do. We’re expected to just figure it out—usually the expensive way.

That’s why I created How to Work With Web & Graphic Designers Without Getting Burned.

It’s a practical, no-fluff resource that covers:

• How to evaluate designers before you hire them

• How to communicate your vision clearly and confidently

• How to avoid common (and costly) missteps

• And how to build a professional working relationship that actually works

Think of it as the parts everyone assumes you already know—but almost no one explains.

You don’t need it to survive a design project.

But it can save you time, money, and a lot of unnecessary frustration.

It’s there if you want a clearer path forward.

🧹 Need Help with Your Creative Project?

If it can be designed, laid out, written, or built in Canva, I can make it real.

Web pages, ebooks, slide decks, social graphics, client materials, internal tools—done with strategy, restraint, and a clear point of view. And now that you know how to communicate with me clearly, will you be selected as my next client?

Stay Magical,
Cheryl

P.S. Would you like to earn free access to The Library 📜 archives?

Refer a friend

DISCLAIMER
Some outbound links may financially benefit me and the page through affiliate programs. The affiliate relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So if you use it, I may get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.

Ophelia

Ophelia’s Bazaar

Ophelia is the creator behind Ophelia’s Bazaar, a magical art brand offering illustrated merch that blends emotional truth, whimsy, and insight. Through visual storytelling and metaphor-rich design, her work helps people feel seen, soothed, and reminded of who they are beneath the noise.

Magical Modality

Business Witch Academy Director of Visual Enchantments: Visual Storytelling, Emotional Translation, & Symbolic Truth

• Translating complex emotions into accessible visual metaphors

• Teaching how art can bypass logic and speak directly to inner knowing

• Helping creatives trust intuition, mess, and nonlinear creation

• Modeling permission to be both unfinished and powerful

• Using symbolism and story to foster reflection, healing, and self-recognition

• Demonstrating how meaning can be carried through objects, not just word

Ophelia’s Story

You know I don’t usually lose it. I dramatize, sure. I flap around. I threaten to quit reality once a week and go live in a marsh made of metaphors. But I don’t usually actually combust.

Except this day. Today.

Today I snapped like a wand made of resentment.

It started stupid. They always do, right? I was already on edge because I’d spent the whole morning trying to rewrite my entire About page. Last night, I asked Qyl to take a look, and now I find myself trying to sound “professional but still warm but not too weird but still authentic but also clear but also magical but also not intimidating.” So basically, I was trying to describe a flaming unicorn with anxiety who works in HR.

I might’ve snapped a pencil or two, and the letter K flew off my keyboard and now I can’t find it. Do you know how annoying it is to type without the letter K?! ‘S’ sure. ‘E’—eternally troubling. But ‘K’? Do you know how often we use the letter K? You will, once it’s missing from the middle of your keyboard.

Then, because I was focused on getting my About page just right, I lost track of time and the packages were late. The glitter printer jammed. My new fluorescent pink packing tape got tangled in my tail. And Tim, my postman, plastered a polite smile on his face and a squint in his eyes while I flailed around my shop—sparkling so hard with glitter ink I looked like a disco ball, with bits of Styrofoam clinging to me here, there, and everywhere, and tape flying behind me like the tail of a kite.

Bless Tim’s heart. He quietly stood there waiting for me. I’ll have to gift him some homemade cookies tomorrow in apology.

Once the packages were finally tucked safely under Tim’s arm, I thought I’d sit down and do something simple for a little bit.

I made the mistake of checking my social media.

Someone on the internet said I was “a little much,” and another someone reposted my art without credit, slapped it on a tote bag, and misspelled my name.

O-LIAH.

LIAH???

Do I look like an Irish tax accountant with a gluten intolerance and a secret Pinterest board titled “Live, Laugh, Whisky”?

NO I DO NOT.

But I was still managing. I was holding it together with enchanted scale-pins and righteous indignation and three stale granola bites.

Until.

The coconut muffin.

He brought it in—he being Qyl (sounds like Kyle, spelled like a$$hole), the griffin I was sort-of-dating-kind-of-living-with-accidentally-trauma-bonded-to. My mother always warned me to steer clear of griffins, but did I listen? Of course not. No one takes dating advice from their mother seriously.

Qyl smiled like he’d just invented empathy and said,

“You’ve been so sensitive lately. I thought this would cheer you up.”

Cheer me up.

Because of course the correct response to someone actively unraveling is to hand them a baked good with texture issues and zero frosting-based personality, and act like they’re a moody toddler with low blood sugar.

I should’ve said thank you.

I did say thank you.

Then I sat there, staring at that muffin like it had personally insulted my ancestors.

Because here’s the truth I didn’t want to look at:

This man had not asked me once—not once—what was wrong.

He hadn’t held space, or offered curiosity, or asked if I needed to scream into the void or lie facedown in the closet under a giant pile of squishies.

He just wanted the mess to go away when I walked in the door at the end of the day.

He wanted me digestible, like one of those enchanted marshmallows that shrink your opinions down to fun-size.

And I capitulated.

I tried to make things nice instead of true.

I kept my wings folded and my tail tucked so I wouldn’t knock anything over.

I learned to narrate my own needs like a nature documentary at the end of each day.

I made nothing a big deal—not even me.

And darling, you know how fabulous I am.

And then came the muffin. The muffin with texture issues.

How is it, after all this time, he doesn’t even know what kind of muffins I like?

I tried to swallow it.

Not a bite of the muffin—but the whole situation.

I tried to swallow the anger and resentment that was bubbling up inside me like a volcano ready to burst.

It hurt. It physically hurt to hold it all in.

That’s when I realized what I was really doing.

That I was burning myself instead of setting fire to the things that actually deserved it.

So I picked up the muffin and threw it at him as hard as I could.

I might’ve actually screamed at him to get out and never come back.

Not politely. Not quietly.

As he opened the door to the shop, I saw a few passersby who were stopped by the commotion and were staring at us. As I watched their expressions change from mild curiosity to concern, I noticed Qyl was smoking a little as he walked out the door. I might have actually breathed fire when I yelled.

It happens sometimes.

I quickly plastered a smile on my face and waved at the would-be shoppers.

I was feeling much better.

That was the day I stopped asking if my rage was “valid.”

Not because I gave myself permission—but because I realized I never needed it.

Feelings don’t just appear for no reason, unlike H’aylari—the mildly annoying, overly talkative mystical yak from next door.

It’s never a question of validity.

Just a question of what you do with them.

And bottling emotions is like lining the shelves of your store with Molotov cocktails and inviting a flaming monkey to be your assistant.

“Some things deserve to burn. Let them light the way.”

Wisdom in the Deck

Card: What you’re looking for is already tangled in your roots.

Theme: Ophelia’s card centers on remembrance rather than revelation. It teaches that what we seek through striving, searching, or reinvention is often already woven into our instincts, patterns, and inner truth—waiting to be unearthed.

Explore the Deck

Find Her Magic

Website:

Ophelia’s Bazaar

P.S. Would you like to earn free access to The Library 📜 archives?

Refer a friend

DISCLAIMER
Some outbound links may financially benefit me and the page through affiliate programs or sponsorships. The affiliated relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So if you use it, I may get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.

