A TWELVE-MONTH RESIDENCY FOR CREATIVES & COACHES STEPPING INTO THEIR IDGAF ERA WHO ARE READY TO BUILD FREEDOM THEIR WAY
You might already know how you want to buildā¦ or that might be the exact question youāre trying to get help answering
Either way, this is the year, and these are the people that make building itĀ your wayĀ more effective,Ā and more fun.
(and couldnāt we all just use a bit more joy right about now!)
APPLY NOW
WE ARE ON A MISSION TOā¦ [FILL IN MISSION] Sweet roll tiramisu danish croissant muffin. Liquorice sesame snaps ice cream jelly-o lollipop. Jelly beans sugar plum jujubes powder jelly beans apple pie cheesecake candy.
Ā
BECAUSE WE BELIEVEĀ Sweet roll tiramisu danish croissant muffin. Liquorice sesame snaps ice cream jelly-o lollipop. Jelly beans sugar plum jujubes powder jelly beans apple pie cheesecake candy.
A person who is stable and joy-fueled is a lot harder to control and manipulate through fear.
Most people are neither of those things right now, and it is not because they aren't trying hard enough. Itās because the system is designed to keep us separate, small and scared.
We refuse to keep bending to a system that feeds off our fear
The Creative Freedom Rebellion:
12 Month Residency
Twelve months inside a room built for a brain and business like yours, with people who share your values (and who will no-doubt become your new work besties), utilizing a set of tools, resources and habits that have been working to get our clients huge wins for over 15 years. A place where we truly care about the success of those around us, and are building our own freedom, wealth and security - while helping others do the same.
This is where the ideas turn into a plan, and then a tangible, measurable outcomeā¦ and where you get crystal clear on what you want and why, and your business finally starts funding it.
Where you can show up knowing that despite living in a world that wants us to feel bad, your attention, energy and success is contributing to something good.
This isnāt just some course, mastermind, or coaching program
What weāre building is a movement.
What we have is decades of combined success, thousands of happy clients served, a vault of resources, tools, templates and shortcuts some strong, shared values and enough experience to know that all of these things mean nothing if you donāt have a clear step-by-step plan and real support to help you build the habits of actually showing up and getting it done.
Weāre not building this for you, we're building it WITH you.
Because we've not just got our sights set on your amazing resultsā¦ but how all our combined success and stability and x compounds into a truly remarkable, measurable impact.
Groups just like this is how real change happens
In fact, a few committed people gathering over and over in private rooms, working together for shared outcomes, is the only way real change has ever happened.
Why twelve months?
Unfortunately, while everyone out there want's to promise you a quick 8 week fix, weāve learned that in reality, it takes about 12 months to change a business and a person. It's a lot more boring and slow than most marketing pitches would have you believe.
Testing and landing on pricing that holds.
Creating and curating a portfolio of work you're proud of.
Building a brand that feels like the best version you AND magnetizes dream clients to you
Systems that give you your time back
Marketing you can running even when you're on holiday, tired, unwell or just arenāt feeling it
None of these things get created or perfected by committing to a six-week sprint (but you'd be amazed what four focused 90 day sprints can add-up to!!)
Why "residency"?
When artist's go āon residencyā they get time, resources, a place to work, and typically, other artists working nearby. It's a container for support and focus - and it's not about consuming curriculum or getting graded on performance. It's like a creative incubator. When you're āin residenceā it's because someone has noticed you're onto something, and they remove the obstacles between you and making and time, focus and resources to go all-in. Residency is the closest word we could find for what we do inside this space.
YES! I WANT THIS!What makes it different from other memberships, masterminds or courses?
All these things are useful, and have their place in our growth:
A course teaches you a thing.
A membership gives you access to a community of like-minded people.
A Mastermind gives you a room to up-level in.
Creative Freedom Rebellion is a hybrid.
It has elements of all three, plus four one-to-one mentors
(plus some VERY exciting in-person opportunities that you get to help us build)
The Residency is the room: the community, the planning rhythm, the coaching, co-working, the planner, and a few useful tools.
The Residency, All Access is all of that, plus a custom four-phase plan built for you, one-to-one time with each of the four mentors, and lifetime access to the vault of valuable group programs Nic and Nicole have built. For capacity reasons, this tier is capped at 25 people
WE'RE PRACTICING WHAT WE PREACH
"A better way to build" sounds lovely, but means nothing until somebody shows you what it actually looks like in-practice.
