Meet Abi Gwen

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Abi Gwen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Abi, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

For me, confidence is a decision I make every single day. In today’s digital world, it’s easy to fall into the comparison game trap. Gone are the days of your business being niche and unique. With social media, every business similar to yours is displayed on your feed. It can make it feel like everyone and their mom is doing exactly what you’re doing. This mindset is extremely limiting and leads me to think “what could I possibly have to offer?”

I’m sure you can relate. This is the exact opposite of confidence, isn’t it?

So, for me, limiting comparison is everything. I find inspiration in the tactile versus the digital. While everything I deliver for my clients is digital, I try to draw inspiration from the physical world to limit the comparison game. Just today, I drew logo inspiration from a designer placemat… yeah, a dining room table placemat.

I often talk about building confidence in your online presence on my social media platforms. Limiting comparison is a small fraction of this. I do think there’s something really powerful about having branding and a website that you’re truly proud of. If you have to make disclaimers for your website because you went the DIY route, it may be worth the investment to hire a web designer. That’s what I love so much about Showit. It gives entrepreneurs the ability to DIY without the need to do it all. Most of my clients CAN build a website. They’ve built every other aspect of their business. Letting go of even one thing feels like a huge step. But I’ve seen time and time again that hiring me as their brand and web designer gives them a HUGE confidence boost. Plus, I’m there to educate them on how they can make changes to their website later. It’s a win win for everyone,

Another aspect of confidence online is showing up on platforms that you enjoy creating content for. Quality over quantity is everything. Shifting my mindset on this has been huge! I love Pinterest, my email list, and my podcast. I’ve opted to outsource my Instagram reels because I was spending too much time on them and overanalyzing myself and the content. It’s been a huge weight off my shoulders hiring help. Plus, I’m so much more confident in the content she creates than what I was creating.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Well, I simply cannot talk about myself without talking about my better half, Bryson Johansson. He is my rock and my constant. As I said earlier, confidence is a daily decision. On days I forget, he’s there to make sure I’m reminded. He believes in me more than anyone else.

Truthfully, Flourish Foundry may not exist without him. I had this business on my heart for 6 months before launching. Prior, I was designing just under my own name. But I craved more. It was really all just a dream until he came home from a 10-month deployment with the US Navy in the Middle East. When he was overseas, I was completely drained.

That season was heavier than I could’ve ever anticipated. I’m so grateful for his service and the sacrifices he’s made for our country. But, I’m also grateful to have him home and to have his support.

We launched Flourish Foundry on December 10, 2024. Since then, I’ve booked about 9 branding/website design projects. We have a few more leads about to close as well. It all feels overwhelming and just so exciting that it’s finally happening.

I left my full-time agency job in September of 2023, just a few months before Bryson was deployed. I had all the same goals and aspirations then. The only difference was the name of the business. So while it seems like a quick success story, it really did take over a year to reach my income goals.

For the future, I’m working on adding service offerings to help my clients flourish with their email marketing, Pinterest, social media, SEO, copywriting, etc. We’re hiring a team of specialists to make this a reality. We’re also starting a coworking space and a networking membership!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Community. Connections have been the key to my success so far. This is a driving force behind my desire to start a networking membership.

My faith is huge. Looking back, it would be really easy to question the timing of everything. I believe my faith is what stops this spiral of questions.

Be resourceful.
You don’t have to know the answer. You just have to know how to find it. Be upfront and honest, but also take the challenge to figure something out if you don’t know how to do it. I did not know how to do most of the things I’ve said yes to so far. I just know how to figure it out later and present that transparently.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

Absolutely! I’m looking for an email marketing specialist to join our team as a specialist. We have several photographers we partner with. The same is true for SEO and social media management. What I really need as an email specialist.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://flourishfoundrydesigns.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flourish.foundry/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/12XITUdBX1orIavsqshT3t?si=742f4643b2b1406e

Image Credits

Courtney Clark