Coaching Episode - Content, Comparison & Scatterbrain Working with Kara Leigh Ford

07/20/18 • 58 min

This week's episode isn’t a traditional interview, but a coaching call where we dig into some real life business and marketing problems and find solutions to them. My guest is Kara Leigh Ford, a ceramicist and potter based just outside of Bath in Somerset. Kara started pottery as a hobby 14 years ago, becoming hooked after taking an evening pottery class and rushing home from work every evening to pot late into the night. In 2015 Kara gave up her day job to follow her dream to be a full time potter. She designs and hand-makes everything from her garden shed, making modern rustic table and homeware inspired by the textures and colours of her favourite childhood beaches.

In our conversation we cover so much, from tactics for dealing with comparison, creating an effective work routine, all things email marketing, and creating content when writing doesn’t come easily. I know that not only will you love Kara, but that you will relate to so much of what we talk about on this episode.

Here's what we talk about in this episode:

Kara's story of becoming a full time potter
Comparison as a marker of how far you've come
Using comparison to inspire action to improve your business
Being a scatterbrain when working for yourself
Themed days and budgeting time to help you stay organised
Struggles with writing blog posts and email newsletters
Ways to create content without writing
Finding ways to provide value
Marketing your email list
Marketing in-person experiences

Find links to the resources we discuss in the full show notes.

Kara on Instagram Kayte on Instagram

Here's what we talk about in this episode:

Kara's story of becoming a full time potter
Comparison as a marker of how far you've come
Using comparison to inspire action to improve your business
Being a scatterbrain when working for yourself
Themed days and budgeting time to help you stay organised
Struggles with writing blog posts and email newsletters
Ways to create content without writing
Finding ways to provide value
Marketing your email list
Marketing in-person experiences

Find links to the resources we discuss in the full show notes.

Kara on Instagram Kayte on Instagram

Previous Episode

Slow Living In The Hustle of Online Business with Geoffrey & Grace

Melanie Barnes, perhaps better known online as Geoffrey & Grace, is a blogger living by the sea in Sussex, England with her husband Leo, 6 year old daughter Bailey and cat Juniper. Melanie writes about slow, wholehearted and creative living, and she has worked with brands like 20th Century Fox, The Linen Works, Farrow and Ball, Vitabiotics, and Toast. Central to Geoffrey & Grace is the belief that in order to experience those wholehearted moments that are present every day we need to slow down and reconnect to our bodies. Before having her daughter, Melanie taught yoga and was a massage therapist, so wellbeing is at the heart of everything she does.

In this episode we talk about how Melanie balances slow living with the ‘fast’ world of blogging and social media, and we also get into our thoughts about the ‘hustle’, money, and practical things you can do to tune into your body and intuition more. Through my conversation with Melanie I realised some things about my own priorities, so I hope you find this episode as enlightening as I did.

Here's what we talk about in this episode:

How Melanie came to be a blogger and grew her audience
Our thoughts about the rhetoric of 'hustle' and how to shift our thinking around work
Guilt and ickiness around money and selling, and methods for overcoming those feelings
The importance of listening to your body and intuition
Practical steps to tune into your body more
Setting your purpose and priorities for your work and life
Finding slow moments and rethinking slow living

Find links to the resources we discuss in the full show notes.

Melanie on Instagram
Kayte on Instagram

Next Episode

Coaching Episode - Building A Purposeful Side Hustle with Rabya Lomas

I have another coaching episode for you this week. I’m sure many of you will know my guest today, Rabya Lomas, perhaps better known online as She Flourished. Rabya works full time in the corporate world of Project Management and is also a mother to her little boy Rafe, and wife to Chris Pratt lookalike Alex (her words, not mine 😉). When not working her 9 - 5 day job, she's playing - creating visuals for Instagram, baking, painting, and generally making a mess! Rabya is a huge advocate of playtime for adults because she believes play unlocks creativity, takes us out of ourselves and gives us momentum in the most unexpected and joyful way.

I really wanted to talk to Rabya because she is starting her business from a really strong sense of purpose. Rather than monetise her Instagram in some of the more obvious ways, she is really passionate about her why and starting a business around that. In this episode we talk about some ways to focus on your business baby when you’re also working full time and have a family, focusing on owned channels and the importance of play.

Here's what we talk about in this episode: