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Nicole Smith
Welcome to Take Control with Nicole. As business owners we experienced firsthand the fine line between our personal and business lives. During our conversations, we will look at simple hints and tips to create time, reduce overwhelm, and help you to navigate through your journey to where you want to be. If you’re looking for smarter ways to work, and create space and time freedom in your day, then you’re in the right place. All right, let’s go.

Nicole Smith
Hello, and welcome back to another fabulous episode of take control with Nicole. Today, I am speaking with the amazing Rowena Preddy all about how to name claim and utilise your brand values. Rowena is all about helping you step up and stand out with raw, real and bold branding, to supercharge your business to the next level. How, I hear you ask, well through strategic solutions and creative creations, that will make a fundamental change to your business. On top of that she wants the process to be fun and informative. What you see is what you get, and what you get will be awesome. Well, Rowena, hello, thank you so much for joining me today. I’ve seen you and your magazine and your name pop up all over the place. So I was really excited when you pressed that book now button and joined me today.

Rowena Preddy
Well, after that introduction, like just give me a moment to blush and like, you know, for myself a little bit.

Nicole Smith
Love it. I love that moment. Because it’s really introductions is a big part of branding really, isn’t it? Being able to articulate those words on who you are and what you do and how you work? It’s, it’s probably yeah. All about what you’re doing as well.

Rowena Preddy
The joy of a fantastic copywriter who takes my jumbled thoughts in my brain and my tongue that often runs away with me and puts it into something that just feels 100% you.

Nicole Smith
Yeah, love it. Well, let’s start at the very beginning. Tell us all about you, what you do, all the fabulous things.

Rowena Preddy
So for starters, I am a kiwi living in Cairns, have been for the last 13 years with my husband, and my two kids. So we live under blue skies, palm trees a lot of the year and it’s amazing. It’s been we moved here completely blind. So we knew, we’d never even been here before, and packed up our life and it went in a direction that we weren’t predicting. But it’s turned out amazing. Part of that direction has been that, as a graphic designer, I have worked for the man for 16 years. I have worked in agencies, I’ve worked in advertising, I’ve worked in a branding space, I’ve worked as an in house communications team manager. And all of that really put me into a little box. And it put me into a little box that I often felt like I was punished for sort of creeping out of and basically, after being, ah my position was made redundant, I was like you know what, it’s actually time for me to own my own space. It’s time for me to embrace everything, all my weirderies, all my like odd little bits and pieces that make me me and find a way to do what I love in the way that I love to do it. So, for the last four years, I’ve been breaking down all the corporate rules and regulations and all of that, like it just felt like a huge weight has been lifted. It has been a roller coaster ride, but in the best soul searching personal growth way. After unlearning a lot of those rules, I also started to basically find what brought me a huge amount of joy in my industry. Up until this point, people told me what I had to do and I now had to take control and take the reins back on my own career. So now I run pretty creative. It’s just me, literally sitting in my house most of the time with my farting dog in the corner. But what it made me realise is that if that was going to be what I did, I had to find some things that I could bring me joy, because I’m a social being. And I have done that through connecting with women and business through my business that I would love to have a wine with them on a Friday night like that seems to be the people I attract. The ones that you know, I’m dropping in and out of their DMS and being their cheerleader. But I also know the names of their kids and what’s going on and their business and their life. And on top of that, I have started up my own digital magazine. Now, this came from a space where it’s like, if you cut, if you build it, they will come. So, I love being in a magazine design space, I always have, I’ve loved the stories, I’ve loved the connections, it’s always been a big part of what I do in branding. And it’s kind of like doing magazine designers like the branding unicorn, where, you know, it’s the thing you aspire to. And if you find it, you hold on to it with both hands. But instead of waiting around, or, you know, going back to the corporate schmooze, I was like, You know what, I know this space, I’m gonna do this. And kind of just bulldoze my way through it, quite honestly, like a lot of it was like it’s learning on the go. It is being really cheeky, and asking the questions and making the connections were cool, I really look up to this person, and want to jump into their DMS and ask them to be in my magazine. And some of the people I have literally like, I felt the blood rushed in my head, I was so excited that they said yes. And that’s been a huge part of what I do. I’m pretty creative and brand new. It’s those connections, those people those stories, and really getting down to the heart of branding and design that can actually touch people and actually be a true representation of who they are. Because we’re the most unique things in our business.

Nicole Smith
Yeah, totally agree. I’ve come from corporate as well. And that box, like the last role, there was very much I was free. And then they were trying to squeeze me into a box. And I’m like, no, no, that’s not going to be a thing anymore. I’ve worked and acquired all this knowledge and experience and energy, and I’m thriving over here. No, no, no. So taking that step out is like, a little bit like, oh, teeth clenching moment. It is so freeing, isn’t it to be able to go No. Do you know what this is me and I love it. And I’m going to make those decisions and the connection part I love you like the blood rushing. Isn’t it funny when we just realise that we’re all humans? Yep. And the person is just as excited to receive that invitation text message, as you are sitting on the other end, like biting your nails go, oh, my gosh, what am I just done are gonna look like an idiot. I don’t know, you know? So yeah, so exciting.

