#16 - Moon Landings, Whimsy and ASMR

Another Audio only one this week as the Allegedly Thriving team try and catch up with other outstanding tasks!

This week’s episode starts exactly where you’d expect from Allegedly Thriving: warmed toilet seats, “moon landings,” and a rant about heated steering wheels… before it swings into something genuinely wholesome.

Issy’s thriving after a heart-melting morning recording a podcast with teens from a special educational needs school—nerves, excitement, and pure presenter energy included. The studio finally feels like it’s working, and Issy finds a note she wrote last year that perfectly described where she is now (manifesting: unfortunately real).

Then it’s back to the chaos:

• the “30 Days of Whimsy” challenge (including the day that involves confetti… absolutely not)
• the unsettling question: can you enjoy ASMR if you find out the creator is dead?
• which celebrity deaths would actually hit hardest
• and the very real business problem: being sick of making your own content while still doing it for everyone else

Martin’s solution: treat yourself like a client—plan in batches, test formats, compare results, and stop trying to create everything today.

They wrap with a quick check-in on podcasting, structure, and whether they’ll be thriving or surviving next week (Issy can feel the overwhelm “in her waters”).

Thanks for listening to Allegedly Thriving and for coming along for the inevitable detours.

If you want to learn more about the two potentially unhinged presenters:

Martin - Photographer and Owner of Terry Harrison Art: Martin Newham Photography  and TerryHarrisonArt

Issy - Director, Owner and all round Digital Genius:  Howell Studios and Howell Media

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Um I get them back next week. Sorry, this week I get them back on Thursday. Very nice. So um there was we had a folder with shit in.

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Here we go.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

So uh while you're doing that, I can say welcome to the allegedly thriving podcast.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Oh my god, you're doing the intro.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

And this is a podcast where we talk stop ruining it with your mic twiddling. This is a podcast where we talk about whether we are thriving or surviving in the magical world that is business and life, and generally being an adult. So yeah, that's what we do. I'm Izzy, by the way.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

And I'm Martin.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Yes, yes, you are. And this is an intro that I've just thought of on the top of my head.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

And and I I guess we used to be two separate businesses, and technically we still are, but they have merged as one. Now we kind of come as a package, because on the ground floor is everything to do with Izzy, and sitting there in the little troll cave upstairs is the photographer me.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Yeah, we're in the same world, and we just blatantly just say, Yeah, we've got a photography studio. We don't really mention you.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

So we normally start the podcast asking each other, at least eventually asking each other, whether we are thriving or surviving in the last week. So, Izzy, are you thriving or surviving?

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Right now? It's a what day is it? It's Monday today.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

It's a Monday, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

So reflect. But we did one on Wednesday, didn't we?

SPEAKER_00 1:25

We did. Well, I'm just gonna override you because you're being annoying. I'm thriving. Oh, and one of the reasons I'm thriving was because of this morning. Oh because that recording we did this morning with those kids.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

It was the most heartwarming thing in the world.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

Oh it was just the best.

SPEAKER_01 1:40

Yeah, and that was the one that you were all like about beforehand, and then you actually did it, and you were you I knew your heart would be warmed. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Your cold icy shell of a heart was melted and defrosted, and you I edit this, and that's not going in. Your heart, your heart grew three sizes this morning.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Oh, it was so wholesome.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

It was so lovely. So for for context, um uh How Wall Studios, my business, has been working with um a special educational needs school um who have young children at the school which are aged two to nineteen, and those children that came in today, I say children, they were about 17, 18, um, but with learning difficulties and physical difficulties and all sorts of stuff. And they were tasked with recording a podcast and they went away and planned it all and wrote their little scripts.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

And Shadow de Villarreal, they were amazing.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

Oh my god, they were incredible. Like those kids were just like, oh god, you know what it is. It's like you just want you you just feel warm inside.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

Their excitement, the nerves before when they're getting started, and then the fact that as soon as they started, they were right in there and absolutely loving it. And you could see them channeling all of the TV presenters that they'd seen before.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Oh, yeah, I love it. It was fantastic because I because obviously I went to meet them beforehand, like about a month ago, maybe a couple of weeks ago, I can't remember. And obviously, you or my dad hadn't hadn't met them before, and I was like, We have to do so, we have to give them everything we have. And you obviously helped, dad helped, but I was like, I think I I knew what was coming, but I think you two probably didn't know what to expect. But like, I was like, This is gonna seriously hit you right in the feelings.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Nah, it was brilliant, very heartwarming and just very motivating. And I think you should do more of that.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

Yeah, well, I do I do want to do more with young people. We've done a lot of work, I've done a lot of work with young people in the past. My mum actually said the words, Izzy's gonna be a teacher eventually. And I was like, eventually, that implies that I'm not doing this, and that's not gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

But yeah, you do coaching and training, you don't do teaching.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

No, but my mum has been a teacher for like 30 years or whatever, but like Does she listen to the podcast?

