World-crafting for business
Exploring creative business & guided visualisation
Hello friends! This is a collaborative post between
and designed to gift you a practical explorative exercise and guided visualisation, plus plenty of examples to expand your creative business.Whether that be a coaching business, or you’re an artist, musician, photographer, a writer, a podcaster, or essentially any business that requires you to show up creatively for it.
We’ve made this post free because we believe in being generous here and want you to be able to implement and share with those you feel would benefit.
So please let us know what it invokes in you and how you go with it yourself in the comments section below.
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World Crafting for your Creative Business
As a mother, communication is a big deal when it comes to raising children. I have to be acutely aware of how I’m speaking to my toddler, and if my body language and tone are matching the instructions I’m wanting him to follow. If i’m even slightly off - you best believe dinner will end up on the floor, someone will be crying - and it will probably be me.
I was amazed when I learned about a study led by Dr. Mehrabian that only 7% of communication is the words we speak. I was actually learning about this back in my days as a relationship coach - because you can only imagine how that would cause some serious ripple affects within relationships.
38% of our communication is made up of our tonality and voice, and the remaining 55% is our body language and facial expressions aka visual cues.
I would argue that there are more subtle senses picking up intuitively on communication that didn’t participate in the study also. We are not just the words we speak. We are an entire embodiment of a feeling, idea, thought and heart process. We are full bodied in our communication.
This is a big deal - when it comes to wanting our art, our creativity, our businesses - to be translated clearly to our community & clients.
Your fear of coming across as “selly” or “disingenuous” is a communication issue.
Your judgements on social media feeling fake and unrealistic, is a communication issue.
The lack of clients or a feeling of mismatch when it goes from in person to online… are communication issues.
The good news - communication is a skill, and it’s something we all can learn and master.
However, don’t be fooled. Communication is not simply between you and another.
It actually begins, with you and you.
Based on the heart math institute, our heart is sending more signals to the brain, then the brain does to the heart. The heart is our feeling center - so if we are attempting business without a clear connection to heart, emotion, feeling, the senses, we are unfortunately missing the mark. We have to feel ourselves to know ourselves so to speak.
Our ability to communicate clearly within ourselves, acknowledge our needs, our desires, our feelings and connect to all of our senses is the primary skill for being able to translate our art, our business, our creativity to others.
Many of us would share the perspective - that there is no art without the ability to attune to the heart and emotional body.
In this post,
and I are going to guide you through an exercise that feels fun, but will also change the game for you and your business.It will bring you out of the head, into the heart, and then guide you towards embodied communication with clients and community.
About
Kat is a substack bestseller, mother, writer & creative. She is a multi passionate creative who prefers a soulful approach to art and business. Her substack is a weekly publication for the community of Mothers, Mystics & the Makers. A honest exploration with the dance between motherhood, creativity, and self inquiry into optimism. A thriving symposium for those curious and courageous enough to pursue their creative dreams alongside raising children.
She’s also an event host, facilitator, mother of two little boys, 6 chickens, and lives in the hills of the Australian coastline.
About
Erica is a woman who is starting conversations on the things you are too scared to say out loud. Professional myth buster & addicted to the "oh f*ck" moments. Activist & advocate for all things art, therapy & empowerment. 49% coffee & 51% feminism.
She invites you to step into the underground speakeasy that is her substack, where we delight in loving ourselves, snap our fingers over political art and leave full to the brim of ourselves. Settle in while we take the demystify the big topics and myth bust rumours about ourselves.
She’s also an author, workshop host, mother, queer and creative woman, living in Bali with her beautiful family and three cats. She’s spent years working with creatives on connecting to the spirit of their craft, and expressing it clearly into the world.
I asked Erica and our friend
the other week,“If your Substack, was a scene, a space, a room…. what would it be?”.
