The Freak Show

I think we've become a little too obsessed with blank slates, starting the year strong, mid-year resets, ending the year with a bang… you know the drill! The truth is, that “new year, new me” energy from January has worn off by now, and what you're left with is your endless to-do list and a goal-setting doc you wrote once and never looked at again. So instead of another reset, I'm givi...

You've made the Pinterest boards, had all the conversations with your business besties, stalked every rebrand in your industry, and you still haven't pulled the trigger. Because it never feels like quite the right time. In this episode, I'm handing you the permission slip you've been waiting for, because I believe staying where you are isn't the "safe" option, as it m...

Somewhere along the line, we all created an Ideal Client Avatar: defining the age, income, Saturday morning routine, what keeps them up at night... the whole shebang. And yes, knowing who you're talking to matters! BUT There's a point where this exercise stops being a strategy tool and starts becoming a people-pleasing spiral, where you're trying to make every single brand decision bas...

Getting in front of a camera is scary AF, and I'm saying that as someone who remembers the first time I talked on Instagram Stories, legitimately terrified that my college friends and family would see me and think I was some kind of stuck-up know-it-all... Today I'm joined by the incredible Olivia Bossert, a fashion photographer turned personal brand photographer, content coach, artist, and founde...

Episode 50, Troupe... FIFTY!! 🎉 We hit 1,000+ downloads, listeners in over 40 countries, and somehow, this little passion project became the marketing platform I've been most consistent with? So before we dive in, THANK YOU! None of this makes sense without you freaks on the other side. Now, let's talk about that itch... the one where you fall down a Pinterest rabbit hole, suddenly hate e...

Two brand designers discussing design hot takes? That’s what I call a front-row-worthy show! Aiza, from Studio Coya, & I got together to discuss 6 different opinions we see clowning around the online business space, and spoiler: you’ll hear “it depends…” A LOT. You’ll want to tune into Part 1 on Nourish Your Brand to get the full spectacle, and in this second part, you’ll hear why playful does...

Picture this: A sleep-deprived, mildly unhinged, misunderstood genius is surrounded by half-finished masterpieces with a dramatic cigarette in his hand. Locked away in a dimly lit studio, fuelled by heartbreak, existential dread, and maybe a questionable amount of red wine (or opioids). Bonus points: you dramatically stare out of a window waiting for a creative lightning bolt to hit you. Let’s be...

“I look awkward on camera” “I don’t sound smart enough” “This looks terrible” “I’ll do it later” Yeah… familiar, right? Welcome to the content creation sh*t show: where nothing works as it’s supposed to, you’re constantly glued to your phone & end up feeling like full-time content creator / part-time business owner, and overall clown 🤡 You’ve been there. I’ve been there. Which is why I took a...

“Why are designers so obsessed with timelessness?” This was the question Sarah Kleist asked on her newsletter, which sparked this whole episode in the first place (yes, episode 017 Sarah Kleist). Did I feel slightly called out? Yes. Was I deeply intrigued? Also yes. ‘Cause listen: I’m the first to preach consistency. Recognition matters. Repetition matters. A brand only works if you actually use i...

The Freak Show would 100% NOT exist if it weren’t for a couple of people. And one of them is Katie Pannell. Besides being a naming expert (and literally the person behind EVERY SINGLE NAME of my brand world & theme), she’s the reason Flying Colours Creative® isn’t called Eva Couto Design anymore, a name I definitely panic-picked at 2am, and that had zero personality. So today we’re talking pre...

After what felt like a never-ending storm here in Portugal (and my nervous system clinging on for dear life), the SUN finally came out, and I swear I turned into a new woman overnight. Turns out, I just needed the right energy to come out of my winter season. And so does your brand. Except we have this tendency of mistaking seasonal slumps for full-blown identity crises. We assume our brand isn&#3...

What do you get when two organised freaks obsessed with label machines and strong opinions about the online business world get on a mic together? I’ll tell you: a deep-dive into why your offers sometimes feel heavier than they should, and how to fix it without burning your whole brand to the ground! Because Ceels Lockley isn’t just an Offer Strategist & Business Coach. She’s the woman you call...

Have you noticed how social media & content design have been shifting from Notes app screenshots to journalling collages? Pinterest’s 2026 Trend Report called it first with PoetCore & Penpals. Still, after seeing everyone shift from using iMessage bubbles in their carousels to using paper texture backgrounds, I wanted to understand how design trends influence (or are influenced by) the lar...

