Welcome to the Creative Business Kitchen, may I take your order?

This past weekend, Rohan and I bought a mattress. Not just any mattress. A Sleeping Duck Mattress (IYKYK), full set, two fancy pillows, bonus sheets, and a blissful future of not waking up feeling like I got hit by a truck. We’ve had our old mattress for almost a decade. My hips and shoulders were protesting like union workers. It was time. Now, the beautiful thing about my husband? He’s a researcher. The man doesn’t just buy a thing; he studies it. Reads the reviews. Watches demo videos....

I heard myself say something a while back that stopped me cold: “I’m sick of letting my future self down.” Gut punch, hey? Because in that moment, I realised I'd been living in this constant state of mental debt. Always owing tomorrow's version of myself something I didn't deliver today. Always carrying this weight of unfinished tasks, unmade decisions, and unstarted projects. I was exhausted – not from working too much, but from thinking about work constantly. Here's the thing: It's not...

One of my worst traits?I’m great at the first 90%.But that last 10%? Gets me. 👏🏻 Every. 👏🏻 Damn. 👏🏻 Time. Like when I: Spend hours building a beautiful proposal… and avoid hitting send Create a shiny new service package… and never tell anyone about it Record a client walkthrough video… and never add it to the offboarding handover Sound familiar?I bet you’ve got your own folder full of almost-finished brilliance, too. This isn’t just about procrastination or perfectionism.It’s about the...

Bit of a vulnerable longer read, hope you enjoy! It was the day I felt the full force of the gender pay gap, one I thought I'd escaped by choosing the freelance life. It all started a few weeks before... I was a freelance graphic designer for a recruitment agency, often sent to different businesses to help with design overflow. In my recruiter’s words, I was their best recruit. The fixer. The one they sent when they wanted to make a good impression. Hair toss. This placement had landed me in...

If you were in this morning's Cowork Ketchup inside the Freelancer's Pantry, you would have been part of a discussion Feast Member Paula brought to the table. "Is everyone spending hours creating proposals for every job? How do you know it's worth it? Some proposals I'm spending hours, days, sometimes weeks on, how do I decide what's worth going the extra mile for?" Firstly, shout out to Paula, having bravely pivoted away from serving the industry that used to employ her, she's now thriving...

Yesterday I had a client go from curious on a call at 2 pm to an $8k paying client at 7:30 pm. Wild, right? This client found me via a Google search (thanks Google gods) and was looking for a designer to handle a bunch of flyers needing to be redesigned as well as some promo items for an event happening mid-Feb. Literally the thing I do day in and day out, branding rollout to create better brand experiences. Excellent. It hasn't always been this easy, landing clients and converting them on...

A month or so back I had a client request that landed in my inbox that was IDEAL for me. AAAAND if this sounds familiar, you might remember I wrote about it in an email titled "I call it a F*ck around fee" Well, Reader, I've got a juicy lil update for you. But before I do, let's revisit the specifics, because I know if I were the one reading this email, I'd be curious about the deliverables, the expectations and the dollar figures we're making a fuss about. We all love a sticky beak, let's be...

This past week I was told I was too expensive. Not once. Not twice. Three times. And to be honest, I am totally ok with it (hell, it makes for good content), simply because I'm confident in the price I provide and not willing to be available for less. Lemme break 'em down so you can nibble on the popcorn Client A, runs a HR business in the states and wanted someone to create a brand for her business. She needed help with messaging, theming, and positioning given she was trying to stand out in...

Last year, I wrapped up a job with a couple where I digitally painted and installed a mural inside a three-storey elevator shaft. Yeah. Certainly a unique experience, and definitely one I would bet I won't have again. But that job taught me so much about myself, my capabilities, my relationship building skills, and the value of problem solving. The client couple are two of the most unique, interesting and deeply wonderful people I think I've ever created for. I met them through a Good Karma...