No Ordinary Blog
Where business tips, creative insights and a whole lot of fun collide.
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How to get more people to open your emails
At this monthβs Empower Her catch up, our guest expert Tiffany dropped some seriously valuable insight and actionable tips to help the group embrace email marketing.
Now, I'm sharing those insights with you.
If you want to grow your list with interesting freebies, craft subject lines that get clicked and craft emails that engage, entertain and inform your audience.
Ready to stop leaving money (and connection) on the table? (And stop your unsubscribe rate increasing?
Read onβ¦
Planning your next collab? Read this.
Iβm a huge fan of collaborations. They're an opportunity to connect with like minded business owners and entrepreneurs while you trial different ideas and have fun.
This year, Iβve teamed up with some incredible womenβ¦Evie Kemp, Catie from the Super Creative Podcast, Idyllic Studio, Force Femme, Empower Her, Design Assemblyβ¦ and the juiciest thing Iβve learned?
A great collab is so much more than sliding into the DMs with βHey, wanna work together?β and crossing your fingers.
At an event, we dug deep to uncover what makes a collaboration truly work. The insights were too good not to share, so here are my hot takes you can carry into your next successful collab.
Success Story Francie - Mums Mindset Coach
I first met Francie when she hosted her Podcast & Cuppa club. Fast forward 18 months, Francie realised she was stuck in a place so many business owners find themselves: grabbing at every new shiny marketing idea, hoping the 'secret hackβ or βproven formula' would finally be the thing that worked for her and her business.
She had invested in expensive marketing coaches before, only to end up drowning in complex systems and overwhelming strategies that left her business feeling heavy, stressful and anything but fun.
What she really wanted was something simpler: a system she could actually stick to. That allowed her to do what she loved: Helping mums break free of mum guilt.
Want to know what that simpler system involvedβ¦
Building Or Updating Your Website? Read this first
If you're a creative solopreneur or service-based business owner, chances are your website is either on your mind or on your to-do list.
Whether youβre building it yourself or refreshing your current one, it's more than a design project, itβs your opportunity to align your business, refine your message and create a digital home that attracts the clients & customers you want.
While it's easy to get swept up in choosing fonts and colour palettes (believe me, I get it!), the real magic happens before you hit publish.
Here's what you need to consider before building or re-designing your website.
Success Story Haus of Flox
You know that moment when your business feels like itβs running you, instead of the other way around?
Thatβs exactly where Hayley King, founder of Haus of FLOX, found herself before we started working together. With a buzzing creative empire that's been running for 20 years and a talented team by her side, things looked great for New Zealandβs best know stencil artist.
But inside? Hayley felt like she was losing control.
βI needed some guidance around gaining control again and just to have an outside perspective on what big decisions needed to be made.β
Hayley had tried to tackle the overwhelm pragmatically with lists, team meetings and talking it out.
11 Business Lessons Iβve Learned (The Hard Way)
If youβre not jumping for joy at the halfway point of the year, I get it.
This year? Itβs been a lot.
Business during an economic downturn?
Global chaos?
When I launched my business in November 2023, I was bright-eyed and optimistic, but despite the curveballs, there was one thing I didnβt do: I didnβt let the chaos stop me from building something meaningful.
Here are my lessons for keeping focussed, maintaining a healthy mindset and keeping your business afloat.
Success Story Joanna
When Joanna first came to me, she had a vision. A big, bold idea for a SaaS product that could make waves in her industry.
But like so many entrepreneurs standing at the starting line, she felt lost, overwhelmed and because she was starting from scratch, knowing where to start or what to tackle first added to the frustration.
Jo knew she needed help to bring her idea to life, but where do you even begin when the path ahead feels more like a maze than a map?
Success Story Agate
When Agate joined Best Business Playbook, she was like so many creative entrepreneurs, working hard but feeling stuck and worried about inconsistent revenue.
She doubted whether she could create a business that gave her both financial stability and the freedom to do what she loved.
That all changed when she joined Best Business Playbook
Need some sales confidence? Attract dream clients without feeling sleazy.
