Are you a photographer, designer of any kind, writer or other creative services provider? This week Melissa and Heather talk about how you can create products to sell alongside your creative services and open up new revenue streams - great for your slow season, to have earning income while you continue to serve clients or to help you break through the income ceiling a lot of us hit when doing client facing work.
Read MoreWhen Stefanie Henderlin first started formulating her products it was with an eye to helping her midwife clients. But, she quickly discovered just how much she loved the process and the result was the birth of Mangata Apothecary. Stefanie shares her journey and how failure has resulted in growth for her and her business to the point where she's now auditioning for Dragon's Den and sourcing investment to scale!
Read MoreMelissa and Heather, along with past guests and current listeners, share some of the business advice and wisdom they would give their younger selves if they had the chance.
Read MoreWhen you have an Etsy shop, you wonder if you should open a stand along shop on a platform like Shopify or Wix. When you have a stand alone website you wonder if you should open an Etsy shop. When you're first starting out, you don't know which to pick. And if you're a creative services provider you might be wondering if this episode is even worth your time (it is). So which is it? Etsy? Your Own Shop? Or... should you have both? I cover the pros and cons of each and why having both might not be a bad idea!
Read MoreAll of us have money mindset challenges. Whether they're rooted in our childhood or our choice of a career (starving artists, anyone?), we can carry around a lot of money baggage that gets in our way and stops us from being financially empowered women. That's where today's guest, Ottawa based financial literacy consultant Pamela George, steps in. Today, with the help of her powerful story, she's helping us get rid of that starving artist mindset and align our money mindset with our values.
Read MoreThis time last year I sat down with my planner for 30 minutes and did ONE thing that had a huge impact on my creative business in 2022. In this SBS (short but sweet) episode, I share what I did and how it changed my business and my life! And it's super easy and you can do it too!
Read MoreThe inner struggle between artist, maker, creative and female business owner is real for many of us. But as this week's guest, creative business coach and advisor, Sara Roach-Lewis, likes to remind us... if you earned money this year but didn't get a T4... you're a business owner.
So how do we learn to embrace the business side of creating for a living while still being the creators we want to be? That's our conversation this week!
Read MoreThis week, Toronto based podcaster and c+p digital co-founder, Susan Diaz joins Melissa to talk about how creatives, artists and makers can get smarter and more efficient about making social media work for them - without wanting to pull their hair out or needing to be digital content creators.
The secret? Repurposing content. Susan breaks it down for us this very practical and sanity saving episode!
This week's episode started out to be our annual recap of our goal progress for 2022. But, we realized, almost immediately, that we had taken a turn and had a creative mindset episode on our hands! We quickly dove down into exploring the deeper (and sometimes darker) aspects of our creativity and how we work: meaning and resistance.
Read MoreToronto based sisters Katrina and Lexie von Hahn have known for years that they wanted to create a business that reflected their Latin American roots and that has resulted in Gallola - a fashion and lifestyle brand launching soon with their first product: a shoe they designed that's inspired by the timeless Argentine carpincho style and handmade in Mexico.
Read MoreMelissa and Heather get into a dirty little secret of starting a small business that nobody talks about: lack of support from loved ones. It may be your parents, your partner or spouse or your friends. How do you deal with it? Let's talk about it.
Read MoreJanice Lawandi thought a PhD in chemistry had cut out a clear career path for her. But like many grad students, she started baking to relieve her doctoral stress which led to completing a Pâtisserie de Base certificate from Le Cordon Bleu and a food blog. Now this doctor of chemistry shows other bakers how understanding the science of baking can unleash their creativity - and has opened up multiple streams of revenue for her in the process!
Read MoreAs a full time working creative, travel writer, videographer and YouTuber, Ayngelina Brogan of Bacon is Magic shares how she has used her small YouTube channel of just over 10 thousand subscribers to build an engaged community and double her overall income.
Read MoreIn our Season 4 opener, Melissa and Heather do a quick recap of the summer and hit a number of topics that we've been experiencing or following - including running a studio sale, incorporating new tech into our work, navigating more social media changes and planning & prepping for the upcoming holiday season.
Read MoreAs we head into summer and close out season 3 of the podcast, Heather Travis puts her formidable interview skills to the test as we discuss death row meals, defending our studios in a zombie apocalypse, the slow quality erosion of our favourite sneakers, how every woman has a story that needs to be told, how other people's passion can light you up and music... all the music. We also make a lot of pop culture references!
Read MoreHow do you keep your creative business stable when the economy isn't? When everything from inflation and interest rates to fuel and food are going up up up and disposable income is shrinking, it’s important to know your numbers, watch your cash flow, keep marketing, evaluate your offerings and raise your prices when it's necessary. This week’s episode will help!
Read MoreSetting boundaries in your creative business (and your life) are key to ensuring you're happy, successful and mentally and physically well. We talk about the key areas to look to and the questions to ask when you're determining what your boundaries are!
Read MoreIn this week's episode, Melissa looks at some of the must have tools that will help grow your creative business - and a few that you don't need to worry about when you're in the early stages of your business.
Read MoreWhen you create for a living you don't always have the luxury of waiting for inspiration to strike. If a client is waiting, or a product launch is due, the work has to get done in order to get paid! So how do you make sure you've got a steady supply of inspiration and ideas at your finger tips when you need them? This week Melissa and Heather talk about the tools we can use to capture inspiration on a daily basis, store it and refer back to it when we need it!
Read MoreWe all have moments where we want to throw in the towel with our creative businesses but how do you know when it's really time to move on? And how do you navigate all the fears that come with that? And what do you do with your business when it's time? My original co-host Lisa Bolton is back this week and we talk all about knowing when it's time to let go, move on or pivot.
Read More
