If you’ve ever struggled to explain what you do because the answer is “it’s kind of a few things,” this post is for you.
Some of the most thoughtful, impactful businesses I work with are multi-passionate creatives. These are the small business owners who are good at so many things, and they thrive on keeping things exciting for themselves.
In a world where everyone says niche down, they buck and go the other way. In a word that says zig, they zag.
They are my kind of people.
Typically, I see these business owners grow their offerings over time, but eventually their brand starts to feel harder to explain and harder to scale without a good strategy in place.
If your business does a lot of things, but you’re hoping for a simpler way to communicate them, you’re in the right place.
This is exactly why my client Sandra came to me. She’s one of the most creative people I know with a business that has grown in several meaningful directions.
During our first call, she was unsure if it would even be possible to put all of her products and services together into one brand. She wondered if she would need to manage multiple brands for it to make sense for her audience.
Her business, then called Beauty Decree, began as an aesthetics and makeup studio but was clearly outgrowing its original brand. Between aromatherapy school, writing a book, and a gradual shift toward a more holistic, aromatherapy-based approach to aesthetics, it was time to zoom out and look at everything together.
In this post, I want to share how we approached branding a multi-service business like this. I’ll show you the decisions we made and the moments where we had some aha’s, too.
After talking through her ideas and goals, Sandra realized she wanted to focus on three core service areas, all inspired by her powerful personal story of loss, faith, and restoration:
- A holistic skin studio (In-person service)
- An emotional / aromatherapy-based skincare line (Products)
- A heart-focused/faith-based workshop experience (Online Course)
Finding the through-line
Each of these offerings made sense on their own, but together they felt fragmented.
What this brand really needed wasn’t three separate identities. It needed one clear idea that could hold everything together. I often refer to this as a through-line.
A "through-line" is a common thread that runs through a brand and gives everything a shared reference point.
A through-line gives multi-passionate entrepreneurs a place to come back to when they’re talking about their services, refining their messaging, or adding something new.
This doesn’t mean the strategy is watered down; it’s simply taking a broader approach to give room for future expansion.
For Sandra and me, the real challenge came when we started discussing questions like:
- Who are your ideal clients for each of your offerings?
- Is there one shared problem being solved in different ways?
- What’s the unifying idea that makes this brand work and feel intentional?
Through that process, a few important things became clear:
- Her ideal client fits all three offerings
- Essential oils naturally support each service
- Everything pointed toward a holistic, non-toxic lifestyle
And the through-line made sense. The new brand’s name,The Fragrant Revival, also made sense.
The Fragrant Revival holistically helps restore women to who they were always meant to be before aging, pain, and heartache came into their lives.
Finding the through-line guided the messaging and helped eliminate the overwhelm of trying to brand each of them individually.
Once we had that clarity, everything else got easier.
The strategy
Before this, it was difficult to clearly explain how faith-based workshops, aromatherapy, and skincare could work together under one brand.
But we started playing with the “big brand messaging” and landed on:
Holistic restoration for mind, skin & spirit.
Presenting these offerings under a “holistic restoration” umbrella created cohesion, helping her audience understand how each element connected to the through-line.
We could start to distinguish the brand’s offerings and how the messaging connected all of them:
- Mind: Emotion aromatherapeutic oil blend products to reduce stress, add focus, and balance emotions
- Skin: Facials & anti-aging services, skin serums, and other fragrant skincare products
- Spirit: Healing and connection with God through her book, Known and Heart Revival Workshops
The visual identity
Once we had clarity on the through-line and messaging, the visual direction became much more focused. Instead of designing separate looks for each offering, we built a flexible visual system that still very much felt like one brand.
The moodier color palette, layered floral elements, and soft animated movements were intentional choices. Together, they reflect restoration, depth, and an immersive experience, just as all of her products and services do. Whether someone encounters a product, workshop, or her website first, the emotional experience feels consistent.
From beginning to end, we wanted the brand feel:
Intriguing
Poetic
Invited
Moody
Feminine
The logo system was designed to adapt across different uses, from digital experiences to product packaging, without losing cohesion. This flexibility allows the brand to grow and evolve while staying grounded in the same visual language.
The product packaging, in particular, needed to feel elevated and readable without becoming generic. It works just as well on a shelf as it does within the broader brand ecosystem, reinforcing the same emotional experience throughout the business.
The website
The website brings the through-line to life by guiding visitors through the brand instead of overwhelming them with too many choices. Movement and hierarchy were all used intentionally to create a sense of flow.
Each offering is distinct, but none of them feels separate. The structure makes it easy for someone to understand how everything connects, no matter where they enter the site.
If you’re a multi-passionate entrepreneur, I’m cheering you on!
I want you to hear this: having multiple ideas doesn’t mean your business is too much to brand.
While multi-brands and sub-brands absolutely have their place, they also bring added complexity, costs, and ongoing management. For many multi-service businesses, taking the time to step back and build a thoughtful brand strategy can create a ton of clarity.
The right strategy doesn’t box you in. It gives you a foundation that supports growth, evolution, and confidence as your business continues to change.
And if that’s where you find yourself right now, I’m cheering you on. Us creative brains have to stick together.
Your designer friend always,
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I get to use creativity everyday to help entrepreneurs focus on their passions to discovering their brand's "sweet spot" in the marketplace...and I absolutely LOVE IT!
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