Meet the Collective: From gremlins to growth with Sheena Whyatt

Running a small business can feel isolating, but finding the right support and community can make all the difference when it comes to achieving your dreams.
Sheena Whyatt is a business coach with over 23 years of experience, who loves to help creative entrepreneurs navigate the challenges they face.
In this chat Sheena and I discuss the common struggles many small business owners – in any field – face, including relentless self-doubt and the nagging voice of the 'gremlin' that often hinders progress.
Sheena emphasizes the importance of accountability in coaching, noting that it's not just about meeting goals but also about fostering a supportive dialogue where clients can reassess their strategies and adapt to changing circumstances.
We also talk about community among creatives, as Sheena explains that sharing ideas in a supportive environment can lead to innovative solutions and renewed motivation.

Sheena Whyatt at creativityfound.co.uk
Join the Creativity Found Collective at creativityfound.co.uk/joinus

Instagram: @creativityfoundpodcast
Threads: @creativityfoundpodcast
Facebook: @creativityfoundpodcast and Creativity Found group
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Researched, edited and produced by Claire Waite Brown
Music: Day Trips by Ketsa Undercover / Ketsa Creative Commons License Free Music Archive - Ketsa - Day Trips
Artworks: Emily Portnoi emilyportnoi.co.uk
Photo: Ella Pallet

Click here to book a 1-to-1 online chat with me to understand more about the Creativity Found Collective, the promotional and networking membership for creative small businesses.

Chapters

• 5:25 Accountability in business coaching
• 13:34 The importance of community for small business
• 20:47 Evolving business strategies
• 23:07 The value of dedicated time for creativity
• 23:43 More about Creativity Found

