Style and Substance

Phew! this year is galloping away lovely listeners and in this episode, as we've passed the crest of midsummer, we're thinking ahead a few weeks to the summer break. Both Fi and I traditionally take around six weeks off over the summer and today we enjoy a wide ranging conversation about why we feel the need and how we plan for it. We explore the difference for us between rest and restoration, the differing types of rest we plan to make space for and how we are trying to avoid skidding into the summer break in a hot mess! It's a pretty personal episode and we hope you enjoy the conversation. A reminder from our lovely sponsors Squarespace of their free live circle event happening today (as this comes out) Wednesday 24th, 3pm uk time with Fiona talking about Design on your terms and taking questions. You can register your place here https://luma.com/circle-live-040

We continue our Colour Psychology for Branding series with this episode as we dig into the hazy delights of summer.In this conversation, Fiona walks us through the nuances of the summer seasonal personality and how we translate it through to a beautiful, stylish and elegant brand identity. We'll explore the colours, shapes, textures, photography styles, typography and key considerations for any business looking to bring the essence of summer into their brand.Thank you to our sponsors for this episode - Squarespace.You can find the details and register for a place on their Live Circle event on Wednesday 24th June with Fiona here You can find the Absolute Essentials of Colour Psychology and the other Colour Psychology resources Fiona mentions hereYou can find our previous conversation on the Spring Seasonal Personality here

Business is asking a lot of us at the moment and it's a whirlwind of creativity and genuine joy, but to ride those wild horses we are having to double down on looking after ourselves and keeping our vitality high. So this week, along with our regular catch up, Elizabeth is reading from the first chapter of her book the Empowered Entrepreneur, entitled 'Vitality - The Sustaining Force of your Business'. We hope you enjoy lovely listeners. The book is on half price summer sale at the moment so if you'd like to snag your copy while stocks last then you can order your personal signed copy from Elizabeth's website here https://www.elizabethcairns.com/book

One of the great joys and benefits of entrepreneurship is we get to be nimble, we can flex and evolve as circumstances change the face of business rarely stays the same over time. Fiona and I have certainly enjoyed a varied 25 years or so in business and today we're sharing a little of that picture.Whilst we may have learnt how to adapt over the years, one thing sadly neither of us has ever been able to control is the ever changing landscape of the market. Recessions, pandemics, global turbulence, the pace of tech...all impact the daily reality.In this conversation we are exploring how business has evolved over the years and the things that have helped us find, maintain and lean into our edge and what has, and still does, make it a continual creative challenge to stay in the game and most importantly enjoy it.

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.