The Create & Thrive Podcast

  We’ve all felt it. That stab of guilt when you put a price on your work. Even worse – the fear AND guilt when you RAISE the price on your work. Pricing is an art as much as a science . There are no ‘100% right’ answers. And the price you choose as a beginner should change once you get more experience and your business starts to grow. There are so many elements to thi...

  Handmade Biz Tip #5 – The Customer Isn’t Always Right     Episode referenced in this show:  Episode 3 – How to Provide Outstanding Online Customer Service   Love the show? You can show your support by: Leaving a  review  on the C&T FB page. Leaving a review on  iTunes . Donating  a few dollars towards the costs of producing the pod. Joining the  Thriver Circle...

  Handmade Biz Tip #4 – Why you should claim your name… everywhere!   Love the show? You can show your support by: Leaving a  review  on the C&T FB page. Leaving a review on  iTunes . Donating  a few dollars towards the costs of producing the pod. Joining the  Thriver Circle  – without the members of the Circle, this podcast would not be possible.

    Hey Thriver! This little episode is more of an introduction and invitation than anything else. I’m going to start a new series of episodes on the podcast sharing the stories of successful makers.   These aren’t interviews – they are me, sharing and pondering the stories of successful makers, answering questions such as: How did they get started? What does succe...

  Handmade Biz Tip #3 – Why you Need to Find Your Micro-Niche   Love the show? You can show your support by: Leaving a  review  on the C&T FB page. Leaving a review on  iTunes . Donating  a few dollars towards the costs of producing the pod. Joining the  Thriver Circle  – without the members of the Circle, this podcast would not be possible.

When it’s time to unfollow your competition. http://createandthrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/HB2_Unfollow_the_Competition.mp3 Love the show? You can show your support by: Leaving a  review  on the C&T FB page. Leaving a review on  iTunes . Donating  a few dollars towards the costs of producing the pod. Joining the  Thriver Circle  – without the members of the Circle, this podcast w...

Have you ever thought about outsourcing the production of your handmade goods? Maybe you want to grow beyond what one person can achieve. Perhaps you want to outsource the making so you can spend more time dreaming and designing. Whatever the reason, figuring out exactly HOW to do this is a big challenge. My guest on the show today – Britta Boeckmann – has done exactly that. She has wo...

  It’s a marathon, not a sprint.     Love the show? You can show your support by: Leaving a  review  on the C&T FB page. Leaving a review on  iTunes . Donating  a few dollars towards the costs of producing the pod. Joining the  Thriver Circle  – without the members of the Circle, this podcast would not be possible.  

  Do you ever feel like you get ‘stuck’ in the day-to-day of your business? Do you find time has gone by, and you wonder ‘what have I achieved’ today… this week… this month… or even, this year? This often comes about because we get caught up in the urgent tasks in our business – filling orders, answering emails – and neglect the important...

  Welcome to a new year of the Create & Thrive Podcast!   In this episode, I outline a series of 10 questions that will help you review your last year in business.   I’m also running a mini-course to take you through these questions – head on over here to sign up for that (it’s free!) if you’re not already on the regular Create & Thrive email list. (I...

Welcome to the Create & Thrive Podcast: Summer Series ’17 During the Summer Series I’ll be re-playing the best episodes from 2017. The show will be back in the first week of January 2018 with all-new episodes.   See the original episode and shownotes for this episode here. http://createandthrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/SS_17_Handmade_Biz_is_Hard_Work.mp3 Download  or li...

Welcome to the Create & Thrive Podcast: Summer Series ’17 During the Summer Series I’ll be re-playing the best episodes from 2017. The show will be back in the first week of January 2018 with all-new episodes.   See the original episode and shownotes for this episode here. http://createandthrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/SS_17_Staying_Open_to_Possibilities_with_Lisa_Congd...

  Welcome to the Create & Thrive Podcast: Summer Series ’17 During the Summer Series I’ll be re-playing the best episodes from 2017. The show will be back in the first week of January 2018 with all-new episodes.   See the original episode and shownotes for this episode here. http://createandthrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/SS_17_7_Tips_for_Work_at_Home_Creatives.mp3...

  Welcome to the Create & Thrive Podcast: Summer Series ’17 During the Summer Series I’ll be re-playing the best episodes from 2017. The show will be back in the first week of January 2018 with all-new episodes.   See the original episode and shownotes for this episode here.   Download  or listen to this episode. http://createandthrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/SS_17...

Welcome to the Create & Thrive Podcast: Summer Series ’17 During the Summer Series I’ll be re-playing the best episodes from 2017. The show will be back in the first week of January 2018 with all-new episodes.   See the original episode and shownotes for this episode here .   Download  or listen to this episode.   http://createandthrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11...

Welcome to the Create & Thrive Podcast: Summer Series ’17 During the Summer Series I’ll be re-playing the best episodes from 2017. The show will be back in the first week of January 2018 with all-new episodes.   See the original episode and shownotes for this episode here.   Download  or listen to this episode. http://createandthrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/SS_18_M...

You want to turn your handmade hobby into a business… but, should you? Is turning your hobby into a business really what you want? Have you thought about what that would mean? How much time you’ll have to devote to the ‘business’ side of things? How little time you’ll have to actually design and make things? How taking your relaxing creative hobby and turning it into...

In one of the last episodes of the year, I want you to take stock of the good – and all the things you’re grateful for in your business journey this year. This is a short and sweet episode where I ask you to do a gratitude exercise (and look into other practices you can do on a regular basis) to bring into focus the awesome things you have achieved this year. So often we’re focus...

  There are so many different fears that we face when starting and growing a business. You may think you are the only one who feels these things – but you are not. We ALL feel a huge range of fears around fear, success, and many other things. The key is to feel the fear and do it anyway.   Love the show? You can show your support by: Leaving a  review  on the C&T FB page. Leavi...

Do you ever struggle with the fact that the buck stops with YOU in your business? Sometimes, especially if we’re not used to being the boss, we can struggle with making decisions. But when you have a business, you need to step up, step into your power, and be a leader – even if you’re only leading yourself. In this episode, my friend Karen Gunton and I explore this idea of self-l...

  Listen to Part 1 Here. In part 2 of my interview with lawyer Christina Scalera, we talk copycatting and branding. We also discuss the Digital Millennial Copyright Act and how it can help you protect photos of your work. If you have any legal questions after listening to either of these 2 episodes, please leave them in the comments below!   Love the show? You can show your support by: L...

Sometimes, it feels like everyone is on Etsy. But… can you have a successful handmade business if you aren’t? I discuss this very question in this week’s episode. I outline the pros and cons of Etsy, and do the same for having your own, independent, online store.     Download  or listen to this episode.   You can also subscribe to the podcast and listen to this episode...

Have you ever wondered about the legalities around your handmade business? Things like trademarks, copyright, insurance… Can you buy Star Wars fabric and make purses out of it? Do you need to trademark your business name? Should you get business insurance? Can you legally take a quote and sell a print featuring it? The legalities around handmade business can be super-confusion, and a potenti...

  We all face challenges when starting a business – or even further along the track when we are attempting to grow and change. I know I still get a little bit of fear when I launch a new product, publish a post or start a new project. Even after almost 10 years in business! That feeling never goes away completely, but it does lessen as you do it over and over and over again. This week I...

Do you ever feel like you’re not a ‘real entrepreneur’? Yeah, me too. And so does my guest this week, Kate Toon – who happens to be the author of How to be a Misfit Entrepreneur . I met Kate at the Artful Business Conference this year, and promptly invited her to come on the show, because I loved the way she approached ‘being an entrepreneur’. We have a lot of l...