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Home » spring clean

spring clean

It’s the season for growing…

And so what I’ve noticed about this whole Covid19 season, is that it’s a great time for three things…

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Recent Posts

How to use your stories to sell more stuff.
5 steps to creating your own vision board to help you and your small business flourish
How to find YOUR brand voice for your creative business
My five EASY secrets to great writing for creative business owners
THREE ways to boost Instagram engagement for your creative business

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the_victoriabrown

Small business support and marketing
Host @creativeslurppodcast
@e_nation Adviser of the Year winner
Join Accountability Club ⬇️

Let's talk TRUST. If a stranger ran up to in the

Let's talk TRUST.

If a stranger ran up to in the street, merrily waving their product in your face, would you buy from them?

When was the last time you bought from a company online without either a recommendation or checking the reviews?

You quite like that course creator you spotted on Instagram, but I'm guessing you might want to get to know them a bit better BEFORE you buy from them.

That's because TRUST is an essential ingredient of the marketing puzzle.

Before they buy from you, your customers want to know:

* Your product or service is a good quality.
* That they're a good fit for it/ it will actually help them.
* That you're not some fly-by-night scoundrel out to get their hard-earned cash and run off into the night.

You can improve this by NURTURING them along the customer journey. As I teach in my FANS framework, it's not enough to just get your customers to SEE you on socials (which is why virality on its own doesn't work), you need to NURTURE them until they're ready to buy.

If you're not doing this, you're missing out on a lot of sales (and the by product of nurturing your customers also means the sales process is so much more natural and less icky too.

So, what are you doing this week to nurture your customers and move them along the customer journey?

(My fave is email and podcasting - an unbeatable combo!) 😄

Save this post for inspiration ❤️

🥰🥰🥰 It always makes me feel warm and fuzz

🥰🥰🥰 It always makes me feel warm and fuzzy when someone leaves a lovely review for Creative Slurp Podcast.

The podcast has been a labour of love for me over the last 15 months...and every time someone says they've found it helpful for them and their business, it really does make all the endless hours of editing and planning worth it.

A huge thank you to Sonia Bajic who posted this gorgeous review on Apple Podcasts - it made my day 😀. I never ever take it for granted that people have taken time out of their day to leave a review, so if you do, please know I would be so, so grateful (and happier than I was when the new series of Ted Lasso dropped last week...well, nearly happier than that. That was a MOMENT).

How do you ask for customer feedback? Is it a priority in your business?

*NEW FREEBIE* Ever find that sometimes you manag

Ever wondered what it takes to make your dream cre

Ever wondered what it takes to make your dream creative business your full time gig? Illustrator, @lizharrydesign has done it and in my latest episode of Creative Slurp podcast, she tells her story.

It was no accident she ended up in a career she loves - in her own words, she carved a career out for herself, doing the things she loves - creating products she designs herself, making fun props and taking part in some amazing collaborations. If you’ve seen Liz’s work, you’ll know she’s passionate about mental health - a theme that runs throughout her brilliant work. Liz truly is someone who let no obstacle stand in the way of her creating her own art on her own terms, and in her words, has an 'obsession' for creating.

In this episode of Creative Slurp she talks about her creative journey, and how she uses creativity as a tool to help with her mental health, following burnout.

I loved chatting with Liz, who was so generous with her stories and advice, and I hope her story inspires you as much as it did me. You'll get hold of the episode in the usual podcast-y places 🎧 Enjoy. 😄

Feeling stuck? If you keep getting the same result

Feeling stuck? If you keep getting the same results in your business or life and are sick of it, it can be hard to know how to shake things up and feel like you're heading in a positive direction again. I've been there too!

In this week's Creative Slurp Podcast I talk about the three tools I use to help me get out of that annoying rut and help to feel some momentum again - without feeling overwhelmed:

Create mini-rituals - like SUPER, SUPER mini! Think a teensy-weensy 2 sun salutations or doing a 30-second doodle kind of 'mini'. This will just take you out of your head and shake things up a bit. Experiment with what works well for you.

Build your community - it's a cliche - but it really does take a village. We need people to bounce ideas off, stay accountable to, to look up and learn from and help to feel good about ourselves and progress in our business. And building a community can be so much easier than you think. Join networking groups, join up with online course cohorts, make friends with other parents - whatever you feel comfortable doing. If you need some ideas - Enterprise Nation holds virtual meetups all over the UK and in Ireland and they're all FREE to join. (I host the Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire event every month, and you're more than welcome to come along, whether you live in the area, or not). Or check out the Creative Slurp Accountability Club - a monthly meeting I run for small business owners to review and reflect on what's working in their business and set goals, alongside other awesome business owners. Links are in the bio for both of these groups.

