The Creative Flow Podcast

Christmas is a busy time for anyone, especially if you’re running a business. Make time for just a few minutes to breathe and clear your mind. It will help to focus your mind, relax you and make you feel able to take on the tasks today and tomorrow.    Take a seat or lie down in a space you can relax in for a few moments for this Christmas meditation.   Let me know your thoughts on Instagram @arnoldandbird

Today I wanted to share more about creating a brand mood board and why doing so helps your business.    Whether you’re working with a designer to create your brand, doing it yourself or want some visual clarity on what your business is all about. A brand mood board is what you need!   Mood boards help you get clarity and visualise your style, purpose and direction. It’s not about just putting pretty images together but creating a visual story that focuses your ideas in a cohesive way.    Meaning a brand mood board will help the design process. Often meaning less design revisions as you and your designer (even if that is you!) are on the same page visually at the start of the process.   Let me know your thoughts on Instagram @arnoldandbird   Full show notes

Welcome to episode 44 and we’re going to be covering mindset advice today and how to show yourself kindness and compassion even when you’re busy working away. Be this at Christmas, in the lead up to a launch or during the school holidays.   This is especially important as we can get so busy. Taking time out to check in with ourselves falls by the wayside first. And this is the time it is needed the most!   Let me know your thoughts on Instagram @arnoldandbird   Full show notes

The next Mother’s Day is on Sunday 22 March, meaning it’s time to start thinking about Mother’s Day 2020 trends!   I’ll be discussing three overarching themes, key materials & patterns as well as product types you can create.     As with all the trend podcasts there is a Pinterest board to accompany the episode.    www.pinterest.co.uk/arnoldandbird/2020-mothers-day-trends   Let me know your thoughts on Instagram @arnoldandbird   Full show notes

Today on the podcast it’s a body scan meditation to help let go of anxiety. So you can ease out any niggles or areas of tension   Take a seat or lie down in a space you can relax in for a few moments and listen to this body scan meditation.   Let me know your thoughts on Instagram @arnoldandbird   Full show notes

Welcome to episode 45 and today I’d love to discuss with you why you need to get to know your ideal customer.   If you’re running a business, it’s vital to know who your customer is and keep them front of mind at all times. This way you’ll understand their likes, needs and wants in life and understand your customer's decision-making process. And what is influencing this outside of interacting with your business.   Your customer is a 360-degree person who is buying from other companies and listening to them too. It’s important to remember this when you’re competing for their attention.   The benefits of knowing your customer means you will develop products or services that fit their needs and goals in life. You can work out how to solve their problems and improve their lifestyle. And you can talk directly to them in your product descriptions, website copy, marketing messages and branding.   Which is why you need to get specific with this. You don’t want to be too broad when creating your customer profile and don’t say that ‘everyone’ will buy your product as they won’t. Talking to everyone means that nobody ends up listening or falling in love with your brand. If you get personal and talk to one individual it means more people will listen. Which results in creating true fans for your business.   We'll be covering key questions to ask yourself to help you find your ideal customer!   Let me know your thoughts on Instagram @arnoldandbird   Full show notes   In depth Get to know your customer workbook

Today’s is a quickie all about how to easily remind yourself everyday of how amazing you are. Perfect for when you need a pick me up. Whether that be from being in a bit of a funk, suffering from anxiety or you just want to feel really amped up for a new project you’re embarking on!   Let me know your thoughts on Instagram @arnoldandbird   Full show notes

It’s time to start thinking about 2020 Valentine’s Day trends!   If you’re a retail business then getting ahead is really beneficial and means you can get some of your product development out of the way before Christmas.   I’m sharing three 2020 Valentine’s Day trends with you today that tap into the bigger macro trends that are influencing your customer's behaviour.   And remember you can use these themes for weddings, anniversaries and couple gifts too so there are lots of potential ideas to tap into.     As with all the trends I share on the podcast, there’s an accompanying Pinterest board. Look through the board as you’re listening to get an extra dose of visual inspiration or go back and see what you love later. www.pinterest.co.uk/arnoldandbird/2020-valentines-day-trends   Let me know your thoughts on Instagram @arnoldandbird   Full show notes

On today's Elevate Your Curiosity podcast we're going to be doing a visualisation. It's to visualise your ideal day meditation.   Before you start grab a notebook and pen to write down your thoughts after this ideal day meditation.   Then get comfy and sit down in any position you fancy!   Let me know your thoughts on Instagram @arnoldandbird   www.arnoldandbird.com

Today we’re talking about how to have a working holiday that means you work and relax at the same time   It’s coming up to the summer holidays which means it's a time when a lot of people take a break. Whether the kids are off school or you’re making the most of the warmer months.   If you work for yourself then sometimes taking a full holiday isn't possible. I'm not saying that every holiday means you have to work. Because you definitely need breaks where you completely switch off! But sometimes there are times where you want to have a bit of balance or work and relaxing.   Let me know your thoughts on Instagram @arnoldandbird   Full show notes

