Style and Substance

Hello lovely listeners, we've been paying attention to what many of you are asking for at the moment and it feels like a lot of our community are grappling with some key decisions. Which direction to go? how to shape your business? what is going to be right for you moving forwards...? So today we are tackling the topic of making important decisions. How can we do that in an empowered way? How do we accurately discern what is really right for us and how do we know with certainty what to prioritise to move us forwards in a way that is ultimately going to bring more success, joy and ease to our work?The art of discernment is a powerful process that features heavily in The Empowered Entrepreneur book and today we are exploring that a little more. We do hope you enjoy the show and as ever your feedback, questions and of course raving reviews are welcome. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week it's all about finding your space lovely listeners. That sweet spot in the market that when you find it opens up possibilities, reduces overwhelm and frustration and supports you to win the right clients. We explore what it means to find your space, how it fits into the wider picture of the strategic clarity you need to run your business with confidence and intention and some of the key considerations to bear in mind when seeking out that sweet spot. We talk about the benefits of working within your space both to you the entrepreneur and to your bottom line and our thoughts for those people who are fearful of getting pidgeon holed. We thoroughly enjoyed the conversation and hope you enjoy the listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello lovely listeners, those of you who have been around for a while will know we are huge fans here of a strategic and well thought out approach to business and this week we're exploring why. We dig into the difference between strategic and tactical approaches and how it's so often the case that we are reactive or knee jerking in business when a more thoughtful approach is needed. We talk about the reasons why we don't often work strategically and the hallmarks of both strategy and tactics. MILD TRIGGER WARNING. Head's up folks at the beginning of the episode we talk about Fi's dear sister in law who has just suffered a recent stroke during childbirth and it might be hard to hear. If you want to skip straight to the episode you can jump right in at 8 minutes 15 seconds. If you would like to support Rosies and the family, you can find the details of her just giving page here:  https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/rosie-and-beau?utm_term=rq3d9enqdthank you so much for your support. xx Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back lovely listeners. Season 10 is kicking off with a juicy episode on the essential but often illusive ingredient for every entrepreneur, self belief. In this conversation we explore the transformative effect of this kind of confidence on our business, why we sometimes struggle to find it and how we can go about getting more of it. Enjoy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back with the final episode of this season and more of your juicy questions answered. From how to split your time between working on your business and in your business, how to handle putting yourself out there when you're terrified, to how to hold a boundary when you're asked for more than you can give. Thank you so much to everyone who sent questions in, do keep them coming and we'll get to more in the next season. Have a lovely half term break folks, happy listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back lovely listeners to Part Two of our Finding your Authentic Voice mini series. In this conversation we dig a little deeper into how we can apply our authentic voice to engage and connect meaningfully with our audience. Along with what to bear in mind when setting yourself up for any writing project there are some key copywriting hacks that are industry tried and tested. We hope this inspires you to not only find, but to use your voice for a fully empowered and successful experience of business. Happy listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello lovely listeners, this week we've thrown it over to you and are responding to the huge inpouring of questions from you all. It's a wide ranging conversation talking all things design and business from the very specific what size of font should I use to the state of the economy right now and how we can find our agency and lots in between. Using your voice part two will be coming up for you next week. Happy listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back lovely listeners to season 9. After a lovely long break we are opening this season with what we hope is a juicy two parter on the topic of finding your authentic voice. Both of us encounter business owners who struggle to do this for themselves and their brands and we are so passionate about the potential that finding and using your authentic brand voice can create for your business. Having a clear, compelling and natural voice enables us to not only connect with our clients and move them to action but also to express the true value that we bring in our business. It enables us to win work, develop relationships, handle conflict more effectively and give us that sense of empowerment that comes from being able to articulate what it is that we want. But it doesn't come easy to everyone. So many of us struggle to find the right words for our website, to write compelling sales copy, to blog or produce newsletters that really connect and this can really hold us and our business back. Over the first two episodes of this new season we are going to be digging into all that. We'll explore some of the things that get in the way of using your voice, particularly if you are a woman in business, we'll cover how we approach finding