Lucy – The Dream Magazine

Meet The Founders Bossing Their Own Biz While Managing Chronic Illnesses

Lucy — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 14:20:36 +0000

We spoke to three incredible business owners living with chronic illnesses about their experiences of entrepreneurship and illness, what strategies they use to help them day to day and what advice they have for fellow business owners with their own diagnosis.

Jessica Sophia Bruno is a creative content coach and founder of The Content Club. At 18 years old she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.

Jess said:

At 18 I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, at 22 Interstitial Cystitis, at 25 SVT (heart condition) and now, at 30 I’ve got a High Blood Pressure and suffer with anxiety.

In contrast, at 18 I got my first events management job, at 22 I ran a thriving children’s event department for one of the largest cinema chains in the UK, at 25 I ran an award-winning marketing campaign which lead to sell out events and now at 30 I’m working for myself and guiding social media marketing campaigns and coaching services for small creative brands and businesses.

Unlike many others, It wasn’t the pandemic that thrust me into freelancing, though it did help. In December 2019 my health started rapidly declining, From January to March of 2020 I was off sick a lot and then hello pandemic, goodbye full time employment. (It was a blessing truly, I am so happy to be working on my own terms now). It took about a year to get into the swing of running my own biz whilst juggling my health, but it’s so worth it.

Spoiler, stepping into entrepreneurship didn’t heal me. In fact, it’s pushed my body to the limit a few times. Here’s somethings I’ve learnt along the way, some resources, some real and raw advice for achieving your dreams as an auto-immune warrior.

Set Boundaries

What are your triggers? Mine are stress, negativity and sitting down for too long. How can you avoid these at all costs? I’ve re-organised my packages to work around my health. For me that means more consulting and less “done for you” work.

Prioritise Your Biz

It’s easy to put your clients first, especially in the beginning because they’re actually giving you money. My biz came second and my health came 10385389th. It’s health first, then everything else. Always.

Have honest conversations with your clients

Before someone signs a contract with me for long term work I have “The Talk” with them. I tell them my intentions for the project and also explain the nature of my disease. So far, nobody has backed-out of working with me.

Give yourself strict opening hours

Do not be flexible here, even if you’ve been sick for a week but are feeling better over the weekend, do not work over the weekend. Personally I work from 10 to 6 pm from Monday to Thursday. I choose to start at 10 because my mornings are spent sorting out my pain levels or assessing how many hot water bottles I may need to have on hand.

Curate your community

Surround yourself with a support system. One who gets chronic illness and business, one of my 2021 goals is to create a community for women in business with chronic illness, but there are some great pages out there. I recommended following @youlookokaytome.

Have an emergency fund

If you can, save up to one month’s living costs and pop it in an emergency fund account. If you need to take a month off, money is one less thing to worry about.

Joe Mitton is the founder of health and fitness company MittFit. He was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease nearly 3 years ago and has since had the diagnosis changed to Wegner’s Vasculitis.

Joe said:

I am often asked how I manage to get so much done every day and how I live such an active lifestyle, even more so when they find out I live with a chronic condition but factoring in the intense work periods alongside structured rest periods is definitely the secret to my success.

The conditions affect me differently day to day but the biggest symptoms I suffer with are inflammation, chronic fatigue and a lack of appetite – things that are less than ideal when working in fitness! I can sometimes go long periods without eating because of the lack of appetite and this affects my focus and energy levels. To overcome this, I set timers for intense work periods and allow myself to rest afterwards. I also use homemade smoothies to keep my nutrient intake up – spinach, cucumber, ginger and water is my favourite recipe. This helps to reduce inflammation and also aids with digestion.

The hardest but most efficient way I have found of managing these symptoms is simply learning to accept them for what they are. I have very long days, a very busy life, I work a lot and I do 1-2 hours of intense exercise each day. This, combined with nowhere near enough food, would lead anyone to feel tired at the end of the day. Accepting the symptoms for what they are allows me to manage my life better, factor in power naps as and when I need them (anything 0-30 minutes is optimal, for me I have found 17 minutes is perfect).

Yuos’sima Dineen is founder of The Trauma Sanctuary, she was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia several years ago.

Yuos’sima said:

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and it completely re directed my whole life. It has been several years since that diagnosis, but I have made many changes. I have since got divorced and qualified to become a spiritual life coach, so I can live life on my own terms. For me it was a huge wake up call. I won’t say it’s been an overnight process, I’ve spent years doing inner work and identifying what created this and I’ve also had to make many routine changes. I now have a strict day to day structure in which I must honour my own well-being. It taught me that I must and always will be my number one priority.

Following my diagnosis I changed my whole life. I changed my eating to plant based, after discovering medical medium. I started reiki healing and meditation, in which I went onto become a quantum master healer and a spiritual life coach to help others. I also must honour my own well-being and put my own needs first. It’s been a journey of love for self. I completely changed any old habits and coping mechanisms that may not have been healthy and live a very well lifestyle.

Out of love for others going through this experience, I would advise buying my book The Truth to Trauma on Amazon. This can feel a very lonely path, but you are not alone. The reason I put my story out into the world was so that others can also start those shifts in their life as I did, to change their life. I deeply believe everything is a blessing and this is a opportunity to look at what our body is trying to tell us and how we are mis-aligned with ourselves. One of the things I would say is this a deep inward journey and you have the opportunity to become a better leader by showing up for yourself. It’s a new paradigm of leadership in which we have the opportunity to change, to stop sacrificing our well-being in order to serve others. So rather than your business being an example of the legacy you want to create in this world. Be a true leader by healing yourself. That is what I have to say. You are worthy of that. It is possible.

Is Instagram actually dead? We ask the experts

Lucy — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 22:06:25 +0000

Millions of people launched businesses during the pandemic and successfully grew them using Instagram. We learnt 'tried and tested' methods for marketing our products and services using the app, but now those same methods just don't seem to be working, prompting many biz owners to: A tear their hair out, B: make the move to Tik Tok, and C: ask the question, is Instagram dead? We ask the experts what the hell is going on with Instagram right now, and how can we continue to promote ourselves on an app more fickle than the occupants of Casa Amor?

