YOUR CREATIVE BOOST: WITH SAM BURGESS

We chat to Life Coach & Business Mentor, Sam Burgess, about creating a work / life balance that fits in with you and your family during this unpredictable time.

- Tell us a little about your work and your background.

I'm Sam and I am the founder of Small and Mighty Co. A holistic life and business coaching practice and content marketing consultancy specialising in empowering creative entrepreneurs to beat overwhelm, work smarter and live better. I'm a certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Emotional Freedom Technique Practitioner, my specialities include mindset, motivation, marketing and modern-day consumer behaviour. I got started working for myself in 2016, after 15 years in retail doing everything from the shop floor to head office including HR and Marketing. I set up initially as a social media consultant supporting creative entrepreneurs, that then became content marketing coaching, then business coaching and now I coach in business, content marketing and support entrepreneurs to have a business that works for them rather than a business that they work for.

- What nuggets of wisdom would you share with a small business owner at this time to help them from a business as well as wellbeing perspective?

It's okay not to pivot or adapt during this changing time. There is a lot of pressure out there - mainly from social media, telling everyone they should be growing, learning and adapting and pivoting their business, and although that is all possible - it is also okay to say I'm tired, I'm fed-up, the world isn't the way I ever expected it to be and I feel sad and confused and I liked my business and my life, just how it was. This won't last forever, and if adapting or pivoting right now doesn't feel right, then don't. Don't bow to peer pressure, keep your eyes on your own paper.

- What are your go-to Insta accounts, Podcasts, websites etc. to keep up-to-date with small biz news, trends and inspirations?

I really enjoy Courier magazine, and their weekly email for modern business news as well as the WhatsApp Drapers broadcast for what's going on in the retail industry. As for podcasts, I don't tend to have the time to listen to many but when I do I'm a fan of Russell Brand, Jay Shetty and Fearne Cotton's Happy Place. Jay Shetty and Russell Brand's IGTV videos are always thought-provoking.

- What would you say some of the positives are that might come out of this situation for small businesses?

In Chinese, the word for crisis is composed of two Chinese characters signifying "danger" and "opportunity" respectively. Many incredible businesses have been born during recessions, Uber and Airbnb being just two that subsequently became household names. Now is a fantastic opportunity to change things up - if your business wasn't quite working before, now is a time to throw out the old business plan and write a new one - or even develop an entirely new business. In addition, work/life balance is becoming even more important - designing a business that works for you and your family and not just focussing on the income. Finally, I think more and more business owners are realising the importance of cash flow, instead of just their P&L figures. From this experience, we will see business owners keeping a safety net for tough times; which may mean changing how they have historically run their business, for the better. I talk about it with my clients as 'plugging the holes in your business boat'; where are you letting in water? A slow leak can very quickly become the thing that pulls you under.

Images courtesy of @samburgessuk Find out more about Sam and her holistic life and business coaching practice here.