ENTERPRISE + INITIATIVE Page 7 of 21

We love big crazy dreams

Posted on 2015-06-08 at 8:55 am.

Make your big crazy dreams come true this June!

Do you find yourself thinking things like: “I can’t afford to _______” … or “I’m too old to _______” … or “I’m going to need years of training before I can _______” … or “It’s just not realistic for me to _______?” Then our flagship e-course is for you – and you can register today!

Do What You Love is an acclaimed transformational course that will show you that all of your options are still open, no matter what your current circumstances and responsibilities may be. It’s about re-opening doors that you thought were locked shut… re-opening possibilities that you thought were long gone… and illuminating possibilities you never knew existed.

Over the period of 5 weeks course you’ll be inspired and motivated. You’ll learn things about yourself that you may never have know and you’ll have lots of fun! Lessons are energising and doable and they’ve been carefully sequenced to help you build confidence, build a plan and build momentum.

Join us and make possibility your new reality.

“Thanks to this course I stepped off the ledge and did something I have been wanting to do for years – and I feel lighter than air.” ~ Christine B

Dream a little dream

Posted on 2015-06-01 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Make your dreams come true!

The Do What You Love e-course will encourage you to reconnect to the real you, deep inside, in order to uncover what you really love. Understanding yourself and your passions will help you map out your perfect road ahead.

“This course is like pressing a pause button on your life – to take stock and help realise your potential.” Course participant, January 2015

Join us this June for the experience of a lifetime.

Do What You Love HQ Update – May 2015

Posted on 2015-05-26 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

The long summer evenings have brought with them a renewed sense of relaxation and calm after an incredibly busy few months at DWYL HQ. After almost a year of new content creation and recruitment our team has clicked with everyone fitting into the right roles, finding autonomy and feeling assured. The sheer volume of work that the team has got through since January is astounding. I take my hat off to each and every one of them, from Beth downwards. It is a pleasure and a privilege to work with so many people who are motivated by purpose, and who work with humour and a smile to such incredibly high standards.

Fast on the back of her appearance at The Barclays Debate #barclaysdebate Beth was proud to talk at the recent Mumsnet conference in London. She was there as part of a panel providing business and lifestyle advice about how to start up on your own. I know she thoroughly enjoyed herself as she came back with a spring in her step after mingling with so many other aspiring and driven mothers.

The Business Soul Sessions opened its classroom doors (digitally speaking) on May 11 to a new group of individuals. This revolutionary course offers a thought-provoking, perspective-shifting, mind-opening approach to business growth for entrepreneurs who want greater impact, explosive growth and serious profits they can be proud of. Without blowing our own trumpet, I wish we could have taken The Business Soul Sessions at the start of our journey!

It has been nearly three years since the previous class ran and I can’t wait for all the wonderful eureka moments that I know our students will have. So many great things come out of this course for so many people, and it’s wonderful to watch our students grow and transform their approach and their businesses before our eyes. This is what some of our past students have said…

“This course was pivotal for me. It helped me gain a professional confidence and business identity that I didn’t know I was even missing.” ~ Noelle Rollins

“My business has grown at least 300% and my network and knowledge have expanded exponentially because of this course.” ~ Sandra Dumais

“The Business Soul Sessions changed my entire approach to everything I did. It changed how I thought about business and living the life of a business person. I taught myself to value my talents, my time and my efforts. I would tell anyone who is in a business that relies on creativity, imagination and ingenuity that they really need to do this course. It will pay for itself and you’ll look back in time and be so grateful that you invested in your soul work”. ~ Kass Hall

And there’s lots more exciting news to report…

1. Registration is open for the next DWYL e-course, starting June 15. We’re proud to say that the powerful yet practical content contained in this transformative course continues to surprise people. It’s all about helping you find the answers to your questions and then taking the right actions for you. If you are wondering about the true power of the course, well it doesn’t come much bigger than a Marriage Proposal… and just wait until you find out how he popped the question!

2. We launched our brave stranger campaign to celebrate bravery in all shapes and sizes, by every day people. Get involved on Facebook or Twitter next week for a chance to WIN a place for you and a friend on the DWYL e-course.

