We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Deana Ward. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Deana below.

Deana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Twelve years ago, I lost my job at a startup when the funding fell through. I started going on interviews, and with each one, I felt more discouraged. Not because the opportunities weren’t good, but because the prospect of walking into those offices every day felt like walking into a cage. Something in me just couldn’t do it.

So one weekend, I sat down and took inventory of my skills, interests, and what I believed I was capable of learning. I’ve always been a writer, a reader, and a lifelong lover of words. I’m also an introvert who enjoys knowing people deeply. In my free time, I’m lost in learning all sorts of creative hobbies. The other thing about me is I’m really good at calming chaos. Physical chaos, invisible chaos. Doesn’t matter. I don’t know what it is about me, but bring me a big jumble and I’ll give you a cup of tea while I get everything sorted for you.

When I envisioned my dream job scenario, I saw myself working solo and supporting clients one at a time. I envisioned having meaningful conversations that guided people through the overwhelm of their ideas to a place of structure and clear thinking.

Building websites felt like something I could maybe do. After watching a few YouTube videos I thought, “Okay, I can learn this.”

Looking back, I can see that the magical gap between my confidence and my actual competence is probably what saved me. If I’d fully understood what I was getting into, I might never have started.

By the end of that weekend, I’d picked the name Simple & Soulful Creative and set up a website promoting myself as a website designer and copywriter. I didn’t have time to strategize or second-guess my choices. Simple & Soulful is my approach to life, so I just went with it, trusting I’d figure out the rest later.

And that’s where the real risk began.

My kids were in elementary school, middle school, and high school. My husband ran a popular restaurant, which meant long hours and an unpredictable schedule. It was hands-down the most intense chapter of our family’s journey.

On top of that, we’d made some financial missteps in our twenties and had decided, as a couple, that consumer debt was something we’d never do again, under any circumstance.

Until…

My new business required a specific skillset that I didn’t fully possess. And with everything we had going on, time was not on my side.

So. Gulp. I applied for a secret credit card and treated it like a student loan.

I “should’ve” been transparent about it, but my partner was too stressed, and the bottom line was — I needed to learn new skills quickly, and I didn’t want to slow down and negotiate about it.

Every bit of the $14,000 I accrued on my little card went toward learning: how to create backend business systems, how to use the Adobe Suite of design tools, how to write conversion-driven marketing copy, how to strategize UX, how to guide clients, how to manage my mindset, and more.

Then one day (during Simple & Soulful’s second year), my husband came home from an exhausting shift and said he wanted to pivot his career. Simple & Soulful was generating real income by then. Not enough to support all five of us long-term, but enough to give us a breather. Plus, as far as he knew, we didn’t have any debt, so it seemed like the perfect time for his transition.

I took a deep breath and shared the full picture of the financial decisions I’d been making. As you can imagine, being blindsided with something like that was a lot.

But twelve years later, I’m glad I took the risk. My husband is too. Those first few years of Simple & Soulful challenged me down to my bones, and if I hadn’t invested in myself and gotten the support I needed, I’m pretty certain I wouldn’t have gotten through it.

Things snowballed. The more I kept going, the more experienced I became. And my growing experience turned into valuable expertise that resulted in happy clients. And happy clients meant repeat business and slam dunk referrals.

Within months of quitting his restaurant career, my husband joined me in Simple & Soulful. He started helping our clients with business development and SEO consulting. Needless to say, we eliminated our debt, put kiddos through college, and moved into our cute little home in the mountains where outgrown bedrooms became his office and mine.

Starting my business was a risk on every level— financially, relationally, and emotionally. But the challenges I’ve had to rise to over the years have made me someone who doesn’t crumble under pressure. I feel like a completely different person, and I’m so grateful that my younger self had the guts to go for it.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a website, brand, and message designer. Those three things have to work together for a website to support your business. You can’t build a pretty design around a fuzzy message and expect it to create the right results. So I treat website design as a whole brand project rather than a piece of it.

My clients fall into two camps. First, I work with professionals who are creating new careers for themselves after years in corporate environments. They’re deeply skilled and experienced, but they don’t yet know how to package their expertise into services they can sell on their own terms. The second are established business owners whose websites no longer reflect who they are. Their credentials have evolved. Their services have pivoted. And their entire brand is stuck in the past.

