Design Your Business | Empowering Creative Women Business Owners

Design Your Business with Jen Taylor

Eight years ago, on October 31, my life changed in a way I never imagined when my husband passed away unexpectedly.

Since then, I’ve navigated grief, built businesses, moved homes, developed new relationships, and spent a lot of time figuring out who I am in each new chapter.

And lately, something feels different.

I’m beginning to feel like I’m turning a corner.

In this personal episode of Design Your Business, I’m stepping away from business systems and strategy to talk about grief, astrology, the significance of these past eight years, and why I’m ready to make more room for connection, creativity, and new experiences.

I’m also sharing how Keith and I will be spending October 31 at the University of Washington vs. Nebraska football game with friends, while reconnecting with my late husband’s family in Omaha.

And I’m introducing a new chapter for this podcast and my Substack.

I’m not leaving business coaching behind. After more than 20 years as an entrepreneur, I still love helping business owners combine practical strategy with intuitive decision-making.

But there’s more to me than business.

I want to share more about cooking, grilling, wine, travel, photography, Human Design, astrology, self-care, and the everyday experiences that make life worth living.

In this episode, I’m talking about:

* What eight years of grief and change have meant to me.

* How astrology has helped me reflect on this chapter of my life.

* Celebrating my husband’s life while continuing to celebrate my own.

* Why connection, creativity, and new experiences are becoming priorities.

* Rediscovering hobbies without turning them into business opportunities.

* Why I’m moving the podcast back to an every-other-week schedule.

* What you can expect from my Substack and future podcast episodes.

A few questions to reflect on:

* Who do you want to spend more time with?

* When was the last time you created something simply because you enjoyed it?

* What experience have you been putting off while waiting for the perfect time?

The Design Your Business podcast will continue exploring business strategy, operations, intuitive leadership, and Human Design every other week. Between episodes, I’ll be sharing more personal stories and everyday life on Substack.

Because I’m still building a business, still coaching, still learning, and still figuring things out.

But I’m also making room for more living.

Connect with me

Subscribe to my Substack

Take the Free Business Alignment Audit

Visit Jen Taylor Consulting

Thank you for listening and being part of this next chapter.

What if you stopped expecting yourself—and your business—to operate at the same pace every week of the year?

As we settle into fall, I’m exploring how seasonal rhythms and moon phases can become another layer of intentional business planning.

This isn’t about replacing your business strategy with astrology. You still need goals, financial awareness, systems, marketing, sales, and a great client experience.

But I also believe there are seasons for growth, visibility, refinement, and rest. Understanding those rhythms can help you build a business that evolves with you rather than constantly demanding more from you.

In this episode, I’m sharing how I use the seasons to guide my larger business strategy and the moon phases to create smaller checkpoints for reflection, action, visibility, and refinement.

In This Episode, We’re Talking About:

* Why fall is a natural time to review your offers, client experience, and messaging.

* The difference between seasonal business strategy and monthly execution.

* How to use the New Moon to set an intentional direction.

* Why the Waxing Moon is about building momentum and taking action.

* How the Full Moon can remind you to be visible, market, and sell.

* Why the Waning Moon is an opportunity to evaluate and refine.

* Three questions to ask yourself during your next CEO planning session.

* Why choosing what you’re not doing matters just as much as setting goals.

Your New Moon Business Check-In

Grab your journal or Daily Alignment Planner and ask yourself:

1. What am I ready to release?

What offer, habit, obligation, expectation, or strategy no longer fits the business I’m building?

2. What am I ready to refine?

What is working but needs a different approach, better delivery, stronger messaging, or simpler systems?

3. What am I ready to create?

What deserves my energy and attention during this next season?

You don’t need 47 new goals. Start with one intention.

Resources Mentioned

Daily Alignment Planner — Moon-Aligned Edition

Create space for reflection, intention, and intentional action as you design your business around your goals and your life.

Explore the Daily Alignment Planner

Connect With Jen

Website:

https://jentaylorconsulting.com

Substack: https://substack.com/@jentaylorbusinessintutivecoach

Remember: Designing your business isn’t about finding one perfect strategy and following it forever. It’s about building a business that can evolve with you.

