In this episode, podcast hosts Zoe Edwards of Check Your Thread and myself discuss how we approach our podcasts and how we make it work for our businesses. We talk about how we’ve shifted our focus over time and how our podcasts have evolved along with our businesses. We also discuss advertising and how it may or may not fit into our podcast and business models. And… there’s a big change a-commin’. I will reveal all in this episode.

FULL SHOW NOTES WITH TAKEAWAYS

https://www.asmallerlife.com/61

BEST QUOTES FROM THE EPISODE

• “I love that usually you're in somebody's ears or you are with somebody and there's not a lot of other people around. So it's really personal.” - Saskia
• “I feel that would not be a good fit for my podcast. I feel that a lot of what I say is, maybe we don't need to buy so much stuff or we need to be more selective.” - Zoe
• “You can go in all guns blazing and it's just one thing and then life happens and shifts happen.” - Zoe
• "It's always going to be a podcast as the focus, but I'm excited to add other elements." - Zoe
• "It's a balance between being authentic and also being able to support yourself." - Saskia

LINKS

Use my Flodesk 50% off DISCOUNT CODE
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DOWNLOAD the Core Focus Compass HERE

CONNECT WITH ZOE

www.checkyourthread.com

CONNECT WITH SASKIA @ A SMALLER LIFE + JA, WOL

website www.asmallerlife.com community https://community.ja-wol.come-mail info@ja-wol.com

SUBSCRIBE TO A SMALLER LIFE

Hi, I'm here with a quick reminder to tell you that the Ja, Wol Business Circle, the new cohort, starts the first week of March. The early bird prices are now up on the website. So if you are ready to get to work with me, get shit done in your business., this is the time!
Go to www.ja-wol.com or www.patternshift.fm and find all the information you need about the Ja, Wol Business Circle. I hope you will join becSupport the show

☆☆☆

☆ SUPPORT THE SHOW ☆

If you appreciate the free content and the work we put into this podcast, consider showing your support in a way that feels right to you. This could be by sharing episodes with friends, signing up for our newsletter, or making a small monthly contribution through clicking the Support the show link, or -when you are listening via Apple podcast- click the subscription button and get monthly bonus episodes. Your support keeps the podcast going and aligns with the values we share. Thank you for being a part of this movement!

Apple Podcast subscription

• super easy with two clicks and anonymous for those that use the apple app. Monthly or yearly. One amount. 4,-

Buzzsprout (my podcast platform) subscription

• one click, fill out your bank details. Monthly. Choose your amount from 3,- and up. Leave your name and get a shoutout (if you want).

☆ JOIN THE WAITING LIST ☆

for the March cohort of the Ja, Wol Business Program!

☞ GET BI-WEEKLY ACTIONABLE BUSINESS TIPS AND INSIGHTS & EPISODE UPDATES ☜...

In this cinematic, on-the-road episode, you’ll hear all about the wool and shepherding industry in the Faroese Islands or Faroes (Føroyar). You’ll get to hear a spinning machine, special background music from the feat-of-modern-egineering underwater tunnels, reports from the traveler’s log in the ferry cabin, and spontaneous interviews with shop owners and workers. You’re going to love it! 

Featuring Johanna from the Snealdan Spinnery and CEO Guðrun Rógvadóttir from Guðrun & Guðrun hand-knit wool fashion brand.

Find more info and pictures from my travels on the episode website. 

LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Google Results: Floortje Naar Het Einde Van Het Wereld  

CONNECT WITH [GUEST]

https://snaldan.fo/

https://www.gudrungudrun.com/

https://www.navia.fo 

Thanks for listening, I really appreciate you choosing to spend your time with me and my guests!

