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

Podcast regular Jai Long returns to the show to update us on how he managed to keep his business not alone online but thriving through the pandemic & gives insights into how he knows when to pivot and what plans he puts in place. Jai is a successful business coach, photographer and all around entrepreneur who isn't afraid to say it how it is, take big risks, share his lessons and take others on the journey with him.  In the episode we chat about money mindset and how to overcome fear of taking risks, bouncing back from mistakes and finding the motivation to get up everyday and work on your dreams and goals. An inspiring, practical and abundant chat packed with advice, real stories and insights into the mindset of successful entrepreneurs.

On today's episode we meet the owner of Gonzo Vino and wine company repairing the reputation of cast wine that sells delicious blends in 3L casts with incredible designs and a fun brand voice and message. Marcus was working in hospitality as a Sommelier (one of the highest achievements in the world of wine experts) and decided that he couldn't do it forever and wanted more. Since then he has been on the journey to start his own brand with an OG entrepreneurial spirit has pulled in favours, made mistakes, pivoted, hustled hard and juggled his 9-5 alongside building his side hustle. An inspiring story of someone who is truly passionate about what they do and who is willing to do whatever it takes to make his idea a success.    Be sure to check it out  https://www.gonzovino.com

Today’s guest we showcase the incredible talent that is Kerryn the face behind the inspiring, Melbourne cult brand Radical Yes. We discuss creating a fashion brand that is conscious and doesn’t play into the fast fashion world, how to fund your fashion startup without investment and creative ways you can do it yourself. Kerryn shares her down to earth tips and lessons on starting small and growing a loyal following that will come on the ride with you. Lots of incredible and actionable advice for someone looking to start their own fashion line and build a brand on your own personal values. 

On today’s episode we caught up with author, speaker and coach Rachel Service from the Happiness Concierge to get her expert advice on presenting, pitching and creating content with confidence. A natural and vibrant speaker herself Rachel has presented a TED talk and runs courses and workshops on presenting, leadership, pitching and so much more. It was an absolute joy to have Rachel on the podcast after meeting her at the very beginning of our careers over seven years ago. 

On today’s episode I chat all things creativity in the most fun and creative way with the fun, energetic and passionate creative that is Struthless aka Campbell. An online content creator who runs a studio, makes  Youtube videos, runs a podcast and illustrates. A legend in the game with honest, to the point and raw advice on how to make an idea stick, the power of creating outside of the box and a living, creating example of someone who has truly turned their passion into a viable business.  https://struthless.com

Nat and her partner have built a thriving marketing company that backs sustainable brands and businesses, Compass Studio. BCorp certified themselves Nat share why it was important for her to build their business with this in mind and how their brand values are reflected across everything they do. She shares some simple yet effective insights into the world of marketing we are all navigating and where and how a brand should go about developing a marketing strategy that works for them and will help to grow and scale their business. 

Recent author and curator of creative spaces and events, Madeleine More just released her first book with the a title that speaks to us all ‘I Didn’t Do The Thing Today: On letting go of productivity guilt.’ A topic that almost every creative entrepreneur and business owner I know struggles with, Madeleine share insights on how to overcome the inner critic that stifles our creativity when we think we haven’t done enough. Madeleine shares her insights into writing the book, getting a publishing deal and tips for those looking to do the same. 

In today’s episode, I chat with the founder of Australia’s new favourite toothpaste brand, RoccNaturals. Whist on materiality leave and surviving a global pandemic with her newborn baby Prue saw a need for a natural and sustainable toothpaste product that would be good for humans and the planet. In the short space of two years, Prue took the idea and not only made it a reality but has managed to scale to the business, off the back of her own funding to an Australian-wide major stockist. Rocc Naturals will officially be stocked in over 830+ Coles retail outlets around the country with an exclusive deal to expand her brand into more households looking to make the sustainable switch in their toothpaste purchases. Prue chats openly and honestly about the fear, risks, research, and rewards of starting and running her own company and the power of creating a brand that is a true and honest reflection of her own personal values and the role that that plays. Enjoy the episode and be sure to head to our Instagra

