Style and Substance

This week is mental health awareness week and so we're taking the opportunity to dig a little deeper into what tending to our mental health as entrepreneurs looks like for us. In this wide ranging conversation, we explore some of the unique conditions that leave entrepreneurs potentially vulnerable to mental health struggles and how we deal with those ourselves. We dig into vulnerability and how it shows up for us as both a challenge and an opportunity. We talk about our own challenges with giving and receiving support and how tricky it can be to build community even with the closest of friends. We end with a few of the many resources that we have found to be hugely helpful for us both, the links as promised are below. Thank you as ever for joining us and if you are in a place where you're struggling, as far as we are humanly able, we will always do our best to support. Go gently. Much love, Elizabeth & FionaThe Homing podcast episode we mention where Matt Gibberd interviews Urban Designer David Engwicht can be found here.We are both avid fans of The Class - a music-driven somatic workout where we exercise the body to engage the mind and connect to the heart. You can dip your toe in with a free trial.Courtney Baxter of TRE Surrey is also highly recommended for Trauma Release work and Quantum Energy Coaching. We've both enjoyed her workshops, classes and 121 sessions.For those curious about the benefits of Singing for unlocking creativity, fostering wellbeing and nurturing community. Sound and Song run by my dear friend Zoe Hatch is a must try. She runs weekend harmony singing circles and holds a truly safe space for women to come together and enjoy using their voices.The Be Still and Notice podcast is a soothing oasis of calm and reflection in your day hosted by my dear friend and fellow Yogi Helen taylor. You can find it here. My colleague and dar friend, Jo McAndrews has created an extraordinarily comprehensive and sensitively delivered online course that does actually teach us the skills of warm attentive listening and accompaniment. Jo's work is trauma and attachment theory informed and based in solid science as well as being hugely and reassuringly relational. Whilst the course is aimed at building skills for parents and carers it's something I feel we can all benefit hugely from whether you are a parent or not. You can find it here.

Creativity, in our books is the not-so-secret sauce that makes doing business well taste more than just a little bit delicious. It's also what Fi in particular trades off and has built a thriving business around. In this episode we dig into what drives creativity for Fi. We explore some of the nuances that enable creativity to thrive and why AI may be the next best thing since sliced bread...but is a fast, cheap, processed loaf what we really want to be enjoying with our morning coffee? We hope you enjoy the conversation, and if you do please do share it with someone who needs a little creative lift. Thanks for listening!

Building a destination brand can make wonderful things happen for your business and your life. And, as Fiona is off enjoying those benefits in Rome on a photoshoot this week, we have a slightly different episode on the pod for you today. I'll be reading from her best selling book Brand Brilliance and sharing her thoughts on building a destination brand and the essential brand strategy questions that you need to ponder if you want your ideal customers to cross continents to work with you. Enjoy lovely listeners, I do hope it's useful.

Writing great copy is not everyones favourite pastime but if you want to realise the potential of your brand, honing an authentic voice and nailing your copy is pretty essential. We use it pretty much everywhere, our website, social media, media kits, welcome guides, proposals...the list goes on. By now you probably know how we feel about resorting to AI for this kind of thing, so in this episode we thought we'd offer some thoughts on how we go about copy writing so you can feel empowered, inspired and informed to take it back into your own hands and enjoy all the benefits of expressing yourself with words that really work.In this episode we talk about what gets in the way of good copywriting, the role of the brand voice and how it rounds out the other elements of your brand, how to find a voice that feels most authentic and, if you do choose to outsource to a copywriter, some of the things you might want to think about to make sure you make the most of it.

We know just how transformative the right photography can be for a brand and a business. Getting that photography is no mean feat, so today we are unpacking some of what it takes to plan and execute a knockout photoshoot. We explore locations, practicalities and how to get most bang for your buck if you're on a tight budget. The resources mentioned can be found on The Brand Stylist Academy here:Art directing impactful photographyCompose and Captivate Enjoy lovely listeners and welcome to season 21.

The Halo Effect is a powerful way to shape perception of your business and creates reputational momentum that can work wonders when its done well. Today we are digging deep into how we can use the Halo Effect to create excitement, remove friction and build loyalty for your brand and what to watch for that kills the effect dead if we're not careful. Enjoy this last episode of the season and we'll be back after the Easter Break.

Spring has sprung and it brings with it an abundance of inspiration and insight for branding. In this episode we look at the season of Spring through the lens of Colour Psychology and get granular about the strategic approach of Colour Psychology for Branding that Fiona has spent years developing and refining. Discover how the Spring Seasonal Personality can be translated into a brand; what colours, fonts, shapes and textures will create coherent impact and what throws a brand 'off'. We touch on considerations for photography, copy writing, scents and even food when it comes to encapsulating the resonance of spring. This is the first of a 4 part series that will air along side the changing seasons and we hope is a delightful and illuminating guide to this fascinating and empowering topic. If you want to listen back to the previous episode mentioned you can find 'Colour Psychology for Branding' from season 4 here: https://open.acast.com/public/streams/63627df65e54600012595265/episodes/647f3f51aa1f100011562a5d.mp3if you're curious about learning more there are a wealth of Colour Psychology for Branding resources including:The Absolute Essentials of Colour Psychology Seminar, The Colour Psychology for Creatives online course, The Absolute Essentials of Colour Psychology handbook, The Resonant Brand Method for Designers, on The Brand Stylist website here:

We're not holding back in this episode - listen in to hear exactly what we think about the use of AI for brand messaging. What we see as the genuinely real risks but perhaps more importantly, what you might want to consider if you're going to take a more empowered approach to crafting messaging that really lands for your business. We do hope you enjoy the listen and if you're keen to find our more about Brand Clarity that we mention at the end of the episode you can find it on Fi's website here: https://thebrandstylist.thinkific.com/courses/brand-clarity

Flow state has the potential to supercharge productivity by 500%! But flow isn't just a nifty hustle hack, rooting your business in flow makes it more of a joy to run and infinitely more sustainable. In this episode we explore some of the hall markers of a business in flow and get granular about the specifics of how to reliably create the conditions for flow state. If it feels like you're pushing water up hill at the moment or, like us, are struggling with how the tide is turning in the global picture, this might just be the episode you need.