Setting up your own business can be tough.  There are endless hats we need to wear, and roles we need to play, from managing the numbers and sales all way through to making your own cup of tea.

This is why it’s so refreshing, to hear another person’s story in person or on a podcast. We can learn from their tactics, successes and even failures.  In doing so, we might save ourselves from a few mistakes, and glean insights into what does and doesn’t work for businesses like ours.

Especially, when we are having one of those many days, where it all feels like an uphill battle, there is nothing like hearing about a journey of a peer’s success. It also reminds us that overnight successes are few, yet any of us can make it.

It’s comforting to know we are not alone, that the best way to get to where we are going, is one day at a time, one foot in front of the other – with tenacity, effort and patience.

Here are my top podcasts for creatives, whether you are a writer, maker or artist, there is something here to inspire you on your journey and growth towards the life you aspire to:

Create & Thrive

This is the perfect podcast for inspiration, education, and community.  Jess hosts some great makers, and brings her own experience to the show, as she also runs her own successful online jewellery shop. She’s incredibly generous with the information she shares.  Every show is packed with ideas and actionable tips for you to start putting to use in your own hand-made journey.

There is an online community and courses that Create & Thrive also offers if you want to shift it up a gear and speed up the process of making your online shop and business successfully.

B2B launcher: High Income Business Writer

Ed Gandia is a business building coach and strategist for ambitious writers and copywriters.  He interviews successful high-income writers to find what habits, strategies and techniques work for them.

The show is always full of motivational stories. Like many creative businesses writers worry about leaving a corporate or agency setting and starting out on their own, and how to really become financially independent to get paid your worth.  Yet, there are an endless amount of stories of writers doing just that – and these are the tales that we need to be listening to.

The Creative Penn

Joanna Penn not only hosts this inspiring podcast but is a success story of transitioning from a corporate job to being a successful full-time writer.  On top of being a successful fiction and non-fiction writer, her book “How to make a living as a Non-Fiction Author‘, is well worth a read. She’s really taken being a writer and tells us how to turn that into a profitable business model.

We often hear the story and have the mindset of the struggling writer or creative, however, it’s a story that we can change.  A success story, and a great podcast for anyone who is a creative, or writer that would love to be financially independent.

Make it Happen

A podcast for big-hearted creative business owners, run by creative business coach Jen Carrington.   While she doesn’t podcast on this channel as much anymore, instead she’s been hosting a series with Sara Tasker in the podcast they do together called, Letters from a Hopeful Creative.

However, there are still seven seasons of evergreen podcasts that continue to be relevant and worth a listen. Especially valuable are the insights regarding and owning your own success. We are often told to strive for six figures or someone else’s ideas of success – which can cause stress or comparisonitis.  Jen has a lot of great insights to share in this area and does so in an authentic wholehearted fashion.

Letters from a Hopeful Creative

In these episodes, creative coaches Sara Tasker & Jen Carrington respond to letters from the creative community with their wisdom covering a wide array of subjects.

Their advice and content is for anyone who wants to run their business on their own terms, have a  life balance, and yet share their talents and work with the world in a genuine way. Both are high-energy and care deeply about the community and you can feel that heartfelt warmth in their advice and support.

Big Thank you to the Photographers: Roman Kraft on Unsplash &  Quino Al on Unsplash