Hey Circle,

Welcome to April!

I’m back from my holiday, which was lovely (despite being home 2 days late thanks to a delayed boat and flooded highway!).

We had an awesome live call yesterday on my first day back to work, which you might like to watch the replay of – lots of members sharing their stories about what we’re working on and working around in life right now.

This month, our focus is on branding – and also, preparing to work through The Artist’s Way for anyone who’s interested – more info below…

We’re starting a NEW course inside the Thriver Circle today!

 

It’s called Building your Business Brand

There are 4 modules:

• What’s your Brand Promise?
• Branding Details
• Craft your About Page
• Craft your Social Profile

By the end of this course:

• You will know what your Brand Promise is;
• How to communicate this to your customer through your brand assets;
• Have created a Brand Board so all your info is in one easy-to-access spot; and,
• Have used your Brand Promise as the basis to craft customer-facing copy (like your about page and social profiles) to attract your Ideal Customers.

The course is available now, so you can do it all in one day, or spread it out over the month – it’s up to you.

We will be discussing and focussing on this course here in the Circle throughout April – including 2 live coaching calls with me and your fellow Circle members (dates and times below).

If you have any questions or thoughts you’d like to share that pop up while you’re taking this course – make sure to come over and share with us in the private members-only Facebook Forum!

 

The Artist’s Way

 

If you would like the opportunity to work through The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron in a group setting, here is your chance!

Starting on May 5th, and running for the 12 weeks of the course outlined in the book, we are going to be working through The Artist’s Way.

BEFORE WE BEGIN

You will need to get a hold of a copy of The Artist’s Way. It is a very well-known and popular book, so should be easy to get from the library or second-hand. It’s also available as an audiobook on Spotify & Audible (though you may find a written copy more helpful to work through the exercises).

I recommend that you read the Preface, Introduction, Spiritual Electricity & The Basic tools section before we begin.

I also encourage you to get started with Morning Pages (and possibly Artist’s Dates) as soon as you get the book to get you into the swing of things.

WHEN WE START

We’ll begin Week 1: Recovering a Sense of Safety on May 5th.

I haven’t done this before myself – I haven’t even read anything past what I’ve listed above, so we’ll be discovering this together!

I have created a Chat in the main FB group – so anyone who wants to join us for the course, please join that chat, and that’s where the course conversation will happen.

Also, please RSVP here so I know who is taking part.

I will be posting in the FB group at the start of each week as a reminder, with that week’s lesson.

Ideally, we’d have a Zoom call each week, too – but it comes down to who joins us for the course, and what time zones you’re all in – if I can choose a time that works for everyone, I’ll set it, otherwise we might have to vary the times each week and you might only make every second or third call.

I’m excited to work through this, and I hope you join me!

See you in the Circle,

Jess x

What’s happening in the Thriver Circle Forum

• What’s happening in the Thriver Circle Forum

  • Cynthia is looking for a simple google sheet or excel template for tracking inventory, so if you can help, please chime in. (Search for ‘INVENTORY’).
  • Karla is looking to buy a custom stamp of her logo – do you have any suggestions? (Search ‘STAMP’)
  • Judy has been having issues uploading her large mockup files to Etsy – have you had this experience, also? (Search ‘MOCKUP’).

P.S. To find the above posts in the Facebook forum, just look for the magnifying glass symbol, then enter the suggested search term to find the relevant post.

Hey Circle,

Welcome to March!

The year is well underway, and I’m sure that those of you in the Northern Hemisphere are starting to enjoy the first blush of spring, which might be helping to motivate you this month, with brighter, longer days.

Here in Queensland we are enjoying a cool change as autumn starts to sweep away the heat and humidity of summer – though we do possibly have a tropical cyclone hitting us later this week (an incredibly unusual thing this far south), so we’re all keeping an eye on that.

We’re starting a NEW course inside the Thriver Circle today!

It’s called How to Attract & Delight Your Ideal Customer

There are 3 modules:

• Discover Your Ideal Customer
• The Right Marketing for Your Business Model
• How to Craft Your Perfect Thank-You Message

By the end of this course:

• You will learn how to determine who your ideal customer is; 
• How best to approach your marketing to attract them to your business;
• And, how to delight them with your customer service.

The course is available now, so you can do it all in one day, or spread it out over the month – it’s up to you.

We will be discussing and focussing on this course here in the Circle throughout March – including 2 live coaching calls with me and your fellow Circle members (dates and times below).

If you have any questions or thoughts you’d like to share that pop up while you’re taking this course – make sure to come over and share with us in the private members-only Facebook Forum!

 

Tech Update

Just a quick note that a few people have told me about issues with some of the course quizzes not marking correct answers as ACTUALLY correct. 

I am going to go in and fix this, and aim to avoid this issue in future.

Part of the ‘joys’ of using new software is working out the kinks! 

Unfortunately, if I have to edit the quiz, it means that it deletes all the ‘attempts’ that students have previously made, which may mean that you see a quiz you previously completed jump back to being incomplete.

So if this has happened to you, my apologies, and if any of these errors happen again after Tuesday this week with any of the course quizzes, please let me know so I can make sure to fix all the bugs (just to give me a bit of a window to get them fixed).

