The Honest Quill

04/08/2018

NAVIGATORS // These are two of the most powerful words that can change your business trajectory in ways you hadn’t thought of. I often see entrepreneurs use these words loosely and interchangeably and fail to see the true meaning behind these words. While they are inter-related, they are different words serving a different purpose for your business. Vision is what you would like your business to achieve in the world and mission is how you are going to set about achieving your vision. Very simple definitions but powerful navigators for an orienteer! 👊🏼

14/04/2018

COUNSEL // If you haven’t heard how obsessed I am with Scott Duffy’s book ‘Launch’, then you’re about to hear it now. I bought this book for just a dollar at a book store but it has been a real game changer. Scott breaks down everything into meaningful chunks and I can totally process the journey of being an entrepreneur. In one chapter he goes through in detail the difference between ‘opinion’ and ‘counsel’. Opinion is when someone has no firsthand knowledge of the topic they are providing their opinion on while the latter is about getting advice from someone based on their direct personal experience in the area you are seeking guidance. Always connect with people who have been there, done that and can share their stories with you to put things into perspective. Never believe hearsay or thoughts that just can’t be substantiated. Stay informed and aware xoxo 👊🏼💁🏻‍♀️

11/04/2018

COMFORT // This is a fashion shoot and partnership that pushed me way out of my comfort zone, yet I found strength in doing it for a really noble campaign - one that totally aligned with my personal branding. The bold make up, the hair - everything was significantly different but I was so incredibly privileged to partner with Nutrimetics and .chica.by.tahlia to bring a very important message to all our followers collectively. To acknowledge and celebrate all entrepreneurs who are - an area that is significantly under-represented across all mediums. The only way to truly celebrate your achievements is to put yourself out there - boldly and confidently. This partnership has brought a few more opportunities and I know it's upwards from here on because no matter how tough the battle is uphill, the view from the hilltop is to die for. What are you doing today to put yourself out there? How can you leverage on your achievements and truly make a genuine impact? 💁🏻‍♀️📷RKIT Imagery

10/04/2018

LEVERAGE // Although this word has a different meaning in legal and investment terms, from a personal growth perspective, it simply means using yourself as a lever to achieve the desired outcome. It’s such a simple, yet powerful statement to understand that the best way to leverage yourself is to increase your energy levels and improve your health. Because leveraging essentially means managing your time effectively so that you can be time-wise and know how to act on your goals with precision and clarity. The best way to achieve this is through a healthy body and healthy mind xoxo 👊🏼🙆🏻‍♀️

07/04/2018

PASSION // I don’t know how she does it. Mother of five, food entrepreneur, cooking instructor, cookbook author - she wears so many hats and yet executes each task with determination, grace and passion. I woke up today to a beautiful review by Ebere on being on the editorial panel of and I know this book and opportunity is going to change my life for the better.
‘Gaayathri is very thorough with her work and was able to do an excellent job in editing and proofreading my cookbook in a short span of time. Her dedication to details, personal connection and passion to support me in promoting my Vibrant West African Cuisine cookbook through her platform is very well appreciated.’ xoxo 👊🏼🌿💁🏻‍♀️

07/04/2018

So incredibly proud that a cookbook that I poured my heart and soul into editing and making sure was ready for publishing has been featured by one of Netherland's finest columnists. Featured on the Arfrican Bulletin. This makes my heart warm with gratitude xoxo

ColumnistsAto BobVIBRANT WEST AFRICAN CUISINE: A COOKBOOK WITH A CAUSE BY EBERE AKADIRI Share on Facebook Tweet on Twitter How to Clean a Hacked Website “Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture...

05/04/2018

SPEED // Is anyone else totally obsessed with - I bought Scott’s book ‘Launch’ for just a dollar at a bookshop that went into receivership and it’s one of the best investments I have ever made. He has some amazing insights into how we should look at speed. In today’s world, everything happens at lightning speed and everyone wants something right away even if it is as simple as responding to an email super quickly. Don’t look at the lack of time as an enemy. If you put your heart and soul into it, you can change the lack of time into your best friend that even acts as a protective barrier for your business. Working with a short time means streamlining your focus and looking for ways to deliver high end value in the shortest time possible. This puts you ahead of the game and leaves your competitors smelling your trail smoke. Don’t be afraid of speed - use it to your advantage to come up with rocking strategies that totally cuts your delivery time in half. Sometimes this could mean outsourcing work or it could mean redirecting your focus. Whatever it is, embrace speed. You’ll thank yourself in the long run xoxo 👊🏼