In today’s episode, I catch up with a fellow creative, author, and good friend of mine Amie McNee @inspiredtowrite for a raw and honest conversation about the comparison. We discuss where and how it shows up in our own lives and businesses and share some tips for overcoming it when it rears its ugly head. Comparison can lead to self-doubt, inaction, and shying away from going after our dreams and goals and can often cause people to quit before they’ve even started. When we are able to catch it in the moment, silence the inner critic and find healthy ways to combat it before it takes charge we are more likely to keep moving in the direction of our dreams and goals and find ways to collaborate instead of compare.

In today’s episode, I chat for the first time ever to the very talented and inspiring creative, author, and designer Ngaio Parr who also happens to be the designer of my book - How to Start a SideHustle. Ngaio has an incredible design career but after experiencing a number of sudden deaths in her life she was compelled to create a resource that she would have wanted to help her through the process. In this episode, we dive into the ‘Grief Companion’ Ngaio’s card deck and guide to experiencing grief and discuss where the idea came from, how she went about pitching it to a publisher, and tips for doing so, making time to work on her side project whilst running her creative design business and her tips for taking an idea and making it a reality. Enjoy the episode and you can check out Ngaio’s work here https://www.ngaioparr.com

In today’s episode, I address one of the most common struggles I see in my business coaching clients and that I have personally had to overcome on a regular basis in my own business - how do you ride the highs and lows of running your own business? Starting and running a business is hard work, full of uncertainty, and can change at any moment. Somedays we’re on top of the world and things seem to be going exactly as we planned and others are filled with fear, setbacks, and overwhelm. Nature is a perfect reminder that all of life fluctuates between different seasons of abundance and loss. Both states are necessary and hold lessons for us to learn. Today I share insights as to how you can emotionally prepare for the ups and downs and preserve your energy to stay the course and keep finding ways to show up and get the job done so as to not burn out in your business.

When life and business present us struggles, challenges, or setbacks there are two ways in which you can approach it, either with confidence and a level of self-belief that you have what it takes to solve the problem, endure the hardship and master the skills required to move through it or to feel a sense of failure, shame, and rejection. Research shows that those who have high self-efficacy ( an individuals belief in their capacity to execute the behaviours necessary to produce a specific performance outcome) are more likely to face challenges as something to be mastered, bounce back from setbacks and rejections quicker, approach threading situations with the belief that they can control them and are more likely to zoom out and problem solve. All necessary qualities for an entrepreneur who is bound to face many highs and lows on their journey of starting and scaling their business.  In this episode, I share research about this topic and tips for increasing your self-efficacy to better equip yourself to endur

In today’s episode, I chat with Anita, the founder of Wordfetti for her tips and tricks on how to best tackle the ever-changing environment of social media. Instagram was once a place to connect, share and market your business direct to your audience world. As the platform continues to prioritise different styles of content, pivot the way in which they determine who sees your content and when and make unpredictable upgrades and even consequences, it’s important to be able to manage your mindset about how to approach using the platform for your business as well as find ways to make it work for you.   In this episode we dive into:  crafting captions  the appropriate call to actions  tips for managing losing followers, engagement or confidence in the platform  what to be posting in uncertain pandemic times   when and where to best engage with your audience   Enjoy the listen and you can catch more of Anita’s work at   https://wordfettigroup.com

I’ve been following Paige aka Delta Venus for a few years now and have been in absolute awe of how beautifully and consciously her artwork and witten pieces have developed into a complete embodiment of self. Starting out in the design industry, Paige decided to follow her ‘strange pull’ that was leading her in a direction that she was taught was most likely not going to get her any success. Shifting from a regular and scheduled routine to being led intuitively, Paige believes that you can create from a place of ease and joy and get the results you want if you can let go of your egoic expectations. We had such a great conversation about her process in shifting to a mindstate of attracting work you love, finding your calling and having the self-belief to achieve what you want in a high performing flow state despite the messages in our society today.

