Hashtag Authentic - For Small Businesses, Bloggers And Online Creatives

Things we talked about:The trials and tribulations of being a “goat doula”Her new book Earthed, and its journey from concept, through to the transformation it underwent while she was writing, due to pressures from within (mental health) and without (a pandemic)How she actually managed to get it written, with all this going onThe challenges and joys of writing autobiographicallyWe dug into the need to be honest with ourselves about how we want our lives to look… and to recognise the good stuff in there, even if reality doesn’t match the fantasyAnd about lessons learned about life in pandemic times: acknowledge the difficult stuff, but don’t give up on your dreamsWe talked about the process of being diagnosed with ADHD (both of us), and how those diagnoses changed our lives – in many cases for the betterThe fear of not being taken seriously by your GPThe way the lifestyles we choose can be – subconsciously – self-medicationRebecca talked about following the things that interested her, even if that meant changin

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Things we talked about:Why so many of us feel suspicious about new technologies, and how we can change the narrativeThe way artificial intelligence (AI) reads and interprets our interests and activities in order to deliver content to us… and the impact that content can have on usApproaching social media mindfully, by noticing the impact certain content has on our moods and behaviours, and carefully curating what we choose to consumeThe difference between active and passive behaviour on social mediaTechnologies (other than social media) that Becca is loving… and thinking outside the box for ways in which technologies can improve our livesThe often-fraught topic of addictions, in relation to using our devices and social mediaThoughts about influencers and unhealthy comparisonsBecca shared her top tips for healthy ways to live with technologyAnd finally, I asked Becca to share what she would like the landscape of technology to look like in 10 yearsThe Insta Retreat - My tell all, best selling course for Instagra

Things we talked about:Allowing ourselves to feel good when things actually go wellThe synchronicity of things happening when they’re supposed to (and when you’re ready)Defining success for ourselves (and it’s not always what we assume it might be)How lockdown taught Katherine to create her own “sense of safety” following the success of her book, by creating courses to shore up her incomeFinding ways to own your own story, message and brandHow Katherine’s approach to Instagram evolved from “sharing pictures” to “telling stories”Katherine’s experience of coming back from “an anxious pattern of behaviour” around social mediaThe quiet activism in the premise of Katherine’s book, Wintering, which is all about periods of life in which we feel cut off from the rest of the worldNot always having to be “on” and “up.” As Katherine says, “The vision of us being always up discounts useful wonderful things like thinking, reflecting…”How we’ve all learned things about ourselves during lockdown, and the way our priorities

WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT Anna and I discuss the difference between the business of writing, and the writing of writingThe fear that so many of us feel of showing up, and putting ourselves out there or “being seen to try”. Anna says this is “straight-up embarrassment,” and we feel this way whenever we step outside the norm (even if we are embarrassed for positive reasons, like receiving a compliment)But in addition to this, she says that what holds us back, post-pandemic, is “very low emotional reserves.” All of us have a lower baseline of resilience which makes pitching scarier, and rejection harder to takeRecognising when you’re in burnout (and remembering that you don’t have to have all the answers before you’re allowed to help anyone else!)Defining freelancing and the many roles that freelancers need to play. Learning to be both boss and employee, and knowing when to shift between these modesSeeking a balance between working ON the business versus IN the business. Anna says she spends 20 percent of her time ac

Sally is joining me for weekly bonus coaching calls in my upcoming Insta Retreat class. Enrol now at meandorla.co.ukSally’s free program, “stop people pleasing in 5 days”Sally's WebsiteThe Life Coach SchoolSally's Instagram @sallyhardie_coachMy Instagram Get full access to Entre Nous at meandorla.substack.com/subscribe

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WHAT WE TALK ABOUT* The often-underestimated importance of being “politely persistent”* Starting a blog and Instagram before you become an expert (practising in public), as a way to find clients after you graduate* The way Kimberly used Instagram not only as a photography portfolio but also as a way to train her writing voice ahead of writing her book, alongside her blog writing* The value of receiving immediate feedback on Instagram to hone our marketing skills: we immediately learn what works and what doesn’t, based on people’s responses* A burgeoning shift of women taking up space and creating businesses, that is reshaping our ideas of what it is to be a leader, what a CEO is, and what “sales and marketing” should look like* The historic under-valuing of creativity in the mainstream, and particularly in business (creativity is not perceived as productivity, and productivity is how we measure our worth), and how creative people (often women) are forging important changes to that attitude* Kimberly’s fabulou

