Beyond the Stories

Today’s guest is multi-talented artist and Art Director Sundari Ferris. I first came across Sundari’s work only a few weeks ago and was instantly captivated by her work which is both personal and emotive.

Sundari’s personality exudes from her work and her Instagram account and I knew I had to get her on the podcast to talk about her business and creative work.

Sundari set up her wedding styling business at the age of just 23 and has since then evolved her business into a multifaceted career which now includes Art Direction, Styling, Painting, Teaching and much much more.

In today’s episode Sundari talks about how she through herself in at the deep end and built her business from the ground up, as well as speaking frankly about the personal challenges that she has faced in the past year that has pushed her even further to evolve her business in a way that works for her.

Sundari has a unique approach to running her business which is a unique blend of emotive artistry and sound commercial business acumen which are the keys to her success.

Sundari talks about in this episode about how she effectively juggles all the different elements of her business, as well as what her creative process looks like and what success means to her.

I am very excited to share today’s episode with you, I have just spent the morning having the loveliest chat with James and Jo Melia, who were honestly a genuine pleasure to chat to. It’s one of the reasons I love doing this podcast so much as it’s a great excuse to chat to people I wouldn’t always get chance to and get to know them a little bit more.

James and Jo create inspirational photography and film for brands with soul, as well as offering courses teaching photography that help people find their own visual style and take photographs that they can be proud of.

James and Jo are super passionate about what they do, working with ethical, eco conscious and diverse businesses. In episode James and Jo talk about how their business has developed over the years and how their style and confidence has evolved and developed.

They also share some of the valuable lessons they’ve learned along the way and at the end give some of what I can honestly say is some of the sages and wisest advice put so succinctly that I have heard for a long time. The culmination of years of openhearted experimentation in discovering their way in the world and their business. A real must for any creative or business owner.

In today’s episode we discuss:

• Finding the thing that makes your heart sing and submerging yourself in it.

• Developing a brand that feels like you, including visual style, language and find your own voice.

• James and Jo’s creative process, the work that lights them up and why

• Experimenting and learning – knowing that you’re going to fail but that you will learn, grow and evolve from each ‘failure’

• Finding people that share your vision and values

• Instagram as a tool for connection and community

• The value in always being a learner in your craft

• Starting small – making small steps and never giving up

• Giving yourself a break

Today’s guest is one of my former clients and now friend Gemma James. I first met Gemma over 18 months ago at a women’s business meet up that I used to run in our hometown Manchester. Gemma is one of those lovely people that you warm to straight away but even more so when you get to know her. Behind her softly spoken manner is one of the strongest people I have had the pleasure of knowing.

Gemma and I started working together not long after a devastating tragedy in her life, that had changed its course forever. We took things slowly in our work together to try and make sense of the road ahead and what the future looked like.

Gemma’s strength and determination also stands out in her ambition in her business and it’s truly been an honour and a pleasure watching Gemma grow into her purpose and develop not only her business idea, but her own confidence in what she has to offer the world, which has culminated this week  in her launch of her website The Lifestyle Project.

In today’s episode Gemma talks very openly about the events that have influenced her, her journey so far and plans for growing The Lifestyle Project into a business that will support and help others. 

We also talk about:

Reconnecting with yourself and your dreams in the face of grief

Resilience, mindset and hope

Creating a business out of the thing that you needed but couldn’t find

How to find your right people

Developing a valuable offering to make a real difference

Expectation, Pressure and Perfectionism

Letting go and trusting yourself and the process

How to put yourself out there when it goes against your nature

Not being all things to all people

The importance of self care and the role it plays in grief and trauma recovery

Being kind to yourself and practicing compassion

Today’s episode is a solo episode, which I haven’t done before. I started Beyond The Stories back in October last year and over the course of those 8 months I’ve tried and failed to do a solo episode at least 3 times. The first time I spent 2 whole days trying to record before giving up. I finally cracked it this week! I think that was partly because the story is something that I really wanted to share. In this episode I take you behind the scenes of my business and talk about something that really helped me move forward and make progress in my business this last few weeks which I hope might help you too. If you’re someone who is struggling with motivation and productivity right now and you’re feeling frustrated that you just can’t put your plan into action, this episode is for you.