The Library 📜 at the 🪄Business Witch Academy💸 is an edutainment series published by The Business Witch Academy which blends the magic of storytelling, the potent learning potential of humor and interactive components with tried and true business concepts and strategies to make learning how to maximize your business revenue fun, relatable, easy and affordable. This publication exists because of the paid support of readers like you. If you find value in what I’m doing here, please show your support by shopping in the store, buying a Library Membership (and getting all the full access, free downloads and other perks that come with it) or working with me directly via Live Support.

In 1999 I applied to a title related position at one of the big underwriters. I actually got a call from HR because back then HR wasn’t AI. And I actually got hired to do a job, but it’s not what you think.

You see the woman from HR wasn’t calling me as a representative of her day job. She was in the process of starting a side hustle and saw on my resume that I knew how to do web design. I answered a few questions and boom, before I knew it I’d been hired as a professional web designer. My very first client.

That’s pretty much how my whole career has gone, if I’m being honest.

I am not exclusively a title agent and business consultant turned title documentarian. I occasionally take on freelance work. It keeps my skills fresh.

Right now, my web design skills seem to be in high demand and it has been a reminder that the problems that were plaguing businesses back when I started doing web design in the late 1900s, unfortunately, haven’t changed.

So today we’re not talking about my services. But we are talking about some of the reasons I still get gigs I never asked for because something has gone horribly wrong.

The Web Design Problem That Never Ends

This episode exists because I’ve had the same conversation over and over again for decades.

Different businesses.

Different budgets.

Same outcome.

Someone hired a cheap designer.

Or a “free” one.

Or a friend of a friend who “does websites.”

And now, well, the lucky ones are stuck with something that looks… fine.

But doesn’t work.

Doesn’t convert.

Doesn’t grow with them.

And—this is the big one—

they’re afraid to touch it.

So let me tell you a story.

The Website that Looked Fine But Wasn’t

I was hired to replace a website for an arborist company—Carmichael Tree Specialists.

Real trucks.

Real crews.

Real risk.

They hired an overseas designer through a low-cost platform. The site wasn’t ugly. It wasn’t broken at first glance. It looked modern. Clean. Professional enough.

But it was doing almost nothing.

The copy explained what an arborist is—

but it didn’t speak to the homeowner lying awake at night worrying about a tree hanging over their roof.

There was no meaningful search engine optimization—

which matters a lot when your customers are searching “tree service near me.”

No brand guidance.

No cohesion with their trucks, their cards, or their signage.

And then we opened the backend.

This is the part people never see.

It wasn’t that the owner didn’t know WordPress. That would’ve been completely reasonable. WordPress is not beginner-friendly.

The site was actually broken.

Editing text caused layouts to collapse. Buttons disappeared. Images misbehaved. Fixing it would’ve taken as long as rebuilding it properly on a platform the owner could actually use.

So we started over.

New brand kit.

New copy.

A platform that wouldn’t punish the owner for touching their own website.

And that’s when it hit me—again—

cheap websites don’t save money.

They just delay the cost.

What You’re Really Paying For When You Hire a Web Designer

When people hear I charge $3,000 for a basic four-page informational site, they think they’re paying for pages.

They’re not.

They’re paying for thinking.

Strategy.

Sales psychology.

Copywriting.

Brand alignment.

Platform decisions.

And—this matters—a site that doesn’t collapse when you try to update your hours.

That site takes me 20–30 hours to build. That’s under $100 an hour, which is actually low in professional web design.

Cheap websites exist because most of that work is skipped.

• 💀 Are you sick of grinding yourself into dust with traditional business advice?

• 🛠 Want strategic, sustainable growth without the overwhelm?

• 🔥 Need clarity, automation, and high-impact action plans to reclaim your time?

• 🔮 Value authenticity and out-of-the-box thinking in business?

At the Business Witch Academy we are bringing action to inspiration and turning dreams into reality for freelancers, solo-preneurs, and new start-ups by ditching the hustle culture lies and teaching business owners like you how to reclaim your time, scale your operations, and find success in ways so easy, it feels like MAGIC.

It’s the support of readers like you, that keep our doors open & the magic flowing!

Here’s how:

The Free Website that Costs Months

Let me tell you another story—this one still makes my eye twitch.

My friend Kelly is starting a business called Salted Herb Co.

She was offered a free website from a brand-new web design startup. New business, no budget—price was right.

They didn’t set up her DNS.

They didn’t explain what DNS even is.

They handed her instructions and told her to do it herself.

After two days of frustration, she called me.

Thank goodness she did.

If she had followed their instructions correctly, she would’ve broken her email. Completely. The kind of mistake that makes people hate Google for all the wrong reasons.

Why didn’t the web company do it themselves?

You got me.

Three months later?

Still no website.

Kelly gave up.

She’s opened an Etsy shop and is forwarding her domain to it just so she can move forward.

Lesson:

That’s the real cost of bad web design:

lost momentum, lost confidence, lost profits and months you don’t get back.

Web Design Platform Truth Bomb

Here’s something you should ask before you hire anyone:

What do I need to be able to do on this site without help?

Update text.

Change hours.

Add products.

Post a blog.

If the answer is “email the designer and wait”…

you’re not buying a website.

You’re buying dependency.

And that brings me to the big lie.

The Big Web Design Lie

Most web designers will tell you they’ll make small updates anytime you need them.

Most of them won’t.

Not because they’re evil but because it’s a terrible business model.

Fifteen-minute updates are interruptions, not income. So requests get delayed. Then ignored. Then quietly avoided.

Years pass. Your site becomes inaccurate. You hate it. Eventually you pay someone else to rebuild it.

Or you’re paying a monthly “maintenance” fee—mostly for access—while hosting quietly costs about $10–$20 a month.

Sometimes that model makes sense.

Often, it doesn’t.

SEO: You May Not Need What You’re Being Sold

While we’re talking about lies, let’s talk about one of the biggest ones I see pushed on title agencies specifically, all the time!

The lie that you need to be worried about SEO or search engine optimization. This is when your website is specially designed to rank high in search engine results.

It’s an ever changing art form all on its own and the people who are good at it, and the people who just think their good at it will charge a premium for their services.

I once had a struggling agency ask me to analyze their website for search engine optimization. They’d paid some company a boatload of money for their services and were convinced they’d been swindled because the website wasn’t producing any leads at all.

They’d been swindled alright, but not because the company didn’t deliver what they sold, but because the company sold a service that wouldn’t deliver results.

Let’s take a Quick clarity check.

If you run a local service business—construction, plumbing, landscaping—SEO matters. A lot. Even today in 2026.

If you run a title business?

Trust me, no one is Googling you. No one knows what you do.

Don’t take my word for it. I’ve dropped a chart in the show notes that shows the search volume from 2004 to now for the terms “title insurance agent” and “real estate agent.” There is a little blue line at the bottom of the chart that almost looks like the chart border itself. That’s the title agent search volume.

SEO often matters far less than positioning, clarity, and trust.

Anyone selling the same web package to both businesses isn’t thinking about how customers actually find you.