Abby Thomas, (@dirtyworkdigital) said:
Instagram is dead, that’s what every other person keeps saying right? But the thing is, Instagram was the most downloaded app in quarter 4 last year. It has over 2 billion monthly users to the app.(Stats from sproutsocial)

Personally, I don’t feel that it’s dead. But it’s DEFINITELY having an identity crisis. The app is evolving, it’s felt the need to evolve with the way that user experience has changed. We have spent the last 2 years scrolling on our phones whilst being locked down in our homes.

We’ve been desperate to find any kind of quick hit of dopamine and for a lot of us that’s been in the form of scrolling social media. We as humans lead fast paced busy lives, we want quick ingestible content that grabs our attention straight away or we’re scrolling on by.

We did that. And Instagram adapted. Yes I feel that other social media apps heavily influenced Instagram but they knew what the user wanted. I think right now Instagram is in a big testing phase and they’re confused.

But I don’t necessarily feel it’s a bad thing, we’re all in the same boat with it, we can start to release this need for the vanity metrics, and create from a place of testing, and having fun again. There’s always been this constant need to reach new eyes on Instagram, but what about the eyes you have on you already? Your audience, focus on creating community and nurturing the people that are already there for you. Start creating from a place that doesn’t feel super polished and feels more documented and more well, real LIFE.

Your audience are there for YOU, Adam Mosseri of Instagram has mentioned the app is pushing original content, whilst we don’t know the details of this just yet, what we do know is that this gives businesses a time to really step into their own voice and think outside of the box when it comes to their content. It’s a time to start thinking about what makes you and your business unique, and finding a way to put an original spin on your content in a way that feels good. Because that’s what people want to see, more life, more originality and less of the perfect.

Alice Benham, Business & Marketing Strategist (@alice_benham) said:

‘Instagram changing isn’t a new topic – it’s something I’ve seen people moaning about since I stepped into business 6 years ago. And I get it, when a platform rely on to grow your business changes it can feel frustrating, confusing and overwhelming in equal measure… but surely our energy is better spent focussing on the solution, not the problem?

Whenever we feel panicked about our businesses we’re being shown one of our weak spots, so if Instagram changing has got you feeling worried, that tells me you likely haven’t got a diverse strategy… aka you’re solely relying on one platform and one approach. It’s an easy trap to fall into, but it’s also one that’ll set you up for short term and unsustainable success.

The reality is one marketing strategy will never work forever – the way people use social media is constantly evolving so, whether we like it or not, our approach needs to follow suit. We’re only human for feeling a little bummed out that things are changing (I often let myself have a little pity party at first!) but it’s important to choose to to see it as an opportunity to try something new, diversify our approach and ultimately, learn.

Social Media Expert Mazarine Ayina (@strategieswithcare) said:
‘My top tip to business owners marketing on Instagram is remember that people always want to know more! A great way to share value is carousels, carousels are super underrated and personally provide me the best engagement and most saves, because people always want to know more, people are nosy lol. Reels are great but I always recommend converting your most engaging videos and carousels into 3-5 slide carousels. I would recommend businesses to have more videos where they are talking to their audience, as the algorithm has shifted again and Instagram wants us to post more original content. I always tell my clients to use the 60/40 rule when it comes to video content, 60% should be original, 40% should be trending sounds. Having that variety is very important.”

Social media expert Ella Gilchrist (@sociellauk) said:

Instagram has been going through a million and one changes recently so it’s no surprise that business owners are feeling fatigued with the platform. If you’re feeling the pressure and find yourself wondering ‘WTF is going on?’ then I recommend taking a step back. It’s so easy to be continually working IN our businesses, that we sometimes forget to pause, reflect and reset.

Go back to basics and write down what your goals are for Instagram. Remind yourself of what you are trying to achieve.

Don’t make it complicated for yourself and keep it simple with questions like:

Who are you trying to target?

What are you offering? What will the transformation be if people choose to buy from you or work with you?

Why should people buy from you/work with you?

How are you going to share this with your audience?

Remember that Instagram is favouring ‘original’ content so have a think about how you can share your personality, your individuality and what makes you, YOU!

Brighton Beach House Launches

Lucy — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 15:36:47 +0000

One of the world's most famous members clubs has finally landed in Brighton after much anticipation. Located on Madeira Drive in a prime beach-front location overlooking Brighton pier, Brighton Beach House is the members’ club from Soho House group with spaces to eat, drink and relax, a dipping pool with a terrace looking out to sea, and event spaces.

One of the many reasons we love living in Brighton is 365 days a year holiday vibes. From the beach to the vibrant night life to the colourful cafes and shops, living here sometimes feels like a permanent vacation.

One thing our amazing city was yet to offer is a boujie rooftop pool destination – enter Brighton Beach House. Most definitely bringing the boujie vacay vibes, the new venue is absolutely stunning both inside and out. Think art-deco Miami beach style with retro- plush furniture, plenty of palm trees, sun-loungers and mint-striped awnings.

Clever decor touches such as scalloped edges of parasols nodding to beach hut architecture, colour schemes mimicking Brighton seafront railings, and a collection of fun quirky artworks by local residents give the venue a whimsical feel. The two-floor venue somehow still feels very Brighton.

In fact, the artworks are one of our favourite parts of the venue, especially the David Shrigley banana mosaic on the bottom of the banana shaped dipping pool.

Brighton Beach House’s art collection includes ‘The Brighton Beacon Collection’, guest curated by Queer art specialist Gemma Rolls-Bentley. The Beacon collection comprises of work from an international line up of LBGTQIA+ artists and is a love letter to Brighton as a historical beacon city for the queer community.

And what of the food offering at Brighton Beach House? The good-time holiday vibes continue at Cecconi’s restaurant on the rooftop.

