Dear Handmade Life

Nicole shares a special announcement, a thank you gift for all of you and closes out the season before our podcast goes on winter break. We'll see you all again in January 2023 for a new season.

Nicole chats with Instagram branding strategist Kat Coroy about how to create an authentic brand on Instagram that attracts your ideal customers, ways to create content without feeling overwhelmed, a mindset shift to help you feel more confident on social media, how to deal with negativity online and more.

What does a visionary relationship with your finances look like? Nicole talks with Jessie Susannah Karnatz aka the Money Witch about healing your relationship with money, creating change in your financial life, how to determine who your big financial goal is, the real reasons behind your money issues and more.

How are radical authenticity and self-acceptance drivers in the growth of creativity and business? Healer, Licensed Therapist, Ritualist, Yoga Instructor Shirley Johnson joins Nicole for a conversation about how if you're not growing and moving towards being your true self, you won't be able to build a sustainable business and irresistible brand. They talk about how discomfort and patience are key to growth, why rough spots are transformational, what to do if you feel like there's something bigger for you and more.

What sets doers apart from dreamers? How do you know if you should take the leap and turn your artistic passion into a business? Ilana Griffo & Katie Johnson, artists, published authors and co-owners behind Goodtype join Nicole for a conversation all about what it takes to make a living from your art. They talk about how to know if it's time to quit your job, taking calculated risks, testing the market, sacrifices they had to make and more.

What is your brand story? How do you clarify your vision and create branded purposeful content that supports it? Brand, Content Marketing Strategist and avid storyteller Vivienne Okafor joins Nicole to answer these questions as well as talk about how to keep with the changes on social media, the importance of market research and how to do it on a budget, and they have an on-the-spot brainstorm session and create content ideas for a handmade brand to get your inspired. P.S. - You can join Nicole and Vivienne on Instagram Live on October 19, 2022 at 1pm PT for a Live content idea brainstorm session. We'll invite you to tell us about your brand and we'll give you a few content ideas that feel on-brand and easy. Just head to @ dearhanmdadelife on Instagram to RSVP.

How does gratitude play a role in goal-getting? How can realizing that as Jack Canfield said, “there are only three things you can control: what you think, what you visualize, and what you do” change your life? What does success look like? How can you fully embrace the good things in your life and move towards joy? Nicole chats with her friend of 20 years, Amy Tan, a small business owner, proud mama, professional scrapbooker, and the founder of Amy Tangerine, about all of this and more.

Whats's the biggest thing that's holding you back in your creativity and business? It's actually YOU or more specifically your mindset. Your mindset can limit you and keep you in your comfort zone where everything is known and relatively safe, there's no risk of failure or making mistakes but there's also no chance for bringing the brilliance that only you have into the world. And, we need your brilliance! In this episode I'm sharing a story about my own mindset struggle that affected my business and six steps to deal with your inner critic and cultivate a mindset of abundance.

If you're a maker who is just starting your business, this episode is for you. Business owner, podcast host, educator and bestselling author Sue Monhait shares insights from her 30+ years in business to help early stage creative business owners shorten the learning curve to having a successful business. We talk about how to know if there's a market for what you make, the common things makers miss when starting a handmade business, how to find your focus, how to know if your business is successful and more.

Even the most successful business owners deal with impostor syndrome, negative beliefs, limiting mindsets and other underlying issues that can sabotage their path from where they are to where they want to be. On today's podcast we talk with Topsie VandenBosch a Mindset & Emotional Intelligence Coach & Consultant about these common mindset spirals and how to crush them.

What does a happy and abundant life look like? How do you know if you're wealthy? What does it mean to be semi-retired? How can you plug the plug leaks of time, money and energy? These are some of things Nicole and life and wealth coach Alyssa Blackwell-Hammond talk about during this episode. This episode has a bit more woo-woo talk (think sacred spaces and spirit guides) than usual. Grab a drink, open your mind and hit play.

