Has the noise and demand of social media meant you have skipped PR and traditional methods (think TV, radio, digital & print publications) in your strategy and solely focused on other channels to gain brand awareness?Does even the thought of gaining PR and putting yourself out there give you an absolute fear fest which makes you avoid it even more?!We hear you. We’ve all been taught that the media is scary. A place for celebrities to get shamed and outed.It also seems a little dated, right?Well, it’s time to change these thoughts.Traditional marketing methods are still at the forefront of brand awareness and one of the best ways to get in front of your ideal audience.Just like any other marketing channel, you just have to approach it strategically and confidently. You are interesting and you do have a story to tell, people want to hear about your journey and business purpose.We first met Charlie (Founder of Seafoam PR) during our COVID lockdown (1.0) support sessions over in The Hangout. Charlie kindly offers 1-2 coaching sessions for group members to open the conversation on communication and traditional media. We quickly found that most, if not all, of the business owners we connected with were not considering traditional media/marketing within their strategy. So we thought it was about time we started the conversation.This podcast does just that. We hope it sparks those initial thoughts of introducing traditional media methods into your overall marketing strategy.

Creator Journals

Extra Chapter: How to speak to journalists (With Seafoam PR)

The final part of our four part sustainability series, we cover ethical and social practices. We have a really open, honest conversation understanding the cultural differences when seeking a manufacturer abroad. Demi shares how you can discover if the factory is adhering to local guidance, and how you as a customer can help improve conditions and pressures for workers.

Extra Chapter: How to build a sustainable product in the face of fast fashion (Pt.4. Ethical and Social Practices)

Following on from our four part sustainability mini series, this episode covers environmental footprint and lifecycle of products. We cover the impact that your product has at every stage from inception, to the customer receiving their order, to the longevity of the product, right through to when the product reaches the end of its use (lifecycle). Demi offers some great tips and examples of how other small businesses are approaching this subject.

Extra Chapter: How to build a sustainable product in the face of fast fashion (Pt.3. Environmental Footprint + Product Lifecycle)

With special guest Demi Johnson (Expert Apparel Consultant and Founder of Get Stuff Made) we open the conversation on what it takes to create a sustainable product. This series is broken into four parts, including; This introduction and discussion of the changing need for sustainability within your brand; materials; environmental footprint and product lifecycle; social and ethical practice. In this episode, Demi offers her expert knowledge on sustainable material choices.

Extra Chapter: How to build a sustainable product in the face of fast fashion (Pt.2. Materials)

With special guest Demi Johnson (Expert Apparel Consultant and Founder of Get Stuff Made) we open the conversation on what it takes to create a sustainable product. This series is broken into four parts, including; This introduction and discussion of the changing need for sustainability within your brand; materials; environmental footprint and product lifecycle; social and ethical practice. This episode starts the conversation. Discussing the changing need for introducing more sustainable options into your brand, and how to reduce overwhelm when approaching the ever expanding sustainable options.

Extra Chapter: How to build a sustainable product in the face of fast fashion (Pt.1. Intro)

In February 2019, Banana Scoops was just an outrageously innovative concept that Jess had been thinking about whilst working her “normal job”. A concept that created “nice cream” from bananas and other natural ingredients to make a “healthy” alternative to our favourite chilled treat.Fast forward to just a year later and tubs of delicious Banana Scoops can now be seen in the freezer aisle in major retailers such as Ocado, Planet Organic and As Nature Intended.What’s so outstanding about this achievement is that Jess managed to do all of this on her own. No team, no huge budget, just a lot of hard work and a strong want to create the highest quality product.We chat to Jess to see just how she has managed to do all this on her own and what it’s like to connect with such major national brands. How she managed the many barriers and lessons thrown her way, and what advice she can offer to anyone looking to grow a start up to such a scale in one year without a team behind them.Here’s just a snippet of the advice Jess offered during our chat….Retailers won’t chase you, you have to put yourself out there, grab hold of opportunities (even if it’s slightly terrifying!) and push for your brand to be noticed.When chasing suppliers, don’t follow up with a “just chasing the previous email” type of email. Always add additional value. Offer new developments, press articles, social engagement and just general good news pieces. You need to grab their attention and offer increased value on every touchpoint.Don’t let a lack of funds/human resource/skill set stop you. Jess put together a basic brand design herself to get going, she then pulled upon connections to get where she is now. Branding is vital in standing out as a food product, but you can add to your brand with a really quality product, an innovative product, and your passion. You can then pay an expert when you have the funds.Jess offers SO many more valuable insights as to how she has managed to achieved such a major milestone so early on. It is also so interesting to hear the process that goes behind meeting and getting the go ahead from a major brand.