Serving authentic Venetian-inspired dishes using the finest ingredients, Club Cecconi’s is the UK’s first in-House Cecconi’s restaurant. It features a mix of dining and lounge-style seating, and its regularly rotating menu offers restaurant favourites such as Spaghetti Lobster in a puttanesca sauce, Chicken Milanese, Rigatoni Bolognese, and melt-in-your-mouth Tuna Tartare.

Founded in 1995 by Nick Jones, Soho House is a home for interesting and diverse people to come together,
share ideas, make connections and foster creativity in all its forms. Today there are members and Houses
around the world, and the first UK Soho House by the sea has been designed as a comfortable home away
from home for Brighton’s thriving creative community.

To find out more about memberships with Brighton Beach House, visit their website here.

What I Learned From: Becoming Addicted To Work and Toxic Productivity During The Pandemic

Lucy — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 11:22:18 +0000

Daisy Morris, founder of The Selfhood shares her story. With nothing else to do during the pandemic and the boundaries between work and life blurred, many of us turned to working longer hours than we should, as social media glamourised hustle culture, and made celebrities out of online biz success stories. As we slowly adjust back to normality, a generation of entrepreneurs are redefining what 'success' means to them.

The word ‘success’ historically made me feel a bit uneasy. When I used to hear or say the word out loud I’d have this visual connotation of material objects that would flash to my mind: a really expensive watch, someone holding a briefcase, a slick suit and really swanky office buildings. Essentially, anything related to corporate ‘work’. Interestingly, when you type ‘success’ into google the two below descriptions appear:

“the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.”
“the attainment of fame, wealth, or social status.”

Even more interesting, when you take a peep and browse google images the majority of the image feature clip arts made up of white men carrying brief cases, some even running up stairs that seem to depict some kind of ‘heaven’ (some may argue an escape route from corporate world but I’m not an art critic so I’ll leave that for another day)

For a long time I believed that the clip arts were a visual manifestation of future of success, I genuinely believed that to be a respected and accomplished person I needed to work my fucking arse off day and night. I’m a bit embarrassed to say this now but I aspired to have material objects that would one day act as my museum of achievements. I often had thoughts that went a bit like this: ‘I’ll be successful when… I own the massive house in London, when… my business is turning over 7 figures, when… I can buy a holiday home in the bahamas and drink pina coladas for breakfast”.

That all changed when I started finding clumps of my own hair in the shower and started having stress related heart palpitations. Like many of us the pandemic blurred my lines between 9-5 and I found myself working 8am-10pm sometimes later and without coming up for air because, really, there was nothing else to do. I became addicted to the adrenaline of working on multiple projects, I subconsciously attached my own worth and validation to being ‘needed’ aka ‘booked and busy’. I became so dissociated from my own self that I allowed myself to become really, really sick.

It was until a Doctor told me I needed to slow down that I realized the damage I had done. I walked home from the hospital feeling numb, disappointed and so confused. How had this happened? (I knew, but I couldn’t quite face that I’d done it to myself) I spent the rest of the day feeling so angry at myself. I realised that for the last 6 months I had been an anxious, emotional, easily triggered, irritated, tired and lifeless little soul. I had poured all my energy in to my work and appearing ‘together’ for my clients that there was no more juice left in the tank and my poor body had taken a battering.

So I decided to step back, I cut my work load down by a significant amount, and paused or cancelled upcoming projects that I couldn’t fulfill in the state I was in. I spent the month of August working enough to cover my bills and cost of living and spent the rest of the time doing the things that bring me back to me. I had genuinely become so disillusioned by the destination of a clip art ladder that I forgot to even take a moment to enjoy the process, let alone evaluate what wasn’t working.

The trouble with burn out (and I do believe burn out to be a problematic concept in our modern society) is that it’s become a bit of a buzzword. A badge of honour some might say. Nowadays it’s really not uncommon to hear people say ‘I’m feeling burned out’ and not feel alarmed because it’s become such a common theme throughout our work life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we’re being more open and honest about our physical and mental health but we shouldn’t be normalising exhaustion and poor health in the name of ‘success’.

The problem is, we live in a hamster wheel of announcement culture where we’re constantly inundated by updates from others sharing their accomplishments, promotions, pay rises, new houses, new partners, screen shots of long haul flights with a countdown timer, and everything else that accelerates the speed in which we get to the top of that imaginary clip art ladder. So we keep pushing, and pushing until we reach clip art ‘success’.

I’ll be honest I’ve had to work through some deep conditioning, I still have those pangs of guilt and thoughts, ‘I need to be doing more’. It’s taken me a long time to understand that rest is productive and my friends, family, partner and business get the best of me when I’m well rested.

Success for me is happiness. It’s starting work at 11am because I went to my favourite gym class, it’s clocking off at 6pm to play netball with my mates, it’s meeting friends for lunch on a Wednesday afternoon because why not? It’s impromptu Fridays off, It’s spending my weekends with the people I love rather than chained to my desk, it’s creativity for fun and not monetisation, it’s taking time for myself without feeling like a lazy slob. We get so brainwashed in to believing that we’ve ‘made it’ when we’ve got the objects to show it, the accolades to announce and yes, those things are still great to aspire to. I’m not saying we need to bin our shoes and head for the hills and start living off of organic tomatoes and sleeping in hammocks. What I am saying is that we need to make space for those things and work towards them at a rate that works for us and not against us.

We need to evaluate if those things are even important to us in the first place, or if we aspire to them because we’re told we should. My advice to anyone working towards any dream is this: nothing is worth sacrificing your mental or physical health for, time is the most valuable commodity.

Connect with Daisy https://www.theselfhood.com/

Dopamine Dressing – How to Dress for Happiness

Lucy — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 15:54:44 +0000

Can one piece of clothing change your whole mood? Mary Mandefield explores the dopamine dressing trend - dressing to boost your happiness.

