Startup Creative | Your Go-to Source For Straight-up Business Advice

On today's show I reflect back on the last 10 years of StartUp Creative and take you back to where it all began. I share milestones along the way, lessons learnt and strategies that I used to get the business to where it is today.   Topics:  transition from corporate to self employed  how I grew our audience from 3000-20,000 in the first 2 years our collaboration with Gelato Messina & Uber in their early days  getting our magazine stocked in the Virgin Australia lounges  building my expert status and reputation to gain national recognition and customers  what worked and didn't work  growing the business with very little fiances some of the most important people and contacts I met along the way that helped us grow fast    You can check out my 10 Years of StartUp Creative blog on our Subtstack page for photos that go with the stories.    This episode is Part One and covers the years 2014-2017, more to come.    Follow more of the StartUp Creative story on Instagram    Get in touch to book in a 1:1 Busi

On today's show I teach you how you can grow your business by adding more options for your customer to buy from you and increase your chances of repeat business from existing customers.   In this episode we'll cover: reviewing your customer journey to find new opportunities  tips for conducting a business audit/health check  reviewing your customer experience and purchasing behaviour to optimise for more sales  market research and competitor analysis  tips for finding new leads  how to better convert interest to paying customers  Get in touch for 1:1 Business Coaching  Buy your copy of The First Aid Kit for Your Business on sale now 50% off 

On today's episode I discuss recent use of AI images without permission of the subjects and how our authentic humanity can be used as an advantage in the online space.  I'll also break down my top tips on how to grow your audience, the formulas and strategies that I use in my business and with my coaching clients.  Topics include: why getting to know your target market is so useful in growing your audience  getting clear on why you want to grow your audience - how to figure out your goals and objectives first  3 ways to grow your business  sales funnels explained  marketing and content ideas to increase your business Grab a copy of the First Aid Kit For Your Business - on sale now for 3 weeks. 

In today's episode I share my top tips for effective time management, starting with the big picture and breaking it down into daily tasks.    I'll also cover: how to set goals that will improve your time management  tips for daily, weekly and monthly to-do lists  how to prioritize your work to maximise your motivation  my top 10 hacks for increased time management  how I structure my work week and tasks Get in touch to book in a 1:1 Business Coaching session    Visit our website to download our free Time Management worksheets 

It's been 9 months since I last recorded a solo episode on StartUp Creative, so today I am putting my own advice to use and sharing how I've personally overcome procrastination to record this podcast for you today and in setting and actioning new goals in my business.    In this episode I also discuss: knowing your worth and pricing and how it can attract opportunities  what I think will make your business stand out from AI  what I've been up to lately personally and professionally  my fear of social media and how it hasn't mattered as much as I thought  3 reasons why I think people don't 'just start' and take action towards their goals  how to overcome those 3 reasons and take action towards your goals  a menu list of how we can help you just start!    Get in touch for Business Coaching & Event enquiries https://www.startupcreative.com.au/

A big thank you to everyone who came out last Thursday night to our Make Your Mark event powered by Squarespace and StartUp Creative. It was such an inspiring and fun event and if you missed it, don’t worry, you can check out the video replay now live on our YouTube channel. Thank you to our special guests Bobby Clark, Dr Chris Cheers and Sophie from Club Sup for sharing such valuable insights and tips on how they started and scaled their passions into viable businesses as well as advice on: How they came up with their business ideas  The steps they took to test and launch their businesses Advice for building a brand that stands out in the market place  How they create content and come up with new ways to grow their income online and offline  Tips for pricing and charging for your product/services  Balancing being a human and a business owner  The importance of developing brand values, how they did it and advice for communicating their values to their audiences (keep an eye out for an awesome values exercis

On today’s episode I caught up with a new friend and author of ‘Work Backwards’ , Tim Duggan. Tim founded a digital company known as ‘SameSame’ then eventually paved the way for a media company Junkee which is co-founded and helped to scale to great success. Despite realising his dreams, Tim found himself burnt and ready to quit. He knew something had to change and he began a 8 year journey towards selling his company, building his freelance business and concepting this book on how to work better. I loved the booked and was very excited to talk with Tim about some of my favourite topics, designing the life of you dreams and having a healthy relationship with your work.    We discuss how it got so bad that we’ll prioritise work over family and our health, tips for restructuring your work- life balance, some really inspiring statistics about how the positive impact of changing just 20% of the way you work and so much more. Tim is very generous in offering his personal experience, advice and practical steps he t

Welcome back to the StartUp Creative Podcast and the first episode for 2024. On today's episode I caught up with Odette Barry who has been a long time network/friend from the creative entrepreneur world. We got chatting on Instagram about our morning routines and thought it would make for a great conversation about how different they were and how important it is to find the right routine that works for you so as to better your chances of success. Odette and I share what personally motivates us along with some research and resources that help us create lasting habits.    She also recommends this breathing app to help regulate your nervous system.    Check out more of Odette's work    odetteandco.com.au  

On today's episode I caught up with Brooke who is one of the 6 founders of Sharesies, an online platform and app that’s aim is make investing easy and accessible to someone who haas $5 or $5 million dollars to spend. I first saw Brooke talk at Purpose Conference in October 2023 and was instantly inspired by and intrigued about the company’s mission. Not only have they broken new ground in the investing world but they’re a purpose driven business looking to support and empower all people with financial independence. Brooke shares how the platform works as well as what it took to build a business that didn’t exist, how they’ve built consumer and stakeholder trust all while staying true to their brand values. 

