The Cultivating Creative Podcast

Would you like to have a better understanding of how AI can help your business and day to day life?  Listen to Helen's chat with Lois Janos who is the founder of Work Smarter with AI.  Lois brings a non-techy perspective to helping people use AI in a way that is accessible for everyone.  She has loads of practical advice on how AI can help business owners expand what is often their team of one! He...

Today's episode features Jacquie McBeth from Stir It Up Mealkits.  Listen in as Jacquie shares the origins of her business and how her values aren't just a checkbox exercise, they are the basis of everything she does at Stir It Up.  Jacquie provides a local alternative to the supermarket and meal kit giants and is confident that you don't need to give up on your values to make a profit. Follow Jac...

Helen chats with counsellor Judith Pearmain about the importance of prioritising our mental health, especially as small business owners. Listen as Judith shares essential guidance on avoiding isolation, the mental health benefits of networking, and setting non-negotiable boundaries. We also explore the importance of advocating for oneself and her advice on how to survive the menopause. You can fin...

In many small organisations one person is responsible for everything: finance, operations, marketing, HR...  Often in these cases, the CEO becomes Chief Everything Officer - trying to do it all singlehandedly.  This is something that Luke Wilkinson found both within the charity sector and on starting his new venture: Raiser.  In this episode, Helen chats with Luke about the challenges of being the...

In today's episode, Helen chats with graphic designer and mindful doodler Rebecca di Palmer of Voy Designs about how she's learnt to embrace imperfection. Rebecca shares how she challenged the mindset that we need to hide imperfections, initially by sharing doodles on Instagram. This commitment to showing up imperfectly not only taught her about herself but also led to some amazing experiences.  ...

Monica Harding MP was elected into Parliament in 2024.  In this interview with Helen Munro she talks about what it was like becoming the first female MP ever in her constituency and the first non-Conservative in the last 100 years.  In this episode Monica talks to Helen about: - how she manages her extraordinary workload - her tips on setting up a new team from scratch - handling complex problems...

On today's episode Helen is joined by Tim Inman, a comedy writer for TV and film. Discover how Tim and his trio, The Dawson Brothers, accidentally stumbled into comedy, eventually turning their childhood hobby into a full-time career. Since then Tim has written for multiple TV and awards shows, comedy series and films.  He has collaborated with Jimmy Carr and David Walliams among many others.  Don...

On today's episode Helen chats with Dr. Vanessa, the inspiring founder of The Vet Station in Molesey, Surrey. Vanessa was inspired by a desire to create a personal, local community vets practice, and opened The Vet Station in 2021. Vanessa is passionate about making a stand against the corporate shift in veterinary medicine. She also shares her insights on female leadership in the veterinary field...

In this episode, Helen chats with her husband Alex about why he decided to leave his career as a criminal barrister to become a vicar.  He shares about his passion for justice and why collaboration is always better than doing things alone.  You can find out more about the organisations that Alex runs here: St Peter's West Molesey East Elmbridge Foodbank Molesey Churches Night Shelter   Helen Munro...

In this episode, Helen chats to Felix Riley, a Business Strategist who has 'the best job in the world'.  He's qualified to say this having had more diverse jobs than most, including writing jokes for the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, working in the city, starting and selling a business, writing novels and running a copper mine.  Felix has loads of advice for business owners so don't miss this episode!...

Have you ever wondered who the people are behind the voices you hear on the supermarket tannoy, on TV adverts and or on the radio?  In today's episode Helen chats with Lizzie about life as a voice actor, how neurodiversity has impacted her and hear how Lizzie became the British Emma Stone...   Lizzie is a hugely experienced Voice Actor and Voice Over Business Speciality Coach.  You can find out mo...

Listen to Helen's chat with Amanda Reidy, a personal trainer whose passion is to empower mums to improve their fitness and help them to thrive.  Amanda is the host of the Happy Thriving Mums podcast.   Find out more about Amanda here: https://www.radiatefitness.co.uk/ or connect with her on Instagram: @radiatefitnessuk or Facebook: @radiate fitness Listen to the Happy Thriving Mums Podcast on Appl...