Rowena Preddy
I think my biggest realisation was how much the whole patriarchal sort of systems had determined and defined, predefined, what was expected of me and what I had to do to make it successfully like and finger quotations. And the word I use, I use the whole term of corporate indoctrination. It sounds like a big, like, but it was a huge undoing, and unlearning of everything I was always taught about what was supposed to be your career path and how things were supposed to go and should and would and could, like and now it just that makes my skin crawl.

Nicole Smith
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And that’s, that’s interesting. I’ve just made that connection between that hierarchy or like I remember the CEO, for instance, you wouldn’t just go, hey, how you doing mate coming in for a chat. You go to the assistant and you find the time in the diary and you wait outside polite, like, these are the big, big, you know, financial institutions. I mean, like smaller business a little bit different. But, you know, that’s, I’ve just made that connection. And that’s probably why when we see these people that are just more advanced, a few more steps forward than us. We’re like, I can’t poss, I’ve got to wait at the door until I’m invited in. No, hell no. Go and go, hey, how you doing? I’m coming to say hi. Thank you.

Rowena Preddy
You’re welcome.

Nicole Smith
And that’s why I’m here taaduhh. Ah, wow, amazing. So, as we start our businesses, not my desk as we start our businesses, we’re still discovering who we are, what we are, what we’re offering, what we mean, what’s our name? Are we going for a business name or our own name? Like how important is it at that potentially early stages or whatever stage you’re on to really like name and claim, what your brand is and how those values really come into play with how your, your businessing?

Rowena Preddy
I feel like a lot of the concepts and the thought processes around brand values people lean quite heavily into cliches and in particularly in small business, and I work majority with small to medium sized businesses. The thing is, is that, like I’ve said before, it’s who you are, that makes the difference. So your brand values are what actually needs to stand you out from the masses, rather than blend you in with them. And it comes back to that corporate, you know, just play it safe type thing, you know, and by being yourself or having something like a really strong foundation on no, actually, this is what matters to us. And this is what we want to be known for. It’s a really simple way. But if you can figure out all the various ways you can portray that to people, a really simple way of ensuring that one, everything is aligned with who you are and what you stand for, but also two, it ensures the right people find you. Yeah, you know, for example, you know, there’s a lot of cliches around certain industries, mine included, you know, and you know, that graphic design is, you know, cheap, expensive. Design is expensive. But, you know, people get very hesitant and scared that they’re not going to get what they wanted. You know, there’s a lot of, you know, cowboys out there as well. And, you know, there’s a lot of negative connotations around industries, you know, accountants are boring, lawyers are going to lie, those types of things. So it’s looking at how we can we can take the power back and flip the script.

Nicole Smith
Yeah, and so powerful when it’s executed correctly, and really connecting in with you and what you’re all about. I’ve seen, you know, there’s some wonderful examples out there. And I know, for me, it’s something I’ve been working on with mutual, fabulous colleague, Kathy, pulling out what sort of my values are, and it was a bit surprising, because I thought that it would be trustworthiness and whatever the other words are, and I’ve never been able to nail them. There was always a disconnect, you know, and mine are now like, and now they’re going to escape what they are, but enjoy. One of mine is a real strong one is enjoy for me. Like I love doing what I do. And I want my people to love what they’re doing to and surrounded and supported. You know, those types of things, kind of may sound to get in the corporate land, if I’m like, my values are surrounded and supported, there’ll be like, are you even a serious business? Ah, how do you support your people to find and discover what they are?

Rowena Preddy
Well, I have a little bit of a process and it’s come about really organically from,

Nicole Smith
Process, my ears are going pingggg

Rowena Preddy
I am a pen and paper girl. Yeah. And I love a good brainstorm. So the very first step for me is a brainstorm session where I have paper pen, probably a few different coloured highlighters just for fun. There’s a distinct chances some posted sliding around as well. But I have a big brainstorm. And a lot of people will look at a blank page and go, what am I, what’s the purpose of this? So I have a little bit of a structure that I take people through and this is the structure I kind of fell into myself. Because I, when I went out into business for myself, like I said, I always had people telling me who I had to be what I had to be doing. And I had to rediscover actually no, where to my values and my beliefs and what I want to be presenting to the world, where do they actually sit? So the very first thing I did was, we’ve already talked about this, I write down all the cliches of my industry. Okay, so I write those down. And because I feel like once you actually name and claim them, you can sit with the emotion that actually, those generate for you. And it’s like, it’s like, you know, imagine you are the boring accountant. You know, everyone thinks that accountants are boring, and they’re all technical. But what if you had like a young, fabulous, feminine accountant who is like, full of big ideas. You don’t need to sit in that mould. You don’t need to sit in that cliche. So then, on that page of all those cliches, I think about how I differ from these, or how I can put my own twist on them. So for instance, maybe with accountant, it’s, you know, very technical and, you know, loves maths and things like that, you know, maybe it’s the opposite. Maybe she leans into the like, the fun nerd side of things, you know, like looking at how you can start to flip the script on, you know, standing out for something that is true to who you are. So that would be my first page as one coming out with the cliches of the industry, and then how you’re actually different to them, or how you lean into them in your own way.