Simple Sales Strategy (it's sales, not rocket science).
Here's your how-to guide to reset or refine your sales strategy, attract dream clients and generate the revenue you deserve (without feeling ick or cringe).
Because business is easy and sales are fun!
Success Story Valerie
As CEO of her own design studio, Valerie is a powerhouse of creativity, with a knack for taking bold ideas and turning them into meaningful, empathetic designs with lasting impact.
After serendipitously meeting V at an event it was love at first business chat.
After one coffee, lots of laughs and a passion for creating real, lasting impact on the businesses we work with, we made it official.
Perfect Your Podcast Pitch
Joined by podcast host and creative powerhouse Catie Dawson (Super Creative Podcast), weβll unpack the biggest mistakes people make when pitching to a podcast, the secret to getting noticed (hint: itβs not a 500-word email) and why authenticity matters more than a perfectly polished pitch.
Ready to perfect your pitch?
What I wish I knew about Meta Ads
Tired of throwing money at Meta just to get crickets? Get the insights and pro tips from Shay from Idyllic at our Meta ads Masterc.ass
From Chaos to Clarity: Lessons from Women in Design
Last Friday, I was invited to take part in Design Assemblyβs annual 'Women In Design Dayβ alongside powerhouse women in the design industry.
I sat in a room full of creative women, spanning generations from their 20's to their 60's.
For me, the highlight was keynote speaker, Cat Van der Werff, Executive Creative Director at Canva. It wasn't just her words but her brutal honestly and vulnerability she shared that moved some of us to tears.
She started with a simple but profound ideaβ¦
My tips for business growth (without the burnout)
Within 12 months of launching my business, I was working with 70+ creatives, consultants and ambitious entrepreneurs helping to transform their business with more clarity & direction than ever before.
Here's what I learned and what advice I have for ambitious entrepreneurs who are ready for success in 2025.
βCreative Kind Podcastβ Episode 28
The Creative Kind Episode #28 with Rosie Holt
In this episode I chat to the lovely Rosie Coaches about approaching business as a creative. Rosie is a business coach who delivers masterclasses, community and speaking events and one to one coaching to business owners and creative entrepreneurs. We chat about how to make informed choices in your creative practice, avoid burnout, and approach long-term growth in a sustainable way. Rosie emphasizes that success doesnβt come from working at 100% every day, but from showing up consistentlyβwhether youβre putting in 10 minutes or a full dayβs work. We also explore the importance of planning for the future, setting achievable goals, and finding joy in small wins.
Magnetic Branding & Design Masterclass with Valerie of Kaaio Studio
Co-hosted by design genius Valerie of Kaaio Studio to help you get out of your Branding & Design funk.
At this FREE Masterclass, Valerie will share the doβs and donβts you need to consider before doing a re-brand, the questions you need to ask yourself and your designer and the ONE THING she wishes brand would stop doing that makes them look cheap.
Mindset Monday β Volume IIII
ππΌ Welcome to Mindset Monday.
π The series for business owners in need of an uplifting and inspiring corner of the internet full of practical, actionable ways to help keep your mindset and focus afloat during these challenging times.
π Each volume will be a combination of inspiration and actionable steps to help you grow your business, your finances and your mindset.
Success Story β Jade
Meet Jade.
The French florist who creates romantic, obsession worthy florals.
Like many creatives, Jade is talented, passionate and driven but when it came to refining her marketing strategy and creating a streamlined business, she was feeling stuck and unsure how to attract her ideal customer with confidence.
Mindset Monday β Volume III
ππΌ Welcome to Mindset Monday.
π This brand new series is for business owners in need of an uplifting and inspiring corner of the internet full of practical, actionable ways to help keep your mindset and focus afloat during these challenging times.
π Each volume will be a combination of inspiration and actionable steps to help you grow your business, your finances and your mindset.
βYarns for the Soulβ podcast
Episode #35 with Rosie Holt
Hosted by Nicole Johnston, we yarned about living intentionally and creating a life (and business) by design, not my default.
Ready to be my next success story?