Authority Builder Podcast | Client-Winning Strategies for Coaches, Consultants, and Creatives Who Want to Lead With Authority.

How would you like to get your work in front of these decision-makers?  Well, you can. All at the same time. I’m going to tell you why DEA is not like any other awards, and why you need to consider entering to further your business. Because chasing the silverware is child play compared to the other advantages of this award scheme.

Deborah Dawton, Chief Executive at the DBA talks to Charlotte about her experience of the most common challenges to agency growth and how to navigate the business aspect of design more easily. Listen into this episode for topics like: How can design business leaders close the gap between agency and client Why proving ROI is such a powerful tool to leverage in business development What the changing...

Lorraine Ball, former agency owner and founder of the Digital Toolbox Community talks to Charlotte about converting curious prospective clients. Listen into this episode for insights like: How do you convert random visitors to your website into prospects, customers and even raving fans? Why and how will narrowing your target audience actually grow your business Which is more valuable social media...

All too often when we do dedicate time to marketing, it’s an uphill battle because we do it so infrequently.  If only someone would tell us what to do, make it easy, give us a to-do list. I know I wish that’s what I’d had when I was in-house. So here are my top tips for creating a marketing plan that is easy to repeat, delegate and will help grow your business.

Often, new business planning is done on the fly, with little consideration about how compatible the prospect is with your business.  I’m often asked how to pull together, targeting for a new business campaign. So I thought it’d be handy to share some points to consider. Here are five ways to screen a new business prospect to see if they are worth the time and energy to approach.

Rob te Braake, Founder at InsightMatters, talks to Charlotte about what an agency needs to know about their finances to set goals and become more profitable. Listen into this episode for insights like: How Bookkeeping Can Drive Profit Growth A Financial Perspective on Goal Setting The Most Commonly Used Key Metrics Better Understanding Profitability Show notes: >> Free agency marketing mini...

It sounds obvious for a design agency to be using Instagram as part of their marketing mix. But I see so many agencies wasting so much time on Instagram; I wanted to explore and unpack when and why it's relevant with someone who's bossing it. We’ve figured out a few fundamental principles to bear in mind if you're planning to use Instagram for your agency…

Ryan Shaw, Executive Creative Director at Landor & Fitch talks to Charlotte about his top tips to post-pandemic design grads. Listen into this episode for topics like: Post-pandemic hiring challenges Developing and sticking to a philosophy that defines your work The best ways to draw attention to your skills and style as a design graduate Tips to graduates about how to thrive in your first age...

Jason Gibb, co-founder of Bread & Jam talks to Charlotte about what a food & drink brand thinks they need at each stage of growth, why so many brands fail in the first year, and how agencies can connect with clients through Bread & Jam Workshops, free of charge. Listen in if you're a creative firm working with food & drink, or any other kind of scaling business. Listen into th...

There are six key hygiene factors that are often overlooked in cold email that really can make the difference between catching your dream client's eye, and ending up in Trash, or worse. Spam. 

Ben Vear, Commercial Director at Minor Figures talks to Charlotte about ambiguous creative assets, rapid global scaling, being a carbon neutral brand and more. Listen in for insights into how rapidly scaling clients feel about business priorities and the role of branded pack design. Show notes: >> Free agency marketing mini course https://kaffeen.mykajabi.com/kaffeen-free-agency-marketing-mi...

I used to be a part of the wonderful Rebel Book Club until my daughter came along and eradicated all reading time.  Now she’s a little older, I find that recommendations of non-fiction books from people I respect are the best way to choose my material for the precious little time I have to read.   But why hog all the fun? I thought you’d like to hear them too, so I’ve made a compilation of the 6 m...

As founder at Farmstand, Steven Novick is  developing the future of food-tech business.  Farmstand promises to deliver healthy, convenient, affordable meals, feed your family in 5 minutes from £4.50/person, use no added sugar, and create no packaging waste. The New York Times said of the company, "with economical breakfast, lunch and dinner, this is wellness for all.” And with a background in...

