Style and Substance

Today we tackle one of the most common questions Fiona get's asked in conversations about branding. "How much of my own personality should I bring into my brand?" This is a common blocker for many entrepreneurs, particularly when as founders we feel so close to our businesses. Our own preferences when it comes to style and aesthetic can often cloud our judgement when it comes to what is commercially right for a business. There are so many considerations when it comes to navigating this territory to get the balance right, and we tackle many of them in this episode. We dig into a few case studies from our own clients and explore how to make the right level of impact when it comes to your brands seasonal personality. We hope you enjoy listening and as ever welcome comments, feedback and questions on the blog. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 18 and today were digging into how to make the most of your time. Fi is a particularly good case study for how to squeeze the most out of a day and I really enjoy digging into what makes that work for her. We talk around the curses that can befall many a creative entrepreneur, everything from overwhelm, overwork, headless chicken syndrome to what happens when we go into ostrich mode. We explore the impact of perfectionism, what to do about procrastination and sow the seeds for a future episode on flow. For further thoughts on procrastination there's a free short audio on elizabethcairns.com just head to the podcast page and scroll down and you'll find it, I do hope you find it helpful. Enjoy lovely listeners and as ever, do let us know your thoughts or questions on the blogs at thebrand-stylist.com/ and elizabethcairns.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to season 4. We are delighted to be back and in this episode I get to mine Fiona's incredible brain and her wealth of knowledge in the field of colour psychology and branding. We talk about the origins of colour psychology and how Fiona's work with it over the last 15 years has evolved the original theory to apply it to the field of branding and design. We explore the benefits of this incredible tool for entrepreneurs and designers alike and uncover the myriad ways in which it impacts business and branding. There is so much more to explore in this wide ranging and complex subject but we hope we've whetted your appetite for more and welcome your comments and questions so do get in touch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well here we are at the end of Season 3 and were rounding it off with Purpose. What is it, why we need it and how to find it?A slightly daunting episode to bring out there as it's such a huge topic and so crucial to the empowered and inspired entrepreneur but hopefully there's some good food for thought.It was such an enjoyable conversation and it was so uplifting for both of us to connect with our own purpose and reflect on the commercial benefits of working on purpose. We explore how we manage the intersection between purpose in life and purpose in work as an empowered and inspired entrepreneur.We talk about the interplay between goals and purpose and what they do for us in business and how goals with purpose feel different from regular KPI's. We explore what constitutes a purpose and tackle the question of whether you should have your purpose front and centre of your messaging. We dip briefly into some of the things that get in the way or pursuing purposeful work and will no doubt have more to say in future episodes, but for now we really hope you enjoy listening and, as ever, do let us know what you think. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brand clarity is a complex subject and in this conversation we are talking around some of the things that we consider when getting really clear on the essence and the space in the market for a brand. You'll hear it's not a one size fits all process but hopefully this conversation will give you an idea of some of the varying elements that come into play and how we begin to decide what might get priority. As ever we'd love to hear your thoughts and if you are struggling with gaining clarity for your own brand, then The Brand Stylist Academy has an excellent online course to help get you the clarity you need. https://thebrandstylist.thinkific.com/courses/brand-clarity Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a juicy one folks, in this episode we are exploring the territory of feedback. How to give it, how to take it, and how to handle it without it crushing your soul and your confidence. We dig into the various types of feedback and its use for us in business. What mindset and approach best supports you to stay empowered. What to do when you you don't get great feedback and how to stay proactive and stay out of a failure quagmire.We ask the question whether it's ever ok to give unsolicited feedback and spend a little time exploring how we deal with and deescalate heated conflict and manage your nervous system and self regulate. It's broad ranging, deep digging and we hope highly practical. Do let us know what you think, feedback always welcome ;) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Fi is in the hot seat and i'm grilling her on all the things you need to be considering at the outset of a branding project to make sure you get it right from the start. Fi has an incredible wealth of knowledge to share on this topic and I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed getting into the meat of it with her.As ever please do let us know what you think by dropping is an email or a note on the blogs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back! Season three is here and we are coming out of the gates with a juicy episode tackling the currently hot topic of scaling. We are both so passionate about running sustainable businesses that are built around what sets you apart and are able to grow without the burnout that seems to feel inevitable these days. We explore the many reasons why entrepreneurs want to scale, the factors you need to pay attention to when growing your business fast and how to do it in a way that preserves the joy and the sanity of the entrepreneur in the process. We talked for a loooong time when recording so you'll hear the occasional musical segway as we move around this really wide ranging topic but hopefully we've plucked the most useful segments and put them together for this episode. As ever do drop us a line and let us know what you think. Happy listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We thought we'd round off season two with a meaty one for you. In this, slightly longer than usual, episode we get stuck into what it means to do business on your terms as an empowered and an inspired entrepreneur. Some of the areas to consider when defining what you want work to look like for you and how to keep the bigger picture in mind. We share some of our own stories of how business has evolved for us over the years and how we've shifted the boundaries and our terms to accommodate the changes in family life.The audio sadly got a little corrupted midway through and was unrecoverable, hence the little musical segway but hopefully doesn't detract from the flow too much. Happy listening and we look forward to coming back with season three after the school break. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dive into the journey of discovering your unique magic as an entrepreneur! The hosts discuss how personal development shapes branding and the importance of aligning your strengths with your business. Hear inspiring stories like that of a florist who transformed her brand to stand out in a crowded market. Explore the art of crafting a unique brand narrative and the power of passion in entrepreneurship. Discover practical strategies to elevate your brand and learn how to create authentic connections with your audience.