Creative business resources during COVID-19

We’re living in the most surreal of times – dealing with such a mix of emotions, adjustments, challenges and also… opportunities. Sometimes, we need a little help recognising those opportunities. That’s why I’ve brought together these creative business resources for you.

Let’s begin by remembering our value

I shared a post on my Instagram the other day, that seemed to resonate with so many. I’ll share the caption again here:

No time has ever been easy for creatives to make a living. Our crafts are often seen as luxuries, nice-to-haves. 

And yet, as something I read the other day reminded us: imagine this time of self-isolation WITHOUT the arts?! No music, no poetry, no movies… the list could go on! Continue reading “Creative business resources during COVID-19”

Afri-love Women is 3! 3 lessons, 3 most popular topics + 3 reasons to join a personal/professional growth community

Tomorrrow marks the third anniversary of the Afri-love Women community. 

I started it on a whim, one sleepless night, a couple of months before my son was born. I’d wanted to start a Facebook group for a while but, I wasn’t clear on a purpose and so I let it be.

Thankfully, pregnancy insomnia was pretty productive for me (I also created the Soulful Branding Challenge course during this period!). On the night in question, after futile attempts at comfort, with all sorts of pillow configurations, Afri-love Women was born. 

In the past 3 years, I have gained SO MUCH from the women in the group. The diversity of our members’ locations, backgrounds, experience, creative disciplines, perspectives and more – makes for such richness.

As I celebrate this little space on the internet, I would like to share three threes. Continue reading “Afri-love Women is 3! 3 lessons, 3 most popular topics + 3 reasons to join a personal/professional growth community”

Notebook ideas to nourish the soul

Calling all stationery lovers! We know how you hoard beautiful notebooks, knowing that one day they’ll be useful. Saving them for that special moment when the time will be just right. Sometimes all you need is some good notebook ideas to bring them out of hiding and out in the open for your daily delight!

Coping during uncertain times

In these uncertain times, some of us have more time on our hands than usual. Some of us are juggling working from home and childcare and so perhaps have less time on our hands. One thing that does seem to be common is a desire for reflection. For mental pause and recalibration. And a craving for routine, now that many of our former ones have been turned upside down.

Nourish your soul with these notebook ideas 

So perhaps, dear friend, this is the perfect time to pull out that notebook you’ve been saving and dedicate it to something nourishing for the soul.

Here are some notebook ideas to inspire you: Continue reading “Notebook ideas to nourish the soul”

Multi-passionate problems + a journey to less but better

Multi-passionate problems

Last year, my mentor gave me a real good dose of tough love. You know, the kind that you KNOW you need to hear but, you’re a crying mess nonetheless!

What brought this about?

As a person with so many interests, it’s hard for me to focus on just a few. Professionally, I do several things and even personally, I struggle with having a hobby because, there are at least 10 things I want to regularly be doing! 

It’s just impossible to sustain so much at a high and meaningful level. Add to the challenge of  also sustaining yourself – financially, physically, mentally etc.

Mastery can only come with focus. And focus has been my mission. Slowly but surely, I’ve been culling what I give my time to. But it’s hard! Emotions get in the way, distracting shiny objects get in the way and fear definitely gets in the way.

You might be over there wondering: “what does this have to do with soulful branding?”.

And may I add one more thing for you to question? The role of self-care in all of this. (It is after-all, self-love and self-care month, in our Afri-love is 10 celebrations!)

It took me a long time to write this episode because, even though I intuitively knew all these things are connected, I couldn’t quite articulate just how. Today, I will try.

Continue reading “Multi-passionate problems + a journey to less but better”

On self-love + self-care: resources + goodies

Our year of celebration continues and this month, our theme is self-love.

Afri-love was founded on the principle of self-love. The idea being that when we love ourselves – as we are – we can then create positive transformation, for ourselves, for our communities and for the world at large.

This was my wish for myself and my fellow Africans, given the too-common thinking we’re surrounded by, that anything from outside is better and more desirable.

While these are big mindsets to shift, I believe it all starts with us on an individual level. It all starts with the self.

Self-love vs self-care

Continue reading “On self-love + self-care: resources + goodies”

Planning for excellence: my experiments

I thoroughly enjoyed creating the first 8 episodes of Soulful Branding Live with Lulu for you, and I was so pleased with how well they were received! Thank you for watching, for commenting, for messaging me and for sharing them.

One thing I realised is, weekly wasn’t sustainable for me. I took some time at the end of last year to really think about my goals and priorities, for 2020 and beyond, and how my different activities fit in with that (or not!). 

This planning time was PRICELESS. I am such a planner. I looooove it – I get high off it. 

One of my best friends recently talked about loving my “dirty, [control freak], draws!” This is after I sent her a spreadsheet with an itinerary and costs for her upcoming visit. 

Yep, love this stuff.

If you’re a planner too, I know you feel me!

If the thought of planning gets you into a cold sweat or has you running for cover, I am determined to make a convert of you, today.

I want to hear you one day say: “planning is fun!” 😉 Continue reading “Planning for excellence: my experiments”

Upcycling ideas: giving new life to old greeting cards:

It’s always my hope that the products people buy from me will be loved for a long time. 

I love writing special messages to my loved ones and I hope that’s enough for them to hold on to and treasure the greeting cards I write them in :).

But, I know that’s not always the case! I too am guilty of sending cards to the trash, in the spirit of decluttering and other life-changing magic. 

I always think to myself: perhaps I should keep them for future creative/crafty DIY projects Continue reading “Upcycling ideas: giving new life to old greeting cards:”

On excellence (10 years of Afri-love)

It feels like life until this point has been a rehearsal for 2020. You know, all the attempts, all the experiments, all the disappointments, all the failures. All a process of refinement, leading up to excellence.

Many people I speak to have walked into this new year with a confidence that they’re finally onto a winning formula. Whether that’s with regards to work, life or a way to negotiate both, without compromising the other.

I certainly feel like that myself. Continue reading “On excellence (10 years of Afri-love)”

Loving on your brand touchpoints

The last Soulful Branding course of the year has kicked off and I’m in that mode where I’m revisiting and thinking about all the course content anew. 

I’m doing the exercises again myself because, they’re a great opportunity to review what’s working with my own brand, what can be improved and what needs to be let go.

In thinking about whether my brand is still expressing what I want it to, I have to look at all the materials that are an expression of my brand and all the spaces or platforms where my brand has a voice. All of these are opportunities to connect with my ideal clients and customers so, I need to ensure everything is in place to facilitate this engagement.

In this episode of Soulful Branding Live with Lulu, I share how you too can ensure that you’re properly loving on all your materials and platforms, also known as touchpoints. Continue reading “Loving on your brand touchpoints”

Finding your purpose

Last month, I attended one of the most beautiful and fun weddings I’ve been to. One of my besties got married and it was an opportunity to catch up with many old friends and acquaintances, and make new ones too.

I ended up having quite a few interesting conversations about purpose. This topic often came up in the context of talking about what we do professionally and me prodding into the why.

Some people hadn’t thought much about why they were doing what they were doing – beyond making a living. Some were curious as to how you even go about finding your purpose or discovering your why.

Good question! I thought. And an ideal topic for an episode of Soulful Branding Live with Lulu :).

Continue reading “Finding your purpose”