Creating Your Own Path

Today's show is the first in a three-part series featuring Rebecca Plumb and Meghan Phillips. Together, they run Honey Agency, which is a creative agency based out of Sacramento that focuses specifically on food and beverage brands. They are also the masterminds behind Sacramento’s Creative Mornings chapter.

In the interview today, we talk about their past corporate careers and why working for a larger company helped them both develop professionally. We also chat about how a branding agency brands itself, why being too “on the nose” with your branding can be a turn-off, and why hiring incredibly talented people has driven much of their company’s success.

SHOW NOTES:

-Honey Agency

-Honey Agency on Instagram, Pinterest + Facebook

-Rebecca on Instagram

-Meghan on Instagram

-Sonoma State

-Chico State

-Java City

-Cupcake Vineyards

-The Creative Digest (Extra interview snippets + the CYOP Slack Community!)

You can also find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s show is the first ever co-hosted episode of CYOP! I’m excited to bring the Melanie Biehle back on the show every so often as a cohost. She is an incredibly talented artist and designer and she’s also the 2017 CYOP Artist Resident.

In the episode, we step away from the interview format and just have an open discussion about what’s going on in our respective businesses right now, some of the big changes we’ve both made over the last few months, and how it’s all shaking out.

SHOW NOTES:

-Check out Melanie's art

-Melanie on Instagram, Pinterest + Twitter

-Melanie's pop-up event in Seattle

-Me on Instagram, Pinterest + Twitter

-My office hours

-Google Hangouts

-Slack

-Melissa Camilleri Anicich

-Steph Jagger

-Thanks to Sandra + Adina for asking awesome questions!

-The Creative Digest (Extra interview snippets + the CYOP Slack Community!)

You can also find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s show is our first Tuesday Tips + Tricks episode of the season and it’s sponsored by Twenty20, which is a stock photography site where creatives like us can go to find inspiring, authentic stock photos taken by real-world photographers.

I was pretty excited when the team at Twenty20 reached out about sponsoring the show. I’ve been having trouble finding the time to stage all of the photos I need to go along with my written or audio content, but I was also really interested in finding out more about the company. So, I wrangled an interview with Co-founder and CEO Matt Munson to see if he could share, not only the company’s backstory, but also some best practices for using stock photography in our businesses.

SHOW NOTES:

Twenty20.com/cyop

Twenty20 on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest + Twitter

Tarte Yogurt

More about the transition from Instacanvas

Today’s episode is brought to you by Twenty20, where creatives go to find inspiring, authentic stock photos taken by real-world photographers. Head to Twenty20.com/cyop for a seven-day trial with five free photos!

On today’s show, we’re back one final time with Micaela and Dawn Marie Hoo, the mother-daughter team behind the skincare line Drifter Organics.

Last week, Micaela and Dawn Marie shared how they funded the launch of their brand and were incredibly generous in sharing the resources and tactics they found useful as they navigated their crowdfunding campaign. And after all of that, I was super curious to know what might be next for these two.

Today, we talk about their plans for Drifter Organics moving forward, why wholesale has become a pretty attractive option for them, how Micaela plans to juggle all of her passions and career goals, and some really solid advice for anyone out there who wants to start something from scratch.

For more, head to creatingyourownpath.com.

SHOW NOTES:

Oh My Drifter

Micaela on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter + Facebook

Drifter Organics

Drifter Organics on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter + Facebook

Brit + Co. Remake Festival

West Coast Craft

Dandelion Post

Be Clean

Legion

Good Earth Natural Foods

Of a Kind

The Creative Digest

(Extra interview snippets + the CYOP Slack Community!)

Today’s episode is brought to you by Twenty20, where creatives go to find inspiring, authentic stock photos taken by real-world photographers. Head to Twenty20.com/cyop for a seven-day trial with five free photos!

Today we’re back with Micaela and Dawn Marie Hoo, the mother-daughter team behind the skincare line Drifter Organics.

In last week’s show, we heard how Micaela’s career began and what led the two to launch the new brand. If you haven’t had a chance to hear to that episode, I’d recommend going back and listening to it before you listen to today’s show.

Today we’re getting into the funding model for Drifter Organics. Micaela and Dawn Marie opted to use crowdfunding to launch the company and they are going to be sharing a lot of the benefits and challenges involved with funding a business that way. We also chat about why crowdfunding isn’t always about money, why running a campaign can be such an emotional rollercoaster, and how the two prepared themselves to make their campaign successful.

