Hi, I’m Michelle
and I like words to mean what they say.
I see founders who work really hard and have built something substantial.
I see founders who are eloquent about why the work matters, when you’re chatting over a coffee.
I see founders who are truly inspirational, in-person.
I see you.You’re hiding behind masked and polished corporate-speak because that’s what you were taught was right.
Your written messaging is heavily hedged and borrowed because you haven’t yet found your aligned expression.
Your business is scaling but you can’t quite get your copy to evolve with and match it.
Breathing life into your words
Let me tell you the worst kept secret in the world. I learned the careful language too. We all did.
Years spent at others’ tables - corporate marketing, membership and events - writing the words that would get me taken seriously. And I’d defend every carefully chosen phrase to the death. And I got taken seriously… but in a room where I never felt at home.
When I left that room, I took that language with me and spoke it long after I’d left the building.
Alongside that, I was a classical singer, learning that breath is the building block of communication. Breath before sound. Sound before meaning.
This is the mantra by which I still work.
Every project starts with your breath so you can embody your brand. Every sentence starts with an exhale so you are free to express the real thing. Holding your breath and a held-back sentence are the same problem.
The other thing you need to know about me? I’ve started over more than once in my life. I won’t treat the carefully-worded you as a mistake that needs correction. Our mistakes got us to this place. We respect them and we learn from them. We change our clothes because they no longer suit the room we’ve made for ourselves.
I’m an advocate for creating the spaces we want to be in, for setting the tone, for spending our time with people who make business easy and rewarding.
This room is yours.There will be a moment when you say the true version and hear how real, how easy, and how magnetic it sounds. That moment is joyous and I’m here to celebrate that with you..
I like a good verb - taking action is everything. I’ll almost always suggest that you say less and do more. Your copy can be a strategy all of its own.
I take a small number of clients at a time. And I work to a deadline that gives time for a good decision to settle and the language to land.
“Once Michelle stepped in, I felt a tremendous sense of relief. With her expert ability to ask the right questions, she effortlessly transformed my tangled thoughts into clear, articulate messaging.”
Testimonial from Samantha, Me Thrive Community
Some of my wonderful clients have allowed me to use their experience as a case study. We explore what they came with, what the work looked like and what changed for them.
Bringing Our Voices Together
Heart & Hearth is a ritual room and I'd love you to step in and warm yourself by the fire.
This is a quarterly gathering of women around a virtual fireside. We begin with breath (because, well, me). Four women share their story around a theme. Twelve women bear witness - no judgement, just active listening. We close by offering the stories to the flames.
This is a space where stories are given their own air to breathe. Much as our mother ancestors would have shared their wisdom, carried their values, and shaped their community around the fireside.
If you want to get to know me better my blog is a great place to join me. I write about voice, breath, attraction marketing, and copywriting from a place of settled balance rather than a cortisol whirl.
I publish my thought process, not the finished, polished retrospective.
Keeping Good Company
I am honoured to work with some amazing people and I recommend them to you here.
Tidle
Synne Linden’s B2B matchmaking service designed to bring the right solution to your business. All with a mission of seeking true business equity for women around the world. Making it easy and joyful to find business collaborators and solutions.
I am one of 24 partners - each of us an expert in our fields. My corner is copywriting, voice finding, and brand tone of voice. And there is so much other expertise in the room, from each of the 24 amazing women partners.
Kindred Founders
A truly inspiring community (the brainchild of brand thought-leader Lucy Down) of heart-led founders. Together we are ethical businesses around who we are, rather than who we think we should be. No shoulds allowed.
This is where a lot of my thinking gets sharpened and where I’ve met many service providers who I would recommend.
Let’s sit down together for a cuppa and talk about you.
