Hello Reader,

Life has been Life-ing, as I've been known to say. And, with what little time I've had, I've been thinking about newsletters and emails lately ... love writing them, love reading the good ones but I think most readers are at a crossroads with business communications.

I am a business and marketing strategist and I love to work with organizations or founders to advance their mission and sustainably grow.

And, I am a changemaker.

That's it. That's my pitch.

So, I'm going to test out a new email approach by changing my language a bit to Field Notes for Changemakers. Not much will change for me but I'll be sharing notes each week about my journey in coaching and working with changemakers and my own journey as one. I'll share their stories -- and my own.

Tell me if I'm on track by hitting reply and letting me know.

What I'm working on ...

• I'm now offering boutique marketing strategy and business planning services to help you be relevant, consistent and impactful in how you communicate with your audience/fans/potential clients. Interested in working with me? I can tell you all about it in a consult call. No sales page for this yet as we're still in BETA testing mode. Most of my strategy is helping you build a foundation of marketing assets that change the trajectory of your work.
• Last year I dipped a toe into strategic planning for tiny nonprofits. Turns out, I love it! So now I'm working on a strategic plan for another nonprofit. I geek out quite a bit on creating fun, engaging and impactful exercises to help a group make bold decisions. Having a hand in seeing systems change is literally what I dream about all the time. Want to learn more about this? Check out my page for strategic planning here.
• An urban economic development project?! Yeah, it's true. I love our little city and a great project landed in my lap and I'm working to make it happen. I can't wait to share more on this soon. It's been a beautiful mix of my creativity and my strategic marketing brain. Being a changemaker means doing the work to build the things you want to see in the world.

What I'm proud of ...

• A client's second EVER LinkedIN post blew up and it blew my mind. So cool to see.
• Helped raise nearly $5K for our local library system and led a Read-In on our town square in early October to promote literacy, reading books and how books can be a great escape in hard times.
• Our community for showing up for the No King's Rally. 2,500 attendees. Amazing.
• My new business headshots. Loving them. My friend Lauren Mudrock did a fantastic job.
• The way people are coming together to help families losing SNAP benefits in a week.

What I'm thinking about ...

• Artificial Intelligence vs. Emotional Intelligence. It's true we are in the messy middle of extremely changing technology advancements and what I feel is causing a severe loss of the importance of emotional intelligence. As mission-driven folks, we have an obligation to lean into our empathy, our compassion and use our voices to speak for those who cannot be heard for whatever reason. It also makes great marketing and business sense, too. If you are someone with strong emotional intelligence ... I want you to feel proud of that! It's not easy being a feeler -- and it's your superpower. I know it's mine. What's one way you can lean into your emotional intelligence this week in the work you do? Or, in your community?

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Thank you!

XO

Shawn Fink (she/her)

Founder & CEO​, Shawn Fink Strategies LLC

Not Your Typical Business Consultant.​
​I work with mission-driven organizations, businesses and leaders on business and high level marketing strategies that celebrate diversity, center humanity and expand your impact. Book a FREE business strategy consultation now.