SPEAKER_00 3:51

No, she wasn't. Then she's quite jaded as well, isn't she?

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Yeah, you know what? You know what my mum and my brother said about my podcast that I have with my dad that has had eight seasons that I've been doing for six years. Yeah. I'd rather cut my ears off than listen to that. That's nice of them. And they've never listened to it. So I can say whatever the fuck I want about them.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

Oh, this is a good test. Find out if they're a secret find out if they're secretly what listening. Well, you've got to be. And they just don't need to know you've met my mum. And I've just called her jaded. So, you know.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

She's scary.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

She wasn't scary.

SPEAKER_01 4:22

She's got the propensity to be scary. I would suggest that's why I'm actually scared to even talk about her.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

I would suggest your mother is not scary to a non-howl.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Okay, she wasn't scary to me. But anyway. Yes. So um, so yes, I'm so that was a thriving moment. Yeah, no, I was thinking the reason why I was deep in thought about what day it was and when we last recorded was I was trying to work out what my thriving barometer is for the particular time that I'm thinking of. And I think I am thriving.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

Excellent.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Because it's like I have something I mean, God, I'm not gonna do it here, but I do have something mushy to show you, which is really cute.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

But no, it's basically I really wish we were filming this one now because your face is my face was it was it was a combination of fear, anxiety, worry, that's what people feel when they talk to me.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

But so the re the reason what I was gonna show you was is that I don't even have to show you, I could I will show you, but but will I? I don't know. You will take the piss out of me. So what I'm gonna show you is last year in June time, maybe, um, when I was going for an investment and the the studio was like a thing in my mind that I wanted to create. I did one of those um I was in like a I went to like a like a training thing where I was I wasn't I was attending it, I wasn't presenting in it. And the whole thing was to like visualize where you want to be in a year and where well not a year but where you see yourself and to write it as if it's happening. And I wrote two pages, or like front and back on a note sheet sheet of paper that basically perfectly described where I am right now. Fantastic. And I found it in my old handbag when I was going through some stuff like three days ago, and I read it after we'd obviously it was after we'd done all of this in the studio, and I was like, Oh my god, it came true. So, manifesting works, people. Look it up.

SPEAKER_00 6:26

But look, you we've built something really good here, really special.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

It feels really good. It feels uh the reason I am thriving, I'm I'm not overwhelmed currently, which is nice.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

Yeah, I think this is the first week actually working in it, and I've gotten so much work done this morning.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Good, it's been great. You no longer co-work, obviously.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Yeah, I don't co-work anymore. I mean, I well haven't been co-working for about three months, I've just been paying for it.

SPEAKER_01 6:56

Um sitting in my office.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

And sitting in your office, yeah. But no, you know, I getting loads done, did a gig over the weekend, which was free, but it was good to meet and network with a bunch of people. I've engaged with a load of people last week. Um, you know, I've got um somebody on who I'm gonna be actively coaching so I can practice on my coaching side of stuff as well. I'm developing my coaching products, so for me it's going well.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

Look at us. You look at previous episodes where me and you are literally like, oh my god, everything's terrible.

SPEAKER_00 7:26

And it's day nine of sharing pictures of me mug online, so I get more comfortable with it. Well, I mean, apparently it's really not that difficult because after day three, I was like, okay, I can now start talking, and then by day six, I'll put a shirtless picture of myself up.

SPEAKER_01 7:39

You went quite bold there, I think.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

I was I was I I was feeling a vibe. Although I did I did turn it into an educational piece because it does dramatically show the impact posing and lighting does.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

It did, or were you just flexing a little bit?

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Not physically, but like were you just sort of it was 95% educational and probably five percent little flex.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

Then you got it.