Extra Chapter: How to get listed in a major retailer in one year, without a team.

These special footnote episodes are additional to our usual Journals, as we open up the discussion on a particular topic faced by creatives caring their own path. Even though this episode seems like the perfect start, it’s also a slightly unusual start as we are discussing the very end of a business, and open up on the realities of closing a successful business. More so, when is it right to push through when you feel that niggle to give it up, or do you follow your gut and close when the passion and energy for the business fades.If you managed to catch the last episode, you would have heard my chat with Lucy Elliott, and how she ditched the London life to grow a large-scale chocolate business, Creighton’s Chocolaterie.Even though that was only recorded at Christmas last year, things have changed quite dramatically for Lucy. I won’t go into the specifics now, as you’ll hear all about it in the episode, but the conversation went beyond the actual aspects of closing a company down. We discuss that horrible niggling feeling when the passion starts to die; when the fun creative elements of a business turn into business realities of balancing the books, paying those massive VAT bills; and the constant pressure to evolve and stay relevant. These feelings come and go in all of us, but when do you know when it’s time to make a change?We also discuss why there is SUCH a huge pressure on the self-employed to keep going. Why is closing a business always seen as negative? It doesn’t always mean the business is failing, it might just mean that you want to change, to pivot, and to explore your options as you move into different stages of your life. I am so grateful for Lucy’s honesty during this chat. We cover so many important topics that many, if not all of us face, and really open up on making these big decisions. I must add, this is not a negative episode, even if we do have a good rant at times. It’s about listening to your own intuition, really reflecting and making the best decision for you. Also taking away the element that closing a business doesn’t mean your business hasn’t been successful, far from it in Lucy’s case. Let me know what you think, I’d love to know if you’ve encountered any of these feelings in your journey.

Footnotes: The realities of closing a business and starting again with Lucy Elliott

I have lusted after Lucy’s divine chocolate for a long while now. If the insanely beautiful packaging doesn’t get you, then the completely unique flavours will. I mean, choosing between ramen noodles and a breakfast bar was one of the biggest decisions I have ever made.We were so interested in hearing Lucy’s story and how she’d dragged the chocolate scene into the 21st century at such a rapid pace.We managed to grab a chat with Lucy just before Christmas last year (how did lockdown manage to make half a year whizz by without us really even knowing). It was obviously a really busy time for Lucy to take a moment out (sorry Lucy!), but what the next few months would bring couldn’t have been predicted by any of us. More on that at the end of this blog (little cliff hanger for you there).Out of interest of learning more about the art of chocolate (after running a food blog on the side of a retail job), Lucy and her Mum enrolled on a chocolate making course. Little did they know that within 6 months they would be handed the keys to their first shop and they would be at the start of building the Creighton’s brand.In our chat with Lucy, we discover more about those early days that led to the creations of Creighton’s, and more importantly, how they grew from that single shop in Leighton Buzzard to stocking in over 200 stores across the globe. Alongside product collaborations with huge brands such as TeaPigs.We are obsessed with the brand that Lucy has developed through pure creative innovation. She utilised her small business status to move fast in the industry and stand out against the huge competitors.So, I mentioned that there was a twist. Well, it’s a big one.With the impact of COVID-19 and a few other reasons, Lucy has decided to close Creighton’s Chocolaterie. This isn’t a negative, far from it. Lucy is closing the business to pivot her focus (we know you’ll all love it!). We’ll be revealing all very soon!In the meantime, we really hope you love this journey. Lucy is FULL of business wisdom from almost 10 years of growing Creighton’s to the huge success it has seen today (all whilst becoming a Mother, closing shops, opening factories, the list goes on!).For more creative entrepreneurial success stories, check out https://www.create-collective.com.

