The Kind Business podcast

In this episode, I talk about how to keep a business going through hard personal times, like health crises, bereavement, or mental health challenges, drawing on my own experiences with a serious accident in 2020 and my mum's sudden death two years ago. I share why building a content buffer makes such a difference, since having a few episodes, posts, or newsletter drafts ready in advance takes the pressure off feeling invisible when you need to step back, and I talk about the importance of keeping some days genuinely unscheduled so you can move at your own pace rather than pushing through on empty. I also get into how I think about scheduling client work, including why I only take on one web design project at a time and build in enough spaciousness that a hard week doesn't throw everything off.I also open up about how I decide what to share publicly and what to keep private, including why I spoke about my mum's death fairly soon afterward but waited months to talk about losing my dog Orlando, and why I never talk about my dating life or family at all. I talk about understanding your financial baseline and letting yourself have a genuine sense of enough, including the year I stopped saving entirely so I could have the spaciousness I needed to grieve, and I close with the value of transparent communication with clients and having something pre-recorded ready to go as a small backup for the days things don't go to plan. My hope is that this episode gives you a gentler, more honest way to think about resilience in your own business. If you'd like more support along the way, the Kind Business Community is open for enrolment, and you're welcome to book a free call with me any time.Join us here https://pinkwellstudio.com/community/Love,Yarrow

Hey everyone,just wanted to pop in here to tell you about my new Kind Business Community one last time before the price goes up on Thursday. As a reminder, its based around three things: regular co-working sessions, monthly themed workshops and a rich library if pre-recorded courses you can work through in your own time. You'll meet amazing, like-minded people, feel less alone as you built your business and have a space to get your questions answered. More info is here: https://pinkwellstudio.com/community/There is a 14 day free trial, so you can come to the first workshop and see if you like it. Love,Yarrow

In this episode, I explore whether we can grow our businesses without building a team, coming at it as a hardcore introvert who has thought about this a lot over the years. I talk about the two dominant narratives online, the lone wolf who does everything alone and the builder who scales by hiring out anything they don't love, and I share why the truth usually sits somewhere in between depending on the stage of life and business you're in. I get into the real benefits of hiring, like freeing up time, energy, and headspace, alongside the ethical complexity I feel around profiting from someone else's labour, and I talk honestly about where automation makes sense to me versus where I think a human touch still matters, especially given how seriously I take labour rights and the impact of AI on jobs.I also share what I've actually chosen to hire out over the years, like photography and briefly bookkeeping, versus what I've kept doing myself because it genuinely suits me, along with where I turn to mentors and classes instead of employees. I end with a little glimpse into my own fantasy of an island retirement where someone else handles the selling and shipping of my art, and what that fantasy reveals about the tasks I actually enjoy versus the ones I'd love to hand off, plus some thoughts on non-monetary skill swaps as another way to get support without hiring. My hope is that this episode gives you a more honest, less binary way of thinking about growth and support in your own business. The Kind Business Community is open for enrolment with a special price until September 10th over here: https://pinkwellstudio.com/community/Thanks for listening!Love,Yarrow

This week is a big one. The Kind Business Community is officially open, and I wanted to walk you through the thinking behind it, what you can expect, and how it all works.Some of you will remember the Livelihood Community, which ran from 2019 to 2023 and grew to about 60 members. I loved that space, but by 2023 I needed a proper break to replenish my own well. Coming back into teaching happened gradually, starting with Rooted, the three month programme I ran this spring with 15 people. What stood out most from that experience was how much people wanted to keep working together and keep the conversation going, which is really what led me back to an ongoing membership model.I talk through how the Kind Business Community is structured: two coworking sessions a month, a monthly themed workshop starting with intention-setting and mapping the season ahead before moving into marketing and finding confidence in your own voice, and a growing library of pre-recorded courses covering things like kind marketing, newsletter strategy, and questioning social media. I share who this is really for (any stage, any kind of creative values-led business), what the pricing looks like, and the scholarship spot available for every ten people who join.You can learn more here: https://pinkwellstudio.com/community/Thanks for listening!Love,Yarrow

In this episode, I explore what it looks like to bake generosity into a business, especially while still holding good boundaries. I talk about starting with accessibility to ourselves first, meaning we get clear on our own needs before we can be sustainably generous with others, and I share moments from my own journey where saying yes out of guilt led to resentment rather than real generosity. I unpack the difference between authentic and performative generosity, particularly around opt in offers and marketing tactics that can feel extractive even when they're dressed up as generous, and I talk about why transparency and giving people genuine agency matters so much in how this all lands.I also walk through concrete examples from my own business, from long lead times and deposits on web design projects to free podcast knowledge, scholarships, and payment plans, alongside the places where I'm intentionally more stingy, like not offering free brain picking calls or engaging with spammy pitch emails. I share some practical ideas you might try in your own business, like building in payment plans without penalty, giving people a heads up about your seasons and rhythms, and thinking of your work as a steady companion rather than something that always has to reinvent itself. My hope is that this episode gives you a fuller, more honest picture of what generosity can look like when it's paired with real boundaries. Here is more info about the Kind Business Community I mentioned: https://pinkwellstudio.com/community/Thanks for listening!Love,Yarrow