Announcements

This is my band-aid ripping off moment

Hey there gorgeous,

This is probably the most uncomfortable post I have ever written.

In fact, I can feel the adrenaline starting to rise as I write it, which if you’re anything like me you’ll understand, is not my favourite feeling.

My adrenaline is kicking in because I am about to do something that honestly, I am fairly scared of.

I am about to let you know what my new Instagram account handle is, and by extension my new business name, and the direction I am hoping to take ‘helping Quiet Creatives with their Instagram strategy’ going forward.

Pottery is a fairly private business if you don’t do markets. Showing up on social media, to market yourself as someone who can help people with their social media, not so much. Least of all when you are starting a new Instagram account, completely from scratch.

So yeah, today I get to share my new business name and my new Instagram account, and to all intents and purposes it feels just like ripping a band aid off.

But…. before we jump in with the links to all the new things, I did want to quickly let you know that I have just opened up my coaching spots for any Quiet Creatives looking for support in a 1:1 framework with me from July - September.

These sessions are designed to help create a bespoke strategy for you to approach Instagram and your marketing, and provide any extra education and support you may need.

Recently I have been working with florists, artists and Air BnB operators, but I have also helped potters, jewelers, perfumiers and some rather lovely shopkeepers.

And I’ve worked with a lot of lovely ladies who’ve been in Country Style Magazine.

If you are interested in my offerings and would like to find out more, please feel free to pop through the links below:

1 hour Instagram + Business Coaching Intensive Session

90 Minute Coaching + 4 Week Accountability for Quiet Creatives Parcel

3 Month Quiet Creatives 1:1 Accelerator

Some lovely words from folk who have worked with me:

“My followers have increased, I’m excited about the engagement and bookings have been made for Studio visits next week … I can’t thank you enough”

Suez @greenglassstudio

Thank you for being so helpful, available & generous in offering your advice & support. I love your approach to sharing on socials, IG in particular & feel much more confident in the way I show up on this platform now too.

Nadine @theivyinstitute

Thank you! Getting you on board was literally the BEST investment for my business. You have no idea!

Jessie @peregrinestore

Me jumping in with both feet. Boy I miss these shoes.

Now. Back to the scary stuff.

My new business and, by extension, my new Instagram.

Without further ado, I would like to introduce to you

“Ilona G + The Quiet Creatives Academy”.

There we have it. I said it out loud, and it is out in the world now.

The website is still in the construction stages, but there is a basic landing page already there and some lovely things going on behind the scenes. My big goal is to have it unfurled properly by the end of June.

So what’s it all about?

The Quiet Creatives Academy has been set up as a home for Quiet Creatives looking for support navigating social media and marketing. I want it to be a place you can come for resources and community, and a place where your desire to show up authentically and with integrity on platforms like Instagram is honoured and respected.

In the Quiet Creatives Academy there will be courses, workshops and downloadable resources. There’s a podcast coming too (eep, bear with me on this one) and if I can wrap my head around the tech, hopefully a community space for sharing and supporting other Quiet Creatives like yourself.

Which leads me to …. my new Instagram account.

@quietcreativesacademy

It has been a long time since I have started a new account from scratch.

I thought quite a bit about whether to switch gears on my @ottimade account and just turn it into a space for sharing my courses and coaching. And in the end I decided against it. Even if it means there will be a lot more work for me initially.

Because here’s the thing.

So often you see social media coaches with loads of followers telling you all the ways you should be approaching your Instagram account. Meanwhile, because of the nature of their businesses, they actually don’t know what works for your type of business, only what works for them. So they’re saying ‘follow my lead’ and yet their lead, while it may be right for them, is not right for you. And that takes you down the path of showing up inauthentically, and then, because of how out of alignment it can feel, simply not wanting to show up anymore at all!

There’s a big difference between posting social media content teaching people about social media, and posting social media content and trying to sell art or pottery, B&Bs or flowers. The strategies required are completely different. Worlds apart even.

I want to maintain my finger on the pulse of what it is like showing up authentically as a Quiet Creative on Instagram. So I need to continue to do that. And thus Ottimade stays (although obviously with a shift in focus from making pottery to more of a lifestyle account).

As scary as it is to start again from scratch, I really think it is the best course of action.

Which is all to say, if you find my posts here at all useful, I would like to invite you to come and join me @quietcreativesacademy

I have so many lovely things planned to share with you there.

And if you have made it this far down the post, thank you for sticking with me on this uncomfortable part of the journey. I am truly excited about the ways I plan to support my fellow Quiet Creatives through The Quiet Creatives Academy going forward.

X Ilona

PS Florist friends looking for Instagram advice and support - I did a beautiful workshop last Sunday for The Ivy Institute on strategy, planning and implementation for florists on IG, and am looking to make it more widely available soon. I’m just tossing up between running it as a live class via zoom or an on-demand pre-recorded class. I’d be ever so thankful if you are interested if you could let me know what format you would find more valuable. I’m looking to release it this month. Hit me up in the replies or by return email. Thank you Xx