This is completely relevant to any creative business you hold that requires real people to choose to come and buy from you. Whether it is a subscription based business like Substack, a product like your paintings, poetry, ceramics etc , or a service like photography, bodywork, meditation classes etc.
wrote back straight away into the group chat:
“My Substack is an underground speakeasy. You get to be invited in and the password is simply the vibration of being willing. There’s espresso martini’s, hot chocolate and shots of fairy dust dipped in the cosmos. People sit close to each other and you can feel the electricity in the air. There’s intimacy but you aren’t there for intimacy with others, you’re there for intimacy with you. There’s an old school mic like this
and a beautiful dimly lit dark wood and maroon velvet stage where people share their passion through poetry. The walls are covered in art and protest material. You think you’re in the normal world and then you see the bartender will a bottle over with his mind and nobody bats an eye. One of the posters wink at you and you notice someone is stirring their coffee spoon on the table by subtly spinning their finger around in a circle on their lap...
The smoke from the cigars seems to shimmer and you think for a moment you catch a pointed ear of the woman on the other side of the shadowy room before her hair falls over it again. There is slow, soft deep Jaz music playing quietly in the back and it seems like magic exists everywhere.
It’s a haven for falling in love with all the forbidden parts of yourself. Dark wood and dark books and bartenders with awe in their eyes. It’s all bourbon cigars and what’s forbidden if those things tasted like finding lost dreams and hope.
You leave full of yourself, feeling yourself.”
Could you feel that?
Is it like you were there, walking through the room, taking a seat and people watching. Did it make you curious about
’s Substack and wanting to go spend some time in a candlelit booth?How does that compare to
“Hey, come join my newsletter. I write about politics and feminism, with regular art drops”.
What had you FEELING her space more?
What has you wanting to be apart of something bigger than yourself?
Of course - I asked her about her SUBSTACK…
but what if we asked the same question, but about our creative business’s?
If your Creative Business (Your photography, your writing, your paining, your dance classes, your coaching business, your events business etc) were a place… What would it be?
If my Substack were a place… What would it be?
If my art were a place, my writing were a place, my music were a place, if my instagram was a place, my website a place, if my podcast were a place, my ceramics were a place, my service were a place….
Then to take the time to really feel into your values, and the world you’d love people to come and be apart of. What represent’s what you’re wanting to create?
Can you bring in your multifaceted self? Can you engage the 5 senses of those coming to spend time with you? It feels like, it looks like, it sounds like, it tastes like, it smells like… The colours, the textures, the ambience… What’s special about this place and what makes it unique?
Go from “What I do/make/offer” to “where they will arrive if they come to work with me here/ buy my product/ follow my journey, buy my art.”
What world, will they be welcomed into?
Here - We’ll make it even easier for you.
Erica has recorded a guided visualisation to take you there and help you become clear on your world crafting:
19 minutes to shift the tone of your entire creative pursuit and offer huge amounts of clarity.
We have some questions for you… to ponder with heart over mind
Kat’s Question(s):
Does my “scene”, the energetic “space” of my creative business match how I am presenting it to the world?
Does it match how I speak about it? How I promote it online? Does my website match? Is the brand in my imagination, accurate to its external perception? Am I embodied in the communication of this?
What could be getting lost in translation and how can I invite in more of these themes in the way I write about it/promote/ speak about it.
When I *Think* about
, I think of it as a holding platform for writers. The modern blog. It’s practical, and great way to connect with people.When I *Feel* about Substack,
All of a sudden, it becomes a playground of possibility. A cathedral library, and a garden party out the back.
I walk through the most beautiful revolving doors. My hands hit the gold trimmed glass, my feet reflect on the floor as I spin into a huge room that opens up before me.
There’s no front desk to sign in,
Instead the ceiling extends so high, and I can see the effects of the golden sun through the stained glass windows melting down the walls. A golden glow softly holds the room.
I begin to take it in,
Starting with the concrete floors, covered in delicious vintage rugs. I can tell they’ve been collected from around the world.
The walls are lined with books. So many books. I can’t see dust anywhere though… it absolutely feels like there should be dust covering every shelf.
I walk closer, and run my finger over a line of books.
Spotless.
There’s a certain energy here.
I giggle as it reminds me a little of hogwarts in a sense. Along with a sophistication.
A casual elegance, even.
“I’m curious about the people”.
“They are all readers” she drops her voice just a little. “Some are writers. You can tell.