[Tweet “Change your life! WIN a place for you and a friend on the next DWYL e-course”]

3. We’ve had some brilliant applications for Little Beach Hut of Dreams and we can’t wait to share how our beach hut residents spend their days by the sea. UPDATE: The Little Beach Hut of Dreams has been sold as we no longer live in Brighton and only residents are permitted to own beach huts there. This post has been archived for reference but we are no longer accepting applications for Dreamer-in-Residence. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our Dreamers-in-Residence for being part of our adventure, and to Towergate Insurance for awarding The Little Beach Hut of Dreams runner up position in Beach Hut of the Year 2015. She was very proud!

4. Our Webinar Series – Alchemy – has certainly got people inspired and thinking. The feedback and comments have been great. Alchemy is constantly available and now takes pride of place in amongst our other FREE Resources – Sign up today and listen to some of the most interesting and potentially important conversations you will hear all year.

5. Our blog continues to be galvanised by our guest bloggers who are all leading all experts in their field. They include: Alastair Humphreys, Ben Keene, Frances Booth, Louise Armstrong and Lara Tabatznik.

6. What do you think about our new look? Last month our new website launched. We want it to be a place you can trust to find all the inspiration, tools, resources and support you need. At the end of the day all of this is for you. So we’d love to hear you thoughts. Please get in touch and let us what works, what doesn’t and most importantly, tell us if something is missing, or if there are any features you’d find helpful. We really do value your feedback.

An update on our collaborations

Make Art That Sells (MATS):

1. The LIVE event is SOLD OUT! Make Art That Sells: The Global Art Gathering will take place in Brighton, UK, on Friday, June 12, 2015. It promises to be a fun-filled, action-packed day with all the energy, passion and magic you’d expect from Make Art That Sells. We’ll be welcoming a host of acclaimed speakers and panelists from the international art industry to advise and inspire you.

2. MATS: Creating Collections for Home Decor has been hugely in demand since we announced its launch last month. Lilla and Beth have teamed up with Top Art Director Margo Tantau – to run the fantastic course that Margo has described as a GAME CHANGER! To ensure you don’t miss out before it sells out Register here.

3. MATS: Assignment Bootcamp has entered in its final month. I can honestly say that I will miss the buzz in the Bootcamp Community when it draws to a close but I know there will only be a short interlude before attention turns to this year’s Global Talent Search. Don’t miss out on what could be one of the biggest and best opportunities for your career… join the waiting list here.

4. Our gorgeous new Make Art That Sells website continues to turn heads! It’s bursting with free resources, industry insight and motivational videos to help the artists among you make leaps forward with your career. Be sure to check it out.

Make It In Design (MIID)

Since our sister site, Make It In Design, announced Printsource New York as their Official Trade Show Partner energy levels have been sky high. As one of the world’s most prestigious shows for the surface pattern design and textile industry, this partnership will provide exclusive content, behind the scenes access, and top tips to help designers build their brand through trade shows.

1. Trade show video series – over 1,000 people tuned in from around the world last week to watch our latest Trade Show video series hosted by Rachael Taylor and Massimo Iacoboni, the owner of Printsource New York. The feedback has been amazing with many people letting the team know how many great ideas they’ve picked up and how grateful they were for all the free inside know-how to trade show success. Rachael shared years of trade show trial and error to help others avoid the steep learning curve. The videos are still available to watch until May 31, 2015. Sign up here.

2. Make it in Design are on the countdown to one of the most exciting and powerful courses in the world of surface pattern design – ‘The Ultimate Portfolio Builder in association with Printsource‘. This advanced 7-week course will give you all the tools and advice you need to grow your body of commercially viable work, refine and strengthen your professional design portfolio, make your designs more sellable and give you the fast-track to trade show success. Class starts on May 25, 2015, there’s still time to join us.

3. Uppercase launched an exciting competition to win a place on the upcoming ‘The Ultimate Portfolio Builder’ course. To date there have been over 70 entries which you can read on the blog here.

4. Summer School dates are out! Last July hundreds of people joined Make it in Design for some creative fun for all the family. Check out the Summer School Lookbook featuring some of their favourite designs and join the waiting list to get more details soon.

