How to build a business that aligns with your dream life
When we’re first building a business or a brand, many of us take inspiration from successful people around us and their journeys – and that’s perfectly fine. With no blueprint or roadmap that tells you exactly how to start, run, and scale a business in your niche, it’s natural to look to others doing it already (and doing it well).
But, what if I told you that the only way to live your dream life was to build the business that you want to build, down to the details? If you’re rolling your eyes and thinking, ‘duh, Dani – what else would I do?’ I challenge you to think again. Are the steps you’re taking on your business journey the ones you want to take, or are you following a path that feels pre-determined for you?
When I started One Touch Studio, I definitely fell into the trap of looking at what others around me were doing. But, once I broke this habit, that’s when I actually started to see things fall into place.
In this blog, I’ll take you through my top reasons for aligning your business goals and actions with your ‘dream life’ – one of my favourite topics – and the positive outcomes this could have, not just for your business, but for your life!
What does running a business in alignment with your dream life actually mean?
Okay, let’s slow it down… what does it mean to act in alignment with your dream life?
For me, it’s about making conscious decisions early on in your business journey that don’t centre around KPIs or checking off ‘how to start a business’ boxes – but that hero the life you want to lead and that your business can make a reality.
So many of my brand design clients at One Touch Studio come to me to help them turn their passion projects into fledgling brands. They do this because they want to put freedom, flexibility, and fun back in their days.
This was my journey when I started One Touch Studio, too – I was sick of sitting behind a desk at a soul-sucking corporate job, pushing pixels around a screen for boring businesses. Instead, I wanted to be able to wake up and meditate on the beach, start every day with a journaling session, nip out at midday to take a pilates class, and take long weekends off to go away with my partner.
So, instead of envisioning a business that was going to rob me of all my time and energy, I intentionally built OTS around flexibility and freedom.
Here’s what happened when I did it…
I aligned my goals with the workings of my business
Many new business owners set themselves up for failure by reaching for lofty goals early on because they’ve heard them on a podcast or seen them on someone’s Instagram. Hitting 10k months, signing 10 new clients every month, going viral on TikTok… these are all huge and very specific goals that I promise you, you don’t need to strive for to have a successful business.
Of course, if these are your goals, then more power to you – but there’s a good chance that your life outside of work will take a hit as a result.
Instead, I aimed for things that I knew were both sustainable and would help me achieve my ultimate goal of flexibility and freedom. I set a goal to sign the right amount of clients to fund my life, but I didn’t overcommit myself. My first financial goals were extremely realistic (they still are) – because I don’t need a big waterfront mansion right now; I’m very happy with my city apartment, thanks very much!
By doing this, I set myself up to actually achieve my goals without burning myself out or feeling like I was never doing enough.
I knew my worth – and communicated it from day one
When you’re constantly thinking about your dream life and making decisions to work towards realising it, you have an innate sense of what you’re worth. This doesn’t mean you can skyrocket your rates after you sign your first client – we all need to work up to commanding those higher-value jobs – but it does mean you won’t undersell yourself.
Taking on free jobs or agreeing to pennies, dealing with difficult clients (and not booting them out when they cause trouble), and working yourself to the bone for no appreciation are all signs you haven’t communicated your worth effectively.
None of these scenarios are fun – but when you build a business that showcases all the amazing things that make you so good at what you do, you’re much less likely to experience them.
I was open to new opportunities
Imposter syndrome is real when you start your own business, but if you start by centering your dream life from the jump, it’s a lot easier to face and overcome. Many of us undervalue ourselves early on in our careers (see: knowing your worth) and are closed off to new opportunities as a result.
We don’t network because we’re scared of talking too much about ourselves or our success. We avoid calling out our wins, mistakes, and learnings on social media. The self-doubt creeps in the second we see a new enquiry from an amazing brand land in our inbox.
But when we start saying ‘yes’ to new opportunities, and adopting a ‘figure it out’ attitude (or better yet, an ‘I got this’ attitude), more opportunities roll in. And you prove to yourself that you’re actually far more capable than you thought. You make things happen, you see success, and if on the off chance you fail, you learn from it.
Because I built OTS around freedom and flexibility, this also meant I took on the right opportunities, rather than just any ol’ request that came through. I found my niche, working with female-led small businesses to design brilliant brands, and word caught on faster than I could ever have imagined.
I inherently made time for balance
My dream life puts balance right at the centre of my every day. It’s the whole reason I started OTS – because I knew I was destined for something different than hunching over a desk, never seeing sunlight on a weekday, and reliably battling the Sunday scaries.
Because I started with a framework that prioritised flexibility, it’s always been a non-negotiable component of the way I run my business – not an add-on or afterthought. I know exactly how much work I can take on to retain my balance, which means not always working 8-hour days, and having lunch breaks and evenings free to prioritise my wellbeing.
This doesn’t mean that I don’t overcommit myself on occasion – but when I do it, it’s an intentional choice because I’m passionate about a project or feel capable of taking on more that month. Because my life revolves around flexibility, I’m able to work the occasional weekend or late night because I know that I’ll get that time back in spades later.
I built a brand that feels authentically ‘me’
When you own a small business, the things that make you unique should shine through – that’s something I tell all of my clients when we’re working on their brand identities! So, it was important that One Touch Studio felt authentically me.
I did this mainly through my dreamy, fun-filled branding – and that wouldn’t have been possible without honing in on my ideal day-to-day life. Instead of looking for market gaps or copying successful brands in my niche when developing my brand’s tone, personality, and visual identity, I used my own personal goals – steered by my dream life – to make those decisions.
I knew I wanted my business to feel easy, light, and positive, which is reflected through my brand identity. I also knew that what fulfils me is helping other female small business owners, so that became the basis of the One Touch Studio brand. The result is a brand that feels aligned with me and the way I live my life, and that is inherently set up to help me achieve all my goals (and then some).
So, if you’re just starting a small business, this is your sign to break the mould. Instead of falling into line with what others are doing, start visualising your business as the gateway to your dream life – whatever that might look like. When you build with intention, the journey will be far more fulfilling.
What does your dream life look like? And are your current actions taking you there? If you need a little help figuring it all out, get in touch with me to chat all things branding, strategy, and visual identity for your biz.