My Rebranding Journey

Mar 28

“What worked for me was the time and space to make decisions from a place of stillness and clarity.”

— Lara

5 November 2024

I exported the digital PDF of the Brand Strategy Summary I had created for myself — the exact same process I guide my clients through.

And then I did nothing with it.

I loved the mood board I created, but something didn’t feel right. Making all of these decisions on my own felt heavy, and I couldn’t quite see my own business objectively.

So instead of forcing it, I shifted my focus elsewhere. I refined my client journey, simplified the content I was sharing on social media, and started collaborating with some incredible women who run their own businesses.

Looking back, this space was important.

Sometimes clarity doesn’t come from pushing harder — it comes from stepping back.

11 July 2025

I attended my first WIP Zoom call with the Rise girls.

These sessions brought so much joy. After years of working mostly independently, being part of a team environment again felt energising.

Because I was also a client of theirs, I had access to their marketing and organisational thinking in a way I hadn’t before. During one of these sessions I shared something that had been sitting in the back of my mind for a while:

I wanted to outsource my own branding.

Specifically, I wanted to work with Bec from PlayMake Studio. I had admired her work for a long time, and deep down I knew I needed another creative mind to guide me through the process.

The Rise girls immediately encouraged the idea. Their support gave me the confidence to move forward.

23 July 2025

I had a Shiplee Studio Diagnose Session with Rach at Rise.

This conversation confirmed the feeling I’d been having for months: my branding needed to evolve.

Not because anything was wrong — but because my business had grown. The projects I wanted to work on were becoming clearer, and the clients I loved collaborating with were becoming more defined.

My brand needed to reflect that next stage.

13 August 2025

Rise Marketing & Creative delivered my Digital Marketing Strategy.

This gave me deeper insight into where my branding currently sat and where it needed to move in order to support the direction of my business.

26 Septemer 2025

I’ve always stayed in touch with Bec from PlayMake Studio. She’s a bit like my design-business spirit guide.

Around this time, she noticed I had been more active on social media. She would send me encouraging messages about the stories and reels I was sharing.

The interesting thing is, those posts were simple. They were just moments from my day — quick videos, little insights, snippets of things I noticed while working.

Nothing overly produced.

But people kept responding to them.

And that’s when something clicked.

Hint: when something feels easy, natural, and people respond positively… you’ve probably found something that works.

That same day I finally visited Bec’s website and submitted an official enquiry.

This is exactly what I wrote:

Name: Lara Shipard
Email: lara@shipleestudio.com
Subject: Hey lovely, I need your help
What services will you be needing?: Branding, Website, Social Media Design, Creative Direction
What budget are you working with?: < $5k
Tell me about your project: I simply can't be my own client. I just snagged a very big job and I feel excited to invest back into my business. But I don't have the time or brain space to figure it all out by myself. I struggle putting myself out there, and I feel like with your help and magic powers, you'll be able to give me a clear direction about how to tell my unique story. When I look at things I create myself (not just design but art and illustration too), I judge them so harshly and end up hating them. I don't want to hate my brand anymore haha
How did you find Play Make Studio?: Instagram first! Then my inspirational coffee friend :)

30 October 2025

Bec sent through her proposal: Branding Foundations, Social Media Pack, and a Squarespace Website Re-Skin.

Rach would support the project with website messaging and SEO.

Technically, I could have done all of this myself.

But that would have meant nights, weekends, and squeezing it between client work.

Outsourcing wasn’t a luxury — it was a strategic business decision.

It allowed me to protect my time, maintain boundaries, and avoid burning out.

6 November 2025

I met with Rach and Bec at Common Circus in Newcastle.

This meeting was incredibly insightful because I suddenly found myself on the other side of the process — experiencing what my own clients feel when they begin a branding project.

It also immediately showed me ways I could improve my own onboarding process. Watching how Bec guided the conversation was fascinating.

7 November 2025

Bec sent through her Distinctive Blueprint Guide.

I genuinely loved this stage. Reflecting on my business journey, mapping out what had changed, and identifying where I wanted to go next was incredibly energising.

One of the exercises involved creating a Pinterest board for the visual direction.

This was the easiest task for me — I had been collecting visual inspiration for years.

11 November 2025

I sent back my completed guide for Bec and had scheduled a time for both of us to go over everything.

26 November 2025

During our Google Meet, Bec walked me through my Pinterest board.

What fascinated me most was seeing what she noticed — things I had completely overlooked myself.

Colour, textures, visual rhythm.

It confirmed that bringing in another creative perspective had been the right decision.

There’s a certain level of objectivity you simply can’t achieve when it’s your own brand.

2 December 2025

I opened an email from Bec titled:

“Shiplee Studio — a new direction…”

Inside was a Loom video explaining the creative direction she had developed.

My first instinct was to reply immediately with:

“YES! No notes. No changes. Let’s go.”

But just as I remind my own clients, Bec encouraged me to sleep on it.

That pause is important in any creative process.

3 December 2025

Around this time I travelled to Airlie Beach with my partner Ash for his work Christmas party.

I brought a book with me that I had picked up randomly from Kmart: Grounded Success by Kemi Nekvapil.

I ended up devouring it.

On the plane.
By the pool.
On the ferry to Hamilton Island.

As I read, ideas started connecting — not just personally, but professionally. I began refining my client journey and tweaking my own branding process.

10 December 2025

Bec asked me to create a series of “Shiplee sketches” using anything I liked: pencil, ink, paint, or markers.

As expected, I didn’t love what I was producing.

I judge my own work far more harshly than I judge anyone else’s.

But I kept going.

One detail stood out to me: my natural handwriting always slopes slightly. It felt personal and significant.

4 February 2026

Subject line: “Your new identity is here.”

Goosebumps.

I sat and watched Bec’s Loom presentation and couldn’t stop smiling.

Hearing her explain how she interpreted everything we had discussed was incredible. She saw connections and possibilities I never would have considered on my own.

This stage reinforced something important:

When your brand is deeply tied to you personally, it’s incredibly difficult to remain objective.
But at the same time, you still need to feel connected to it.

That balance is why outside support can be so valuable.

February - March 2026

While travelling overseas, I received emails from both Rach and Bec with ideas for my social media templates and website.

Something interesting happened during this time.

I realised I was looking forward to letting go of certain parts of my business.

Not completely — I was still collaborating closely with both of them — but releasing the responsibility of doing everything myself created space.

Space to focus on my clients.

Space to reflect on my processes.

And space to step more fully into the type of work I want to be known for.