Here's what your rebellion residency looks like in real life:
- Deciding without the three-week spiral. You consult the Brand Oracle Claude Project you learned how to build, and bring your decision to a group call, you talk it out, you get a few people's honest reads on it, and you leave having decided. That's it, done. Next.
- Marketing you can do in a bad week. You build and set goals around activities, not outcomes you can't control. You build systems, structure and rhythms to can can actually maintain, rather than what somebody else's launch calendar says you should be doing. Consistency comes from the design, not from you being more disciplined.
- Really practical conversations about money, revenue streams that scale, pricing you can say out loud. We are unsentimental about the math in a way you'll be very grateful for when the math starts mathing, the interest starts compounding, and the sales start climbing like never before.
- A brand that stops undermining you.Ā Most of the exhaustion in the marketing you don't want to do comes from the gap between how you want people to think and feel about you, and whatĀ is actually happeningĀ in your first impressions. Closing that gap is the single fastest way to make everything else feel easier.
- Progress without self-abandonment. Goals get set against your actual capacity in the actual season you're in right now. When your season changes, the plan changes, because that's smart and strategic, not āfailureā. Start getting back energy that's been wasted on the anxiety, guilt, shame, frustration and loneliness.
- Accountability without shame. Twice-weekly co-working where you turn up, say hello, turn the camera off, and parallel play. You'd be shocked how effective this one little habit can be. All you have to do is start blocking out these 4 hours a week on your calendar, and holding that time no matter what. It works absurdly well and requires you simply to show up.
- Room for how your brain works. This room was built by neurodivergent founders, and most of the people here are neurospicy in some way. These systems were built by people like you with hyper-connected brains, supreme rejection sensitivity, a special kind of intolerance for injustice and unfairness, an obsessive attention to detail and extremely variable amounts of energy for peopling (with much recovery required). If this is you, this space will feel like coming home.
What we are not promising, is year without discomfort.
This is a space to do the reps, not an escape hatch. What we can promise you though, is that you won't be doing it aloneā¦ or without a mapā¦ which we know drastically increases your chances of that discomfort turning into something really, really fruitful.
And youāll finally be able to step out of that vacuum of spin, stuckness, unmade decisions and old guiltā¦ and step into something new that looks and feels like support, solidarity, ease and excitement:
HOW IT WILL WORK
Your custom four-phase plan
(All Access)
Nic, Nicole and Heather build it with you at the start of your year: where you actually are, where you want to be in twelve months, the three goals you'll focus on to achieve it, and the four phases you'll use to get there. This isn't a vibe, it's a real, actionable, measurable plan.
From there, you and Heather own the plan. She's the one who notices when the bottleneck you named isn't the bottleneck you haveā¦ and helps you decide what to move through, what to pivot, and when to book-in for your other one-to-one resources.
No pressure to: stick to it when your life changes. It adjusts. That's the point of having a person instead of a robot or a PDF.
One-to-one time with each of us
(All Access)
With Nic, on your joy makeover: Your brand, your āwhyā, your colours, your designs, your story.Ā 1 90 minĀ +Ā 4 Design Time sessions in Canva
With Nicole, on freedom structures like revenue streams, pricing, and systemsĀ 1x 90 min
With Heather, owns the plan and helps move you through through whatever's getting in your wayĀ 4x 90 min.
With Tracey, on tech. Websites, software, automations, domains, GDPR (and all the other annoying acronyms), the AI thing that broke, the plugin nobody can explain. Tracey is your āget out of tech hellā free card. 1x 1 hr. (you can always top-up more time if this is not enough, but by then Tracey will already know you and your tech stack.)
No pressure to:Ā arrive polished. Bring the mess.Ā That's what we're here for.
Bi-Annual Goal Setting and Planning sessions
(both tiers)
Two longer workshops each year (Dec or Jan and June) - need more info
Monthly group coaching
(both tiers)
At least 90 min. each month with Nic and Nicole for Design Time, Money Talk and Face Time. Bring a strategy to review, a half-formed question, or nothing at all. A good portion of the value is listening to somebody else's problem and recognising your own inside itā¦ or simply ātalking it outā with someone who will no-doubt have genuinely useful feedback.
These are drop-in sessions, so there is zero pressure to: speak, turn your camera on, or even attend. Use as needed, nobody takes attendance.
Monthly Planning and Review session
(both tiers)
Ninety minutes with Heather, every month. She starts with breathing and grounding, moves into journal questions or reflections, and each quarter a longer session for looking back at the entire phase you've just completed. This is the rhythm that most of us never manage to hold on our own, but makes an unreasonably big difference when we do. These sessions with Heather are one of the main reasons members describe finally finishing things that have sat on a list for years.