Nicole Smith
And I think that’s a really important stage, knowing what you don’t want to be your no’s. It’s like, when you talk about your clients, you know, you want to attract the yes’, but you also want to deter the no client. And I love the leaning into the inner nerd, because just like, I always, I call myself that, like a bit of a tech geek, like, you know, I was talking the other day about, you know, oh, you’re only clickup on like, no no no, I the tech is just an element, right. And I had no systems, I just come in, and I press the buttons, and I make it work. That’s the easy part for me. All of it’s easy, but that sounds really bad. Oh, my gosh, anyway you know what I mean. It’s fine. And it’s leaning into that. But when I first started, I’m like, oh, no, I don’t want to be known as the da da da. But now I’m embracing it is so much fun, so easy.

Rowena Preddy
And I feel like it’s actually embracing a lot of the things that, you know, it’s, I have a really good example, where it’s kind of like what high school is like, yeah, you know, you, you may want to reach for being one of the cool kids. But you also don’t want to be branded as like, you know, like, stand out too much. And so we play around in the safe zone of like, sort of and it becomes, we create our own cage for it. But it’s really embracing theser things. Like, I love numbers, I was supposed to be that boring accounting, there’s no way one, I could have been in the boring category. But to tell you the truth, that was a big thing that put me off was the stereotype. I love numbers, like when I get to go into a document now as a designer, and it’s it’s techie and gritty. And I get to get into all those geeky things that I geek out over. I embrace that, because that’s actually one of my strengths. Yeah, you know, but and instead of just going, and techy, it’s like, what does that actually do for my client. And that’s kind of where the second stage comes into it. Because the second stage is all about your client. Yeah. So I, again, I do a big list, this time, it’s a list, it’s less of a blurb, it’s more of a list. And so I write down a bunch of ways that my clients feel before they come to me. And I try to really tap into this from an emotional point of view. So I start to maybe think that maybe they’re hesitant to spend the money because they’re not sure of the outcomes, or maybe they’re nervous, because they’ve had bad experiences before. Or another instance might be that I just don’t feel like they have the time, you know, it’s not the time right yet, you know, those are some of the excuses I might get, or so and then I write down a lot of the emotions connected to that. But then I do the fun part, where I then start to think about how those start to change and what kinds of emotions I see clients go through when I’m working with them. So, you know, it might be like excitement, it might be like, that moment of realisation, they go through this moment where you can almost see that, that switch flick,

Nicole Smith
Isn’t that an amazing part of, I love that but. You’re like I can see. Oh wow.

Rowena Preddy
And you can study them visually shifting a lot of the the preconceived notions and then I start to dig into where they end up. So I write down a big list, and I really take time to sit with, you know, that journey in and by listing. What I then do, now this is the bit that I am, because a lot of the time I find that people will do these things, but they don’t quite know what to do with it. Yeah. Right. So then, because the ultimate goal here is to come up with your own values, I start to think about my own personal characteristics that have supported that journey. So I start to write down words like, supportive, you know, genuine. Yeah, you know, I know, that’s a very, it’s almost cliched in itself. But, you know, we start to look into different ways we can say the same thing later. But I start to write the kinds of things that they need me to be to move them from that stage, through to the middle stage and out the other side. You know, they connections a word that people say they feel really connected to the journey. Education is a big one, because people actually go come out of it going had no idea that there was this much to branding and how much of an influence that could have on where I am and where I want to be. Yeah, you know, and so that, that’s one of those things, it’s connection as well. And so again, I have another page of a whole bunch of words, but with an end goal in mind. So we’ve got a bunch of words that actually connect to who I am, and who my client is. Yeah, you know, so there’s that step in between. And thirdly, and I feel like so many people, this one is the one that I got stuck in, as well. So thirdly, I perform an audit on three competitors that have a similar target audience. So in my instance, it might be someone that I’ve been uncomfortably stalking, because let’s be honest, we all do that,

Nicole Smith
like just peering over the fence going hi, what you doing over there.

Rowena Preddy
Maybe make you feel very uncomfortable, because maybe there’s a few steps ahead, and you’re still doing the comparison thing. So I’m daring you to get uncomfortable with the stage, basically. But I feel like the reason people really shy away from the stage is because they only do steps one and two, they forget about step three. So step one, and two, is going into the brand and giving yourself full permission to stalk the hell out of them. In a very legal sense,

Nicole Smith
Yes. Yeah, don’t get your binoculars out and go in the car. And like, that’s a little bit creepy. But online is okay.

