👋 Hey I'm Valerie, I'm glad you’re here!

Stop trying to look like everyone else. Start building a brand that's unmistakably YOU.

Get the same Brand Foundation Worksheet I used with paying clients for 25 years—totally free.

Here's the thing about branding that nobody tells you:

It's not about picking the perfect color palette or finding the "right" font. (Though yes, those things matter eventually.)

The real work happens way before that.

I learned this the hard way. For years, I thought I had a brand. I had a website. I had an Instagram. I had a logo, for crying out loud.

But when I looked at my portfolio, I couldn't answer a simple question: "What makes my work unmistakably MINE?" I was talented. I was versatile. I could draw in 15 different styles.

And I was completely forgettable.

Sound familiar?

You're lost in the sea of talent

There are thousands of incredibly skilled creatives out there. Being good isn't enough anymore. You need to be memorable. You need to be you.

You keep copying what's trending

Because you think that's what people want to see. But then you wonder why you're not getting hired—everyone else is doing the same thing.

You're trying to appeal to everyone

So you're accidentally appealing to no one. Clients scroll past your work because they can't figure out what you actually do.

You don't know how to describe your work

Someone asks "what's your style?" and you freeze. "Um... colorful?" Cool. So are 10,000 other illustrators.

Your portfolio is all over the place

You've got watercolors next to vector art next to realistic portraits. Every piece is good, but together? They don't tell a story.

Everything changed when I stopped asking "What should my brand look like?" and started asking "Who am I as a creative?"

That's when I developed the Brand Foundation Worksheet.

It's the same questionnaire I used with branding clients for 25 years. The one I charged for. The one that helped hundreds of people go from "just another talented creative" to "the only person for this project."

And here's the best part: it works whether you're 22 or 52, just starting out or starting over.

Because branding isn't about how long you've been doing this.

It's about knowing who you are and having the courage to show it.

WHAT'S INSIDE THE WORKSHEET

This isn't some fluffy "find yourself" exercise. It's a strategic deep-dive into what makes you different, what drives your work, and how to communicate that clearly.

Your creative origin story (and why it matters more than you think)
Your core values (not the LinkedIn buzzwords—the real ones that guide your decisions)
Your "why" (the thing that makes you create even when nobody's paying you)

Your visual patterns (the themes hiding in your portfolio that ARE your brand)

The 3-adjective exercise (this one's hard, but it changes everything)
Your unique voice (what makes your work unmistakably YOURS)
Your ideal audience (because trying to please everyone means you please no one)

Your brand statement (a clear, compelling way to introduce yourself)
Your action plan (what to actually DO with all these insights)

Here's what happens when you do this work:

Colors and fonts suddenly make sense

Because they're not random choices anymore—they reflect who you actually are.

You stop comparing yourself to others

Because you're not trying to be them anymore. You're too busy being you.

Your portfolio becomes cohesive

You finally know what to keep and what to delete. (Spoiler: delete a lot.)

Client conversations get easier

You can articulate what you do and why you're the right fit without fumbling.

The right projects start finding you

When your brand is clear, you attract people who actually GET what you do.

Real talk:
This worksheet takes work.

Not "pick three colors" work. Real, sit-down-with-a-coffee-and-think work.

Plan for 60-90 minutes. Maybe more if you really dig in.

Some questions will be easy. Some will make you stare at the ceiling for 20 minutes.

That's good. That means you're doing it right.

This isn't a quick fix. It's a foundation. The kind that everything else gets built on.

But if you're serious about standing out, about building a creative career that actually feels like yours—this is where you start.

Ready to figure out who you are as a creative?

Grab the Brand Foundation Worksheet. It's free, it's the real deal, and it's delivered straight to your inbox.

No fluff. No upsells. Just the same worksheet I used with clients who paid for this insight.

Because every creative deserves to know what makes them unmistakably themselves.

Who am I, anyway?

I'm Valerie, and I've spent 26 years in branding and marketing, helping hundreds of clients build their identities from scratch.

Now I'm an illustrator, and I use everything I learned in the branding world to help other creatives figure out who they are and how to show up authentically.

The Late-bloomer Club started because I wanted a space for people like me—creatives who are finding their voice, whether that's at 25 or 55.