The Business Binder™️ is a simple yet powerful project that every entrepreneur can undertake.
AN EVOLVING GUIDE DESIGNED TO HELP YOU MAKE CLEAR, CONFIDENT DECISIONS AND ALIGN EVERY PART OF YOUR BUSINESS...
And yes, you can have one.
They’re anchored in your values. They reflect your true desires.
They’re thoughtfully considered choices made with clarity rather than impulsively or out of fear, obligation or pressure. They’re steps that feel manageable and achievable given everything else that’s currently happening.
Instead of copying what others are doing, decisions made in alignment reflect your identity, preferences and strengths.
Whether it’s a step toward a dream project or an immediate action to solve a problem, an aligned decision matches your long-term goals and vision.
Therefore, the more aligned decisions you make, the more you feel empowered and confident in your ability to make more choices that satisfy and fulfill you.
Aligned decisions begin with giving yourself something real and tangible to align to.
Aligned decisions "feel right" emotionally.
In my clients’ businesses and my own - we call this ‘something real’ a Business Binder™️.
Your Business Binder™️ is the place where you keep the necessary information you’ve gathered, and the tool you use to make your most purposeful and deliberate decisions.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BUSINESS BINDER™️
1. EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS.
Knowing yourself and how you like to organize and access information, choose the option that works best for you: print, digital, or hybrid. Every format has its benefits! Once you've made your choice, begin gathering binder supplies.
2. JOIN A BINDER-BUILDING PARTY.
Set your binder up solo, or attend a party! This is your time to organize your digital folders, personalize your binder with a vision board you can slide into the clear cover pocket, set up your tabs, and more.
Join the Business Binder™️ community for a fun online prep party, held once per month.
3. FILL IN EACH TAB WITH COMPLETED EXERCISES.
Each Aligned Action book is designed to focus on a key aspect of your business, giving you the structure you need to make clear, empowered choices.
Follow the steps and exercises - start with any book from the Aligned Action series.
4. REFERENCE YOUR BUSINESS BINDER OFTEN.
Use your Business Binder™️ as a living, evolving guide. Work solo or get support from me as you engage with your Business Binder™️. Even if you've only got one tab filled, you’ll be building a relationship with decision-making that feels natural and intuitive as your business grows.
A print Business Binder™️ is best for you if you...
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are a paper person who loves stickers, stationery, pretty pens and day planners
typically work from home or you're often in the same office or location
value things that are tactile, tangible, and handheld
prefer handwriting to typing or are an avid journaler
dislike e-readers and would rather hold a book in your hands
Print Business Binder™️ supplies include a 3-ring binder, printed or handwritten pages, and multiple tabs. (Optional supplies include clear sheet protectors and a hole punch.)
It’s time to make your first aligned decision as part of your Business Binder project:
WILL YOUR BUSINESS BINDER™️ BE PRINT, DIGITAL OR HYBRID?
Despite what a lot of online coaches tell you in their 5+ emails per day... Business growth is a series of aligned decisions, not an overnight transformation.
WITH THE BUSINESS BINDER™️ PHILOSOPHY, YOU'LL FOCUS ON ONE TAB AT A TIME.
There's no overwhelm here - each Aligned Action Series book guides you through one tab. Before you know it, you’ll notice the shift: decisions will start to come easier. Whether it’s how to talk about your services, choosing the best strategies for reaching your ideal clients, or setting your prices confidently, you’ll feel more in control at every decision point.
The experience of building & growing a business is a series of deliberate acts, where the level of depth matters more than the order in which you complete the steps. So as you build your binder, don't worry out about which tabs to sort out first.
Know that whatever tab you’re drawn to is the one that’s right for you, and add more tabs and details as you gain experience in your business. Trust that your binder will grow with you...
Fill up the Brand Voice Tab of your Business Binder™️ by reading Beyond Brand Voice. The book will help you build the language to connect with your clients, set the tone for your marketing, and find the words that truly reflect your work.
Brand voice is a good place to start if...
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You want clarity that influences every other area of your business. A defined brand voice helps you to be consistent and authentic in how you connect with your audience.
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You’re looking to refresh or refine your messaging. If your current communication feels disconnected or "off," this tab provides the tools to align your voice with your business’s personality.
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You need a quick win to build momentum. Dialling in your brand voice makes everything else - like marketing, platform choices, and offers - much easier to refine.
It’s time to make your next aligned decision as part of your Business Binder project:
WHICH ALIGNED ACTION SERIES BOOK WILL YOU BEGIN WITH?