SPEAKER_00 8:03

Oh little bit of a flex. Why not? You know?

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Yeah, yeah. Well, no, good for you. I I um I I I've been enjoying it. I think I think not enjoying it. I've been I I'm enjoying it for you. I I'm digging a hole.

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Um that's a really big hole.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

I'm not gonna give you a ladder.

SPEAKER_01 8:25

No, okay, I'll stay here. Um what I was gonna say that I actually saw something on Pinterest the other day, and I thought I have seen this 30-day challenge, and I thought, ooh, I'd love to give this a go, but I don't want to piss on your parade. I don't want to copy you.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

No, do it.

SPEAKER_01 8:42

No, once I'm not copying each other, do it. The thing that I saw, right? And I feel like I'm at it's actually quite a fun idea, she says. It's actually it I mean, nine days in.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

The point of mine, one I haven't said it's a 30-day challenge, it's just a challenge until I get comfortable. And secondly, my you said after day three you were. Yeah, but I've realized because I'm not I'm not I'm I'm apathetic about seeing my face online now, that's fine, which is why I escalated it to body.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

Don't go any lower, it's like naked attraction.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

No, no. Um no keeping it PG.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

Look at what the lighting did. He's a little praun. That is before and after. Carry on.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

And as you can see, this can cast a giant shadow.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

That's what I mean. Just don't work further down the body. No, so the the thing that I've seen, right?

SPEAKER_00 9:42

Sorry, two seconds. Now say that, because that means I can cut the last bit.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

You will not. So the thing that I've seen, right, is this thing called, which I want to do, which is called 30 days of whimsy. Okay. But the 30 days, right, every single day has got something different. And I thought what I should do is I should do the thing it's telling me to do, and then just kind of review whether I felt whimsical or something.

SPEAKER_00 10:04

What kind of thing? So if if we if we were both to do the 30-day whimsical challenge. We could do it together. What would be day one of the 30-day whimsical challenge?

SPEAKER_01 10:14

Drink your morning coffee or tea outside.

SPEAKER_00 10:17

What and film it?

SPEAKER_01 10:18

Yeah. Number two, wear something colourful. Kind of already do that. Number three, watch the sunset.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

Okay, so what I would suggest is let's do this at a different time of year.

SPEAKER_01 10:30

Number four, add fresh flowers to your space. Number five, use your favourite mug. Number six, write a love note to yourself. Number seven, watch a movie with popcorn in the world.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

Oh god, I'd be bored even watching these.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

Number eight, compliment someone you don't know.

SPEAKER_00 10:46

Do you know what it is? You do the whimsy thing, um, and I'll find something else.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

That's the most polite fuck you ever heard. Well, there's things like use a fun word all day long.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

I'm very much look, I'm I'm very much in the vein of you have one life, let's live it, do what you want. And I've realized very quickly what I don't want to do is spend 30 days putting pictures of whimsy.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Day 23 would really piss you off.

SPEAKER_00 11:14

Oh, go on, what's day 23?

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Add a sprinkle of confetti to your desk.

SPEAKER_00 11:18

Fuck that.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

And oh I know.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Oh that's being written by somebody who's never had to clean up confetti from their desk.

SPEAKER_01 11:24

Oh my god, 28, you'd hate me more than you already do. Uh say goodbye with a rhyme. No, I can I can see you later, alligator.

SPEAKER_00 11:32

I can do that. That's fine. I don't mind that.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Smile at yourself in the mirror.

SPEAKER_00 11:38

Okay, but but if you do that one, if you do that one, can I do a behind-the-scenes secret filming of you filming yourself smiling?

SPEAKER_01 11:46

Is it whimsical or is it creepy?

SPEAKER_00 11:48

It's creepy, but I want to film that.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

Make a wish at 1111, but then but then also so some of these are literally make a wish. That's like what 10 seconds of your day, but then like two days later, you've got to try a new hobby. Like, bloody hell, that's quite a big thing to do. And then you've got like um c uh take a photo of something beautiful, obviously myself.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Um Do you think do you think somebody just sits there and goes to chat GPT? I need 500 lists of 30-day things, um, and then post them all on Pinterest and then hope that somebody does.

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Okay. Day 27, decorate with twinkle lights.

SPEAKER_00 12:28

Have you ever taken a walk just to wander? You you get five minutes in and then you go, Where am I going?