a brand voice for our clients and some of the practical considerations we need to bear in mind when writing compelling copy that really connects. Happy listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well here we are folks at the end of season 8 and before we head into a break we're dropping in for a review of the year so far. We reflect on the changing economic climate, talk about what's we've learned so far this year and how we are using the energy of spring to gain clarity for what's ahead. It's a short but hopefully sweet conversation where we get personal about what it's like for both of us in business in 2024. Enjoy and if you do please do rate and review, thank you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a hot topic for so many entrepreneurs. When we get into conflict, or emotional situations arise in our business and our instinctive tendency is to fight, flight or fawn there is another way. In this episode we talk around the importance of establishing and holding boundaries for ourselves in our business. We touch on why it is so hard, particularly for women to hold a boundary and some of the underlying principles that facilitate our ability to hold clear and firm boundaries for the benefit of all concerned. There's a few live scenarios in here that you might be able to relate to and in future episodes we'll no doubt get into the nuts and bolts of where we need to consistently set and hold boundaries to make business sustainable, commercially viable and preserve our sanity and how to do that with grace.As ever we'd love to know what resonates for you and if you love it please do review and share away. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So often, particularly with a well established business, we can get into a mode where things feel like they are a little out of control. Whether that's around feeling constantly overwhelmed, not being sure of where the next piece of work is coming from, getting stuck in a cycle of feast or famine, not feeling like we have a handle on how we are being perceived or perhaps where business is headed. In this short but sweet episode we are exploring 5 simple steps you can take to start to regain more of a sense of agency and autonomy in your business, what to focus on to take back the reigns and how to approach things with a more strategic mindset.We hope it's useful and. as ever, if you like what you hear please take a moment to drop us a review, we so appreciate it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I am excited to be sharing this week's conversation in which Fi and I walk through Fiona's Show-stopping Brand Roadmap. It's a really clear, strategic guide to the entire branding journey and one I know will add huge value. Perfect for any entrepreneur beginning the branding journey, rebranding or wanting to know how to make the most of the commercial potential within their brand. Fi takes us through the 8 steps in the process which is a consolidation of years of work and her experience of working with thousands of entrepreneurs. The roadmap itself is available as a free download from https://www.thebrand-stylist.com/ so do hop on over and grab your copy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello lovely listeners, as we move into spring it feels like the perfect timing for a conversation about flow. Why, along with vitality, adopting the flow principle of The Empowered Entrepreneur is absolutely essential to ride us through tough times and create more ease (and profitability) in our businesses.In this wide ranging conversation we talk about the key differences between a forceful and flowing approach to business and how to spot the red flags of when you're putting in more effort than you need. We talk about the benefits to flow in work (not leaving out the all important commercials) and wrap up with a couple of quick and easy ways for find more flow right now. So if you feel business is a bit sticky and you'd like more joy, inspiration and a lot less hard work for your buck, then listen in.We really hope you enjoy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All design, good or otherwise, creates an impression. It affects our perceived credibility, opens up or closes down opportunities and influences the confidence we feel about our work. Whether we realise it or not, whenever we are producing any collateral for our brand we are producing design. From pitch presentations to social media graphics and everything in between, so let's get it right. Understanding design fundamentals as an entrepreneur will help you be more intentional about the impression you are creating with your graphic design and ensure your investment in your brand identity isn't compromised. In this episode we walk you through those fundamentals, so note pads at the ready. Fi explains the difference between brand design and graphic design, what a complete brand identity entails and what we should be watching out for to maintain the integrity of our beautiful brand identity when we are rolling that out across our businesses. If you'd like to dig deeper and learn how to apply these fundamentals in more detail then Fi's brilliant course Design for Go Getters will help you do just that. You can find details on thebrand-stylist.