Interview with Sara Graham — Founder of Freshpresse.co
Fresh Presse is a consultancy business focused on branding and copywriting for small and mid-size businesses. The project is leaded by Sara Graham and you can know more about her journey below.
Who is Sara Graham?
Good question! Well, I’ve been a lot of things in the last 15 years… Fashion marketer, magazine production manager, fashion designer, editor-in-chief (two teen magazines), travel writer (which I still do a bit of), content producer. These days I guess I am more of a content and communications coach. I really love building brands and helping entrepreneurs edit their ideas so that they can establish their brand voice and online presence for their new businesses.
How did Freshpresse.co start? Is Freshpresse.co your first business? Why is it called Fresh Presse?
I think it’s safe to say that Freshpresse.co is the result of an evolution. I launched my first website TheTravelPresse.com in 2010, which was, of course, all about travel. This site was re-branded in 2014 to offer a variety of lifestyle content, as well as email marketing services. Last May I started working with a business coach to get a lot clearer on how to package my core skills. I’ve been creating and managing brands for about 15 years (my first company was an underwear brand that sold in both Canada and the US) so we re-worked everything into freshpresse.co. I think the name represents a fresh perspective, which is what I feel I deliver to my clients.
What’s the problem you are trying to solve and what’s your long term vision?
Many entrepreneurs struggle with copywriting — especially writing in such a way that sells their products or services. I take my clients through a structured process that helps them get clear on how they want to present themselves to a specific target market. We develop their ideal customer persona and figure out how best to speak to them. My long-term vision is to offer group coaching.
What are the practical steps you’d recommend an entrepreneur to start her projects?
First, I think it’s important to find the right support. Who is going to help at every stage of development? This is #1. Then, it’s about becoming VERY clear on the target market persona, and making sure everything — from packaging to the website copy to images used on the site and social media — is wired to attract the right people. This takes time and research and is a step that is often skipped because entrepreneurs tend to want to just push ahead with their idea. It’s so worth it to do this foundational work because a brand will only be stronger for it.
What’s The Espresso Program?
This is my top tier 8-week program that takes individual clients through the brand development process. We get clear on brand voice and visual content, then I write all the important pages of their website. I help them create automated email campaigns, and coach them on how to use social media to their advantage. Check it out over here: https://freshpresse.co/the-espresso-program/
How does your daily routine look? What are your daily habits that you could recommend to some other entrepreneur to implement in their daily lives?
Once I’m up and out of bed, I’ll either go for a 20-minute run and then do a stretch/ yoga/meditation, or I skip the run and just to the latter. Then I’ll make either a green juice or a smoothie, and get into work. A couple of mornings a week, I’ll head to a café to work. I like the buzz of the bars in Italy and find it quite motivating. I was just visiting my former hometown, Toronto, and I miss working from the cool cafes there, like Dark Horse, Rooster Coffee, Tori’s Bakeshop and the newest Broadview Hotel.
What books / podcasts / people have inspired you and given you great knowledge on your journey?
I think entrepreneurship is a lot about personal development. You have to be a strong person to tolerate risks. I am a big fan of Gabrielle Bernstein and have gotten a lot out of her book Miracles Now. She’s probably the biggest influence on my lifestyle changes over the last eight years or so. I really appreciate Marie Forleo and her weekly Marie TV episodes. My own coach Reese Evans at YES Supply. These women remind me to trust my own instincts, have fun and stay grounded. The universe has your back, as Gabrielle says.
As a Yoga Teacher, how does this practice has complemented to your business and life in general?
Yoga and meditation have had an immeasurable impact on my well-being and productivity. Because of my practice, I seem to attract clients that are quite spiritual… and these women at business coaches and accountants. I start every day with a meditation/yoga stretch combo and it’s a game-changer. Even if I’m running behind, I’ll do this because it centres me and is very balancing. Teaching yoga and offering free classes in a local park have been great ways to meet people.
What would you change and keep during all your entrepreneurial journey? What mistakes/failures have you have to deal with?
There’s not much I would change aside from one or two directions I went in that maybe I could have dropped a bit earlier. But I’m a big believer in trying something once. For example, I got into network marketing — it was a company with fantastic products that promoted well-being. I learned the MLM business model and I think it makes a lot of sense… It just wasn’t taking off for me. So I met a lot of lovely people, and learned quite a bit about health supplements. There’s always something to learn or gain in every “failure”. I do wish I’d hired a business coach a few years earlier than I did, to help me get focused, but better late than never!
What are the next steps for Fresh Presse?
Well, I’ve really put a lot into my Espresso Program, which is an 8-week program that takes entrepreneurs from zero to launch. It really takes the struggle and second-guessing out of the brand building process, while saving my clients huge amounts of time. So the immediate future is to connect and collaborate with more multi-passionate business owners who need this service.
Could you please give us your contacts where people can find you and keep in touch with you?
Yes, of course, anyone interested can find me at: www.freshpresse.co, www.instagram.com/freshpresse and www.facebook.com/groups/freshpresse/
We are Uppersky, a group of young professionals helping start-ups and entrepreneurs with branding, digital campaigns, web & mobile app design and development. Do you like our article? Have a question? Need a hand to grow your business? Get in touch with us! www.uppersky.co/en