Again, another cliche, but to make an omelette ( or a batch of buckwheat crepes - my current pancake fave), you've got to break eggs! Anything you create, whether it's artwork or business, will have a lot of failed attempts, and all-round messiness behind it. If you're stuck waiting for perfect idea, the perfect product or the perfect moment.. you won't get anywhere and you'll be in that rut forever.

What do you do to get yourself out of a funk and get your mojo back? I'd love to try out your ideas...

Whoops, I blinked. Where did February almost go?

Whoops, I blinked. Where did February almost go?

I swear, every year and every month goes by more quickly. And before I know it, I'm looking back on the month to reflect on what's gone well, and what's... Well, let's just say there are always learnings and ways to improve.

Next week, I'll be meeting up with the Creative Slurp Accountability Club, where we meet up and reflect on our month - and set goals for the next month. This is something we do individually on a virtual call, but the beauty of it is that it forces you to put the time aside to sit and do this important work - work that might otherwise get buried under a load of Tunnock's Teacake wrappers (maybe just me) and never get done.

But since I've started to reflect on what's happened over the last week, and month, it's made such a difference. It seems crazy, but I often feel I'm caught in the hamster wheel of running things, and it feels like I'm getting nowhere. It's only when I take the time out to reflect on what's actually happened, that I realise the huge strides I've made forward. And that makes me feel great...which makes me even more productive. Inside the cycle of despair, it's the cycle of delight, and it feels gooood.

The Accountability Club is a monthly membership, and is currently just £15 a month - you get a welcome pack with the tools you need to track your month, and access to a regular monthly meeting (plus recording ) to help you stay accountable. You also get to join a community that's truly supportive for your business.

If you join now, you've still got time to make next week's meeting and start showing yourself what's actually going on in your business and how much you actually have achieved (even when it doesn't feel like it!) You can just click on the link in the bio to join us.

A few random brushes? Maybe. But to me, they're

A few random brushes?

Maybe. But to me, they're so much more. They're proof that you really can change the beliefs that have been holding you back (even ones that have been bugging you for 25+ years).

It all started last June. I realised how I'd really love to paint, and draw, but I'd always been telling myself no - I couldn't. I was not a drawer. A maker, yes. A creative, yes. But I just wasn't capable of drawing or painting.

I actually got pretty sick of the stories I was telling myself, so whilst at a craft event last year, I decided to do a little experiment. I'd already realised the power of tiny, incremental habits for leading to changes in bigger habits - say walking every day, leading to daily exercise being embedded in my routine. But what about challenging my most inner-held beliefs? Could a daily habit normalise something for me I thought I couldn't do? Could it help me turn the idea of can't on its head, and show me that I actually could?

So, last June, I set myself a 30-day challenge to draw and paint every day. Did I become a brilliant artist? No! But I was astounded it really did change my self-belief in my artistic ability - in less than 30 days.

The girl that was terrified to walk down the watercolour aisle in Hobbycraft, in case she was found out, actually started to enjoy regularly getting her paints out and experimenting with drawing and painting techniques. And that voice, that was always in her head - for the last 25 years at least (and often popped out of her mouth) - that voice disappeared.

That experiment told me you can normalise and neutralise any limiting beliefs you have in your head - no matter how long you've been telling yourself that story.

So these brushes, and watercolour set from @muddyceramic (and the fact my friend thought to buy them from me) just showed me how far I'd come on that creative journey.

If you want to know more about my challenge, and how to carry out your own, check out Episode 27 of Creative Slurp Podcast - 'Are you ready to take the Creative Slurp challenge."

Have you ever challenged any of your limiting beliefs? What beliefs do you have about yourself that you'd like to challenge?

💪🏻 When the going gets tough do you: a) Cu

💪🏻 When the going gets tough do you:

a) Curl up in a ball under the duvet 🛌🏻 or
b) Put yourself out there even more? 🤗

On this week's episode of Creative Slurp Podcast meet Rosie Davies-Smith - founder of @prdispatch - she believes that to survive a recession we should all be making our businesses even more visible, using the power of PR.

Rosie’s business journey from budding textile designer to PR guru is truly inspiring and can teach us all about embracing the journey (including so-called 'failures') and thinking of new innovative business models that can truly serve your audience in the best way. Her PR Christmas Gift Guide membership is just a genius idea, and I know it's helped so many people get their products out there.