I’d love to know what you thought of today’s episode and the new format. It’s the first time I’ve shared a little more of the behind the scenes and it would be great to know if that’s something that was helpful and you’d like to hear more of. Come and say hello on instagram, I’d love to hear from you.

Hey everyone, I hope you are well! Welcome today’s episode, it’s lovely to have you here. Now I am very excited to share today’s episode with you. For anyone that knows me, you will know that one of my favourite TV programmes, if not THE favourite is Escape to the Chateau and its Escape to the Chateau DIY offshoot.  Like lots of people I have spent many a Sunday night watching and dreaming of what it would be like to live in a beautiful chateau in an idyllic part of France where every day (of course!) is romantic, hazy and magical.

 

Well today’s guest Rebecca Jones and star of Escape to the Chateau DIY did what most people can only dream of and made her Chateau dream a reality!

 

Rebecca and her husband Tim bought the beautiful 18th century Chateau De La Ruche in the Pays de Loire 3 years ago and have spent the last 3 years lovingly restoring it into a luxurious and laid Chambre D’hote with heart stopping whimsical charm. Rebecca has such an eye for detail and design, and this comes across in everything, from the beautifully put together interiors to the stunning aesthetic of her Instagram where she documents the story of her days at the Chateau.

 

In today’s episode, with the Chateau gardens in view the birds tweeting in the background (which I kind of wish we did a video recording of this episode for!)  I chat to Rebecca about her move to France and her career change from women’s magazine editor to Chatelain, chef, restorer, florist, interior designer, photographer and marketer, and all the hats she’s put on in her new life at the Chateau. Rebecca talks about how her creativity has flourished and how everything that she has done in her life previously has set her up to really thrive and excel in her new life.

 

I loved chatting to Rebecca, she is so passionate about what she does, about the chateau and what it means to her and her family. She articulates beautifully what it’s like to live there, the ups and downs and talks honesty about what it takes to live the dream.

 

And yes, I did head straight to the overseas section of Rightmove after the call (but my husband may take a little more convincing!)

 

So, if you have a big dream, that you think ‘no that’s not for me, that’s for other people’ I hope this episode might just maybe inspire you to think again.

In this episode we talk about:

What instigated Rebecca’s career and lifestyle change

How she made what most people only dream of a reality

Why taking action is sometimes more important than a plan

Why it’s important to find the ‘thing’ that can sustain you and feed you when times get tough

Creating a beautiful brand that is reflection of you

Allowing creativity to flourish and thrive

Living a life aligned with your values

What it’s like working with her husband and running a family business in the family home

The importance of finding the beauty in the everyday and the magic in the small things

How to redifine what success means

Hey Everyone, hope you’re well and having a good week! Today’s Beyond The Stories guest is marketer turned potter Katie Robbins who you may also know by her Instagram Name Ceramic Magpie.

 

After doing an art a-level at a very academic school, Katie fell into a career in marketing but when Katie became a mum she knew she had a creative itch that she needed to scratch and embarked on a period of experimentation that led her to rediscovered her love for ceramics.

 

In the episode Katie talks about how she turned her passion into the beautiful artisan business that she runs today. We go into detail about what that journey looked like and why you don’t always need a plan!  We also delve a little deeper into the fears and self-doubt that can arise through marketing your business and Katie talks about the Stories she had to overcome to put herself out there and do the work she really wanted to be doing.

In this episode we discuss:

Giving yourself time and space to experiment in your creative life

Being a mum and running a business

Having the self confidence to marketing yourself and your business

Being visable online

Instagram saturation

Finding meaning and purpose in work

Playing Big

Redefining success beyond a paycheck

Welcome back to the podcast after a little impromptu break from me this last month or so. It’s so lovely to be back and feeling a tiny slice of normality in the crazy time. I hope you’re staying safe and well in these uncertain times and I also hope today’s episode is a little bit of escapism that can remind you that while our plans may be on hold, our dreams are not.

 

Today’s guest is Flower Designer and Cut Flower Grower Marianne Slater. Marianne has been running her sustainable, seasonal Flower business, Frances and Rose from her idyllic plot in Derbyshire for over 7 years. Marianne creates beautiful floral designs for weddings, runs workshops from her potting shed and has now launching an eBook to share her knowledge and expertise.

