There's a question I've been hearing from many creative business owners lately, and I don't think most of the voices out there are answering it well. Once you accept that AI has a place in your business, the real question becomes, where. What do you hand over, and what do you absolutely hold onto?

In this episode, I share a framework built on the same thinking that underpins everything I teach and it starts with getting really clear about what's genuinely yours.

• [00:00] Why this episode follows on from last week, and the question many asked next
• [04:25] The distinction that changes everything: work that is genuinely yours, and work that just needs to happen
• [07:36] Three questions you can run any recurring task in your business through to get a clear answer about where it belongs
• [18:00] Why AI means hiring differently, not hiring less and what to look for when you do
• [21:41] The leadership conversation most creative business owners have never been taught, and why it matters more than ever now
• [24:41] The reason most creative entrepreneurs are struggling with what to automate: Why the strengths work is the foundation for this decision

"The work that sits on top of your strengths is the work that has to stay human. It's yours. And the work that surrounds it, that supports it, that enables it, this is the work AI can quietly carry for you."

• Read: This Week's Full Journal Post
• Link: Previous must listen Episode 139 What Creative Businesses Already Have That AI Cannot Replace
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Which tasks in your business are genuinely yours and which ones have you been holding onto out of habit? I'd love to know what shifts when you run them through the three questions in this episode.

Tell me all about it through a DM on Instagram,

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I spent two days inside an AI bootcamp this week and the thing I most want to share isn't what AI can do. It's where you, as a creative business owner, already fit in all of this. Because the key skills that matter most as AI advances, critical thinking, creativity and problem solving are exactly what you already have.

This episode is for every creative entrepreneur who's been quietly wondering if they're behind.

• [02:27] The biggest takeaway from the AI bootcamp i attended and the stats you need to hear
• [06:45] What the world's leading thinkers on AI all agree on"
• [11:26] Why AI can't give you full clarity
• [15:41] The three levels: AI as an assistant, AI as a specialist, AI as an employee
• [19:58] What this looks like in practice for your business
• [23:36] What I would love you to take away

"AI can process data. It can generate content. It can follow instructions. But it cannot see the connection nobody else has seen. It cannot sense what a client needs before they've articulated it. It cannot make the intuitive leap that turns good work into exceptional work. Those are your skills as a creative."

• Read: This Week's Full Journal Post
• Link: Previous must listen Episode 132. AI For Creative Entrepreneurs
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• Link: The Six Month Programme - The Bright Line
• Link: The Base Note
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Has this episode shifted how you're thinking about AI? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Drop me a DM on Instagram. I read every message however old the episode.

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I was asked a question in a recent live session that I think applies to every creative business owner. Whether you're service-based or selling products through stockists, does focusing on a specific ideal client actually matter if you don't control who buys from you?

The answer might surprise you. It's not about demographics. It's about values. And once you understand that, everything can shift.

• [00:00] The question that started this conversation
• [04:58] Why saying "everybody" was the worst answer I ever gave
• [07:25] Why demographics told me nothing, how i got specific, why my buseness then took off
• [15:40] Why this matters even more if you sell through stockists
• [19:07] How to actually figure out who you're for

"When you're for everyone, you're really for no one." Philippa Craddock

• Read: This Week's Full Journal Post
• Link: The Six Month Programme - The Bright Line
• Link: The Base Note
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Has this episode shifted how you think about your ideal client? I'd love to hear what resonated whether you're a service or product business. Please do drop me a DM on Instagram. I read every message however old the episode

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I had a conversation this week with a florist who spent 20 years in banking before starting her flower business. And she mentioned this phrase they used to use at JP Morgan. "What's the so what?" And it's a really interesting question,

Listen in to find out more as it very much applies directly to how we manage our creative businesses.