Branding, marketing, and messaging walk into a bar… and this whole episode turned out to be the punchline. ‘Cause if you’ve been spiralling down the “Do I need a rebrand? Do I need more marketing? Or is my messaging just… bleh?” rabbit hole, me & Emelie Sanders, aka Head Honcho of Pass The Queso, are here to explain who’s responsible for what… and probably tell you to get over yourself (sorry...

You can have the boldest brand on the internet. The juiciest colour palette. A vibe so strong it makes beige, boring brands sweat. But your emails are more of an afterthought… Consider this your sign to change that! In this episode, I’m telling you about all the details you should NOT overlook when it comes to sending on-brand newsletters. And more specifically, the platform that’s become the only...

Are you a creative person? Whether your answer was an instinctive “yes” (or a suspiciously quick “no”), then I invite you to tune into this conversation. ‘Cause somewhere along the line, we were sold that creativity is messy and chaotic and that systems look like boring, rigid, soul-sucking spreadsheets… And Harriet and I are here to flip that right-brain vs. left-brain script! In this episode, we...

New year. Clean slate. Loud internet. Word of the year, vision boards, goal setting, reflection prompts… If January already has you feeling behind & scattered, you’re NOT alone. And whenever I start feeling out of control, I look at my circus & my monkeys. In this episode, I’m walking you through 3 simple, practical ways to reset your brand without a full-on rebrand. “Spring cleaning” belo...

The holidays are here, Mariah's singing "All I Want for Christmas" on loop, and the internet's a snowstorm of slapped-on Santa hats & Canva snowflakes. You want your content to feel festive too (and take advantage of this massive sales season), but your branding doesn’t exactly scream "eggnog and elves"… In this bite-sized, actionable episode I’m answering the question I get every single year:...

We’ve all promised ourselves “next week I’ll get my act together.” And today, we’ll talk about how to actually make that happen. I’m joined by business strategist, best-selling author, speaker, and host of the Starting The Conversation podcast Alice Benham to dig into the truth about rebranding when everyone tells you you “don’t need to”. From learning to trust your business-owner gut, handling (u...

Yeah, I’m not perfectly consistent. In fact, no one is. Even so, I felt ashamed, guilty, and dare I say even hypocritical for missing the past couple of weeks of the podcast. So what better way to make a comeback than… to TALK ABOUT IT? And while we’re at it, let’s talk about how we’ve got consistency all wrong. Because if we let it mean never missing a beat, we’re setting ourselves up for failure...

If you don’t know what to write your newsletter about this week (or if writing anything for your business makes you wanna scream), today’s episode is exactly what you need. What do “The Unlikely Game Changer”, “The Embarrassing Moment”, “The Necessary Reframe”, “The Truth Comes Out”, and “The Unexpected Transformation” all have in common? They’re the topics inside Sara Joelle’s Swipe File (out NOW...

I know Sharpay Evans said “bigger is better, and better is bigger”, but is that the ONLY path to success? Well… I don’t think so, and this game-changing realisation not only flipped my business upside down, but also redefined what growth looks like to me. What started with Paul Jarvis’ book “Company of One”, turned into me rethinking the whole myth of infinite scaling (and the pressures behind wha...

If you’ve ever felt trapped in a beige wardrobe (or brand), wondering how to break free without losing your nerve, this episode is for you. Eva & Brigitta dive into how the messy overlap of style and branding influences the way you show up online as a personal brand. We unpack why the beige default is holding you back, how to start sprinkling colour into your wardrobe without ending up saying...

September is the unofficial New Year’s 2.0, and after a much-needed August break (that I hope you took too, by the way), we’re all ready to shake off the summer haze and get back into business mode with fresh energy, but without the pressure to hustle ourselves into the ground. I’m sharing three actionable ways to reconnect with your brand, spark your creativity, and make fun a part of your routin...

Something about rags-to-riches stories always rubbed me the wrong way. ‘Cause most online business journeys don’t fit that shiny (and predictable) arc. They’re pretty… normal. Take my own story for example: I followed everyone’s expectations until I said “f*ck it” on Christmas Eve 2019. That was over 6 years ago, and in honour of my 6th Brandversary, I wanted to tell you the real story. From a nig...