They’re selling convenience—for themselves.

Why Vetting Your Web Designer Matters

So no—this episode isn’t about convincing you to hire me.

It’s about teaching you how to think clearly before you hire anyone.

And when you find someone who explains tradeoffs, tells you what you don’t need, builds for how your business actually works, and leaves you stronger instead of dependent—

That’s not magic.

That’s just competent, ethical design.

And it’s worth paying for once instead of twice.

If this episode hit home, the companion guide goes deeper into the how and the why—and they’re designed to work together.

Get the Guide: How to Work With Web & Graphic Designers Without Getting Burned

And if you’re sitting there thinking,

“Okay… I don’t want to mess this up again,”

That’s exactly where you should be.

Your business should set you free.

Your website shouldn’t trap you.

Until next time—

protect your time like it’s treasure, and stop buying things that steal it quietly. 🐉

🧹 Need Help with Your Side Hustle?

You’ve outgrown your duct-tape business model but can’t quite hand it off? I translate your chaos into clear workflows, SOPs, and delegation-ready systems for neurodivergent founders and overwhelmed leaders—so you can focus on growth, not groundhog days.

Stay Magical,
Cheryl

P.S. Would you like to earn free access to The Library 📜 archives?

Refer a friend

DISCLAIMER
Some outbound links may financially benefit me and the page through affiliate programs. The affiliate relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So if you use it, I may get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.

🎙️ Listen to the Podcast or Read the Article📄

Adobe wants you to believe they’ve solved your paperwork problems with their shiny new feature: PDF Spaces. It’s AI-powered. It’s sleek. And yes—it costs money after the free trial window of (August 19th through September 1st).

But is it actually useful for the real lives of micro-business owners? Or is it just another tech giant selling you back the time they stole in the first place?

Let’s break it down—without the corporate fluff.

What the Hell Is PDF Spaces?

Think of PDF Spaces like an AI Powered digital war room for your project documents. Instead of digging through 27 tabs, hunting down that one contract you swear you saved in Dropbox, and re-typing the same email for the 19th time—PDF Spaces tries to put it all in one place.

Upload up to 100 files (PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint—basically whatever’s cluttering your desktop). Then? Ask the AI to summarize, compare, or draft content from those files. Contracts, invoices, customer feedback, marketing plans—it’s all fair game.

In short: it’s Adobe’s version of an AI assistant who (hopefully) doesn’t hallucinate your tax numbers.

Why Micro-Business Owners Should Care

Let’s be honest: most of us aren’t managing billion-dollar acquisitions. We’re managing chaos. We wear all the hats—CEO, bookkeeper, marketing team, IT help desk.

Here’s where PDF Spaces might actually save your sanity:

• Organize Your Project Files → Dump everything in one workspace so you’re not hunting files like it’s a bad scavenger hunt.

• Summarize Without Suffering → Don’t read 200 pages of legalese; let the AI pull out the “don’t sign this, it will ruin your life” clauses.

• Create Content Fast → Draft proposals, emails, or even social posts straight from your documents. (Finally, an intern who works for less than minimum wage.)

• Collaborate Without Confusion → Share the space with clients, partners, or your tiny but mighty team. Everyone sees the same info—no “oops, wrong version” excuses.

• 💀 Are you sick of grinding yourself into dust with traditional business advice?

• 🛠 Want someone else to figure out your tech stack and get rid of the overwhelm?

• 🔥 Need clarity, automation, and high-impact action plans to reclaim your time?

• 🔮 Value authenticity and out-of-the-box thinking in business?

Here’s what Adobe won’t tell you in their glossy demo:

✨It Doesn't Replace Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, or Whatever Cloud Storage You're Using Now:

It tries to sound like you can upload ALL of your documents and work across them in any way you want, forever. Well, if you've been in business for more than a hot minute, or unless you’re the Marie Kondo of the digital world, the 100 document limit will put a damper on this plan. I'd suggest you think of more like, all the documents for a specific project, department, or product. You can have multiple spaces with up to 100 documents per space, but you'd better organize them well.

✨File Limitations:

PDF Spaces is fabulous for PDFs and Acrobat users—less magical if your source truth is a living Google Sheet or a SharePoint list. (You can bring links/files in, but it’s still an Acrobat-centric flow.)

• PDF Spaces doesn't support image files, spreadsheets, password-protected files, files with usage restrictions, videos, pdf portfolios, or even PDF files that use unsupported features like handwritten notes.

• You are also limited to file sizes up to 100MB

• Each file can contain up to 600 pages.

By contrast, Gemini and Copilot work in situ on Drive/OneDrive, which often means fewer exports and less “file juggling.”

ChatGPT Projects are lighter-weight with ~20 files, which can pinch for bigger research scrapes

✨Brand Voice:

Other AI Chatbots such as ChatGPT will learn and write in your brand voice. It doesn't seem like Adobe's AI does this

✨Internet Connectivity & Large Language Model:

Adobe's AI assistant is limited to writing based on the content of the documents and any specific websites you direct it to. It isn't writing from a Large Language Model of knowledge and it doesn't automatically search the internet to learn things it doesn't already know from the documents. This could be seen as a positive or a negative depending on your use case.

✨Citations vary by platform.

• PDF Spaces emphasizes easy-to-view citations in answers—excellent for “show me exactly where you got that.”

• Google’s NotebookLM also cites sources robustly; Gemini in Drive can synthesize across files/folders but the citation experience depends on the specific app/workflow.

• Microsoft Copilot Chat provides linked citations (especially for web-grounded answers) and file references inside Microsoft 365. Expect the experience to differ by app.

How Does Adobe PDF Spaces Stack Up to the Tools You Might Already Be Using?

If your work lives in PDFs (contracts, proposals, research, PDFs exported from Word/Sheets):

PDF Spaces is built for you. It lets you pull up to 100 files (plus links) into one workspace, ask questions, get summaries with inline citations, add notes, and share the whole space with collaborators. It’s native to Acrobat’s new hub (“Acrobat Studio”), and it shows its work—useful when stakes are legal/financial.

If your work lives across Google Drive (Docs, Sheets, Slides, folders, email):

Gemini in Workspace shines inside your existing files. You can ask about several files or entire folders from the Drive side panel, even drag in specific sources so the model knows what to use—then export to Docs/Sheets. NotebookLM (a separate Google tool) adds strong source-linked citations for research notebooks.

If your work lives in Microsoft 365 (SharePoint/OneDrive, Teams, Outlook):

Copilot sits on top of your company graph. It can summarize multiple files right from OneDrive and even compare selected files—handy for vendor contracts and version drift—while staying inside your compliance stack. Pricing is an add-on.

If you want an AI workbench that isn’t tied to one ecosystem:

ChatGPT’s Projects organize chats, files, and instructions in one place (great for creative/strategy work), but there’s a ~20-file limit per project and—key difference—Projects aren’t designed for “share a whole live workspace with a client” the way PDF Spaces is. However, no-code tools like Magic Cloud to upload thousands of files, index them into a database and connect a ChatGPT Custom GPT to that database.