• Read: This Week's Full Journal Post
• Link: The Six Month Programme - The Bright Line
• Link: The Base Notes
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• Email: [email protected]

What's your so what? I'd love to hear from you. Pop over to Instagram and send me a DM. I always love to know your thoughts and insights after listening to any episode

Subscribe to my weekly newsletter for behind-the-scenes insights, exclusive resources, and first access to new offerings, all designed to help you build your creative business around what you naturally do best.

If you've ever caught yourself apologising after quoting a price or felt that quiet discomfort when someone asks what you charge, this episode is for you.

I talk about why that feeling of discomfort is so common amongst creative business owners, why the work that feels most natural to you is very often your most valuable and how to reframe this to price with confidence.

• [01:24] Why pricing feels so uncomfortable and why formulas aren't the answer
• [02.41:] Deliverables vs. transformation: What your clients are actually paying for
• [08:07] The iceberg analogy and why pricing only the visible tip keeps you stuck
• [12:45] 'Ease is evidence of expertise', not low value: real examples from creative businesses
• [16:20] The mindset shift that makes pricing a very different conversation

"Your clients aren't paying for the deliverable. They're paying for the transformation."

• Read: This Week's Full Journal Post
• Link: The Six Month Programme - The Bright Line
• Link: The Base Notes
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• Email: [email protected]

I'd love to hear from you. How do you feel about pricing your work? Send me a DM on Instagram. I would love to know your thoughts and insights after listening to this episode

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The question I've been asked so many times recently. How do I get the right clients to find me? And it's funny, because the answer is almost never what people expect. It's not about marketing. It's not about Instagram. It's not even about being more visible.

There's something else going on, and I think it's the missing piece that nobody's really talking about. This episode has the potential to change everything about how you attract the right clients to your creative business...

• [01:20] The question I've been asked so many times recently and why the answer is almost never what people expect.
• [03:15] Four completely different creative entrepreneurs, four completely different businesses, all stuck for exactly the same reason.
• [07:20] My shift from being just another florist and what changed when I finally understood what made my work different from everyone else's.
• [08:49] The interior designer who uncovered the thread running through her work and what happened next.
• [11:40] Why more and more creative entrepreneurs are turning to AI for their marketing and why it might be making things worse, not better.

"Vague doesn't attract the right people!"

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• Link: The Six Month Programme - The Bright Line
• Link: The Base Notes
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What's the one thing about your work that clients consistently respond to, even if you've always taken it for granted? I'd love to hear. Drop me a line on Instagram and start a conversation.

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Let's talk about newsletters. Specifically, what makes a really good one for your creative business. And more importantly, why so many of them don't work.

In this episode I share what i've been noticing from the newsletters I love the most right now, what's working in my own, and exactly what separates the ones people genuinely look forward to from the ones that quietly get ignored.

• [00:00] Introduction: What makes a good newsletter, and why so many don't work
• [01:11] Three newsletters I have been reading and why they're brilliant
• [04:46] What I am working on in my own newsletter right now and the platform i use
• [08:55] The Data: Why newsletters are quietly outperforming social media right now
• [11:42] Three things that make a really strong newsletter
• [14:12] Why handing your newsletter voice to AI is one of the most costly things you can do for your creative business
• [18:16] Where people are going wrong
• [20:58] Why your newsletter is the thing that changes everything when you finally have something to offer

"Your website is your home. Your newsletter is how you keep the door open."

• Read: This Week's Full Journal Post
• Newsletter Link: Skye McAlpine – The Dolce Vita Diaries on Substack
• Newsletter Link: Ella Mills – Learning To Live Well on Substack
• Newsletter Link: Rick Mulready – The AI Playbook
• Link: The Six Month Programme - The Bright Line
• Link: The Base Notes
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• Website: www.philippacraddock.com
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• Email: [email protected]

What does your newsletter look like right now or what's been stopping you from starting one?

Whether you're sending consistently, sending sporadically, or haven't yet begun, I'd love to know where you are with it and what feels most challenging. Come and find me on Instagram my DMs are always open for a chat!

Subscribe to my weekly newsletter for first access to new content, behind-the-scenes insights, and resources to support your creative business,

Renowned chef Marco Pierre White once told me my flowers were terrible. Actually, he didn't say that, he said they were "shit"!

This was one of the best pieces of business advice I've ever received, because as a creative business owner there's something really important about understanding your own processes and systems, and not being swayed by clients or other people when you know how you work best. In this episode I discuss why this matters far more than most of us realise.

• Read: This Week's Full Journal Post
• Link: The Six Month Programme - The Bright Line
• Link: The Base Notes
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• Website: www.philippacraddock.com
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• Email: [email protected]

Have you fulfilled a client brief against your better judgement or perhaps you have been brave enough to question it? Drop me a DM on Instagram. I read every post however old the episode and love chatting with you. Many of these conversations lead to future episodes...

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I've been having some really interesting conversations about AI for creative businesses lately, and I think we need to talk about this. Because some of us are using it brilliantly and it's genuinely helping our businesses, some are curious but haven't quite figured out where to start and some have tried it and found it more confusing than helpful. So today, I want to share what I'm finding actually works when it comes to AI for creative entrepreneurs and more importantly, what doesn't work and why.

• [01:24] Why the responses to a simple Instagram question about AI revealed something fascinating and what they say about where we all are with this technology right now
• [08:25] Why AI amplifies whatever you bring to it, and what that means if you're not yet clear on your own foundations
• [10:15] The enthusiastic Labrador: understanding AI's eager-to-please nature and why this matters enormously when you're making strategic decisions
• [12:10] Where AI genuinely earns its place
• [16:48] Why your voice is one of your most distinctive business assets
• [24:01] The environmental question answered honestly

"Clarity must come first. AI amplifies whatever you bring to it. Bring confusion, and you'll get polished confusion. Bring clarity, and you'll get something brilliant."

• Read: This Week's Full Journal Post
• Link: The Six Month Programme - The Bright Line
• Link: The Base Notes
• AI Platform Links: ChatGPT Claude Perplexity
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• Website: www.philippacraddock.com
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• Email: [email protected]

Has this episode shifted how you're thinking about AI in your business?

I'd love to hear where you are, drop me a DM on Instagram. I read all posts however old the episode and I genuinely love hearing from you.

Subscribe to my weekly newsletter for first access to new content, behind-the-scenes insights, and resources to support your creative business,

What if the reason previous courses and business advice haven't worked for your creative business isn't because of you but because they were never designed for the way creative minds actually work? This episode introduces something I've been quietly building for a while: The Bright Line, a six-month programme that takes your exceptional strengths and builds a complete business strategy around them. Built around how you think, how you work, what you naturally do best.

If you have been asking yourself How do I attract the right clients? How do I know what actually makes me different? Why does everything feel so hard in the business when creatively I'm good at what I do? How do I stop undercharging? .... then this episode was made for you!

• [01:20] A spontaneous spring clean of the house and the website and what it revealed
• [02:43] A conversation I keep thinking about: "I feel like a creative person trying to do business, rather than a creative business owner"
• [04:20] Why the majority of courses and coaching don't suit the creative mind
• [06:34] Introducing The Bright Line, a six-month programme built around six pillars, each one connecting to the next
• [20:19] What this feels like day-to-day: clear focus, confident pricing, marketing that finally feels natural
• [23:50] The artist who had been creating for 50 years and what changed when she saw the thread connecting all of it
• [26:34] Who the April intake is for and how to book a personal 45-minute call to talk about your business

• Read: This Week's Full Journal Post
• Link: The Six Month Programme The Bright Line
• Link: The Base Notes
• Subscribe to our Weekly newsletter
• Website: www.philippacraddock.com
• Instagram: @philippacraddock
• Email: [email protected]

I'd love to know, are you feeling there is a gap between your creativity and the business side? Are you struggling with pricing or perhaps how to market yourself in an unforced more natural way? Drop me a DM on Instagram, I would love to be able to help. I read every message however old the episode.

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