the podcast

With the Season 5 finale, Melissa and Heather talk about rest and why it's so critical for self-employed creatives.  What does rest look like (no it's not sleep - but that's critical too!)? It's not a "one size fits all" concept. It may be a two week vacation but what if a "leave the house" vacation isn't possible?  We dig deep into ways we can ensure rest is part of our creative cycle - whether you're an introvert, extrovert, parent, caregiver, managing multiple roles, financially strapped or somebody who needs movement or somebody who needs stillness.

Canadian photographer, recipe developer and blogger Heidi Richter talks about her work as both a commercial and editorial food and nature photographer as well as the challenges of being a small, creative business owner, juggling multiple roles, mom guilt, creative burnout and why we need to be both assertive, human and adaptable in an age of technological change and generative AI.  

This episode is all about the risks of building your creative business on the backs of other businesses - namely social media platforms and marketplaces - like Etsy.  These are platforms where the customers and users are not yours, where you can be removed at any time and where algorithms are created to support the platform's goals - not yours. So, what can you do instead?

Alexandra Newbould is an artist who's work you know. As a Toronto based freelance courtroom sketch artist and fashion and architecture illustrator, her work has appeared all across North America on newscasts, in newspapers and print, online and in brand marketing campaigns. She joins us to talk about the challenges and rewards of being a freelance illustrator, tattoo artist and, her newest venture,  working as an event artist who captures special moments in people's lives.  

You’ve made or created the thing. You’ve put it on social media and your website or Etsy. But nobody has bought it. So how the heck are you supposed to find your customers?? Melissa and Heather do a deep dive into how to find your people - and how to sell to them without it being weird or uncomfortable - even if you’re an introvert or shy (or both).

Best selling Canadian independent fantasy romance novelist Demi Winters talks about all things relating to being a self-published fiction author - including the release of her newest book, her writing process, Book Tok and building community around her work, seeking help to take her work to the next level, balancing a private life with a public author persona and how she's running her independent author business.... as a business!

Gail Taylor left behind a successful career as an investment advisor to go all in with music - in her 50s! Now, as a Canadian songwriter, author, keynote speaker and entrepreneur, she's a passionate advocate for the power of music to inspire change.  Her new book, Curve Balls, is coming to shelves soon thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised $10K.

Melissa and Heather do a quick recap of how 2023 went for them and then dive into discussing some of the trends they think will have a big impact on their creative and art businesses in 2024 - as well as some things that are beyond trends and are, in fact, here to stay!

Transformational Coach Geneviève Retzlaff joins the show this week to help us lean into change in order to have fulfilling creative careers and lives. Whether you're thinking of leaving a traditional career to start a creative business or, you want to ramp up a side business or, you've already got a creative business but it's just not lighting your fire anymore, Gen helps us through the roadblocks we tend to put in place for ourselves!

Inspirational speaker and certified life coach Sara Fisher joins the show this week to talk about the Law of Vibration and how we can use it to foster both personal growth and growth in our creative practices. We talk about the Law of Vibration, the Law of Attraction and manifestation -  and how they all work together. And just as importantly we talk about why you still need to do the work in order to grow and create change in your business.

With so many of this season's guests asking me off air whether or not they should start a podcast and how to get started, I thought it might be time to do an episode on the ins and outs of podcasting for a creative business. So today, with 140+ episodes in the can, I take a deep dive into the pros and cons of podcasting for creatives, and how to get started in 2024!

Going 'viral' is something a lot of small business owners hope for - but are you ready for it if it happens to you? Episode 146 dives into what can happen when you go viral - including two case studies and tips for how you can be prepared

This week, healthy aging advocate Zanna Reza joins the show to talk about shaking up the system so we can grow older on our own terms. In a world where getting older (at any age) can come with a lot of stereotyping and discrimination, we talk about why we, as women, need to own our age - and the wisdom we've earned every day. In this conversation we discuss the importance of staying passionate, curious and creative at every stage in life - and why all humans need to feel a sense of purpose at any age!

Creativity shows up in many forms and this week Jacqueline Nicosia, the co-owner of Ardo Hospitality Group, joins the podcast to chat about the creativity that goes into crafting the perfect guest experience - and the perfect cocktail! This busy mom of two who co-owns her business (which includes 3 Toronto restaurants and a food import company) with her chef husband dives into all that entails as well as the challenges of working in the restaurant industry - an arena that’s notoriously challenging for creative women.

Toronto based registered social worker and psychotherapist, Yu Tong Hannah Lin, explores how we, as working creatives, can manage and overcome the ongoing challenges perfectionism and burnout present to our work.  Hannah shares valuable insights that will help us understand and identify when perfectionism and/or burnout are creeping into our lives and businesses (and what to do when it's impacting our work). 

Slow September sales and signs of a flagging economy have a lot of Canadian creatives worried about the upcoming holiday selling season. Even Etsy has made efforts to boost sales on behalf of shop owners! And, with no real relief in sight, what does 2024 have in store? Melissa and Heather tackle this head on with lots of practical strategies and tips to help creatives, artists and makers get focused and make a plan - both for the holiday season and next year!

As working creatives, giving our audience, clients and supporters the opportunity to connect with us on a deeper level is so important to building a healthy business. But equally important, as women, we need to get past our fear of taking up space and instead, embrace being seen. Intimate portrait and personal branding photographer Michele Matues shares her journey as a photographer who empowers women and  shows us how much getting out from behind our work and in front of the camera can mean to our business... and to ourselves.

Have you ever wondered what goes into planning and executing an your own art exhibition? Heather Travis shares the behind the scenes journey to her 3 month solo exhibition at Ontario's Bruce County Museum and Cultural Cente including how the opportunity arose, how she developed her very personal exhibit theme, secured  grant funding and was able to take 9 months away from active client work to produce 35 large scale canvases!