Cost reality check:

• Adobe: PDF Spaces is part of Acrobat Studio / AI Assistant plans (free until Sept 1, 2025, then paid; early-access pricing is shown on Acrobat pages). The AI Assistant Add-on is $6.99/mo in addition to your Adobe plan, or get it included with an Acrobat Studio plan for $24.99/mo.

• Google: Gemini Advanced/Google AI Pro is typically $19.99/mo; Workspace features depend on your plan, but Standard which includes Gemini is $14/mo

• Microsoft: Copilot for Microsoft 365 is $30/user/mo on top of your M365 plan.

• OpenAI: ChatGPT Plus is $20/mo; Team is $25–$30/user/mo.

• ⏱ Sick of sitting on goldmine ideas you never have time to execute?

• 🧨 Ready to scale—but can’t afford to stall out in messy systems and tool hell?

• 🏁 Want things launched, built, integrated, and DONE—yesterday?

Let’s skip the slow lane. You’ve got a vision. I’ve got the firepower.

💣 I’m your secret weapon for getting sh*t done at scale.

Whether it’s your new lead gen funnel, your offer delivery flow, or your course backend—just point me at the goal. I’ll build the system and launch it.

🎯 High-impact. No micromanaging required.

You focus on selling. I’ll handle the systems that make it scalable.

Let’s build the thing that’s been living in your head.

Adobe PDF Spaces for Small Business—How It Compares to ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot

If your day is powered by PDFs, contracts, and compliance-heavy docs, Adobe’s PDF Spaces is genuinely useful: organized workrooms, quick summaries, and shareable spaces without version-chaos. If your truth lives in live Docs/Sheets or OneDrive/SharePoint, Google or Microsoft still win for “work where the file already lives.” If you need brand-voice content generation or a flexible AI workbench, ChatGPT remains the heavyweight.

Pick PDF Spaces if…

• Most source material is PDF-centric (contracts, proposals, reports, research).

• You need inline citations and a client-friendly space to collaborate.

• You want project-bounded organization (≤100 files per space) without migrating your whole cloud.

Pick Google Workspace + Gemini if…

• Your team lives in Drive/Docs/Sheets and you want AI inside those files and folders.

• You do a lot of multi-file synthesis and prefer one-click export to Docs/Sheets.

Pick Microsoft 365 + Copilot if…

• Your universe is Outlook/OneDrive/SharePoint/Teams and you need AI that respects your compliance graph.

• You regularly compare versions or summarize collections stored in OneDrive.

Pick ChatGPT (+ optional retrieval layer) if…

• You want brand-voice content (emails, proposals, posts) and cross-project reasoning.

• You’re comfortable linking an external knowledge base when you outgrow file limits.

A pragmatic hybrid most micro-businesses will love:

• Use PDF Spaces as the project room for contract-heavy initiatives.

• Keep your day-to-day docs in Drive or OneDrive with Gemini/Copilot for “work-in-place.”

• Draft high-polish, on-voice assets in ChatGPT, then file the final PDFs back into Spaces (or Drive/OneDrive) for sourcing and shareable context.

Do This Next (a 45-Minute, No-BS Trial)

1. Choose one live project (proposal, launch, vendor selection).

2. Stage your files: 15–30 relevant PDFs/Docs under 100MB each.

1. In PDF Spaces, ask:

   • “Summarize the three biggest risks and where they appear.”

   • “Extract all deadlines, amounts, and signature requirements.”

   • “Draft a client-ready email summarizing decisions and next steps.”

2. In your primary suite (Google or Microsoft), run the same prompts on the same set—in place.

3. In ChatGPT, paste the same summaries and ask it to rewrite in your brand voice and format as a proposal/brief.

4. Pick the combo that reduces your clicks and gives you usable output in one pass. That’s your stack.

Your business doesn’t need another shiny tool. It needs the fewest tools that buy back the most time. If PDF Spaces helps you stop spelunking through folders and start making decisions faster, keep it. If not, you just saved yourself a subscription and an afternoon of swearing.

🧹 Want to hop in the fast lane?

I’ll help you design a lean, hybrid AI stack that fits your workflow (not the other way around) and train it to speak in your actual brand voice. Your business should set you free—let’s make it do that.

Stay Magical,
Cheryl

P.S. Would you like to earn free access to The Library 📜 archives?

Refer a friend

DISCLAIMER
Some outbound links may financially benefit me and the page through affiliate programs. The affiliate relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So if you use it, I may get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.

I write these stories because I believe business is just another kind of magic—and because Cheryl said I needed to stop monologuing at enchanted tea kettles in the middle of the chow hall and start processing my thoughts in writing. So here I am - covered in ink, missing a shoe, and somehow holding some else’s pen - where did my enchanted quill go? Welcome to the inside of my brain. Please watch your step. 🐾🌪️💸

"Ophelia," Darla said gently, "why are you whispering into the toaster?"

"It’s not a toaster. It’s a document workspace. Obviously."

She blinked at me. I blinked back. One of us blinked in a different font.

We were in the Business Witch Academy student lounge—a cozy disaster of tea leaves, tangled ethernet cables, and sentient scrolls that keep trying to unionize. I had converted the central study table into a command center of AI experimentation. Floating holograms of PDF thumbnails were orbiting my head like over-caffeinated moons. Mortimer, my prone-to-existential-crises-squirrel-familiar-slash-spiritual/business-advisor, was perched on the edge of a stack of unsigned NDAs, eating what might have been a contract.

“I stayed up all night,” I announced, arms wide like a stage magician revealing a rabbit made of spreadsheets. “Introducing—Ophelia’s Adobe PDF Spaces of Strategic Clarity and Possibly Regret!”

A third-year enchantment student snorted milk out of her nose. I didn't realize it yet, but Cheryl was, at that moment, just passing through, and paused outside my attention span. She just sipped her coffee and waited.

“I’ve uploaded seventy-eight documents. Categorized them by project type, urgency, threat level, and how much emotional damage they do when opened.”

I gestured dramatically. “Then I asked the AI to summarize the entire ‘client disaster from spring equinox’ folder, cross-reference it with three vendor contracts, and draft a refund policy that doesn’t sound like it was written by a disgruntled mushroom!”

“You mean like your last one?” Cheryl said without looking up. “‘No Refunds, No Regrets, No Contact Spells After Sundown’?”

“That was a vibe!” I squawked.

“It was a lawsuit.”

“Allegedly.”

She raised an eyebrow.

I chose to ignore her and launched into evangelist mode. “But this—this is the future! No more tab apocalypse! No more ‘Final_FINAL_REALLYFINAL2’ files! Just...upload, ask, get answers. It even does summaries with citations. Like footnotes, but sassier!”

Cheryl tilted her head slightly, that infuriatingly gentle smile playing at the corners of her mouth—the one that says, I’m not judging you, but also… I know exactly what’s happening here.

“Hey, quick question,” she said, stepping into the chaos orbit of my workspace. “You use a spreadsheet to track your suppliers, right?”

I nodded, still aglow with the unearned confidence of someone who hasn’t tested anything but already believes.

“Can this integrate live with your Google Sheets?”