I’ve never been that interested in fashion. As a kid I would wear baggy jeans and oversized shirts. My priority was getting messy and as long as I was comfortable enough to climb a tree, I was happy.

As I reached adulthood and entered more corporate settings, H&M, Topshop and M&S seemed to be the go-to high street shops to create a more image conscious wardrobe. I reluctantly wore blouses and straight leg trousers. Trainers were swapped with smart shoes and rucksacks were replaced with over the shoulder bags. As my jobbs changed from office led marketing roles to working on more creative projects, I found my taste in clothes did too. Becoming more aware of the effects of fast fashion, I jumped into the world of styling myself with just second hand gems.

I trailed charity shops for the brightest jumpsuits, I’d scroll on eBay for hours to scour out pre-loved designer coats and shoes and I’d find myself checking depop more than instagram. I was hooked.

I saw a quote that said ‘my life is a simulation, I’m just in charge of the outfits’, and do you know what, I get it. I’m now a presenter and speaker, and the industry can be really tough and unpredictable. It’s hard to feel like you have a grasp on what you’ll be working on next, but one of the things I take pleasure in is the fact that 99% of the time, I get to choose what I’m wearing. I am in control of how I can express myself that way – I know that my choices are sustainable and can lift my mood. My love for bright colours and OTT textures means I usually leave the house looking like a kids entertainer, and I’m never mad about it.

Here’s some of the pieces which I know I can throw on an instantly feel the most ‘me’

THE purple jacket. A drunk Glastonbury purchase which was created for an attention seeker like me. It kept me warm for the rest of the festival and it meant £80 went to Oxfam for the great work they do. They know me so well on site because I shop at all their festival stores. Have you ever worn a jacket that has almost transformed you into a more vibrant character? If not, come over to mine and borrow the coat for the day.

Platforms. To walk a little taller and to make sure you can see the stage at a gig. No, but in all seriousness, platforms are the ultimate confidence booster for me.

An initial on your jumper so no one forgets your name. Wearing something with your name or initial on is a great conversation starter. In my industry you’re a small fish in a big pond and you want everyone to remember your name. I also love that this jumper reminds me of the type Molly Weasley would knit for the family in the Harry Potter films. Magical!

Always looking for inspiration for the next items I want to find, I chatted to some of my favourite creative thinkers, makers and doers. I asked ‘what piece of clothing changes your whole mood’.

Meet Jazmin, she loves to look sexy but with an edge. She shares that ‘I feel most myself when I mix contrasting prints, textures and cuts – it mirrors different sides to my personality. Silk slips with chunky leather accessories means I can play around with both feminine and masculine energies.’

For Kasia, it’s all about lifting her mood with bright colours – her ever changing hair colour reflects that too. She says ‘These jeans are 100% me. I hand painted them with all my favourite colours, and I purchased them second hand, so they’re sustainable too!’ Kind to the planet and one of a kind.

Musician Kenan shared a look which represents their vulnerability being their power. Spending a lot of time on stage means making an impression before the audience has even heard you sing. ‘My ‘No Tears Just Pearls’ look is about looking delicate & poised but also striking & captivating. In this outfit it reminds me that I’m here & whoever will witness me will have no option but to accept me for me!’

‘Confidence comes from within but the right outfit can make it come out!’ After knowing Ge to rock everything from band tees and skinny jeans to dressy dresses, seeing her in a suit made me stop my scrolling. We’ve been friends since we were teens and there was something I really love about this gorgeous green suit. She shares ‘I was once told that “you have to wear the suit – the suit can’t wear you”. And when I put this outfit on I feel like a boss woman.’

Mary Mandefield is a presenter, writer and content creator. Connect with her @mary.mandefield

Four Ways To Make Selling Your Biz Feel Less Sleazy

Lucy — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 14:55:49 +0000

This article is for you if you've ever felt uncomfortable selling, and yet of course you understand, the difference between a hobby and a business is making those sales! Sales expert Em Huckstep shares her top tips for making sales feel less uggh and more magic.

I’m Em, a marketing and sales expert. My passion is supporting, educating, and inspiring biz owners to feel more at ease with their online sales experience. PSA: Sales gets to feel good!. I’ve worked with hundreds of business owners to help them make friends with marketing, sales, and promotion so they can make an impact and an income – all in a way that feels fucking good.

For you to start enjoying your sales process, you need to make it more human. The reason most of us hate sales is because at some point we’ve been sold to in a sleazy way, and somewhere along the line we’ve decided all selling is bad.

Selling often feels gross because it’s coming from a cookie-cutter strategy and therefore feels sleazy and inauthentic. Have you ever thought of selling and suddenly had a vision of Danny Devito as a sleazy car salesperson in Matilda? You’re not alone.

The good news is that you can change up the way you sell so you start enjoying it way more, and the world of online business is changing. Gone are the days when you have to convince people to buy from you. Selling is much more enjoyable when you put people before profit.

Here’s how you can enjoy selling more, and start having some fun

Here’s how you can enjoy selling more, and start having some fun!

FOCUS ON THE VALUE NOT THE INCOME

It’s easy when you’re selling to focus on the numbers – the targets, the money, the number of sales…. But what happens when you do that is you lose sight of WHY you started your business in the first place. I encourage my clients to go back to their ‘why’ – why did they start a business, what value are they giving to their audience? Focus on sharing that instead of becoming fixated on where the next sale is coming from and your selling will feel much more soulful.

STOP SELLING TO PAINPOINTS

The term ‘pain points’ has become a buzzword in online sales, with online sales gurus encouraging you to identify people’s pain points and use those to drive sales. Ie. selling to someone focusing solely on the things that they are worried about. This can mean you are preying on peoples vulnerabilities and they can be left with a sense that without your product they have no hope. Not a cool place to sell from. Whereas if you focus on selling to peoples goals. Ie. the things they want to accomplish and their desires they tend to feel much more empowered and excited. Meaning they’re more likely to make a buying decision that’s right for them, not because they feel bad, but because they feel inspired.