Elmbridge CAN is a community-based charity located in Surrey that supports people fleeing terror in their home countries.  Listen to Helen's chat with the founder of Elmbridge CAN, Jeannie Tweedie as she shares how she ended up leading a charity, some of the challenges and what she's most proud of. To find out more about Elmbridge CAN please visit their website here: ElmbridgeCAN.org.uk .  You can...

Join Helen's chat with the wonderfully creative Carrie Iddins, exploring everything from her environmentally friendly Fair Play Clothing fashion brand to learning to play drums and championing Molesey Churches Night Shelter. Discover the vibrant Molesey Clothing Exchange, a community hub fostering sustainable fashion, teaching repair skills, and supporting local charities. Find out more about Fair...

Helen chats with her brother-in-law, Jamie Munro, about his successful media company, Greenbird, a TV production incubator. Jamie shares some of his tips for success as well as techniques for finding balance in life.  He also shares his current pursuit of songwriting and singing as a way to express himself creatively. Jamie's EP, Echoes of Kindness is available to download on Spotify You can find...

Today's episode features Clare Murthy, who shares her journey from the corporate world to building a successful newborn and family photography business. Join us as Clare also discusses her path to coaching, where she now supports other creative business owners in building confidence, finding balance, and defining their unique vision of success. For more information about Clare Murthy Photography,...

Listen in to Helen's chat with James, where he shares his journey starting as a bass player in his youth to becoming a sound producer, and how music has helped him through the various seasons of life.  James shares the secrets which enable him to get the best out of the artists he works with and tells the story behind his own experimental work.  Listen in to hear an excerpt of James' favourite tra...

Oliver discusses his varied career, highlighting the importance of validation and feedback in creative work and how constraints can actually be a spur to creativity. He also shares how he balances his freelance work with his rewarding role as a civil funeral celebrant and his return to acting after 30 years. For more information about Olivers work as a funeral celebrant check out his website: oliv...

Angela Hartley is a cardiac nurse and personal trainer.  She is the founder of Healthy Hearties and Clinical Exercise and in today's episode she shares her unique approach to supporting people with cardiac conditions.  Hear about her business, and how she manages her TikTok following of over 45,000 accounts. To find out more about Angela's cardiac exercise programmes, take a look at her website: c...

Kelly Price, a Graphic Design Consultant, shares her journey to starting her own business during Covid in today's episode.  She talks about how she supports clients through their design projects to get to the best outcome, how she gets through a creative block and what happens when a client changes their company name mid-way through a project!   Kelly is happy to chat to potential clients about th...

In this episode, Bron Ivy shares what it's like to be a woman in the world of magic and she spills the beans on what the Magic Circle is really like.  She chats with Helen about how she uses magic to tell a story, what influences her performances and the big issue of what should a female magician actually wear? Bron Ivy offers close up magic for events and parties.  Her alter-ego Radish the Magici...

In this interview, Jude discusses what led her to become a leadership and team coach, sharing the challenges of perfectionism, burnout, and the transformative effect that coaching had on her life and her career.  Jude and Helen explore themes of creative thinking, self awareness and the challenges of running your own business.   Follow Jude Kempton on Instagram Find out more about Jude Kempton Lea...

Lorraine chats about her career in musical theatre, the ups and downs of life on stage and the impact on her career when she had children.  She shares the joy of teaching children and adults through Mini Molesey Theatre Club and Molesey Ladies Choir which she originally started to help her have a more realistic balance of work alongside caring for her children, but now they are a fundamental part...

This Cultivating Creative podcast episode features an interview with artist Alexis Rizzo, who shares how art helped her mental health, and how her inspiration comes from the world around her. Alexis also shares her intuitive creative process, experimentation with different mediums, and how she feels about promoting her art. Find out more about Alexis Rizzo here: alexisrizzoart.co.uk You can follow...

This Cultivating Creative podcast episode features an interview with author Kristen Perrin, who discusses the journey of publishing her first novel, How to Solve Your Own Murder. Kristen shares insights into her writing process and some of the challenges she has faced as she prepares to release her second book, How to Seal Your Own Fate. Find out more about Kristen Perrin here: kristenperrin.com K...