Transcript

0:44

A fellow creative is going to go, I really like the idea of underwater basket weaving. How are you going to make that work? There is a dialogue, there is a level of communication that is already understood because you are in that same space of thinking and being creative. Everybody, I think, who runs a business has that little gremlin on the shoulder that's going, you know, you should be doing this. You don't need a coach to tell you you should be doing this. But the thing is that little gremlin then finds all the reasons why you're not. We're more about inclusivity and having those open conversations. And can I just get this out of my head? And is this something that could potentially go somewhere? Hi, Claire here. Creating this show inspired me to take the Creativity Found mission further. As well as sharing inspirational stories of people who have embraced their creativity in adulthood, I wanted to actually help people do this for themselves and to support artists and crafters who share their creative knowledge with adults through their classes, kits and supplies. Creativityfound.co.uk and the Creativity Found Collective were born. You can visit creativityfound.co.uk to find ways to learn printmaking, try embroidery, get touchy feely with clay, make your own kilt, start weaving, learn to paint, and so much more. And the wonderful teachers and makers featured on the website are members of the Creativity Found Collective. We also have business support enterprises as members who help others grow their businesses. In this episode of the Creativity Found podcast, adapted from a live video posted on the Creativity Found YouTube channel and in the Creativity Found Facebook group, I chat with one of our members about what they do and how they can help you. And if you would like to join our merry band, simply visit creativityfound.co.uk join us and I'll see you soon. Hello Sheena, thanks so much for joining me today. Can you tell us please, how you help creative and other small business owners to thrive and grow in their small business? I absolutely can. Clare, thank you ever so much for inviting me to join you this afternoon. Talking about supporting small business owners is possibly something you might have to shut me up about because I'm really passionate about it, because I am one. You know, I've been running my own small business for 23 years this year, which makes me feel positively ancient. And I think the key thing is as a business coach, what I do is to help small businesses find a clear path to follow their dreams for their business. And that can take a number of different forms. I coach on a monthly basis and I coach a Number of creative small business owners, from artisan cookie makers to branded merchandisers who put sparkly rhinestones all over everything, to creative writers. There's a huge range of businesses that sit around that creative space. But everybody wants their business to grow. And I think that when you have a business that is in the business of being creative and either producing product for people to buy, or you're maybe providing creative services like copywriting or, you know, that kind of different kind of creative skill, the really key thing is remaining visible, but remaining visible for the right reasons and looking at that long term business focus where, you know, you might have that big, big business dream, you know, up here somewhere, it's like global domination. And you think, yes, I want a bit of that. But then you, you go, I'll kind of down there a bit. And I don't know how to go from here to here. And looking at some strategies, actionable steps, ways to increase your service or product into market, ways to look at products that sell really well. And you know, why is that? What, what is that makes that product or products in your creative business so popular? And how can you replicate that and how can you get that story out in front of a new audience? How do you build that audience? There's so many different ways that working with creative businesses, a coach can help. But I think if I was going to try and join it right down into a few keywords, it would be focused accountability and determination. Because, you know, running a small business is hard because if it was easy, everyone would do it. So what do you mean by accountability? I think that is possibly one of the most important things about the way I coach. Every business coach is different. And the first thing is that if you're thinking about working with a coach, you've got to find the right one. You've got to find that connection with the person that you think you're going to be able to work well with. And one of the things that I do is hold my clients accountable. Now that doesn't mean that I sit at the beginning of each call and go, right, have you done what you're told? Because you know, life isn't like that and running your own business isn't like that. But equally, I don't just start off every monthly call with, well, yes, just roll forward. There will be a conversation that goes, what have you thought about since last time? What's worked, what hasn't worked? Kind of giving them the chance to think, okay, so we talked about doing this in my business last time, but actually things have changed, and I thought that was going to be a good idea. But now, for whatever reason, you know, the goalposts have moved. The deck of cards is proving to be slightly different. I don't think that's going to go where I thought it was going to go. And so accountability can be that relaxed. It can be as specific as you said you were going to do that Facebook Live last month, but I know you didn't do it because I didn't see it. So let's talk about why, because that's also a really important part of accountability. There's no point in me banging a drum with somebody saying, you need to go live, you need to go live. If actually they would rather stick pins in their eyes and then twist them around with a rusty spoon. It's never going to work. So although accountability can mean different things to different people in their business, I do actually think it's a really important part of business growth. Otherwise, all of those ideas and ambitions just stay as ideas and ambitions. And without that accountability, sadly, sometimes they can then become frustrations and things that demotivate you and stop you actually having that joy and love for what you do. So although it can mean different things to different people, I think it's a really key part of how a business coach can help you move your business forward. Yeah, I like the idea about, you know, being open to change because it's something that comes up a lot on the podcast with my guests of just because you thought one thing was going to work and it doesn't doesn't mean you then have to stick with it forever. Or even if you've, like, trained in one field and you've done loads of years of work on it, it's not working for you. You can change. I think that's really important. I have had some coaching in the past. I am a bit of a stick my head in the sand kind of ostrich type person, and I know what I should be doing or I know what I should be talking about, and I kind of don't want to because I don't want to look inside. Do you find. Is that something you're aware of with other people? Oh, yes. Dog diggity, yes. And I think what's really interesting, actually, is that everybody has a bit of that. Everybody, I think, who runs a business has that little gremlin on the shoulder that's going, you know, you should be doing this. You don't need a coach to tell you you should be doing this. But the thing is, that little Gremlin then finds all the reasons why you're not, and then it allows you, if you like, to