Business in Bloom

Hello, and welcome back to Episode 95! As you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t been sharing new podcast episodes regularly, but today, I’m bringing you a conversation with Sara Duigou. I invited Sara to chat about overwhelm, the busyness of every day life, and more importantly, we chatted about ways that can help us to slow down and come back to centre. I always enjoy my conversations with Sara, and this time was no different.

This is Sara’s second time on the podcast, and her first conversation was on episode 74.

I hope you can take something away from our conversation today, and if you’re craving moments to pause, and reconnect, I highly recommend Sara’s self-led course, Moments of Connection.

Find Sara here:

https://saraduigou.com

https://www.instagram.com/sara.duigou/

Sara's course:

https://saraduigou.com/moments-of-connection

Today’s episode is part 2 of my conversation with Astrid. Last week, we spoke about Substack - what it is, and when it’s a good choice for business owners. Today, we’re going to briefly chat about Astrid’s choice to move away from social media, and how you might want to consider marketing your business away from the likes of Instagram.

Find Astrid here:

https://astridbracke.com

https://astridbracke.substack.com

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/astrid_bracke/

Social media posts:

- Why I left social media to build community around my business - https://astridbracke.substack.com/p/why-i-left-social-media-to-build

- One year later: reflections on 16 months without social media - https://astridbracke.substack.com/p/one-year-later-reflections-on-16

- Move your business away from social - https://astridbracke.com/move-your-business-away-from-social-media/

On today's episode I’m chatting to Astrid Bracke, who was previously a guest on Episode 76. Today, we chat all things Substack - what it is, what makes it different to other newsletter platforms, and why you may want to consider starting your very own Substack.

We talked about:

- What is Substack, and how does it compare to other newsletter platforms

- What makes Substack different

- Growing a community on Substack

- When Substack might not be the right choice

You can find Astrid here:

- Website - https://astridbracke.com

- Substack - https://astridbracke.substack.com

- Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.co.uk/astrid_bracke/

Substack related posts:

- My mini-course: Substack for small business owners - https://astridbracke.podia.com/substack-for-small-business

- Should you move your newsletter to Substack? - https://astridbracke.com/should-you-move-your-newsletter-to-substack/

- Substack 101: how to use and enjoy the platform - https://astridbracke.com/how-to-use-and-enjoy-substack/

Welcome back to Episode 92!

Today’s guest, Emma Ashru Jones, is a fellow coach. I first met Emma when we both enrolled on a coaching certification a couple of years ago, and over time, we’ve gotten to know each other well. Emma is an integral development coach and she explains what that is exactly, her journey to setting up her business and doing scary things even when self doubt is loud.

Just a little note to say this episode was recorded back in 2021.

You can find Emma here:

https://www.emmaashrujones.com

https://www.instagram.com/emma_ashru/

This week’s guest is Susie Jackson. Susie is a freelance mentor, helping other small business owners with their finances, and in particular, pricing their services, which, I’ve found, is often one of the trickiest parts of running a business.

Things we talked about:

- The reason why so many freelancers struggle with getting their pricing right

- Factors to consider when evaluating your pricing

- Pricing when running your business alongside another job

- Increasing your rates with existing clients - what does this conversation look like, and what’s the best approach

- Preparing to go on maternity leave - considering your capacity, and, of course, pricing!

Find Susie here:

Website: https://www.susiejackson.co.uk

Free Resources: https://www.susiejackson.co.uk/free-resources

IG: https://www.instagram.com/the.organizedfreelancer/

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/theorganizedfreelancer?trk=people-guest_people_search-card

This week’s guest is Christina Golian, a writer and coach, and the founder of The Spark Crew - an online membership for creatives. We covered a lot of ground in this interview, exploring Christina’s career journey up until now, her decision to retrain, why intentionally making time for creativity is important, and we also discussed the state of flow - what it is, and how you can reap its benefits.

Things we talked about:

- Career changes and exploring new avenues

- Making time to feed your creativity

- What is flow, accessing the state of flow, and the benefits that come with it

- Establishing a writing practice as a beginner

You can find Christina here:

Chasing Words and Wonder - https://christinagolian.substack.com

The Spark Crew - https://www.thesparkcrew.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinagolian

Connect with me:

https://www.instagram.com/anna_dunleavy/

https://annadunleavy.substack.com

89: Nurturing our creativity and navigating life changes with Sarah Robertson by Anna Dunleavy

My guest for today is Kat Nicholls - Kat is a writer and content creator, currently working for Happiful magazine. I’ve invited Kat to chat to me about choosing to work for another company, and why running your own business isn’t always the right choice. It’s a topic that isn’t often talked about - especially in the sphere of small businesses. We chat about Kat’s decision to move away from her business, and knowing when this is the right choice for you.

You can find Kat here:

https://contentactually.substack.com

https://www.instagram.com/content_kat_

https://happiful.com/author/kat/

Connect with me:

https://www.instagram.com/anna_dunleavy/

https://annadunleavy.substack.com

Things we talked about:

- Kat’s career journey until now

- Her reasons for choosing to close her business

- Finding creative fulfilment in new places

- Doing what’s right for you now, and knowing that you can always change your mind

Today’s guest is Kerry Munro, who runs Minds First - a mental health and mindfulness business, helping to calm busy minds. I chat to Kerry about her own journey to finding mindfulness, the difference between mindfulness and meditation, and the benefits of weaving mindfulness into our day to day life.

Things we talked about:

- What is mindfulness, and what’s the difference between mindfulness and meditation

- Kerry’s reasons behind choosing to work on her business full time

- Creating routines and Matt Haig’s ‘baggy enough to live in’ routine

- Benefits, and struggles of working from home

- Less known benefits of mindfulness

- Self-compassion and being our own worst critic

https://mindsfirst.co.uk

https://www.instagram.com/minds.first/

The podcast is back! I'm so excited to be recording some podcast episodes again. Today, I'm sharing a little update episode to explain why the podcast had such a long break, and what to expect next. I'm so happy to be here!

If you're curious, I've just started a new Substack account, so take a peek here:

https://annadunleavy.substack.com