Fill your glasses with some juicy PR tips you can use in your business and find out how Rosie also struggled with postnatal insomnia whilst running a full-on business.

To listen to this value-packed episode go to: https://thevictoriabrown.com/podcast/ or search 'Creative Slurp' wherever you get your podcast juiciness. 🍋

There are two business owners. The first one, let

There are two business owners.

The first one, let's call him 'Dave', launches his new dog-walking business. We don't know much else about him.

The second one, let's call her 'Michelle', also launches her new dog-walking business, after she was made redundant from her job as a dinner lady. It's always been her lifelong dream to start a business around animals, since she had her first dog, 'Spot' when she was five. And it's her passion to help dogs to live more fulfilled lives since she spent some time volunteering at a local dog shelter.

You need to hire a dog-walker for your dog, let's call her Meg, Based on the above info, who are you going to hire? Dave or Michelle?

Let me take a guess on who you picked - hmm, I'm guessing Michelle? But why? Well, we don't know much about Dave. But Michelle told her story in an engaging way that helped make her memorable and for you to trust and feel connected with her.

That's the power of stories. And if you're not using them in your business right now, you're missing out on potential customers.

And here's the thing: it doesn't even have to be that hard.

All you have to do is to focus on 3 types of stories in your content to transform your marketing success:

1. Desirability stories 😁
2. Connection stories 👫🏻
3. Authority stories 🏆

If you want to get started on using storytelling in your business, check out my latest blog post, where I give you the step-by-step lowdown: https://thevictoriabrown.com/2023/02/13/how-to-use-your-stories-to-sell-more-stuff/

Or check out the blog link in the bio.

31,000 words and 80 pages of research and critical

31,000 words and 80 pages of research and critical evaluation. This is the slightly crazed face of a person who's just finished hours of academic writing and researching and is in a haze of knowledge and excitement that she's finished!

I'll be honest, I wasn't excited about the academic portion of my ILM qualification - I felt I'd done enough academic writing at uni and I had no desire to do more - so I viewed the academic portion of my level 7 Coaching and Mentoring course as something to 'get out of the way'.

To quote Chandler, "I couldn't have been MORE wrong."

It really was a massive challenge but I learned so much more than I thought I would. As well as learning how to build a really robust and rigorous practice as a professional coach, I was pleasantly surprised to see the following benefits:

* After years of being a journalist and comms expert and learning to scan-read everything, I re-learned to immerse myself in the world of writing and research.
* That actually I CAN do this and I have more confidence in my capabilities.
* Doing things in small increments over time can lead to big results.
* That you can't rush great work, and you've got to let it lead you.
* That there's magic in seeing where writing can take you, and what conclusions you draw.
* You really do reach a deeper level of learning when you learn in this way.]
* Just because I'm writing in an academic style, doesn't mean I can't write in my own unique personality (biggest game changer for me!)

Now, just two more modules to go...bring it on!

But first, time to celebrate!

Ever felt your product photos might be holding you

Ever felt your product photos might be holding you back?

Upping the quality of your product photos can be a game changer. In this episode of Creative Slurp Podcast, top product photographer, @hollyboothstudio gives oodles of top practical tips on how to create great product shots.

She also tells us the story of her own creative business - find out how listening to customers, being part of communities and not being afraid to innovate has helped her succeed in business. This episode is a masterclass in discovering your own niche and how to serve your customers in your own way.

I'm especially excited about this podcast episode as I know how good Holly is - full disclosure - when I was a jeweller I really wanted Holly to take my photos, but her waiting list was so long at the time, I didn't get a look in! I'm so pleased she's here now to give you her behind the scenes tips around not only to take great photos, but how to establish a successful creative business that has longevity. Enjoy :-)

You can listen to this episode here thevictoriabrown.com/podcast, or wherever you get your podcast episodes: Apple, Spotify, Google etc...

February ais IN THE HOUSE! Which can mean only on

February ais IN THE HOUSE!

Which can mean only one thing for the Browns - it’s epic birthday time! in fact 3/4 of us in the house have birthdays this month - plus my sister - and add into that Valentine’s Day and my Mum and Dad’s anniversary, and you can see why it gets a little busy.

It’s for exactly this reason that I created my work life balance wall planner (which is part of my Creative’s Productivity Toolbox) - so I don’t plan too much work stuff in this month as it gets pretty hectic!

I find it really helps see at a glance what’s going on every month across the year, to make sure I don’t spread myself too thinly, because let’s face it - when you have a small biz - your work and home activities merge into one!

