How to Flourish Online

Every entrepreneurial adventure begins its life as a dream – the kind that wakes you up at 3:12 am on a Wednesday and sends you running for your “Big Ideas” notepad. The thing about big ideas is that they’re often made up of lots of different pieces, and getting those pieces together all at once is kind of like getting a class of restless kindergarten students to smile for a photo. In short, it’s tough. The thing is, that dream can quickly devolve into a nightmare when you realise that you can’t possibly get everything done on your own. Once you’re tired of drowning in the list of things you never quite get around to, the hunt for a new team member becomes more of a desperate, clawing scavenger hunt. And when you get to that point of exhaustion and overwhelm, you won’t be in the best place to hire the right person, let alone keep the rest of your business running. Combine your growing workload with your too-small team, and what do you get? A tornado of stress and the distinct feeling that you need a paper bag to breathe into – and if there’s anyone who knows a few things about escaping that not-so-natural disaster, it’s Paula Maidens. As a business coach with a corporate recruitment background, Paula knows a few things about working with people, building high-functioning teams, and using email sign-offs that don’t sound passive-aggressive. On this episode of How To Flourish Online, Paula and I talk through some of the best tornado prevention and exit strategies around.  What’s this episode really about? The value in working things out as you go, especially when you’re on your own How to translate pressure and panic into a plan Why you should hire slow (and fire fast) Three different hiring strategies to help you find your perfect match The first hire every business owner should live by Linkswww.flourishonline.com.aupaulamaidens.comWhy you should listen Hiring a team of people is an expensive, stressful process – and that’s when you get it right. You don’t want to know what happens when you get it wrong, and with a bit of luck (and the tips in this episode), you’ll never have to find out.You can quote me on that…“We learn from our own mistakes until we reach a point where we realise that it’s actually stalling our growth and causing us too much stress or grey hair.” – Paula Maidens“You need to look for proof that the person can actually do what you need them to do. You can’t hire on hope.” – Paula Maidens Like what you hear? Show me some love, baby! Every star from your rating goes towards supporting flourishing businesses everywhere.

If you’ve been here for our last few podcasts and blogs, you’ll know that we like to think of building a brand and interacting with your customers as being sort of like dating. And if there’s one thing relationships need, it’s a bit of consistent effort. There are shower drains that need clearing, dinners that need cooking, and a laundry basket that fills up faster than you can say “who put this red top in with the whites?”  Spoiler alert: if you spend most of the year acting like a weird, vacant version of yourself, one bunch of roses on Valentine’s Day won’t make them forget all of that shiz, and the same goes for your customers. You’ll be better off doing little things every day, week, and month that remind them how much you <3 them, because there’s nothing sexier than consistency...right? Well, not really. The truth is, most of the time, it’s really hard work. Whether you’re cooking dinner for the fifth night in a row or creating Insta posts, blogs, and podcasts, keeping up with your own routine can start to feel a bit like a chore, but there is some good news: When you prove that you’re in this for the long haul, your audience will learn to trust and respect you, and they’ll keep coming back every day, week, or month for more content. Eventually, they might even show you a little love and consider your offer an essential - and if you ask me, there’s nothing sexier than that. In this episode of How To Flourish Online, we’ll dive into the true value of consistent branding and break down our three-step plan for tapping into your brand sex appeal.  What’s this conversation really about? Why consistency is so important to your businessCreating authentic content Building a consistent visual brand in three parts The two essential ingredients for every successful, long-term business ventureHow to avoid photoshoot freak-outsWhy you should listen Consistency is the secret to success in just about any part of your life, and it’s a whole lot easier when you know exactly what you’re doing and why. That’s what this episode is all about - and the three tips inside will be the difference between a hobby and a bonafide business. Linkswww.flourishonline.com.au Brand Archetype quiz:  https://flourishonline.com.au/brand-archetype/You can quote me on that…“Creating content for your business creates business for your business.” - Ellissa Nagle“It's fun to mix it up and get things started and to dream up fun things. It's not quite as fun to commit to blogging once a week or having daily social content or sending client reports weekly, but it's those things that develop trust and respect.” - Ellissa Nagle  Like what you hear? Show me some love, baby! Every star from your rating goes towards supporting flourishing businesses everywhere. 

