Today's episode is a chat with business and mindset coach Nicola Charlotte who generously shared her strategies for buidling freedeom and flexibility into your business by attracting dream clients, restructuring businesses for passive income, and diversifying income streams.

Nicola shared her insight on building a business that supports a desired lifestyle without compromising freedom, the importance of personal branding and storytelling in attracting clients, and practical tips for creating content that builds credibility and nurtures relationships organically.

We also chatted about the challenge of passive programs, the implications of AI and personal touch in standing out. Nicola also provided some really practical advice on planning and executing the development of new income stream which was so helpful.

Grab a cuppa and dive in.....

Episode highlights:

02:40 The Importance of Networking and People Skills
05:25 Giving Back to the Community through Talks and Workshops
17:06 The Role of Constructive Criticism and Feedback in Career Growth
32:02 Marketing your Work Online

Thanks to Marketing Magic for sponsoring this episode.

Don't forget to check out Nicola's podcast and follow her on Instagram!

If you'd like to have a chat come find me on Instagram. Can't wait to connect with you.

This episode was written and produced by me and edited by Lucy Lucraft.

If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!

Despite visual branding being my bread and butter, I've rarely talked about it onb the podcast. So I've rectified that with this juicy chat with designer and educator Hannah Bacon.

We dive deep into the definition of branding: Hannah shares her unique perspective on branding as a business's 'clothes' and the significance of consistency in visual elements to avoid customer confusion and strengthen brand recognition.

As ever, I manage to stumble upon another juicy challenge (!) so grab a coffee and jump into our chat.

Episode highlights:

03:35 The Importance of Branding for Small Businesses

10:32 When to Invest in Branding: Insights for Startups

21:22 Common Mistakes in Visual Branding and How to Avoid Them

25:53 Embracing Your Unique Aesthetic in Design

28:38 The Challenge of Maintaining Brand Consistency

37:26 Exploring Creativity with Two-Hour Branding Challenges

Thanks to Marketing Magic for sponsoring this episode.

Don't forget to check out Hannah online and follow her on Instagram!

If you'd like to have a chat come find me on Instagram. Can't wait to connect with you.

This episode was written and produced by me and edited by Lucy Lucraft.

If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!

It's an episode in the wild today as I record on the go with my roving microphones from OFFF Barcelona with freelance illustrator Carina Lindmeier.

I was really excited to chat to Carina all about how people can use illustration in their branding, which I think is often really overlooked way to add creativity and consistency to your brand.

We chat about the versatility and emotional depth illustrations add to branding, particularly how it conveys brand personality, connects across languages, and engage audiences,

Don't worry if that all sounds overwhelming because we also explain the practicalities, like working with illustrators, the impact of using icons or mascots, and unique ways to use illustrations beyond websites to surprise and delight your audience!

Episode highlights:

01:45 The Emotional Connection of Illustration
03:18 Illustration: A Tool for Brand Personality and Accessibility
06:37 Diving Into the Creative Process and Tools
10:43 Finding and Working with the Right Illustrator

Thanks to Marketing Magic for sponsoring this episode.

Don't forget to check out Carina online and follow her on Instagram!

If you'd like to have a chat come find me on Instagram. Can't wait to connect with you.

This episode was written and produced by me and edited by Lucy Lucraft.

If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!

Without veering into toxic positivity, todays episode is all about the power of being kind! I chat with my pal watercolour illustrator Imogen Partridge about how kindness and support have helped her become a cheerleader of small businesses.

Among many juicy tangents we chat about the impact and repercussions of comparisons and negativity online, the challenges that come with showing up online and the importance of aligning with your values and intentions.

Episode highlights:

01:54 The Impact of Kindness and Support

06:38 Dealing with Comparison and Jealousy

15:04 The Dilemma of Free vs Paid Content

20:59 Building a Supportive Community

25:57 The Role of Kindness in Business Decisions

Thanks to Penfold for sponsoring this episode.

Don't forget to check out Imogen online and follow her on Instagram!

If you'd like to have a chat come find me on Instagram. Can't wait to connect with you.

This episode was written by me and produced by Lucy Lucraft.

If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!

Sometimes I get to dive into some really deep conversations on this podcast and today I'm chatting about about the personal growth and inner work essential for running a creative business with illustrator and designer Emily Wylde.

