Online Business Brenda Thorpe Online Business Brenda Thorpe

2021 Goals Review

Last year’s goal planning and executing was cut short for me. Perhaps yours was too? My hope is you had a stellar year of course, but if things were not quite as you’d hoped, know that you are not alone. I pray you can have the courage to continue as little steps add up to so much, especially when we look back from the other side.

Read More
Brenda Thorpe Brenda Thorpe

Year 1 Business Review

2020 What a year! This was the first time I have taken the lead as Director for a business. While this is still a part-time endeavor, I’m building slowly for now but aiming big in the future.

Read More
Brenda Thorpe Brenda Thorpe

Launch Day for Wedgewood Cove ~ Custom Website Design

Wedgewood Cove desired an updated website that showcased the golf course, restaurant, events venue, pro shop, and real estate opportunities. Their current site was over eleven years old and was not mobile-friendly and difficult to update.

After looking at inspirations websites and delving into their ideal client profile and goals, we very quickly found our design direction. We updated the look from mauve and textured grey to crisp and clean white with black and golden accents.

Read More
Reviews Brenda Thorpe Reviews Brenda Thorpe

Book Review | Sing Down the Moon by Scott O’Dell

Sing Down the Moon is the third book I’ve read by Scott O’Dell. He is a masterful storyteller of shorter, historically-based books which often feature native peoples as the main characters. He uses beautiful settings into which he crafts his stories. They are full of trial and hardship, often include a journey with unexpected twists, but generally, resolve to a happy ending amidst the given circumstances. Last year I read, Island of the Blue Dolphin, set on an island far off the California Coast, and The Black Peal set on East Baja and Vermillion Sea between the Peninsula and Mainland Mexico.

Read More
The Book Stack Brenda Thorpe The Book Stack Brenda Thorpe

The Book Stack~March 2021

I’m sure this list comes across as quite ambitious. It is but here’s the thing, I am not trying to read everything on this list in just one month. Sure some of them I will, but the majority of them are slow reads meant to be mulled over and chewed on a bit as I slowly work through them.

Read More
Online Business Brenda Thorpe Online Business Brenda Thorpe

Getting Started with Dubsado CRM | Part 2 ~ How to Embed Your Lead Capture Forms in Squarespace 7.1

Today I’m walking you through how to customize all the essential brand settings. Dubsado is a very powerful CRM and will take quite a bit of time to learn all the ins and outs. Our focus today is what to do when you open the application for the first time. We’ll get all the essential branding item details set and off your to-do list.

Read More
Online Business Brenda Thorpe Online Business Brenda Thorpe

Dubsado CRM—the right choice for my creative small business—maybe yours too!

As a new business owner one important facet to consider is how you are going to invoice your clients and accept payments. If you are a service provider another important thing to have in place is a contract and a way to collect signatures. 

I believe that the majority of my business will be conducted online versus face-to-face so I went in search of an application that would generate invoices, contracts, collect electronic signatures, and accept online payments. These were my primary needs and where my search started. 

Read More
Color Palette Brenda Thorpe Color Palette Brenda Thorpe

Color Palette | Early Spring Collection ~ Potomac Spring

One of my favorite things of all time is to be in Washington DC when spring bursts into bloom.

There is nothing like standing on the banks of the Potomac River or walking from one national monument to another amidst the radiant blooms of all the cherry trees. The National Cherry Blossom Festival is one of the few times I’d recommend blazing a trail among the crowds.

Even if you can’t make it to DC this year, I’ve yet to live in a place where the cherry blossoms didn’t deliver. Last year when we lived in the mountains just outside Santa Fe, they were gorgeous!

Read More
Online Business Brenda Thorpe Online Business Brenda Thorpe

1st year in business? My top 3 must use free tools

There are so many free tools available on the internet today. I am honestly surprised and very grateful for the continued generosity of developers. They make it so much easier to start and manage an online business. 

The list of free tools is nearly endless, but today I’m going to rein it in and talk about my top three must-have tools to use in your first year of business. 

Read More