Creighton's Chocolaterie: from Graphic Designer to making chocolate for over 200 stores across the globe

It didn’t take long for Lucy to realise that there was much more out there for her than the corporate agency life. After being consistently told to stay late and miss birthdays, and important life events, Lucy took that leap to take back control of her own life.Initially she went to work part-time for renowned food blogger, Madeleine Shaw and added to her already established digital skill set whilst building the foundations of her own venture, Sassy Digital.Lucy set out to shake the negative connotations of a digital agency and completely flip it on its head. Creating a completely personal, quality, and unique digital marketing service that became an extension of her clients team. At its core, Lucy wanted to ensure everyone had the chance to access the digital marketing services they needed, from a bespoke package, to free guidance on her blog “Sassy Bites”. She would keep her internal team small, and then outsource work to hand-selected freelancers that would perfectly match the services her clients need.Lucy soon attracted clients, from personal branding projects to social media management. But, as Lucy is very open to admit, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. There were hard times when start-up cash-flow was tight, retainer clients (long-term clients that offer a regular payment) were lost, and Lucy considered on many occasions to give up in those early and go back to a stable career that would be “easier” (and would bring in a lot more money in those early days!).But, Lucy (and her family) had said she would stick it out for 5 years to see where it could go. AND THANK GOD SHE DID. Lucy turned a massive corner as she onboarded some huge clients, that has lead to Lucy leading the way in the marketing of emerging fashion brands. She is the go-to person for stand out fashion branding and e-commerce that has combined Lucy’s two loves and carved her dream career path. Of course, Sassy Digital works across other various sectors, but surely it seemed so fitting that a sassy businesses ended up in fashion!What does she put this success down to? Well, people. Lucy lets us in on why face-to-face human connection, friends (special shoutout to her best mate & fellow Founder Natalie of Stay Wild Swim), and moving close to those networks has been the ultimate game changer for her. Proving that although she specialises in digital marketing, growing a business is ALL about human connection.Lucy is SO open about the ups and downs of starting and successfully growing a business, and my god, it’s so refreshing. We will all have those days where we want an easier ride, but with determination, a strong work ethic, and hangouts in Soho House* (*this may not apply to all) you’ll power through and eventually carve a dream career.Oh, and if you’ve seen Lucy’s work with brands such as Stay Wild Swim, but haven’t quite got the budget for the full Sassy service yet - well Lucy has your back. She’s launched the ultimate range of guides, templates and bespoke logos so everyone can access a bit of the Sassy magic. **Please note - we recorded this episode in a quiet meeting room in London. But, we didn’t counter in that it would be the home of the world’s largest and noisiest aircon machine. What ever we tried to quiet the beast it just got angrier! SO please acceot our apologies for the hum in the background.

Lucy Hitchcock - On leaving corporate life to make the world of digital marketing a whole lot sassier

If you are anything like me, when you graduated from University, you were pretty young, naive and not 100% on where to turn next.This certainly was not the case for this week’s podcast guest. After a very brief stint with a travel and fashion magazine, Angelica knew she needed to follow her desire for creative freedom and pursue a career as an entrepreneur.Quickly spotting a gap in the market, in March 2014, Angelica took the leap and launched About Time Magazine. That digital site that offered everything it was “about time” you did in London. Personal, well-curated, and to the point the site soon took off as Angelica and her team of writers offered the very best unique options for Londoners and tourists alike.As Angelica details in the podcast, it was not easy feet. She navigated her way through the challenges many businesses owners face, such as; building a team, making some initial mistakes when approaching brands, and finding her place as a Founder.Well, overcoming those challenges paid off. About Time magazine has built a loyal audience and has a monthly readership of 85,000, alongside over 100,000 followers on social media. Taking the decision work out of what to do in your free time, it has become the go to site for time-poor Londoners.By March 2019, as About Time Magazine grew in followers and writers (with over 90 now contributing), Angelica looked to other projects. After witnessing the demand for more offline interactions, Angelica launched the About Time Academy. The Academy would be a curation of live panel events, masterclasses and talks by leading experts, entrepreneurs and leaders.After a successful series of events, Angelica has now evolved the Academy to include her passion for supporting fellow female entrepreneurs. September 2019 saw the first #shestarteditlive festival which was a one-day festival dedicated to the future of women in work.Angelica’s incredible work has not gone unnoticed, as she’s featured in major publications such as Forbes, Elle Magazine and Real Business to name a few.We obviously HAD to chat with Angelica and not only find out how she managed to become such a multi-business powerhouse, but also discover the realities behind starting a business fresh from University. Angelica offers incredible insight into the lessons she has learnt along the way (including how to be a Manager when you really just want to be mates with everyone!) and gives an insight on more incredible business ventures she has planned for the future. **Please note, we recorded this in March knowing that the episode would go out after the March She Started It Live Festival. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Angelica had to postpone the festival for the safety of everyone involved. So, there is some talk about the upcoming festivals. I hope you can understand that we have kept it in as there will be many more festivals in the future, and we are very much behind this innovative concept!*