SPEAKER_01 12:33

Yeah, you get five minutes in and go, How do I get home? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

No, you just kind of I I I got up the other day, so I was an early start and everything like that, and I didn't want to go to the gym, so I thought I'll just go for a bit of a walk. And I realized after ten minutes I was literally just walking for the sake of walking. I didn't have a destination in mind. There were no coffee shops open, there wasn't anywhere to go. I just turned around and came home.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

Did you feel whimsical though?

SPEAKER_00 12:54

No.

SPEAKER_01 12:55

No, but that's the thing, like women I don't walk for the sake of just walking because I'm like I like a destination. I don't like surprises. I like to know that if I walk, I'm going to end up somewhere. I like a journey. Life's a climb, but the view is great. Says Hannah Montana in 2008.

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Oh, okay, cool, cool. Good old Hannah Montana.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

Yes, but oh go to our list. Consult our list.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Consult our list.

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Because I added something on the weekend, which I realized that if anyone saw the list that I'm forming for your um for podcast topics, would think I'm actually mentally insane.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

In in fairness, there were a few things here that we covered last time on the recording that failed. So, first of all, you have got Okay, so there are three things I'm gonna read out and we can discuss them. Okay. There's one called ASMR and Dead People.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

Yes, I can discuss that again because I actually revisited that recently.

SPEAKER_00 13:48

The the second was the recent decline of vegetable discovery.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

Uh and the third one, uh, I think is new, which is how Elon should spend his trillions.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Brackets.

SPEAKER_00 13:58

Side note on animal head torture. Honestly, last last week we actually talked a little bit about business, and I got a horrible feeling that this week we're right back into the shit.

SPEAKER_01 14:11

Right. So where do you want me to start?

SPEAKER_00 14:13

Let's go with ASMR and dead people.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

So obviously I've told you this before, but I I can update you on on how things are going.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

You told me, but we lost that recording.

SPEAKER_01 14:22

Exactly. So basically, I you know ASMR.

SPEAKER_00 14:26

I do.

SPEAKER_01 14:27

The thing people listen to or watch that makes your brain switch off a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

So I found that one of the ways that my brain can switch off is if I watch those like soap videos on YouTube. I went down a rabbit hole once and never came out of it, which is basically where people like cut soap up and then just like slice it up. And it just is really satisfying to watch, right? Look, I'm an educated woman, this is how I switch off. That's fine. And um and you're watching it, and your brain just kind of goes, ooh, and then it forgets everything else you're doing for that very moment, and you're like, that's actually quite nice. But I've been watching this lady who you don't see, you just see her hands over a table, and she's always got nice nails, and she's like chopping and doing all these things with these soap bars, and it's really nice, and she's like smooshing them and squishing them and all sorts, and you're like, Oh, that's satisfying. But I then realized she hadn't posted for like a day. You're gonna sneeze. Bless you. I had I realized she hadn't posted for like a year, and I was thinking, oh, this is interesting. And I was watching them back and stuff and going, Oh, okay, I'll watch this to relax. And then I looked at the comments on one of them, the most recent one, and it was full of people saying R.I.P. R.I.P. R.I.P. fly high, angel, all that sort of stuff. And I was like, Oh god, that means that the person that I've been watching to relax is actually dead, and then it made me feel slightly uncomfortable because I couldn't turn that part of my brain off, which is what happened to her? Where did she go? Why is she ill? What we never saw her face, it was just her hands. So what what was actually wrong with her? Why did she die? Why did she do these videos? What was I gonna- and then I can't focus on the actual relaxing thing. So that was my question, which was can I enjoy ASMR provided by dead people?

SPEAKER_00 16:13

Uh I think my answer remains yes, of course you can.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

I mean, of course you can. Don't be an idiot. I mean the vastly listen to any of the questions.

SPEAKER_00 16:24

The vast majority of entertainment that you have at hand to watch or listen to is probably made by dead people.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 16:34

Certainly, certainly a lot of music.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

But when you don't know they're dead, it's kind of jarring, isn't it? Like you get into a band and you really like.

SPEAKER_00 16:42

So you're okay starting when a band's dead. So so dead band music, if you haven't heard them before, you're fine with getting into it, and then they die, that's awful. So what you're saying is you will never listen to Volby again if the worst happens.