Today’s episode will focus on why having alternative creative hobbies outside of your business is vital to move your brand forward.   I really wanted to talk about this because a lot of businesses start with the hobby you love doing. But when your hobby is your business what do you do to switch off?   Let me know your thoughts on Instagram @arnoldandbird   Full show notes

Welcome back to the third season of the Elevate Your Curiosity podcast talking about 2020 trends!   These 3 key 2020 trends tap into the bigger cultural shifts that influence the way you develop your product range. And how consumer behaviour is changing. So tap into them so you can appeal to your customer's way of thinking.   As trends affect all retail businesses from food, technology, home accessories, stationery and of course fashion.   Head to pinterest.com to find the 2020 Design trends board   Let me know your thoughts on Instagram @arnoldandbird   Full 2020 trends show notes

Welcome to the 2019 Christmas trends Elevate Your Curiosity podcast! The 2018 Christmas trends podcast was my most downloaded so far so I’m so excited to share the Christmas trends for this year with you all.   I love delving into all the places you can spot trends and pulling together Christmas themes to inspire your product development. Wherever you are in your Christmas product creation journey I wanted to share some of my thoughts to kickstart or add to your range as the retail Christmas countdown is on!   And as with all the trend podcasts I’ve created a Pinterest board for each Christmas theme to pull all the visual inspiration together. Please do refer to each Pinterest board as you listen or go back and have a nosy later. www.pinterest.co.uk/arnoldandbird   Let me know your thoughts on Instagram @arnoldandbird   Full Christmas 2019 trend show notes

Welcome to this I am abundant meditation. Designed to make you feel bountiful in all areas of your life!   Take a seat or lie down in a space you can relax in for a few moments and enjoy listening to this meditation.   Instagram @arnoldandbird Show notes

Today we’re going to cover how to use user testing in your product development process.   But first up why should you use user testing? It’s an important part of the product development process when you’re in retail as you want to make sure your product performs exactly the way it should. That is doesn’t break and it can be the best it can be. Completing this process will ensure your ideal customer will want to buy your product and love it enough to share it with others.   If you enjoyed today’s episode then please do share it with another business who would love it or on social media @arnoldandbird. It really makes me smile when you do this :)   Full show notes

Today's episode is a quickie on how to move through feeling anxious or overwhelmed.   I’m sharing five tips on how to settle feelings of anxiety in the hopes it will help you as well as me! Whether through your to-do list too full, you’ve got too many orders to process, stuck in procrastination rut or in a bit of a funk.   A lot of these tips can be done in a few minutes so don’t feel guilty about ‘wasting your time’ and I say that in air marks! And If you’re feeling anxious it’s best to ease this so you do work better too :)   If you enjoyed this episode then do share it on Instagram and tag me @arnoldandbird   Full show notes

Today I'll be discussing Easter 2019 trends. As always there is a Pinterest board that accompanies all the trend podcasts. If you can follow the board as you listen to the podcast. www.pinterest.co.uk/arnoldandbird/easter-trends-2019 I'll be discussing four trends & themes in more detail that include: Easter animals   Food & drink Easter gifts Easter patterns & colours I hope you enjoy listening to the Easter 2019 trends podcast, and if you did then please do share it with someone else who would also enjoy it or tag me as you listen on Instagram @arnoldandbird Find the full show notes at arnoldandbird.com/2019/03/easter-2019-trends

Welcome to this be kind to yourself meditation to give yourself a bit of kindness, grace and compassion if you’re feeling a bit hard on yourself.   After you've listened to the be kind to yourself meditation do take a moment before you get back to your day. And if you liked this you can find other meditations on the podcast.    Take this compassion with you throughout the day. You are more than deserving of all of the compassion you can give to yourself.   Find Joanne on Instagram @arnoldandbird

Today I wanted to share an exercise on the podcast that will enable you to work out and get clear on the USP of your business and your brand's purpose.   So why should you do this? Knowing why you’re unique is vital to show your own take on your business and stand out from your competition. Plus it gives your brand it’s a purpose and why you do what you do.   I’ll be going over a checklist of questions and tips for you to think about while you’re discovering and working out the USP of your business. It’s the perfect exercise to journal over and dive into what makes your business special.   This exercise is one part of a three-part process in my free Brand, Design & Product USP Checklist you get for free when you sign up to my newsletter. I’ll be sharing the brand part today but if you want to grab the full exercise part then download it here.   Let me know how you got on with this exercise over on Instagram @arnoldandbird   How to Work Out the USP’s of Your Business & Brand show notes        

Today I want to talk to you about the importance of building your community to boost your business and wellbeing.   If expanding your community is something you’d like to do but would like some tips then listen in. This episode is especially good if you hate the word networking and the thought of this makes you cringe (hint me too!)   Let me know your thoughts on Instagram @arnoldandbird Building your community show notes