Rowena Preddy
Check them out, like check out, you know, their website, check out their social media, check out what the offering is and who they’re specifically doing it for. And what I want you to do is go and this is another columns sort of instance, I want you to write down all your likes, like the things you like about them. And now this this is isn’t coming from like, a visual sense. It might be the way that they copy sounds, it might be the sorts of stories they do on Instagram, what sorts of stories do they do on Instagram? Oh, like, give me an insight into their life. You know, I feel like I know them. You know, maybe, for instance, the lead magnets even start to dig into things like that on their websites. But I want you to write a strong likes and a strong dislikes column, but not just from the point of view of I like it. I liked the copy, or I liked the pretty graphics, or they’ve got a nice colour, go that next layer deeper. So often people stop at the stage. And they get overwhelmed, freak themselves out. And go into a spiral. Yeah. We’ve all been there. Like if you say that you haven’t, I’m not sure if I believe you. There’s been a moment we’ve all stalked, or gone down a comparison spiral. Often when we don’t expect to, it’s when we’re like vulnerable and stuff like that. But I want to get the vulnerability out of the way. Because the thing is, is the third step is the thing that can break through a lot of stuff. And then the third step we go, how can I take what I like and dislike from this and apply it to my business? For instance, maybe the website is really clinical. And it’s really boring. I want my website to be fun. I want my website to be bright and true to who I am. And I want to be I want to be seen on the website, maybe they’re not, you know, there’s no photos of them, and I don’t know who they are. Cool. So that’s a really clear way you can be different, you know, to that person, but then also by the things that you like, don’t be threatened by them. Yeah, you know, lean into it. So it’s like, okay, cool. So I really like how they’re, how they’re copy is. I like how, on the website, it’s a really nice experience and really smooth or, you know, I like their tone of voice. Cool. I need to look into how I can do that in my brand. Yeah. So it’s removing it from a being a comparison space to actually how you can apply it in your own space. And I feel like that almost it removes you from that comparison and puts you in a space of positive action. Yeah. All right. And again, there’s gonna be a whole lot lots of words on a page here. All right. And then what I do is I sit back and this is where the trusty highlight comes in. I prefer the yellow one, but you can choose whatever you want.

Nicole Smith
Yeah, I would go pink if it was me, but that’s, or the purple. I like the purple one to actually

Rowena Preddy
The purple ones a little bit dark for my liking. But then, I go through these pages and I circle words that might repeat themselves, or words that kind of really connect with me. You know, I start to those sentences and that jumble, I start to try and find patterns. I start to, you know, I might make an extra note here or there. But you know, I really start to drill this down to simple words, not reams of paper and scrolling or anything like that, I want to pull out keywords, because you’ll probably find that those are where your values that those are, where who you are sits. And I think like I know, for a fact, I’ve done courses before, and I get really bogged down in creating big documents and then having to implement them. For me, I need something really simple and quick that I can remind myself about and that’s where the values come into it. So to give everyone a really brief example of how this worked, is that honesty was a big thing that came out, you know, it addressed people’s concerns about graphic designers, you know, being out to grift, you basically and stuff like that. I also recognise that people actually needed me to be honest in conversations and not schmooze them and stuff like that. So, I’ve told people, I’m sorry, I actually don’t think you’re ready to work with me yet. And people appreciate that. And they might come back to me in six months time, but they appreciate the level of honesty. So it wasn’t just honesty, it was real honesty. It wasn’t the schmoozey fakey stuff that people connect to like, I don’t know, lawyers or whatever, you know, like, honestly, that feels like you know, this is just me talking and being me. Yeah, no. And like you, I had a playful element to mine as well. And I just like, you know, playful isn’t quite right. You know, they don’t actually need me to be playful. And I was like, huh, fun. I was like, well, they actually they, they don’t need me to be fun, either. I was like, Well, what is that they need me to be so I’m a very in it, you know, I have a lot of energy all the time, I kind of got life full tilt, and you know, those sorts of things. But they also, you know, people need that momentum and stuff. What is the word, and its energetic, vibrant, or enthusiastic it actually became. So what I did was I actually started to write similar words. Similarly, the source is your best friend, in this instance, because it’s like how we start to remove it from the cliche to becoming something that we own. So mine is vibrant, and enthusiastic.

Nicole Smith
Love that. Right?

Rowena Preddy
I’ve got cleverly creative, so I’m not just creative for the hell of it. I’m creative with a specific goal in a strategic solution in mind. Yeah, you know, and so by, by really starting to figure out what they need me to be, or you need me to be, or anyone that’s a potential client needs me to be an answer to those things. I drill it down to some really specific words. And I have, I’m in a different office today. But normally, I have them above my desk, because they become core to everything that I do. All of those reams of paper, all those business plans, all that stuff. You know, I’m a designer myself, those things apply, not just to my design, they apply to everything. Absolutely everything.

Nicole Smith
Oh, I love that I love that whole process is fabulous. And something that I think not everyone really realises when you say I’ve got a I’ve got a creative brand, they like go straight to logo, or colours or fonts. Whereas there’s so much more than my brothers in the branding and design space as well. So I fully understand what you do for your clients and how important it is. When you actually are in volved and go through these stages with you, the outcome is just so much more connected to you. And I love the word connection, because that’s a very much part of my process as well. And you can then take that forward in whichever direction you go. Because you know, you keep anchoring back in checking back in. Am I enjoying what I’m doing? You know, am I being creative, creatively creative right now? Or am I just designing something for the hell of it? No. Okay, pull it back in. So powerful.