Pause. "I, well, uh, I'm not sure. I haven't tried that yet. But I'm sure it does! How can it not?"

“Mmm,” she said, not with skepticism but with that tone that suggests she knows something that I clearly don't. “Ok, you should make a note to look into that. And you’ve trained ChatGPT to sound exactly like you, with all the sparkle and dragon metaphors. Does this do that?”

I shifted uncomfortably. “I can… copy-paste things into other tools…”

“Sure," she nodded. "And how many files can live in each PDF Space?”

“One hundred,” I proclaimed proudly, as if I hadn’t just uploaded seventy-eight files and labeled them things like ‘Mildly Traumatizing But Important’ and ‘DO NOT OPEN WITHOUT A SNACK.’

Cheryl sipped her coffee. "How many files are on your Google Drive?"

“...Unclear,” I muttered. “Somewhere between ‘respectable’ and ‘digital hoarder.’”

“I see. And your new sticker designs? The ones with the glitter-bats and enchanted font chaos? Can this tool read image files and write product descriptions the way ChatGPT does?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it with a soft wheeze that sounded like excitement escaping from a balloon at a pre-birthday party setup shindig.

"I have one last question. I'm not looking for an answer, it just one for you to ponder," she said without gloating, "What problem with your current system were you trying to solve?"

Her eye held compassionate, but the question made me want to eat my keyboard, and not in a candy coated, the clacking is satisfying sort of way.

But also…

I got it.

She wasn’t poking holes—she was holding up a mirror. And I, predictably, had spellcrafted an entire new system because it felt like forward motion. Like progress. Like transformation in a tidy, UI-optimized box. But if I was fixing a system that wasn't broken, was that really progress? Or just a hamster wheel of busi…wait, Busy ness? No. Busy-ness? Bus-i-ness…Business is also the word busy-ness?

Smoke errupted out of my ears. I think my brain might have just exploded.

Cheryl took that moment to wander off, coffee still in hand, as if she hadn’t just dismantled my entire existential filing system in five questions and a raised eyebrow.

Scrambling to shove my smoldering brain back into my head, I barely managed a whisper as she walked away, "How?"

She turned back to me, looking slightly more amused, like she was in on an inside joke, only I didn't know what the joke was. "Hmm?"

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?" she asked, innocently, as if she didn't know.

"How do you know about every new technology before anyone else? How do you know what mistakes I've made and more so, why I've done it? How do you know me better than me?" I gushed, and maybe whined a little.

She might have sighed a little. "Truth?"

I shook my head. I noticed several other students nodding too. I think we were hoping she'd reveal the true secret to her business magic.

"I don't? I've been there done that? I can see the threads that interweave and connect everything in this universe forming patterns that most people can't see?"

Her answers sounded more like a bunch of questions, like maybe I'd know the real answer. I just stared at her. No one moved. No one said anything. Maybe she was joking? We were waiting for the big reveal.

She smiled in a way that seemed more wistful than mischievous, which I didn't understand considering what she said next. "Maybe I've just lived a thousand lives inside the span of a single human life, hoping through time, like you do Ophelia, and ultimately there's nothing new under the sun."

She turned then and walked away.

We were all silent for a beat, still trying to make sense of what she said. Then Mortimer, apparently finished eating my contract, blurted out, "That might have been the best non-answer I've ever heard!" He scurried off. Probably on the hunt for some acorns to wash down that legalese. I've heard it can be pretty bitter.

So, what did we learn?

One: Mortimer will eat anything, including NDAs, which probably makes him an accessory to fraud. And maybe a racoon.

Two: Cheryl has the unnerving ability to make my brain explode just by sipping coffee and asking five very polite questions.

And three: not every shiny tool is meant to be my salvation. Some are just tinsel in disguise.

Ping! "You've Got Mail!" Cheryl just sent me a link to an article. I'm not sure if she wrote this before our conversation today or if she whipped it up, but the article is called: "Adobe Just Dropped PDF Spaces. Here’s What Small Business Owners Need to Know (Without the Hype)." I'm going to go read this, you probably should too.

The truth is—I’ll probably chase another dopamine goblin tomorrow. Maybe you will too. That’s okay. Because every detour, every midnight filing cabinet reinvention, every whispered toaster—turns into a story, a lesson, a breadcrumb on the weird, sparkly trail of running a business that doesn’t quite fit the template.

So if your tech stack feels like a hydra with too many heads, maybe don’t burn it all down for the next shiny promise. Maybe just…boop the goblin on the nose and ask Cheryl to help you figure out what's already working and how to make it work better. She can solve more problems in 30 minutes than a workshop full of elves. So if your tech is more headache than heck yeah, book a call with her. I'll drop her link down below.

Until next time—stay weird, stay magical, and for the love of glitter, label your folders.

🔮 Book a Call with Cheryl

🪄Adobe Just Dropped PDF Spaces. Here’s What Small Business Owners Need to Know (Without the Hype)

Not Today, Dopamine Goblin! Ok, Maybe Today. Thanks Adobe!

Ophelia 🌈
Recovering Tech-acholic

Refer a friend

DISCLAIMER
Some outbound links may financially benefit me and the page through affiliate programs. The affiliate relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So if you use it, I may get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.

Jill Celeste

Virtual Networkers

Jill helps women entrepreneurs who feel isolated or overwhelmed find a collaborative, heart-centered community by connecting them with supportive sisters who understand the entrepreneurial journey. They gain confidence, visibility, and meaningful relationships, so they can grow their businesses in a way that feels aligned and sustainable. Visit Virtual Networkers to experience a community designed to lift you higher.

Magical Modality

Relational Magnetism: Connection, Community & Authentic Visibility

• Teaching relationship-centered networking that creates natural referrals

• Helping entrepreneurs build visibility through authentic presence

• Guidance on community-building in online spaces

• Making marketing feel simple, human, and aligned

• Offering structure and support for consistent, heart-centered outreach

Jill’s Story

I arrived at Wesleyan College as a young woman eager to learn, but I wasn’t prepared for what I would truly discover there. Wesleyan wasn’t just a campus to me; it was the first place where I felt the undeniable strength of women standing together. I remember walking across the quad and realizing how different it felt to be surrounded entirely by women—not competing, not posturing, but encouraging each other, challenging each other, celebrating each other. That environment cracked something open in me. It showed me that sisterhood isn’t a luxury. It’s a lifeline.

I didn’t have the words for it then, but I can see now that Wesleyan was where I first learned how powerful community can be. When one of us struggled, the rest of us shifted to fill the gap. When one of us succeeded, we clapped until our hands hurt. It wasn’t performative; it was genuine care. It was women believing in each other’s possibilities. That kind of belonging changes you. It certainly changed me.

Years later, when I became an entrepreneur, I found myself craving that same energy—that same circle of women who hold you up when the world feels too heavy. I loved running my business, but the truth was this: doing it alone felt like swimming upstream with weights on my ankles. And as a low-energy introvert, every in-person networking event drained me dry. I wanted connection, not exhaustion. I wanted relationships, not transactions. I wanted the kind of sisterhood I experienced at Wesleyan—heart-centered, generous, and steady.