Sometimes we need to learn a lesson the hard way.And for me, it all started after giving birth to my first child - but really, a hard lesson can come at any time.Some lessons are like the old hot-pan-on-the-stove - it hurts for a moment, but you’ll probably never experience it again (at least, not on purpose).Others, like the patriarchal conditioning fed to us from birth, are more of a slow burn that can take much longer to understand, let alone detangle. For many of us, it’s a lifelong journey, and it can lead to some pretty low points - but it’s often those low points that make for the best hindsight wisdom. It wasn’t until my late teens that I realised the effect this conditioning could have on the way I related to others - and I’m not just talking about men. From an early age, many women are taught to distrust and even fear each other, and when you see yourself in competition with other women - the ones who seem bolder, smarter, and even (gasp) prettier than you are - that response almost makes sense. Almost. But the truth is that these negative feelings are counterproductive at best (and seriously damaging at worst), and they’re also completely unnecessary. There’s no need to compete - especially when we’re so much stronger together. What we really need is to be visible, but the world has told women an unsettling story - one that goes something like this:  Don’t stand out. Don’t be too much, or too little, of anything. Be good. Be wary of other women - they can’t be trusted.  Here’s the thing about that: We all deserve to set big goals just for ourselves and experience the satisfaction of achieving them - and a truly independent woman is a force to be reckoned with. But when we work together, we are unstoppable. This, I realised after taking on one of the most challenging experiences of my life in a Swedish hospital - and winning. This episode of How to Flourish Online is about that experience, but it’s also about an idea I hope every woman is able to accept and embrace: Maybe - just maybe - you don’t need what you’ve been told to ask for. You don’t need permission. Hell, you don’t even need a man (although some of them are pretty great).     What you need is the influence and inspiration of women who have been through it all and come out the other side - and that is what Flourish Online is all about.So what’s this conversation really about?The philosophy that became Flourish Online The ugly truth behind our patriarchal society and our conditioning  The real power of womanhood Why you need to put your offering out into the worldWhy you should listen This episode goes to the core of what feminism and freedom means to me. If you’ve ever felt as though you were not strong or brave enough to go after what you want, this story might just inspire you to think differently. Links Amy Taylor-Kabbazwww.flourishonline.com.au You can quote me on that…“I had been conditioned to believe I was weaker or less important than the men in my field, when in fact I - and every woman like me - was

How to Strengthen Your (Brand) Core When you think about it, branding is kind of like dating. We’re all drawn to a pretty face and a fashionable outfit, the digital equivalent being a strong social presence and gorgeous web design...But those true soulmate customers - the ones you want more of a long-term thing with? They’re looking for something a little deeper. And when they eventually get over the sheer fabulousness of your online look, they’ll want to know whether your values line up with theirs.They’ll want to know that you’re passionate about what you do, because without passion, no relationship or project is ever quite as strong as it could be. Essentially, they’ll want to know whether you’re long-term material. You wouldn’t want someone to fall in love with your exterior only to get to the core of who you are and think *meh* (or report you to the Internet Police for catfishing). That’s where a strong core comes in handy, but not the kind you go to the gym for - the kind formed from the answers to a few key branding questions - and the good news is that you can build and rebuild it as many times as you like. Learning to live your values is a process of strengthening and communicating them, and once you have that branding six-pack, you’ll be connecting with ideal customers faster than they can say “you look even better than your profile picture”. In this episode of How To Flourish Online, we’ll dive into the process of discovering your values and using them to connect with the customers you really want to reach. So what’s this conversation really about? The five elements of your brand foundationWhy every branding job should begin with your core values The link between your values and your emotions How to use your brand values as a tool for community connectionWhy you should listen Defining and embracing your core values is the key to starting strong with your branding and making an amazing first impression on your ideal customer. Whether you’re starting from scratch or thinking about a new look, this episode will help you get the basics right.  Links www.flourishonline.com.au You can quote me on that…“Your brand isn’t defined by you alone. It’s defined by how others see you, and by the emotional connection that they develop with your actions and your words.” - Ellissa NagleLike what you hear? Show me some love, baby! Every star from your rating goes towards supporting flourishing businesses everywhere.

Branding is a game of Jenga. Hear me out. If you’ve ever played Jenga, you’ll know the unique thrill that comes with removing block after block, leaving a precarious, hole-ridden stack. You tap on blocks, testing for stability, working out where the key foundational blocks are and leaving them untouched.  Basically, this is a game about eliminating the unnecessary pieces and getting down to the foundation - and if you’re clever, you’ll do exactly the same thing with your brand. A great brand and online business is built on five main pillars: branding, business model, presence, community, and leadership. Take one of them away, and BAM: your structure is unstable. Cue blocks tumbling, clients jumping ship, and your siblings knocking the tower over out of spite…There are just two major differences between your branding and a Jenga tower: You wouldn’t want people to describe your brand as “wooden”.Brands are harder to resurrect than fallen Jenga towers - which is all the more reason to take good care of that core foundation. In this episode of How to Flourish Online, I’ll be talking through the five foundational elements of every successful online brand, and how you can make them work for your business. So what’s this conversation really about? The five pillars of Flourishing Online and how to make them work for youThe truth about personal branding and why it can feel so ickyHow to rewrite the “what, when, where, and how” rules around your workThe meaning of an “island mentality” and why you should avoid it   Why you should listen Whether you’re building a business from scratch or looking to grow what you’ve started, the five core pillars in this episode will be your road map to success. You won’t need tools, soil, or even a sense of direction to get started - just a can-do attitude and a notepad. Links www.flourishonline.com.au You can quote me on that…“You can create a business model that works for you,  and that is the secret sauce - the difference between making it work and melting into an overworked, overwhelmed hot mess.” Like what you hear? Show me some love, baby! Every star from your rating goes towards supporting flourishing businesses everywhere.