Creative Business Rebellion: Anti-Strategy & Sorcery for a Wildly Successful Small Business

In this episode I'm chatting with graphic designer Stacy Fredericks Just when everything was moving online and going digital Stacy made the bold decision to move toward print. Listen in as we chat about how she came to that decision, how she works with business owners to create physical items that will "surprise and delight" their clients and to hear us get a little bit nerdy about paper and the j...

In this episode I'm chatting with another awesome member of our team, Emily! Emily is the social media maven for Brioka, is the most-seen face on our reels, and one chatting with you in the comments. Emily is sharing some AMAZING advice when it comes to social media. If you're tired of all the overcomplicated social media guidance, then you will LOVE Emily's realistic, attainable steps for a stron...

In this episode I am talking to Megan Bennett. You may already know her as Megan - Team Amy Takes Pictures or Megan - Team Brioka. That's right, she's my awesome right-hand-gal! But she's not only my assistant, she's also a Maker herself. Listen in to hear us chat about how Megan found her authentic voice as an artist, what it's like behind the scenes around here, and a bunch of fun stuff we didn'...

In this episode I am chatting with expert Etsy seller and business coach, and host of the Crickets to Cha-Chings Podcast, Lauren Keplinger! Lauren has been selling on Etsy for 10 years and has earned more than $800,000 in revenue in that time!  She has definitely cracked the code to selling on Etsy and she now shares that knowledge with other Etsy sellers through her Coaching business.  Listen in...

In this episode I'm talking in depth with fellow Nova Scotian photographer DeeDee Morris. DeeDee's creative work is stunning and powerful. She works primarily with women, capturing their true essences by getting to know them deeply and personally. Everyone has a different story to tell and DeeDee gives women the space to get vulnerable and real. And raw. Listen in to hear DeeDee talk about her pro...

In this episode, I'm chatting with multi-passionate artist coach, Diane Foy. You may have heard that you MUST choose a niche as a creative and you must only ever do ONE thing in order to be successful. Diane disagrees. Her refreshing perspective embraces the idea that creatives are multi-faceted and can bring more than one thing to the table. Diane believes that artists have the power to change li...

In this episode, Jeff is back and we're breaking down how to outline your online course. Last week we talked about narrowing in on your course topic, and this week's chat is the perfect follow up. It maps out the journey your students will take from where they are before they take your course, through to the transformation or acquired skillset. In our free workshop next week, we'll be digging deep...

The online learning market is growing rapidly and is on track to become a $375 billion a year industry within the next few years. Want a piece of that pie? We're going to help you get it.   In this episode, Amy is joined by fellow co-founder of Brioka, Jeff. They're sharing exactly how to choose a course topic that you'll love teaching and that will attract students (even if there's already lots o...

Happy New Year! In this episode, Amy talks about goal setting for your boldest year yet in your creative business. And "bold" might not be quite what you think… From small, meaningful goals to big, bold goals, now is a great time to reflect on the year ahead and what you want and need from it; for your life, your business, and your creativity. Amy talks about goal setting and breaking those goals...

In this episode, we're revisiting one of my most-listened-to episodes of this season: Our Big Business Reveal. In this episode, I'm speaking with my business partner (and husband), Jeff Brooks - and we're sharing all the details on our brand new business, an online course platform, marketplace, and community for creatives. Listen in to hear our plans and vision for our course platform, how we'll b...

In this episode, I'm revisiting one of my most-listened-to episodes: Leaving a Day Job.   In Leaving a Day Job, I share the story of how I walked away from a day job for the last time exactly 5 years ago to the day. With no savings, no prospects, and no activity in my business for months, I took a major risk - and it paid off BIG TIME.   From the final straw to the tears that led to my breakthroug...

In this episode of Bold Company, Amy and Jeff are talking about how you can add more profit and income to your creative business without creating more work for yourself. Scalable income comes in many forms, and they can provide more stable, consistent, and sustainable income for creative businesses. But are they really worth it? Does it really require no additional work? And what exactly can you d...

