282: How to Start, Scale and Actually Enjoy Running a Mastermind With Ellie Swift

I've been in Ellie Swift's mastermind for years. And I'll be the first to say: I didn't see it coming as a business model for myself.But Ellie was the one who, at the right moment, said "Jacqui, have you thought about running a mastermind?" And that conversation changed the trajectory of my business. My Co+Creation Design Club now brings in just as much, if not more, income than my online course, which I've been running for significantly longer.So in this guest interview, we're going deep on the mastermind model.Free Guide to Sell Out and Retain Mastermind Clients in 2026: https://ellieswift.com/free-guide-the-6-strategies-that-sell-out-and-retain-mastermind-clients-in-2026/ In this episode, we cover:What a mastermind actually isThe 5 C's framework Ellie uses to build a mastermind offerHow to know if you're ready to build a mastermind (even with a small audience)Why your clients might get better results in group format than 1:1What it takes to scale a mastermindThe retention conversation nobody talks about enoughTimestampsIntro 0:00A Day in the Life: Balancing Business & Motherhood 02:42My Experience Inside Ellie's Mastermind 07:08What Is a Mastermind? 09:53Overcoming the Fear of Group Coaching 14:44Are You Ready to Start a Mastermind? 18:49The 5 C's of Creating a Premium Mastermind 21:11The Math behind the Mastermind Model 27:35How to Scale: Building a Sales System That Works 31:38Retention: The Key to Sustainable Growth 38:37Your Next Step If You're Considering a Mastermind 43:03Wrapping up 47:20ABOUT GUEST:Ellie Swift is the Mastermind Expert & Business Coach for 6 and 7 figure coaches, mentors and consultants creating scalable freedom®.As an ex corporate marketer turned CEO, Ellie has become the go-to for people starting and scaling their masterminds through her program, The Mastermind Model™. She also runs her own mastermind, The Scalable Freedom™️ Mastermind, where she shares her 10 years of expertise in online business, and hosts the The Scalable Freedom Show podcast, with over 300+ episodes available to binge.Ellie spent a decade working in marketing in London, Sydney, and Perth, achieving her goal of Head of Marketing Strategy by the age of 28 before making the transition into her business. She built to a 7-figure business in the first 5 years and has supported her clients as they’ve built 6, multi 6 and 7-figure businesses, created six and multi-five figure launches, tripled their income and completely transformed their businesses (and lives!) using mindset, marketing & strategy.Ellie’s mission is to support coaches, mentors and consultants create businesses with a mastermind as part of their offer suite that generate results for their clients and creates the freedom they most want.She has been featured in a range of media, including Success Magazine, Medium, Mamamia, Thrive Global, Smart Company, The West Australian and as a guest on more than 100 podcasts.CONNECT WITH GUEST:Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@elliehswift Podcast:  The Scalable Freedom Show - https://thescalablefreedomshow.buzzsprout.com Instagram: @elliehswiftFree Download: https://ellieswift.com/free-guide-the-6-strategies-that-sell-out-and-retain-mastermind-clients-in-2026/ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ys8kNWtgzroRead on the Blog: https://whitedeer.com.au/ep282/WORK WITH JACQUI:// DIY Design My Biz: The best course for business owners DIYing their own brand and graphics in Canva. Learn more: https://whitedeer.com.au/diy-dmb// The Co+Creation Design Club: Design WITH the help of a professional designer in this high-touch coaching space: https://whitedeer.com.au/designclub// Design Studio: If you’re after fully done-for-you design services my studio team can help! https://whitedeer.com.au/designstudio

If you've ever stared at a blank Canva file wondering how other business owners post consistently... this podcast is for you. I get into one of the most underrated tools for business owners who want to show up on social media without losing their minds: templates. Not boring, cookie-cutter templates. Actually strategic ones, built around the kind of content you post, the assets you have, and the audience you're trying to reach. I also tackle the moment you start to get sick of your own brand, and why that's actually the signal that it's working. Free Canva Masterclass: Design Tools to $100k 👉 https://www.whitedeer.com.au/designmasterclass Have your branded templates created by us in our studio: https://whitedeer.com.au/studio What’s covered: What most people get wrong about templates The 4 things to consider before you build a template so you don't waste time on designs you'll never use Why you need to ignore the voice in your head telling you to change everything up The mix that works: curated designed posts vs. authentic, selfie-style content, and why you need both Your 2 options on how to get branded templates for your business Timestamps: Intro 0:00 The elephant in the room 1:40 Consider your posts 5:52 How often are you posting? 10:19 What is in your posts 11:14 PSA 14:55 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ak-ji4qugeI Read on the Blog: https://whitedeer.com.au/ep281/ WORK WITH JACQUI: // DIY Design My Biz: The best course for business owners DIYing their own brand and graphics in Canva. Learn more: https://whitedeer.com.au/diy-dmb // The Co+Creation Design Club: Design WITH the help of a professional designer in this high-touch coaching space: https://whitedeer.com.au/designclub // Design Studio: If you’re after fully done-for-you design services my studio team can help! https://whitedeer.com.au/designstudio