 

Marianne has certainly got an eye for beauty and design but she’s a very astute businessperson too. In this episode Marianne shares her journey, her philosophy for business and the valuable lessons along the way.

In this episode we discuss:

·         How we’re navigating this Covid 19 era we’re in

·         Not making decisions for yourself or your business out of fear

·         Building a values led business as a creative

·         How to know when to invest in your business

·         Re-defining success and going after the goals that are really exciting and ‘tingly’

·         How working with your dream clients can elevate your business and how to find them

·         Experimenting and finding the answers through doing the doing – reassessing, learning going

·         The role of Instagram and community

So today I have something a little different for you. Instead of the usual guest interview, today’s episode is a coaching style episode, where I chat to my guest Holly about the issues and challenges she is currently facing in her business.

I’ve been wanting to mix up the format for a couple of weeks and more importantly I wanted to address some of the questions and challenges that YOU guys are facing right now and I thought doing an episode in a similar way as to how I would run a coaching session would be a good way of doing this hence the new format.

So, I opened this up to my Instagram followers a couple of weeks ago, to ask what are the things that struggling with and what you would like answers to. Today’s guest Holly was one of the first to get back to me. Holly is an SEO and digital marketing specialist that works with creative businesses increase traffic to their websites.

Holly reached out as she was struggling with talking to her audience and had identified that it was her mindset that was holding her back, particularly thoughts around being an imposter and thinking she was never going to make this work.

This is such a universal issue with my clients, I wanted to get Holly on the show to talk to her in more detail and see if we could unpack some of the reasons around her mindset blockers and find a way forward that felt good for her.

 

We cover a lot in the episode including:

·         Feeling pressure to be someone you’re not online

·         How to speak to your audience – what they need to know about you and your work

·         Finding a comfortable way to show up online

·         Doing work that really interests you

·         Imposter syndrome

·         And going for your big dream

 

It’s a really interesting episode as we get to the root of what’s holding Holly back, which might not be what you expect.

Today’s guest is Jessica Rose Williams. Jess is a writer, photographer and simple lifestyle blogger. She has the dreamiest Instagram where she documents her life in the peak district and talks about her passion for simplifying life and slowing down. Jessica is without a doubt one of my favourite people to follow online, not just because of her beautiful Instagram but for how she really trailblazes the way for defining success on your own terms and creating the life you really want beyond the expected norms of society and the corporate world.

In today’s episode Jess takes us back to her time working in HR in the NHS and talks us through the process of self-discovery that led to her changing career to follow the things she cared about most, which also involved a move to her beautiful Peak District cottage.

Jess talks frankly and honestly about her experiences and shares the insight and lessons that she has learned along the way. We talk a lot about letting go in this episode and how that plays such a big part in this journey of carving out a path of your own. Jess really has a unique perceptive insight on this topic which really does make you think about things differently.

Other things we cover in this episode include:

The culture of work and how it’s changing

Defining success on your own terms

Lessons Jess has learned and insights from her own experiences going self employed

Overcoming ‘stories’ we’re told such as, work has to be hard, to do the work we really want to be doing

Finding your voice

Cultivating confidence online

Jess's new e-book a Simplified Life

Today’s guest is psychologist and author Fiona Murden. I first came across Fiona’s work at the back end of 2018 when I bought her book Defining You, which I love! Defining You is a really practical hands on book about understand yourself to unlock your potential for a more fulfilling successful life – right up my street.  The book included lots of tests and tasks that use some of the the clinical profiling techniques Fiona uses as a Psychologist. It’s one of those books that I’m always dipping back in and out of and I’m always recommending it to clients.

In this episode I chat to Fiona about the reasons why she wrote the book and we explore some of the themes including defining your purpose, understanding your values and overcoming fear and self doubt to be doing the work you want to be doing. As well as:

How we define the term purpose and what it practically means.

Why Fiona thinks it's important to have a purpose in your life and business

How people start the process of defining their own purpose.

Recognising your strengths and what value you can offer the world.

What are values and why they’re important?

Connecting with your right people and finding the right environment for you to flourish

How people can create meaning in their life through the work that they do

How doing the ‘inner’ work on yourself can be applied to business.

I absolutely loved the opportunity to chat to Fiona, she’s an expert in her field and has some really sound advice that I hope you’ll enjoy too!