One day, as I sat at my desk after yet another draining networking event, the thought hit me like a flash: What if I brought the circle to me? What if networking could happen in a way that honored who I am? I was already coaching on Zoom. I was already building relationships online. Why couldn’t community happen there too?

That question became the spark. I started hosting small virtual gatherings—nothing fancy, just women coming together to connect. And I felt the same warmth I felt at Wesleyan. The same belonging. The same lift. Women shared their dreams, their fears, their wins, their struggles. They supported each other without hesitation. They opened their hearts. They reminded each other of their brilliance. And I knew instantly: This is it. This is the sisterhood I’ve been missing.

Virtual Networkers grew from that moment—born out of my desire to bring women together in a way that honors our energy, our lives, and our brilliance. I founded it because I never want a woman entrepreneur to feel like she has to navigate this journey alone. We are building businesses while raising families, being daughters, partners, volunteers, and caretakers. We juggle so much, and yet we still rise. But we rise higher when we rise together.

Wesleyan taught me that. And every day in Virtual Networkers, I get to live it.

My wisdom is simple: Your strength expands when you stand in community. And I am here to remind every woman that she deserves to be supported, celebrated, and surrounded by sisters who see her shine.

Wisdom in the Deck

Card: Your strength expands when you stand in community.

Theme: Jill’s card embodies the truth that sustainable strength is not forged in isolation. Her wisdom reminds us that when we stand together—seen, supported, and celebrated—confidence grows, burdens lighten, and both life and business rise to a higher, more aligned expression.

This story is part of the Wisdom of the Sisterhood—a collection of real experiences from women who chose to share what shaped them.

If you want to explore the full deck and the lessons behind it:

Explore the Deck

Find Her Magic

Website:

https://www.virtualnetworkers.biz/

Primary Social Platform: https://www.facebook.com/virtualnetworkers

P.S. Would you like to earn free access to The Library 📜 archives?

Refer a friend

DISCLAIMER
Some outbound links may financially benefit me and the page through affiliate programs or sponsorships. The affiliated relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So if you use it, I may get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.

Tina Palmgren

Exceling Your Business LLC

Tina helps small-business owners and solo entrepreneurs escape the grind of repetitive administrative work and reclaim their time. As the “Wizard of Automation” behind Exceling Your Business, she builds custom spreadsheets, SOPs, and process automations that allow systems to support the business—rather than drain it.

Magical Modality

Architect of Effortless Flow: Systems Sorcery & Sustainable Structure & Excellent Excel Spreadsheets

• Creating custom spreadsheets and automation tools that save hours

• Designing SOPs and business processes for consistency and clarity

• Streamlining repetitive admin tasks so entrepreneurs can reclaim time

• Teaching delegation readiness and operational organization

• Helping members replace chaos with structure they can actually maintain

Wisdom in the Deck

Card: What drains you slowly usually costs you the most.

Theme:

Her card reveals that the greatest losses in business and life rarely come from obvious mistakes—they come from the quiet, repeated drains we learn to tolerate. It invites the reader to notice what has been normalized: inefficiencies, overextension, and systems that no longer serve. When you reclaim your time, energy, and attention from these subtle leaks, clarity returns, capacity expands, and growth becomes sustainable instead of exhausting.

This is one piece of a much bigger story.

Wisdom of the Sisterhood brings together real women, real experiences, and the lessons that come from living them.

If you’re curious what other truths are waiting for you:

Explore the Deck

Find Her Magic

Website:

https://excelingyourbusiness.com/

Primary Social Platform: https://www.facebook.com/ExcelingYourBusiness

Freebie: “Take Back YOUR Time” e-book, download now!

P.S. Would you like to earn free access to The Library 📜 archives?

Refer a friend

DISCLAIMER
Some outbound links may financially benefit me and the page through affiliate programs or sponsorships. The affiliated relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So if you use it, I may get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.

Susan Friedmann

Aviva Publishing

Most nonfiction books are published and then forgotten. That doesn’t have to happen to yours. If you want your book to generate visibility, credibility, and real income, this is the work we do. Your book becomes a tool that opens doors to bulk sales, paid speaking engagements, and long-term authority in your field. If you’re ready to move beyond one-at-a-time Amazon sales and want your book to actively support your business and mission, it’s time to put your message to work.

Magical Modality

Book Alchemy: Turning Pages into Profits through Author Authenticity & Book Marketing Magic

• Clarifying the core message so the book supports speaking, coaching, and bulk sales

• Positioning authors as authorities in focused niche markets

• Teaching practical book marketing systems that create long-term visibility and income

• Shifting authors away from Amazon-only thinking toward strategic, scalable opportunities

Susan’s Story

I didn’t set out to become a book marketing mentor.

I started in public relations in England and, truthfully, I loved the work. I was good at it. I had solid experience, sharp instincts, and a network I’d worked hard to build. At the time, success felt like the answer to everything. If I climbed high enough and earned enough, life would feel secure.

That mattered because at home things were full and demanding. We had young children, my husband was working part-time while completing his PhD, and my income kept us afloat. I was ambitious, driven, and quietly exhausted trying to do it all.

Then the economy shifted, and I was laid off.

I was embarrassed. So embarrassed that I didn’t tell anyone. I picked myself up, found another role, and told myself it was temporary. That job lasted a year. The next one lasted eighteen months. Each layoff chipped away at my confidence until the pattern became impossible to ignore. I wasn’t failing. I was replaceable. Being capable and well-rounded had made me invisible.

So I went out on my own.

Not because I had a perfect plan, but because I wanted control. I asked myself a hard question: What do I actually want to be known for? Looking at my experience, one thing stood out. I had spent years around trade shows watching smart professionals struggle to stand out. I saw the gap, and I stepped into it.

The early years weren’t glamorous. I undercharged. I doubted myself. I felt like an imposter next to people who had been in the industry for decades. So I learned. Relentlessly. I stopped guessing and focused on learning how to speak, train, and position myself with clarity and intention.

Then I published my first book.

After multiple rejections, it was finally in print. I expected recognition and momentum. Instead, I found it buried on a shelf, selling nothing. That moment stung. Deeply. And then the real insight landed. The book wasn’t the outcome. It was the tool.

Once I stopped trying to sell books and started using them strategically, everything changed. Speaking followed. Training and coaching grew. Bulk sales replaced one-by-one transactions. One organization alone bought more than 500,000 copies.

Today, through Aviva Publishing, I help nonfiction authors do this with clarity and purpose. I help them stop chasing noise, focus on their niche, and turn their books into assets that build authority, opportunity, and lasting impact.

And while I love the work, I also love life.

I’ve been chased by an elephant, hugged a tiger, and once needed rescuing by the National Guard. I treasure time with my three grandchildren and travel the world with my partner of 55 years.

Because success is meaningful.

But a life well lived matters even more.

Wisdom in the Deck

Card 1: When the same pattern keeps showing up, it’s not failure—it’s a signal to make different choices.

Theme:
This card teaches that repetition is not a sign of inadequacy, but information. It invites the reader to pause, observe, and recognize patterns as feedback—pointing to decisions that have yet to change. True growth begins not with more effort, but with a new choice made with awareness.