As 2021 begins to wind down, I take some time to reflect and share with you my top lessons learnt from the year that’s been. Both in my business at StartUp Creative HQ but also with my Business Coaching clients from around the globe covering so many different industries and business models. We’ve all had to learn new ways of doing business, surviving the unknown and digging deep to persevere through some of the darkness and hardest conditions we’ve all been faced with. If there’s one good thing that comes out of all this chaos, it’s that we went through it together and there are some solid collective lessons that we can learn from each other to better prepare for the new year, whatever that may bring.   Enjoy my top lessons, would love to hear if you can relate or what your top lessons were from 2021.   If you’d like to binge exclusive podcast content and masterclasses over the holiday season be sure to check out our Business Coaching Academy   https://startup-creative-coaching-academy.mn.co/landing?sp

Today I’m going to talk about Brand Values, a topic that my clients know I cover A LOT in our coaching sessions. Brand Values are so important, they are the core foundations of your business that help to guide your decision-making and outline what you stand for as a brand. As the end of the year is fast approaching, I wanted to give you guys a crash course on how to audit your brand values in your business for 2022 and learn about why they’re important, along with 3 simple steps to develop and implement your values in a practical and clear-cut way.

We’ve all been there, staring at our phone trying to come up with the perfect caption on social media, or reading and re-reading that one paragraph that just doesn’t feel quite right. We all want punchy copy and words with a strong message that resonates with our target audience, which is why I’m so happy to introduce you to the wonderful Ash Chow. She’s a launch strategist and conversion copywriter for online entrepreneurs who want to sell their digital products on repeat. I can attest to Ash’s incredible word slingin’ ability having used her services with StartUp Creative. Today we chat about Ash’s journey having pivoted, learnt, and grown within her own business model to creating the right copy that will set a standard of who you are and what you do in a punchy, straight to the point message.

Looking back on 2020/21 there have been many changes to the way that we do business, some by choice others as a result of ongoing restrictions. The world will not go back to 'normal' so it is vital that we recall what we have learnt throughout the ever-changing business environment and begin to implement new ways to safeguard, protect and preserve your business for the new landscape unfolding before us. In this episode, I suggest some ways in which we can reflect on the lessons learnt and make plans for the new year. •what were the biggest learnt for small businesses during and post the global pandemic •what can we expect moving forward •how can we best prepare to face sudden changes and uncertainty moving forward   If you’d like to join our Business Coaching Academy for more trainings and resources you can do so here https://startup-creative-coaching-academy.mn.co/landing?space_id=6207311  

What’s your flow state? Are you waking up on Monday morning, crunching hours, and feeling exhausted with the amount of work you think you need to do? Or, are you putting your focus on tasks that feel right for you at that moment? Today I wanted to discuss with you the whole idea of timing and getting into a manageable and comfortable flow state. Sometimes we can be so hard-hitting, fast-moving, and embrace a more masculine side of our energy, other times we embody the more feminine, floaty, and gentle side. In order for us to continue growing our business and ourselves, we must find the perfect mix of these two sides. I wanted to share with you two personal stories of divine timing. Of wanting something so badly but not having it work out for you, to one day having the opportunity present itself in a way you least expected it. I want to encourage you that if you’re creating something right now and it’s not happening, tune in to yourself and see what flow you need to get into to let it come to fruition. I’m re

If you’re looking for a story of resilience and holding firm to your dream, this is it. It’s an honest account of what it takes to make a dream a reality no matter what the obstacles may be. Sheree is a friend and colleague in the female business space and the founder of One Roof, an online community platform for women with 450 members across Australia today. Sheree shares her story from such an authentic and truly honest perspective and really puts it all out on the table for us. She’s a self-proclaimed “dive in without thinking and deal with the consequences later” type person, and she’s doing such an epic job of it. We chat about her beginnings in the cooperative world and feeling like a total fish out of water, not knowing what her true career identity was and finding her passion in wanting to close the gender gap for women in the working world. Once she took a deep dive into the wonderful work of startups, Sheree found herself starting co-working spaces from an Airbnb and a building about to be demolishe