How can you be authentic and impactful on Instagram for your creative business without spending all your time planning content, mastering every new feature and feeling overwhelmed? KatieMac our online operations director joins Nicole for this special episode where they sit down with Instagram strategist Manu Muraro, the founder of Your Social Team and answer that question and more. They talk about the benefits of being salesy on Instagram, time management, new features, what metrics you should analyze, how to know if a post is successful, reposting guidelines, the question you need to ask yourself before every single post and much more!

Creative and entrepreneur, Margo Tantau and Nicole talk about the lifecycle of trends, forecast what's next in design trends, how creatives can determine where to focus, when it's time to push and when it's time to rest, how to define what you do, what the creatives who meet their goals have in common, productivity culture and more.

If you've ever wondered how some people seem to have this fearless authenticity online, this episode is for you. Nicole talks with business mentor Erica Reitman about how to live a life that's true to yourself, Erica's evolution from interior designer to coach, how creatives can uncover and embrace their uniqueness, how to tackle social media without any dancing or pointing and more.

What if instead of thinking of social media as an obligation, you thought of it as an opportunity that allowed you to connect with your ideal customer and have fun? It's possible! In today's episode Content Strategist & Creative Director Gabriella Layne-Avery shares the techniques, mindset and insight you need to transform your relationship with social media into something that serves your business, your community and you.

Despite the fact that I ended up only asking designer, artist, and speaker, Adam J. Kurtz (aka Adam JK) only one of my official interview questions since the conversation flowed on its own, we actually covered many of the topics I wanted to touch on like admitting you don't know what you're doing, Adam's art and career, defining your version of success, embracing your youness, ways to be okay (even if only briefly) with the fragility of being a human, his newest book You Are Here *For Now and more.

Uncovering Your Brand Story with brand expert Marina Girgis. Marina and I talk about finding what lights you up, vision mapping, finding your own idea of success, creating a lasting brand, discovering your brand's mission and values and how you don't have to wait for someone to give you the life you want but instead can create it for yourself.

Financial planner Lauren Estes shares her insights for creatives to get their financial ducks in a row. Nicole and Lauren talk about money mindset issues, saving when you're self-employed, the big mistakes she sees clients make and more.

Nicole helps you go from dream to done as she guides you through three key things you need to do to get your goals. Have you ever started going after something and found yourself losing steam? Or maybe you felt stuck during the process? Or you didn't start because you weren't sure what to do or felt overwhelmed? If so, this episode is for you. Nicole will help you get unstuck and break down those roadblocks. P.S. Enrollment is now open for The Club, our Members-Only community for creatives and passionate small business owners to get the tools, mindset, accountability and support to take your next big leap. Membership only opens a few times a year and our next enrollment period is February 1-15, 2022. You can join the waiting list at https://dearhandmadelife.com/theclub/

It's a new year and that means a fresh start, not just for you but also for your business. What do you want to do differently for your business this year? Join Nicole for this solo episode where she shares why proactive work is key to getting your goals and guides you through breaking down your big goal into manageable tasks and how to get accountability and support. P.S. Enrollment opens soon for The Club, our Members-Only community for creatives and passionate small business owners to get the tools, mindset, accountability and support to take your next big leap. Membership only opens a few times a year and our next enrollment period is February 1-15, 2022. You can join the waiting list at https://dearhandmadelife.com/theclub/

Leveling up and standing out with Lauren Keplinger, small business owner, Etsy shop consultant and mom of four. Lauren and I talk about analyzing and streamlining your business to increase profits and decrease your working hours, outsourcing, how to stand out in crowded market, mistakes she made early on, shifting your mindset, her advice for my mom guilt and more.

Running Your Business Like a CEO with Agency+Team Operations Coach Tatiana O'Hara. Tatiana and I discuss what first steps you can take right now to begin to be the CEO of your business, the roadblocks that may be standing in your way, how to start assessing your business using KPI's, how to give critical feedback and more.

Make a Life with Melanie Falick, independent writer, editor, and creative director—and a lifelong maker. Melanie and Nicole talk about Melanie's career in publishing, why making is so vital and valuable in the modern world, slowing down and making for the sake of making rather than selling or sharing, what a good life looks like and more.