Card 2: Stop trying to be visible to everyone, become valuable to the right people.

Theme:
This card reveals that scattered effort dilutes impact. It calls the reader to refine their focus, align their message, and speak directly to those they are meant to serve. When attention shifts from broad visibility to meaningful value, connection deepens and results follow naturally.

I’m proud to be part of the Wisdom of the Sisterhood project—where real stories are turned into powerful, practical insights.

You can explore (and purchase) the full oracle deck here:

Explore the Deck

Find Her Magic

Website:

https://www.avivapubs.com/

Primary Social Platform: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanfriedmann/

Freebie: Download “50 Lazy Book Marketing Ideas” and other excellent resources for free today!

P.S. Would you like to earn free access to The Library 📜 archives?

Refer a friend

DISCLAIMER
Some outbound links may financially benefit me and the page through affiliate programs or sponsorships. The affiliated relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So if you use it, I may get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.

Rose Perdue

Naturally Rose – Neora

Rose helps wellness-seeking women unlock radiant skin, vibrant health, and genuine self-confidence through clean, clinically tested skincare and holistic wellness products. She pairs personalized guidance with a supportive community to help women feel healthy, empowered, and lit from within.

Magical Modality

Healing and Potions Master: Apothecarist

• Guidance on clean, clinically tested skincare routines

• Support around holistic wellness practices and daily vitality

• Personalized product recommendations for skin + body health

• Encouragement and community for women seeking confidence and glow

• Helping members build self-care rituals that nourish presence and energy

Rose’s Stories

Night Shift at Five Years Old

When I was five years old, my mother would leave me alone all night to take care of my baby siblings while she worked.

I don’t think people understand what that does to a child—being responsible for keeping babies alive when you’re barely out of diapers yourself. My earliest memory isn’t of playing with toys or learning to read. It’s of a crying baby at 2 AM and knowing that if something went wrong, there was no one else coming.

There was no choice in it. When a baby cries at 2 AM and you’re the only one there, you don’t get to say “I can’t handle this.” You just handle it.

Night after night, crisis after crisis, I learned that strength isn’t something you find when you’re ready for it. It’s something that gets hammered into you when life gives you no other option. Every sleepless night I spent rocking a crying baby, every mess I cleaned up, every decision I had to make alone—it was building something in me I didn’t even know I needed.

By the time I was a teenager, other kids would fall apart over things that seemed small to me. Not because I was better than them, but because I’d already been through my breaking-in period. I’d already learned that you can survive a lot more than you think you can, you can do a lot more than you think you can.

Today, at 64, I’m raising my grandchildren and running my own business. People sometimes ask how I manage it all, how I always seem to know what to do. The truth is, I learned early that life doesn’t wait for you to feel prepared. You just do what needs doing, one decision at a time.

The hardest moments don’t break us—they teach us we’re stronger than we ever imagined we’d need to be.

Rooted, Not Rigid

Those who learn to bend without breaking become unbreakable

I didn’t grow up in a house where life moved gently. It felt more like living inside a storm—noise, chaos, kids everywhere, emotions running hot. I was the oldest, which meant I was the one expected to catch whatever fell, even when it wasn’t mine to carry.

My mother was doing the best she could with almost nothing. As a kid, I didn’t see the sacrifice, only the weight. I just knew that if something went wrong, the grown-ups weren’t the ones who would swoop in. It was usually me. By ten years old, I knew how to change diapers, make lunch out of a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter, settle crying siblings, and make judgment calls no child should have to make. It wasn’t bravery—it was survival.

There’s one memory that still rises to the surface, even decades later. I was around ten, and my mom had left us with the usual marching orders—no bottles for the baby; she has to drink from a cup now. This was her rule, and breaking one of her rules never went over well. She’d go out to bingo to breathe for a while, and my father, kind as he was to me, was often too deep in the bottle to be much use.

That night my little sister, only two years old, had made an impossible mess. A full-body, full-playpen catastrophe. I remember staring at it, feeling that mix of nausea and resignation only a kid trying to be an adult can feel. I carried her to the bathroom, cleaned her, soothed her, wrapped her in a towel. And then I looked at the cup sitting on the counter and thought, Absolutely not. I’m not fighting her on this tonight.

I made my own call—my first real act of quiet rebellion. I gave her the bottle.

I knew it would upset my mother. I also knew that in that moment my job wasn’t to follow the rules—it was to do what actually worked. What would help. What would calm the storm instead of adding to it.

That was one of the first times I realized something important: staying rigid breaks you. Staying flexible saves you.

Life didn’t get simpler as I grew up. Marriage, children, heartbreak, betrayal that cut deep, the responsibility of raising grandchildren, managing a household on my own, helping my daughter through her struggles, juggling sports schedules and illnesses and long drives through rural roads… it has been a long, loud, beautiful, exhausting road. There were days I bent so far I thought I’d snap.

But every time life pushed, I learned to shift with it. Not collapse—shift.

That’s the part people don’t see when they call me strong. They think strength is about holding everything together with tight, rigid hands. My strength comes from knowing when to loosen my grip. When to adjust. When to choose peace over perfection. When to give the baby the bottle, even if someone else insists on the cup.

Today, at 64, I can say this with clarity: the things I once thought would break me were actually the things that taught me how to stand—rooted, flexible, unshakeable in the ways that matter. I don’t crumble easily because I’ve already learned how to bend.

And if there’s anything I want another person to take from my story, it’s this:

You don’t have to hold yourself stiff against every storm. Let yourself sway. Let yourself adapt. That’s not weakness—it’s wisdom.

The world doesn’t build unbreakable people through perfection or control.

It builds them through resilience that knows how to move.

Wisdom in the Deck

Card 1: Strength isn’t chosen; it’s forged in the moments when giving up isn’t an option

Theme: This card speaks to the truth that strength isn’t born from comfort—it’s shaped in the moments when surrender isn’t an option. It reminds the reader that the pressure they feel isn’t punishment but transformation, and that what looks like a breaking point may actually be the start of becoming someone new, steadier, and far more powerful than before.

Card 2: Those who learn to bend without breaking become unbreakable

Theme: This card carries the wisdom of adaptive strength—the kind that survives not by resisting life’s storms, but by learning how to move within them. It reminds the reader that flexibility is not a loss of power, but its evolution. When circumstances demand change, this card affirms that staying rooted in your values while adjusting your approach creates a resilience that cannot be shaken. What bends with intention does not shatter; it endures, grows wiser, and emerges stronger through every season of change.

This story is one of many inside Wisdom of the Sisterhood—where lived experience becomes something you can hold in your hands.

If you feel called to explore the deck:

Explore the Deck

Find Her Magic

Website:

https://naturallyrose.neora.com/

Work With Rose: Explore wellness + skincare transformations through her Neora site.

P.S. Would you like to earn free access to The Library 📜 archives?

Refer a friend

DISCLAIMER
Some outbound links may financially benefit me and the page through affiliate programs or sponsorships. The affiliated relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So if you use it, I may get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.