MAKE YOUR CUSTOMERS FEEL SEEN AND HEARD

At the end of the day, people just want to feel understood. This is why it’s crucial to get to know your customers really fucking well. Ask them questions. Speak to your target market regularly. Understand their struggles, their goals, their fears. Get specific on who they are as a person and what drives them. When you’re selling to someone, unless you know exactly what they need from you, it makes it really hard to know what to say and what to sell. People want to feel seen and know that you actually care about them, not that you’re just out to make a quick buck. An example of this would be if you sell on IG, only posting content that screams “buy this thing from me” won’t make people feel seen. Whereas if your content helps them in some way – either educating, inspiring, motivating, or reassuring them, they will feel much more understood and therefore are way more likely to buy from you.

YOU CAN MAKE AN INCOME AND AN IMPACT

Your mindset is key when it comes to selling and most importantly, enjoying selling. Remind yourself every time you’re about to do a big launch, or sell to your audience that you are worthy of both making an impact within your industry AND making an income. The two are not mutually exclusive. You deserve to make money. You deserve to build a successful business. You deserve to have all of your needs met. And as soon as you teach yourself that it’s safe to sell, it’s safe to be seen, it;s safe to make money – your sales process becomes a heck of a lot more fun!

Connect with Em https://emhuckstep.com/

How to Break Out of the 9-5 Mindset

Lucy — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 15:40:13 +0000

You’ve been staring out of your office window for months now, dreaming of the day you hand your notice in. You know you’re made for more. You know there must be more to life than your 9-5 job, your Pret tuna sandwich, and your Friday night trip to All Bar One.

The day comes. You’ve decided. “I’m going to quit my job and go out on my own”.

You work hard for a few months and get your first clients (woohoo!!)

But a few months in, you catch yourself staring out the window wanting more. You realise you’re basically working EXACTLY the same way you did at your 9-5, but with more responsibility, and fewer lunch breaks! It is SO easy to find yourself reverting back to your safe way of working when you go out on your own. I know. I used to do the same.

In 2018 I quit my corp. marketing role and travelled to India to do my teacher training. I then trained as a coach and built up my own successful 6-fig online business in the years following. I wasn’t used to working for myself, but I loved it. I loved the freedom I felt to choose what I put into my calendar and when. I loved the feeling of seeing money coming into my bank account, knowing I had only to thank me, myself, and I.

But still I found myself chained to my desk Monday to Friday. Subconciously arriving around 9/10am and leaving around 5/6pm…. Even though I know I am more productive in the afternoons, and that on some period weeks I am basically useless.

Still I carried on. As usual. 9-5 (ish) Monday – Friday. And then I had one of those lightbulb moments, which has now formed a core part of my teachings – “I get to run my business however the fuck I want to”. Seems simple right? And yet so many of my clients have struggled with similar issues. They leave their jobs for more freedom and abundance, and end up working more, and feeling less satisfied because they don’t switch off (ever) from their biz.

Running a biz is hard. Yep. Ignore the IG fallacy that all you have to do is writhe around on a beach in Mexico, have an orgasm, set up a £10k coaching program, and boom you’re successful.

It requires a lot. You have to juggle multiple roles and hats, but most importantly you have to be your own boss. Which involves setting boundaries and sticking to them, setting a work schedule, making tough decisions.

But the silver lining to all of this, despite it being hard work: YOU MAKE THE RULES.

Wanna work 4 hours a day? Great. You’re the boss!

Wanna work 3 weeks on, one week off? Amazing.

Wanna sleep in till 11am and start work at 3pm? Go get it.

The point here is you, and only you, can decide how, when, and where you work.

Here are some things to consider and explore to help you lose your 9-5 mindset:

CREATE YOUR DREAM SCHEDULE… Allow yourself to daydream and write out exactly how you want to spend your week. When do you want clients? When do you want to show up? What days do you want to have meetings? Is each week the same as the last? Allow yourself to dream big rather than practical and you’ll be able to quickly see the gaps between how you currently work and how you want to work.

CHANGE LOCATION – Maybe you try a co-working spot, maybe you move to Mexico. Whatever floats your boat, just don’t forget that the biz you started in your bedroom during the pandemic doesn’t have to be run from your bedroom forever. Mix up where you work and gain fresh perspectives, have fewer distractions like doing the laundry, and meet new and interesting people that spark creativity within you

REMEMBER, YOU’RE THE BOSS – Your biz, your rules. You really do get to decide how and when you work; something I like to do is give myself full permission to put that into action on a weekly basis. For example, sometimes I like to take a day off (just because I can) even when I have no reason to – this trains my brain to remember I am in full control. Do something that reminds you you’re the boss and you’ll soon find yourself ditching the 9-5 mindset for good!

DELETE, DELEGATE, AUTOMATE – Finally for you to truly step into your biz role and shed the 9-5 mindset it’s time for you to work smarter not harder and be in your zone of genius more often. DELETE any task that is unnecessary (I see you email scrollers), DELEGATE when you can (start by outsourcing recurring tasks to experts like a VA) and AUTOMATE anything you do on repeat. Save yourself time so the hours you spend in your biz are actually productive, and you’ll feel more able to take time off!

When I fully embraced these new work mantras my whole working experience changed. I finally felt the freedom I craved and sought out from starting my own biz. These days, I do still tend to have weekends off – but I also sometimes have a random mid week day off and work a full Saturday – I listen to my body and pay attention to when I’m creative. If creativity strikes, fuck it. I’ll go with it. And equally if my body, mind, and energy is like “NOPE” I give myself permission to cancel everything and take a ME day! I am also working more in alignment with my hormonal cycle, taking time off over my period and I’ve even asked my VA to block out certain days when I’m bleeding as ‘no work days’ and that to me is what freedom is all about.