Thanks!

 

HOLIDAY NOTICE

This month Nick and I are taking 2 weeks of holiday!

Our last proper holiday was QUITE a while ago, so we’re really looking forward to a lovely Autumn break. 

No doubt we’ll be spending a lot of time in the garden, but we’re also heading to Heron Island for 5 days of snorkelling, reading, eating buffet breakfasts, and being completely offline.

Therefore, I will be unavailable from Friday March 14 to Sunday March 30th. 

I’ll be back to work on the 31st (just in time for our second coaching call!), and will catch up on any questions you have for me then.

Of course, Penny will be available in the group and monitoring my email if there’s anything you need help with during this time! Just tag her (Penny Clarkson) if you need any help.

I hope to come back refreshed and ready for a big few months – including Set Up Shop, which is running in May this year.

See you in the Circle,

Jess x

What’s happening in the Thriver Circle Forum

• Katie introduced us to Notion (project planning software) and we set up a Notion chat for anyone who’s interested in giving it a go! (Search for ‘NOTION’ and if you’d like to join the Notion chat, you can find it under ‘Chats’ in the right sidebar of the Facebook group on desktop).
• Susan asked how to deal with scam emails on Etsy (search ‘SCAM’)
• Stacey is shutting up her personalised gift business to move on to other things, so if you’re in Australia and in the market for a ‘business in a box’ look for her post (search ‘TROTEC’).
• Liz mentioned a new handmade marketplace she’s keeping an eye on in the USA (search ‘Mayhem’).
• I shared that I’ve been doing Morning Pages from The Artist’s Way for a while now, and am planning to work through the book/program starting in April – if you’re interested in joining in on this, look for this post and share your interest (search ‘Morning Pages’).

P.S. To find the above posts in the Facebook forum, just look for the magnifying glass symbol, then enter the suggested search term to find the relevant post.

Hey Circle,

Welcome to February!

And a special welcome to our new members – it’s so lovely to have you with us. 

(New members, if you haven’t already, make sure to take your site tour here so you know where to find all your resources!)

This month, we’re all about creating a VISION and a PLAN for your business in 2025.

If you’re not already in the swing of things with your business, I’m guessing that this month is when you’re really aiming to get the year going.

With that in mind, we’re starting a NEW course inside the Thriver Circle today!

It’s called The Next 12 Months: Vision & Planning

There are 4 modules:

• Your Vision for the Year Ahead
• How to Plan the Year Ahead
• The Top 3 Priorities Planning Method
• Maintaining Momentum (The Power of a Planning Day)

By the end of this course, you will:

• Know where you want to be in your business by the end of 2025
• Know how to best plan the year to achieve these goals
• Have broken down each of your top 3 priorities into Quarterly, Monthly, and Weekly tasks
• Have learnt about the power of Planning Days, and have them scheduled into your calendar so you don’t veer off-course!

The course is available now, so you can do it all in one day, or spread it out over the month – it’s up to you.

We will be discussing and focussing on this course here in the Circle throughout February – including 2 live coaching calls with me and your fellow Circle members (dates and times below).

If you have any questions or thoughts you’d like to share that pop up while you’re taking this course – make sure to come over and share with us in the private members-only Facebook Forum!

As Leanne (one of our foundation members who’s been with us since 2015) said in our live call the other day – ‘there are no stupid questions, never hesitate to come over and ask any question in the group, they’re such a lovely collection of people!‘.

I agree! That’s what the forum is for – so you can share your thoughts and ask any business question and have me and the other members chime in with our answers and support.

Hope to see you there!

Jess x

Start the new course here.

RSVP for the calls on Facebook here:

• Call #1
• Call #2

January Chats in the Thriver Circle Forum

• Leanne Hewens shared her new product – something I’ve never seen before – have you?. (Search BRASS).
• Liz Charlesworth asked – if you use TikTok for marketing, and are in the US – what’s your plan moving forward? (Search TIKTOK).
• Katie Bucktrout asked if anyone uses Notion to manage your business? (Search NOTION).
• I shared my word of the year and encouraged you to share yours, too! (Search STRONGER).
• Kriket Broadhurst asked if any other Aussies are selling on Madeit – and how you find it working for you? (Search MADEIT.)

P.S. To find the above posts in the Facebook forum, just look for the magnifying glass symbol, then enter the suggested search term to find the relevant post.

Hey Circle – welcome to the new-look website for 2025!

I wanted to give you a heads-up on what’s changed before we dive into another year of learning.

I’ve also recorded a video of the changes, which you can watch at the end of this post!

 

Redesign

You’ve probably noticed that the site has fresh new branding – I hope you like the new look!

My goal was to bring it more into line with my broader Create & Thrive branding, while also giving the Circle it’s own feel.

This branding includes a new logo, colours, workshop covers and icons, our course colours, etc.

You will notice that all the workshops still have the old branding – as recording 56 new videos was a bit beyond my capabilities in one month!

 

Courses

You now have access to a NEW courses section on the site!

Right now, you’ll find 2 courses available: Handmade Business Fundamentals & Your Year to Thrive.

