Digital Discussions Unfiltered

At the start of a new year it can be tempting to take a punt and start your own business, and hey, don't let this sound like we're trying to discourage you - go for it!

However, to kick off a new year of podcast episodes, myself and Liane (aka. @thecontent.creator) bring the tough love of the realities of how much it costs to run a business. Because it does.

If you just want to and expect to run your business and it not cost you a penny, you may have a rude awakening. There are many things that add up quickly and yeah, some are not critical but they may save you time, energy & sanity!

In this episode, we open up about costs within our own businesses including things such as:

• Marketing
• Accountancy
• Insurance
• Business banking
• Outsourcing

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We'd love to get your take on the subject, so please do drop us a DM on Instagram to let us know your thoughts & feedback!

Liane's previous guest episode, her area of expertise & get to know her - Episode #55 - SEO & Shopify with Liane aka The Content Creator

Find & follow Liane - Website | Instagram

Find & follow Lorna - Website | Instagram

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE ECOMMERCE ACCELERATOR [TEA]

Alex Williams, the founder of The PCOS Collective and WIT (Weight Inclusive Training) membership joins me for a slightly different episode this week to share her experience with starting a business without feeling like she knows how to run a business.

In this episode I dug deep with Alex around the topic of starting a business and simply 'going for it'. We cover things like:

→ Her 3 biggest challenges only having been in business for less than a year

→ What made her launch a membership

→ Ways she's found best to market her service-based business

I absolutely loved this truly transparent, open and frank conversation with Alex. She's clear very passionate about helping people with PCOS, and she's very openly shared her journey in building a sustainable service based business, a membership to help her industry

Find & follow Alex: Instagram PCOS Collective | The PCOS Collective | Weight Inclusive Training Website | WIT Instagram

From not knowing what you want to do with your life, to making hard decisions and going against the 'norm' after university and taking a punt on yourself, that basically sums up the lovely Maddy!

Maddy Russell, the founder of Paiv Creative, the branding designer who is on a mission to build brands that feel like home has a story that doesn't sound like everyone else's. When I asked Maddy to be a guest on the podcast it was because I was very aware of her work, especially for the likes of SheCanSheDid and The Parent Education Company. And in our pre-recording call, we chatted about the topic we could discuss.

Having heard how she got to where she is, not following the status quo after university, sitting I those rooms and being told that she literally needed to be louder, to change herself to be successful, she said hell no to that and created a business that works for her.

She attributes a lot of her success to simply knowing what was and wasn't for her. Clarity, such a powerful thing!

I absolute loved chatting the Maddy and I hope you can resonate with her story. And as cliché as they may have seemed, be sure to check out what would Maddy of 2021 say to Maddy from 3 years ago - all stellar advice!

Find, follow and work with Maddy: Website | Instagram

It's your second episode in the Tough Love Tuesday series, the monthly collaboration with Liane aka. The Content Creator.

Once a month, we're going to be sharing our (and yours) gripes which we think some people just need to hear. We're officially dishing out the tough love.

In this episode of TLT, we're talking about the icks and irks of webinars. From the overpromises, the over pretentious titles & the misinformation, all the way to the format of the webinars and pricing.

We talk about;

• why we think people host webinars in the first place
• what we think you should do instead if you're going to host your own webinars
• what do look out for as a consumer who is looking at signing up for these webinars

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We'd love to get your take on the subject, so please do drop us a DM on Instagram to let us know your thoughts & feedback!

**The audio isn't the best, I apologise for this. However, as mentioned in my Season 2 announcement, I've decided to upload the completely authentic version of this episode - they're not edited. We tried a certain piece of software and will be switching to provide better sound moving forward.

Liane's previous guest episode, her area of expertise & get to know her - Episode #55 - SEO & Shopify with Liane aka The Content Creator

Find & follow Liane - Website | Instagram

Find & follow Lorna - Website | Instagram

Quirky Card Queen, Sasha Gupta, founder and face of Cheeky Zebra THE quote cards for real life joins me for this episode to share the real life stories behind running a small, product-based business. She did not disappoint!

In this episode we covered;

→ overcoming family pressures & acceptance

→ big lessons she's learnt from running paid campaigns & trying new product launches

→ what 3 things she would say to past Sasha

→ her opinion on using platforms like Etsy, Amazon & eBay

It was honestly such a joy to get the perspective of a small business owner who shows up, is in the thick of running her business, designing her products and riding the waves of growing a brand & business online.

Find, follow & buy from Sasha at Cheeky Zebra: Website | Instagram

Does all the chat of funnels just freak you out?

Is it because of your ad or your offer? In this weeks episode I spoke to the incredible Jackie Muscat, the woman in the know when it comes to helping course creators and coaches sell more. We discussed

→ the importance of language

→ persuasion triggers within your copy (both in ads AND landing pages)

→ the biggest mistakes Jackie sees on the daily.

I personally learned a lot from talking to Jackie and it's helped me make changes to my own business so I just know you're going to love this episode. Whether you're thinking about running paid social media ads or wondering why you're not converting those who arrive on your landing page, this episode will give you some great tips & starting points!

Join the conversation! Let me know what you thought about todays episode over on Instagram - @LornaScullyUK

And you can find, follow & work with Jackie: Website | Instagram

Therese is a sales pro who is in the know when it comes to getting your products stocked on the shelf in stores. Not only does she have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to packaging & pricing your products to make sure they are shelf ready, but she has a clear passion for helping small businesses get there.

During this weeks episode I chat to Therese about all things wholesale. I've found it forever fascinating and I think you will do. We cover;

→ the importance of pricing your products right to make sure you can wholesale

→ some of the biggest mistakes she sees on a day-to-day basis

→ plus she breaks down the process of getting you and your business ready

If you own a product based business, this episode is for you! It was wonderful to chat to Therese and really learn something myself. We also touched on the topic of putting ourselves out there more and so much more.

Get involved in the conversation and let me know what you think/what you learned from this episode over on Instagram - @LornaScullyUK

Find, follow and work with Therese here: Website | Instagram

Welcome to the first instalment of our brand new, monthly collaboration called 'Tough Love Tuesdays'. Once a month, we're going to be sharing our (and yours) gripes which we think some people just need to hear. We're officially dishing out the tough love.

In the first TLT, we're talking about why people use the term 'WE' rather than 'I' when you're simply running a business on your own, why it's a gripe for us & other perspectives from our community on Instagram.

We'd love to get your take on the subject, so please do drop us a DM on Instagram to let us know your thoughts & feedback!

**The audio isn't the best, I apologise for this. However, as mentioned in my Season 2 announcement, I've decided to upload the completely authentic version of this episode - they're not edited. We tried a certain piece of software and will be switching to provide better sound moving forward.

Liane's previous guest episode, her area of expertise & get to know her - Episode #55 - SEO & Shopify with Liane aka The Content Creator

Find & follow Liane - Website | Instagram

Find & follow Lorna - Website | Instagram

Starting season 2 with a bit of a bang. The purpose of this podcast is to open up conversations that just aren't had enough.

Over the last month or so we suffered the loss of an incredible human being, a family member of mine. And yet when it came to having to continue running a business that pays the bills and cope with grief at the same time, it felt impossible. I had no clue how to deal with it.

Why? Because it's never talked about. And yet, death is inevitable. If you're a business owner for decades, it's highly likely that you are going to have to deal with the loss of a loved one. Whether it's a parent, a friend or a pet - you are entitled to grieve in whatever way you need to. Pain is pain. Grief is grief. You're allowed to, just know that.

Your business will not die. The world will not stop turning. You're going to get through it, I promise.

And this episode I just wanted to share my experience in the hope it would help someone. Because it's a reality of being a business owner.

If you ever want to talk to someone, you want to get involved in open discussions, be a guest, whatever - Let's chat! We're all human and we all need to support each other.

My DMs and inbox are always open. Find me on Instagram > @lornascullyuk

In this episode, I speak to the lovely Emma Buchan who is a transformation coach after having been there and done it herself and now helps others gain more confidence and self-belief in themselves and their abilities.

And today's she's going to chat to us all about mindfulness, why it's important and how we can incorporate it into our busy, online, daily lives.

Emma gives us a quick grounding exercise to go through together which will bring us back to being aware of our surroundings; we chat about paying attention with purpose; how it can relate to running your business day-to-day and so much more.

If you found what Emma was talking about interesting, you can find her: Website | Instagram