5. We are also thrilled to tell you that a number of Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design students exhibited at Surtex in New York last week. You can see their latest work right here on the Make it in Design blog.

Thought of the month…

Just last week Beth (Mrs. K) and I sat down to work through the ‘Core Values’ section of The Business Soul Session course for our business (yes, we use our own resources!) and it couldn’t have been better timed. In the midst of all the ideas, an ever-growing team, increasing commitments and working at 100 mph to get everything done, we needed to ensure that we were still being true to the soul of our business. The outcome was really insightful; it reminded us that we must never lose sight of the ‘WHY’ behind our business. It is the beating heart of Do What You Love.

Make time for the important things and stay true to yourself.

Until next time,

Mr. K

10 things I learnt leading a co-working tribe in Bali

Posted on 2015-05-19 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

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

My nose is running. My sun-tan is already fading. I’m even shivering a little. Its not mid-winter but spring in England and British Summer Time has just kicked-in. So why the doldrums? Well, I’ve just got back from three months of fun and fulfilment in Bali piloting a new Tribewanted project focusing on co-working. I’ve learnt post-tribe fatigue is inevitable. I’ll be back in the game shortly.

So, in this moment between tribes (I’m back at The Escape School next week) — what did I learn?

1. Check-ins are the superglue

At least 4 times a week we would meet at Hubud and ask 2 questions to everyone:

What are you getting done today?

How can we help?

The simplicity and regularity of these sessions helped us take small steps forward daily and accelerate towards our goals.

2. Location. Location. Location.

I knew from my research that Bali, and Ubud especially, would be a good destination for coworking and startup inspiration but my expectations were smashed.

Bali’s spiritual, creative, natural culture is powerfully seductive — you can’t help but be wrapped up in its glow. This layered onto a canvas of volcanos, ocean, reefs and the bright green quilt of paddy fields and its popularity is unsurprising.

My daily commute cycling through Ubud monkey forest in the early heat, hopping round cafes for meetups, into galleries for inspiration, hiking through paddy fields, disappearing into bamboo paradises and the endless swimming opportunities meant that you couldn’t not feel energised. The challenge is fitting everything in — life was full in Ubud (I didn’t even make it to ‘ecstatic dance’).

3. Sunshine (and thunderstorms) are caffeine for the soul

The island climate at this time of year is dramatic — one minute intense heat, the next a monsoon. At night cracks of thunder that would crack into the core of your being. I found the drama of the weather an energizer. Bugs aside, there’s nothing like a tropical rainstorm to awaken your senses and reflect on what you’re doing. You can’t detach your work from the natural environment in somewhere like Bali and that’s a very good thing.

4. Give and you shall grow (pay it forward without expectation)

We did a lot of skill sharing. I can’t think of an occassion when this didn’t build stronger relationships and increase impact. We planned to split our time 50% (our projects) 25% (each others projects), 25% exploring Bali. With this mindset I saw a lot of people supporting each other with no questions asked about ‘how much time’ or ‘will I get it back.’

5. Tools rule

Whatsapp is our watercooler (we’ll get to ‘Slack’ at some-point), we gather round it to share our meetup plans, pictures, jokes and rapid feedback.

Strikingly is our ideas accelerator — the difference between people talking about their ideas before they visualised them was always obvious.

I watched Loretta, a consumate international development professional unleash her inner entrepreneurial creativity once she got a handle on a couple of tools and the permission to go wild with them — now, she’s an ideas machine.

6. My weakness is your strength. Baby.

Tommy: Young travel blogger taught himself how to build a following and engagement on instagram and then shared his lessons with us. In under a week he had become the ‘instagram’ expert.

Philippa: Teacher and novelist shared her creative writing tips and in return was motivated by the tribe to churn out her novel.

Bob: Corporate HR guy turned ethical recruitment missionpreneur shared his hiring tips and gained feedback on how to keep it lean.

7. Random acts of storytelling are exactly what you were looking for

Every Thursday we invite a guest to share their story with us. These included:

Vlatko: How (and why) I spent 6 years filming the Croatian coastline.