There are of course other important business topics that fall outside my specialty.
Some other tabs you might want to begin and fill with your own expertise or that of other professionals are:
Bookkeeping, Accounting and Financing
Team, Franchising, Scaling & Expansion
Email Marketing
Promotions & Ad Strategy
Legal and Contracts
Time Management
If you choose to use these Tabs within your Business Binder™️, fill each tab with a record of decisions made, expertise you’ve gained, information you’d like to keep close at hand. Keep any information that could be useful to you as you make other aligned decisions.
The answer to the question "aligned to what?" already exists, but it’s hidden somewhere in your mind, your heart and your Notes app...
UNTIL YOUR THOUGHTS AND AHA MOMENTS HAVE A REAL PLACE TO LIVE - AND I DON'T MEAN IN UNNAMED GOOGLE DOCS - TIME SPENT SOUL-SEARCHING AND COURSE-WATCHING WON'T HELP YOU FEEL MORE ALIGNED.
That’s why I’m here to support you in building a home for your best business ideas, as you: (1) discover what’s most meaningful to you, (2) create your Business Binder™️ as an evolving reference point, and (3) make better, more deliberate decisions built on the living ideas inside the pages.
Hi, I'm Chantelle.
Back before I knew my purpose involved helping people be more themselves in business, I spent time as a temp in my gap year after high school while I practiced feverishly to get into music school. I’d spend a month or two in each spot moonlighting as a receptionist or file clerk 🗂 for a non-profit or insurance company. One thing was true across all placements - I’d always be handed a binder on day 1.
The binder contained lists upon lists of procedures, tasks, and timelines, and it became my bible for the duration of the placement. I would pore over the pages excitedly as though they contained all the rules of adulthood (they did not, but I did learn how to summon a courier).
The binders had everything I needed to know so that no employee needed to spend more than five minutes with me teaching me anything. (Have a question? Ask the binder.) The contents of the binder gave me the confidence I needed and a sense of independence to go about my days.
It wasn’t until a few years into entrepreneurship having designed over 100 client websites that I realized that what most business owners truly want and need is a manual to their own business, not unlike the binders I was handed years ago.
🤩 A place to collect reflections and realizations into a living document that creates confidence and independence in your small business.
Since that realization, I shifted into helping entrepreneurs collect ideas and concepts into a Business Binder™️ via my books, experiences, programs, and dedicated 1:1 work. I'd love to build yours with you!
IN THE YEARS SINCE THE BINDER HAS BECOME A THING, A VIP CLIENT TOLD ME THAT OUR WORK TOGETHER HELPED HER TO:
“learn more about my own values and goals and the ways to honour and pursue them.”
ONE WORKSHOP ATTENDEE WROTE:
“I now have this very concrete and cohesive document I am building that can reign in my ideas into something simple and actionable.”
WHILE ANOTHER WAS EXCITED TO SAY:
“Understanding the gaps I had in my business and having tools I can actually use has given me confidence in my business. I feel clear, energized, and in tune with my work.”
AND A ONE-ON-ONE CLIENT SHARED THAT SHE:
“walked away with confidence that I can run my business in a way that is true to me. One of the most valuable takeaways are the tools I now have to make informed and intuitive decisions.”
These are just a few of the hundreds of clients and students impacted by our work together to develop an answer to the question ‘aligned to what?’. I hope to impact many more as the Business Binder™️ community grows.
Would you agree that if you had your own manual to refer to as you make decisions, you’d feel more prepared to make better choices?
Although you can’t know with certainty what will happen next in the context of your business, you CAN know yourself and you CAN keep an aligned record of your thoughts.
When you get clear about your intentions and your direction and you put it down on paper, magic starts to happen…
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You build marketing momentum through intentional action - knowing where to next place your attention and focus.
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You make choices connected with what’s important to you - so you face less decision fatigue, decision regret, and decision discomfort.
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You’re able to look through your binder to find your own answers instead of waiting to see which trends you should try in order to be successful.
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You bring the best of yourself to your clients, including clarity and cohesiveness and caring.
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You start to notice patterns and priorities. Reviewing your thoughts and ideas over time reveals what truly matters and where your energy is best spent.
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You free up mental energy. With your thoughts and plans recorded, your mind is clearer to focus on creativity and problem-solving.
STAY GROUNDED IN YOUR SERVICE AND YOUR GREATEST VALUES AS DECISIONS PILE ON.
It's time to keep the soul-searching you've already done close at hand so you can make aligned decisions as your higher self.