Some just pop in for a little while, but honestly, most of us stay all day with our heads in these pages.
You’ll see- it’s not the same as the older libraries here.
Every book you see has been written by someone in the modern world. Some are stories, some are education. Some opinions, some facts. Many explorations of culture and art and creativity. It’s whatever you want it to be, it’s why people stay.”
I can see it now. The magic I felt. People able to relax and fill themselves with curiosity. No rush. They sit and enjoy. Take it in, then find something else they are intrigued by.
No rush.
I breathe out.
I go to the doorway, and let out the softest of gasps.
It’s a garden, a big one, lined with deep green hedges and big shady trees connected with fairy lights.
There are small round tables everywhere,
With bright colourful dahlia flowers and candles center piecing every one.
People, so many people, all dressed beautifully and quirky. Theres the same elegance from inside about this garden party, but also a casualness as I can see some bare feet relaxed into the overly healthy looking thick grass. How do they make the grass do that?
I spot a woman with a blonde bob, thick glasses and a multi coloured polka dot dress on, along with a big smile. She has many talking to her and her energy seems infectious, as she has them fixated on the story she’s sharing. (
that’s you)These are quotes pulled from my article A cathedral library and a garden party
Which is a visual storytelling of the EXPERIENCE of Substack, rather than the practical “What Substack is and what it does”.
The feedback from those reading it was
Can you feel the difference?
Are there ways you could adjust your tonality (The 38%), and then, how could you adjust the body language aka the unspoken world of what you’re trying to portray. (Think imagery, music, and even your energetic relationship to your offering. Are you approaching with desperation, forcefulness, or are you approaching with a relaxed energy and feeling grounded and connected to what you are offering. )
Erica’s Question(s)
What sort of people/ clients and community would be attracted to my space? Who exists here? Who spends time here and doesn’t want to leave?
This will help guide you into knowing who your people are…
If they aren’t the type of people who would want to be apart of what you have - then it’s often a good reflection to evolve the “space” we’ve created and have it be more refined, so that the communication is more clear, and we can call in the right type of community.
Visualise it. What music are they dancing to? What are they standing on? What do they smell? Hear? Taste? Touch? Do they get butterflies when they enter like it's a first date? Or do they settle onto the couch with the cup of tea they made themselves in my kitchen because they basically live here?
To know which people are addicted to my technique and wordplay ravishing their experience — I’ve got to know WHY they wouldn’t want to leave. What is it that the bones of my space radiates with? What am I pouring into peoples cups? What am I doing that gives people a sense of ease? Of belonging? Of connection?
Some people would think of this as “niching” but to be perfectly frank with you, a niche is where my creativity goes to die. And not a peaceful death in its sleep. No. A niche is a slow, gargling, bleed out sending a long audible love letter to my loved ones, clutching at the sky yelling “WHYYYY”.
There is a difference between a confined rule-dominated space my creativity is “allowed” to be and a gentle set of bumpers on my lane that keep me working towards my goal.
A niche crushes my creativity like a bug.
Bumpers though? Those are hot.
They keep me in flow. They let me be myself without spilling out all over the place and losing my potency. They curb my inner magpie (hello shiny things!) without curbing my curiosity.
Your bumpers are up when you know the problem you solve. The itch you scratch. So you don’t mix this up with the rules of the traditional niche, I’ll show you an example (me, I am the example).
It would be easy to say (for example) the problem is that people don’t feel full of themselves, Then I help them solve it.
Bleh, boring.
I just flipped what it is I think I provide; I help people feel full of themselves.
It’s not intimate. It’s not real. It’s like, maybe the level of intimacy you get from swiping right. It's cute, there’s potential but it’s not anything yet.
Though when I do this exercise and I enter my room, I can feel what I am creating. From that, I can taste it. I can own it. I can get excited about it. I can explain it, I can get obsessed about it. When I ask myself “what problem do I solve when I write?” I am connected to the space and it is a whole different story, It goes something like this:
I take people underground. I show them the magic they are missing and hiding from. I slow dance with them to a saxophone until the silk dress they wear feels like it’s a breath away from falling to the floor. Until the tickle of my breath on their neck could push them over the edge.
