Letters From A Hopeful Creative - podcast cover

Letters From A Hopeful Creative

This is a podcast for small business owners ready to feel encouraged, inspired, and less alone in your entrepreneurial journeywww.lettersfromahopefulcreative.com
Letters From A Hopeful Creative is a fortnightly podcast brought to you by Sara Tasker and Jen Carrington. In each episode they answer a letter from a hopeful creative who is looking for some guidance, support, and encouragement in their journey, and share some of the lessons they have learned along the way as creative coaches and online business owners. Each episode is like a mini coaching session and pep talk all rolled into one - tune in every other Monday morning for brand new episodes.

www.lettersfromahopefulcreative.com
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Episodes

Seven questions on making your business work best for you

In today’s episode Jen is sharing a recent free office hour recording diving into questions all about how you can build and run your business in a way that works best for you. Questions cover topics such as how to follow your renewed enthusiam for your business after recovering from burnout, how to launch a new membership when you’re afraid no one will join, what to do when your business is thriving but feeling like a lot to maintain and more. You can also watch the recording with time stamps th...

May 01, 202530 min

You’re allowed to want to live more than you work

A short and sweet solo episode from Jen today to encourage you to run your business in a way that truly works best for you and some gentle ways you can tap into support from Jen in your business this month too. Get the Design Your Part Time Business Model Toolkit sent to your inbox for free Submit your Q for the office hour - deadline is Wednesday 23rd April Find out more about Your Simple & Spacious Business + join the waitlist This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this wit...

Apr 15, 202510 min

How can I believe that the business I desire is possible for me?

In today’s episode we dive into a letter all about how to build and grow your business at a slower and gentler pace and actually believe that it’s possible for you too when you’ve been taught that hustling and burning yourself out is the best path to reaching your goals. Would you love some encouragement and support in your business? Submit your letter for an upcoming episode here . And Jen’s group program Your Simple & Spacious Business is open for enrolment for a few more days until Friday...

Feb 05, 202541 min

10 business rules & norms that you have permission to opt-out of

Jen here today to share the audio of a recent coaching session from inside her group program all about the rules & norms we have permission to opt-out of in our business. If you feel overwhelmed by all of the noise and ‘should dos’ and are craving doing business in a way that feels sustainable, joyful, and aligned for you - this episode is for you. And if you’d love to never do business alone again and join Jen inside Your Simple & Spacious Business: Doors are now open with early-bird pr...

Jan 30, 202533 min

A mini private podcast series for you 🐢

A quick check-in episode from Jen to share that Sara and I will be recording new episodes together soon if you’d love to submit a letter for an upcoming episode . And while you wait for new episodes you can listen to Jen’s new mini private podcast series The Slow Business Sessions 🐢 with eight short and sweet episodes to support you to bring more ease , joy , and intentional growth into your business journey this year. And you can find out more about Jen’s program Slow Business Magic before doo...

Jan 09, 20253 min

Q&A: marketing, routines, & designing your business to work best for you

In today’s episode Jen dives into eighteen questions covering topics such as making space for the needs of your health in your business, moving from 1:1 to 1:many work, marketing and messaging, preparing your business for starting a family, aligning your offers with your capacity and more. If you’d prefer to watch a video with timestamps of each question you can find that here . And if you’d love to have guidance, encouragement, and support every step of the way in bringing more freedom, ease, a...

Oct 20, 20241 hr 8 min

My business was thriving and now it’s floundering - what do I do?

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener: “I am a small business owner with chronic illnesses who loves your podcast tremendously. I've learned so much from you, and I come to you today with a question: what happens when you've deeply invested in a business that once did quite well, but is now floundering? How do I figure out my next steps? I run an online writing school that, in the flush years of 2020 and 2021, easily charged thousands of dollars for tuition that people happ...

Oct 10, 202440 min

How Jen rebuilt her business around her capacity

Do you currently feel overstretched, burned out, or like there’s not enough space for your needs and your humanness in your business? If so, today’s episode is for you. We’re doing things a little differently today and sharing an interview Jen did on one of her favourite business podcasts, Off The Grid , where the wonderful host Amelia asks Jen some really insightful questions around reshaping her business to truly work best for her, how to stop building burnout into your business, plus why fluc...

Sep 03, 202451 min

Let’s talk about launching with intention & ease

In today’s episode we’re switching things up a little and sharing a recap and debrief from Sara’s recent launch, the biggest lessons she learned, and our thoughts and experience on launching in our business and some encouragement for you if you have a launch you’re bringing to life soon too. Would you love some encouragement and support in your business? Submit your letter for an upcoming episode here . Find out more about Sara’s summer school Watch Jen’s behind the scenes planning video for her...