If you've worked with White Deer in any capacity, you've worked with Vanessa. You just might not have known it. This week's podcast is a proper introduction to Vanessa, my senior designer and co-coach inside both DIY Design My Biz and The Co+Creation Design Club. She is honestly the person holding a huge part of this business together. I've mentioned her a hundred times without ever sitting down and telling her story properly, so that's what we're fixing today. We talk about how a one-line text message turned into a 3 year working relationship, what it's actually like inside the studio day to day, and what changes while I'm on maternity leave. Book a branding/design package with the studio 👉 https://whitedeer.com.au/studio Sign up for the Co+Creation Design Club 👉 https://www.whitedeer.com.au/club Take a peek into the DIY Design my Biz course 👉 https://www.diydesignmybiz.com What’s covered: How Vanessa ended up working with my studio Why hiring a friend is risky... and why it worked anyway Vanessa's design background and how she landed on graphic design as a career The client project that changed how Vanessa trusts her own instincts What's changing in the studio while I’m on maternity leave Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/oxUdyc_mzHg Read on the Blog: https://whitedeer.com.au/ep280/ WORK WITH JACQUI: // DIY Design My Biz: The best course for business owners DIYing their own brand and graphics in Canva. Learn more: https://whitedeer.com.au/diy-dmb // The Co+Creation Design Club: Design WITH the help of a professional designer in this high-touch coaching space: https://whitedeer.com.au/designclub // Design Studio: If you’re after fully done-for-you design services my studio team can help! https://whitedeer.com.au/designstudio

Are you using ChatGPT to create graphics for your business? I get it, it feels like the dream. You tip in your details, out pops a flyer, and you get to move on with your day. But in this podcast, I'm sharing something that might make you rethink that workflow... because what AI is spitting out for you might actually be quietly pushing your clients away. I've been doing some anecdotal research on this: running Reels, reading comments, talking to people... and what came back genuinely surprised me. Everyday people, not just designers, can spot an AI graphic. And when they can? They're less likely to trust the business, engage with the content, or even show up to the event being promoted. That's a big deal. This isn't about going anti-AI. I use AI too (mostly for writing, because that's not my strongest suit). But I do want to share why using it for your graphics specifically comes with some real costs, and what I'd actually love for you to do instead. Free Canva Masterclass: Design Tools to $100k 👉 https://www.whitedeer.com.au/designmasterclass Reel on AI: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZtwYV8IuCG/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==&igsi=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== P.S. This video was recorded before the Instagram update that flags content as “AI” even if only Canva’s AI features like background remover was used. What’s covered: Why people can spot AI graphics more than you'd think, and what they do after The "same same" problem: why AI content is blending into the scroll What ChatGPT gets wrong about good graphic design The 3-step Bot-to-Brand Method for graphic design How to use AI for brainstorming designs Timestamps: Intro 0:00 The hidden cost of AI graphics 3:36 The research I did for this podcast 3:52 How people are reacting to AI graphics 5:00 Telltale signs of an AI flyer 7:34 Bot 2 Brand Method 9:08 Wrapping up 18:00 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/keXApew9yeQ Read on the Blog: https://whitedeer.com.au/ep279/ WORK WITH JACQUI: // DIY Design My Biz: The best course for business owners DIYing their own brand and graphics in Canva. Learn more: https://whitedeer.com.au/diy-dmb // The Co+Creation Design Club: Design WITH the help of a professional designer in this high-touch coaching space: https://whitedeer.com.au/designclub // Design Studio: If you’re after fully done-for-you design services my studio team can help! https://whitedeer.com.au/designstudio

