Creative Courage

Do you ever feel like your creativity is just a ‘nice to have’ for your clients, and that your services are the first to go to when budgets are cut? If you are bored of taking on projects just to pay the bills and finding clients that give you the creative freedom you truly desire feels more like fantasy than reality,  this episode is for you. I’m joined by illustrator and author Ben Tallon. Ben has been running an illustration studio for over 16 years and has worked with big-name clients like Channel 4, The Guardian, The Premiere League and The New York Times. I invited Ben onto the podcast because he’s incredibly generous when it comes to sharing the strategies he’s used to land these projects, but more importantly, to keep his creative autonomy in the process. Alongside his business, Ben has written two books and founded several passion projects whilst being a father of twins. Ben’s unique perspective on the power of creativity is inspiring and he offers a wealth of invaluable insights into building a creative business that aligns with your values and creative passions. Covered in this episode:  The real value of creativity(that you might not expect). How to keep dream clients happy. Finding the projects that light you up and make use of your whole skillset. How to keep your personal projects moving even when you are busy. Getting to know yourself better and finding the hidden strengths in your flaws. How to leverage your personality as an introvert. How to stay ahead of AI and future threats to creativity. And so much more. If you get value from this episode, follow Creative Courage on your favourite podcast app for more transformational content to help you thrive as a creative.   LEARN MORE  Ben Tallon - https://www.bentallonwriter.com Email Ben - hello@bentallon.com Creative Condition book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Condition-Understanding-Embracing-Creativity/dp/1838135464 The Creative Life - https://www.mattessam.co.uk/ CONNECT  Ben Tallon on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725 Matt Essam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattessam/ Apply to work with Matt - https://resources.mattessam.co.uk/creative-life-accelerator LISTEN  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2LSpLIyYtBLe03JBC8LjvT Apple Podcasts -  https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/creative-courage/id1721515799 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Matt_Essam

What are your values? And I’m not talking about your brand values, I mean your personal values. I ask because in my experience, whenever anything feels ‘off’ in my life or business, a conflict in values is usually the cause.  This showed up for me back when I was running a remote creative agency. I was travelling the world and had the freedom I thought I wanted, but something didn’t feel quite right. It was an ‘empty’ kind of feeling. And it got me questioning why I wasn’t happy, despite living this lifestyle I’d chosen. And if you’ve ever felt this, you’re constantly stressed or you feel like your work lacks meaning or purpose, this episode is for you. In this episode I help you identify the symptoms you’re facing that could result from a values conflict. I share some exercises you can try that will help bring you back into alignment and get you what you really want from your life today. Covered in this episode: Discovering what you really want from your life and business so that you can become more fulfilled every day. Exercises that you can take to help you figure out what your values are. Identifying the symptoms of a values mismatch. How to attract more people into your life who align with your values. If you get value from this episode, follow Creative Courage on your favourite podcast app for more transformational content to help you thrive as a creative.   LEARN MORE Apply to work with Matt - https://resources.mattessam.co.uk/creative-life-accelerator The Creative Life - https://www.mattessam.co.uk/ CONNECT Matt Essam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattessam/ LISTEN Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2LSpLIyYtBLe03JBC8LjvT Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/creative-courage/id1721515799 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Matt_Essam

Are you looking to land more corporate clients with bigger budgets? Are you tired of having optimistic sales conversations only for your prospects to come back to you with a ‘no’? Selling to large corporates can be more complex than selling to smaller businesses, but the rewards can be far greater. In this episode, I’m joined by James Connolly. James is a business development expert and CEO at Forward Foundry. He’s managed accounts at Microsoft and GSK and grew the UK tech unicorn Darktrace from four to thirty two people with a $22 million yearly revenue. James shares with us the most powerful tactics that he’s developed over his ten years of business development experience. If you want to stay in control of the sales process and build better relationships with bigger clients, this episode is for you. Covered in this episode: The key differences between pitching to large corporates vs. smaller prospects. The 3 common mistakes people make when pitching to corporates. Identifying who’s really making the buying decision. How to get prospects halfway to deciding to buy before even speaking with them. How to win over the whole C-suite so you can stay in control of the buying process. Getting prospects to take notice when reaching out on LinkedIn. Avoiding the scarcity mindset so you can push through the ‘no’s. If you get value from this episode, follow Creative Courage on your favourite podcast app for more transformational content to help you thrive as a creative.   LEARN MORE Forward Foundry - https://forwardfoundry.io/ Forward Foundry on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@ForwardFoundry The Creative Life - https://www.mattessam.co.uk/ Apply to work with Matt - https://resources.mattessam.co.uk/creative-life-accelerator CONNECT James Connolly on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesjconnolly/ Matt Essam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattessam/ LISTEN Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2LSpLIyYtBLe03JBC8LjvT Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/creative-courage/id1721515799 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Matt_Essam