Kadek: Why I started Yoga Barn and the Bali Spirit Festival

Eiji: What I learnt making ‘The Happy Movie’

These might seem like irrelevant interruptions in our busy schedules, but often we found these fresh perspectives and inspiring stories would reinforce or shift our thinking around what we were doing.

8. Feedback in the tribe is rapid (and crucial)

Lisa: ‘So I’ve spent all night thinking about changing the name and brand to ‘your news assistant’. What do you think?’

Tribe: ‘But we love ‘Newspresso — your shot of daily news.’

Lisa: ‘Really?’

Tribe: ‘Yes!’

Lisa: ‘Ok, Newspresso it is!’

9. Not everyday is perfect. Even in Bali.

I’ve been to enough islands to know that paradise is a state of mind and not a perfect place. Bali is a handmade society, still struggling with corruption, traffic, pollution, rampant tourism, poverty, climate change and more. It looks perfect on the surface — this is what makes it a great holiday destination.

But when you’ve come to explore your future career or kickstart your business idea, there are days when the wifi is too slow, the bugs bite too much and, yes, when its just ‘too hot.’

This is when your tribe matter the most — they pick you up, remind you why this decision was a good one and that you’re not on your own (even if most people ‘back home’ think your in paradise).

Our Chief Experience Officer, Gusti Badra

10. Mindsets shift through community

This is something that Rob from The Escape School (my next tribe) said to me. It resonates perfectly. For all of us in the ‘behaviour change’ game we know that the key to making a positive and sustainable impact on someone is by connecting them meaningfully with others who share their outlook, intention and values.

If we can build a community — a tribe — around things that matter to people, then minds and behaviour will shift. Its a huge lesson and one that is becoming clearer by the day.

Thank you to my tribe buddies from Bali for leaping into the unknown and sharpening this conviction for me. Loretta says it best: [Tweet “A Tribe is a powerful thing.”] Being part of this one is an experience I’ll never forget!

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Tribewanted Startups Bali in numbers (so far):

In numbers… 45 tribe members. 60 ‘check-in’s. 62 new ideas (in one night). 3 volcanoes climbed (in one day). 30+ strikingly pages. 4000+ juices. 1000+downward facing dogs. An unlimited amount of hugs…

Meanwhile, just beyond the monkey forest, the adventure continues.

On recalibrating

Posted on 2015-05-11 at 7:49 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

A while back I talked about how we often teach what we need to hear, and this has never been more true than right now, this very minute, as we kick off our new course The Business Soul Sessions. Today has been a day for recalibration and redirection and it has been exhilarating.

Rewind to yesterday, a glorious sunny day here on the south coast of England. Mr K and I took Sienna to Stanmer Park, a wonderful green space in the grounds of a stately home, complete with cows, a stone church and a sweet little tea room. We spent two solid hours laughing as we chased her round and round the field, stopping only to make a daisy chain crown for her hair.

She has been walking with assistance for months now, but for some reason, last week, she just decided to go for it and started walking unaided, round in circles, up steps, and even breaking into a little wobbly run. It was amazing. Pure joy, and she was so proud she kept clapping herself. Now the world must look very different to her, as she can go where she wants and look at anything that catches her eye.

For us yesterday was such a fun family day, and it made us start thinking ahead to the expansion of our family in the months ahead, with baby number two on the horizon (due at the end of July).

When Sienna was born I did a really bad job of juggling work and new motherhood, to the point where I exhausted myself, and probably did neither of them properly. This time we want to do it differently. We want to spend more time with the new little one, but also with Sienna as she gets used to having a little sister. So things need to be done differently.

With that in mind Mr K and I spent today working on our business development plan for the next few years, with thoughts of our family front of mind throughout the process. It was an invigorating day of brainstorming, questioning, challenging and imagining, and we are truly excited about what lies ahead. The best part? We were recalibrating for our change in lifestyle, but by REALLY focusing on what is important to us, came away with ideas that will make our business better as a result. (I look forward to sharing some of those things with you in the coming months…)

How did we do it? Using the resources from our very own Business Soul Sessions course! We took a selection of the worksheets from the course and powered through them in a mammoth café session. We came away with an extraordinary sense of clarity, direction and new ideas. It was so exciting to use our own course to help direct the next phase of our own business, and it makes complete sense.

