We were lucky to catch up with Emily Beck recently and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I’m absolutely happier as a business owner – not because it’s easier, but because it’s shaped me into a version of myself I’m genuinely proud of. Entrepreneurship has been the greatest mirror and teacher by giving me self-confidence, fortitude and a level of trust in my own abilities I don’t think I personally could have built at a traditional job.

I often think of what my life might look like with a 9-5… in fact, I wondered about it just this morning. It’s so easy to start down the path of “would, could should”. The grass always looks greener on the other side: a 9-5 looks like a predictable paycheck, clean separation between work and life, and the luxury of handing responsibility to someone else at the end of the day. The reality is that if I truly start to envision it, I see someone sneaking breaks to write on Substack, to work on a side project, and squeeze my passions in on the side. It’s so easy to take for granted the beauty of being a business owner when times get hard.

Owning a business and being a creative person has also taught me boundaries in a way no employer could. It’s taught me grace under pressure and how to navigate challenges with a steadiness that comes from knowing I’m capable of figuring things out. It’s taught me how to advocate for myself, how to hold my worth, and how to design a career that honors my energy, values, and creativity.

Emily, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Emily Beck – I’m the founder of Beck Creative, a boutique marketing and design studio for wellness brands, as well as the creator behind Renaissance Woman, my personal brand and outlet to chat about life, transitions, wellness, and creativity. My path into this work unfolded naturally; my love of creativity and storytelling merged with the wellness world when I had a health scare that changed the way I live my life. During that painful time, I realized I could bring all of my passions together into a career that felt both meaningful and aligned.

At Beck Creative, I support wellness brands, medical practices, and heart-centered businesses through brand identity, digital design, and content strategy. I’m especially known for translating complex concepts into clear, beautiful messaging and building cohesive ecosystems across platforms. My work is rooted in intention and clarity, not just creating visuals, but helping clients express who they are and why their work matters.

What sets my approach apart is the way I collaborate. I co-create with my clients, listening deeply and designing with both intuition and strategy. Alongside my studio, I’m also growing Renaissance Woman, where I share lifestyle essays, travel guides, and my romantic, intentional approach to living a creative, wellness-focused life.

What I’m most proud of is that my career reflects both my skills and my values. I’ve built a business that supports my creativity, my health, and the slower, more intentional way I live. Above all, I want potential clients and followers to know that everything I create – whether for a brand or through my writing – comes from a place of care, depth, and a genuine desire to bring beauty, clarity, and inspiration into the world.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

My business was actually born from a pivot, and one I never expected to make. I graduated into a slow market in the design world and then got hit with the uncertainty of 2020, when the traditional job market suddenly felt upside down. At the same time, I was navigating an unexpected Crohn’s diagnosis that completely shifted how I related to my body and my life. Everything I thought I’d do professionally had to be reevaluated through a new lens of health, energy, and sustainability.

In the middle of that transition, I enrolled in a health coaching course simply to learn how to take care of my new body. I wasn’t chasing a new career path, I was trying to understand how to live well in a body that needed different things from me. Interestingly, those six months ended up changing everything. I slowly started reconnecting with my creativity, and I found myself helping classmates and professors in the program with their branding, websites, and visual storytelling. People began asking if they could hire me, and without meaning to, I realized I had the beginnings of a business.

Within that same six-month window, I completed the health course, built my design portfolio, and signed my first few clients – all because I had reached a point where there was nothing left to lose and everything to rebuild. That pivot became the foundation of Beck Creative and eventually my first personal brand, The Lovely Digest, which is now Renaissance Woman. What began as a personal healing chapter transformed into a career centered on creativity, wellness, and helping others bring their visions to life. Looking back, it was one of the most grounded and empowering redirections I’ve ever experienced.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Books, videos, and online programs played a huge role in shaping my mindset, especially in 2020, when I was navigating my health, the world was shut down, and I was trying to figure out what my future would look like. I couldn’t leave the house, so I turned to resources that helped me regulate my nervous system and rebuild my confidence. The program To Be Magnetic was one of the first things that shifted me out of constant fight-or-flight and into a more grounded, resilient state. It gave me tools to look at fear, uncertainty, and self-doubt in a new way, which became essential as I began building a business from scratch.

I also read a ton of personal finance and entrepreneurship books, but I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi was the most transformative. It gave me practical, actionable steps to set up my finances as a solopreneur, build clarity around money, and invest in myself and my future. That foundation made everything feel more stable. Martha Beck’s books were equally influential; her writing helped spark my confidence, strengthen my intuition, and remind me that creativity and alignment can coexist beautifully with ambition.

But beyond books, a lot of my entrepreneurial philosophy came from observation and experimentation. I studied creators I admired, paid attention to how they structured their portfolios and content, and asked myself what felt inspiring or aligned. I listened to business podcasts that matched whatever stage I was in – design, marketing, mindset, or storytelling. And I learned the most by trying things myself. I experimented and was highly successful with YouTube, podcasting, and content creation, growing tens of thousands of views on Instagram and Youtube back in 2020 simply to understand the mechanics behind it. I also worked for other designers to learn the industry from the inside. All of these resources, combined with hands-on trial and error, shaped the way I lead, create, and operate my business today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.beckcreative.co | https://www.renaissancebyemily.substack.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beckcreative.co | https://www.instagram.com/renaissancebyemily/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beckcreative.co/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beckcreativeco/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/emilybeck

Image Credits
LauraInk Photography