Aug 06, 202433 min

An Instagram deep dive

In today’s episode we dive into listener questions all about Instagram - from building engagement up, feeling hopeful and excited about the platform again, coming back after a long break, adapting to creating more video content, whether to use hashtags anymore and lots more. Join Sara for her Instagram Summer School Would you love some encouragement and support in your business? Submit your letter for an upcoming episode here . More from Sara More from Jen This is a public episode. If you would ...

Jul 23, 202452 min

How can I create more space for my non-client work in my business?

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener: Lately, I've been inspired to grow my non-client work and my unpaid projects into a bigger part of my business. I have a published book, a podcast, and regular events - but they're not closely related to each other! This makes it really hard to grow any one of them, let alone all of them, when my client work is what pays the bills. I end up prioritizing client work above all these other projects, and I end up with very little time to s...

Jul 09, 202440 min

How can I pick myself up and move past failure in my business?

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener: Please can you talk more about the failure/success connection and how we can pick ourselves up and move past the failures when we’re struggling with our confidence and self belief? In today’s episode Sara and Jen dig into their relationship with failure in their business, why highs and lows are normal in this journey, and how to hold ourselves through the emotional rollercoaster along the way. Would you love some encouragement and supp...

Jun 24, 202438 min

How can I build my audience in a gentle way?

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener: I am not great at the IG game, and I prefer to focus on sharing quality work versus creating reels that don't resonate with me and my style. Do you have any ideas on how to continue to build my audience without sacrificing my quieter style, "not in your face" approach, and build an email list? In this episode we dig into the question, share our experience with gently and sustainable growing and nurturing our audience, and our encourage...

Jun 04, 202433 min

A business bestie chat for Spring 🌸

In this episode we catch up for spring and dive into what’s been going well in our businesses, what we’ve been finding challenging in this season, and what we’re working towards in our businesses right now too. If you’d love to listen to a really honest chat between two business besties, we recorded this episode for you. Links mentioned: Sara has some availability for 1:1 clients Get 100 Hell Yes People - Jen’s new free toolkit And Jen’s group program, Your Simple & Spacious Business , is op...

May 19, 202453 min

An office hour + free toolkit for you and your business

Jen here with two supportive resources for you today ✍🏻 First up: I have made an awesome and free new toolkit called 100 Hell Yes People to support you to make a gentle, joyful, and sustainable plan for reaching 100 hell yes people at a time in your business. I have been fully booked and thriving in my business since 2015 all thanks to this approach to marketing, by opting out of the lie that we have to build as big an audience as possible, and you can have the toolkit sent straight to your inb...

May 06, 202445 min

How do you handle the grief of limitations holding you back in your business?

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener: How do you handle navigating the grief of feeling like your chronic illness has held you back in so many ways - and yet know that there's nothing else you'd rather do? I have so many ideas, so many things I want to create, and yet with my health recently being so challenging at times, I've found myself feeling stuck in the grief of not getting to do everything I want to in the timeline that I want to, and feeling like people often pip ...

Mar 20, 202441 min

How do my Substack and website intersect?

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener: Like a lot of people, I’ve moved my newsletter from a more traditional email software product over to Substack. As a writer, I also host a lot of my work on my website in a blog. The intention was always for the blog to host SEO friendly pillar content and for the newsletter to speak to more distinct, current or personal topics. I’m now unsure as to what my website is for. Should its focus be on paid offerings and directing people over...

Feb 04, 202443 min

Let’s talk about burnout, marketing, routines + more

In today’s episode Jen dives into twelve questions covering topics such as buiding your business in a way that honours your energetic needs, prioritising your goals with intention, routines and habits to work less and still get your important work done, simplifying marketing, recovering from burnout and more. If you’d prefer to watch a video with timestamps of each question you can find that here . And if you’d love to have guidance, encouragement, and support every step of the way in bringing m...

Jan 30, 202458 min

A business bestie chat for 2024

To kickstart 2024 together we sat down for a business bestie chat where we asked each other: What are your goals and desires for your business and creative life this year? And where would you love to be five years from now and how do you want to work towards that vision in 2024? We talk about how it feels to be a decade into our business journey, the growth we’re prioritising this year, new projects that we want to work on and so much more. If you’d love to tune into a really honest chat between...

Jan 21, 20241 hr 15 min

An end of year Q&A

In today’s episode, for our last episode of 2023, we’re diving into four listener questions covering stepping into a new arena in our work, feeling lonely in our business, structuring our days with intention, and the main challenges we’ve seen others and ourselves overcome in our business journey too. And today is the last day to join The Substack Soirée for the Christmas class! * Letters From A Hopeful Creative Substack * Submit your letter * More from Sara * Sara’s Substack * More from Jen * J...