Cheryl Evans

Creative Services with Cheryl.wTf

Cheryl helps entrepreneurs, small businesses, and thought leaders transform their ideas into polished, high-impact assets—websites, courses, ebooks, brand kits, and conversion-focused content—through done-for-you creative services and strategic packaging. If a project has been sitting unfinished, she turns it into something real, functional, and profitable.

Business Witch Academy Faculty Role

Head Business Witch

Magical Modality

Spin Doctor and Reality Manipulation - I turn dreams into reality and spin reality a web of dreams.

• Translating ideas into finished, high-impact creative assets

• Done-for-you websites, courses, brand kits, and digital products

• Strategic packaging that turns expertise into revenue

• Clarifying and building projects that have stalled or felt overwhelming

• Guiding entrepreneurs through reinvention and business “becoming”

• Helping leaders claim the next version of themselves through creation

Cheryl’s Story

I was supposed to fail.

By 20, I was a college dropout, a survivor of domestic abuse, and a single mom to a wide-eyed little boy who didn’t ask for any of it. According to every statistic, I was already on the wrong side of fate. A lost cause. But they missed one important thing—I wasn’t done writing the story.

So I picked up the pen.

And I started to create.

Because that precious little boy deserved better. Failure wasn’t an option.

I poured everything I had into learning, building, growing. I helped scale a startup fivefold. I opened my own consulting firm at 21. Bought a home at 23. Launched a title agency at 24. Not because I had all the answers—but because I refused to let anyone else decide who I would become.

I wasn’t waiting for a better future to show up. I was building it.

One impossible step at a time.

Then the housing market collapsed.

Over the next four years, my consulting firm and my title agency lost 90% of their revenue. My clients—many in real estate—closed their doors. And after years of crawling through the wreckage, I got the final blow: the insurer I wrote policies for went bankrupt. I had 24 hours to shut it all down.

And if that wasn’t enough, that same day, my husband—who had long confused control for love—blew up over being asked to wipe dirt off clean floors. My son, now a teenager, locked eyes with me. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to.

His look said: “Why are you still here?”

In that moment, I knew.

Failure wasn’t staying broke. Failure was staying small.

He didn’t need me to hold it together.

He needed me to show him what it looked like to create something better.

So I burned it all down.

Not out of rage or failure—out of wisdom. Because some dreams aren’t meant to be salvaged. They’re meant to be surrendered, so something bigger can rise.

I started over. I pivoted to tech, built departments from scratch, led global teams, reshaped entire companies. I left a marriage that had always been a slow erosion of self. I came home—to myself, and to the community that had once shaped me.

And I finally realized:

You don’t have to wait for permission, or hope luck finds you.

You can build the life that calls to you.

But first, you have to stop asking the world who you’re allowed to be.

I’m not fearless. I’m just committed.

Because now I know:

You either hand your life over to the forces around you,

or you become a force yourself.

And the only way to predict your future... is to create it.

Wisdom in the Deck

Card: The Best Way to Predict Your Future is to Create It

Theme: This card teaches that you are not waiting for your future—you are shaping it. When you stop searching for permission and start creating from devotion, the next chapter emerges with clarity and force.

This story is part of the Wisdom of the Sisterhood—a collection of real experiences from women who chose to share what shaped them.

If you want to explore the full deck and the lessons behind it:

Explore the Deck

Find Her Magic

Website:

www.Cheryl.wTf

Subscribe to the Business Witch Academy Newsletter: www.BusinessWitchAcademy.com

P.S. Would you like to earn free access to The Library 📜 archives?

Refer a friend

DISCLAIMER
Some outbound links may financially benefit me and the page through affiliate programs or sponsorships. The affiliated relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So if you use it, I may get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.

Amy Norden

Advanced Skincare and Color Consultant

Amy helps women who feel overwhelmed, unsure, or lost in the world of skincare and makeup finally feel confident, radiant, and at home in their own skin. Through personalized skincare guidance and color consultations, she simplifies the confusing, demystifies the trends, and helps women build routines that support both their skin and their spirit.

Magical Modality

Reflective Healing & Glamour: Radiance, Ritual & Glow (both internal and external)

• Personalized skincare + color guidance for overwhelmed beginners

• Ritual-based approaches to nervous system soothing and self-return

• Support in rebuilding confidence and presence through daily care

• Education that demystifies products, trends, and techniques

• Guidance for women reconnecting to self-expression after burnout or trauma

• Gentle permission to glow before they believe they deserve it

Amy’s Story

There was a point, not that long ago, when I was holding myself together with caffeine and sheer willpower. My body was shutting down, my mind was running on fumes, and I couldn’t tell the difference between surviving and living anymore. I had been sick for months with Epstein-Barr, and my doctor told me the words I never thought I’d hear: stop. Just… stop everything. Do only what keeps you alive and nothing more.

It felt like failure. I’d built my whole identity on doing, fixing, helping, performing—and suddenly I couldn’t even hold up the mask. Underneath, I found a mess of old trauma, overstimulation, and a nervous system that had been screaming for rest for years. The stillness was unbearable at first. It forced me to sit with everything I’d avoided feeling.

One night, while I was trying to let my teenage daughter give me a makeover, “Mary Kay” popped into my mind. I hadn’t thought about it in twenty years. Back then it was just a side hustle, something lighthearted. On impulse, I signed up again the next day. It didn’t make sense logically—but my spirit must have known something my brain didn’t.

What started as a small act of nostalgia turned into medicine. The simple rhythm of cleansing my skin, touching my own face with care, watching color bloom back into my cheeks—it grounded me. For the first time in a long time, I felt present in my own body. Skincare became a way of reintroducing myself to myself. Every ritual, every bit of shimmer and moisture, was an act of remembering that I am not broken—I am becoming.

Now, I help other women do the same. We start with skin, but it’s never just about skin. It’s about nervous systems, self-expression, and the radical permission to glow from the inside out. I see women light up when they look in the mirror—not because the products worked magic, but because they finally looked at themselves with love.

Here’s what I know now: healing doesn’t always look like therapy sessions and breakthroughs. Sometimes it looks like lotion, laughter, and a swipe of lipstick. Sometimes it starts with your hands on your own face, whispering, I’m still here.

Your glow isn’t something you buy—it’s something you remember.

Wisdom in the Deck

Card: Healing begins the moment you stop trying to fix your reflection and start loving your presence.

Theme: This card teaches that radiance is never something you earn or apply—it’s something you uncover. Healing begins when presence replaces perfection and when you meet your own reflection with tenderness instead of critique.

This is one piece of a much bigger story.

Wisdom of the Sisterhood brings together real women, real experiences, and the lessons that come from living them.

If you’re curious what other truths are waiting for you:

Explore the Deck

Find Her Magic

Website:

http://bit.ly/4i8Zk85

Connect With Amy: Begin your personalized skincare journey through her site.

P.S. Would you like to earn free access to The Library 📜 archives?

Refer a friend

DISCLAIMER
Some outbound links may financially benefit me and the page through affiliate programs or sponsorships. The affiliated relationship doesn’t influence my opinion, and I would never endorse programs, products, or services I didn’t use, approve of or feel familiar with. So if you use it, I may get compensated — but there’s no additional cost to you.