On today's episode I share the behind the scenes of creating my new online course 'Start Your Side Hustle' my first online course 2017. If you've been thinking about a way to set up passive income for your business to help you scale and automate your current offerings, I'll teach you how to get started and share exactly how I set mine up. I'll cover: how to come up with your course idea  setting up your course  a formula for creating your online course  marketing and sales of your course  Check out 'Start Your Side Hustle' the online course on our website now and look forward to meeting you in the class. 

On today's episode we share a recent IG live chat I had with content creation pro Lucy Lumen who makes content and builds communities on Substack, Instagram and YouTube. I quiz Lucy on how she keeps up, her tips for creating across different platforms and for different audiences, we share our planning and content creation schedules or lack of and how we approach social media of late. Lucy started her YouTube channel as a creative side project when she first had her child and has managed to build her following to almost 20K subscribers on YouTube alone. She now makes content for brands and sells courses and advice for other photographers and has an abundance of amazon straight-up and relatable tips for those struggling with content creation in their own businesses and looking for ideas to get them inspired. 

On today's episode I caught up with the business boss herself, FlexMami. We recently had the pleasure of Flex speaking at our Make Your Mark: How to market yourself online event in collaboration with Squarespace. Flex shared her incredible insights, wisdom and opinions about what it really takes to build an online following, how she prefers to diversify her skillsets across multiple platforms, what role her website plays in her business as well as her approach to social media. Flex gives some really good advice  for those looking to start and scale their personal brands and businesses and the process she uses for deciding what to do next in her career.  Her career has led her in many different directions from author, influencer, DJ, Logie nominated TV presenter and many more accolades but it all started with some good old fashioned hustle. An inspiring and entertaining chat with one of the best in the game.  https://www.flexmami.com/

On today's episode I spoke to Alexis Fernadez, author and podcast host of DYFM.    Alexis is a neuroscientist, mindset coach, best-selling author and host of Do You F*****g Mind? - a podcast that mixes neuroscience, psychology and tough love altogether. Alexis started the podcast halfway through her masters degree in neuroscience as a way to be able to share what she was learning and as a way to connect with an audience who wanted to work on themselves. We recently met on the Make Your Mark: How to market your business online event in collaboration with Squarespace. Alexis shares so much straight up business advice about how she started her podcast while studying neuroscience and after 7 months she left her job and became a full time podcaster. She shares some of the highs and lows of starting a business from meeting her beans at the event and how she's built such a loyal following, her tips for carving out your niche in the business space and sticking to your brand values. As well as lots of insightful mind

On today's episode I dive into a popular topic for many creative entrepreneurs; comparison. I share a personal experience I had with comparing myself to others' success and the tools I use to help me avoid a negative downward spiral of self-doubt. I share some insights into how we can use comparison as a positive on our business journey to help us realign our goals and dreams and start working towards them as well as tips for catching the negative side of comparison so as to not sabotage ourselves. 

On today's podcast I caught up with a long time client, friend and fellow author Amy Lovat. You may recognise her from Secret Book Club, a business she started with her partner years ago. Amy shares her incredible journey to accomplishing a 30 year dream of becoming a published author. She shares very generously about how she took 11 years to write her first novel, the mindset and support she leant on to  keep her going when she wanted to give up. We dive into the inspiration behind her debut novel 'Mistakes and Other Lovers' and her advice for creatives striving to make their dreams a reality.    Grab a copy of Amy's book  https://amylovat.com

Today’s guest is Daniel Flynn, co founder of Thankyou, a business I was fortunate enough to come across many years ago when they first started out as Thankyou Water. Since then Daniel and his team have built a globally recognised social enterprise on a mission to end extreme poverty. In this episode Daniel shares the journey they’ve taken to reimagine their business model many times over. From expanding into products, taking on the big supermarkets to get stocked, harnessing the power of social media and their audience to support their mission and more recently taking the company to the global stage. An insightful episode about what it really takes to build a brand that lasts, sticking to your brand values and what you set out to achieve no matter how many hurdles and temptations to divert your encounter and taking care of your mental health as a founder.  Check out Thankyou and the work their doing https://thankyou.co

In today's episode I share the story about how I landed my first book deal that led to me writing 'How to Start a Side Hustle' in 2020 and advice for people looking to pitch to publishers for those looking to get their own publishing deal.    I also go through each chapter of the book and share my author notes, bonus tips to help you get started and how to use the book to get started on your idea.    Tune in for a guided tour of the process I took to write the book and tips on exactly where to start on your side hustle journey.    You can grab one of the last signed copies of HTSASH on my website and I'll be sure to include a personalised note with inspiration to get you in the game.    https://www.startupcreative.com.au/shop-1/p/how-to-start-a-side-hustle-signed-copy

On today’s episode I caught up with the genius creative mind behind one of my favourite businesses ACID.FLWRS, Claire Muller. Claire shares her startup story that took her on a journey from Perth to London and eventually her home today Sydney Australia. She shares the lessons learnt from changing career paths, working for an innovative startup with small budgets with working for leading startup Airtasker. Her insight into finding which path to follow, facing a life changing moment that put life on hold and figuring out what to do next before. Claire started ACID.FLWRS, as a side hustle, passion project in 2020 when she was experimenting with flowers and spray paint. It went on to grow a cult-like Instagram following and led her to collaborating with brands such as VANS shoes, Casetify and producing installations for the National Gallery of Victoria. Packed with raw storytelling, startup tips and advice on how to get a creative project off the ground from her 15 years experience in styling and communication wi