Would you like more reports like this one? Please consider returning the value you get from the podcast by becoming a patron via Patreon so the cost of editing and producing

Sign up for mails: https://jawol.myflodesk.com/patternshift
Become a member: https://community.ja-wol.com/ 

Hi, I'm here with a quick reminder to tell you that the Ja, Wol Business Circle, the new cohort, starts the first week of March. The early bird prices are now up on the website. So if you are ready to get to work with me, get shit done in your business., this is the time!
Go to www.ja-wol.com or www.patternshift.fm and find all the information you need about the Ja, Wol Business Circle. I hope you will join becSupport the show

☆☆☆

☆ SUPPORT THE SHOW ☆

If you appreciate the free content and the work we put into this podcast, consider showing your support in a way that feels right to you. This could be by sharing episodes with friends, signing up for our newsletter, or making a small monthly contribution through clicking the Support the show link, or -when you are listening via Apple podcast- click the subscription button and get monthly bonus episodes. Your support keeps the podcast going and aligns with the values we share. Thank you for being a part of this movement!

Apple Podcast subscription

• super easy with two clicks and anonymous for those that use the apple app. Monthly or yearly. One amount. 4,-

Buzzsprout (my podcast platform) subscription

• one click, fill out your bank details. Monthly. Choose your amount from 3,- and up. Leave your name and get a shoutout (if you want).

☆ JOIN THE WAITING LIST ☆

for the March cohort of the Ja, Wol Business Program!

☞ GET BI-WEEKLY ACTIONABLE BUSINESS TIPS AND INSIGHTS & EPISODE UPDATES ☜...

This week the girls are bringing back a favorite segment - inspiration thrillers and killers! Anyone working in the creative industry knows that products and vitality in their business relies on where they are finding inspiration! Lyd and Abs talk about the people, places, and things that are sparking their inspriation these days.  They also share the inspiration killers that are stifling their creativity and how they combat the killers to keep them from bogging their inspiration down.

Small Businesses Referenced In Thrillers
Wildflower Print Co -  Lydia's Printing Vendor 
Do It Yourself Crafts - Pottery Painting Vendor 

Oh Crap! Potty Training - Zay's Potty Training Method 
The Grave You Crave Message with Charlotte Gambill

Join @_TheRareCollective on Instagram

Follow your new besties:
@LydMothersYoung
@Abbi_Phillips 

• Work with me: 1:1 coaching and mentoring for creatives
• Group program: Embrace
• Book a free 15-min discovery call with me
• Sign up to the fortnightly letters
• Connect with me on instagram @hirasahmed

• Book: Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
• Group program: Embrace
• Work with me: 1:1 coaching and mentoring for creatives
• Book a free call with me
• Sign up to the fortnightly letters
• Connect with me on instagram @hirasahmed

• Work with me: 1:1 coaching and mentoring
• Book a free call with me
• Sign up to the fortnightly letters
• Connect with me on instagram @hirasahmed

Rubeena is the business owner of a creative shop, The Gray Muse, a social worker and a psychotherapist by profession. The Gray Muse was founded in 2019 and it is the first enamel pin shop designed specifically with crafters and artists in mind.

In this episode, we talked about setting up a creative business for yourself, enjoying the process more than the outcome, finding your own version of success and the importance of listening to your own intuition to guide the way.

Here's what we talk about in this episode:

• a little background and intro about Rubeena and her work
• how she started her business
• focusing on academics and never allowing her creativity to flourish before turning 29
• learning to combine the artistic and analytical side
• connecting with the artistic side
• art allows you to let go of control and perfectionism
• the process is way more important than the outcome
• the approach is different if you choose to study design or fine arts
• finding your style
• having a sense of play when it comes to creating is important
• becoming okay with good enough work instead of obsessing over the perfect one
• your work will resonate with some people and it won't resonate with others but it is nothing personal
• taking risks and becoming okay with the results
• how becoming a mother taught her to stretch her comfort zone
• the importance of staying curious
• asking for help when you need it
• listening to your intuition
• trusting yourself along the way
• you are more capable than you give yourself credit for
• you can achieve anything you put your mind to is a mindset
• the need to feel like an expert and why we don't believe in the myth of being an expert
• information overload in this era
• finding your very own version of success
• people-pleasing won't take you much far
• the relation between success and your age
• what her day looks like
• advice for someone who wants to start their own creative business

Find links to the resources we discuss in the full show notes.

