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-allI talk about the big businesses that have already gone social freeI show you how you can still get the benefits of social media without even having an accountI spill the beans on two other methods of attracting customers and building your brand that I consider to be betterI 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:Personality profiling tools/self-awareness toolsJournalling - especially free writingCoachingFrom 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.

When the going gets tough do you a) Curl up in a ball under the duvet or b) Put yourself out there even more?In this episode of Creative Slurp Podcast meet Rosie Davies-Smith - founder of PR Dispatch - she believes that to survive a recession we should all be making our businesses even more visible, using the power of PR.Find out about Rosie’s business journey from budding textile designer to PR guru and how she overcame problems with postnatal insomnia. Plus fill your glasses with some juicy PR tips you can use in your business. Enjoy!Find out more about PR Dispatch and what they do here.

Ever felt your product photos might be holding you back? Upping the quality of your product photos can be a game changer. In this episode of Creative Slurp Podcast, top product photographer, Holly Booth gives oodles of top practical tips on how to create great product shots.   She also tells us the story of her own creative business - find out how listening to customers, being part of communities and not being afraid to innovate has helped her succeed in business.  This episode is a masterclass in discovering your own niche and how to serve your customers in your own way.Find out more about Holly and what she does here.

Have you ever felt you’re going around in circles, and not learning from your mistakes?Do you feel stuck, and you know you’re not getting anywhere?Reflective learning could be the answer - a proven way to dig deep, to learn in a deeper way and find solutions to your trickiest problems.  Find out how in this week's episode of Creative Slurp Podcast.In case you need a reminder, here are the reflective journal prompts mentioned in the episode:What did I learn from today?Did it add or reinforce what I already know?What did I gain from this activity / event?How might that help me in the future?What might I do differently in the future?To get help starting your reflective practice, why not join our monthly Accountability Club? I'll walk you through the process of reflection every month, alongside other like-minded business owners, and if it's not for you, you can cancel at any time.Find out more and join the club here.

Have you ever wondered how to make your business stand out from the crowd, but still do what you love?You’ll love this episode’s guest.  Lucie Sheridan created her business, Rubbish portraits because she wanted to create some consistent income from being an artist. So she created a ‘portrait booth’, from where she draws guests in just three minutes at events.As well as giving people a fun and easy way to pay for her artwork, it's also has worked as a brilliant marketing tool - creating a memorable brand around her.In this episode, find out Lucie’s top tips for making it as an artist, and why she’d never give up her mundane admin job! Enjoy :-)Find out more about Lucie and Rubbish Portraits here.

Can a pen and a scrap of paper change your life?Alison Jones thinks so.  Over 30 years in the publishing industry she’s helped hundreds of authors to publish their books and knows a bit about getting your story down on paper.  And she’s also just published her own book - which shows you how to use the power of writing to help you solve problems and transform your life.  She believes exploratory writing is a simple but much-overlooked tool that could get you extraordinary results in the areas of self-mastery, creativity, focus, solution finding and collaboration. Alison is the founder of Practical Inspiration Publishing and to find out more you can check out her publishing website here or buy her book here.

If you're serious about making 2023 your best year ever, you need to get savvy and find a way of becoming as productive as you can.  Learning some great productivity techniques (as well as about yourself) will help you achieve more and stress less in the coming year.  In this episode, I take you through 12 proven productivity techniques that will spur you into action and have helped me achieve so much over the last few years.  This isn't about being perfect, it's about being a bit better and using the tools in a way that fits you.  I hope you find one or two useful tools that you can use to help move the needle in your business.If you want to learn more about productivity, and how to get more done in your business, you can get my Creative's Productivity Toolbox here.Or you can join my new Accountability Club - just drop me an email here to ask for the details.

Poppy Treffry is an award-winning Cornish textile designer that started her business in an attic with a 1930’s sewing machine and car boot sale fabric in 2003 and now has a well-established business employing an army of sewers across rural cornwall.  When she started using freehand machine embroidery, it wasn't even a thing, and now you see it everywhere - so she really was a trailblazer! I really enjoyed our chat and Poppy’s obvious passion, not just for craft, but also business. I can’t wait to share her story with you, as well as tell you how her customers came to the rescue during the pandemic.  This is a lesson in following your gut and going for it - enjoy!You can find out more about Poppy here: https://poppytreffry.co.uk/

Social media can be so overwhelming when you start a business - which channels to use? What to post? How to actually get results? Should you use paid ads? And what's actually the blinkin' point anyway?So, in this podcast I've put together my top 7 golden rules of social media, to make sure you get the benefits of socials, without it sucking the life out of you.  These rules will teach you to understand the role of social media in your overall marketing plan and get the most out of it, whatever you sell.I've also created a handy-andy FREE downloadable checklist and guide, to make it super easy to implement these golden rules - just go along to thevictoriabrown.com/social to grab your copy.

Meet Krystle McGilvery - Chartered Accountant and Fine Artist - she’s passionate about helping people overcome the  mindset blocks they have about managing their money and giving business owners the financial tools they need to survive and thrive.  In this conversation, we talk about practical and simple ways business owners can make managing their finances easier and Krystle’s experience of being diagnosed with both ADHD and Dyslexia late in life. This is such a great listen if you’ve ever struggled with money in life or business, and Krystle is living proof that you can be good at both finance and art! Enjoy.Find out more about Krystle on her website here.

Introducing the wondrous Lisa Stickley - a creative who's wonderfully authentic and true to herself. She’s an illustrator who delightfully describes herself as a professional colourer-inner.  She’s had so much business success - being stocked in household names like Harrods, Liberty, Paul Smith and Burberry, amongst others.  She’s so generous in sharing her experience of when it all went wrong and she walked away from her business and name.  She also talks about how she was affected by her dyslexia diagnosis as an adult and losing her Mum during lockdown.We talk about imposter syndrome, the importance of tenacity in business andbeing true to yourself. And she also talks about her love for lidos! I just loved her honesty and humour despite everything that has happened and think you’re going to love listening to this…enjoy!Find out more about Lisa and sign up for her Doodle classes at her website: https://lisastickleystudio.com/

Do you feel stuck in a rut? When was the last time you did something a bit out of your comfort zone?It may be that you just need to make a few bold moves in business, and in life to try to change things up a bit.I recently realised I was playing too safe, and decided to be braver. Here are three ways I became braver and how it transformed by business and personal life.  It could transform yours too.

Are you REALLY satisfied in your Creative career?Are you doing the thing you always really wanted to do, or are you compromising somehow?Kerry Lyons is a Creative Business Coach - her goal is to help everyone find their 'true creative calling' - because in her experience, many creatives end up in other creative roles that aren’t quite the perfect fit for them. In this episode, she tells her story and gives tips on how to get back on the right creative track if you’re finding yourself unfulfilled. As a creative myself, I found this whole topic fascinating and I hope you do too...To find out more about Kerry, check out her website here.And if you want to book onto a Pick and Mix Workshop with Victoria Brown, you can find out more here.