Yes! If you want to re-take YYTT, it’s now right here on the site.

Handmade Business Fundamentals and most future courses (there are many more coming) are available on-demand – you can do them in your own time.

However, YYTT is still a year-long course, and from the date you complete your first lesson, you’ll get access to a new lesson weekly.

I have plans to release a new course every month in 2025, and probably more beyond that!

Most courses will include the currently available workshops – but they will be arranged around a theme (such as Pricing, or Marketing) and they will have added Quizzes to reinforce your learning, and a Certificate of Completion that you can download when you’re done!

I hope that this will make the content in the Circle more accessible, useful, and motivating to complete!

(You can access the courses from your Account page, or from the Resource Library – and start them whenever you’re ready!)

Themes

Alongside our new courses, I will be giving each month a ‘Theme’.

For 2025, each theme will have a corresponding course to complete.

I’ll also be sharing regular info in the Facebook Group throughout the month to educate and motivate you related to that month’s theme!

We’ll also have live coaching calls where we’ll dive into what we’re studying.

 

Live Calls

There will now be 2 live coaching calls each month.

This will be your chance to:

1. Apply for a Business Intensive or Critique

2. Hop on and work on theme-related topics

3. Ask me general business questions

We don’t have any other regularly scheduled live events lined up at this stage, but that is subject to change!

 

Account Page & Cancellation Process

I have switched the site over to new membership software, which has enabled me to update some areas of the site (such as offering the courses).

This also means you will now see and ‘Account’ page when you log in.

On this page, you will see links to manage your ‘Payments’ and ‘Subscriptions’. HOWEVER!

Because I wanted to let you all continue to pay the old membership price, these links won’t be active to you (unless you leave and come back in future, signing up through the new software). Unfortunately, there was no way around this.

Therefore, in order to cancel, you have to do so using another method.

You have 2 options (which are outlined on this page, but I’ll pop them below for your reference, too).

1. You can simply email me and I will process your cancellation for you.

2. You can cancel your subscription via Paypal following the steps below, and I will then manually remove your access to the Thriver Circle membership.

Here’s how to find your automatic payments on the PayPal website:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Click Payments.
3. Select Automatic payments.
4. Select your payment for the Thriver Circle.

I was really hoping you’d all be able to access the new Account features, but there was no way to make it work without forcing you to cancel and re-subscribe. And, as I’m moving the pricing going forward into USD, this would have meant you couldn’t keep the price you’re currently paying, which was not acceptable to me.

 

Apply for a Member Spotlight

I will be sharing 1-2 Thriver Circle members each month as part of a NEW Member Spotlight feature!

This will be shared inside the Circle – but also publicly on my Create & Thrive social channels.

In order to be considered for a feature, you can apply here. 

 

New Denied Access Message

If you happen to visit the site or be directed to a piece of members-only content from the Facebook group or emails when you are not logged in, you’re going to see a new message pop up directly on that peice of content!

It will encourage you to sign in, and there will be a log-in form DIRECTLY on that page, so you don’t have to click away to log in before coming back to the content – hurrah! You just log in right there and the content will pop up.

 

Relaunch & Giveaway!

I still have a bunch of work to do in order to get the site ready for fresh new members later this month, but as far as I know, everything should be functional for you now!

If you come across any bugs, PLEASE let me know – either by email, or in the Facebook group – so I can fix it up.

Now, I will be re-launching later this month, and as part of that, I’m running a HUGE 10-day, 10th anniversary giveaway!

All giveaways will be open to YOU – so you could win free months of membership, 1-1 sessions with me, free access to Set Up Shop or Wholesale Know-How – and more!

I will be giving you plenty of notice, but FYI, I’ll be running these daily giveaways in the NEW free Create & Thrive Facebook group that I announced late last year.

I won’t be very active in this group outside of this giveaway extravaganza (because I dedicate my time to YOU, my lovely Circle!) but it will be a lovely place where you can connect with the wider Create & Thrive community!

You can join the group here.

Whew, that was an epic update! I hope I remembered to tell you all the important changes, but let me know if anything is still unclear.

I’m really excited to dive into another year with you in this fresh space – here’s to our best year yet!

Jess x

Have you ever considered selling your products via subscription?

I have done just that.

Many years ago, I ran an Earring-of-the-Month Club, which was quite successful.

Customers could sign up for a monthly subscription, or they could buy 3, 6, or 12 month subscriptions (which made great gifts!).

In this workshop, I’ll tell the story of why I started the club, how I ran it, and why I eventually wound it up.

I also outline some reasons why you might like to consider offering some form of subscription for your own products, and how to go about doing so!

 

Live Online Workshop for members of the Thriver Circle

Thursday the 31st of October at 10:30am Brisbane, Australia time (AEST).

Not a member? Join the Circle here to participate in this workshop.

Find out all the other benefits of membership here.

If you haven’t already seen, I’ve made it super-easy to see ALL of the workshops that are available inside the Thriver Circle, you can check them out right here.

If you’re finding this after the workshop has completed, you can still access the recording – right now! – by becoming a member of the Circle!

Hope to see you there!

Jess