If you've ever grown your email list and thought... why isn't anyone buying? I sat down with Sophie Griffiths, ads strategist and creator of the Superfans approach, for one of those conversations that makes you rethink everything you're doing to grow your business online. Sophie works with coaches and service providers who want to scale using ads and group programs, and she has a very specific (and very refreshing) take on what it actually means to build an audience that converts. In this episode, we cover: What a superfan actually is Why most of us are accidentally building an audience of lurkers instead of buyers Three things Sophie does to consistently turn cold leads into people who put her on their vision board Timestamps Intro 0:00 Interview 1:31 Wrapping up 44:42 ABOUT GUEST: Sophie Griffiths is a scaling strategist and Meta™ Ads expert. She's known for helping impatiently ambitious women scale their businesses by growing an audience of superfans, creating stackable recurring revenue, and building the team and systems that mean they stop being the bottleneck to their own growth. Her background spans the corporate world, including managing a team of 350+ at British Airways, and eight years working with small businesses, and it's that combination that shapes her approach: empowering clients to take bold action while feeling genuinely safe and supported in how they do it. CONNECT WITH GUEST: Insta www.instagram.com/sophiegriffithsco Website www.sophiegriffiths.co Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ddJKlzAWHH4 Read on the Blog: https://whitedeer.com.au/ep278/ WORK WITH JACQUI: // DIY Design My Biz: The best course for business owners DIYing their own brand and graphics in Canva. Learn more: https://whitedeer.com.au/diy-dmb // The Co+Creation Design Club: Design WITH the help of a professional designer in this high-touch coaching space: https://whitedeer.com.au/designclub // Design Studio: If you’re after fully done-for-you design services my studio team can help! https://whitedeer.com.au/designstudio

You've built a DIY brand that looks professional, so what next? In this final part of Building a Brand Without a Big Budget series, I wrap up with two things that are often skipped entirely. It’s a 5-minute quality check you can run on any graphic you create, and an honest conversation about the one thing that actually determines whether your brand works - your own confidence. Watch Part One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EPi38Iluns Watch Part Two: https://youtu.be/Ll3VNXzqX1s?si=33USX18rnN4tiBnq Free Canva Masterclass: Design Tools to $100k 👉 https://www.whitedeer.com.au/designmasterclass What’s covered: The 5-minute polish pass that make a massive difference to your Canva graphics Why font size contrast is non-negotiable How to use alignment as a trust signal Why you need to stop tweaking fonts and colours What makes a well-executed DIY brand indistinguishable from a professional one Timestamps: Intro 0:00 Polish pass 1:25 Confidence Piece 6:10 Too much tweaking 7:30 PSA 8:45 Wrapping up 10:55 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fam8gSxyYoU Read on the Blog: https://whitedeer.com.au/ep277/ WORK WITH JACQUI: // DIY Design My Biz: The best course for business owners DIYing their own brand and graphics in Canva. Learn more: https://whitedeer.com.au/diy-dmb // The Co+Creation Design Club: Design WITH the help of a professional designer in this high-touch coaching space: https://whitedeer.com.au/designclub // Design Studio: If you’re after fully done-for-you design services my studio team can help! https://whitedeer.com.au/designstudio

You don't have to spend thousands on a brand to look like you did. But there are some things that can quietly signal "DIY" to your audience without you even realising it. In Part 2 of the Building a Brand Without a Big Budget series, I share the visual cues that build instant credibility, the three places most budget brands fall down, and a practical self-audit you can do right now on whatever graphics you've already created. The last question in the audit? It might be the most important one. Watch Part One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EPi38Iluns Free Canva Masterclass: Design Tools to $100k 👉 https://www.whitedeer.com.au/designmasterclass What’s covered: The real reason a consistent brand builds trust faster than a big budget one Why white space is one of the best design hacks you're probably not using The three brand mistakes business owners make when DIYing their graphics The 4-question brand audit Why your own photography (even on your phone) signals more trust than AI imagery Timestamps: Intro 0:00 How to look established 3:25 Where businesses can fail for branding 6:35 PSA 11:48 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ll3VNXzqX1s Read on the Blog: https://whitedeer.com.au/ep276/ WORK WITH JACQUI: // DIY Design My Biz: The best course for business owners DIYing their own brand and graphics in Canva. Learn more: https://whitedeer.com.au/diy-dmb // The Co+Creation Design Club: Design WITH the help of a professional designer in this high-touch coaching space: https://whitedeer.com.au/designclub // Design Studio: If you’re after fully done-for-you design services my studio team can help! https://whitedeer.com.au/designstudio