Do you ever feel stuck in your business? Like you’re trying all sorts of things, but you’re just not moving forward? Many business owners have stories they tell themselves in an attempt to justify the challenges they’re facing, but that story often isn’t the truth.  “I’m just not that kind of person…” “It works for them, but could never happen for me…” “People just won’t spend that much on…” If any of these sound familiar, this episode is for you. I’m joined by Dave Raybould, Head Coach at The Creative Life. Dave has been working with our clients for over six months and holds a unique perspective on what creative business owners struggle with. We dive into some of the coaching principles that are creating serious shifts and transformational results for our clients. This is going to open up your eyes to what’s possible for you and help you to understand what’s really driving the symptoms showing up in your business. Covered in this episode:  The key principles that keep people stuck in their lives and businesses. How to pinpoint the real causes of friction in your business. Recognising the behavioural patterns that are driving symptoms. Understanding what you truly want from your business. How to break through the limiting beliefs around what you’re capable of. If you get value from this episode, follow Creative Courage on your favourite podcast app for more transformational content to help you thrive as a creative.   LEARN MORE  Apply to work with Matt - https://resources.mattessam.co.uk/creative-life-accelerator The Creative Life - https://www.mattessam.co.uk CONNECT  Matt Essam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattessam Dave Raybould on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidraybould2 LISTEN  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2LSpLIyYtBLe03JBC8LjvT Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/creative-courage/id1721515799 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Matt_Essam

Are you tired of sending out hundreds of cold outreach messages on LinkedIn only for most of them to get ignored? If you’re like most creatives, even when you do get a response, these conversations aren’t leading to enough sales calls. If this sounds familiar, then this episode is for you. I’m going to share with you a step-by-step process for crafting a cold outreach message that will help you build your network and your business faster. There are 5 key elements that must be included in your communications when you reach out to a prospect.  We’re also going to go over the 3 principles that you should keep in mind when doing any kind of cold outreach; principles that helped creatives like Kai Cheng win Bentley as a client through cold outreach. Once you have this system in place, you’ll be able to tailor your messages in a way that builds rapport and trust, without taking up too much valuable time. Covered in this episode:  The 3 often-missed principles you should keep in mind when building your cold outreach strategy. The 5 key elements that MUST be included in your cold outreach communications. How to reduce the ‘brain drain’ for your prospects and encourage them to reply. ‘Anchors’ that you can take from this episode and use directly in your outreach messages. The questions you should be asking to keep the conversation going and book more calls. If you get value from this episode, follow Creative Courage on your favourite podcast app for more transformational content to help you thrive as a creative.   LEARN MORE  The Creative Life - https://www.mattessam.co.uk Apply to work with Matt - https://resources.mattessam.co.uk/creative-life-accelerator CONNECT  Matt Essam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattessam LISTEN  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2LSpLIyYtBLe03JBC8LjvT Apple Podcasts -  https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/creative-courage/id1721515799 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Matt_Essam

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you feel like everything in your business is in flow? Where everything feels easy, it feels fun, it feels exciting…  In this episode, I’m joined by Hannah Power, to discover how we can reach this feeling of flow more often within our business and our lives. Hannah is a personal branding and performance coach, best-selling author and the founder of Amplify. She’s coached over 500 people to help them to find meaning in their lives and achieve their potential. We unpack how to recognise the symptoms of a lack of balance in our lives and the steps we can take to find that balance so that we can start attracting the clients that bring us success and make our business more easeful. This is one of my favourite conversations that I’ve had on Creative Courage, and if you’re feeling stuck and unfulfilled in your business, I think it’ll be one of yours, too. Covered in this episode:  How to find flow in your business and life so you can achieve more whilst feeling less stressed. Recognising the symptoms of a lack of message and purpose. Are you in dreamer mode, achiever mode or performer mode and how do these states affect your business? How to stop relying on external factors to find balance in our lives. Why do some achieve happiness and success and others don’t? Why so many of us are out of balance. How to identify the next steps for achieving flow. If you get value from this episode, follow Creative Courage on your favourite podcast app for more transformational content to help you thrive as a creative.   LEARN MORE  The Dreamers Digest - https://www.amplifyu.io/thedreamersdigest Flow Podcast - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/flow-with-hannah-power-5335967 The Creative Life - https://www.mattessam.co.uk Apply to work with Matt - https://resources.mattessam.co.uk/creative-life-accelerator CONNECT Hannah Power on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahipower/ Matt Essam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattessam/ LISTEN Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2LSpLIyYtBLe03JBC8LjvT Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/creative-courage/id1721515799 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Matt_Essam

Have you ever felt like you know what you need to do to take your business to the next level, but something inside is holding you back? It’s like you have one foot on the accelerator and one on the brake… In this episode, I’m going to share a strategy that can help you break through this internal conflict and bring you closer towards landing those higher-paying clients, and saying no to the ones you know aren’t a good fit.  It’s called ‘parts work’. It’s a type of therapy that’s been transformational for both my personal life and business. It involves understanding what parts of your subconscious brain are trying to protect you from and developing a strategy to get them working together towards achieving your goals. Once you understand the principles behind parts work, you can resolve these internal conflicts much more quickly and feel frictionless movement in the way you approach goals and challenges. Covered in this episode:  Understanding the internal conflicts that are keeping you from achieving your goals. Getting out of your own way so you can show up fully in your life and business. How to get all parts of you working together to achieve the same outcome. If you get value from this episode, follow Creative Courage on your favourite podcast app for more transformational content to help you thrive as a creative.   LEARN MORE  The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle - https://amzn.eu/d/1AOW8eF Apply to work with Matt - https://resources.mattessam.co.uk/creative-life-accelerator   CONNECT  Matt Essam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattessam LISTEN  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2LSpLIyYtBLe03JBC8LjvT Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/creative-courage/id1721515799 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Matt_Essam