2020 taught us a lot about working from home, but for many of the businesses I work with, the spare room has been their home office for longer than Covid has dominated the headlines. One thing I feel has impacted smaller, creative businesses disproportionately in 2020, are challenges around asking for money when working from home. Here are 6 items that cost less than £175 total, to allow you to cl...

Today I'm delighted to be joined by Tom Hardy, founder and creative director at Manifesto Studios. 9 years young , Manifesto is a self-described Brand & Communications Accelerator. They're a consultancy and design studio specialising in collaborating with challenger brands. Their clients include Samsung, Red Bull, Vashi Jewellery, Savse (Where a previous Kaffeen Espresso podcast gues...

By this stage, you’ll have seen a hundred or more tips of working, hiring and office partying from home. I know I’ve seen more than my fair share of these articles, encouraging me to spend a ton on stuff I won’t use in the long term. A perfect work set up doesn’t have to cost the earth. Not sure when I’m going to return to a physical office, I refused to spend a fortune on new kit. Here’s how, the...

There’s nothing more disheartening for you or annoying for the prospect, than an ill-timed or irrelevant new business approach. Unless you have something of value to share, the only other time you should reach out to a prospect (to avoid being annoying) is when you have a clear signal that they might be preparing to buy your services. But how on earth to know when is the right time? Here are a few...

Today I'm delighted to be joined by Paddy Willis, CEO and co-founder of Mission Ventures, the UK’s leading independent operator of food & drink accelerator programmes.  Mission Ventures has a board that comprises over 80 years of industry experience along with combined exit values of over £50m for challenger brands they have independently co-founded, including New Covent Garden Soup Compa...

As someone who used to be marketing director at a well funded tech start up, I know the battles involved in getting the brand as visually relevant and polished as the product.  I also know many of my brand agency coaching clients dream of working with the next tech ‘unicorn’, but don’t know how to get an in. Which is why I was thrilled to speak with Natasha Lytton, Head of Brand, Marketing and mor...

Mark St Andrew is an Event programmer and Creative PR and communications leader with more than 20 years experience. I met Mark when he was Head of Communications and Associate Editor at a little event called the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where he was responsible for the creation and development of the editorial output for the Cannes Lions brand (the largest and best known...

Currently looking after portfolio at Organix Brands, Anna has worked across household names including Twinings, Ovaltine, Billington’s sugar, Allinson flour, Silver Spoon, Barclays, Badger Ales and Rio soft drinks.  I met Anna when she was the Brand Marketing Manager at Badger, and she was a client of the agency I was working with at the time. Famously everyone’s favourite client to work within th...

Back in February and March this year Charlotte Ellis Maldari spoke to design agencies up and down (and in some cases, out) of the country for the Kaffeen Annual Marketing & New Business Survey.  The culmination of these discussions is split across two episodes of our shiny new podcast, which are packed full of juicy insights into the state of marketing and new business activities in design age...

If you’ve listened to part one, you’ll know that back in February and March this year Charlotte Ellis Maldari spoke to design agencies up and down (and in some cases, out) of the country for the Kaffeen Annual Survey.  The culmination of these discussions is split across two episodes of our shiny new podcast, which are packed full of juicy insights into the state of marketing and new business acti...

The past few months have made all of us rethink work location. Whether you’re thinking of scrapping the studio, desperate to get back or want to book a one-way ticket to leave the country, we’ve all got new possibilities and challenges playing on our minds when it comes to what we say on the ‘contact’ page of the website.  In this episode of the Kaffeen Espresso podcast, I talk with Holly Griffin....

One of the things I find most frustrating about working with smaller sized design agencies is that they can't stand still long enough to shout about their work when it launches. One of the most significant barriers that most mention is that they can't get photography done in time and to the standard they want. Due to cost, mainly.  In this episode of the Kaffeen Espresso podcast, I talk...