Rubeena's website and Instagram

Hira's website and Instagram

Sign up for 'A letter from me to you'

Rebecca is a southwest-based multi-passionate creative; photographer, jeweler, painter, and writer. She likes keeping her hands and mind busy, in the studio and out in nature. She has self-published over 20 artist books. She makes jewelry by hand with recycled gold and silver, conflict-free diamonds and ethically sourced stones. She uses natural light and elements to tell stories with her photography. Her paintings focus on light and highlight climate change.

In this episode, we chatted about what it is like to be a multi-passionate with an interdisciplinary approach towards making art.

This episode is more like a casual conversation where Becca is sharing her story, how she sees the world and what has shaped her approach. If you consider yourself a multi-passionate too, this episode will encourage you to give permission to follow your curiosities in a way that works for you and keep going.

Here's what we talk about in this episode:

• a little intro about Rebecca and her work
• how she juggles and makes time for all these different creative ventures
• what helps her in making time for writing
• figuring out ways to clear the head and making time to do nothing
• her experience of going to art school
• where the interdisciplinary approach comes from
• struggles of being a multi-passionate
• how she manages her focus
• not making everything about working or making money but having a few things to do as a hobby
• building healthy habits: carving more time for reading
• finding goals that have nothing to do with work like training for a marathon so you are not always in the studio
• what following your curiosity looks like
• carving out time where there are no expectations so you are letting yourself to be curious
• the importance of being bored
• managing time and your energies along the way
• reconnecting with your own creativity when you start to feel overwhelmed
• the artists way inspired activities that help: morning pages and artist dates
• importance of asking yourself questions that move you forward
• how to tackle the overwhelm and busy months
• always learning something new and staying engaged
• her collection of paintings on the climate change - in her own words, ''things we don't see, things we can't see and things we won't see because it is all changing so much''
• we create connections by visual artwork and sharing our thoughts in that way
• the different mediums give you different kinds of opportunities and lifestyles
• self-employment and the need for human interaction
• current struggles along the lines of recovering from burnout and too much work and staying inspired
• the struggles with connection, internet, and social media as solace for self-employed creatives but also, it is taking over our lives
• relationship with Instagram - Instagram and connection
• learning to balance the use of social media and putting the phone down
• other sides of small business: accounting, finances and administration tasks
• learning to be more efficient
• the creative process on a day to day basis and how she likes to spend her days
• the role of planning ahead of time and having a bigger picture in her work
• enjoying the flexibility that comes with working for yourself
• staying motivated on a day to day basis
• living close to nature and how it inspires her creative process

Find links to the resources we discuss in the full show notes.

Rebecca's website and Instagram

Hira's website and Instagram

Finding Your Focus as a Multi-passionate ebook

Blog posts for multi-passionate creative humans:

• A letter to multi-passionate creatives
• 28 insights from a multi-passionate creative
• Struggles of a multi-passionate

Sign up for 'A letter from me to you'

In this week's episode I'm chatting to the founder of the minimalist jewellery and lifestyle brand Lines & Current, Rebekah Johanson. We had such an interesting conversation about how she came up with the concept for the brand, how she designs and develops the pieces, and why being a socially minded company is so important to her. We also chatted about raising vegetarian children, and her and her family's upcoming epic road trip this summer up the west coast of America!

Lines & Current Website: https://linesandcurrent.com
Lines & Current Instagram: @linesandcurrent

SAYA Designs on There Are Other Ways: http://fionabarrows.com/episode-eleven-victoria-jones-from-saya-designs-on-building-a-circular-economy-business/
The Rich Roll Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rich-roll-podcast/id582272991?mt=2
Simon Sinek's TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA&t=1s