SPEAKER_01 16:58

I will always listen to it. No, but I mean like it just would it change your experience. It just caught me off guard because I was like, oh, I don't know what happened to her, but I feel like I'm watching her videos being like, this is relaxing, but you're dead. Like what happens? I I always find it I feel a feeling of like, oh I always find it a bit strange.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

You there are certain there there are you know, you you see posts every day, there's always news articles every day of somebody semi-famous or famous dying because that happens. They get into their 80s and the 90s and they die, and that's fine. And a lot of them you're just like so and so has died. But then occasionally you get ones where you go, oh that hit really hard.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

Like Sam Neil.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

Yeah, Sam Neal. I've no idea why though.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

Because they have an in they're just like icons, aren't they, in their own right? Like you you think Sam Neil, you think Jurassic Park, I think Jurassic Park, I think childhood, I think nice times with my brother, I think relaxing, I think enjoying the film and nostalgia.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

We talked about this because you think Jurassic Park, I think Event Horizon, horror film, fantastic character in the still still does the job.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Like I remember when Victoria Wood died, that hit me so hard. I literally hurt that I remember that. Really? And I accidentally predicted it because me and me and my brother were it was during that whole crazy thing in 2016 where all the celebrities were dying. Remember, everyone did. And um, and me and my brother are like we used to talk on a landline at that point, because it was 2016, and we were talking on a landline, chatting, and we used to chat for hours, and we were there going, Oh, you know, everyone seems to be dropping dead. Okay, who's your prediction who dies next? And we sort of went, Oh, I bet it'll be someone like old, but like not quite old, but big in British comedy or something like Victoria Wood. And then I literally hung up the phone, turned on the news, and there she was announced. And me and Tom texted each other, like, Oh my god! We killed Victoria Wood. Victoria Wood! Yeah, so yeah, it's different.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

So who do you think Okay, so who do you think will have the biggest impact on you if they die in the next year or two? Like like not even the next year or two, but when they die in the next few years. Yeah, like like you know how when David Attenborough dies, it's gonna be worse than when the Queen died. Yes. Because he is literally way more famous than the Queen, right? I mean, there should he's the one person that they might actually do a bank holiday for.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

Hopefully. He's he is royalty in his own right. Exactly. Ooh. See, I think the one that will hit really hard is someone who is not that old. Like, sort of like someone that like how is it when newsreaders die? I find that really weird because they kind of gloss over it and they're like, oh, this guy's dead, but you're like, I've seen that guy for like 20 years. But like, I I don't know. I I think it's gotta be someone who Oh, Dawn French. That'll kill me.

SPEAKER_00 19:49

That'll actually kill me.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

Because she's in her early 70s now. See, for me, but I love I listen to all her audiobooks, I listen to her podcast, I love her.

SPEAKER_00 19:56

For me, it's Michael Palin.

unknown 19:58

I thought he was already dead.

SPEAKER_00 20:01

Let's pause and quickly check. No, no, no, he's not. Um I still have I have such fond memories of watching all of his travel shows.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

Michael Palin, if you're watching, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00 20:13

And obviously Monty Python. So he's I've always liked him.

SPEAKER_01 20:17

Well, that's it. John Cleese is another one. But yeah, Dawn French is my one that I'll absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 20:23

He's 83, but he's still alive.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

Oh well, Dick Van Dyke, isn't he like 108?

SPEAKER_00 20:27

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

And uh yeah, so that was the thing about the dead people, but thank you for putting that to bed. And do you want me to go through the Elon one?

SPEAKER_00 20:35

I don't think so. I think we can save that one for another day.

SPEAKER_01 20:38

So let me just caveat it with I th that basically, yeah, I think Elon Musk should spend his trillions on giving every animal in the world a head torch. More on that next week.

SPEAKER_00 20:51

I mean that's for my reasoning. Wow, I like that. I'm I'm I'm I'm extremely, extremely interested to know how you're gonna um justify putting head torches on animals every animal that are nocturnal and can see in the dark because you're gonna destroy their night vision. And then secondly, I'd really like to see how you're gonna get head torches on moths, bees.

SPEAKER_01 21:12

Like not those are like substantial animals.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

Oh, oh, so we're already caveating it.

