Style and Substance

Fi and I are pretty driven in our work, but is it healthy drive? This is the question we are posing today as we dig deep and get personal about our motivations and sources of drive. Is Fi a workaholic? What drove me to put my life on the line as an environmental activist? How does being a woman in business change the nature of drive? How do we determine whether our drive is helpful or a fast road to burnout? All this and more as we lift the lid on what gets us out of bed in the morning and what we can be thinking about as women in business to create positive, sustainable and powerful drive. . We do get a little sweary in places...it's a passionate topic so we'll hope you'll forgive the odd F'bomb.

This week, Fiona is in the hot seat answering the most commonly asked questions posed to Google and AI about branding. There's a goldmine of wisdom which we really hope is useful and, you won't be surprised to hear, she's not holding back on her thoughts about consulting generative AI for this stuff.You'll also hear an unexpected high from my week, courtesy of @jaycopley at Run That (www.wearerunthat.com) do go check him out.Also the free 'Creating your Brand Where to Start' Course Fi mentions can be found here on The Brand Stylist Academy. Thanks as ever for listening.

Welcome back to a new season and thank you for being here. Fi has had an incredibly challenging summer, floored by illness and the accumulation of a year of personal challenges, this is a very personal episode where she shares some of how she has navigated a truly difficult time and what the priorities are coming into this new season. For anyone who wants to make the most of a fresh start in September Fi shares her personal perspective. We also shift our focus to the benefits or working on our own terms and what we can be paying attention to with our brands to make the most of the energy of a new season...with a little more kindness, compassion and an invitation to lean into our unique brilliance. The free where to start course we mention can be found in The Brand Stylist Academy here. Enjoy lovely listeners.

In this last episode of the season we are exploring the low pressure ways you can find your edge, your space, create impact and maintain inspiration...even if the pace is a little slower over the summer.We talk about reconnecting with your muses, getting your processes in order, thinking more strategically to find and maintain your space and some invitations to open up to a little more possibility.We mention a few of the courses available in The Brand Stylist Academy, as well as previous episodes which you can find here:The Muses conversationBrand Clarity.Media Kit Mastered.Glow up your website in a morning episode. As it's our last episode before the break, we've taken the opportunity to have a bit of an extended catch up, and are getting a few passionate opinions off our chest before the summer. It contains content some listeners may find sensitive (we're not holding back on Ai) and reference to suicide, so if you'd like to jump straight to the main conversation you can find that around 20 minutes in.Thank you for being with us for another season and we look forward to jumping back in come September.Have a great summerElizabeth & Fionax

There is a big difference between a business intentionally making space for rest and restoration and one that ends up losing momentum and traction without realising it...and losing out as a result. If you tuned into our conversation on planning for a restorative summer, this is the essential counterpoint and the other half of the story.When the heat is literally on, how do we ensure we can maintain the pace and drive that we need to keep business flowing, without breaking ourselves?This conversation is for those who might have a tendency to slow down to almost a full stop and need the motivation, strategy and encouragement to keep focussed, productive and firmly in the driving seat of their business....even in a heatwave.

Last week Fiona and I talked about the need for space to feed creativity and joy in our work and we know that the pace of this year can get a little overwhelming at times...so we're here to offer a little antidote to the haste and the hustle.As Fiona is away on a photoshoot in Guernsey this week, instead of our usual format, I've recorded a guided practice for you. This is aimed at helping you cultivate a sense of grounded spaciousness and inviting more possibility, flow and ease into your work. I do hope you find it helpful.