And She Looked Up Creative Hour

Have you started your holiday season prep? Q4 is  3 months away and there's a lot to do. In this re-air of a previous episode, Melissa & Heather give you loads of tips & strategies to get the heavy lifting done now so you can focus on selling and shipping this fall and winter. We're talking about designing products, building up stock, getting systems in place, planning your promotions, developing and communicating your shipping and refund policies, evaluating if you need help and lots more!

This is a great episode for creatives who

As we head into summer and close out season 3 of the podcast, Heather Travis puts her formidable interview skills to the test as we discuss death row meals, defending our studios in a zombie apocalypse, the slow quality erosion of our favourite sneakers, how every woman has a story that needs to be told, how other people's passion can light you up and music... all the music. We also make a lot of pop culture references!

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How do you keep your creative business stable when the economy isn't? When everything from inflation and interest rates to fuel and food are going up up up and disposable income is shrinking, it’s important to know your numbers, watch your cash flow, keep marketing, evaluate your offerings and raise your prices when it's necessary. This week’s episode will help!

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Setting boundaries in your creative business (and your life) are key to ensuring you're happy, successful and mentally and physically well. We talk about the key areas to look to and the questions to ask when you're determining what your boundaries are!

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In this week's episode, Melissa looks at some of the must have tools that will help grow your creative business - and a few that you don't need to worry about when you're in the early stages of your business. 

After selling my last business and starting again from almost scratch, I had a pretty good idea of which tools I absolutely had to have - even in the early days of a new business when money is tight. I also took the question to the women in my mastermind group and they share a few more. A...

When you create for a living you don't always have the luxury of waiting for inspiration to strike. If a client is waiting, or a product launch is due, the work has to get done in order to get paid!  So how do you make sure you've got a steady supply of inspiration and ideas at your finger tips when you need them? This week Melissa and Heather talk about the tools we can use to capture inspiration on a daily basis, store it and refer back to it when we need it! This episode isn't about where to f...

We all have moments where we want to throw in the towel with our creative businesses but how do you know when it's really time to move on? And how do you navigate all the fears that come with that? And what do you do with your business when it's time? My original co-host Lisa Bolton is back this week and we talk all about knowing when it's time to let go, move on or pivot.

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Creative burnout can have a direct impact on your mental health and your ability to earn a living as a working creative. This week, we have an honest conversation about creative burnout, how you can protect yourself from it and what to do when you find yourself in the midst of it.

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Is it possible to have a 7 figure a year creative business? Is it a number we should all be shooting for? Yes... and no... Heather and Melissa talk about what's involved in running a 5, 6  and 7 figure business and how to measure success.

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Vancouver based writer and PR professional Dee de los Santos talks about her creative journey and how, after spending a decade building the popular blog Gastrofork, she is now leveraging her platform, social presence and relationship building skills to give back to the causes she's passionate about.

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Children's book author Liliana Tommasini joins us to talk about her journey from programmer to first time children's book author (after becoming a Nonna!) and the process of independently publishing her first book (in English and French), Octavia Can Do It!

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Melissa, Heather and Puneeta discuss why reducing waste and increasing sustainability in their creative businesses is so important to them and what they're doing about it. They share some of the things they've learned as well as some practical tips from the And She Looked Up audience!

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It's the 100th episode of the And She Looked Up Podcast and this week Melissa takes you on a tour of some of the show's best moments, behind the scenes and can't miss episodes from the last two years!

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For a summary of this episode and all the links mentioned please visit:
Episode 100: Wild Milestones and All the Top 5s

You can find Melissa at finelimedesigns.com or on Instagram @mhchipmunk.

You can connect with the podcast  on:

You don't need to be a writer or a blogger to grow your creative business with ebooks. Melissa and guest Kristen Raney discuss how having an ebook strategy for your business can create new revenue streams, grow your community, your brand and establish you as a thought leader! We walk you through the whole process with Melissa's ebook design experience and Kristen's ebook marketing knowledge that has her making a healthy additional revenue stream in her floral design and small scale flower farmer businesses.