SPEAKER_01 21:16

No, but we talked about it. Oh, just wait, it's gonna be good. If we have any listeners next week, they're gonna enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

A giraffe with a head torch is gonna look like a lighthouse. I like that. Yeah, that's gonna be good. Okay, was easy? You brought yourself back. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

I watched you have that conversation with yourself. So next week on the Legendary Tribe Podcast, Izzy's gonna talk about why Elon Musk should spend his trillions on giving every single animal in the world a head torch.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

Do we have any kind of businessy insighty type things to talk about? Um good stuff.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

No, well, you didn't even give me a chance. I think Think, yes, how I'm bloody sick of making content. I know it's my job and I know I do it for other people, but for myself, I'm just like it's like being on a constant moving conveyor belt. Uh, if you get off for just a second, everyone's gone, and you're like, oh okay, so if you were your own client, what would you do?

SPEAKER_00 22:22

If I if I came to you as your client saying I am sick of making my own content, oh I'd sell them a great package where I do it for them, but then no one does mine. So have you ever just considered selling yourself a package? Have you ever sat down and planned out a month, planned out your strategy the way you do with somebody else? So because we did this. We went to we went to a boardroom meeting, uh kind of coaching thing a couple of weeks ago, and there was a marketer there who had never done the discovery calls on herself. So on Wednesday, I'm doing that with her. I'm doing her discovery calls with her. So she's going to be able to then get the results of that and do to her business what she does to every other business that comes to her.

SPEAKER_01 23:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:04

And it's it's that thing that you we don't think of doing as business owners, doing it to ourselves because we haven't got the time, and you know, it's it's not the same because you you're not subjective and stuff. But I have no marketing experience whatsoever, but I can definitely r ask the questions, add lib a little bit, and she will get a good discovery call out of that, and then what she can do is anonymize it and go through her process and see what it spits out.

SPEAKER_01 23:29

I see, I think that's the thing though, is that it's for me, it's time, and time has always been my enemy. But you know how last week we were talking about unicorn days. Yes. About the basically the concept that you know, a day where you have nothing to do and nothing in the calendar, nothing to worry about, nothing to look after, is literally as rare as a unicorn. That like if I didn't have to think about my own marketing, I would have many more unicorn days. And that was the mindset. So I came away from our conversation last week going, I haven't had a unicorn day in so long because I will always find something to do, including because I've got so much to do with my own content.

SPEAKER_00 24:10

So my pushback to you would be push away. No, my pushback to you would be could you be more efficient?

SPEAKER_01 24:17

Oh, 100%.

SPEAKER_00 24:18

Because when do you think about the content that you need to make today? When do you plan it?

SPEAKER_01 24:27

I don't, it's just too late.

SPEAKER_00 24:29

You plan it today.

SPEAKER_01 24:30

Yeah. I am literally my own client. Absolutely, and I'm really gonna do it from the code.

SPEAKER_00 24:35

One of the things we're massively pushing is long form content, one good hard push of making content, and then that's your month's short form. So why don't we just create a massive script of the things that you want to talk about? Go on a walk. Two hours, wander down the river.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

With nowhere, knowing not where are you going?

SPEAKER_00 24:57

Yeah, we can do a whimsical me on meander down the river or through Sunderland or in different places. We get different backdrops, and then you do a piece to camera, piece to camera, piece to camera. We go on a walk through it. But you're doing it, they're not gonna watch it all in one go.

SPEAKER_01 25:11

No, I know, but like do people just get bored of like seeing me talking?

SPEAKER_00 25:15

Who knows? You're never gonna know until you bloody do it.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

True.

SPEAKER_00 25:18

So do it, do 30 days of it, then do something different, do an off-camera where it's just your hands doing something, or you're doing voiceovers for 30 days, right? And then you can compare and contrast the performance of the two. That's the other thing you should be doing. Comparing and contrasting.

SPEAKER_01 25:35

Oh, it's all these things I should be doing.

SPEAKER_00 25:37

You do, and you would tell other people to do it.

SPEAKER_01 25:39

I know. If there was a list of things that I tell people to do and what I should be doing, they're very similar.

SPEAKER_00 25:45

Why don't you get a marketing audit from somebody else?

SPEAKER_01 25:48

Oh no. Why not? Because uh I don't know. What about Charlotte?

SPEAKER_00 25:55

Let's see if Charlotte will do one for you.