We talked about Emily's journey of starting her own business during the pandemic, the importance of having honest conversations with ourselves, and the impact of therapy and coaching on personal and business growth.

And we touched on the challenges of putting work online, dealing with red flag clients, and the significance of authenticity (beyond the buzzword!)

I really hope that you enjoy this more introspective chat and take on building brands today.

Episode highlights:

05:58 Embracing Authenticity and Vulnerability in Brand Building

09:27 Navigating Client Relationships and Building Resilience

13:01 The Healing Journey of Embracing Your Inner Child

15:26 Authenticity in Business: Beyond the Buzzword

20:20 Finding Your Unique Path and Defining Success on Your Own Terms

33:40 The Impact of Comparison and Cultivating a Mindset of Experimentation

Thanks to Marketing Magic for sponsoring this episode.

Don't forget to check out Emily online and follow her on Instagram!

If you'd like to have a chat come find me on Instagram. Can't wait to connect with you.

This episode was written and produced by me and edited by Lucy Lucraft.

If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!

I've talked a lot about values and brand values on this podcast. And recently I've had some situations in my business where my values have been put to the test, leading me to make decisions that others might disagree with.

And so, when I asked who would be the best person to talk to me about this, everyone told me to talk to Keri Jarvis. Keri is a developmental coach, intersectional feminist, charity co-founder and community activist and through her work she's helped lots of people to imagine a world where they can run their business with integrity.

This was such a rich conversation and, for me personally, it was a really helpful one to have.

Episode highlights:

02:56 The Consequences of Misalignment with Brand Values

05:52 The Journey of Self-Awareness and Value Alignment

11:17 The Impact of Social Media on Business Values

16:59 The Role of Change and Growth in Business Values

22:16 The Challenge of Balancing Personal Passion and Business Needs

Thanks to Penfold for sponsoring this episode.

Don't forget to check out Keri online and follow her on Instagram!

If you'd like to have a chat come find me on Instagram. Can't wait to connect with you.

This episode was written and produced by me and edited by Lucy Lucraft.

If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!

One of the best things about having my own podcast is having an excuse to talk to my design and illustration heroes. Remember that rejection challenge that I've been wanging on about Well, Jessica Hish has been at the top of my dream guest list ever since I started the podcast three years ago, and last year I plucked up the courage to ask her.

Jessica has always been so open and transparent about her career, from her creative process, to pricing work, to running businesses with three kids, to the highs and lows of running two retail shops in her hometown, and she very generously shares a lot of that reality with us in this episode today, too.

I hope you enjopy the episode as much as we loved recording it.

Episode highlights:

00:00 Meet Jessica Hische: A Design and Illustration Icon

01:38 The Power of Procrastiworking and Passion Projects

05:39 Redefining Work-Life Balance and Creative Fulfillment

10:05 Navigating Parenthood and Creative Pursuits

14:18 Achieving Success and Finding Satisfaction in Work

25:05 The Unique Challenges and Joys of Running Retail Stores

Thanks to Marketing Magic for sponsoring this episode.

Don't forget to check out Jessica online and follow her on Instagram!

If you'd like to have a chat come find me on Instagram. Can't wait to connect with you.

This episode was written and produced by me and edited by Lucy Lucraft.

If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!

It's the return of friend of the podcast and newly published aurthor Hannah Isted! As her friend, I am so proud and as a podcast host I can't wait to talk about the process of writing a book because it's something I know lots of you want to do too.

In this episode we talk all about how Hannah applied her inimitable style of breaking big things into small, manageable chunks and how she used that to write a book AND deliver it to the piublishers early!

It's not all about writing a book though because we talked about how marketing your business can be done in a way that truly works for you (in ten minutes a day, of course!)

Episode highlights:

Mentioned in the episode:

• Join The Best 90 Days Ever membership (aff link)
• Buy The Best 90 Days Ever book
• Alison Jones 10-Day Book Proposal Challenge (aff link)

Thanks to Adobe Express for sponsoring this episode.

Don't forget to check out Hannah online and follow her on Instagram!

If you'd like to have a chat come find me on Instagram. Can't wait to connect with you.

This episode was written and produced by me and edited by Lucy Lucraft.

If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!