Rowena Preddy
And it becomes this baseline. Yeah. And again, I also want to highlight to people that these are, they can be organic and live and changing as your business grows and stuff, it’s actually really important to check in, because if something’s not aligning, there’s a chance there’s been a shift. So for instance, I had the creative thing in there, but I had to put the cleverly thing and because I’ve moved a lot more into a strategic space over time. So that needed to be in there. So it just, it adapts and moves with you. If I move in a different direction as well, I may have to reassess. But the core still stays very similar. Yeah. And that really comes down to how you can implement it.

Nicole Smith
Yeah, that was going to be my next question. So we’ve gone through this beautiful experience with you to identify all these, these words and these connections. How does the practical element happen? Like, what do we do from now? Once we have that?

Rowena Preddy
I truly believe it can filter into every part of your business. Yeah, from how you write your emails, and how you respond to people. Is this email that I’m writing to someone kissing but or is it being really honest, coming back to that brand value, and a big part of this, for me now has been learning to check in with my gut, you know, if something doesn’t feel aligned, there’s a chance that probably doesn’t align with these values. You know, everything from writing a social media post, to jumping on a podcast call with someone to all of these different bits and pieces can come back to these core words, no, it doesn’t come back to a novel, it doesn’t come back to your business, it comes back to these core words, and it just gives you a daily check in for if what you’re doing is the right thing to be doing. And it gives you this filter, if I’m writing a social media post, and it feels a bit woowoo and I feel like I’m sort of forcing it and stuff like that, I might write about the same topic, but I might do it in a competent way, or a bold way, you know, I might just put a different twist on it. That then it gives you this level of consistency, that if people are going to see you there, and see you on your website, and see you on, you know, hear you talking on a podcast or see you speaking on a stage to 1000s of people, it all comes down to this core set of values, that people will connect with. Sure, people see stuff and they connect with what your visuals look like. But on an entirely emotive level, they’re gonna start to feel like they connect with you at what the centre of everything is.

Nicole Smith
Yeah. And it’s a wonderful, I’ve shared this a few times recently, but it’s because we’ve been started to go out into the world. I’m in Melbourne we’ve been locked down the last few years. But I’d go out and I’d meet people and they’d be like, oh, my gosh, Nicole, you’re exactly how I imagined you’d be. I’m like, is there any other way? But there is because you know, if you’re not truly connected, and I’m a very gut feel person as well, like I’m like, oh, just for right does not feel right. I

Rowena Preddy
I ignored it way too often. And shit hits the fan. Like it really does. Yeah, fine universe. I’ll tap back in.

Nicole Smith
I hear you now. All right, we’ll redirect you. I don’t want to stay in here. Amazing.

Nicole Smith
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Nicole Smith
So with with the branding, is there anything else like any sort of real key elements that you think if either wherever you are in your journey, if you’re right at the start, if you’re knowing that something’s not quite in alignment, are there any key things that we should be listening to ourselves to, you know, to bring it back in or pull it back into home?

Rowena Preddy
I think by going through this like I’m not kidding you I have post-it notes normally with these words reminding me of this, I created a backdrop on my phone that says these words as a reminder like it becomes like a checkin process. But I would say that you know, branding, whether it be your personal brand, whether it be you know, whatever part of brand, you know whether it’s your your logo or whatever, it’s stopping and taking that moment, and realising that it is meant to be an organic process, it’s meant to be something that, you know, ideally, yes grows with you. But sometimes you outgrow things, you know. So being having that level of awareness, I feel, or almost like just going, oh, just remember that, you know, just just sort of like, oh, yeah, I’ll just, I’ll check back in within that if I, if I find something else, I’ll put that on that pile, or when that pile gets a bit bigger, you know, I’m going to have to deal with that. So you know, it could be every time I go to, on my business card, or part of me dies. You know, it could be that you apologise for your website before you send someone to it, or you know, you go to talk on a subject and you feel uncomfortable, or whatever it is, check in with those things. And it’s almost like keeping tally, you know, and if things start to continually feel that way, it’s taking that moment to pause and figure out what what’s going to have the most immediate impact. You know, that’s a big thing I say to people, a lot of people think that getting a new logo is going to solve everything.

Nicole Smith
Yes. No, it does not. Yeah, I know. I was very fortunate when I started my business because my brother, as I mentioned, he, he did all my branding. And when you’ve known someone for as many years as your siblings, they know you quite well. So I walked into our we had a proper meeting in his office and walked in. And I actually had, I’ll just show you here, this glittery, pink rose gold notebook, and my laptop is rose gold. And literally, he’s like, oh, well, your colours are this. And I’m like yeah, yeah, that’s right.

Rowena Preddy
I’m exactly the same. This is my colour. Yeah, that’s my website and that’s my colour. Yeah. You know, as much as yellows on my websites. I love yellow, but I’m not comfortable wearing this colour. I have in a drink bottle, I have it in a coffee cup. I have it no laptop bag, I have it as pins. I have it as notebooks like, yeah, there’s certain things and this is why I’m such an advocate for a brand, especially for small businesses that have the potential to grow even and medium sized businesses. That is true to who you are. And part of the process that you need to do is actually know who you are.