What if the business you’re building isn’t actually designed for the life you want? In this episode, I’m flipping the usual approach on its head and talking about why your life should come first, with your business built around it. I’m walking through the questions I want you to ask about how many weddings you actually want to work, how much income is enough, when you want time off, and what your capacity really looks like emotionally, physically, and with your time.

I’m also talking about defining your “enough,” using pricing, systems, teams, and boundaries to create more freedom, and letting go of all the things you think you “should” be doing. We’ll look at how to plan your ideal week, month, and year, and why small, consistent alignments can move you toward a business that supports your life instead of consuming it.

Topics covered in this episode include:

• Why building your business first may be backwards
• The questions that reveal what “enough” actually looks like for you
• How your capacity can become part of your business strategy

I would love to connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenTaylorConsulting/ & Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jentaylorconsulting/!

Show notes available at: 

https://jentaylorconsulting.com/design-your-wedding-business-podcast/

Have you ever made a business decision that looked completely right on paper—but something inside you still wasn’t sold?

Maybe you launched an offer, accepted a client, joined a program, or said yes to a collaboration. Then, once you were committed, you found yourself wondering, “Why did I agree to this?”

In this episode of Design Your Business, I’m exploring how Human Design can offer another lens for understanding how you approach opportunities and make decisions.

We’ll unpack the difference between strategy and authority, explore the different Human Design types, and connect those ideas to everyday business choices—from pricing and marketing to hiring, client relationships, and your next offer.

We’ll also talk about bringing self-awareness into the same conversation as your numbers, capacity, and business goals.

In this episode, we cover:

* The difference between Human Design strategy and authority.

* Manifestors, or Initiators: starting something new and informing the people affected.

* Generators and Manifesting Generators, or Builders or Express Builders: noticing your response and considering whether you want to commit your energy.

* Projectors, or Advisors: making your expertise visible and evaluating whether an opportunity recognizes your contribution.

* Reflectors, or Evaluators: noticing patterns over time and paying attention to your environment.

* Why people with the same type may approach decisions differently.

* How to stop letting everyone else’s business advice make your decisions for you.

One question to take into your week:

“Do I actually want this commitment—or do I just know I could make it work?”

Choose one decision you’ve been going back and forth on. Write it down, consider your strategy and authority, and look at the practical requirements: time, resources, demand, and capacity.

You don’t have to overhaul your entire business. Start with one decision and notice what you learn.

Want to explore your own design?

My Human Design for Business reading explores your type, strategy, and authority and connects that information to how you lead, work, and approach business opportunities. Contact Jen Taylor Consulting to learn more.

🎧 Listen to the episode, then share it with a business owner who’s weighing their next move.

Have you ever made a business decision that looked completely right on paper—but something inside you still wasn’t sold?

Maybe you launched an offer, accepted a client, joined a program, or said yes to a collaboration. Then, once you were committed, you found yourself wondering, “Why did I agree to this?”

In this episode of Design Your Business, I’m exploring how Human Design can offer another lens for understanding how you approach opportunities and make decisions.

We’ll unpack the difference between strategy and authority, explore the different Human Design types, and connect those ideas to everyday business choices—from pricing and marketing to hiring, client relationships, and your next offer.

We’ll also talk about bringing self-awareness into the same conversation as your numbers, capacity, and business goals.

In this episode, we cover:

* The difference between Human Design strategy and authority.

* Manifestors, or Initiators: starting something new and informing the people affected.

* Generators and Manifesting Generators, or Builders or Express Builders: noticing your response and considering whether you want to commit your energy.

* Projectors, or Advisors: making your expertise visible and evaluating whether an opportunity recognizes your contribution.

* Reflectors, or Evaluators: noticing patterns over time and paying attention to your environment.

* Why people with the same type may approach decisions differently.

* How to stop letting everyone else’s business advice make your decisions for you.

One question to take into your week:

“Do I actually want this commitment—or do I just know I could make it work?”

Choose one decision you’ve been going back and forth on. Write it down, consider your strategy and authority, and look at the practical requirements: time, resources, demand, and capacity.

You don’t have to overhaul your entire business. Start with one decision and notice what you learn.

Want to explore your own design?

My Human Design for Business reading explores your type, strategy, and authority and connects that information to how you lead, work, and approach business opportunities. Contact Jen Taylor Consulting to learn more.