SPEAKER_01 25:56

Oh yeah, no, I'm I'm um but she's PR, isn't she? I mean, this is a we basically finished the podcast. Yeah, we should have social media and everything like that. I know. But then the thing is is that it's like cobbler's kids' shoes. It's like the my portfolio is my own marketing as well as other people's. No, but you know what I mean. Doesn't have to be. Oh no, it's a bit like you as a photographer having having photographs that you paid someone else to take and be like, Look, I'm a great photographer. It's the same thing. You couldn't have like some random photographer of the northeast get really good pictures, and then you go, look, see, look how good a photograph is.

SPEAKER_00 26:34

Absolutely, I agree. What I could do though is get somebody random come up and say, Actually, do you know what I've done? I've gone away, I've done some research, these are the gaps of the market, and these are the 60 things you need to go out and photograph and film yourself photographing. These are the best times of day to go and do it. Here's your plan.

SPEAKER_01 26:48

No, it's not a marketer.

SPEAKER_00 26:49

Well then see a fucking consultant.

SPEAKER_01 26:52

I'm just in that kind of mood where I'm just gonna back, I'm just gonna bat back every single thing you say.

SPEAKER_00 26:57

Well, how many hours? What minutes are we on?

SPEAKER_01 26:59

Many hours. We've been talking for 27 hours.

SPEAKER_00 27:03

Okay, is it 27 minutes, is it? So it's about 24 when I cut all the bits out that we're not gonna include in.

SPEAKER_01 27:09

You mean you're gonna include all of it?

SPEAKER_00 27:10

Nah.

SPEAKER_01 27:11

Why what? Why not?

SPEAKER_00 27:12

Uh-oh. Because nobody wants to listen to this.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

Now that we're how many, how many episodes in, how have you found being a podcaster?

SPEAKER_00 27:19

Oh, I love it.

SPEAKER_01 27:20

How have you found being a successful podcaster?

SPEAKER_00 27:23

I'm not sure we're successful. We we've we've we've had a a run of downloads.

SPEAKER_01 27:30

But how are you finding it? I enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

I mean, I'm I'm feeling that now we need more structure and we need more consistency in what we put out.

SPEAKER_01 27:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:40

Because we were just because but the thing is we started this just to have a random challenge.

SPEAKER_01 27:44

Back at our first couple, we haven't come very far. No, but I was just about to say, look how far we've come. No, we haven't come far at all. We've come about a stale's pace, but like I love it, I enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 27:56

I mean, I like talking, so you know. Imagine, you know. If I I mean I went I went to see uh a potential client last week, um, and it was supposed to just be for an hour, and three hours later I was like, okay, well we better we better go. Yeah, it's we were just chatting. You know, you chat, you get to know people, you get to know them a bit better. Yeah, we just talked.

SPEAKER_01 28:21

Yeah, I used to get nothing done.

SPEAKER_00 28:25

Why?

SPEAKER_01 28:25

Now I do because you're up there.

SPEAKER_00 28:28

I I object to the fact that you seem to be implying that I I I um am a distraction to you.

SPEAKER_01 28:39

I'm a distraction to everyone. I'm a woman of mass distraction. That's the uh that's the uh uh key of it. Oh my god, right. I'm going to the gym.

SPEAKER_00 28:50

Well, have you got any more nuggets of insight for our wonderful listeners who have all stopped listening right now?

SPEAKER_01 28:54

Yes, my nugget of wisdom is I don't want to go to Surrey tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

That's very good.

SPEAKER_01 29:00

And my other nugget of wisdom is well no, will you be thriving or surviving next week?

SPEAKER_00 29:04

I am going to be thriving because I've got a load of development to do, I've got people coming in, I've got lots of ideas, and I've now got a space. That means if I have no ideas, I can just take a camera out and do your thing. Do my thing.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Oh I love your life. I've got about jealousy.

SPEAKER_00 29:24

I've got about 20 different lighting setups to try out and perfect.

SPEAKER_01 29:28

So various flexing.

SPEAKER_00 29:33

Yeah, very flexible.

SPEAKER_01 29:34

I will be thriving, I think. The calmness that I feel right now will soon be overlapped with a level of overwhelm that I'm not quite sure what it'll be, but I can feel it in my waters. Excellent.

SPEAKER_00 29:48

Well, on that note, bye bye.