Nicole Smith
Pretty important part. Yeah.

Rowena Preddy
And again, it’s ever changing and ever growing. Like I look back on who I was four years ago, I was a completely different person. Yep, you know. But having that awareness to check in.

Nicole Smith
Yeah. And allowing yourself to go through those evolutions as well, just because you may have, you know, invested x y z in a particular design. Six months ago, you know, if it’s not right, you’re gonna feel exactly like that. Oh, I don’t want to show you my website, because duh or my business card duh. You’re not going to feel confident in it. So yeah. Amazing. Well, is there anything else you want to share branding related before we jumped into our three questions, or just generally anything? We didn’t talk about your magazine. Can we talk about that. Sorry. I’m now telling you what we’re gonna talk about. I’d love you to share about it because I know that the beautiful Kathy Rast has been there and Suze Chadwick and Erica Kramer, there’s been some smart, lots of other people. But tell me a little bit about it, like, share with us when we find it as well?

Rowena Preddy
So you’ll be able to find us @brandyoumagazine pretty much across all the socials and on the website as well. So it came about because I was actually freaking lonely. Like I got a few years into my business and I, I was the annoying butterfly in the office that like literally just thrived of being surrounded by people. And at this point, I probably reached a fairly low point where I was surviving in my active wear and then just putting on fresh active wear to go to bed and waking up putting on fresh activewear you know, and it just started to lose a little bit of my shine that I rediscovered. And where I found it was by discovering people on platforms discovering people on Instagram, who gave me that burst of inspiration and energy and motivation. And at this time, I was in a coaching group. And it was all with like minded people. You know, it was all woman in business starting up, and I realised we had similar questions. You know, there was a lot of people, we were all at different stages, but at the same time, we all obviously had our various areas of expertise. So I felt I was able to help people in this way by imparting you know, what was just common knowledge to me, that worked in reverse as well. And I thought we need more of this, less of the competition, more of the collaboration more of the connection and that buzz you get from being surrounded by like minded souls. And yes, I love magazine design. And these two things were sitting separate in my world, I just found a way to put them together

Rowena Preddy
Can just see your hunting with both hands out. And all I just saw is this like, beautiful, rainbow thing, connect the two together and then like fireworks and tinsel and like that’s what I saw is like,

Rowena Preddy
Brand You magazine is that. It is a rainbow, it is fireworks, it is all the things that I love combined in one place. So as much as I do it for other people, I also kind of selfishly do it for myself as well, because it is brought so much brightness and colour and joy into my world by being able to connect with people that it’s one of those things, I actually get to meet some of my idols. So like, I’m a total fangirl, and I will you know what, this person would be perfect for this issue. So I actually come up with different themes. And a little thing that a lot of people don’t know is quite often that each issues theme has come from a personal journey I’m going through, or it’s an area that I’m really passionate about. But I’m really passionate then about finding the different ways that other people have incorporated it and really lean into into it. And that’s where brand you came from, like it’s my philosophy in design. And it’s my philosophy in life like branding who you are being who you are, is your most valuable asset and your business. And so these are all women that have really leaned into that. So for example, very first issue was together, I was feeling lonely. So the first issues theme was together. Of course it was, but it was the many different ways and it was the middle of COVID when this all went down. So there was a lot of uncertainty going on. And I really wanted to find different people. So I had Shree cloning on how she’s actually creating workplaces that are actually breaking down all that corporate bullshit we were talking about, yeah, no, you need to be the change that you want to say. I had a queer, flat, fat, sorry, a queer, fat, black woman with mental illness, who was unashamedly saying, This is who I am. And this is how I’m going to go out into the world. And this is the ways that I want to change the world, by bringing people together by fostering change. And so each issues got that theme. That means I’m not getting bored either. Which, you know, let’s be honest, we sometimes do have those moments, but if it’s something you’re passionate about, you’re not going to so I pick themes. So we’ve had the colourful theme, clearly I love colour, we’ve had profesh thing, which is all about professionals going in a different direction, you know, they’ve, you know, or maybe saying no to all the cliches and going on and completely have their own path. I’ve had the brave issue, which was inspired my dear friend Aaron, who went who unexpectedly and during her first breast screening found that she had breast cancer, you know, and I am surrounded by amazingly brave woman who are doing things in the everyday and a way that I could never under fully appreciate without hearing their stories. So we had the most recent issue we’ve just done was the feeling good issue. I was starting in a new year, I was amped I had all these things. I just wanted happy feelings. Like my my word for this year was joy. Love it. I wanted to find a way to bring that to people, you know, when we were in very uncertain times coming up, technically coming out the other side of COVID. What does the world need? What needs more joy? Ya know, it’s like create things and then I just find that many different ways that people people have celebrated that. Yeah, you know, and our latest issue, which is coming up weeks time, I get my stuff together. It is our biggest issue. Yeah, like physically and the people we have in it. And it is the Empower issue. And it’s amazing how so many different women have had all these range of different experiences and views on the world. But there’s really some common themes coming through that I’ve just have put me in the feels this one. So I’m know that everyone else is going to love it too.