Co-working, twice a week
(both tiers)
Monday and Friday, live on Zoom, two hours. Drop in, say hi, then it's cameras off to get to 90 min of focused work. Members who have built the most consistency and success assign a recurring task for each day, like Monday for the newsletter and Friday for the blog (for example) and they show up each week and do exactly that.
No pressure to: attend both, or either. Some people use it every week for a year. Some people use it only in the seasons when they need it.
Design time
(Included in All Access, also available for purchase )
Each month Nic holds a Design Time session - free for all to attend - but if you cash in one of your āDesign Time credits (4 included in All Access, otherwise they're available for purchase) you can get Nic to work on your project. Just fill out a form, drop in a Canva link, and then during your design āhot seatā Nic will re-work whatever you brought: Your brand, your pitch deck, your marketing assets, your website, signage, a brochure - anything. You'll be amazed watching her work (and what she can achieve in 15-20 min) and you leave with the file.
The Vault
(All Access)
In the Vault of programs, you'll find everything Nic and Nicole sell that isn't one-to-one: Citrus, Wayfinding, CPPA, Freedom Focus Formula, CPI, Hair of the Dog Academy craft education, Colour Joy, plus a handful of extremely powerful custom GPTs.
All of this is available to you, but it isn't just dumped on you. Your plan will highlight the piece(s) you need, when you need them and we suggest you ignore the rest until you need it.
No pressure to: finish anything. There are no completion certificates here and never will be. All we care about is getting you useful templates, resources and info to help you meet your goals.
The Community
(both tiers )
Our brand new home is in Circle. Gone are the days of the Facebook Group. Now the entire experience is built around the community: where we can connect on our own timelines, celebrate with each other, learn from each other, and share inspiration and laughs. Real connection, gentle accountability, parallel play, and safe space-holding, with people who understand why this is hard because they're in itā¦ and who genuinely want to see you succeed. Use the member directory to find members near you, and * coming soon * you can help build in-person meetups in the US, Canada, Europe, UK and Australia.
No pressure to: be visible. Lurking is a totally valid form of membership. Some of the people who got the most out of the last twelve months barely posted at all until the showed up to share big wins. You can connect in whatever way suits you.
The Planner
(both tiers)
We have a beautiful, spiral-bound 6 month printed planner that holds the rhythms of everything outline here, on paper. The three goals, the weekly, monthly, quarterly rhythms. When you finish one you can fill out a form to get sent the next. Start anytime as the calendars are fillable.
In Person
(both tiers )
We're building something big for us to share in-person. But you're going to help us decide, and do it. We have plans for this that we're not announcing yet, because the first cohort is going to get a say in what they are.
The Giving Component
(All Access)
We are committing a portion of proceeds to fortify women around the world building their freedom footing. We're still deciding on the exact āhowā and āhow muchā so the details will come inside the room, but this is a huge beating heart at the center of our mission: None of us are free until we all are, and we want any success we achieve to be shared.
Take what you want, leave the rest
The only homework is your own plan. That's it. That stuff you'd be working towards anyway, but now you have a complete support system to do it.
No replays to catch up on, no modules to complete, no busy work. If it isn't tied to something you actually want, you ignore it.
There is no such thing as behind
It's a 12 month container, but you can stay as long as you like.
There's no cohort marching in step, so there's nobody to be behind. There are no modules, so there's nothing to finish. There are no attendance records. Your plan is built around your capacity in your season, and when the season changes (a health thing, a family thing, a wedding season that eats your autumn), you and Heather restructure to meet your goals. No guilt, no shame, no apologizing.
All we ask of you is that you show up for yourself. Commit to a couple co-working sessions a month. Try the thing you said you'd try. Tell somebody when you're stuck. The room can hold you through almost anything except total silence.
Who is this for
You're established enough to know that another course is not the answer. You've bought plentyā¦ some were worth it. Some were disappointing. Some are tabs you keep open in Chrome, but haven't looked at in ages.
You want growth, but you have conditions:
- Not at the cost of your health
- Not at the cost of your important relationships
- Not by by doing a cringe dancing trend on social media
- Not by using ābro marketing' tactics that exploit and manipulate
You know the key is consistency, and you've worked out that just trying to double-down on discipline isn't going to get you there.
You want mentors who are ādoingā partners, not just good listeners who add to your to-do list
You want a room where you don't have to perform being fine when you're not, or dull down your success or achievements to make other people āless threatenedā
You're willing to look at your own patterns, but it'd be helpful to have someone hold space for the new habits you know it will take time to establish
You have your own definition of success, and it might look nothing like anybody else's.