Connect with Em Huckstep at www.emhuckstep.com/

Coppa Club Brighton Review – Remote Working or Remotely Working

Lucy — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 12:42:38 +0000

The location
If you’re visiting Brighton for the day you might need to whip out google maps to find Coppa Club Brighton. Located in Brighton Square within the heart of the Iconique Brighton Lanes, it’s pretty tucked away from the main bustling streets. A bit of a hidden gem you might say.

The vibe
It’s sister branches are dotted across London, and as soon as you walk in, the brand has a bit of a London hotel or private members’ club feel (think Hoxton Hotel) – without any members club fees, and with a more relaxed vibe, win-win. Coppa Club is huge inside, and actively welcomes laptop users, so there’s none of the ‘feeling awkward and like you need to keep buying 10,000 things’ that you sometimes get when you sit in smaller cafes.

The decor is gorgeous and bright with lots of seating areas to choose from, cosy booths to hunker down in, and armchairs by the fire for the ultimate cosy winter bouji working day. They also have a pretty outdoors seating area with pop-up igloos spaces available to hire.

Because it’s so spacious, it’s nice and quiet during the daytimes to work from. Evenings get busier with people coming in for cocktails and food.

The food & drink
The European menu is split into pizzas, pastas, small plates, salads and grills. We loved the Burrata, Crab Linguine and Chicken Caesar Salad – classic dishes cooked well. Main course range from about £10 to £25 so it might not be an every-day working destination, but great for a treat-yourself day or fantastic for a lunch meeting.

Importantly – the coffees are good,

The plug socket/Wifi situation
The venue has been built with co-working in mind, so there are helpful plug sockets EVERYWHERE. Wifi was also super-fast and easy to access.

The verdict
Fast becoming our go-to spot for lunch meetings and cosy work-days, Coppa Club is the perfect Brighton destination for working from.

www.coppaclub.co.uk/brighton/

Loving Your Werk: Interview with Hat & Spicy Founder Chloe Messer

Lucy — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 10:50:35 +0000

Her fabulous super-size fluffy creations are loved by pop stars and drag race royalty before she's had the chance to create a logo or website. Lucy chats to Hat & Spicy founder Chloe Messer to get the inside scoop on her creative process, and how a Spice Girls music video inspired her...

How did you come up with the idea for Hat & Spicy?

I wanted the spare room in my house to look like one of the rooms in the ‘Who do you think you are’ – Spice Girls video. So I went and bought a huge roll of long pile orange faux fur and covered all the walls in it. I had a load of excess left over, so I just started covering stuff in orange faux fur, including an old floppy sun hat. My friend had a baby blue Emma Brewin, that I was in love with & I’d also been obsessing over Benny Andallos fluffy green hat worn by FKA Twigs. Neither which I could afford at the time (this was just between the first two lockdowns and my work was non-existent), so this was a chance to create something similar for myself.

The hat looked amazing and I wore it to a fancy dress party, put up a load of photos up on instagram and my friend Louise Carmell who is a stylist asked if she could loan it for a shoot – her photos were amazing! Another of my friends Alex, wore the same hat to Shambala Festival, she looked so bomb and got sooooo many people approach her, asking where she got the hat. So I then thought maybe I was on to something here. Because of my job, I’m part of some costume networking groups on facebook , a woman on there was selling a big box of faux fur offcuts cheap. I bought the furs with the hats in mind and got a little creative, patch-working the offcuts together. The first hat made from these offcuts, I gave to my best mate Demi for her birthday, and made another for myself – we both wore these to We Out Here festival last summer – and, like with Alex, the hats got a LOT of attention. In the wee hours of the morning at one of the stages a lovely girl called Lola excitedly approached me, asking to try on the hat and convinced me to set up shop and, became my first customer! BIG UP LOLA. Fast forward a few months, a few more festivals, a lot more parties and countless excited people asking ‘where did you get that hat?!’ I finally decided to start up a Depop page. Within a few days I had a notification to say that Depop had featured the hats on their discover & explore page, which gave the page a huge kick start. A week later, I got a DM on my personal instagram for Depop, saying that they were going to feature the page on their instagram on Saturday night, which was also Halloween night – a prime time spot for insta, with everyone sharing their costumes, eeeeeeek!! BIG UP DEPOP!!

So, I was kind of given the push to set up my own page ASAP – and had to also come up with a name to go with this. I knew that I wanted the brand to be something fun and incorporate a play on words. I had a toss up between That’s Hat (in homage to Paris Hilton) or Hat & Spicy. I ended up choosing Hat & Spicy because that’s exactly how you feel when you’re at a party and wearing one of the hats! I also wanted to add the ‘party supplies’ tagline – as again, this is exactly what they are; the piece de resistance to your party look, whether its for a festival, a birthday, a show., whatever. It was also a bit of a play on the business cards that dealers drop off everywhere. I made up a load of business cards that just said ‘party supplies’ on one side and ’@hat.n.spicy’ on the other and dropped them around various places. People might have been a bit disappointed when they found hats rather than their local dealer lol. Anyway, I digress, I set up the page on Friday night, then Saturday Depop made their post, tagged the insta and then from there it sort of took off nicely. I started getting orders in, messages for loans and yeah it’s been a bit of weird, accidental whirlwind and I feel very blessed and grateful for all the lovely opportunities that have come my way since.

Do you have a background in fashion?

I didn’t ever study fashion – or anything else for that matter lol. I went straight into work when I was 17 and since then have had lots of different job roles – however they’ve always had a background in either fashion, music or events. I interned at Company magazine in the fashion cupboard, another internship for a fashion PR company, I worked at LUSH selling soap, did 3 months at MTV working on their socials, did a season in Ibiza for Ibiza Rocks hotel and worked for bars and clubs in Shoreditch looking after their private parties… the list goes on. Currently (other than hats) I work as a freelance costume assistant, and this was my full time job previous to HAT & SPICY. I started that through assisting one of my best friends Verity who is a costume designer. The first job I ever worked with her on, was for Sam Smith’s ‘One Last Song’ music video. For this we had a little arts and crafts session and created these beautiful show girl headpieces from up-cycling fake Evisu visors from the pound shop and lots of trimmings and feathers from Ridley Road. We had so much fun just getting crafty, making pretty things, and ever since that my favourite jobs have always been the ones where we have had to dig out the glue gun. Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to work on the costume team for some incredible Artists music videos, and some amazing productions in film & tv, including The Crown – which was an absolute dream!!