30/03/2018

SOLIDARITY // It’s certainly been a great Friday for me as I woke up to these amazing words from one of the most noble and giving entrepreneurs I have ever met in my life. So incredibly grateful that our paths crossed and I know there will be more opportunities to come. The best part about being a personal branding coach is to watch the transformation unfold in front of you. When your clients show up in such a powerful way that you know that their impact is going to be so big and intentional and they will become major international players some day. This is Smita, founder and creator of - an ethical business and that has been touted as one of the top 20 aspiring brands in the whole of US by the - I am not certainly not surprised given its strong foundation in an eclectic team of 7 women entrepreneurs who have come together to make Krea possible. Smita’s words brought tears to my eyes and she confessed that she was really emotional while writing the testimonial as well. Pure love and solidarity.
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'As a fledgling ethical fashion enterprise, Kreã needed to build our online brand in a manner that truly reflects our values yet reaches out to a wider audience. Gaayathri has been instrumental in helping me build exactly that! Gaayathri's feedback and coaching sessions helped guide my brand and marketing strategy since the conceptual stage. In the sea of branding coaches who merely promise increase in number of followers, The Honest Quill stands out in the prompt and personalized attention given to develop your personal story and brand organically. Although we are located in different geographies and timezones, I picked Gaayathri to guide my brand story because of her deep understanding of the global conscious consumer, her prompt and professional work ethic and personalized attention to detail. I think this has a lot to do with her own lived experience as a small business owner and womenpreneur, which makes her mentoring technique much more grounded and relatable for me. As a personal coach, she will cheerlead you, critique you and strategically guide you on how to improve your story.’ 😘💗

28/03/2018

STRATEGY // Yes, there are surefire shortcuts to success and achieving what you truly want but it doesn't involve you copying and pasting someone else's success formula. I've heard far too many mediocre business coaches talk about directly extracting someone's winning formula and plugging that into your own brand. While you can learn lots of good things from someone else's business model, it will never work 100% for you. Because you are simply not them. You are your own person and so unique to this world because only you lived to tell the tale of your struggles and experiences. Who better to do it than you? So here's the deal. While the shortcuts are possible, you need a foundation and for a foundation to exist, you need STRATEGY. You need a comprehensive plan of action aligned to your goals and you need the resilience to keep tweaking and refining what doesn't work and keep going with it. Share with me what sort of strategy you are building for your brand or even in personal life xoxo 💁🏻‍♀️🙏🏼🌿

24/03/2018

RELEVANCE // This is something that people really struggle with but it's the hard truth. Your business is not unique but YOU are unique. The only way to cut through the clutter and noise is to make yourself visible and relevant. And by relevance, I mean all YEAR round every year. You need to have an intentional presence that changes your branding and business into a timeless essence. Ten or twenty years from now, people need to look at you and think wow he or she has come a long way and is now a household name. It's really not as difficult as you think it is. It's all about using the power of words to leverage on your opportunities. It's about expressing yourself in a way that is bigger than yourself. So a question for you to chew on: what is the one thing that happened in your life that has completely re-shaped your branding today and how can you share that experience with the world in a great, impactful way? Hit me up if you want to nut it out together xoxo 👊🏼🖋

19/03/2018

RESILIENCE // The power or ability to spring back to an original condition or form. I get raised eyebrows when I say to my clients that the drive to succeed is not really going to get you anywhere. Based on my personal struggles and experiences, I firmly believe that the only thing that's going to get you from point A to B is R E S I L I E N C E. Of course you need the drive but loss of resilience leads to many unintended consequences and eventually to giving up your passions. It's funny how the whole process is wired up scientifically. When you hustle hard to get noticed, your resilience levels are at the lowest and you feel so crushed when you get rejected or feel invisible. Yet, when the success starts rolling in, your body and mind automatically regulates and your resilience is so high that even if you get all these meaningless comments from your haters, you keep powering through because you already know what to do. It's exactly like a child being immune to illnesses. The more the exposure, the better the immune system gets built up. And this entire physical and mental process starts with you. No one can do it for you xoxo 👊🏼🖋

18/03/2018

WEB // It sure felt like this past week has been all about being on the go. We’ve just got our first major website overhaul project for an awesome sustainable clothing brand and we are super excited about the whole process from colour and layout consulting to crafting compelling words that connect and convert. WordPress did not pay me to write this (I wish it did though!) but it is our chosen platform to build a website of any kind - be it a simple website or an e-commerce shop. Over 75 million websites run on WordPress and there are 2.5 billion posts published on WordPress. That’s pretty good testament that it is still highly relevant amidst all the other platforms in the online market. WordPress can also accommodate 50,000 plugins (alot of them free) to truly make your website SEO-rich and Google friendly so if you are needing a website that reflects your true brand story, hit us up for a no obligation discussion and let’s see what we can do for you! 🖥💻📱💁🏻‍♀️🖋