the podcast

As creative business owners, our creativity is our livelihood - which means it's so important we take steps to protect it. Attorney Andrea Henry shares some legal basics for our businesses and how to keep our valuable work safe and working hard for us.

In this creative mindset episode, Certified Career & Success Coach Alana Ruoso joins us to talk about 10 curious ways that us creative small business owners love to use to self-sabotage our careers - and how to overcome them!

In this episode we have a conversation that revolves around how mindset and business are interconnected and why what you call yourself really matters. We want to help you change your mindset in this episode to spur you on to growth - both as a creator and a business owner!

Taking risks with your business and your creativity can feel very scary when your livelihood is on the line. But they can also be very rewarding. In this episode we talk about how to manage your risk taking and help you take some leaps with your business and your art!

We’re heading in to the archives during our summer hiatus to bring out this important mindset episode. How many of you have struggled with self-doubt as a working creative? Raise your hands. What’s that? EVERYONE?? Then this episode is for you. We talk about how you can make that little voice in your head BE QUIET when she’s telling you that you’re not good enough!

Q4 is less than 3 months away and there's a lot to do. In this episode Melissa & Heather give you loads of tips & strategies to get the heavy lifting done now so you can focus on selling and shipping this fall and winter. We're talking about designing products, building up stock, getting systems in place, planning your promotions, developing and communicating your shipping and refund policies, evaluating if you need help and lots more!

Copywriter Natalie Gates turned her childhood love of writing into a career and now she uses those skills to help other creatives communicate with their customers and clients through great copy. This week she shares her best tips so you can do the same for your creative business.

This week we have a short, solo episode with a few housekeeping items to catch you all up on as well as a short chat about how important it is to schedule prolonged downtime (more than just a weekend!) for your own mental and physical health as well as the health and profitability of your business.

This week LinkedIn expert Louise Brogan joins the podcast to talk about why artists and creative small business owners need to be on LinkedIn, the opportunities you're missing out on if you're not on the platform and her best LinkedIn tips to get started.

Making the thing is only the first step in selling your work. As fabulous as it would be, nobody will knock on your door asking if you have something to sell. In this episode Melissa & Heather talk about what you need to do to get your work out there, whether you write, design, compose, film, make, paint, or craft. This episode is for anyone who struggles to get their work seen, who struggles to make sales or who struggles with self-promotion (yes - there's some mindset work in here!)

Certified career and success coach Alana Ruoso joins us again this week to talk about the emotion we don't talk about: jealousy. We've all felt it - the green monster, the"ugliest" emotion or the dark side.

Does it make us a bad person? No. It makes us human. But jealousy is usually masking something deeper and ignoring it or being unwilling to admit to it can cause more harm than good. Alana and Melissa talk about how working creatives can navigate those pangs of jealousy and even turn them into something positive (and how to deal with jealous peers and friends too!)

Well-known author, editor and writing coach, Dianne Jacob, is celebrating the launch of the 4th edition of Will Write For Food, the book that has helped food writers all over the world turn their words into deliciously flourishing careers. She sits down to talk to Melissa about her creative career from Metro Vancouver journalist to Vancouver restaurant critic to the editor of an international off-roading magazine to the author of one of the most well-known books on the craft of food writing and sought after writing coach.

Meet Hamilton based YouTuber and blogger, Lisa Le, also known as the Viet Vegan. In this episode we talk about how Lisa went from pursuing a career as a translator to becoming a successful full-time blogger and YouTuber and how YouTube helped her diversify her revenue and grow her core audience. She also shares some of her best tips to help you get started on YouTube so you can grow your audience and customer base!

Do you get caught in the branding trap that many creative businesses find themselves falling into? The one where you get so wrapped up in the physical assets of your brand that you forget about what branding actually is? Your logo? Not your brand. Your website colours? Not your brand. So what is? Have a listen to find out!

Meet Halifax based dance photographer Rachael Dyer of Movita Beaucoup Dance Photography. In this episode we talk about how Rachael navigated switching creative fields in her 40s from classically trained ballet instructor to full time dance photographer and now niching down in her field helped her build her business.

This week Trina Waller of Redemption visits the podcast to share tips and strategies to help you get started with email marketing for your creative business. Ditch the icky sales tactics, stressing over complex funnels and worrying about what you should write!

This week Debra Wong from Dessert by Deb joins us to share all her tips for starting a subscription box service including the pros, the cons, how to source product, how to price, shipping tips and determining your business model!

Meet Debra Wong, founder of Dessert by Deb, an online organic tea company and lifestyle brand where she blends her own organic teas and designs her own tea related accessories, gifts, stationery and subscription boxes. Hear how a fateful trip led to her closing one business and inspired her to open another that embodies her passion for afternoon tea!

From original artwork and crafted goods to products based on your designs or creative services, Melissa and Heather discuss how to price those products and "productized" services as well as how to raise those prices if you're not charging what you should!

Does the idea of raising the rates on your creative services make your stomach twist into a knot and fill you with dread? You're not alone! In this episode Melissa and Heather talk about easy and gentle ways to raise your rates with little disruption to your clients while putting more money in your pocket! This is a great episode for anyone who provides creative services like photography, design, writing, digital content creation and more.

Melissa chats with author, chef, TV host and YouTuber, Pailin Chongchitnant, about how getting started on YouTube with her channel Hot Thai Kitchen led her to her dream of co-hosting a TV cooking show, writing a book and becoming a self-employed creative. And she shares her tips for launching a Patreon community to grow and diversify your revenue.

Melissa chats with self-described serial entrepreneur Steph Todd about her multiple business ventures, including her well-known blog Meal Plan Addict. Steph shares how she gets it all done, how she manages her mental health challenges and the importance of building a supportive network around her.

In this episode And She Looked Up co-founder Lisa Bolton returns to the podcast to talk with Melissa about different techniques to help you visualize success in your career and in life. We'll cover everything from journaling and art journaling to vision boards and vision books.

Melissa and regular guest host Heather Travis reflect on a full year of running a creative businesses during a pandemic: the good, the bad, the silver linings and the pivoting that the last year has required.