Angelica Malin: Uni grad to portfolio entrepreneur leading the way in female empowerment

Sophie’s story is one packed with underlying personal purpose. Purpose that eventually become her ultimate identity as a brand and what made her stand out from the rest. We first got in contact with Sophie to see if she’d be keen to design the artwork for this podcast. Thankfully, she agreed! She was the ultimate dream to work with, and by scrolling through her work and seeing all the massive brands Sophie is now linked to, we knew we had to find out how she did it. Again, we were pretty thankful when Sophie agreed again! But, she made it pretty clear that she wanted to share the reality behind where she is now. Although she has over 28k follower on IG, she has only just taken the leap to be completely full-time as an illustrator. Sophie’s story is SO inspiration, and one that so many people can benefit from. With many creatives supporting their growth with part-time roles, Sophie describes how having part-time work is nothing to be embarrassed of, it’s essential to keep your creative career going, and can actually be beneficial to keeping you on track. A secure, stable income from creative business can take time, and in order to make it, you have to support it. From her degree in Fashion (taken from people pushing her towards more “career-focused industries at the time), Sophie always had a passion for promoting feminism and breaking many taboos. Little did she know, that those early University projects would be what defined her design style in years to come and see her build a career from a creative passion that, in those early days, she thought was massively out of sight. Fast-forward to now, and Sophie has worked with huge companies such as SkinnyDip London, Misguided and Durex, to name just a few. Her style is now well and truly cemented in the modern feminist movement, with her designs defining a new generation of thinking. Sophie is now being snapped up by major brands for live event illustrations, so we’re excited to see who she works with next as she evolves her business in this direction.We had an awesome time catching up with Sophie to find out how she has gone from a fashion degree to taking the leap to move to London to follow her passion for design; and how she supported the growth of her business in those early days. Sophie shares some real insights as to what she’s learnt from being self-employed; from the need to make friends in the industry, to learning how to price her work. Thanks again Sophie, we’ll be hitting you up soon for some more design work!

Sophie Rose Brampton: Defining a new generation of feminism & sexuality one illustration at a time

Snacking. Here at the Create Co. office we are not in the slightest bit sorry to say it’s our favourite hobby/habit/lifestyle choice. Snacking is for life.There is nothing better than grazing all day. But, usually the options on offer are pretty unhealthy unnatural junk food; or not really hitting that crave.Well, let’s all hail Sara and Maria as they have changed all of this. They too would grab a bag of crisps on a Sunday evening and find themselves working their way through the packet before even realising. Gaining that satisfying comfort from enjoying a snack you know and love; followed rather quickly by the ever so slight guilt that it’s not really doing your body any good. They realised there must be another option. Why should you have to change the way you snack completely and miss out of that comforting feeling, when you could surely just make the current choices a little healthier.You guessed it, that's when Well & Truly was born. Sara and her now sister-in-law, Maria, got to work on evolving the humble crisp. Create something delicious that wasn’t naughty, but, well, “naughtyish”.Fast forward to today and you will find packets of Well & Truly crisps in leading retailers across the UK, and beyond. Including hge names such as Ocado, Sainsburys and Wholefoods.Of course, designing, developing, and bringing a product to market is not in the slightest bit the easy task, let alone disrupting a saturated market with an innovative product. In this episode, Sara takes us behind the scenes of what it was really like to get to where they are now. Letting us on on the massive amount they both had to learn, and still do, and the lessons they learnt along the way. We would like to say a massive thank you to Sara from joining us at the London studio (Maria, we will meet you next time!) and a bigger thank you for allowing the snacks to continue to flow in the office, without the guilt!

Well & Truly: Transforming the snacking industry in a "naughtyish" way

Message on love and support  for all, especially the creative community at this timeUpdates include: News on The Hangout support group, a place for creatives to unite, support and find positivity in the time of need.We will continue to share new episodes of Creator Journals to offer a place of escapism and optimism. We may, or may not, talk about the outbreak in future intros, to ensure you have a place to come and escape from the outside world.Please be assured all future episodes were pre-recorded. All special episodes within the outbreak will be recorded remotely.

