You DON'T have to be on social media for your business.

Yup, I said it. I’m a marketing coach, but I don’t believe posting on social media should be a foregone conclusion for a business.

How did that make you feel?

I see so many small business owners bogged down by the obligation of making content for social media - totally burnt out by the amount of content they need to create, and then it’s not actually making a difference to the bottom line.  And the reality is there are so many other ways of finding customers - many of them better - yet people still stay stuck in a kind of self-imposed social media jail without actually thinking of whether it’s adding value to their business.

The job of social media is to attract new customers to your business, to help them get to know you better and to keep you front of mind…is it doing that for you? if not, there will probably be other marketing channels and tactics that can do that better. Be open to new ways of working and give something else a go.

In my latest episode of Creative Slurp Podcast I give my views on social media:

• I explain why it’s not the be-all and end-all
• I talk about the big businesses that have already gone social free
• I show you how you can still get the benefits of social media without even having an account
• I spill the beans on two other methods of attracting customers and building your brand that I consider to be better
• I empower you to make the choice about social media that’s right for your business.

I'm not ‘anti-social media’ and yes, I do have social media accounts. But I also want to help business owners be intentional about making the best decision they can around their marketing strategy and where they spend their time.

Meet Sue Pryke - an award-winning ceramicist at the top of her game, with more than 20 years of ceramics design under her belt.

Sue still has so much passion and excitement about her craft and business - which is a joy and an inspiration to see.

in this episode we talked about Sue’s story, the importance of teaching creativity to kids, collaborating with chefs, what it’s like to see your face in Ikea, and the power of the Great British Pottery throwdown (on which Sue was actually a judge).

Enjoy!

Meet Roșie Greener, the founder of Good Daze jewellery - an independent brand that celebrates love, humour and positivity.  

Rosie started her jewellery brand several years ago after becoming disillusioned with her job designing for a corporate company. She’s now living the dream and running her brand full-time.

in this episode of Creative Slurp podcast, she talks about her journey, the importance of market research, feeling like an imposter in business and how she made her dream collaborations happen. Rosie’s mantra is not to take things personally in business, and I think that’s brilliant advice.

I really loved her honest and practical advice around building your business, and I think it's great reassurance that there is no shortcut to success in business, you just have to keep going, and good things will follow.

I hope this episode inspires you as much as it did me, enjoy :-)

You can find out more about Rosie and her jewellery brand on her website here.

Want to transform and improve your life, your business and EVERYTHING?

Then self-awareness is a game changer.

Since I started to learn more about myself, I found I was better equipped to create a life that I love, a life that was truly aligned with me. If you don’t truly know yourself, how can you hope to create a life and business that’s fulfilling and suited to you?

So, in this episode, I take you through three amazing tools that can help you find out more about yourself, the way you view the world, your values, your beliefs and preferences.

They are:

1. Personality profiling tools/self-awareness tools
2. Journalling - especially free writing
3. Coaching

From my experience, I’ve found that these tools are mind-glowingly effective at really helping you to know yourself better and see past the blind spots that we all have.

Find more information about these tools and how they can help you in the episode.

Some useful links from the episode:

🧃16 personalities questionnaire

🧃Values questionnaire

🧃Exploratory writing book by Alison Jones

🧃 My coaching services

Introducing the amazing Luke Tonge - graphic designer and co-founder of Birmingham Design. Luke’s a self-confessed introvert, yet he’s managed to co-create a festival that’s helping to change the perception of a city - which is no mean feat. 

In this episode we chat about the importance of community, defining yourself and how to be braver in your business. Enjoy!

You can find out more about Luke here.

Find out about Birmingham Design here.

Meet Catherine Erdly. She's a retail expert, with years of experience working with big brands and working out the secret to make them more profitable. Now, Catherine works with small businesses to share what she's learned through her Resilient Retail Club and her book, "Tame your Tiger'. In today’s episode, we talk about the practical things you can do to improve the profitability of your business, when you should (and shouldn’t) offer discounts and so much more.  

If you have a small product business, you need to listen to this episode!

Find out more about Catherine here.

Ever wondered what it takes to make your dream creative business your full-time gig? Illustrator, Liz Harry has done it.

In her own words, she carved a career out for herself, doing the things she loves - creating products she designs herself, making fun props and taking part in some dream collaborations with iconic brands.  If you’ve seen Liz’s work, you’ll know she’s passionate about mental health - a theme that runs throughout her brilliant work.  

In this episode of Creative Slurp Podcast she talks about her creative journey, her obsession with creating and how she uses creativity as a tool to help with her mental health, following burnout. I loved chatting with Liz, who was so generous with her stories and advice, and I hope her story inspires you as much as it did me. Enjoy.

Check out Liz's online shop here.

Or find her on Instagram here.

Feeling stuck? If you keep getting the same results in your business or life and are sick of it, it can be hard to know how to shake things up and feel like you're heading in a positive direction again.  I've been there too!

Here are three tools/easy ways of climbing out of that annoying rut and help to feel some momentum again - without feeling overwhelmed:

• Create mini-rituals  - like SUPER mini! Think 2 sun salutations or doing a 30-second doodle kind of 'mini'. This will just take you out of your head and shake things up a bit. Experiment with what works well for you.
• Build your community - it's a cliche - but it really does take a village.  We need people to bounce ideas off, stay accountable to, to look up and learn from and help to feel good about ourselves and progress in our business.  And building a community can be so much easier than you think. Join networking groups, join up with online course cohorts, make friends with other parents - whatever you feel comfortable doing.  If you need some ideas - Enterprise Nation holds virtual meetups all over the UK and in Ireland and they're free to join.  Check them out here. (I host the Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire event every month, and you're more than welcome to come along, whether you live in the area, or not). Or check out the Creative Slurp Accountability Club - a monthly meeting for small business owners to review and reflect on what's working in their business and set goals, alongside other awesome business owners. Click here to find out more.
• Get down and messy - Again, another cliche, but to make an omelette ( or a batch of buckwheat crepes - my current pancake fave), you've got to break eggs! Anything you create, whether it's artwork or business, will have a lot of failed attempts, and all-round messiness behind it. If you're stuck waiting for perfect idea, the perfect product or the perfect moment.. you won't get anywhere and you'll be in that rut forever. You need to be prepared to get your hands dirty and break a few eggs to get some clarity. Get going, and you'll quickly get a lot clearer on what you need to do. Stay in procrastination-ville, and you'll still be in that rut by next year.

Give those ideas a whirl, and let me know how you get on.  My email is victoria@thevictoriabrown.com and I'd love to hear how you get on! 

Find out more about Creative Slurp and what I offer small business owners here.