It seems to me that the businesses that thrive, have someone brave at the helm. Someone willing to take a risk, learn something new, develop their experience. This week, we have Florence Kennedy of Petalon. It was a real honour to have her join us to discuss 'Growing Your Experience' - how being willing to learn, to fail, to try is the key to a growing business.

Petalon: https://www.petalon.co.uk
Kennedy and Kennedy: https://www.kennedyandkennedy.co.uk
Innovation for Growth: https://www.bl.uk/business-and-ip-centre/innovating-for-growth
The Do Lectures: https://www.thedolectures.com

This week we are exploring, perhaps literally, the importance if growing your horizons. Our guest is Alex Rebbeck of travel lifestyle brand Atla. We chat about why travel is so important to creatives and founders, how to decide where to go, the changing face of 'business travel' and how you can bring the world to you.

Atla: https://atla.is
The Weekend Journal: https://atla.is/collections/library/
Helen Russell: A Year of Living Danishly - https://www.amazon.com/Year-Living-Danishly-Uncovering-Happiest-ebook/dp/B00Q8SR5L0

Are you ready to grow your business? One of the critical things is to grow your team. This might be employees, freelancers, specialists, interns and covers both juniors and experts. How do you know what you need? How do you recruit them? What do you do once they are on board?

Annabel Partridge and Hamish Budge are quite the dynamic duo. They are part of the team behind Pear Tree Cafe in Battersea Park. They both work hard, seriously hard and have such a great story to share. We discuss how they started the business and grew it into a London hot spot, what it’s like to work with your finance, what growth means to their business, triumphs and tricky spots and how strong company values are key to success.

Pear Tree Cafe - www.peartreecafe.co.uk
How I Built This - https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this
Deliciously Ella's Podcast - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/deliciously-ella-the-podcast/id1428704212?mt=2

In the month of March, the theme is 'Grow' and this week specifically, about 'Growing Your Mindset'. If you are thinking of going freelance, changing direction or intimidated about learning a new skill for your business, then this is for you. My guest is Naomi Bikis, a ceramic artist, and together we explore what it is to have a 'growth mindset'. Naomi's story is such an interesting one - there is so much to enjoy and learn in this episode!

Bikis Ceramics - https://www.bikisceramics.com
Carol Dweck - The Power of Believing That You Can Improve - https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve?language=en
'Conversations' with Richard Fidler https://www.abc.net.au/radio/people/richard-fidler/7689816
Find Your Local Library https://www.gov.uk/local-library-services
Flying The Nest One to One Session with Up With The Lark https://www.upwiththelarkconsulting.com/workwithme

As it’s Valentine’s Day, it seems an appropriate topic. I think that the answer to most of your questions about your creative pursuit is ‘love your client’. Find out who they are, keep up with them, look after to them, listen to them. They will tell you everything you need to know. Like every relationship, it takes nurturing and listening. Our guest, is fashion designer Rachel McCulloch. She has a refreshingly straightforward approach to the topic. The customer is right. Keep up with them or risk failure. If you’ve ever let your focus drift from your customer, this is a great episode to get you back on track.

Have you ever been bothered, distracted or overwhelmed by the competition? Even just for a moment? Then this is for you. Fine jeweller Sophie Breitmeyer shares pragmatic and realistic advice on how to develop your own point of difference, to have faith in your convictions and enjoy supporting those in your market place.

Sophie Breitmeyer - https://sophiebreitmeyer.com
Competitor Analysis - Tuppence Creative - Ally Mackie - https://www.tuppencecreative.com

Have you ever struggled with comparison? My guest, Ruth Marsden of Bright Mama, is an actor and bloggger/vlogger/instagrammer so has a real insight on this topic. We talk about the pitfalls and temptations around comparison but also the hidden gems you can find if you manage comparison in the right way.

Find out more about Ruth here: https://www.thebrightmama.co.uk
Here is the marvellous Lucy Sheridan: http://www.proofcoaching.com

How do you respond to good feedback? Do you shrug it off? Smile momentarily then move on? In this episode I share some thoughts on why taking a compliment well is good business sense!

Have you ever received bad feedback about an aspect of your business? Perhaps the product itself, your branding, your delivery service, your pricing or even you? If you have and you weren't quite sure how to handle it, then this episode is for you. Clio Wood, founder of &Breathe Postnatal will bring you from frustrated, embarrassed, disgruntled or just uncertain to a fresh perspective, a sense of calm and embracing the idea that there is always so much to learn.

Clio Wood - &Breathe Postnatal - www.andbreathepostnatal.com