The Create & Thrive Podcast

Imagine starting a business because you just wanted to make yourself the perfect wallet... and then looking back 6 years later to discover that you've got 12 employees, 2 children, and over a million dollars in revenue?  That's the position that my guest today - Ryan Popov - finds himself in - and as he stated himself in the podcast, he never dreamt he'd be where he is today when he was perfecting that wallet for himself 6 years ago. His business has been incredibly successful in a relatively short timeframe, and in this episode he shares: how (and why) his business has grown so quickly; how he and his wife (who is equal partner) balance work and family; the differences between selling on Etsy and on his own website; how he and his wife took the leap from being employed to full-time self-employment; the marketing strategies that have worked for him, and much more.  I had so much fun chatting to Ryan for this episode - he's clearly passionate about his craft, and about his business, and I hope you enjoy list

It's the silly season! And that means that you're going to be busy - real busy - both in your business and in your life.  So how do you make sure to stay on top of everything while maintaining your sanity? That's what today's podcast is aaaaaall about. I've got 16(!) strategies that will help you stay sane and survive the silly sales season when you're running an online business.

Have you ever thought about running your own Instagram challenge? Maybe you want to grow your followers and your community. Maybe there’s a cause you want to promote, or something you want to celebrate. Whatever the reason, Instagram challenges can be a lot of fun, and a great way to engage your followers… but they are also a LOT of work. In this episode I chat to my friend Amanda Adams about her experience running her successful IG challenge #bpsewvember over 5 consecutive years.

Have you ever had that moment where you thought 'I just don't want to do this any more'? This happens to most of us eventually - especially those of us who have been in business for a long time. How do you know if or when it's time to quit? In this episode I give you some food for thought, and outline a few key questions to ask yourself in order to decide if it really is time to throw in the towel, or if you're jut having a bad day.

Today is the fourth and final week of the course, and in it, I talk about all things business management. I’m going to cover managing a whole range of things – your focus, your energy, your expectations, your business systems, your time, and your schedule. Some of those might seem like somewhat of a surprise, but I promise you – managing all of them well is the only way to ensure everything flows smoothly in your business.

Today is the third week of the course, and in it, I talk about all things marketing. What exactly IS marketing? Why does it matter? What is your Brand Story and how should you tell it? What is visual marketing? What is SEO and why does it matter? I’ll also discuss how to use social media, a mailing list, and more.

Welcome to the Making It Podcourse! It’s back! Those of you who are long-time listeners to the show may remember the original Making It Podcourse I ran in July 2018. Well, I’ve re-organised the lessons, and am bringing this free course to you again in September 2019 – but this time, in weekly chunks. Each episode will be approximately an hour long, packed full of lessons. Today is the second week of the course, and in it, I take you on a money journey – helping you figure out your money story, clarifying what you can expect out of your business in the early days, addressing the ‘what should I charge’ question, clarifying profit, and much more. In September I’ll be releasing an episode once per week, via the Create & Thrive Podcast – on the topics of mindset, money, marketing, and business management.

Welcome to the Making It Podcourse! It's back! Those of you who are long-time listeners to the show may remember the original Making It Podcourse I ran in July 2018. Well, I've re-organised the lessons, and am bringing this free course to you again in September 2019 - but this time, in weekly chunks.  Each episode will be approximately an hour long, packed full of lessons. Today is the first week of the course, and in it, I tell you what to expect, as well as sharing a little bit of my own story for those of you who don’t know me. Over the next four weeks, I’ll be releasing an episode once per week, via the Create & Thrive Podcast – on the topics of mindset, money, marketing, and business management. I’ve created this FREE course specifically for makers – those who create handmade goods to sell. To create this course, I’ve drawn on my 10 years of experience running my own successful handmade business, coupled with over 6 years of teaching other makers about handmade business right here at Create & Thrive

You’ve heard you should be using email to market your handmade business – but how do you get people to open – and act on – your emails? My guest on this episode – Katie Salmon – is a self-proclaimed marketing geek and spends her days dreaming about how to help business owners sell more stuff. Since 2016, she’s been serving clients through her boutique marketing agency Katie Does Marketing, where she has helped shop owners turn email marketing into a lucrative sales channel. But Katie knows that not all businesses are ready to outsource their marketing, so this year, she co-founded Shop Pop, a one-stop resource center with marketing education and templates. Through Shop Pop, Katie hopes to help shop owners get the skills and confidence they need to do better their marketing in less time.