go, well, these are now reasons why my business isn't growing when actually they are. I hate to say it, but they are excuses as to why you're not doing the things that are going to move your business forward. But a coach can actually help you, or at least I feel I do unpick the reasons why that Gremlin's voice is louder than the voice of your business going, help me. I'm drowning quietly under here because you're not doing these things. And you know, I am by no means sitting here and going, I do everything I'm supposed to do in my business. I sat back quite a few years ago and thought, there is so much I'm not doing that I know I should be doing. Fundamentally, Claire, it all came down to the fact I either didn't want to do it because I hated doing it, or I didn't know how. And the areas where you hate doing it is when the things that actually are probably fairly swiftly achievable tasks to move your business from where it is to where you want it to go because you don't want to do them because you hate doing it, they then become these enormous obstacles because you just keep feeding reasons to not do it. Some of the things I love to do is write and create content. I love writing blogs, love it. But I'm absolutely useless at actually putting it anywhere because that part of it bores me rigid. You know, the. The idea of having to sit and upload it to my website, set up all the social media posts to promote it, you know, don't like doing it, not going to do it. And I realized, Sheena, this is ridiculous. One of the ways to get you and your business out in front of your potential audience is to talk about it, storytell, content, market, all the stuff, you're writing it, but you're not putting it anywhere. So I got myself a marketing va and I've never looked back. Ah, brilliant. Yes. I've talked about this in the past as well. When I edit my books, there's a final stage which is a proofread, which I can't do because I can't see any other things that are left that are wrong because I've got too much of it here. And I'm thinking of your role as helping someone to gain clarity, to see what it is they're not seeing because you're a completely different person and you're coming at it with fresh eyes. Do you. Do you think that's a valid observation? Absolutely. One of the things that I see that I add value as a coach is first of all, I work with people on a one to one basis. I don't do group coaching. And a lot of people over the past few years have gone, oh, but you should. That's always a bit of a trigger phrase for me. And like, well, who says? Because actually working with business owners on a one to one basis, what it allows me to do is two things. It allows me to get to know their business, but equally it means that I'm looking at their business from outside the shop window. They are in their business, they are behind the shop window, behind the counter and they are looking at their business from that perspective. I'm out there on the virtual high street going, I know what you do and I know what you provide, but I'm looking at it from the outside in and I'm objective because as you say, and it makes me smile because I know I do this with my business, which is why I have a support team around me where I'm here, you know, and it's like, but everything's fine and it's absolutely fabulous. And somebody will go, hang on, you need to open your view because you get so down in the long grass sometimes that, that having a business coach can be that person that goes, all of this is brilliant, but that bit looks a bit odd. Let's go and have a look at that and let's see if we can work out why that just doesn't seem quite right. Or maybe your footprint on that digital high street, you know, maybe you're not being loud enough. Maybe you are struggling with that thing that so many people do of, you know, we put the label on it of imposter syndrome. But that whole, I don't know if I put it out there, will anybody buy it? Will people love it? This is my baby. I don't know what to. And it's just sometimes that objective perspective can also form part of that accountability. To go, do you know what? You've got to pop your head above the parapet here, otherwise you're going to be the world's best kept secret. I'm disappointing that. Yeah, yeah. Speaking of that, having that opinion from somebody else. So you are a member of the Creativity Found Collective, of course, which is super. Do you think it's important for small businesses of any type to join groups like that to be involved? And are there any negatives to it? Maybe. I think that's an interesting second part to the question, because I think the first part of the question is to say, absolutely, I am sat here in my home office, which I love, but I am a business of one. And running your own business can be really very isolating. And I think to have a community not just of fellow business owners, but of fellow business owners who are in your sphere, because, you know, as we've sort of alluded to, creativity can take a number of different forms. You don't necessarily need to be physically making a thing to be running a creative business, but equally as creatives, generally speaking, I'm going to misquote Coldplay. You've got a head full of stars. And to have a community where you can go, I've got a really weird and wacky idea. I think underwater basket weaving is going to be the next big thing. What do you think a fellow creative is going to go? I really like the idea of underwater basket weaving. How are you going to make that work? There is a dialogue, there is a level of communication that is already understood because you are in that same space of thinking and being creative. And to have that space to ask questions in a community where you are not necessarily going to get the curled lip and the what that you are more likely to get the. That sounds interesting. Let's talk it through equally, somebody might go, yeah, tried that. Let me tell you where I went wrong. And we can use that element of community to really help negatives. I think that's a really interesting question. I think from experience, as long as an online community particularly remembers that the key word there is community and not clique, then actually there shouldn't be any negatives. I think if you find an online community that starts to sort of split into little groups, where they become exclusive rather than inclusive, then that can feel very uncomfortable to the majority of people. But it takes quite a dedicated headspace of let's go off and do our own thing to do that. And generally speaking, what I found, particularly with fellow creative business owners, is we don't really think like that. We're more about inclusivity and having those open conversations. And can I just get this out of my head? And is this something that could potentially go somewhere? So I think the positives, vast outweigh any potential negatives. Yeah. After I asked that bit of the question, I thought, Claire, you're stabbing yourself in the foot there. That was a silly thing to ask, but I was kind of thinking of like, because we were talking about the imposter syndrome and because we were talking about thinking about what other people think of you all the time as adults are so apt to do. But you're right and in my experience, I've talked about this before, I've been to the wrong kind of groups. So you're absolutely right and that's definitely what I'm building here is a group where we are like minded and it is about supporting each other and we all are individuals dotted all over the country and at times we need to go, I feel rubbish. Does anybody else feel rubbish? And can you help me feel better that I'll feel better soon? So yeah. Why do you think it's important and helpful