Nov 27, 202352 min

Ten gentle & joyful sales experiments to generate cashflow in your business

Is selling something that you feel overwhelmed by and often shy away from in your business? If so this episode is for you. In today’s episode Jen is sharing with you a sneak peak of one of the coaching sessions inside her group program, Your Simple & Spacious Business on Gentle & Joyful Sales Experiments To Generate Cashflow In Your Business . I’ll be walking you through the five gentle guideposts for intentional selling, ten gentle and joyful sales experiments, and how to make a gentle ...

Oct 19, 202339 min

How can I make space for my needs in my business?

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener: Despite having a chronic illness, I show up fully to my clients - so how can I explain that I am 100% there for my clients at the times I make for them - but also be real about the reality of days where I can't even muster to have a shower? How can I share, in my communications - that I can be both of these things, all at once? - Bo In today’s episode we dive into this question, share the lessons we’ve learned about putting our needs o...

Oct 09, 202357 min

Join Jen for her behind the scenes launch diary…

As I gear up for the next enrolment of my flagship group program, Your Simple & Spacious Business , I’m sharing a behind the scenes launch diary over on my solo podcast so that I can bring you along the journey with me and share all of the messy middle that comes with embarking on a launch in our business. I’m sharing the first episode of this launch diary with you today on the LFAHC feed if it can be supportive and encouraging for you in your business journey right now too. In this episode ...

Sep 20, 202333 min

I’m running out of stamina in my business - what should I do?

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener: I am writing you from probably the lowest point I have encountered in my creative journey. This year has been hard for me. I feel a bit lost in my business and so so tired. I have been making pottery for over a decade, selling for about 6 years and working full time as an artist for 2. And the struggle just never ends. I feel like I am pushing a rock up a hill and I keep waiting for the incline to level out so I can coast a little. I k...

Sep 18, 202353 min

Is Substack right for me and my business?

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener: I am hanging on your every word about Substack. I just can't seem to shake this question: Is Substack really right for my business? And if so, am I doing it right? How should I think about it and prioritize it among the many other things I could be doing with my limited time and energy? But I keep getting tangled up in this question: is substack _marketing_ for my business, a _product_ for my business, or simply an on-the-side creative...

Aug 07, 202350 min

How can I expand my income potential as a service based business?

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener: I'm an artist and graphic designer and I run a one-woman creative studio. Like Jen, I'm very intentional about not hiring staff. If/when I get to a certain stage I would like to hire a VA or studio manager, but for now it's just me. I've raised my rates over the last year, and I have a steady stream of work coming in, which is great and I'm very grateful for it. However being a service-based business, especially a one-woman show, there...

Jul 10, 202357 min

How could I grow and nurture my audience without using Instagram?

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener: Over the last year, I’ve found myself becoming less and less engaged and connected to Instagram as a form of marketing. I don’t enjoy creating videos. I don’t like being pressured into buying a blue tick just to stop my work being copied. But more importantly, it doesn’t align with my values of a soul-centred approach to business and life, and honestly, it has been quite detrimental to my mental health as I’ve struggled with my physica...

Jun 26, 202352 min

How can I build a welcoming and engaged community?

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener: I'm building a supportive platform on Substack for therapists in private practice called 'Therapists Corner'. Therapists often work alone and I hope to create a space where they can find support, advice and guidance whenever they need to and have a genuine community. In part it will be educational around building up a private practice but i'd also like it to feel like their staff room, where they can take a five minute break or like th...

Jun 12, 20231 hr 2 min

Let’s talk about outsourcing and building a team

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener: Right now I’m taking a good hard look at what I can outsource in my business so that I can be free to do the stuff that I really love. Sara, you mentioned that you have an executive assistant, Jen do you ? If not, I’m really curious to know why not. I genuinely wonder whether it can potentially complicate the goal of a simple and spacious business when we employ people? On the other hand, thinking we can do everything ourselves more ea...

May 29, 202352 min

Where should I focus my energy if I have limited time for marketing?

In today’s episode we dive into this letter from a listener: I’m so happy you two are back! I listened to your podcast a few years ago when I was dreaming about creating a business, and now I’m actually starting one, so it’s perfect timing for me. I have a chronic illness that only allows me to work about 2 hours a day most days (although it fluctuates often from 0-4 hours). I just finished creating my website a few weeks ago, so I’m starting from scratch, and I’m trying to figure out how to man...

May 15, 20231 hr 14 min
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