Nicole Smith
And I think that, again, we’re coming back to connection word is really strong for me, I went on the huddle at the huddle over the weekend, which I shared with you before. And it was that same experience of the commonalities of all of the presenters and speakers, there was a real underlying theme coming through. And I love that’s what you you’re providing as well is a space for us as business owners, fabulous humans to come in and connect and see that it’s not just me. Other people are doing amazing things and going through the same similar same experiences, and look at what they’ve achieved, like to be able to connect him with that is such a powerful experience.

Rowena Preddy
Well, I definitely like that, again, I had to tap into this idea of values for the magazine. Yes, yeah, I had to do that. And then I added some practical ways that I could show that I was doing those things. So for instance, it’s free. It’s entirely free. Because I wanted this information to be accessible. And I also know that I have a lot of inbox things. And I wanted something that people would look forward to seeing pop into the inbox. I wanted to show diversity as much as I could. I wanted to also celebrate, like woman locally, like I miss hanging out with people locally. So I tried to make sure there was a local and each of our issues so I could see someone. So yeah, that was for me personally. But it was also to show that, you know, regional spaces have some of these amazing people as well. It’s not just about the main centres. And I wanted to show everyone from the smallest startup to like these, these people that you know, we are looking at those 10 steps ahead and show that we all have we’re all pivotably the same. Yeah, we are all pivotally, and if we can come together the magic that can happen.

Nicole Smith
Yeah, and you said earlier about trends, trends, words, oh, transitioning like competition away from that competition to connection. And I know that something that’s been a real strong focus for me from the get go. I’ve never I never see anyone as competition. And I, on the regular connect with people that do what I do. There’s not many of us. So every time I find someone I’m like, oh, yes. Let’s, let’s connect. I want to talk all the things. Let’s do it. And it’s such an empowering, there we go. Empower. You planted the seed. Say it’s there, you know, an empowering experience. So oh, well, I’m excited. So next one’s coming out soon. So we’re going to pop all those links in the show notes. So sign up. Wait, it’s all free. Thank you so much. We’re going to jump into our questions. Are you ready? Yes. Okay. What is your go to app that creates ease in your everyday

Rowena Preddy
Trello. Now, I’m not sure if people know what Trello is. But I think of it as a dumping ground for my thoughts. I use it in a variety of different ways. So I use it to manage projects, big projects with clients. And it’s a great space for communication. But I also use it as a kind of like a library for my thoughts. Yeah. So you know, when you have that idea, like how many of us like I’m not kidding you. I have piles of notes everywhere. And you scribble something like I need that one thing that was in that place. I put all that stuff in Trello now, yeah. So it’s like, I know, I’ve put it somewhere safe. So my brain can chill out and do the things it’s supposed to be doing. And I put it in that safe space. That might be another idea on social media post. It might be, you know, a new blog idea. It might just be like a single word. But I put it somewhere and it’s in one place.

Nicole Smith
A central hub. That’s what what does what we do here at The Artisan’s to help our businesses to create those central hubs. Right. And a real important part of it is having that car park zone. You know, you might wake up at two in the morning and you’ve got the thing in the brain that goes ding and you need to put it somewhere. So pop it on over into your place, fabulous. I think you might have answered this one but online, paper, hybrid to do lists lover.

Rowena Preddy
I am definitely a paper lover in the space. I spend so much time on screens. And to tell you the truth, technology and dings cause me a lot of anxiety. And I am also a bit of a squirrel on this case and it’s shiny object syndrome. And so I’ll be like, and I’ll instantly get distracted. Yeah, so for me, it is all about the pen and paper. And I am one of those people who will add things to the list just so I can tick it off.

Nicole Smith
There is a beautiful, like, the pen and paper take off or the cross out is yeah, it’s lovely

Rowena Preddy
I’m a print designer primate, like I started in print, you know, way back in the dinosaur days. Yeah. When print was what graphic design equaled basically because there was none of this online stuff, there was but it was big dollars. And so I was a print girl. So something about me for paper pen, it’s that level of focus. Hands down paper.

Nicole Smith
I just keep I imagine like in you know, magazine designed and gosh, there was a show I watch now forgotten ones anyway, one of the New York New York fashion magazines, and you got like it all on the walls, you know, pinned up I can imagine that and feeling it and yeah,

Rowena Preddy
You know what it is for me it’s and this is like I’ve worked at printers as well. And I’ve worked in-house where we’ve printed off reams of stuff through the printer. The smell of paper and ink. Yeah, is like my my mowing the grass like that. It’s that smell for me, like nobody else. And when I was communications manager, nobody else was allowed to open the box print because I had to get the first whiff, I love the smell paper and print.

Nicole Smith
So if you go missing we’ll just have to go down to our local print shop and you’ll be like just standing there.