Authenticty & following what makes you come alive with musician, director and educator Kathryn Lounsbery. Kathryn and I talk about that that painful but necessary space between what we want to make and what we're capable of making, being authentic, life as a c, bad-assery and more.

Marketing for Creatives with Christina Loff, a marketing strategist. Christina and Nicole talk about Christina's big leap to starting her own business after working at big brands like CreativeLive, Minted and Chronicle Books, content strategy, the current social media climate, uncovering your unique brand story, how she helps creatives and more.

Time management, Trauma & Productivity with Naché Snow, a podcaster, online educator, and maker. Naché and Nicole talk about the accident that led Naché to stop caring about what other people thought of her and to go after her dreams, their favorite tools, tips, platforms and strategies for time management and productivity and more.

"The Genius Zone with Gay Hendricks, psychologist, author and a leader in the fields of relationship transformation and bodymind transformation for more than 45 years. Gay and Nicole talk about how let go of things you can't control, bring more joy into your life, fail forward, access all the time you need, find and live in your Genius Zone, Upper Limit Problems and so much more. "

Creating your purpose with Quinn Tempest, a color-loving business mentor & brand strategist. Quinn and Nicole talk about the distinction between finding and creating your purpose, how to analyze opportunities to make sure they align with your "why", the first steps to uncovering your purpose, how to unearth and distill your unique story and more.

Healing your way to a purposeful life with Nakeia Homer, a well-being educator, mental wellness advocate, and author. Nakeia and Nicole talk about Nakeia's powerful story of healing, how trauma that you don't deal with holds you back from your highest self, mindset work, the first steps to begin to heal and much more.

Creativity as a Way Through with Lisa Bardot. Lisa and I talk about how drawing helped her through a difficult time, the importance of expressing yourself through creativity, the effect the pandemic and its trauma had on making, how to get started tapping into your creativity or a daily practice, courage, vulnerability and how she keeps it all together while juggling her art, business and raising three kids.

Building an engaged audience with writer and artist Nika Tanaka of Kwento by Nica. Nica and I talk about creating an emotional connection with your audience, figuring out your ideal of successful growth and engagement, how your worth is not your work and she shares tips and secrets she’s used to build an audience that always has her back and can’t wait to see what she does next.

There’s so much I had to learn the hard way because the resources that we have now just didn’t exist when I started. I want you to learn the easy way, gleaning lessons from my missteps and success. That's why in today’s episode, I'm sharing three things that were instrumental in helping me build several six-figure businesses over the years.

Thinking like a CEO with Mentor Mama Bear and Creative Strategist Ana Manzano of Go Forth and Hustle. Ana and I chat about scaling up your business, the grant she won that changed her business, delegating, working towards a growth mindset and more. P.S. - Ana is teaching a class on scaling your business at the Camp Dear Handmade Life Virtual Summit this summer. Take a tour of Camp DHL here: https://dearhandmadelife.com/camp-dhl/

With our Camp Dear Handmade Life around the corner, I wanted to share some tips for you to make meaningful connections at virtual events. While we do everything we can to help you grow your community at Camp DHL, we can’t do everything, so here’s my advice to get you from ”what if there’s an awkward moment?” to “I can’t believe we just met, I feel like we’ve been friends forever” that you can use at Camp DHL and beyond!

Discovering and loving your style with painter and sewist Katie Kortman. Katie and I chat about discovering and embracing your style, dealing with criticism, sourcing inspiration without copying, motherhood, how to be an example of self-love for your children and her mother’s mantra, “Weird is different and different is good.”

In this solo episode I’m sharing four secrets to goal-getting that have helped me make big and small but meaningful transformations in my life and business. I’m also sharing about some highlights of Camp Dear Handmade Life, our six-week at-home craft, business, goal-getting and community-building virtual summer camp experience for creatives. In just a few hours a week, you can start working towards your next bold beautiful transformation at Camp DHL.

Embracing fear with artist and author Meera Lee Patel. Meera and I talk about using fear as a tool & teacher and embracing it, what it’s like to be a first-time mama, living with anxiety and OCD, how to push past fear in your creativity and business and more.