Whatever your version is, is totally welcome here.
Who this probably isn't for
This room won't suit you if:
If your goal is to scale as fast as possible, any cost, you'll find us frustrating.
If any of these statements make you uncomfortable, this might not be your room. We don't always have to agree on everything, but these are hills we're willing to die on:
Black lives matter, Trans rights are human rights, Love is Love, Her body, her choice, No one is illegal, Climate Change is Real, Science is Real, Pets are family, Free Palestine, Congo & Sudan: None of us is free until we are all free.
If you want a course to binge and be finished with, this is not it.
If being in service to others, or contributing to a real community that supports you back isn't for you, you probably wonāt like it here
If you want to throw money at another thing to solve the problem, but aren't actually interested in showing up to do the work, we're not your gals.
None of that makes you wrong or bad, it just makes you somebody who needs something else. We'd rather you spend your money on the right room and this one probably isn't it.
On Working Smart
"Having a community for accountability has been very useful for me but my big aha moment was working smarter not harder: scheduling time off every single week at a regular time and automating systems."
Erin
On Co-working
"The co-working is such a great way to focus and have a little interaction before and after getting loads done. Love it."
Kelly
On business results
"My sales have doubled year-to-date since last year."
A, New Hampshire
"I surpassed my quarterly goal and I set it HIGH."
K, California
"Just had my best month ever in my business!"
A, Virginia
YOUR REBEL LEADERS:
J. Nichole Smith (Nic)
Brand architect, author, artist, design & colour psychology expert. Started as a pet photographer and designer, spent 20 years building brands with joy at the centre: from startups to billion-dollar companies. Co-founded Dog is GoodĀ® and scaled it into the millions. Masters in Marketing. Author of Million Dollar Dog Brand, Puppyhood (Abrams). Creator of CPPA, the Colour BrandĀ® method and the Joy FirstĀ® way. American living in England with the man of her dreams, Late-diagnosed AuDHD, Mum of 3 girls: two human, one Frenchie.
Why she's in it: because everything she has done has had one thing in common: Helping founders (mostly neurodivergent women) navigate the messy middle to their spark.
Why you'll be glad she's on your team: your brand, messaging, and the way you look at colour will never be the same.
What you'll get with her: 1:1 branding session, 4 design hot seats, monthly group coaching, weekly co-working, and bi-annual goal-setting workshops.
Nicole Begley
Master Photographer, Photographic Craftsman. In business since 2010, over 1,000 dogs photographed, over 1000 photographers mentored. Founder of Hair of the Dog (Academy, Elevate, CPI), Freedom Focus Formula, and the Hair of the Dog Conservation Fund. Speaker at Imaging USA, Shutterfest, ClickAWAY and Shutterhound. Started with $197 all-inclusive sessions shot around naptimes, now her average photography sale is x.
Why she's in it: [x[
Why you'll be glad she's on your team: your systems, pricing and credit card points will thank you and your structure for creating real, tangible, time and money freedom in your life will never be the same
What you'll get with her: 1:1 freedom structure sessions, monthly money talk, freedom hacks, pricing strategy and craft education
Heather Bradley
Focus coach and fixer. Works with solo founders and small teams, most of them neurodivergent, most of them stuck on something other than what they think they're stuck on.
"I don't just listen, guide breathing techniques, or ask questions: I also roll up my sleeves and get in the muck alongside you. I specialize in cleaning up the mess so you can focus on your big vision."
Why she's in it: she came to coaching from a boutique land brokerage firm, successful on paper and hollow in practice, after one Thursday on a two-hour commute looking at the other cars.
How you'll meet her: monthly planning and review, your plan 1:1s, group coaching. What she isn't: an accountability enforcer. Nobody is going to shame you into a task.
Tracey Nichols
Woven Websites. Tech, websites, software, automations, and the AI troubleshooting that eats a Sunday when you're doing it alone.
Why she's in it: because "I'll fix the website eventually" is one of the most expensive sentences in a creative business, and it's almost always a tech problem wearing a motivation costume.
How you'll meet her: your tech 1:1, plus [CONFIRM: any ongoing support channel].
What she isn't: your web designer for a full build. The hour is for unblocking you.
WHAT "FOUNDING MEMBER" ACTUALLY MEANS HERE
What already exists and is tested: the community, the planning rhythm, the co-working, the planner, the coaching structure. That's been running for years and the testimonials above come from it. On their own, all the programs and courses included have seen their students create STELLAR ROI and results.