Rowena Preddy
I worked in one when I was pregnant with my first and they keep like shooing me out like it must be bad for the baby out you go, out you go. And I’m like but it smells so good.

Nicole Smith
And heightens, you know, senses when you’re pregnant as well. So

Rowena Preddy
I’m a paper and print girl hands down like every single facet that you can imagine. Like I go into those, you know, the stationery shops, and I could spend hours in there and still buy nothing. Yeah, yeah. my happy place. Love it.

Nicole Smith
Okay, finally, what would you do if you created more space in your world?

Rowena Preddy
I would take more art classes. So do more. So I love clearly I love creating. But I also love learning and I love information. And I feel like having the freedom to do those things and just see where it goes is my favourite thing about those art classes. So it’s kind of like being given the rules and then be given permission to throw them out the window. I love that side of things. No, I’m the one I remember, I remember going to this amazing place where it had all the blank pottery stuff that you could paint yourself. Yeah. And we went with a bunch of like six year old girls, one of mine included. They had to go out wander around the town and come back so I could finish what I wanted to do.

Nicole Smith
I love it. That’s on my list of things to do. We’ve we’re very lucky. We’re right near the Robert Gordon pottery factory down here in Melbourne. And they do have a paint your own thing-ma-mobby. And that’s on my list to do. I can just Yeah. So good. I’ll send you a picture when I eventually do it.

Rowena Preddy
Well, I’ve always this is a this is a question. This is a reverse one. Let’s see what your answer. So my one of my questions I asked. I love asking people I feel like it really unearths a very similar way of thinking. So I love asking people, if tomorrow, what you do as a career was banned. Yeah. What would you do instead?

Nicole Smith
I’d be I’d lean more into my music and singing.

Rowena Preddy
And it kind of opens up those areas where you can lean into, I have a friend who’s an like, she works for a bank, and she’s brilliant at it. But she is also hands down one of the best home cooks I have ever, ever, ever ever eaten, and she is the most avid reader, she’s like, I’d open up a bookshop with my own little cafe. I’d come to that. Yeah, and I just feel like it opens up those areas, those untapped areas of okay, what else can I be doing? Mine would be art classes I would actually be I would open up a workshop space and bring an artist so I could learn it like from a purely selfish like I would get to do all the classes.

Nicole Smith
I could see you doing that? Yeah, never say never, watch this space. Well, thank you so much for joining me today. I’ve loved our conversation. Branding is such you know such a key thing to all businesses and humans even if you don’t have a business, knowing what your values are, it just really helps you to just make those decisions as educated decisions and those connected in decisions. So thank you so much.

Rowena Preddy
The more you know yourself, the more you can know your brand.

Nicole Smith
Exactly, exactly. Where can we find you? Where are you hanging out.

Rowena Preddy
So I hang out mainly on the gram, but mainly, so I can stalk reels of 11 o’clock at night when I should be sleeping. But you can find me there. So I’m @preddy with D’s not T’s @preddycreative, and @brandyoumagazine on all the socials and stuff like that. But one of my favourite ways of connecting with people these days, and I think it’s that level of realness that I connect with. I’m on LinkedIn. So please jump over on LinkedIn. And let’s connect in a very real way as well.

Nicole Smith
Yeah, I know, LinkedIn is an area that I need, I am planning and I am starting to play in a little bit more, which is really fabulous.

Rowena Preddy
Do you know what it is? Do you know what it is about LinkedIn? Yeah, this is like a complete side note. It feels like I want to go in there and give the giant middle finger to all that corporate bullshit.

Nicole Smith
Yes, yes,

Rowena Preddy
A big part of the LinkedIn space. And I’m really attracted to people who are doing that over there, like really using it in a creative and different way. And I feel like, it’s just got so much opportunity to do that, and celebrate what makes you new in your industry, it’s a really unique space to do it. And it’s a great space for people who don’t feel like they’re creative, like creative, necessarily, in a visual way. It’s there’s a lot of opportunities to do it in different ways on LinkedIn, as well.

Nicole Smith
And it just connects back in to your like, you know, it just shows that your, your values isn’t aren’t limited to the pretty Instagram stuff. It’s connected right deep into who you are, and how you communicate. And you shouldn’t, you know, put a buffer on that. You be you, you be you

Rowena Preddy
Warts and all

Nicole Smith
I love it. Ah, thank you. Well, all of those details are going to be over in the show notes. So please go in, connect with Rowena sign up for brand you magazine. It’s coming out soon. And again, thank you so much for joining me.

Rowena Preddy
Thank you.

Nicole Smith
Wonderful. Everyone who’s listening, have a fabulous rest of your day, and enjoy creating space and time freedom bye now. Well, there we go. Thank you so much for joining me today. It’s been such a pleasure having you on board. Have we connected on social yet? If not, please come on over say hi, I’m on all the platforms @theartisanssolutions. So I’d really look forward to seeing you over there. And if you enjoy today’s episode, don’t forget to tag me and I’d love it if you could leave a review. And of course share this with others so others can come and join us next time. All right, then everyone have a fabulous rest of the week. And until next time, see you then