profile

Sisu Site Shop

Hi! I'm Brenda. I'm the founder and designer of Sisu Site Shop a boutique brand, web, and course design studio where we help build calm and mission driven entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. I'm a homeschooling mom of 4 with a passion for reading and hospitality. I'm also wife to an amazing executive chef and reliant on Jesus for grace along the way. Follow our journey with our sometimes daily email where I share business, homeschool, and life insights plus quick tech tips.

4 children after Ballet recital
Featured Post

šŸ˜Ž Summer break + Free Offer Resource

Hi Reader I’m finally on summer break after a week of ballet recitals and family in town. It feels nice to slow down a bit and take some time to evaluate what’s next. I’ve been thinking a lot about how I want to show up for you all. Here’s what resource I’m diving into first: 30 Paid Offers AI Can't Steal! It’s perfect if you’re like me and need some inspiration instead of just staring at a blank doc wondering what offer to create next. Here’s your shortcut. 30 creators opened up their actual...

My membervault progress + community feature updates

Hi Reader One of the things I’ve been building this last year in the in-between moments is my MemberVault Course Platform. It has been a slow process for me as the ā€œin-betweenā€ moments have been increasingly rare. Two moves in the last year, the first half way across the country and the other across town have used up the majority of my spare time packing and unpacking and starting and stopping our homeschool. Regardless of the timeline, I am really excited about the progress I’ve made so far....

Hi Reader If you’ve been wanting to start email marketing I have good news for you today! Kit is offering 25% off annual plans for new customers, plus a migration team to help you move over. You're not starting over — they move your setup for you. If you’ve already begun email marketing but are not happy with your platform or trying to find an alternative to Mailchimp’s raising prices, it's also an excellent time to look at what Kit has to offer. I started my email marketing journey with...

Canva Create 2026

Hi Reader I had the chance to watch the Canva Create Keynote yesterday. It's always one of the most exciting platform update reveals of the year. Like many companies there was a major AI update as they unveiled Canva AI 2.0 a suite of tools to help you connect your work more easily across the tools you are already using. But the thing I loved was how they balanced all the tech with the good they are doing in the world and highlighting their progress in becoming carbon zero. It’s the first...

brenda thorpe wearing a green hoodie

Hi Reader Black Friday is just around the corner. I'm sure you have been hearing about it all month as many of the deals are already turned on or will be shortly! There are some great deals to be had, especially if it's the right time in your business journey to implement them. In the past I’ve been guilty of jumping on a deal in the moment but then it proved to only muddle up my business by sidetracking my attention. I know I’m not the only one (wink-wink). Growing a business is full of...

Hi Reader If you are a website designer, aspiring to be, or just want some new Squarespace design or marketing insights, my mentor Kate Scott is hosting the Square Design Summit in a few weeks. I’ll be watching and I’d love you to join us! 30 of the top Squarespace design and business experts are coming together to share everything they’ve learned about design, business, and marketing. You can look forward to 3 days dedicated to helping you fall back in love with your design business. Here’s...

Hi Reader Yesterday was Squarespace's annual Circle Day conference for web designers. It was a great day with so many inspiring sessions. My biggest takeaway, they are thoughtfully investing in AI and platform improvements to enhance the user experience and make building websites faster and more intuitive. They also gave everyone a first glimpse at their new finish level tools that will allow for numerous animations with tons of granular control and layers and stacks which allow you to fix...

pink wispy flower at the park

Hi Reader As my kids' schedules and routines start to take shape, I now have the opportunity to sort out where my daily habits and routines fit within the broader family schedule. One thing I’ve experimented with over the years is what time of day is the best to fit in my daily exercise. I’ve learned that I need to prioritize it in the morning or it may just not happen, no matter how strong my intention is. Bonus: if I get it done early in the day, I have one or more quick wins and I don’t...

Hi Reader Ahhhh! In my attempt to begin sending emails again, I forgot one important lesson–one I’ve learned several times already–it even crossed my mind twice while typing today. DON’T TYPE DIRECTLY IN KIT! You may accidentally move your hand over your ā€œmagicā€ mouse just the wrong way and lose everything you’d been working on. Guilty. So here I am starting over. In a Google Doc. I really prefer not to have to start over, but I’ve gotten so much practice at it over the years with so many...

List Building Resources

Hi Reader If you've ever moved more than once before, you know some can be more challenging than others. This last move has been an especially challenging one for me. We've had numerous unplanned physical and emotional setbacks to getting unpacked and settled. It's taken me much longer than I hoped to start crafting my new routines. This week finally feels lighter, so I started with getting my body moving: yoga, walking, light weight lifting, and mobility work. I love that I'm feeling less...