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On making a living from the things you create {New podcast episode with Jess Van Den}

Posted on 2017-10-10 at 11:30 am.

Many creatives dream of turning the items they make into a profitable business that can support their lifestyles so they are free to do work they love from wherever they desire. For one lady, this dream is an ongoing reality and she strives to help other makers profit from their talents and live a life that’s true to them too.

Jess Van Den, my latest guest on The Freedom Seeker Chronicles Podcast, is a silversmith from Australia who makes beautiful jewellery from her solar powered studio north of Brisbane. She’s the founder and editor of Create & Thrive & the Thriver Circle, supporting creatives turning their handmade hobby into a full-time business and together with her husband Nick, she has built a life for themselves centred around freedom and flexibility.

Key Moments:

[3m 15s] How Jess came to discover the heart and soul behind her business and understand her ‘why’ in business

[6m 0s] The moment Jess decided to make her hobby her business

[10m 30s] What Jess’s day to day life looks like, her creative routine and how she balances business + life commitments

[13m 40s] Why Jess lets go of business priorities at weekends to create headspace

[15m 20s] Jess + Beth’s thoughts on managing social media as a small business owner – and the importance of showing up as your whole self [not to fill gaps in your social schedule]

[17m 0s] How Jess balances time, finances and energy for 2 businesses

[21m 0s] Jess explains the different revenue streams that come from her businesses and how they support her

[23m 05s] The challenges Jess is currently facing and how she differentiates urgent vs. important tasks

[26m 15s] Jess highlights the common challenges creative business owners face and how to overcome them

[29m 30s] Overcoming confidence issues and fear when you’re starting a creative business

[31m 0s] The power of finding a community to support you

[32m 20s] What Jess has learned in interviewing lots of entrepreneurs and changemakers for her podcast

[35m 10s] Jess explains her very own definition of Freedom

Listen and subscribe here

Got an idea for a business? Got too many ideas? This conversation is for you

Posted on 2017-10-03 at 12:34 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

There are three questions I get asked often by people wanting to create a business around doing what they love:

It’s all so overwhelming. Where should I begin?
How do I choose which thing to focus on?
Is it really possible with a family to support?

Rather than just share my own views on this, I thought I’d invite the thoughts of someone who is at the coal face, working with start ups day-in-day-out.

Ben Keene is Head of The Escape School and founder of Rebel Book Club, and with a family of five to support, he is perfectly placed to share entrepreneurial wisdom with those who are juggling business needs and family demands. In this episode of my new podcast The Freedom Seeker Chronicles (which is totally free), Ben shares how to deal with risk when you’re starting a business for the first time, how to balance family and work commitments and the desire for travel. You can listen to it here. I hope this will give you some food for thought, and inspire you to go for it!

On bucket lists, goal setting + listening to your heart

Posted on 2017-09-19 at 12:40 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

What is the smallest thing you can do now to follow your heart? Think about it. Write it down if you like.

This is just one of the many questions of wisdom my very first podcast guest Steph Jagger plants on us in today’s episode. Steph is the author of Unbound, a story of snow and self-discovery and she’s helped women the world over define who it is they want to BE and what they need to DO to get there. Listen in for the next 40 mins of exploration where we talk about everything from battling fear, the pros and cons of setting goals, and how to find stillness and solitude to allow golden thoughts and plans emerge.

You can listen and subscribe to The Freedom Seeker Chronicles here.

Join our Founder for a transformational one day workshop

Posted on 2017-09-19 at 9:27 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

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As we edge closer to the last quarter of 2017, how are you feeling about how the year has turned out? A lot has happened in the world, both difficult and good. I wonder if 2017 has turned out how you hoped, or not?

I get the sense from many of you in our community that 2017 has been a challenging year, and so I have decided to offer some in-person workshops to help make 2018 different.

This workshop is for you if…

• You feel like you are at a crossroads and unsure of what to do next

• You are feeling trapped, overwhelmed with too much to do, all the while watching your dreams drift further away

• You have forgotten what your dreams actually look like, and want some inspiration and guidance

• You want to reconnect with what really matters, and do it in a safe space with like-minded people

This workshop has been specifically designed to help you:

• Realign to what really matters

• Understand what’s holding you back, and how to escape that and fly free

• Navigate what lies ahead (because the path to your dreams is rarely the easy road)

I rarely offer small group workshops, but felt called to do this and I would love for you to be part of this transformational experience.

