True North – The Vision

True North is developing an online creative community & business incubator at www.followtruenorth.com to empower creative individuals to reach their “true” potential & build some phenomenal CREATIVE BASED businesses.

The Creatives:

Are you an artist, photographer, graphic designer, ceramic artist/potter, fiber artist, metal sculptor, glass artist, foodie, restauranteur or chef, writer, blogger, crafter, or know anyone who is willing to participate & contribute in our community?

The dynamic environment facilitates growth, idea development, & collaboration; while pushing comfort zones & maximizing strengths to build passionate & profitable lives.

What We’re Building: Creative Community with Business Resources

Community & support are critical elements of the equation. We offer story-features on artists, articles, business tools, thousands of resources, and our undying committment to do whatever we can to help our members dream big dreams and make them happen. This makes our community invaluable.

Business Tools & Why We’re Different:

Most business planning materials miss the really good stuff. They are so busy looking at the finish line, they forget to look at the path to get there!!

We find that what’s out there is so full of theory that it’s mind-boggling. OR it’s totally lacking in structure & is useless for running the day to day.

We provide materials & forms specifically for all learning types with built-in templates in each member’s profile page to ensure your creative empire runs smoothly. Your business to-do list will always be there, your monthly reports will update automatically, your trusty business peeps (that’s us) are always here for you!

Imagine if YOU could do the one thing you thought you could never do. What if you were given everything you needed?

What We Need

The Financial Break-down:

• Full time business analysts & a developed operations team
• Marketing Program Development
• Graphic Design & Branding
• Website Design With Dynamic Member Profiles
• Drupal Programming for Community Website & Forum
• Computer Hardware/Software
• Research & Training
• Access to Market/Industry Statistics & Trends

- If we do not reach our lofty goal, we will scale down the roll-out of the site & instead have several phases as we seek funding to cover costs.

+If we exceed our lofty goal, we will move forward with plans to develop a Creative Co-Working Space & Business Incubator in our community with graphic design, printing, and shipping services & an array of creative workshops offered to members.

Here’s a sneak peak of the website design (still in the draft phase – explains all the latin):

What You Get

The Goods Break Down:

• $1 Everyone will be recognized for supporting this project & included in a photomosaic to be featured on our website & in our office
• $10 Recognition on our website. Be among True North’s famous.
• $15 Tatt it up package with temp tattoos even your mother will love
• $25 T Shirts, tatts, & being famous. What more could you want?
• $35 Become part of our team as an Associate Editor. Be the first to set eyes on all of our creative business e-books and materials.
• $50 Get published and become a contributing writer in the e-books series.
• $100 Plenty of True North swag to go around with a choice exclusive products from our first clients, Bent Halos Handcrafted Metal Art OR Handmade Glass “True” bead necklaces from Pacific Northwest artist Carolyn Chennualt
• $200 Become an ORIGINAL member, that is. There’s only one first time & you need to be part of it.
• $500 Featured Creative Story Campaign with tons of Marketing Perks
• $1,000 Become a Member of the Creative Board of Directors with a listing online & hang with the big boys & girls!
• $3,000 We’ll be Corporate Buds & you’ll become our featured sponsor
• $7,000 You’ll hang out with True North to create, collaborate, & become BFFs
• $10,000 Philanthropy – We will build an altar honoring you with a clay characature in your likeness & worship you each & every single day (or y’know, each day we’re in the office)

* Any membership ($200) that is “donated” will be matched by True North with TWO additional memberships for an approved organization in your very own community; i.e. Small Business Administration, Micro Enterprise Training Assistance, National Association of Women Business Owners, Start-Up America, & the like. Contact us at hello@followtruenorth.com to coordinate.

The e-books

The e-books & private business discussion forums will cover the following topics:

• ENTREPRENEURIAL STRENGTHS & PSYCHOLOGY OF BUSINESS
• GOALS
• MISSIONS, VISIONS, MANIFESTOS
• INDUSTRY & RISKS/OPPORTUNITIES
• INDIRECT & DIRECT COMPETITORS
• CLIENT DEMOGRAPHICS & PSYCHOGRAPHICS
• BUILDING A BRAND; NAME. IDENTITY. LOGO
• PRODUCT OR SERVICE & PROBLEM IT SOLVES
• POSITIONING & MERCHANDISING
• PRICING MODELS
• MARKETING & PROMOTION
• WEB PRESENCE, E COMMERCE & BLOGS
• IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY
• ETHICAL CAPITALISM
• BUSINESS STRUCTURES & PROTECTING YOUR COMPANY
• TRADEMARKS, TRADE SECRETS, COPYRIGHTS
• OPERATIONS. PROCESSES.
• CULTURE & MORE CULTURE & CULTURE
• START-UP CAPITAL & FUNDING
• FINANCE MODELS & TRACKING
• PASSIVE INCOME: AFFILIATE, ADVERTISING, E-BOOKS
• STRATEGIC PLANNING
• CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGNS (LESSONS FROM THE TRENCHES! I’M TAKING NOTES HERE PEOPLE)

The Impact

The difference your contribution will make:

• Impressive international community support is invaluable for anyone starting their business. This project will help develop business & economy, create jobs, and stimulate a renewed appreciation for the arts and creativity all over the world!
• With public schools cutting funding on the arts & humanities, we offer a place to hang your hat to develop ideas & create a safe environment which develops a more alturistic & selfless society. It’s true.
• True North seeks to set an example for Creative Business Incubators & connect with other Programs seeking to improve quality of life for all.
• Reaching out globally, specifically to programs in Malawai near S. Africa such as JARDs, a company assisting at-risk youth & those suffering from AIDS
• Our company seeks to be socially responsible through programs & associations such as the Social Enterprise Alliance & by seeking admittance into the B Corporation Classification
• Community support for our members is available anytime online with forums managed by experienced business managers who happen to be creatives.
• We will be offering a scholarship program for those who cannot afford the paid membership, so that everybody has the opportunity to be part of the action.
• You will be a key factor in driving opportunity to CREATE something that never before existed! How exciting is that?

The People

The Founder: Shannon Etnyre, MBA

• is an artist, a photographer, foodie, and obsessed with all things design
• has over a decade of experience consulting & working full time for top Fortune companies, non-profits, & private business
• serves as Executive Director on the Board for Center for Arts & Education
• holds a Masters of Business Administration in Bus Organization & Entreprenership, an undergraduate in Business Economics, & is a Certified Trainer
• has written an “all too honest” blog about her life as a working mom of two boys (4yo & 2yo) for the past 4 years at www.livingwithumami.com
• was a Williams-Sonoma’s Featured Publisher & has been choosen twice for Foodbuzz 24×24 event as a foodie blogger. Go here for recipes. They’re good. I promise. Check out the “bread pudding souffle”.
• is a HappySpotter for TrendSpotting.com website contributing to trend reports on a world platform
• grew up in California in the “Valley” to some pretty awesome parents.
• loves camping, off-roading, & living in Idaho with her husband, 2 boys, & an animal menagerie
• starts random conversations with strangers & becomes life-long friends in a span of 5 minutes
• can be found on facebook & twitter & instagram & would love to hear more about your BIG plans!

The Advisory Board:

Your Name Here? It can be if you choose the CREATIVE BOARD OF DIRECTORS level!

As a Member of the Board you will be mixing with the likes of a Hollywood Executive Producer, a Serial Entrepreneur, serious Operational Experts, and Non-Profit leaders!

One year. To change all of our lives.

We are celebrating an anniversary! One year ago,  a wonderfully diverse group of creative genius joined together for the sake of art, love, and growth through Kelly Rae Roberts Flying Lessons e-course. Through community, we support each other, share ideas, collaborate, and encourage. We are a Tribe of women; kindred spirits in every sense of the word. The momentum was started, the relationships grew, and dreams began to realize. That’s the magic of the Fly Tribe.

We decided that this energy should be shared; especially in light of Kelly Rae’s last Flying lessons course. Together we sponsored eight spots in the last EVER flying lessons e-course. And if that wasn’t the best thing EVER!  Kelly Rae Roberts, artist extraordinaire, matched our donation for a total of SIXTEEN!!!!  For a chance to particpate head over to our Fly Tribe blog & leave a comment:

http://fly-tribe.blogspot.com/2012/08/givingflight.html

Don’t forget to head over to Kelly’s blog to see what she thinks of all this creative collaboration magic!

http://kellyraeroberts.blogspot.com/

In addition, the tribe decided to put together a blog hop about paying it forward. With all this focus on collaboration and the craziness that has come of “making something larger than ourselves”I came across a wonderful opportunity to spend some time over at META (Micro Enterprise Training & Assistance), a program through the Small Business Association,  in downtown Boise & be a community mentor to Rosebill Satha, from Malawi, Africa.

Rosebill is here in Boise as part of an international community leader swap. Rosebill is a leader in every sense of the word. She started her own creative company, JARDS, a producer of bamboo products that develops women in rural areas and offers them technical skills in weaving and business development. In addition, she is a trainers’ trainer for the International Labor Organisation’s Women Entrepreneurship Development & Gender Equality (WEDGE-SA) Project. She also facilitates BizAIDS tool which tackles basic business management, preparing for transition or the future (wills, legal issues) as well as HIV & AIDS’s effect on the business.  If that didn’t already blow your socks off she is a committee member for the Young Women Leaders Network and we used to go to girl secondary schools and do presentation talks and act as role models and go to women in the rural areas sensitising them on their rights.

In her free time, Rosebill loves on her husband and daughter who she misses dearly when she is traveling around the globe changing the world. And she has the most lovely accent I’ve ever heard and biggest smile I’ve ever seen.

It is so lovely to see what a small world we live and the magic of creativity and heart can bring!  Our first lunch date will be at the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate both our sweet-tooths.

Now, to see what the rest of the Fly Tribe is up to & see how they are giving back follow the Giving Flight, Giving Back Blog Hop: