Letters From A Hopeful Creative

In today’s episode Jen dives into eighteen questions covering topics such as making space for the needs of your health in your business, moving from 1:1 to 1:many work, marketing and messaging, preparing your business for starting a family, aligning your offers with your capacity and more.

If you’d prefer to watch a video with timestamps of each question you can find that here.

And if you’d love to have guidance, encouragement, and support every step of the way in bringing more freedom, ease, and intentional growth into your business and never feel stuck or alone again in your journey you can join Jen inside her program Your Simple & Spacious Business before doors close soon on Friday 1st November.

* Submit your letter for an upcoming episode

Letters From A Hopeful Creative is produced by Sonics Podcasts

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener:

“I am a small business owner with chronic illnesses who loves your podcast tremendously. I've learned so much from you, and I come to you today with a question: what happens when you've deeply invested in a business that once did quite well, but is now floundering?

How do I figure out my next steps? I run an online writing school that, in the flush years of 2020 and 2021, easily charged thousands of dollars for tuition that people happily paid. Over the years, fewer and fewer people were willing to pay such large amounts, until at this point we sell membership in the Academy for $67 when we used to charge $2200 for essentially the exact same thing, and even now we don't have many sign-ups anymore.

Part of me tells myself that it's the economy, but I also see businesses doing quite well - usually businesses that help people make money, however, which mine does not do. I am bringing in less than a thousand dollars a month when I work harder than I ever did at a 9-to-5. But because I am chronically ill, I need to work for myself for the flexibility. I have built a beautiful offer suite organised around the online writing school. Objectively, it should bring in a healthy income. But the people are just not coming anymore, and I don't know what to do. I am burned out and don't know what to do.”

In today’s episode Sara and Jen explore the questions we can ask ourselves when we feel like we’re stuck in a slow-down in our business and how to honour our capacity and needs in the process of supporting our business to thrive again too.

Would you love some encouragement and support in your business? Submit your letter for an upcoming episode here.

And Jen’s group program Your Simple & Spacious Business is opening for enrolment this month if you’d love to never do business alone again - find out more this way.

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Get Jen’s free 100 Hell Yes People Toolkit

Letters From A Hopeful Creative is produced by Sonics Podcasts

Do you currently feel overstretched, burned out, or like there’s not enough space for your needs and your humanness in your business? If so, today’s episode is for you.

We’re doing things a little differently today and sharing an interview Jen did on one of her favourite business podcasts, Off The Grid, where the wonderful host Amelia asks Jen some really insightful questions around reshaping her business to truly work best for her, how to stop building burnout into your business, plus why fluctuating income in business is so normal and Jen’s approach to gentle and human marketing too.

Join Jen for her Revitalise Your Marketing workshop

Get Jen’s free Simple & Spacious Deep Dive Kit sent straight to your inbox

Listen to more Off The Grid episodes

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In today’s episode we’re switching things up a little and sharing a recap and debrief from Sara’s recent launch, the biggest lessons she learned, and our thoughts and experience on launching in our business and some encouragement for you if you have a launch you’re bringing to life soon too.

Would you love some encouragement and support in your business? Submit your letter for an upcoming episode here.

Find out more about Sara’s summer school

Watch Jen’s behind the scenes planning video for her upcoming launch

Jen’s 100 Hell Yes People toolkit (100% free for you to dive into!)

Escaping the Attention Economy: Resonance Over Reach with Jay Acunzo on Off The Grid

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In today’s episode we dive into listener questions all about Instagram - from building engagement up, feeling hopeful and excited about the platform again, coming back after a long break, adapting to creating more video content, whether to use hashtags anymore and lots more.

Join Sara for her Instagram Summer School

Would you love some encouragement and support in your business? Submit your letter for an upcoming episode here.

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In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener:

Lately, I've been inspired to grow my non-client work and my unpaid projects into a bigger part of my business. I have a published book, a podcast, and regular events - but they're not closely related to each other!

This makes it really hard to grow any one of them, let alone all of them, when my client work is what pays the bills.

I end up prioritizing client work above all these other projects, and I end up with very little time to spend on growing these other projects that I'd prefer to be the focus of my future. I have a gigantic list of ideas and dreams related to these projects, but it's felt like my paying client work is "getting in the way."

Do you have any ideas on how I could create the time or space to grow my lesser-paying work when my client work isn't the dream?

In today’s episode Sara and Jen explore how we can balance the work that pays the bills and the creative projects that truly light us up and create more space for all of the things we want to create, explore, and experience in this journey.

Would you love some encouragement and support in your business? Submit your letter for an upcoming episode here.

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Looking for a podcast editor? Our editor currently has some space for new clients.

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener:

Please can you talk more about the failure/success connection and how we can pick ourselves up and move past the failures when we’re struggling with our confidence and self belief?

In today’s episode Sara and Jen dig into their relationship with failure in their business, why highs and lows are normal in this journey, and how to hold ourselves through the emotional rollercoaster along the way.

Would you love some encouragement and support in your business? Submit your letter for an upcoming episode here.

Find out more about Sara’s The Insta Retreat

Find out more about Jen’s gentle mastermind for small business owners: Steady

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In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener:

I am not great at the IG game, and I prefer to focus on sharing quality work versus creating reels that don't resonate with me and my style. Do you have any ideas on how to continue to build my audience without sacrificing my quieter style, "not in your face" approach, and build an email list?

In this episode we dig into the question, share our experience with gently and sustainable growing and nurturing our audience, and our encouragement for doing so in your business too.

Would you love some encouragement and support in your business? Submit your letter for an upcoming episode here.

Find out more about Jen’s gentle mastermind for small business owners: Steady

Get Jen’s Deep Dive Kit

Get Jen’s 100 Hell Yes People toolkit

More from Sara

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Letters From A Hopeful Creative is produced by Sonics Podcasts

In this episode we catch up for spring and dive into what’s been going well in our businesses, what we’ve been finding challenging in this season, and what we’re working towards in our businesses right now too.

If you’d love to listen to a really honest chat between two business besties, we recorded this episode for you.

Links mentioned:

Sara has some availability for 1:1 clients

Get 100 Hell Yes People - Jen’s new free toolkit

And Jen’s group program, Your Simple & Spacious Business, is open for enrolment until Friday 24th May if you’d love to never do business alone again

And you can listen to Jen’s interview on the Off The Grid podcast

What Jen’s simple and spacious workweek looks like

What Jen’s learned about running a gently thriving group program

Laurel Denise planners

Dr Becky

And our inbox is open for new letters for upcoming episodes if you’d love our encouragement and support in your business

Jen here with two supportive resources for you today ✍🏻

First up: I have made an awesome and free new toolkit called 100 Hell Yes People to support you to make a gentle, joyful, and sustainable plan for reaching 100 hell yes people at a time in your business.

I have been fully booked and thriving in my business since 2015 all thanks to this approach to marketing, by opting out of the lie that we have to build as big an audience as possible, and you can have the toolkit sent straight to your inbox (for free!) this way.

I also recently recorded a free office hour that I’m sharing in today’s episode covering topics such as clarifying the deliverables of our offers, what to do when our business is successful but we’re not happy, how to navigate a downturn in enquiries, navigating stress and anxiety in our work and more. If you’d rather watch the video with timestamps you can here.

And my group program for business owners who want to bring more ease, joy, and intentional growth into your work and life is opening for enrolment again very soon on Monday 13th May and waitlist subscribers will get early access and an awesome 1:1 bonus and discount code too. You can find out more and join the waitlist this way.

I hope these free resources can be supportive and encouraging for you in your business!

Photo credit: Unsplash