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As a creative entrepreneur, when your personal values and your business values don't align, it can leave you feeling out of whack and a little bit icky. Melissa and regular guest host Heather Travis get into  why it's important to get them into alignment and how to tackle this really big task!

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Pailin Chongchitnant of Hot Thai Kitchen joins Melissa in this replay episode to discuss getting started on Patreon and similar platforms that allow you to form a deeper connection with your supporters while creating an additional revenue stream!

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This week Melissa talks about how creating space every day for silence has made it easier for her to weather bad news cycles and stressful social media environments. Creating space for silence and embracing that silence can act as a reset button in a world where even opening your Instagram app exposes you to a frenetic cacophony of noise and movement.

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This week Melissa and Heather explore the curse of expecting instant gratification, the frustration of comparing ourselves to others  and the importance of embracing (and enjoying) the process of doing the creative work in our businesses.

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After sharing 20 Email Newsletter Ideas for Your Creative Business a few weeks ago, one question kept coming in... what the heck is a Forever Series? So this week, I'm sharing what it is,  why you need one and why this might be the most hard working tool in your creative business toolbox (and one of the easiest to set up and keep going!).

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There is a hidden gem -  right in your neighbourhood - that's an astonishing wealth of inspiration, resources, and community building opportunities. And it's all FREE. University librarian, Dr. Christina Neigel stops by to help us navigate this amazing resource we all have access to!

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You have an email list. You know you should be talking to your subscribers but... you have NO IDEA what to send them! Melissa & Heather give you 20 email newsletter ideas to help you engage with your subscribers, build a community around your work and... make money! You don't have to be sales-y all the time - the first four letters in newsletter are NEWS. But, remember,  you can always ask for the sale. It just doesn't always have to be the prime focus of every newsletter!

Sign up for the And She Looked Up Newsletter and get t...

As a multi-passionate creative herself, creativity coach and  host of the Multi-Passionate Artists Podcast, Diane Foy understands how difficult it is for multi-passionate creative entrepreneurs to present themselves to the world. This week she joins the podcast to talk about the power of personal branding and showing the world all the wonderful things you do instead of trying to keep them under wraps!

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Alberta singer/songwriter Sharon Marie White joins Melissa to talk about her deep roots as a musician and performer and how she let her music move to the background as she  found other ways to contribute to her family. Now, after putting her music on hold for decades, she's back and she's just getting started - in an era where women are no longer willing to put up with ageism as working creatives!

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Raj Thandhi, the Creative Director and owner of  Pink Chai Media as well as the blogger behind Pink Chai Living joins Melissa this week to talk about choosing a word of the year and why this has been such a beneficial exercise for both of them over the years - in their businesses and their personal lives.

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Melissa & Heather sit down and do an honest evaluation of their 2021 goals and look ahead to how they're approaching and setting goals for 2022. They include the good, the great, the bad and the really ugly. They all happened in 2021 but with that came some valuable lessons to be carried over into goal planning for 2022.

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Author, journalist and freelance writer Tiffany Mayer joins Melissa to talk about some of the biggest mistakes we tend to make as freelancers in the creative services. Are you making these mistakes?

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Saskatoon's Kristen Raney of Shifting Roots went from being a professional singer and vocal coach to an urban gardener, floral artist and content entrepreneur.  In this episode, Kristen shares how she created a successful multi-revenue stream business that combines online ad revenue, digital product sales, in person workshops and the creation and sale of physical floral bouquets and arrangements. Operating from an abundance mindset with a belief in the power of collaboration and education, Kristen has not only brought her audience along for the ride, she's turned the power of growing that community into a revenue generating business strategy. 

Are you ready to quit your day job and take your creative business full time? Or maybe you have a creative business already but you're ready to try something new. Then this episode is for you!

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This is a great episode for anyone who:

When you're a recovering perfectionist sometimes you need a reminder that we're all imperfectly perfect - or perfectly imperfect - and that the people who enjoy our work embrace our imperfections. So maybe we should embrace them too!

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This episode is part of o...