Thank you so much to @millandmoo1 for these lovely glitter badges for the boys, they’re going to love them. (Especially H, who is the biggest magpie - obvs inherited from moi).

Finding handmade gifts and birthday products can be a challenge fora a four and six year old, who know exactly what they want (And it’s not a DIY crochet kit (yet, anyway, give me time!))

I didn’t order a badge for myself as I’m not sure they do them in my age. 🙈

What’s your February looking like? Any plans?

Have you ever felt you’re going around in circle

Have you ever felt you’re going around in circles, and not learning from your mistakes?

Do you feel stuck, and you know you’re not getting anywhere?

Yup, been there!

Reflective learning could be the answer - a proven way to dig deep, to learn in a deeper way and find solutions to your trickiest problems.

It's just a bit of a fancy way of saying you take some time to think about what you've learned in any area you want to focus on.

Find out more about reflective learning, how it could help you in your business (and everyday life), how it's helped me and some of the surprising places I've found reflective learnings in this week's episode of Creative Slurp Podcast.

If you've already listened and need a reminder, here are the reflective journal prompts mentioned in the episode:

🖋What did I learn from today?
🖋Did it add or reinforce what I already know?
🖋 What did I gain from this activity/event?
🖋 What might I do differently in the future?

You can listen to Creative Slurp Podcast wherever you get your usual podcasts - Apple, Spotify, Google etc. Or check out the link in the bio.

To get help start your reflective practice, why not join our monthly Accountability Club? I'll walk you through the process of reflection every month, alongside other like-minded business owners, and if it's not for you, you can cancel at any time.

Find out more and join the club here: thevictoriabrown.com

For a loooong time, business owners have been tell

For a loooong time, business owners have been telling me they need more accountability in their business…

I wanted to create a space for biz owners where they can focus on their goals, how they feel about the business and life, and set intentions for the coming month.

So I’ve created the Creative Slurp Accountability Club - a space for likeminded small biz owners to come together each month, set their goals, reflect on them and actually make progress!

Today was our first session… here’s a sneak peek of how it went…

With comments like, “It was really helpful to take time out and away from the business to look at my goals,” I’d say it was a success!

Next meet-up is at the end of Feb, and I can’t wait to see what the members have achieved and learned ☺️

You can join next month’s meeting by visiting thevictoriabrown.com/product/accountability-club-membership/

Or drop me a DM if you’d like more info ❤️

Let’s DO this! 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

Have you ever wondered how to make your business s

How's your day been? Have you had one of those sup

How's your day been? Have you had one of those super-duper amazing days - you know the ones where the ideas are flowing, you get the most brilliant revelation, that idea you simply HAVE to share... you are so excited about it, you even go and buy yourself a new notepad to celebrate. This is IT! This idea is going to change the whole blinkin' WORLD.

Then, you wake up the next morning. You remember said idea, and feel a pit of dread in your stomach. What if it goes wrong? What if everyone laughs at you? What if all you friends and family, and even your dog (let's call her Dotty) disown you because the idea is SO BAD. Such a shame, you really loved Dotty. Best not to chance it, better not to take the risk. Let's put the idea in the bin, and the notepad in the bottom of that drawer where old dreams go to die and turn into dead dream compost.

OR...how about if you'd told a bunch of supportive fellow biz owners about that idea? What if they were actually really supportive and gave you ideas on how to help make your idea fly? And what if you kept meeting up with them every month, where you could update on their progress. Where might that amazing idea take you, if you actually had the balls to make it happen, and accountability from people who care?

That's what Accountability Club can do for you.
It's a happy, supportive space for small business owners to commit to their ideas and goals, with the help of likeminded people.

When you join you'll get a welcome pack, packed with all the lovely goodies you need (and a free extra brucie bonuses) to help you and access to a live session with me and other business owners, where we look back over your last month and look ahead to the next.

And the very first session is next week! So, if you want to join us (for the starter price) then check out the link in the bio and click join the club. It's just £15 each month and you can cancel at any time.

And the best news is? You might actually end up creating that brilliant idea for real :-) Imagine that.

Guess what, after a short break, I'm excited to sa

Guess what, after a short break, I'm excited to say that Creative Slurp podcast is baccccckkkk in the house!

And I'm so excited to bring you this week's episode, a fab episode to help you put your new year goals into action.

Can a pen and a scrap of paper change your life?