What inspires you on the daily to create?

I like to create custom hats which are individual to each customer. So really, it’s their own personality and style that inspires me. When I started off by creating hats for my friends for their birthdays, I would keep their vibe in mind and try to create a hat that reflects their uniqueness. I also like to think where the hat is going and what it’s for and match the hat to the party or festival or outfit. I also have a very bad shopping & hoarding habit – I love nothing more than mooching about the charity shops, whether irl or online, and when I see something with a great shape, print or texture, then I have to have it or I won’t stop thinking about it for days. I now just convince myself that I’ll buy it, then turn it into a HAT & SPICY creation. It helps to justify the purchase, so I can get my fix!

Have you had any famous clients so far? (now’s the time for some name drops!)

I absolutely love drag race – and have been so bloody lucky to have created hats for season 2’s iconic queens, Ginny Lemon and Ellie Diamond, and am currently in the process of creating one for A’Whora. Honestly – dreams come true vibes for all three of them, I am such a huge fan and can now die happy. I’ve also created the cutest Hat for Self Esteem for the prettiest Valentines Day shoot, which made the cover of Time Out, which was wild! The shoot was absolutely beautiful and it was a mad moment to see my hat in print on such a phenomenal woman, on such a gorgeous shoot. They’ve also been worn by Jax Jones, C-Kay, Nqobilé, Jazelle (Ugly Worldwide), Kat Penkin. The absolute dream team, Ben & Natalie, who run No Basic Bombshell (an amazing jewellery brand based in Birmingham) are headed to LA this month and are going to be pimping out some HAT & SPICY at Coachella and DRAG-CON, so hopefully there will soon be some more names to add to the list!

Who would be your dream client to make a hat for and why?

The Spice Girls!!! I’m currently in the process of creating a line of hats based on each of their personalities (lil exclusive for you). So if I could get them on their heads it would be UNREAL. I truly do believe in girl power! They are the OG style icons and of course they can then be HAT & SPICY GIRLS

What struggles have you faced in your biz so far?

I’ve definitely struggled with my time management and inability to set boundaries and say no. I’ve been extremely fortunate with the exposure so far – but because of it, my screen time has probably increased by about 90%. This has been quite draining and I’ve struggled with getting back to people and probably have missed some golden opportunities by not responding quick enough or missing a message. But with everything I have got – I will always say yes and try to accommodate as much as possibly can, even if it means staying up and sewing until 6am. This has happened on way too many occasions, and I end up a little stressed mess for days. I also have my studio set up in my house – which is great but I’m very bad at getting myself going first thing and I procrastinate a LOT, which just has a knock on effect and I end up working late pretty much every night. I struggle with the organisational side too – I still haven’t finished my website, created a logo, got my own packaging etc etc. And these are all things that should have happened months ago!!

What is your big dream for Hat n Spicy?

I would absolutely love to be in the crowd at the pyramid stage Glastonbury, look up & the headliner is wearing HAT & SPICY! Just to be like, I made that biiiiiitch!! Would be proper pinch me moment. But other than that, I would love to get to the point where I can pay my bills and live GOOD through the sales of the hats. It would be amazing to keep the custom element to the brand, but also do collection drops that sell out in minutes! And maybe get to the point where I could afford an assistant to help me with some organisation!

Where/how can people purchase your hats?

You can purchase them via my website www.hatandspicy.com, through my depop page, or dropping me a message on the Instagram @hat.n.spicy

Moving to Bali: 3 founders share what it’s really like

Lucy — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 21:10:06 +0000

Have a couple sips of beer with a fellow freelancer and I bet you they’ll mention they’re looking to move abroad and work remotely. More often than not, to Bali. How do I know this? I am one such cliche.

To be fair, I have actually been there on a holiday about 5 years ago, and instantly fell in love with the place. I’ve always dreamed about going back, but the time difference, expensive flights and ummm, Covid always put me off.

It’s got a reputation for being ‘the dream’ place to remote work from. If you follow anyone that lives there on the gram, you’ll be able to see why. From glistening bowls of dragon-fruit smoothie, to tropical beaches, all-year-round tans and chilled out boho co-working cafes, it looks like the dream. Not to mention once you are there, prices are astonishingly cheap for food, drinks and some accommodation.

We spoke to three entrepreneurs who’ve made the move to Bali, to find out if the promised land of sea, sun and downward dogs is all it’s cracked up to

Sophie Biggerstaff, 30, Founder BYRCOLLECTIVE, www.byrcollective.com

I first came to Bali back in 2017. I started to notice lots of people working from laptops in cafes and this was when I first become aware of the “digital nomad” culture, at the time I was still working in my corporate job as a Buyer for luxury fashion brands, so never thought it would be possible to travel and work, but I made it my mission to try and work out how I could do that. Fast forward a few years later, I quit the corporate world and started my own retail consultancy business supporting start ups, I made sure the business was set up to be non-location dependent so that as soon as we were out of lockdown and travel restrictions were removed I could move around and work & Bali was my obvious choice for a first destination to live and work on my business from. I finally made the move in November 2021, Bali still wasn’t open to tourists yet, so I had to come over on a B211A visa, which allows me to be in the country for 6 months at a time. I had to quarantine for 7 days as travel was still more or less shut down in Indonesia, but when I finally made it to Bali it was a pinch me dream come true moment, and the 7 days of hotel quarantine were totally worth it for a more balanced, outdoor lifestyle.