We are offering two dates for 2017:

SUNDAY OCTOBER 1 IN TOTNES, DEVON, UK (hosted by Living Now Events)

CLICK HERE to book (and use the code LivingNow at checkout for a 20% discount)

SATURDAY OCTOBER 7 IN LONDON, UK (hosted by Alternatives)

CLICK HERE to book

I really hope you will join me, or pass this on to someone who needs it.

Much love

Beth

Freedom Seeker is out in Italian and German!

Posted on 2017-07-06 at 1:42 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

When I started writing Freedom Seeker, I was writing it for myself. I was writing myself free. In the process I understood that I was writing this book for you. But the truth is I never thought beyond the English language, until my wonderful agent Caroline Hardman of Hardman & Swainson told me that an Italian publisher (Corbaccio) and a German publisher (Allegria/Ullstein) wanted to buy the rights for their respective languages. This opened up whole new possibilities, and I love the idea of my words going out into the world to be read in other languages. As someone who has a Master’s degree in Interpreting & Translating, I’ve always been fascinated by the way words are communicated against the background of cultural and linguistic settings, knowing that the most important thing is to communicate the concept in a way that it has the same impact on the reader, rather than making sure the words are the same (not to mention how different the covers are!) And so I am thrilled to share that Freedom Seeker is now available in Italian and German, and I would love to hear your thoughts about it if you read it in either of those languages. (PS More languages coming soon!)

From zero to one: How 3 founders went from idea to business

Posted on 2017-07-04 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

This is a guest post by Ben Keene. You can find out more about Ben here.

1 in 3 people want to start a business, but only 1 in 10 take the leap.

Turning an exciting idea into a real world business isn’t easy.

But with an array of cheap online tools and a growing community in cities like London, it is increasingly possible to at least test whether your idea has potential without risking it all.

We spoke to 3 startup founders we admire about how they turned an idea in their heads into an actual business.

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What’s going on? Our guide to the best upcoming thought-provoking + life-changing events

Posted on 2017-07-03 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

With in summer in full swing, now is the perfect time to think about what you want from the rest of 2017. Whether it’s learning a new skill, developing yourself personally or professionally, tapping into your creativity, hiring a coach, or taking a break to rest and recharge, making time to nurture yourself and your dreams every once in a while is vital for your health and wellbeing.

Here’s our pick of the best upcoming festivals, events and talks to help you on the path to doing what you love…

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On being your own boss (+ UK job opportunity!)

Posted on 2017-06-26 at 10:20 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

I have a couple of questions for you today.

Do you run a business? If so, don’t you sometimes just wish someone would tell you what to do next?
Do you have a dream of running your own business? If so, don’t you just wish someone would just tell you whether or not being your own boss is the right path for you?

(Note: If the answer to (1) and (2) above is ‘no’, but you are in the market for an exciting job and you are based in the UK, hop to the end of this email! If it’s yes, read on!)

Well I wish I could promise you exactly what you wish for, but the truth is, no-one can give you all of that. Discovering it is part of being your own boss. However, I can share what I personally have learnt about being your own boss, in case it sparks any a-ha moments for you. I started writing these thoughts down as a newsletter for you, but it ended up a lot more in-depth than I had planned, so I ended up offering it to MOYO Magazine as a feature article. You can read it for free over here. I hope it helps you find some of your own answers!

The truth is, often the main missing piece is the community. Because when you’re your own boss, there is no-one ‘above you’ to ask when you don’t know the answer. ‘How-to’ answers can often be crowd-sourced if you have access to a well-informed community. But a community really comes into its own when you want answers about how it feels, not how to do it. Because then your community can lift your spirits, keep you motivated, and hold up the mirror to remind you that you actually do know more than you realise, already.

If you don’t have a community like that, I have good news for you. We have just created one! By ‘we’ I mean me and my long term business-soulmate Kelly Rae Roberts. It’s called Hello Soul Hello Business, and it might just be what you have been searching for. It all starts on July 3, but you can secure your place now. If you’re a woman with a business in search of community, and real soulful actionable business advice, this is for you.

Much love,

Beth

PS We’re hiring!

Well actually, our sister site www.makeartthatsells.com, which I co-founded with Lilla Rogers, is hiring! Here’s some info about this exciting role in our lovely team:

Are you looking for an inspiring role that will allow you to help creative people succeed in the art industry? Are you positive, self-motivated, service-minded and super-organized? Would you like a flexible role in a friendly team, based out of the UK but internationally connected? If so, you might just be the Make Art That Sells (MATS) Project Manager we are looking for!