SHOW NOTES:

-Oh My Drifter

-Micaela on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter + Facebook

-Drifter Organics

-Drifter Organics on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter + Facebook

-Drifter Organics Kickstarter campaign

-Creative Live crowdfunding course

-Christopher Hawker's crowdfunding course

-Indiegogo

-Skillshare

Today’s episode is brought to you by Twenty20, where creatives go to find inspiring, authentic stock photos taken by real-world photographers. Head to Twenty20.com/cyop for a seven-day trial with five free photos!

Today’s show is the first in a series with mother-daughter team Dawn Marie and Micaela Hoo of Drifter Organics. Drifter Organics is an all-natural skin care line that launched after a very successful Kickstarter campaign. You may also know Micaela from her popular fashion and lifestyle blog, Oh My Drifter.

In the interview, we talk about how Micaela got started with her creative career at the young age of 14 and how her mom, who was at stay-at-home mom at the time, was able to be there for Micaela as she explored her creativity. We also get into how they work together as a team on Drifter Organics—especially since they have very different work styles and personalities—why they launched a skincare line when it was clear that Micaela’s first loves were photography and design, and why Micaela’s whole career is about asking—for help, for opportunities, for support, and more.

SHOW NOTES:

Oh My Drifter

Micaela on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter + Facebook

Drifter Organics

Drifter Organics on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter + Facebook

Tim Walker's photography

Gretchen Ruben's Happier podcast

100 Days of Discussion (Use code: MOM17 for 25% off print books!)

Subscribe to the Creative Digest

Please find the full episode + show notes at creatingyourownpath.com.

Today’s episode is brought to you by Twenty20, where creatives go to find inspiring, authentic stock photos taken by real-world photographers. Head to Twenty20.com/cyop for a seven-day trial with 5 free photos. Again, that’s twenty20.com/cyop.

We're officially getting into the swing of things this season and today’s show is our first full-length episode featuring the first ever CYOP Artist Resident, Melanie Biehle. Melanie is an artist and designer based in the Seattle area whose work is full of bright colors and bold patterns.

In the episode, we talk about Melanie’s long and winding path to becoming an artist, the process behind the work she creates, and why she isn’t emotionally tied to the term fine artist. One of the things I find most intriguing about Melanie is how open she is to trying new things—from new mediums to interesting sales channels. We also talk about how that mindset was expressed in her application for the CYOP Artist Residency and why she was ultimately the best fit for the show’s fourth season.  

She’s incredibly talented, kind, and funny and I’m really looking forward to working with her this year.

SHOW NOTES:

-Check out Melanie's art

-Melanie on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter

-Alt Summit

-Minted

-Society6

-RedBubble

-Saatchi Art

-The Creative Digest (w/ access to the new Slack Community!)

As always, you can find all recent and past episodes of Creating Your Own Path at creatingyourownpath.com.

In today's episode—the first of Season 4—I'm sharing a few details about what you can expect from CYOP in the months to come, why I'm not throwing a huge party to celebrate hitting 100 episodes, a recap of everything that's gone down in the last several months, and a peek at next week's interview with CYOP Artist Resident Melanie Biehle.

From signing an office lease and writing a book to launching an artist residency and creating a new community for CYOP listeners, I'm sharing a lot of fun new projects. However, I'm really excited for you all to hear what's in store for the fourth season of the show.

SHOW NOTES:

Season 3 Finale

100 Days of Discussion

CYOP Artist Residency

Melanie Biehle

The Creative Digest

(w/ access to the new Slack Community!)

As always, you can find all recent and past episodes of Creating Your Own Path at creatingyourownpath.com.

On today's show—the 99th episode of CYOP and final episode of Season 3—I'm sharing three of the big lessons I've learned over the last three seasons of producing a podcast.

In the episode, I tell you my download numbers and why they matter, the original purpose of the show, the humbling side of podcasting and why getting to know those of you who listen each week has offered up the biggest lesson of all.

Thank you for another great season, everyone! For the full episode + show notes, please visit creatingyourownpath.com.

Today I’m chatting with Ginger Elizabeth Hahn of Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates here in midtown Sacramento. In the interview, we talk about Ginger’s past and how it shaped her love for food. We also discuss the realities of going to culinary school and the many (many) jobs Ginger took on before starting her own brick and mortar business.

What struck me most during this interview is the way Ginger made things happen—even when she was stuck in the business catch-22 of needing start-up capital to launch something, but needing to launch something successful in order to be approved for start-up capital. I also really appreciated her honesty about the challenges she’s worked through as her business has grown, her dedication to quality in both her products and her team, and her ability to see both the big picture and the finer details of her work.

For the full episode + show notes, please visit creatingyourownpath.com.