Because having a soulful business is all about being clear on WHY you are doing what you are doing, serving WHO you want to serve, with WHAT they need, and doing it all in a way that makes you happy and makes you profits you can be proud of. But we all change and grow over time, our motivations change, our situations change, and the world outside our door changes. So it follows that your business needs to change, adapt and evolve with it. The principles of the Business Soul Sessions played a major role in the early days of our business, and I am thrilled that the course is equally valuable at this stage, because it’s about principles and possibility, which are important wherever you are with your business. (And it wasn’t just us – here’s a fantastic case study from designer Hannah Nunn who took the Beta version of the course a while back and has seen a 53% rise in sales, combined with a complete perspective shift – it’s an inspiring tale!)

If you think it’s time to recalibrate your own business, to get re-motivated, re-inspired, and ready to create much greater impact, profits and freedom, then join us. Class has just begun but you can still squeeze in here if you are quick!

This week we’d like to challenge you to think about what areas of your life could do with recalibration. What have you been doing the same for a while now, even though something has changed – your circumstances, your friendship group, your interests or whatever. Think about it, and take a moment to reflect and recalibrate today.

Have a great week!

Beth and team

A little business inspiration

Posted on 2015-04-20 at 2:55 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

Download a high res version to print here.

When business meets happiness (a free gift to kick start your business from our friends at the Happy Startup School)

Posted on 2015-04-20 at 9:42 am.

Written by vbnz

When you think of doing what you love, what comes to mind? Many of us think of travel, friends and family, creativity… but not always business.

We want to change that. Here at Do What You Love we believe business can be incredibly life enriching if it’s built on the right values. Our friends at the Happy Startup School share our passion for business, and as part of our Business month they’re offering a great free toolkit to help our community kick-start their businesses the right way.

The Happy Startup School are helping a new breed of entrepreneur gain the confidence, skills, toolset and community they need to build meaningful businesses & be their own boss. They put on crazy events like their annual camping retreat in Sussex for budding change-makers, the Happy Startup Summercamp and gather tribes of likeminded creatives online to support one another in the start of new business ideas.

They’re here to give you a push starting out in business and have a free ebook and startup toolkit for people to learn how you can build a happy startup. Start working on your business plan with their simple approach and free worksheet.

Need a bit of inspiration to get started? Check out the Happy Startup School’s 10 steps to happiness in business & life below.

You can do it!

Why getting serious about goals is the key to achieving your dreams

Posted on 2015-04-14 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

When was the last time you thought about what you want to achieve in your life? When was the last time you paid real attention to the hopes and desires deep inside of you?

It’s easy to put our dreams on hold and see them as things that we’ll pursue in the future when we don’t have errands to run, bills to pay, work to do, and people to care for. But the truth is we’ll probably always be busy with one thing another, and as the years go by, we’ll only be getting older and more tired too. NOW really is the best time to make our dreams happen. It’s the only time that we can really count on!

Setting goals is a great place to start, but it can feel overwhelming. How do you go about it? What’s the best approach? These inspiring TED Talks offer some great advice on how to make your dreams happen…

1. Derek Sivers: Keep your goals to yourself

Once you’ve made up your mind and set a goal you’re sure will change your life, our first instinct is to tell those around us. In this insightful TED Talk, Derek Sivers, leading entrepreneur in the music business, says it’s often better to keep your goals to yourself. History has shown us that people who talk about their ambitions and resolutions are often less likely to achieve them. Research dating all the way back to the 1920s shows that keeping aspirations a secret is your best chance at actually following through with them.

2. Reggie Rivers: If you want to achieve your goals, don’t focus on them

“We all talk about setting goals, but we don’t talk that much about how to actually achieve goals,” says former Denver Broncos running back Reggie Rivers. In this TED Talk, he speaks about how focusing on your goals is the one sure way not to achieve them. Spending time concentrating on what is in your control rather than goals, which are outside of your control, puts the power of action in your hands and is the best approach to realising your aspirations.