Meghan Telpner is a multi-passionate creative entrepreneur, a nutritionist,  2x best selling author, podcaster and has been listed as one of the top 100 female entrepreneurs in Canada. She sits down with Melissa to talk about her creative & entrepreneurial journey, the importance of building community, experimenting & inspiration, and finding alignment and coherence through the heart-brain connection to foster happiness and creativity.

This is a great episode for anyone who:

In Part 2 of our conversation on pricing models for creative businesses, Melissa and Heather talk about budget or value based pricing and hybrid pricing (where you offer a premium tier and a budget tier). Team that up with last week's episode on premium pricing and you have all three models to evaluate - which one is best for your business?

This is a great episode for anyone who is:

In Part 1 of a 2 part series on pricing models for your creative business, Melissa and Heather talk about premium pricing models for both creative services and physical products - and why this particular model is about so much more than just your price!

This is a great episode for anyone who is:

Louisa Hrennikoff is the designer and maker behind Vancouver based jewellery brand, Luli Designs and she's a craft market veteran. You may have seen her at markets throughout BC from small, local markets to some of Western Canada's biggest markets like Got Craft and Make It. This week she shares her best tips for prepping for market season including how to find markets to participate in, tips on booth or table displays, how much inventory to take, what's in her market emergency kit and much more!

This is a great episode for anyone who is new to...

Betty Shin Binon (aka Stems and Forks) has gone from being one of Toronto's most successful floral designers to now being highly sought after for her photography and video work in her distinct chiaroscuro style. We talk about the challenges and courage that go into making a creative career change a little later in life. And we discuss the power of education, the importance of continuous learning and how generously sharing our knowledge and creative process can take us far.

This episode is great for anyone who has ever said "it's too late to start over" or...

As Managing Director of Devour! The Food Film Fest, Lia Rinaldo and her team have grown a small, niche film festival in Wolfville, N.S into the largest film festival related to all things culinary in the world! She had to get small to go big and this week she shares her story with us. We talk about niching down, curating the work of other creatives,  grass roots marketing, applying for grants and, of course, pivoting in a pandemic!

This episode is part of our ongoing series profiling creative Canadian women - their journeys and some of t...

As the busiest season of the year for creative businesses approaches we talk about how to make time for self-care - and what self-care really is (it's not just a massage or spa appointment)! Hit the ground running and make this holiday season your best with a body and mind that are up to the challenges. And schedule in some downtime for the new year to rest and recuperate.

This episode is great for all creatives, regardless of whether Q4 is your busy season. Learn 6 key components of managing your health and well being. We also talk...

As small business owners, we pour an inordinate amount of time into social media for the benefit of our creative businesses. Every day there is a hungry algorithm to feed that regularly changes what kind of content it's in the mood for.

But is it financially, creatively or mentally worth it? Is it healthy or even good for our craft to feel the pressure to create art or content that must be shared on a daily basis?  Melissa & Heather get into the pros & cons of  creating endless content to feed an insatiable beast and whether or not it...

As creative business owners, our creativity is our livelihood - which means it's so important we take steps to protect it.  Lawyer Andrea Henry of Henry Business Law joins us in this episode to talk about how you can take steps to protect your creative business and your intellectual property including what you can do yourself and where you should get a lawyer to help you (and how to find a lawyer that gets you and your business!)

For a summary of this episode and all the links mentioned, please visit:
Episode 75: Protecting Your Creative Work

In this creative mindset episode, Certified Career & Success Coach Alana Ruoso joins us to talk about 10 curious ways that us creative small business owners love to use to self-sabotage our careers - and how to overcome them!

This is a great episode for anyone who has ever been afraid of succeeding (yes, that's a real thing!) or who is looking to set themselves up for success rather than self-sabotaging the progress they've made. Alana walks us through some hard truths but then shares coping strategies to help us turn the narrative around!

For a summary...

How you refer to yourself and the mental roles you let yourself take on in your creative business can both spur you on to growth or keep you trapped somewhere you don't want to be.

In this episode Melissa and Ayngelina Brogan have a conversation that revolves around how mindset and business are interconnected and why what you call yourself really matters. We want to help you change your mindset in this episode to spur you on to growth - both as a creator and a business owner!

This is a great episode for anyone...