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back lovely listeners. In this second episode of our self publishing series (more to come next season) we take a gallop through varying aspects of the process of publishing a beautiful book for business. We explore how to tell if it's the right time to write a book and what, in our experience, is needed to pull you through such an epic project. We talk about the motivation required and how that shifts through different stages of the writing process and the importance of knowing exactly what it is you are trying to achieve to support that motivation. We walk through the basic steps of pulling a well designed business book together and where book design fits into the writing process.We explore how we know whether we have something worth saying that will add value and the potentially tricky decisions about what to hold back when it comes to sharing your beloved IP. We touch briefly on the the merits or not of writing and publishing a book over different mediums when you've got something of value to say.We focus on the importance of knowing exactly what it is you are trying to achieve with your writing and how that affects everything from your motivation, your edit, your ability to discern if you're adding value and when you know the book is done. We've roamed far and wide in this episode but there's so much more to say so we look forward to getting even more granular next season when we'll explore styling and book design, working with your dream team, a little more on the editing process and more besides.As ever we really hope you find the episode useful and if you do, please do like, review and spread the word. Thanks so much and we'll be back the other side of the half term break with a conversation about the value of Design fundamental for entrepreneurs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fellow authors and publishers amongst you will know a book project is not for the feint hearted and producing a beautiful book for business is a labour of love that we are both hugely passionate about. With three best sellers on branding and business between us, we've got a fair bit to say. In this conversation, the first of a few in this series, we are really excited to lift the lid on our own experiences of writing and self publishing. We really hope you enjoy as we share our respective stories of the inspiration behind and the journey of writing 'How to Style your Brand', 'Brand Brilliance' and 'The Empowered Entrepreneur'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back lovely listenersOn what is reputedly the most depressing day of the year we wanted to bring a little light, a juxtaposition to the gloom and pop in with a short and hopefully sweet conversation about finding inspiration in these darker months. We share our personal thoughts on how we embrace the delights this season and some of the habits that keep us going until the shoots of spring emerge. From the beauty of a frost-laden morning walk to the comforting ritual of sipping a hot mulled drink after a cold run, we discuss how to appreciate and find joy in the often-overlooked moments of winter. We talk about hygge, the Danish concept of cozy contentment, and how creating a warm, inviting atmosphere can make the short days and long nights not only bearable but rich and fulfilling.Our conversation also turns to the spiritual uplift that can come from the resilience of nature and the transformative power of certain frequencies in music, like the divine moments experienced during live performances or the pure sounds of a child's voice. We consider how January, rather than being a month of limitations, can be a time for positive transformation.We'd love to hear how you make the most of winter so do drop by on instagram or drop us a line at https://www.elizabethcairns.com/style-substance-podcast or https://www.thebrand-stylist.com/style-and-substance-podcast.Thanks for listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever felt like a fraud in your own business, waiting for the other shoe to drop and for everyone to realise you're not as capable as they think? That gnawing fear isn't unique to you; it's a widespread experience known as Impostor Syndrome, and it's the topic of today’s discussion. Welcome back lovely listeners as we dig into season 7, today we are peeling back the layers of this psychological phenomenon, examining why even the most accomplished of us battle a persistent disbelief in our own success. We share our own experiences of Imposter Syndrome and where we see it showing up in our respective industries. This episode is a journey through the highs and lows of entrepreneurial life, where confidence often tussles with the silent anxiety of being 'found out.' We touch on the immense energy it takes to maintain a façade and the emotional toll it exacts behind closed doors. We explore not only how to recognise Imposter Syndrome, but also the effect on our energy, confidence, and overall mental well-being. We also, perhaps controversially, discuss the value of Imposter Syndrome in business and share some thoughts on how to explore it effectively so that it can act as a helpful guide rather than a debilitating force. For anyone who has ever questioned whether they quite measure up, this is for you. Lovely folks we've had some technical issues with the sound in this episode so apologies if it's not up to usual scratch, we've done our best and subsequently changed the whole studio set up so hoping it's now resolved for future recordings. Thanks for bearing with us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back lovely listeners and Happy New Year.We're kicking of a New Year and. New Season with our thoughts on the vibe of this year, what we're committing to and sharing a few thoughts on how to create some energy and momentum to pull you through. It's hopefully a lively, uplifting and positive episode, perfect if you need a little boost to get your mojo going as you get back to business. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello dear ones,As promised, if you need it over the coming days and weeks here's a few moments of guided calm for you to enjoy. Not advised to listen whilst driving so find a few minutes where you can sit undisturbed to give your nervous system a little reset. It's a sweet and simple just over five minutes guided track which is hopefully just enough time to calm everything down a little and create a little breathing room and space amid the madness.I do hope you enjoy it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.