The Secret I've Been Keeping & 5 Ways to Build Your Brand Through Events (Bonus episode) In this solo episode I’m sharing about the how attending events has impacted my life and business and been my biggest growth accelerator. I’m also letting you in on a secret.. our new event, Camp Dear Handmade Life, a six-week at-home business, craft, goal-getting and community retreat! Join the waiting list at dearhandmadelife.com/camp-dhl

Diversity & Cultural Transformation in the Maker Community with Monica Tetteh of Black makers Matter and That’s Sew Monica. Monica and I talk about her journey as a creative, inclusion in the sewing and craft communities, how small business owners can authentically embody diversity, the difference between true allyship and performative allyship and more. Get ready because Monica and I both cry in this episode and we also collaborate on an idea for a quilt that honors the geographical, generational and cultural path of creativity.

Veering off from our usual interview format, this unique episode is a LIVE unscripted coaching session. I brought our operations manager Spaulding in to join me on the podcast so I could answer her questions as she embarks on starting her handmade business, Hot for Color. I learned how to run my creative business the hard way, through trial and error and I love consulting and coaching other makers to shorten their learning curve. I share insights about: -Where to start when building your online presence -Branding basics -How to determine your marketing sweet spot -How personal to get and boundaries on social media as well as how often to post and how to engage with your community -How to start with a newsletter from square one -Newsletter content ideas -Sourcing blanks and production

Uncovering Your Brand Story & Expertise with personal branding strategist Maya Elious. I talk with Maya about discovering your impact zone where your natural abilities converge with your purpose, passion and profession, how uncovering and sharing your brand story is key to success, the concept of charging your worth and Maya reveals the biggest thing that holds her clients back from their authentic brand.

Have you ever felt the starving artist mentality? Do you feel like your finances are in order? Today on our podcast, I’m chatting with bookkeeper and financial coach Ean of Moxie Bookkeeping about money mindset shifts and financial management techniques and actions we can take right now to improve our relationship with money and our bottom line. We cover the cultural shame of money, shifting your mindset away from starving artist syndrome, one small thing you can fo right now to improve your finances, how much to pay yourself, the five bank accounts every business owner needs, how to figure out your real profit and more!

Marketing & Community with marketing expert Pete Davis of Ampjar. Pete shares his biggest marketing tip for makers and how Ampjar helps brands grow authentically by focusing on community and karmic marketing, plus we explore our mutual love for marketing and chat about what to say in your marketing emails as well as how often to send them, how to determine how much of yourself to share online, how to utilize the marketing tool that big brands wish they had, how to leverage the fact that people care more about small brands than big ones and more.

We’re taking a break from the podcast for a bit to do some behind the scenes work here at Dear Handmade Life as well as get some quality time in with family including our new baby Luca! Check out our archives for over 100 episodes and we’ll see you soon!

Time management with writer, artist and art book editor Bridget Watson Payne. We talk about how to find hidden pockets of time, time management from a cultural perspective, aligning your to-do list with your values and ethics, techniques to tackle your inbox, priorities, her book How Time is On Your Side and more.

This week on the Dear Handmade Life podcast I’m chatting about Embracing Balance not Busyness with Ciji Tatum Townsend. We talk about our personal histories with familial busyness, how to discover break down your balance barriers, how to begin to unbusy your life, making time for wellness and more. 

Instagram insights with illustrator Becky Helms of The Pink Samurai. Becky and I chat about dealing with social media overwhelm, creating content for Instagram, batching your work, growing your following organically, the importance of determining your Instagram goals and more.

Parenting and Creative Business with self-taught oil painter Erika Lee Sears. Erika and I chat about trying to be a good parent instead of a perfect one, what her schedule looks like (aka how she squeezes everything in), her daily art practice, the benefits of making time to fill yourself up and more.

Life and Business Transitions with design and photography educator Chaitra Radhakrishna. Chaitra and I talk about her big leaps and transitions including moving from India to the United States, leaving a corporate job to start her own business and becoming a mother as well as how to prepare for big leaps and how to cope during transitions.