Links mentioned in this episode:Ida on TikTok Ida on Instagram Ida on YoutubeIda’s lumberjack TikTok Clubhouse My Instagram Class, The Insta Retreat Me on Instagram – @me_and_orlaTimes for our Clubhouse chat16:00 GMT11:00 AM EST08:00 AM PST04:00 AM Sydney     Get full access to Entre Nous at meandorla.substack.com/subscribe

Things We Talk About In This Episode:Multi-layered, multi-hyphenated careers and what to call yourself if you’re asked at a partyBeing led by curiosity, the value of deep-dive research, and the joy of starting something newMel’s early career in the not-for-profit charity sector, and the turning point she reached that led her to galvanise a group of volunteers and ultimately, to co-create Freedom Acts, a not-for-profit group aimed at ending modern slaveryHow pregnancy can be an impetus for both creativity and personal rebellionDoing something new, how to “be a learner at every stage,” and how to get things done despite feeling totally unqualifiedPivoting careers, self-doubt and self-worth wobbles when it comes to moving from charitable work to for-profit work, the desire to “do good,” and the realisation that roles, and work, can be “both-and” rather than “either-or”Finding your ‘ideal community’ on Instagram, and building space to make that community part of your offline lifeStarting an “accidental business”A

Things I Talk About In This Episode:The evolving trends of InstagramHow our fears and doubts stay the same, no matter how the platform evolvesThe risks and costs of buying too heavily into one trendWhy I'm always wary of one-size-fits-all solutions onlineThe importance of staying connected to your own creative vision and voiceHow to use trends for growth without getting blown off-pathThe importance of building meaningful connections with your audience/customersLinks mentioned in this episode:My InstagramMy Insta Retreat ClassAn example of my window photosMy Vodafone Business Story My upcoming Lunch N Learn session in growing your Instagram, with Vodafone Business UK and Enterprise Nation Get full access to Entre Nous at meandorla.substack.com/subscribe

Things We Talk About In This Episode:The world changed between the time Skye wrote this book and when it was published. We talk about how she faced the challenge of publishing a book about feeding the people you love, when you’re not allowed to be with them. (Spoiler alert: being apart from the people we love makes us value those times we do have together, even more)The creative ways we have responded to lockdown, finding unique (safe) ways to gather, and cooking with limited ingredientsHow lockdown is impacting our children, but not necessarily in the same way that it is affecting usThe positive ways in which lockdown encourages us to pause for meals and enjoy eating togetherReady-chopped onions!The difference between simply cooking to one recipe, versus pulling an entire meal togetherHow truly universal food can be (“everyone eats - if we don’t, we die!”) and the myriad cultural, historical and aspirational elements we bring to our cooking that make it so very personalHow to set up two kitchens in two diffe

Things We Talk About In This Episode:The business idea that grew out of Maressa’s own creative slumpHow important it is to value creativity (Maressa says it’s the uniqueness that makes us human) even if the people around us - and society in general - don’t recognise the valueThe challenge of finding the balance on Instagram (and elsewhere) between “what I want to share” and “what people want”Developing an Instagram account that creates space for you to be a whole person, and that can evolve alongside your interestsHow talking to camera on video became a way for Maressa to make her content more accessible to people with visual and hearing disabilitiesThe way in which Maressa uses her platform to talk about anti-racism, in a way that started out from a need to share and evolved into a process of very personal and vulnerable educationTalking to our children about racism (“we need to see colour in order to see privilege”)Maressa’s Patreon space: why she started it, how she structures it, and how creating a paid s

Things We Talk About In This Episode:Why you don't need a huge audience online to be successfulHow to get organic reach on Instagram without having to pay for adsPhotography for Instagram, and how it differs from conventional photographyPivoting your business, and why it pays to put yourself at the heart of your brandThe difference between being a freelancer and an entrepreneur/business ownerPromoting a book during lockdown, and the unexpected benefits of “marketing for introverts” when almost everything has to happen onlineHow the workplace might look on the other side of COVIDCaring for your mental health as a freelancer, and recognising that mental health goes beyond mindsetRelaxing the idea of rigid timetables, and embracing routines that work for our health and happinessThe value of having a person outside our situation, such as a coach, help us recognise and overcome our limiting beliefsManaging your finances, including building a financial buffer, pricing yourself, planning for holidays, and avoiding t