I remind them of the possibilities in this sensational world. Of how good it can be. Of how much euphoria is hiding in their blood. I meet them in the bottoms of their insatiable bellies, where they used to breathe fully and be fully. I lick the insides of their soul until they remember the sensation of being alive. I remind them of resonance, of hope, of truth.
I am the embodiment of the pure ecstasy that comes from being themselves, and I’m so generously contagious.
Sounds a little different, hey?
Understanding the vibe helps you understand what you actually do. It helps you fantasise in the best way. It helps you imagine how much bigger your impact can be: because you can actually feel it.
This isn’t a niche, it’s a bumper.
If I were to take that knowing and try to narrow it down to women ages 25-30, working corporate jobs and scrolling Instagram, feeling numb and unfulfilled, I block myself. I might be able to “see” them, but I can’t feel them. It’s not enough, and there are too many rules. I can’t let it out and flow (see my post on being creatively constipated if you feel like this now).
I have to see them walking in. I have to notice their posture and what they wear. Who they talk to and who they don’t. I have to know what drink they order, what they eat, how they sit. I have to know if they share or if they watch. I have to stroke the edges of their essence.
What you want to be is an ENTHUSIAST who is OBSESSED with solving your problem for your people. You wanna feel the yummy heart tingling joy that comes from pushing that domino, providing that thing, creating that space or answering that question. It’s the best when you can see all the nuanced different ways you can solve this problem for people.
Having a *special place* you can go to create this is often the pièce de résistance for creativity.
Essentially, what we are all doing when we market is inviting people to our parties. We are saying over and over again, “don’t forget I’m hosting something magical where you’re totes gonna have a good time,” “hey, friendly reminder of my thing on the weekend!”, “Did you know I host games night at mine on Fridays!? Please come! Would LOVE to have you there.”
Knowing the vibe of where you are inviting people means you can make the invitation appropriate. E.g if you host an erotic fan-fiction, probably not best to be inviting underage people to your party or people who are staunch against the original story line. If you are hosting something for mothers, inviting 18 year olds in their peak party days about to go on contikki probably isn’t going to make your party a rager.
Here are some ways I stay connected to the space I am inviting people to:
I make a playlist (Here’s mine) that has the type of music that makes you feel like you’re right there.
Make a Pinterest board matching what you see in your minds eye with actual art and pictures.
I revise my story, I revisit. I add details. I read it to myself. Over and Over.
Now, there will be times that you are straight up convinced that you just can’t see anything. That there is nothing to see there, your brain wont work and that you just can’t write.
I’m going to say something controversial here:
I don’t believe in writers block.
*crowd throws tomatoes and boos*
Every single time I just *can’t* write, the same thing has been missing.
I believe the words are always there. Waiting. Sometimes it’s about narrating your experience of the block when everything is blank, and sometimes it’s about finding the inspiration again but it’s ALWAYS about connection.
Luckily for you, I’ve done this exercise with other people into the triple digits now. So I know exactly what to do.
When you see nothing or feel nothing coming to inspire you for your creative business, ask yourself:
what’s obvious to me about this nothingness? It’s dark. What’s obvious about darkness? It’s vast. Open. Void like. What’s obvious about that? It’s powerful. It’s connected to everything. What’s obvious to you about that? What is it connected to?…
There is always information there. You just have to be willing to find it.
We have a small group chat with a handful of writers here on substack. We posed the question to them all and asked them to whip up a room for their Substack. Again, this could have been for their businesses outside of substack, but the chat is very substack focused.
By Jesse Hall is a quiet place for you to contemplate the philosophical musings of your own mind and an invitation to dream up your wildest fantasies. As you walk towards it, you follow beautiful trees that drop autumn leaves, lining a stepping-stone path to a circular building. It is a library, an open-design circular structure with two floors. Warm wooden shelves, hand-carved railings and a burning hearth that never dies, creates one half of the space, whilst roof-to-floor glass windows shapes the other half. There are plush linen couches and blankets so fluffy you might drown in them. Salt lamps and candles litter the numerous ledges and tables. Hot cocoa sits in handcrafted mugs next to platters of berries and chocolates. The air tastes like vanilla and cinnamon here. A soft instrumental soundscape bounces off the walls in tune with the crackle and pop of the fire.