🎧 Listen to the episode, then share it with a business owner who’s weighing their next move.

What if the problem in your business isn’t your systems?

I’ve spent decades working in operations—building processes, creating systems, planning, delegating, leading teams, and helping business owners make their businesses run better. And I still believe deeply in all of those things.

But over time, I started noticing something.

Sometimes we could build the “right” system, and the business owner still resisted it. Sometimes the strategy looked great on paper but required a level of visibility, client volume, team management, or capacity that simply didn’t fit the person running the business.

That’s where intuitive coaching changed the conversation for me.

In this episode of Design Your Business, I’m sharing how I bring together four pieces of the puzzle:

Human Design → Intuition → Strategy → Systems

Human Design isn’t the business strategy. Instead, it gives us another source of information about how you make decisions, use your energy, communicate, lead, work, and respond to pressure. Then we combine that information with your intuition, your goals, your capacity, your lifestyle, and the realities of your business to determine the strategy that actually makes sense for you.

Because “I’m at capacity” doesn’t automatically mean hire more people.

“Revenue has plateaued” doesn’t automatically mean increase your visibility.

And “I can’t keep doing this” doesn’t always mean you need better systems.

Sometimes the answer is raising your prices. Sometimes it’s reducing client volume. Sometimes it’s improving profitability. Sometimes it’s delegating. And sometimes it’s simply stopping the things you’ve convinced yourself you’re supposed to be doing.

That’s intuitive coaching: not giving every business owner the same prescribed answer, but helping you find the answer that fits your business, your goals, your capacity, and the life you actually want to live.

In this episode, I talk about:

* Why systems and strategy alone don’t always solve the real problem

* How my operations background evolved into intuitive business coaching

* The role Human Design plays in my coaching process

* Why Human Design informs your strategy rather than becoming your strategy

* How intuition can identify a mismatch before you can articulate it

* Why capacity, lifestyle and personal goals belong in business planning

* Different solutions to common problems like capacity and revenue plateaus

* How to stop building your business around what you think you’re “supposed” to do

A question to take with you

Instead of asking:

“What should I do?”

Ask:

“What am I actually trying to create—and what would support that?”

Your business is part of your life, and your life is part of your business. Your three-to-five-year business plan should account for both.

There isn’t one right way to build a business.

There is a right way to design your business.

Want to look at your own business through this lens?

Take the Business Audit and start identifying where your strategy, systems, capacity, and the business you actually want may no longer match.

What if the problem in your business isn’t your systems?

I’ve spent decades working in operations—building processes, creating systems, planning, delegating, leading teams, and helping business owners make their businesses run better. And I still believe deeply in all of those things.

But over time, I started noticing something.

Sometimes we could build the “right” system, and the business owner still resisted it. Sometimes the strategy looked great on paper but required a level of visibility, client volume, team management, or capacity that simply didn’t fit the person running the business.

That’s where intuitive coaching changed the conversation for me.

In this episode of Design Your Business, I’m sharing how I bring together four pieces of the puzzle:

Human Design → Intuition → Strategy → Systems

Human Design isn’t the business strategy. Instead, it gives us another source of information about how you make decisions, use your energy, communicate, lead, work, and respond to pressure. Then we combine that information with your intuition, your goals, your capacity, your lifestyle, and the realities of your business to determine the strategy that actually makes sense for you.

Because “I’m at capacity” doesn’t automatically mean hire more people.

“Revenue has plateaued” doesn’t automatically mean increase your visibility.

And “I can’t keep doing this” doesn’t always mean you need better systems.

Sometimes the answer is raising your prices. Sometimes it’s reducing client volume. Sometimes it’s improving profitability. Sometimes it’s delegating. And sometimes it’s simply stopping the things you’ve convinced yourself you’re supposed to be doing.

That’s intuitive coaching: not giving every business owner the same prescribed answer, but helping you find the answer that fits your business, your goals, your capacity, and the life you actually want to live.