Most of my clients are coaches, consultants, therapists, authors, and speakers — people who are in the business of supporting others. What they have in common is that they’re selling something intangible. And selling the intangible is genuinely hard. It’s very easy to slip into the kind of language that sounds meaningful but says nothing — vague promises of “clarity and confidence” on rote repeat. My job is to help clients find language that sounds unique to them and actually connects with the people they’re trying to reach.

What sets me apart, I think, is that I take the time to deeply understand my clients up front. They are often so close to their own work that they can’t see it clearly, which makes it super confusing to organize. They know what they’re good at, they just don’t know how to communicate it. A big part of what I do is draw that out of them, reflect it back, and shape it into something that builds connection, trust, and momentum.

There are a lot of moving parts to a website project. There’s the strategy, the messaging, the design, the business model, the photography, and the backend systems.

Wrangling all of that in a DIY way is something my clients aren’t interested in. And that’s exactly why my business is called Simple & Soulful Creative. The name isn’t just branding, it’s my compass. The prepwork is a few intentionally structured worksheets. They give me what I need so I can do the heavy lifting for my clients. And this makes our creative journey feel simple.

The soulful part matters just as much. So many of my clients tell me the same thing: “I don’t want to feel salesy.” And I get it. The people I work with (myself included) want a message that feels real and kind and deeply empathic. But the thing is, we also need to embrace positioning, strategy, and yes, selling. These things do not need to feel gross. When your brand message aligns your expertise and point of view with what your best clients are actually searching for, you end up doing less selling and more inviting.

As for what I’m most proud of? My clients. There isn’t a single one I haven’t fallen in love with. When you take the time to really learn someone’s story, you can’t help but see the good in them and root for them. Nothing makes me happier than circling back with a client months after we’ve worked together and hearing that they now have a full roster of clients. That happens a lot and it never gets old.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

This is a bigger topic than one article can hold, but I’ll share what’s been most present for me lately.

I recently attended a retreat with an incredible group of business owners. The entire first day, I had a debilitating headache that rendered me unable to think straight, so it was hard to participate in discussions.

As I became more comfortable among everyone, the pain eased. On the flight back home, I sat with this confusing experience. That headache was not normal for me. Feeling like I couldn’t string my thoughts together was not normal for me.

As I rested, memories of things I’d forgotten bubbled to the surface. Painful memories of being humiliatingly teased and rejected when I was a small child. I saw the little girl I was. How terrified she was. It broke my heart.

And the realization hit me — I’ve never felt safe in groups, and here I was, basically forcing myself to touch the third rail. I believe my body created that physical pain in an effort to keep me safe from being vulnerable and open to rejection. Being together one-on-one? No problem. Deep connections are my jam. But put me in a room full of people, and I’ll quietly sit along the sidelines. I’ve always chalked it up to being an introvert. But I honestly believe it runs much deeper than that.

The lesson I’m unlearning is that I am safe in who I am. That I don’t need to hold myself back anymore. I have become the grown-up that little girl needed.

I’ve been playing small in certain parts of my life without realizing it. Now I’m doing the work — putting myself out there more, noticing when old fears create a ruckus, and choosing differently.

I’m so curious to see how this unfolds, both personally and professionally.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

If I had to point to the thing that has made the biggest impact on my business over the years, it’s learning about processes and systems. Not the most glamorous answer, but it’s the truth.

The kind of marketing that has served my business best is what I think of as reputation marketing. My goal with every client is to deliver an experience that is overwhelmingly simple, professional, and on time (without things feeling unhinged behind the scenes). When that happens, clients feel it. They come back. And they send their friends.

That only works if you have good systems and SOPs. From the very beginning, I invested in learning how to set up systems so I could run my business smoothly. I’ve adapted my systems over the years — debriefing after challenges, pruning away excess, adding improved tools, and evolving processes. Above all else, I think that’s enabled me to stay lean and profitable.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://simpleandsoulful.com/
• Other: The best way to connect with me is on my website :)