For anyone who's been putting off their branding because they've told themselves they need more money first, I get why you'd think that. But it's genuinely one of the more expensive beliefs you can hold in business. This podcast kicks off a three part series on building a brand on a budget, and today I'm tackling the myth head on. Because a strong brand isn't actually about how much you spend, it's about knowing what to prioritise and what can wait a while. I'm walking through the four things your brand genuinely needs (spoiler, your logo is only one of them), the two things you can happily skip for now, and the hidden cost of not sorting your branding out at all. Free Canva Masterclass: Design Tools to $100k 👉 https://www.whitedeer.com.au/designmasterclass Free trial of CANVA PRO! https://partner.canva.com/prodeer What’s covered: The belief that a professional brand requires a professional price tag isn't true Four things every brand needs: a logo, a colour palette, your fonts, and an overall visual style What you can skip for now Why an inconsistent brand doesn't save you money Design being the thing standing between someone scrolling past you OR stopping to actually read what you have to say Timestamps: Intro 0:00 Preview of topics 1:19 Things to consider 2:00 Things to create 4:15 Things that can wait 7:50 Canva breakdown 12:45 PSA 14:00 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1EPi38Iluns Read on the Blog: https://whitedeer.com.au/ep275/ WORK WITH JACQUI: // DIY Design My Biz: The best course for business owners DIYing their own brand and graphics in Canva. Learn more: https://whitedeer.com.au/diy-dmb // The Co+Creation Design Club: Design WITH the help of a professional designer in this high-touch coaching space: https://whitedeer.com.au/designclub // Design Studio: If you’re after fully done-for-you design services my studio team can help! https://whitedeer.com.au/designstudio

I'm sitting in my trackies with a bump that's getting pretty big, and I wanted to give you the unpolished version of how I’m preparing for maternity leave. Because every mat leave I've taken has looked completely different, and this one's got more moving parts than the last two combined. A team on retainer. A course. A coaching program. A design studio. And a funnel I switched from live to evergreen a month ago that, if I'm honest with you, hasn't made a sale yet. I'm walking you through what's actually happening behind the scenes. How I'm paying my team while I take two months off. Why I've pre-recorded content through to October. What I'm handing over to my team. And the bit nobody really talks about, which is what happens when the passive income you built your whole business around... isn't being very passive right now. If you want to look at the exact funnel I’ve built, watch my Free Canva Masterclass: Design Tools to $100k 👉 https://www.whitedeer.com.au/designmasterclass What’s covered: Why two months off doesn't mean what people think it means when you're already not working full days The difference between a live webinar and an evergreen funnel, and why one converts so much better than the other What it actually costs to keep a small content team retained while sales slow down How I'm training my team to run client calls without me My honest advice if you're a business owner heading into your own leave for the first time Timestamps: Intro 0:00 Content plan and ads 3:28 Budgeting and team 11:59 Hand over 18:00 Saying no (and yes) 20:35 Baby plans 22:20 Advice 25:40 Wrapping up 28:45 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5IPUBL16aX8 Read on the Blog: https://whitedeer.com.au/ep274/ WORK WITH JACQUI: // DIY Design My Biz: The best course for business owners DIYing their own brand and graphics in Canva. Learn more: https://whitedeer.com.au/diy-dmb // The Co+Creation Design Club: Design WITH the help of a professional designer in this high-touch coaching space: https://whitedeer.com.au/designclub // Design Studio: If you’re after fully done-for-you design services my studio team can help! https://whitedeer.com.au/designstudio

If you haven't caught the first two podcasts of this series yet (workflow and brand foundations), go back and listen to those first... they're honestly going to move the needle more than today's episode will. Today we get into the nitty gritty of time-saving shortcuts in Canva. The exact clicks, the exact keys, the exact little habits that shave minutes off every single Canva session.I'm not expecting you to implement everything in this episode at once. Pick one or two, use them until they're second nature, then come back for more. That's how this stuff actually sticks. Free Canva Masterclass: Design Tools to $100k 👉 https://www.whitedeer.com.au/designmasterclass What’s covered: The three Canva keyboard shortcuts I use constantly (grouping, duplicating, undo/redo) What Canva Components actually are and how they save you from rebuilding the same thing over and over My 5 Minute Canva Session Reset to check before you close out of any design Why naming your files properly is the most underrated time saver in your whole Canva workflow Timestamps: Intro 0:00 Shortcuts 2:11 Components 6:15 Session Reset 8:18 Wrapping up 11:50 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dApz-t78BDU Read on the Blog: https://whitedeer.com.au/ep273/ WORK WITH JACQUI: // DIY Design My Biz: The best course for business owners DIYing their own brand and graphics in Canva. Learn more: https://whitedeer.com.au/diy-dmb // The Co+Creation Design Club: Design WITH the help of a professional designer in this high-touch coaching space: https://whitedeer.com.au/designclub // Design Studio: If you’re after fully done-for-you design services my studio team can help! https://whitedeer.com.au/designstudio