In this episode, I talk about:

* Why systems and strategy alone don’t always solve the real problem

* How my operations background evolved into intuitive business coaching

* The role Human Design plays in my coaching process

* Why Human Design informs your strategy rather than becoming your strategy

* How intuition can identify a mismatch before you can articulate it

* Why capacity, lifestyle and personal goals belong in business planning

* Different solutions to common problems like capacity and revenue plateaus

* How to stop building your business around what you think you’re “supposed” to do

A question to take with you

Instead of asking:

“What should I do?”

Ask:

“What am I actually trying to create—and what would support that?”

Your business is part of your life, and your life is part of your business. Your three-to-five-year business plan should account for both.

There isn’t one right way to build a business.

There is a right way to design your business.

Want to look at your own business through this lens?

Take the Business Audit and start identifying where your strategy, systems, capacity, and the business you actually want may no longer match.

In this episode, I’m talking about what it looks like to outgrow your current business model and the signs that it may be time to evolve. If you’re fully booked but not seeing the profit you want, feeling stretched thin, creatively bored, or realizing everything still depends on you, it may not be a motivation problem. It may be your business model. I’ll break down the common ceilings wedding professionals face and explore ways to grow differently, from raising your prices and building a team to specializing, adding new offers, and creating revenue beyond your time.

But changing your business isn't just about strategy. It requires you to step into a different role and get comfortable with the fear that comes with growth. I’ll share how to evaluate your current model, identify what is and isn’t working, and choose one intentional path forward instead of trying to change everything at once.

Topics covered in this episode include:

• The subtle signs that your current business model has reached its ceiling
• Why more clients may not actually be the answer to growth
• The business model limitation hiding behind a fully booked calendar
• What changes when you stop being the bottleneck

If you’ve been wondering what’s next, feeling stuck in a business that no longer fits, or questioning whether growth has to mean simply doing more, this episode will help you step back, look at your business differently, and start thinking about what could be possible next.

I would love to connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenTaylorConsulting/ & Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jentaylorconsulting/!

Show notes available at: 

https://jentaylorconsulting.com/design-your-wedding-business-podcast/

What if heading into Q4 isn’t about pushing harder—but about getting more intentional about what you’re carrying with you?

The Autumn Equinox marks a natural transition between seasons. It’s a time of harvest, balance, refinement, and release. And I think those ideas apply beautifully to business.

Because this is usually the point in the year when entrepreneurs start hearing the same message: Finish strong. Hit the goal. Launch the thing. Make Q4 your biggest quarter yet.

But before you add another goal, project, offer, or expectation to your calendar, I want you to ask a different question:

What needs to be refined—and what are you ready to release?

In this episode of Design Your Business, we’re using the Autumn Equinox as an opportunity to pause, look honestly at what this year has produced, and intentionally decide what deserves to come with you into the final season of the year.

We’ll talk about the difference between refining and reinventing, why something doesn’t have to be bad for it to be complete, and how to evaluate where your time, money, energy, and attention are actually going.

Because sometimes your business doesn’t need another strategy.

It needs more space.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

* Why the Autumn Equinox is a useful seasonal checkpoint for your business

* Harvesting and acknowledging what’s already working before trying to fix what’s not

* The difference between refining your business and constantly reinventing it

* How to recognize something that has simply completed its season

* What you may be holding onto because of habit, obligation, or sunk cost

* Auditing your time, money, energy, and attention

* Identifying the “shoulds” you’re carrying into Q4

* Why the goals you set in January don’t automatically deserve your loyalty in September

* Refining your definition of success for the season you’re actually in

* Why releasing something can be just as strategic as adding something

* Creating room before committing to another Q4 priority

* Choosing 1–3 meaningful priorities instead of trying to cram an entire year into the final quarter

Your Autumn Equinox Business Reset

As you move into this next season, work through these five steps:

REFLECT — What has this year taught you?

RELEASE — What doesn’t need to continue?

REALIGN — What matters to you now?

REFINE — What’s already working that could become even better?

REFOCUS — What deserves your time, money, energy, and attention for the rest of the year?

You don’t necessarily need a completely new plan for Q4.

You may just need to refine the one you have.

Journal With Me

Grab your journal or your Daily Alignment Planner and spend a little time with these questions:

What am I harvesting from this year?

What worked? What grew? What did I learn? What am I proud of?

What is working that I want to refine?

Where could a small adjustment make something that’s already good even better?

What has completed its season?

