My Story
Hi, I’m Indigo Habel (he/him)
In business, trust is hard-earned and easily lost. I learned this lesson in a surprising place.
A few years ago, I joined a webinar hosted by someone whose work I’d followed for months—someone whose voice I had grown to trust. The session was packed with hundreds of people eager to claim a promised discount. Everyone was thrilled to be there.
Then the selling started. The host deployed every high-pressure tactic in the book: manufactured urgency, pressure tactics, language designed to override contemplation. Long before my mind understood what was happening, my body did. I began feeling physically ill.
I left that session midway through, closed my laptop, and felt immediate relief. And after some time had passed, I realized I didn't really leave empty-handed.
*
That moment clarified something I’d noticed before: There’s a gap between who people are when they're doing their work and who they become when they're marketing their work.
Sure, lots of marketing tactics are popular for a reason. They work. But when they come at the cost of who your audience knows you to be, you create a friction that weakens trust and the individual agency it’s built on.
And for anyone doing relational, collaborative, or high-touch work, this friction can undermine the very foundation of your business.
*
In 2023, I built Ensouled Creative to help business owners doing meaningful work navigate this often overlooked gap.
Because meaningful work can also be profitable work.
"Ensouled," to me, means centering depth, integrity, and soul in my business. It's about honoring what's true and meaningful to you, rather than defaulting to one-size-fits-all tactics. And as AI-generated content floods our feeds, this has never been more important.
Ultimately, the most resonant messaging reflects two realities at once: what matters to you and what matters to the people you designed your business to serve.
My Approach
I take an inside-out approach to developing brand messaging.
Through guided but spacious dialogue, I help you excavate and then refine the essential story at the heart of your brand and work, the unique purpose it serves in the world, and how that intersects with what matters to the people you help.
My approach to both brand messaging and copywriting is collaborative and rooted in humanistic principles, meaning I write copy with the intention of:
Clarifying actual value through clear language, not hype
Supporting the reader’s ability to make informed choices
Speaking to people as humans, not marketing/sales units
The result? Messaging that builds the foundation of long-term success: trust.
How I’ve Been Learning
My interest in communication and storytelling started early.
I studied conflict resolution and social innovation at Portland State University, where I became fascinated by how people communicate—and what happens when they don't.
After graduating, I trained as a user experience (UX) writer, learning how language shapes decisions and builds (or breaks) trust in digital spaces.
That led me deeper into questions about ethics and autonomy. I studied humane technology, exploring how design and language can respect people's agency rather than exploit it.
I also recently completed a regenerative marketing course called Decolonising Marketing through the agency Zebra Growth. This encouraged me to continue moving from urgency and extraction toward care and dignity in communication.
The through-line? Messaging, stories, and systems are not neutral. And for businesses doing relational work rooted in connection, depth, and care, that matters.
Some More About Me
When I'm not working with clients, you’ll probably find me:
Reading fiction. I'm always reading something, whether sci-fi, fantasy, or literary fiction. I even spent a few years writing short stories and screenplays back in the day. This shows up in how I approach brand messaging, because I naturally think in narrative arcs, character development, and emotional resonance—not just filling in frameworks.
Studying psychology. I'm currently immersed in a year-long Jungian psychology program through The Salome Institute, where I'm deepening my understanding of the human psyche, symbols, and myth—and how they shape the stories we tell about ourselves and our work.
Having meaningful conversations. I'm at my happiest when immersed in thoughtful conversation that drifts between shared ah-ha's and laughter. I learn best through dialogue—testing ideas, listening to other perspectives, and seeing where the conversation takes us.
All of this feeds what I bring to this work: a lived knowing of story, depth, curiosity, empathy, and language.
Get Started
Ready to take your brand’s messaging and website copy to the next level? I’m excited to help. Let’s start with a chat.