Alison Jones (@bookstothesky_ ) of @pip_talking thinks so. Over 30 years in the publishing industry she’s helped hundreds of authors to publish their books and knows a bit about getting your story down on paper. And she’s also just published her own book - which shows you how to use the power of writing to help you solve problems and transform your life.

She believes exploratory writing is a simple but much-overlooked tool that could get you extraordinary results in the areas of self-mastery, creativity, focus, solution finding and collaboration.

Listen to this week's Creative Slurp podcast (wherever you get your podcasts) to find out how you can unlock the power of exploratory writing and turn your brilliant ideas into action!

Desktop users, you can also listen here: https://thevictoriabrown.com/podcast/

Vision boards - essential, or a load of old woo?

Vision boards - essential, or a load of old woo?

I started creating old-school vision board (with primary school style cutting and sticking) last year - and I LOVED it. The process was so therapeutic. And what surprised me about the whole thing was how much clarity the whole exercise gave me, around my goals for the year, but also how I wanted it to feel.

I start by collating images that I'm inspired by and feel right to me (as well as thinking logically about my goals) and this year I was astonished at what happened. I was hugely drawn to stripes and geometric patterns. I realised it was because I was craving some sort of order and consistency in my working life. One of my goals is to put in more processes and to make things simpler, and more streamlined, so is it any surprise I was drawn to stripes?!

Also, I was drawn to a photo with a mirror. I didn't think much about it at all, until I'd finished, and realised that I am doing a lot of work on reflective learning right now. How weird is that?

I love the fact that a vision board can represent these goals and feelings so clearly, in a way that words can't. And if you swipe across and see my other board, you'll see a very clear difference in the way I'm thinking right now, compared to last year. There's much more desire for order right now.

Here are a few tips, if you want to do your own:

* Think about what you want to feel and achieve this year and write it down. Look for images on these specific things.
* Also take some time to go through images and cut out any you're drawn to.
* Find a small board and start arranging the images, weeding out any that don't feel right.
* When you're happy, stick on your chosen images and put it somewhere you'll see every day.

**Make sure you allow yourself the time and space to really create - my boards usually create themselves when I do this.

Do you create vision boards? Chuck your top tips in the comments below...

What a year. For me, like anyone, 2022 has been a

What a year.

For me, like anyone, 2022 has been a funny old one. Full of ups and downs, and unexpected twists and turns.

A first full year in my current business, helping lots of lovely business owners, getting in the Apple top 30 with Creative Slurp, winning an award and starting my coaching qualification. But also been full of doubt and uncertainty for so many of us too - something I wasn’t so prepared for.

One thing I’ve definitely learned this year is the power of community and taking small, continuous actions (and to never underestimate the possibility of a sleep regression in your kids).

Now it’s time to down tools, so make sure you really do take time out for you, whatever that looks like, and get some rest.

Thank you for all your lovely support over the past year and here’s to 2023.

Over and out.

KAIZEN

Do you ever look back to see how far you’ve come?

Yonks ago, when I was studying business at college, I was first introduced to the concept of ‘Kaizen’ the Japanese concept of continuous improvement.

It’s something that’s stuck with me ever since.

Everything I produce for my business is to help business owners like you. I’m constantly striving to improve, to know how I can serve you better, and help you get better results.

Yes, I could make a bucketload more money working in the corporate world, but the world of craft has always been my obsession, and when I was working as a jeweller, it was so tough, so I started my current business to help other people in a similar position.

Back in 2020 I introduced my first planner because I knew it was key to helping business owners. The pandemic had hit and I stepped up to help business owners any way I could.

It was very basic back then! I was surprised to look back at it the other day and see how far I’d come.

As I’ve upskilled over the years and got to know you better, I’ve improved my little planner, formerly the Planning Toolbox, but now renamed the Productivity Toolbox.

I’m so proud how far I’ve come,, and what I’m now able to offer.

This year I’ve really focused on making it more geared at improving productivity and the creative mind - adding in doodle spaces and a place to champion amazing small businesses - as well as more focused goal setting space (thank you coaching training!)

It’s a digital planner you can download and use as you wish, and comes with a BONUS workshop to show you how to use it, as so many of us (me included!) are visual learners.

And now the toolbox also has a best friend - The Accountability Club!

I’ve ummed and ahhed about offering for memberships over the last few years, but I’ve finally created a very simple Accountability Club. It’s a commitment for me, hence why I haven’t done it before, but I’ve been part of many, and they’ve all been game changers. Plus people are always telling me they crave accountability as a solo business owner.

It just goes to show how much you and your biz evolve as you go on...when did you last look back at how far you’ve come?

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