What am I continuing simply because I’ve always done it?

What am I ready to release?

An offer? A commitment? A client type? A goal? A habit? A responsibility? An expectation? An old version of myself?

If I release it, what will I have room for next?

And finally:

What does my business need from me in this next season?

You don’t have to sprint through Q4.

Fall reminds us that there is a time to grow, a time to harvest, a time to refine, and a time to let go.

Your business gets to have seasons, too.

Refine what matters. Release what doesn’t. Realign with what’s next.

This week’s invitation

If you want a place to work through these seasonal reflections and bring more intention to the way you plan your days and your business, the Daily Alignment Planner was created for exactly this kind of practice.

Use it to check in with your energy, reflect on what’s happening beneath the to-do list, and intentionally choose how you want to move through the season ahead.

Listen to the full episode of Design Your Business with Jen Taylor wherever you listen to podcasts.

This week’s question:What are you ready to refine—and what are you ready to release—as you move into your next season?

What if heading into Q4 isn’t about pushing harder—but about getting more intentional about what you’re carrying with you?

The Autumn Equinox marks a natural transition between seasons. It’s a time of harvest, balance, refinement, and release. And I think those ideas apply beautifully to business.

Because this is usually the point in the year when entrepreneurs start hearing the same message: Finish strong. Hit the goal. Launch the thing. Make Q4 your biggest quarter yet.

But before you add another goal, project, offer, or expectation to your calendar, I want you to ask a different question:

What needs to be refined—and what are you ready to release?

In this episode of Design Your Business, we’re using the Autumn Equinox as an opportunity to pause, look honestly at what this year has produced, and intentionally decide what deserves to come with you into the final season of the year.

We’ll talk about the difference between refining and reinventing, why something doesn’t have to be bad for it to be complete, and how to evaluate where your time, money, energy, and attention are actually going.

Because sometimes your business doesn’t need another strategy.

It needs more space.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

* Why the Autumn Equinox is a useful seasonal checkpoint for your business

* Harvesting and acknowledging what’s already working before trying to fix what’s not

* The difference between refining your business and constantly reinventing it

* How to recognize something that has simply completed its season

* What you may be holding onto because of habit, obligation, or sunk cost

* Auditing your time, money, energy, and attention

* Identifying the “shoulds” you’re carrying into Q4

* Why the goals you set in January don’t automatically deserve your loyalty in September

* Refining your definition of success for the season you’re actually in

* Why releasing something can be just as strategic as adding something

* Creating room before committing to another Q4 priority

* Choosing 1–3 meaningful priorities instead of trying to cram an entire year into the final quarter

Your Autumn Equinox Business Reset

As you move into this next season, work through these five steps:

REFLECT — What has this year taught you?

RELEASE — What doesn’t need to continue?

REALIGN — What matters to you now?

REFINE — What’s already working that could become even better?

REFOCUS — What deserves your time, money, energy, and attention for the rest of the year?

You don’t necessarily need a completely new plan for Q4.

You may just need to refine the one you have.

Journal With Me

Grab your journal or your Daily Alignment Planner and spend a little time with these questions:

What am I harvesting from this year?

What worked? What grew? What did I learn? What am I proud of?

What is working that I want to refine?

Where could a small adjustment make something that’s already good even better?

What has completed its season?

What am I continuing simply because I’ve always done it?

What am I ready to release?

An offer? A commitment? A client type? A goal? A habit? A responsibility? An expectation? An old version of myself?

If I release it, what will I have room for next?

And finally:

What does my business need from me in this next season?

You don’t have to sprint through Q4.

Fall reminds us that there is a time to grow, a time to harvest, a time to refine, and a time to let go.

Your business gets to have seasons, too.

Refine what matters. Release what doesn’t. Realign with what’s next.

This week’s invitation

If you want a place to work through these seasonal reflections and bring more intention to the way you plan your days and your business, the Daily Alignment Planner was created for exactly this kind of practice.

Use it to check in with your energy, reflect on what’s happening beneath the to-do list, and intentionally choose how you want to move through the season ahead.

Listen to the full episode of Design Your Business with Jen Taylor wherever you listen to podcasts.

This week’s question:What are you ready to refine—and what are you ready to release—as you move into your next season?