the podcast

As 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!

How 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!

Setting 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!

In 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.

When 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!

We 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.

Creative burnout can have a direct impact on your mental health and your ability to earn a living as a working creative. This week, we have an honest conversation about creative burnout, how you can protect yourself from it and what to do when you find yourself in the midst of it.

Is it possible to have a 7 figure a year creative business? Is it a number we should all be shooting for? Yes... and no... Heather and Melissa talk about what's involved in running a 5 figure, 6 figure and 7 figure business and how to measure success.

Vancouver based writer and PR professional Dee de los Santos talks about her creative journey and how, after spending a decade building the popular blog Gastrofork, she is now leveraging her platform, social presence and relationship building skills to give back to the causes she's passionate about.

Canadian children's book author Liliana Tommasini joins us to talk about her journey from programmer to first time children's book author (after becoming a Nonna!) and the process of independently publishing her first book (in English and French), Octavia Can Do It!

Melissa, Heather Travis and Puneeta Chhitwal-Varma discuss why reducing waste and increasing sustainability in their creative businesses is so important to them and what they're doing about it. They share some of the things they've learned as well as some practical tips from the And She Looked Up audience!

It's the 100th episode of the And She Looked Up Podcast and this week Melissa takes you on a tour of some of the show's best moments, behind the scenes and can't miss episodes from the last two years!

You don't need to be a writer or a blogger to grow your creative business with ebooks. Melissa and guest Kristen Raney discuss how having an ebook strategy for your business can create new revenue streams, grow your community, your brand and establish you as a thought leader! We walk you through the whole process.

As a creative entrepreneur, when your personal values and your business values don't align, it can leave you feeling out of whack and a little bit icky. Melissa and regular guest host Heather Travis get into why it's important to get them into alignment and how to tackle this really big task!

This week Melissa talks about how creating space every day for silence has made it easier for her to weather bad news cycles and stressful social media environments in world where it feels like everyone is shouting and nobody is listening.

This week Melissa and regular guest host Heather Travis explore the curse of expecting instant gratification - even when we try something brand new, the frustration of comparing ourselves to others and the importance of embracing (and enjoying) the process of doing the creative work in our businesses.

After sharing 20 Email Newsletter Ideas for Your Creative Business a few weeks ago, one question kept coming in... what the heck is a Forever Series? So this week, I'm sharing what it is, why you need one and why this might be the hardest working tool in your creative business toolbox (and one of the easiest to set up and keep going!).

There is a hidden gem - right in your neighbourhood - that's an astonishing wealth of inspiration, resources, and community building opportunities. And it's all FREE. University librarian, Dr. Christina Neigel stops by to help us navigate this amazing resource we all have access to!

You have an email list. You know you should be talking to your subscribers but... you have NO IDEA what to send them! Melissa & Heather give you 20 email newsletter ideas to help you engage with your subscribers, build a community around your work and... make money! You don't have to be sales-y all the time - the first four letters in newsletter are NEWS. But, remember, you can always ask for the sale. It just doesn't always have to be the prime focus of every newsletter!

As a multi-passionate creative herself, creativity coach and host of the Multi-Passionate Artists Podcast, Diane Foy understands how difficult it is for multi-passionate creative entrepreneurs to present themselves to the world. This week she joins the podcast to talk about the power of personal branding and showing the world all the wonderful things you do instead of trying to keep them under wraps!

Alberta singer/songwriter Sharon Marie White talks about her deep roots as a musician and performer and how she let her music move to the background as she found other ways to contribute to her family. Now, after putting her music on hold for decades, she's back and she's just getting started - in an era where women are no longer willing to put up with ageism as working creatives!

Raj Thandhi, the Creative Director and owner of Pink Chai Media as well as the blogger behind Pink Chai Living joins Melissa this week to talk about choosing a word of the year and why this has been such a beneficial exercise for both of them over the years - in their businesses and their personal lives.

Melissa & Heather sit down and do an honest evaluation of their 2021 goals and look ahead to how they're approaching and setting goals for 2022. They include the good, the great, the bad and the really ugly. They all happened in 2021 but with that came some valuable lessons to be carried over into goal planning for 2022.

Author, journalist and freelance writer Tiffany Mayer joins Melissa to talk about some of the biggest mistakes we tend to make as freelancers in the creative services. Are you making these mistakes?

Saskatoon's Kristen Raney of Shifting Roots went from being a professional singer to an urban gardener, floral artist and content entrepreneur. In this episode, Kristen shares how she created a successful multi-revenue stream business. Operating from an abundance mindset with a belief in the power of collaboration and education, Kristen has not only brought her audience along for the ride, she's turned the power of growing that community into a revenue generating business strategy.

Are you ready to quit your day job and take your creative business full time? Or maybe you have a creative business already but you're ready to try something new. Then this episode is for you! We walk you through the really big things you need to think about before making the leap!

When perfectionism rears its head and brings you down, it’s important to remember that its the quirky imperfections in our work that make it perfect.

Multi-passionate creative entrepreneur, nutritionist and 2x best selling author Meghan Telpner sits down with Melissa to talk about her creative & entrepreneurial journey, the importance of building community, experimenting & inspiration, and finding alignment and coherence through the heart-brain connection to foster happiness and creativity.