What's new: The in-person component, *coming soon* and combining each of the separate support systems: the four-phase custom plan, the four one-to-one containers, plus design hot seats with Citrus brand refresh and Whyfinding, and all the other programs (not to mention the giving component). The all access tier is running for the first time in this format this year (but it's based on what we noticed our most successful clients were purchasing and completing separately in order to get their superior results)... we've simply bundled it all to make it an easier and more integrated experience for you.
What founding does not mean: that you're paying to test an incomplete product. The programs are not in beta - they have all be tested and refined for year. Everything is built, ready and waiting for you inside Circle and Kajabi.
Summing it up
WHAT YOU RECEIVE
The Residency, All Access
$599/mo
or $5,999 for the year USD
- Everything on The Residency, plus:
- Your custom four-phase plan, built with Nic, Nicole and Heather
- One-to-one sessions with Heather (plan) x4, Nic (brand) x1, Nicole (pricing) x1, Tracey (tech) x1
- Four design hot seats with Nic inside Canva, files included
- All-access pass to Citrus, Wayfinding, CPPA, CPI, Freedom Focus Formula, Hair of the Dog Academy, Colour Joy, and several custom GPTs
- In-person opportunities, coming in 2027
- Your purchase contributes to our giving goals
- 25 spots available
The Residency
$99/mo
or $999/yr USD
- Twelve months in the community (Circle)
- Monthly 90 min. group planning and review sessions with Heather
- Monthly 90 min. āFace Timeā check-in calls with āthe Nicsā
- Monthly 90 min. Money Talk sessions with Nicole
- Twice-weekly co-working, Monday and Friday
- Printed planner, twice yearlyĀ
- The Joy First Daily Planning Ritual
- Bi-annual goal-setting workshops with Nic
- Your purchase contributes to our giving goals
Dates: applications open August 18 and close August 24. We start together on August 27.
Do you already have access to some or all of our programs listed above? Weāve got you and weāve also got a special tiered discount for the All-Access option based on what you already own.
[CONFIRM: refund and cancellation terms, payment plan terms, sales tax and VAT treatment for members outside the US, and what happens at the end of the twelve months.]
THE INVESTMENT
This is the part where a page like this usually adds everything up and shows you a spreadsheet proving the value.
We're not going to do that, because you're a grown ass adult who can see what's here without being walked through the math. For context, what we charge separately for the All Access contents comes to well north of $12,000, and some of it isn't for sale at any price. People we know and respect are charging $15,000 - $50,000 a year for high-end masterminds that include considerably less.
It is part of our mission to keep these prices as accessible as possible,
12 Months Residency, All Access
$599 x 12
or $5,999/year USD
12 Months Residency
$99/mo
or $999/year USD
Why All Access is capped at 25. Four sets of one-to-one calls and four design hot seats each, multiplied by more than 25 people starts becoming a waiting list. The cap isn't a pressure tactic. It's just a capacity limitation.
Why is there an application [x]
If you're nervous about the money. That's a reasonable thing to be nervous about, and we'd rather you sit with it than get talked past it. Email us. We'll be honest about whether this is your year. Sometimes the answer is no, and we'd rather say so now than take your $5,999 and watch you struggle come January. We always thinking through investments like this one for our business based less on cost and more on ROI - what is the reasonable return you expect you can get from your investment in this space - is it more or less than the cost of entry? If itās more, then itās probably a good investment (and thatās only the money side of the equation!)
APPLY NOW
Questions
YOU MIGHT BE SITTING WITH
How much time does this take?
What if I can't make things live?
What if I'm neurodivergent?
What if my business is already established?
What if I'm not a photographer?
Is this a course?
Is this business coaching?
What if I hit a terrible season?
What results can I reasonably expect?
How is this different from the Joy First Founders' Circle?
Why "residency"?
How much access do I get to the four of you?
What happens after twelve months?
The Invitation
We're not going to build a crescendo here. No bonuses, countdown timers, threats of price increases or false scarcity to spark your FOMO.
Here are the facts:
Applications close on August 24, and they close because we start on August 27. All Access caps at 25 because that's where our current capacity is. Once we figure out how that looks and works we may plan to open the doors for more All Access members.
Beyond that, there's no hurry. You don't have to prove anything to us. You don't have to already be good at this, or further along than you are.
The only thing worth working out is whether this is how you want to build, and whether these are people you want to build alongside. And if you think you'll get further with us than without us, and can afford the investment without hardship.
If something in you already answered that long before you got all the way down here, then go ahead and apply.
We canāt wait to see where this 12 month journey will take you!!