for small businesses to feel that they can get help from other businesses, whether it be a VA that they pay for or it be some coaching. Because I do think oftentimes we think we have to do it all ourselves. How can we get out of that mindset? It really is, I think it is the thing that actually binds all small businesses together. Particularly if you are a small business of one, you sit there and you think, right, which hat am I going to put on today? And the thing is, what also binds us all together is that actually time is our most precious resource. As a small business owner, that is the thing that is more valuable than anything else. Whether or not you sell your time like I do or you are using your time to create your product or services, we only have a certain amount of time in each day to do all the things. And that's not just being a business owner, that's also being a person, a mum, a wife, a friend, a sister, you know, all that kind of stuff. And the last time I checked we all only had 24 hours and in some of those you have to sleep. And the thing is that for a lot of small businesses it's a mindset thing I think that they need to work on. And the mindset thing is outsourcing is about investing in your business. It's not about addition cost. You've got to, you've got to break your head out of the. Yeah, but if I work with a business coach it's going to cost me any into. Hang on a minute. If I invest in working with a business coach, it can do all these things. And a VA is a really good example. How many times do business owners talk themselves out of getting help from a VA or getting help from a bookkeeper, for example, because they convince themselves that they can do it and they can save the money. But the key thing here is goes back to the if it's Something you don't want to do or you don't know how to do it, or it scares you a bit because numbers are one of my nemesis, then you're not going to do it. It doesn't matter how many excuses you try and give yourself or a coach like me or your mate or whatever, it doesn't matter. You're not going to do it. So at the end of the day, that small task becomes a mountain and what you really need to think about is, hang on a minute, where is my time best spent? Your time is possibly not best spent banging your head against your computer, trying to reconcile six months worth of bank statements or having that, holy crapola, it's January and I've got to do my tax return. How did January come round again all of a sudden? Moment that's not potentially the best use of your time. So, absolutely, it's important for independent small business owners to look at outsourcing as a way of investing in their business. Because if you get someone to do that job you don't want to do, they're going to do it in half the time that it will have taken you, possibly even less or more to the point you're paying them, so they're going to do it. And that means that you then get that time back in your business. Some of my clients will say to me, I love my hour with you because it's an hour I get to focus completely on my business and I'm not getting pulled all over the place by everything else that's going on. Outsourcing is something that we talk about quite a lot in coaching and it just comes back to that. Invest in your business by outsourcing the stuff you don't want to do or you don't know how, invest in your business to help it grow instead of fear everything and run, face everything and rise or make all the difference. Yeah, I love it. It's something I've been trying to do. More of as well. And I do, I do. What's coming up? Is there anything in particular coming up for you in the near or the far future? And also, please tell us about the two clubs where people can come and get your resources. Oh, yes. I think one of the key things about running a business is you always need to be evolving. And something that I've been working on now for about a year is something that's quite close to my heart, actually, which is the ability for small business owners to have the same access to continual professional development that employees and corporates do. So A couple of months ago I launched the first part of the Supercharge youe Business Club which is an online e library. It's called Ignite and my background is in learning and development. I've taken 20 years, well, a lot. I don't want to think about the number of experience in that into content that I have created or content that I have curated into an online library that small business owners can access for really, really tweeny cost. We don't have time to do workshops and three day courses. We're running a business. So Ignite is less than 60 quid a year and that's a lifetime access. There's new content going in there all the time but then that's going to develop the Supercharge. Your business club will develop. Boost and Accelerate are coming next year which are self study courses with Boost and then Accelerate. Being a small cohort of people that will work with me with quarterly workshops and annual retreats and all that kind of stuff. Evolving. It's all about evolving and making that available. So Ignite's the first bit that's very exciting. But every month I run Content Creation Club. I set Content Creation Club up actually completely selfishly for me to have. If I have that hour in my diary each month, I've got to sit down and do the bits that go with it, create the graphics that go with it, create the social media posts. Otherwise I've got nothing to give my marvelous marketing va to actually go and do all the stuff with. And then somebody said to me, why don't you just let other people come? You know, it's just like a low ticket option. So it runs every month. You can find it on Eventbrite. Costs you a fiver to come along and have that dedicated hour of co working and you get a bit of networking in there as well. Brilliant. That is such fun. I completely agree. I go to a number of things. One of them is Kelly's Create Connect Networking and that gives me. I can't remember how long we're there for of time where we're chatting and networking. But I'm actually doing a creative thing with my hands at the same time and it is that dedicated time. I could do that at any time. But do I? No, I don't. It's like. But I'm definitely going to do it 4:00 on a Tuesday with Kelly and I feel exactly the same like, like focusing, doing and I think sometimes you can get so much more done in that time as well. I used to go to a cafe quite a lot. I'd go, right, I'm going to a cafe to do this task and that's the only task I'm going to do while I'm at the cafe. I'm like. And it gets done. So I think that's a fabulous idea. Thank you so much. Gina, was there anything else you wanted to mention? No, I'm good. Thank you very much for having me. I've really enjoyed it. Oh, thank you. No, it's been really good. It's been really good to understand more about what you do and everything going forward for everybody watching. You can find links to Sheena's page at creativityfound.co.uk in the description. So that's all for us. Thank you very much for watching live and I will see you all soon. Thanks so much for listening to Creativity Found. I hope you enjoyed this episode and gained some value from it. If you did, perhaps you'd like to contribute a small monetary sign appreciation either by becoming a regular supporter from as little as $3 per month using the link in the show notes, or if you're listening on a Value for value enabled app such as Fountain, Truefans or Podverse. Feel free to send a few sats my way. I also occasionally promote products that I personally use, so please use the affiliate link where relevant if you are buying from those fine companies. Thanks so much, I really appreciate it.