Hey Circle,

Welcome to June!

It’s coming into midwinter here – a time of reflection before the rebirth, and I am making a big change in the Circle (more on that below). 

You might also notice that both of our calls this month are at the end of the month – this is because I’m currently undertaking a skin cancer treatment on my face, (which means I’ll look a little bit terrifying for a few weeks), so I’ve placed the calls when my face should be mostly healed.

I hope those of you in the North are enjoying your spring weather, and are feeling motivated!

Are you ready to tackle an important topic – money and pricing?

Let’s get to it…

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

It’s called Money Mindset, Management & Pricing

There are 3 modules, and 6 lessons:

• Money Mindset
  • Why you Need to Stop Feeling Bad about Charging Money for your Craft
  • How your Money Story Could be Holding you Back
• Money Management
  • Financial Analysis – Get on the Right Track!
  • How to Manage your Money Now You’re Self-Employed
  • Bookkeeping Basics for your Handmade Biz
• Pricing
  • The Art & Science of Pricing

By the end of this course:

• You will be clear on your Money Mindset, and how that might be holding you and your business back
• You will have assessed your current financial position and how you are managing and tracking your business expenses
• You will understand the art and science of pricing handmade goods

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 June – 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 Circle Doors are Closing…

The doors to the Thriver Circle are closing soon. 

Not for good! 

But for a good long while. 

Back in 2015, when I first opened the Circle, I used to open the doors for new members four times a year. 

This was wonderful – because every quarter, we had a new, fresh influx of enthusiastic makers-in-business, ready to grow their businesses together! 

But, after a few years, I found the pace of ‘launching’ the Circle every quarter to be a bit overwhelming. 

So, I threw open the doors, and recommitted to having it available at all times. 

Which was wonderful in other ways – especially because it meant that you could join whenever the time was right for YOU. 

But – it also meant that I had to always be marketing. 

And – as a business owner yourself – you know how draining marketing can be. 

This year, I revamped the Circle, and relaunched a new and improved space for makers to come together and learn from me and each other in a supportive community. 

I’m so happy with how the Circle is now… but honestly? 

I’m also burnt out on the endless content marketing treadmill. 

So – I’ve decided to change things up. 

I want to keep devoting my time and energy to those of you inside the Circle – to keep showing up on live calls, answering your questions in our forum, creating courses and content for you, and helping our creative community to keep thriving. 

And in order to do that, I’m slowing down a bit on my free content for the rest of this year. 

I’m not sure exactly what that’s going to look like – but what I DO know is that I am going to close the Circle to new members for a while, so I can devote my time and energy to those of you who have chosen to work with me inside that space. 

So, as of June 15th, the doors to the Thriver Circle will be closing. 

I may possibly open them one more time before the end of the year, but I’m not 100% sure on that right now. 

This is a transitional time for my business, and I want to be open and honest with you as to what that looks like. 

We don’t always have to have all the answers right now – even when we’ve been in business for over 15 years, like I have. 

Business is about constantly learning and experimenting, and trying new things to see what works – for both us and our customers. 

And what is working for me right now is to take my foot off the free content creation treadmill that I’ve been on for over 10 years. 

I want to spend my time and energy on YOU – you who have chosen to work with me, who have chosen to trust me to help you grow a thriving business. 

I’ll be announcing this publicly tomorrow, but I wanted to give you a heads-up first, so you know what’s happening.

See you in the Circle,

Jess x

Start the new course here.

RSVP for the live calls on Facebook here:

• Call #1
• Call #2

Hey Circle,

Welcome to May!

We’re quickly approaching the middle of 2025, and time is whizzing by.

How is your business going so far this year? It’s been a tough one for many. 

Remember – don’t hesitate to come into the Circle Facebook Group any time you need some help or advice on your business – that’s what it’s there for! 

We have that group not only so I can answer your questions, but so you can find support from your fellow makers. No matter what challenge you’re facing in your business, chances are some of us have faced the same thing.

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

It’s called Fundamentals of Selling & Launching Online

There are 3 modules:

• Online Business Models
• Product Photography
• How to Develop & Launch a New Product Line

By the end of this course:

• You will know which business model suits you
• You’ll be clear on the importance of product photography, and know the basics of how to take and edit quality product photos
• You’ll understand how to plan and implement a product launch

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 May – 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

We have just begun working through The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron inside the Circle!

If you’d like to join us, further information is here.

We have just started with a preparatory week – everything in the book up to the start of ‘Week 1’.

We have a course chat inside the Thriver Circle Facebook Group – look for the Chats section and for the chat with the lightbulb icon to join in.

I will be posting in the FB group at the start of each week as a reminder of what lesson we’re up to that week!

LIVE CALL: We are having a live call on Zoom for those of us participating in The Artist’s Way at the start of Week 2 of the course (so we can review the Preparatory week and Week 1). 

This will be at the following time, and I will put a link in the Artist’s Way chat inside the Thriver Circle Facebook group before it begins:

• Aus: 10:30 am AEST on the 20th of May
• USA: 8:30 pm EDT on the 19th of May
• UK: 1:30 am BST on the 20th of May

RSVP for the call here.

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

See you in the Circle,

Jess x

P.S. Start the new course here.

RSVP for the live calls on Facebook here:

• Call #1
• Call #2

What’s happening in the Thriver Circle Forum

• Julia shared a lovely Brand Board that she made after taking the April course! Go check it out and give her your feedback. (Search for ‘FINLAND’).
• Cynthia is looking for a simple google sheet or excel template for tracking inventory – do you have any suggestions? (Search ‘INVENTORY’)

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 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.