Logistically the move was made harder due to COVID travel restrictions, visas aren’t cheap, neither was the quarantine & all the PCR tests I had to do to get in, so there were some hurdles I had to overcome, but other than that it was pretty straightforward. To apply for the B211A visa I used an agent called Bali Visas – there are a lot of scam agents out there, so my tip would be to make sure you are booking your visa with a credible agent, with this visa you are sponsored by a company to come in to the country for business purposes, you can stay for up to 6 months, renewing your visa monthly.

To begin my trip I booked a co-living & working space called Dojo in the “digital nomad hub” of Canggu for my first month. They sorted me out with a local sim card, scooter and I automatically met some new friends who had done the exact same thing as me when I arrived. My advice would be if you are travelling solo and want to make friends quickly book into a coliving or guesthouse to start your trip as these are the places you are most likely to meet people. After that you could start to look for villas or apartments to settle in for longer, but beware of what you are booking – accomodation here almost NEVER looks like how it does in the pictures so make sure you check the place out in person before booking in something long term. Accommodation pricing ranges quite widely here, but to stay somewhere basic you could expect to spend approx £300 per month, if you want something super fancy expect to spend around £700 per month.

Gyms here will be a shock to your system in terms of cost, it’s more expensive even than London, with the average membership starting at around £120 month. Eating out however is super cheap, and you are likely going to be eating out every day, local food will cost around £2.50 per meal, western food ranges from around £4-£10 per meal. In terms of actual working there are lots of coworking spaces or cafes to choose from – my favourites are Dojo & Tribal.

To get around I would strongly suggest learning how to ride a scooter, it is very difficult to get around in Bali without one, there is a ride app called Gojek and Grab from which you can order bike taxis, but for freedom it is 100x easier to jump on your own scooter and be able to go wherever you want.

One last tip – make sure you are careful with your laptops going from heat to aircon, the humidity can cause some serious damage and the last thing you want whilst you are here working is for your laptop to break.

Gabby Francis, Devotional Healing and Leadership Coach, www.gabriellefrancis.co.uk

Initially I first came to visit Bali in 2016 – I had such an amazing time and it really opened my eyes to how people could make a more nomadic lifestyle work. At the time I was still living and working a 9-5 in London, but I was curious as to how I might be able to create a life with more freedom. When I returned home at the start of 2017 I went through an incredibly traumatic and life-altering year that shifted my perspective and transformed the lens in which I viewed the world. I decided I had nothing to lose after that. I had began my training as a transformational coach half way through 2017 and just decided to take the risk and leave all I had behind to see what kind of life I could create for myself. Originally I said I would move out to Bali to focus on my healing whilst I set up my Coaching business for 6 months – I never looked back, and things evolved in ways I couldn’t have even imagined. The magic of Mama Bali has a funny way of doing that.

It was actually pretty straightforward. I sorted a social visa for myself and my sister decided she wanted to move out here too, so we did it together. It was reassuring to have her by side through it all. I took 1 suitcase with me and we went for it. We initially found a place on air Bnb and then sussed some spaces out to live when we got here as the Facebook community groups are way more helpful to find longer term stays. I didn’t move out with a lot of money to support me – I just had full trust I would find a way to support myself if I was supposed to be here for a longer period of time.

I’ve been here for 4 and a bit years now. Living in Bali is an initiation. This island is incredibly powerful, sacred and spiritual – not something to take for granted, or lightly. There have been many ups and downs throughout the journey. This island holds a lot of lightness and also has capacity for the darkness too. It’s what you make out of it. I have met my soul family here,

so I’ve always felt connected to like-minded community which has been total medicine. I feel that Bali is one of the only places on earth that literally has EVERYTHING on your doorstep. In one moment you can be in a deep shamanic breathwork ceremony, healing all your past trauma, and 5 mins down the road you can be in a bouji restaurant and bar living like a Queen! There have been many times I’ve thought I’ve been complete with my chapter but she (Mama Bali) has kept me here for a reason. It’s been life-changing and has brought me home to myself. The land, the energy and the people are so special – I’ve learnt it’s important to honour the sacredness whilst you are here because you will be supported even more so. Right now I am craving a break from this island and her beautiful intensity. My friend shared an analogy with me the other day – if you eat lobster every day you stop appreciating the quality and get complacent with the gratitude you initially felt. I feel it’s the same with Bali – to appreciate the magic here, for me personally, I’m needing a little break. I’m sure I will return when I am supposed to. Bali has a piece of my heart and will always feel like home.

Stephanie Connelly, 31, founder of Rewrite, a content and strategy agency, https://www.rewritestrategy.com/

I originally moved to Bali in 2018, at the time I was 27, had come out of a long term relationship and was growing a business in Dubai that just didn’t fill me up. Before deciding on Bali I was actually sat in a hotel room in Vietnam, heartbroken, and just said out loud…’I’m going to Bali on June 5th.’

I had no idea why, but that date just felt so right — I stumbled upon an internship for a large travel page in Canggu and applied pitching my heartbreak story and the whole ‘eat, pray, love’ cliche — and bam…I decided on 2.5 months, and ended up staying 2.5 years. I left during the pandemic for 1.5 years and I have now been back here for 1 month, with my business and just bought land.

Logistically I went over solo, I had a couple of suitcases and no expectations, however, now this time round I have come over with my own business and work really well over here.

Depending on your business will depend on the move you are planning to make. If you are planning on working with the local community, you will need to look into setting up your own business here to ensure you stay above board, however if you plan to work online with your clients back in your home country, then all I can say is…embrace the time difference and create a routine and lifestyle that truly lights you up.

I personally believe that everyone should spend at least one month here, do the work, network, grow your community and leave a stronger and better business minded individual.

Bali is everything to me, its grounding, exciting and contains a whole load of growth. I have learnt more about myself here than I have in the past 31 years. I have just bought land and plan to build here in Uluwatu and am now planning on moving my business out of the UK & looking at whether to set up officially here or move it to another country. My clients are predominantly UK based, and they are all supportive of this move due to my ethos around living and breathing a life of creative freedom, but figuratively and literally.