This is a rare opportunity to be part of Make Art That Sells (MATS), one of the world’s leading online educational experiences for artists wanting to make their work more commercially viable. We provide industry insight into the top ten hottest markets for art, and show artists exactly what they need to do in order to license and sell their work to clients all over the world. And we are looking for a Manager to be the hub and heartbeat of our team.

If this is you, download the job description and application form at www.makeartthatsells.com/jobs now and be sure to submit the Application Form along with your resume to [email protected] by the deadline (midnight GMT on Wednesday 12 July 2017).

Some important notes:

(1) This is a UK-based position. You will need permission to work in the UK and we are unfortunately unable to support visas or relocation.

(2) The successful candidate will be based remotely with most communication by Skype and email, with monthly meet ups.

(3) This is a managerial position not a design position (but you will be working on a creative project with a creative team so it will be super inspiring!)

Shortlisted candidates will be notified by email by Friday 14 July. If shortlisted you must be available for an interview in Southampton, UK, on Friday 21 July.

If you know someone who might be perfect for the role, please let them know about it!

Thank you so much!

Imagine the life of your dreams & begin with why

Posted on 2017-06-23 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

This a guest post by adventurer, author and motivational speaker Alastair Humphreys. Find out more about Alastair here.

Let’s begin with your dreams.

Allow me to guess a few easy ones for starters:

To be less stressed by work and enjoy more time with your friends and family.
To be fitter, perhaps lose a bit of weight, maybe run a marathon, or work up to a big adventure.
To spend less time online, envious of what others are up to, and more time having experiences that you’ll remember a year from now.

Imagine the life of your choice. Tell me, what would it be like? What would be different?

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Your invitation to join the new sisterhood for soul-driven entrepreneurs

Posted on 2017-06-06 at 4:32 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

Friends, I have something to share with you. This has been a long time in the making, and if you are a woman with a business, it might be just what you have been longing for….

I am so thrilled to announce the launch of Hello Soul Hello Business: A Sisterhood For Soul-driven Entrepreneurs.

Running a business is an experience of a lifetime. It’s a creative experience. It’s an intellectual experience. It’s an exhilarating endurance experience. And sometimes, it’s a profound spiritual experience. But often what’s missing – especially for women in business – is the community experience.

That’s why we (myself and my incredibly talented and successful friend Kelly Rae Roberts) have created Hello Soul Hello Business: a monthly membership for soul-driven women entrepreneurs. It all starts July 3rd, and registration is open now.

When women with passion and ideas and open hearts come together, magic happens. And we want YOU to be a part of the magic. Your community, your sisters, are waiting.

Over the past few years we have come to realise that many women in business don’t have a truly supportive community of other women in business who are really out there in the world, doing the work, often juggling family and business, who are willing to share about the mistakes and the lessons and the struggles and the fear and the risks and the blessing, all of it. So we want to extend the support we have given each other to a new Sisterhood for Soul-Driven Entrepreneurs – people like you who want to make a difference with their work, support their families and experience the preciousness of life along the way.

The Sisterhood is offered on a monthly subscription basis, and if you register you will get a 400+ page business growth e-book called The Business Soul Sessions (plus companion audiobook read by us) as soon as it launches, along with access to your new community of female entrepreneurs building soulful businesses. You will also get a host of deep and inspiring monthly content including:

Behind-the-scenes videos with me and Kelly Rae sharing what’s really going on in our businesses – what we are working on, what mistakes we have made, what we have learnt recently, seeing inside new launches and more.
In-depth raw and real interviews with inspiring women in business
Live Q&A with me and Kelly Rae to ask us anything about business and life
Curated resources to help grow your business and keep you motivated

I am so thrilled to be able to work alongside Kelly Rae to bring this desperately needed Sisterhood into the world. It’s practical and soulful, challenging and supportive, a place for magic to happen. I hope you will join us, and call this your new home.

If you are a woman and you have a business, however large or small, this is for you. If you know a woman with a business who needs support, guidance and encouragement, this is for her. Please spread the word and forward this on to anyone who needs it. Let’s be in this together as we are not meant to do this alone.

Come join us. Your sisters are waiting at www.hellosoulhellobusiness.com

Beth Xx