Through the glass windows, enormous swaying trees stand sentinel, whilst the molten-reds and burning-yellows of the cracking dawn pierce their way through the gaps between the trunks. The intention is for people like you and I, to come and go as we please. To feel a sense of community, but only in the lingering hum of the energetic frequency that we leave once we are gone. We don’t need to be here all at once, instead we can leave each other scribbled notes of the thoughts we ponder, in the blank edges of our storybook pages. It’s like a secret shared between friends, in a code that only we—who like to mull in the glory of our own aura—know the key to.
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Soph’s corner is the lounge room that you secretly love sitting in, you know the one that you find yourself in without even realising you were heading that way. It could be your granny’s, your best mate’s, or even the one that you were in once – but keep returning to in your mind’s eye. It’s comfortable, familiar, warm. And even though it’s familiar, a lot of the stories spoken here are only similar to your own, they’re not actually yours. But they may as well be – it’s like reading your life, only someone else published them. Stories that differ in detail but are the same in feeling.
There are a few lamps lit, windows open with the evening sea breeze rolling in, the golden hour sunlight streams through. The light dances on the walls where there are thrifted plates hanging and smiley faces looking at you and each other. It’s the time of day where you get offered a cuppa or a gin. There’s cake, crackers and cheese on the coffee table, there to fuel the mouths that the stories spill out of. Smoke drifts over the space, as the incense burns, the smell merging with the freshly baked loaf of bread in the next room. There’s cushions, pillows, and rugs everywhere – so many that often there’s a joke of “we should all just stay and have a sleepover”. So, you do. You sit with others and explore what it means to be here, now, in this moment, through speaking and listening to your stories.
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My Substack is spacious. It’s a place outdoors by the sea where the season’s change often. As the sea glistens, people stumble in when they feel kinda lost but ready to listen. They stay forever, they find peace, they discover universes within themselves. It’s a place where magical things happen every single split second of every single day.
It’s a place where my long lost Faerie comes out to play with shells and stones and for story time too. She is smart and sassy sometimes and SO ready to take on the world’s rules and crush them into diamonds for all her friends. It’s a place where time stands still and possibility exists in the flavour of cakes and cocktails. it’s a place where we re-grow forests together and heal the hurt of sisterhood past...It’s a place for rebalancing the sacred, the ancient and re-defining creativity as a purposeful act of rebellion...
Hidden away in an enchanted garden, those who are called to it will find a glass fronted studio surrounded by beautiful wild flowers. A little sanctuary for the soul. By day The Mother Well is an intimate co working space where Mothers of all different ages come to work on their heart dreams… there is natural light beaming in through the glass and the doors swing open to let the fresh air flow. On the deck outside there is a table where everyone gathers at lunch to share delicious homemade food and ideas. It’s peaceful and calm, with an air of focus, there is deep creative work in motion, life-changing dreams are being birthed and magic is being made. Women feel fulfilled and held in this space, able to nurture their visions and bring ideas to form.
By night The Mother Well transforms into a sacred circle space to offer deep restoration while holding truth, mystery and magic. An altar is set up in the centre with a handmade candle that flickers amber light across the walls. Piles of the softest blankets, and sheepskin rugs offer support for guests to sit or lie down. Chocolates and bright red strawberries spill over beautiful bowls, while chunky mugs hold deep earthy cacao for those who wish to enjoy her medicine. Those who land in the arms of The Mother Well feel safe, witnessed, replenished, connected to themselves and as though anything is possible. This is a portal of remembrance, a creative web, a sacred structure… where Earth meets sky.
My Substack “Green Oranges” is a fairground. It is filled with the complex and beautiful diversity of living beings. Every-body belongs here. There is no ticket to get in. You, in all your glorious existence are welcome. This fairground is like a festival, a party, a garden. There is a place for you no matter whether you desire to dance at the disco or sit by the stream. This is a place of expression, each of us allowing whatever exists in us to move through us as it arrives in whatever form it takes. No second guessing, no question about worth, no value metrics.
There are artists painting, dancers dancing, poets, potters, quilt makers, little whispers happening in corners, makers and bakers and someone planting a garden, painting a house, building a table and simply those looking at the sky and humming a tune. We are all artists here, as all children are. There is no such thing as the headline act, we are all celebrating each other's expression with the fullness of love it deserves. Some of it is loud, some of it is quiet, some colourful some dark, some expressions joyful others brutal, sad, even ugly but each expression is perfect. There is no ‘right’ way to be here. Inspiration moves in you and you let it. You are cheered on, celebrated, joyfully carried by the collective energy of creation. This is a community of people singing, “hello world, I made this, it exists, I exist!’. This space has no walls, it is an energy, a community of people who when death comes, can let go into the next realm ease-fully because they have left behind trails of beautiful breadcrumbs for the world to enjoy. All creativity is art. All art is beautiful. This is the way to live a good life, this is the path to a beautiful death and here, in this space, we are letting it be so.
Sometimes we hide, deep down in the dark and cold, in the sludge. We lock away parts of ourselves under rocks on the seabed. We blink to clear our eyes, but the water is so murky that we don’t know which way is up. Finally, some light filters through. Fragments of warm sunshine trickles down to find us, like long tendrils of love sent from above. We begin to unravel the chains that pin us down, and we slowly drift upwards, uncovering the pieces we had buried. We peel back the layers on the parts we thought we had to hide -- the stories that suffocate us, the patterns that block us, the stagnant energy which keeps us small. Bit by bit, we let them go and float to the surface. Here, a gentle morning sun lights up our hearts and souls. In turn we emanate a soft, warm energy -- the dazzling truth of who we are. We no longer feel the need to hide, we can carry that light with back down into the depths, to our shadows, without fear. We have found a space where every last bit of us can be seen, heard, acknowledged.
My substack is in a field, but the most beautiful field you’ve ever seen. A clearing, really. Surrounded by trees and a creek running through the middle. In the distance, you can see rock cliffs leading into the ocean. There’s a magnificent tree off to the side. Cows graze, deers roam, and if you stay quiet long enough, you’ll even see the unicorns. You walk to the tree and sit beneath it. There, you can feel the deep connection to Mother Earth and the ethers. A circle of women sit, some nursing babies, others holding space for their own grown children. There are scones, and tea, and a picnic is laid between them. We dream here, of big things and little things, and we realize that even though this is just a field, and life is just a life, it’s about finding the magic in the mundane to create our reality. Our own heaven on Earth.
Now naturally, all of those are delicious, and you may find yours is a sport stadium with a roaring crowd. Possibly an academic or a stand up comedy private show with a smoke machine for fun. Whatever sits well for YOU.
We would LOVE if you took the time to explore this exercise within your own spaces, whether it be here or elsewhere.
If you do happen to write about it, save this post and come back and share your link so that we can not only click through and have a read, but also have a collection of beautiful examples in the comments section. We can visit each other’s spaces.
Thanks for playing today,
Love Kat and Erica
Come chat
and if you like it, Share it!
You both write so BEAUTIFULLY, articulately and make magic with words!!! So grateful to be in this space with you and all these incredible writers. What an incredible world we're all weaving, in our own unique ways.
Wow the writing here is so so stunning I feel I just deeply connected with my inner child who loved to enter the world of books and travel in those landscapes and with those characters. You know, I always said I loved to write and it's my favourite medium for expression and art, but I never labeled myself a writer. I don't know why. But this week I've been visioning for my business, joined a women's group of substackers and now stumbled on your page and I feel like...I am a writer. I'm a writer. How exciting! I'm going to play with this exercise, with my writing style, and start to treat this space along with my other spaces with a lot more intentionality and alignment to the imagery and sensations of the world I'm creating in my little slice of the internet. Thank you, thank you for sharing this exercise with us. I will be back once I have written mine, to share !