3. Mel Robbins: Setting your goals high

In this motivational talk, Mel Robbins speaks on setting your goals high, regardless of any embarrassment you may feel. She tells the audience about the importance of setting goals for what you really want out of life, rather than just what you think is achievable. By keeping the bigger picture in mind, it is easier for us to accomplish the smaller targets that make it up. Recognise what you really want, admit you want it and do it, says Robbins.

4. Jason Fox: Goal setting is broken

The way people are setting goals is changing in the modern world. In this TED Talk, Jason Fox, Australian innovation management consultant and author, likens goal setting in business to the engagement needed for playing video games. He speaks on learning from challenges and failures and how it’s only through these that we can learn to achieve our goals and revel in the rewards. Keeping focus on what you have already achieved, rather than what still needs to be done, creates a bias towards action and keeps people engaged in a project for longer.

5. Raghava KK: What’s your 200-year plan?

You might have a 5-year plan, but what about a 200-year plan? Artist Raghava KK has set his eyes on an ultra-long-term horizon; at TEDxSummit, he shows how it helps guide today’s choices and tomorrow’s goals — and encourages you to make your own 200-year plan too.

What do you want to achieve next? What goals will you set to make this happen? What approach will you take?

Thinking of starting your own business?

Posted on 2015-04-10 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Light your entrepreneurial fire

Posted on 2015-04-08 at 8:55 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

If you want to put a rocket under your ideas and ambition, start or grow your own business or revolutionise your current business, and make your own choices and your own money, then you need to meet Danielle LaPorte. She is one hot woman. She made me think differently about aspects of my own business, and I wanted to share some of her magic with you. ~ Beth

Image credit: Anastasia Photography

Danielle is the creator of www.daniellelaporte.com, and author of the inspiring digital books, The Fire Starter Sessions and the Desire Map, which helps entrepreneurs rock their career with integrity, audacity and their truest strengths. Danielle is a former news show commentator, and director of a Washington-DC think tank, where she managed a team of analysts studying global trends for the likes of the Pentagon and the World Bank. She is the lead author of the Amazon bestseller, Style Statement: Live By Your Own Design, and has been featured in Elle, Vogue Australia, Body + Soul, The National Post, Entertainment Tonight, and The Huffington Post.

Here’s her awesome advice on doing what you love…

1) At a time when we are starting to come out of a global recession, you are encouraging entrepreneurs everywhere to blaze their own trails and set the world on fire. Why is it important and how does it feel to you?

Because liberation and self reliance are amazing things. Because cubicles are hell. Because the system is broken. If you want to make lots of really good stuff happen, then that’s really exciting – for all of us. If you want to earn a living by doing meaningful things – then that’s exceptional. This truth is most evident: we entrepreneurs, artists, and change agents define ourselves on our own terms. Does it get better than that?!

2) What do you want to revolutionise with the Firestarter Sessions?

My intention is that people will start heeding the call of their core desires. “Revolutionary” is basing your strategic plans on how you truly want to feel, not chasing external things and hoping they’ll make you feel a certain way. “Revolutionary” is using grace as a measurement for success, and generosity as part of your bottom line.

3) What does it take to spark genius?

Hunger. An open heart. Flexibility.

4) What is your superpower?

Listening. I also have a knack for getting people just the right gift. But that goes back to listening…

5) What is the one piece of explosive advice you can give to entrepreneurs trying to transform their dream into a rocking business?

Let ease be your metric. Here’s what I mean by that: Using the “ease factor” as a metric for making right choices is counter-culture, of course. It’s been drilled in to us to work hard. Blue collar, white collar, dog collar – hard work pays off. Pay your dues. Put in your time. Prove yourself. Check the right box. Stay the course. Meet expectations. Train in pain, and then reap the rewards. Doing what comes easily to you isn’t about shortcuts or cleverness, and it’s certainly not about making mediocrity acceptable. It’s about leverage. It’s about casting your seeds on the most fertile soil. It’s about your best chances for success.

I don’t do it if it’s not easy. That simple. That fun. That rad.

***

Danielle’s brilliant ‘Desire Map’ is a great way to help you map out what you really want from life. Check it out here.

***

Now over to you…

What do you want to revolutionise?

What do you find toughest (or what are you most afraid of) about going it alone?

What do you love about it? Why is it right for you?