Behind the Brand: The Story of Intentional – Crafting Self-Care with Purpose 💆🏽♀️
After 2 years, I’m not sure I ever took people behind the scenes of Intentional. I’ve written about all things self-care except this actual company. 🤦🏽♀️ Guess it’s time I take people behind the brand…
The Foundation Behind the Brand 🧱
Since college, I’ve had an interest in people, which is a part of the reason I switched my major to Sociology. The more classes I took, the more interesting it became. A few years later, I was led into the behavioral health field, 👏🏽&👏🏽I👏🏽LOVE👏🏽IT!
The way the mind works is fascinating! Seeing the different symptoms of behavioral health disorders had me hooked. Before then, I really don’t think I was ever exposed to anyone with mental health challenges, so seeing some of my clients’ symptoms in person was mind-blowing! 🤯 And 21 years later, I’m still stuck & haven’t lost a bit of that love yet.
I’m a person that has to be challenged, or I need to find something else to do. Writing treatment plans, implementing the interventions, & watching clients flourish is so fulfilling. There’s no cookie cutter solution for any disorder, but putting the right combo of treatments in place can work wonders. Knowing how you played a part in someone’s evolution sparks joy in a major way. 🧨 It’s obvious that I need to be involved in helping people in some capacity.
The Reasons Behind the Brand 📋
COVID hit, & the majority of the world was put on lockdown. Meanwhile, since the hospital never closes, I was one of the few that had to leave the house to work. We transitioned to work from home about 2 months after the pandemic started, so I had more time on my hands without having to take a 40-minute trek each way to work. 🚙
And because an idle mind doesn’t work out the best for me, I started to brainstorm what else I could do to occupy my mind & time. I enrolled back into grad school & finished my Masters in Psychology in a little under a year. 👩🏽🎓 Without the hours of reading & writing papers in my schedule, I went back to the drawing board on what to do. That’s when husbae suggested I start a business doing something I enjoy: creating journals.
I figured I’d give it a shot, even though I wasn’t feeling very creative at the time. The idea was challenging, so I knew I’d have to do some serious work to get a business up & running. I took some classes & read literature about the steps to start a business & started brainstorming names, slogans, core values, & different product ideas. 🤔 Then it was time to put feet to pavement. 👣
The Method Behind the Brand 🗺️
The process of creating Intentional products is a task, but it’s one that I feel fulfilled by doing. I start off with market research to see what’s currently out there, what stands out, & average pricing. Then the brainstorming begins on what I want to include in the product. Since I’ve been journaling since 2009, I’ve been through plenty of journals & know what I liked, what I didn’t like, & what was needed. My lists stay on me at all times in my Notes app, so if something pops out of the blue, I can jot it down. 📝 I still have a running tab of them for future reference when it’s time to create new products.
Journals were easy to brainstorm about. I’d been through a nice little amount of them over the years, so I knew exactly what I wanted to compile. I just needed to put the creativity behind it. Off to Canva I went & browsed endless pages of journal templates until I found one that I could tweak for my ideas. 👩🏽💻 Color scheme was just as important because I wanted to convey a sense of serenity. Every aspect has a meaning to me.
Once the template was chosen, I went back on the hunt across the internet for affirmations. I’ve seen the power of using positive affirmations, so it was mandatory that I included them. If you tell yourself something enough, you’ll begin to believe it. Plus, they’re uplifting, & everyone could use a pick-me-up every now & then. 🌈 I kept a spreadsheet of them so I could choose the best ones without duplicating any. It made things much easier when it was time to design.
I did the same process to choose the best journal prompts as well. I thought about themes that I wanted to include & searched for relevant ones to add every couple of pages in the journal. Putting them into a spreadsheet kept me organized. It also made it easier for me to pair them with an affirmation. 👯♀️ I wanted it all to be cohesive.
Three other aspects were mandatory additions too: a section for daily gratitude, a section for daily lessons, & a section for goals for the next day. I started making myself log something I’m grateful for each day, without repeating any as much as possible. No matter how bad my day was, I still felt the need to find some joy in it. 🥰 Daily lessons are not only things I learned, but also inspiring quotes I may have come across that day. No harm in adding more positivity to your day! The goal section helps me set no more than 3 expectations for the next day. It allows me to feel accomplished when I check them off.
The Emotions Behind the Brand 🥰
Putting out my first journal gave me a rush. The demand was overwhelming at first. People who I thought were least likely to support me showed up & showed out. 💯 I’m beyond grateful for my products being embraced!
In the spirit of customer service, I want feedback. I take all ideas into consideration. 🙋🏽♀️I revised the original journal to add more writing space after a customer suggested it. I want to give the people what they want, so if you have any suggestions for current or future products, shoot me an email at [email protected]. I’m ready to create!