In this episode, I'm speaking with creative business and jewelry maker, Amanda Sampson.   Amanda started her jewelry business in 2019, growing it continuously as a side hustle until COVID-19 forced the closure of her restaurant. Amanda threw herself full-time into her jewelry business, Night Moves Atelier, which developed a passionate fan-following and landed a spot in a show for emerging designer...

In this episode, I'm speaking with Mari Reisberg: therapist, performer, creativity coach, and host of the Sustaining Creativity Podcast.    Mari and I talk about her journey as a very creative child, to the world of performing, and then onto her role supporting other creatives. We talk about rejection as a creative (something we all experience), creative self-care, and creating on your own terms. ...

In this episode I'm chatting with Becca Rich, a holistic time coach who helps busy, ambitious entrepreneurs reclaim their time and combat time scarcity.   How many times have you said or thought "there's never enough time"? I've thought it MANY times - today. While scarcity mindset in terms of money is something we hear about often, time scarcity was a brand new concept for me and one I really nee...

In this episode, I'm speaking with creative director and designer of Lemon and the Sea, Samantha Mabe.   Samantha is a web designer, podcaster, and mom - in this episode we dive deep into the idea that success looks very different to everyone, and that what you see on the outside might just not be indicative of how a business really is on the inside.    We also talk about the complexities of juggl...

In this episode of Bold Company, I'm chatting with artist, online educator, and fellow podcaster, Julieanne Steedman.   Julieanne shares the story of her journey from burnt out school teacher to successful creative entrepreneur, how doubt about her talent as an artist prevented her from moving into a creative career earlier, and how the idea of success has changed for her over time.   Julieanne's...

In this week's episode, I'm speaking with my business partner (and husband), Jeff Brooks - and we're sharing all the details on our brand new business, an online course platform, marketplace, and community for creatives. Listen in to hear about how we evolved as business owners over the past four years and how we decided to create something totally new, together. You'll also hear all about our pla...

In this episode of Bold Company I'm chatting with Lauren Saunders, business mentor and entrepreneur who shares with us how mindset and manifestation aren't just buzzwords - they're important, valuable, and legitimate pieces to the success puzzle. There's a lot of talk about mindset and manifestation in the online business world, and sometimes they're romanticized concepts that don't seem like they...

In this episode, I'm welcoming artist, designer, and podcaster Duane Jones to Bold Company. Duane and I talk about some of the very real struggles of running a creative business, include what it's like when you just can't find the motivation to create, pricing yourself in a way that honours your time, talent, and work, when it's actually okay to work without pay, how difficult it can be to outsour...

On this episode of Bold Company, I'm chatting with Emily Thompson of Being Boss fame. We discuss the ins and outs of being a creative boss, how to avoid burnout, and how to embrace the seasonal and cyclical nature of our business. We talk about how important it is to recognize the time to hustle and the time to rest in our businesses, and how we can empower ourselves to take these much-needed brea...

Welcome back to Bold Company! Season 3 is kicking off with this introduction of what is to come this season - and spoiler alert - it's all about being holistically successful as a creative entrepreneur. Hear about not just what we're up to this season, but for 5 ways to have a more profitable and sustainable business , and for a special little tease of something HUGE that we're working on behind t...

In this episode of Bold Company, I'm chatting with photographer and self-portrait artist, Michelle England.   Michelle first picked up a camera as a way to document her children throughout their formative years, and evolved her craft into a creative business where she captures artistic documentary style portraits for women, families, and couples.   As a working photographer, Michelle acknowledges...

In this episode, I'm sharing the story of how I walked away from my day job exactly 5 years ago to the day. With no savings, no prospects, and no activity in my business for months, I took a major risk - and it paid off BIG TIME. To celebrate this magical day, I'm sharing my story with you - from the final straw, to the tears that led to my breakthrough. And, I'm sharing some of my best advice for...

In this week's episode of Bold Company I'm sitting down with Brodie and Michelle, the women behind Canadian slow fashion brand, Blondie Apparel. Brodie and Michelle, with a background as small fashion retailer and fashion designer respectively, founded their company through a love of simple, uncomplicated fashion, small business, and supporting local. As they outgrew their capacity to keep up with...