Things I Talk About In This Episode:Why we get tempted to make something new instead of doubling down on selling what we've already createdWhat to do when you think you've run out of marketing ideasWhy our brains like to keep us from doing things that are newThe benefits of creating and selling a long-term productLessons learned from maintaining a bestselling online class for 4+ yearsThe difference between when your product is the problem vs when it's your marketing or offerLinks mentioned in this episode:My Insta Retreat ClassMy InstagramMy Twitter  Get full access to Entre Nous at meandorla.substack.com/subscribe

Things We Talk About In This Episode:Nova's career path through acting, singing and psychotherapy, and how she came to anti-racism workNova's wedding blog and the lack of diversity in the wedding industryNova's work educating white people about white supremacyThe boundaries and safeguards Nova has to put in place due to the trauma of her workThe origins of racism and white supremacy in the UK and beyondWhy we need to do the work personally, and not just put the blame of white supremacy on big institutionsThe practical work we need to take to dismantle white supremacy togetherWhy silence is so dangerous, and how the powerful majority needs to step upWhy Nova believes holding compassion is vital to facilitate changeScrewing up on your anti-racism journey, and accepting feedback along the wayHow the current political turmoil might be a necessary catalyst for changeHow relating racism to feminism can help some people begin to understand the workNova's personal healing journey, and how trauma can be carried throug

Things We Talk About In This Episode:What's great, and not-so-great, about conventional art educationThe balance between profitability and individuality, and where mainstream advice often goes wrongCreating an online class for the first time, and building a mailing listWhy it's so hard, and so important to get to grips with your own creative voiceThe magic of imperfection in all thingsLinks mentioned in this episode:The Good Ship IllustrationHelen StephensKatie ChappellTania Willis Get full access to Entre Nous at meandorla.substack.com/subscribe

Things we talk about in this episode:Why being truly indistractable isn't really the aim“A mistake repeated more than once is a decision” ― Paulo CoelhoWhy your goal should be growth, not perfectionWhy we can't rely on willpower and self controlThe antidote to impulsivenessHow time-boxing your calendar gives you freedomWhy we can't blame our phones for our distractionHow to stay indistractable when spending time with our kids (even when it's boring!)The power of changing our thinking from 'have too' to 'choose too'The tyranny of the to-do listBeing indistractable with ADHDHow to keep to a schedule, even when we don't want toGetting started on a taskWhy accountability is key to staying focusedHow to turn distraction into laser sharp focusLinks mentioned in this episode:The Flock Community - get notifiedMy 15 Minute Magic Class - enrolling nowMy Instagram, Twitter and websiteNir's previous conversation on Hashtag Authentic (episode 82)Nir's Instagram and TwitterNir's book, Indistractable: How to Control Your At

Things we talk about in this episode:Women for Women's #MessageForMySister campaignHow Angelica started About Time Magazine and built her readershipHow the title survives online when so many others have foldedFinding mentors, and how sometimes the best mentors can be people you've never metThe value of meeting fellow entrepreneurs and creative business ownersHow the difference in experience affects the terms used for women in businessWhy true entrepreneur spirit doesn't need to look like Richard BransonApproaching business with 'playful curiosity', and why joy is vital in what you seek to establishAngelica's upcoming bookStarting a business straight out of UniversityThe need for women-only events, and why wellbeing and business should both be on the agendaThe challenges of establishing and organising a large eventDeveloping the skills to run a teamAngelica's advice for someone just starting outLinks mentioned in this episode:#Messagetomysister from Women for WomenAbout Time Magazine#SheStartedIt Live (13-14 M

Things we talk about in this episode:Rachael's new book - The Telephone Box LibraryThe need for 'comfort reading' and gentle entertainment in a difficult worldWhy women's fiction is so important, and the power of a quiet message in accessible formSocial media as a force for goodWhy feeling uncomfortable about what you share can be a good thingThe power of finding your 'inner American' for self confidenceCreativity and courageProcrastination, and lessons from 15 Minute Magic Living with Autism and ADHD as an adult, and as a parent of neurodiverse childrenRachel's young adult fiction novel with an autistic protagonist - The State of GraceReal self-care and why self advocacy can be so difficultOur book giveaway - enter on Rachael's Instagram by 3/2/20Links mentioned in this episode:Kelsey's Instagram @kelseymechKelsey's website and upcoming anxiety programRachael's websiteRachaels Instagram @rachaellucasRachael's Twitter @karaminaThe Telephone Box LibraryThe State of GraceRosie Curtis (Rachael's other pen name)1