We're all in this together

Just a few short years ago, Anna and Nicola were in corporate roles discussion how awkward, and frankly disappointing, office celebrations can be. From that last minute panic when you realise it’s someones birthday, so you make the dash to the closest shop and grab a pretty sorry looking sponge; to important office meetings that offer a drab looking selection of sweet goods. Why, when there was SUCH an incredible offering of independent artisan bakeries and cake shops in London were offices opting for the most drab options.Fast-forward to now, and Anna and Nicola have completely transformed the office cake culture. They have created the solution that, inhindsight, was screaming out. These incredible artisan bakeries needed to become convenient, easy and accessible to fast-paced offices. Cue, Cake Drop London.Cake Drop London is everything we love about a creative business solution, with it’s conscious ability to not only solve the initial problem, but also ensure every part of the business is creating value. Designing a business that is of ultimate value, not just for profit. Not only is Cake Drop London an eco-friendly alternative (you must check out the incredible cake bikes!), it also supports and allows other independent ventures (the bakeries and cake shops) to thrive and compete against the bigger corporation offering cut-prices cakes.In this Journal, Anna + Nicola talk us through how they got the Cake Drop London to where it is today. Including the realities of running a crowdfunding campaign; how patience has been one of the biggest skills they have learnt along the way as they have grown the business; and how working as sisters has been really easy for them (I am sure there are many sisters out there who can’t quite believe this).I cannot explain how incredible it was to meet these ladies. They have the most infectious good vibe, which in turn made everyone “behind the scenes” laugh a bit too much during the recording - luckily it didn’t pick up on the mics!We are extremely excited to see where Anna + Nicola take Cake Drop London, with their combined skill set we know they will make the world a tastier place for us all! I hear the rejoice from everyone based outside London who can’t wait to push aside the supermarket cakes

Cake Drop London: The sisters who have transformed the office cake culture

This journal started in one of our all time favourite ways. No, not from an engagement (although it’s a pretty good way start to any business), but from a pure creative innovator seeing a unique gap in a very big and competitive market, and filling it with something we all can’t believe wasn’t there before.After Kat got engaged back in 2008 she started to plan her wedding, but after a very short amount of time became jaded by what was out there. Kat quickly realised that the wedding industry at the time focused on a particular type of bride and only really seem to offer more “traditional” inspiration. She saw the massive gap in the market for couples looking for alternative options, inspiration and advice. So, she ran with it, and Rock n Roll Bride was born.Kat has gone from balancing a full-time job whilst launching and growing the Rock n Roll bride blog; to taking the leap and now working full-time from home running a hugely successful global company with her Husband. A company that has grown from its origins of a globally successful wedding blog to a hugely popular alternative wedding magazine; an Amazon list-topping book; and now an innovative live wedding event.Kat has not only grown a company but a strong community of brides seeking more from their wedding day. As of February 2020 Kat has grown a community of….97.4k Instagram followers241,363 Facebook followers14,805 Facebook group membersNot bad, huh.We chat to Kat and find out just how she went from sharing her own alternative wedding plans to running a global company with her husband (and, of course, her cats!).Kat gives valuable insight into her success, putting it down to a number of factors, including, but not limited to; growing her ideas and business in a slow, steady and consistent manner; finding your business niche and being very specific about your message and who you are talking to; and listening to your gut when outside influence tries to take your business in a slight different way to what you feel is right, even if it means taking a huge gamble. Oh, and having a business partner as your Husband, who can not only bring another element to the business, but also offer that important personal support.This is not just one for those in the wedding industry. Far from it. Kat’s journey and insights can be reflected across many creative industries, with valuable advice for anyone looking to grow their creative concept from an initial passion idea.We adore Kat. Her honesty about running a business, her hard-working ethos (but without the need to tell everyone), and her passion for building a business that really helps people.A huge thanks to Kat for joining us - we’re so excited to see Kat’s future plans. Everything she puts her name to always ends up to be epic![P.s. You can find more info and grab tickets to Rock n Roll Live here. If you’re reading this before the Rock n Roll Bride Live event - be sure to check our Instagram for a special Create Co. discount code!]

Rock n Roll Bride: From personal wedding planning to Amazon #1 bestselling author

We go behind the scenes and uncover the person and journey behind the successful modern creative brands, services and concepts we see today. Discovering just what it takes to go from an idea to scaling to a well-known creative venture. We find out how these innovators got their unique idea off the ground, the challenges faced along the way, and learn more about the niche creative industry they work in. From these personal accounts, we learn real-life advice from the valuable lessons learnt, and hope the journey inspires and helps you to carve your own lifestyle-driven, creative path.

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Creator Journals

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