Wouldn’t it be nice to attract your ideal clients without having to send hundreds of proposals and spend countless hours on sales calls? Mark Leruste joins me in this episode to share his strategies for doing just that. Mark is the king of ‘Storyselling’. His TED Talk, ‘What they don’t tell you about entrepreneurship’ has amassed over one million views, and he gets paid five-figure sums to speak for blue-chip clients like Google, Nike, and Adobe. We have a focused conversation on exactly how you can use your story to attract your dream clients and gain the upper hand in creative pitches.  Storytelling doesn’t come naturally to a lot of us, but the frameworks that Mark shares will allow you to plug your story into your brand and start truly connecting with your audience. Covered in this episode: How to use your story to attract your dream clients. The 3-step framework to transform your portfolio. How our attraction to stories is biologically ingrained in us all. Why politicians tell stories over sharing figures. How to turn client case studies into powerful client stories. The 5 types of stories that you can use to connect with your audience. How to guarantee useful testimonials from your clients. Techniques for building empathy with your clients and making them feel seen. How stories can make sales more enjoyable for creatives who hate sales. If you get value from this episode, follow Creative Courage on your favourite podcast app for more transformational content to help you thrive as a creative.   LEARN MORE Mark Leruste - https://www.markleruste.com/ Storycast - https://www.storycast.co/ Mark’s TED Talk - https://youtu.be/f6nxcfbDfZo CONNECT Mark Leruste on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste/ Matt Essam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattessam/ LISTEN Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2LSpLIyYtBLe03JBC8LjvT?si=c5205d3971864d8e Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creative-courage/id1721515799 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Matt_Essam

Sales don’t happen without people. So, why are so many creatives so adverse to building relationships? In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Daniel Priestley. Daniel is a best-selling author and entrepreneur, who launched his first company at 21 and grew it to a multi-million dollar enterprise by 25. He’s grown businesses around the world, and in this episode, he shares with us his insights on sales, gratitude, and success. We dive deep into the skills and mindset that creative business owners need to grow their businesses. We speak about the importance of building relationships and how you can build them in a way that works for you. We get a look into Daniel’s mindset that enables him to perform as an entrepreneur and so much more. Covered in this episode: Why your relationships could make or break your business success. How to build more relationships as an introvert. How to get better at selling as a creative. Understanding your worth and what you have to offer the world. Escaping a downtrodden view of the world and the impacts that your mindset has on your business. The concept of three mindsets: The Empire Builder, The Reptile, and The Autopilot, and how they can affect us as business owners. The difference between creativity and imagination and why it’s so important to understand. Understanding how to deliver real value that people actually need. How using ScoreApp can help you to collect more useful information on your leads. If you get value from this episode, follow Creative Courage on your favourite podcast app for more transformational content to help you thrive as a creative.   LEARN MORE Daniel Priestley - https://danielpriestley.com/ Key Person of Influence - https://www.keypersonofinfluence.com/ ScoreApp - https://www.scoreapp.com/ CONNECT Daniel Priestley on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielpriestley/ Matt Essam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattessam/ LISTEN Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2LSpLIyYtBLe03JBC8LjvT?si=c5205d3971864d8e Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creative-courage/id1721515799 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Matt_Essam

Angelina Jolie, Drew Barrymore, Dua Lipa. These are just some of the famous faces that Dan Kennedy has photographed. Dan is a London-based portrait and fashion photographer who’s worked with some of the biggest names in the world and he joins us in this episode to share his insight. Not only does Dan share some incredible stories of his experiences of working with his celebrity clients, but he also gives us a look into the way that he captures the confidence of his clients and ensures he’s able to consistently get results to be proud of, often in a very short space of time - these are busy people we’re talking about. We speak about how, as a creative, to stay ahead of the competition. We learn about the research that goes into each job before the client has stepped through the studio door. We go into strengths and weaknesses as a creative and why it’s important to understand and communicate them. And much more. Covered in this episode: How Dan Kennedy is able to take control and exude confidence in his photography sessions with famous celebrities. The major faux pas that Dan has learnt from to avoid losing clients’ confidence. The importance of resourcefulness as a creative. Training the creative muscle and not getting left behind. Knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are and capitalising on them. What is the future of photography where AI is concerned? If you get value from this episode, follow Creative Courage on your favourite podcast app for more transformational content to help you thrive as a creative.   LEARN MORE Dan Kennedy - https://www.danielkennedy.com/ CONNECT Dan Kennedy on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dankennedyphoto/ James Martin on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dankennedyphoto Matt Essam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattessam/ LISTEN Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2LSpLIyYtBLe03JBC8LjvT?si=c5205d3971864d8e Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creative-courage/id1721515799 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Matt_Essam