Friends with Business Benefits

Created by Julia Cameron in the 90s, The Artist’s Way is a 12-week creative recovery programme designed to help you unlock your creativity by overcoming common blocks like self-doubt and fear. It uses core principles like ‘morning pages’ and ‘artist dates’ to help you reconnect with your creative self, find more passion and purpose, and fulfil your creative potential. Earlier this year, Charlie completed The Artist’s Way for the second time. In this episode, we chat about her experience and discuss five things she learned from redoing the programme. As well as sharing what she loves about Cameron’s approach, she’s brutally honest about its shortcomings. Links and Further ReadingJulia CameronStudio Gently The Hyphen by Emma Gannon Big Magic Have you ever attempted The Artist’s Way? How did you get on? Join the conversation on Substack to share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you!Connect With UsFriends With Business Benefits on Substackcharlieswift.comlove-audrey.comFind Us On Instagram@loveaudrey83@_charlieswiftSubscribe to Our Mailing ListsFranky’s Mailing ListCharlie’s Mailing List Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe

We’re back from our summer break! As we head into autumn, we’re reflecting on Quarter 3 and looking ahead to Quarter 4 in our respective businesses. Find out what felt good, what didn’t and what we’ve learned in the process.We also talk about our words of the year and how they’ve been showing up for us since we last spoke. Finally, we share a few sources of creative inspiration, dig into our plans for the next three months and discuss what we’re hoping to achieve by the end of 2025.Links and Further ReadingHow to Innovate and Evolve in BusinessLooking At Picture BooksThe Lazy Genius Join us on Substack where you can share your thoughts on this episode in the comments. Come and tell us your own intentions for Q4… we’d love to cheer you on!Connect With UsFriends With Business Benefits on Substackcharlieswift.comlove-audrey.comFind Us On Instagram@loveaudrey83@_charlieswiftSubscribe to Our Mailing ListsLarking AboutContent Creatives with Charlie Swift Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe

In today’s episode, we’re discussing some recent Internet drama — Glennon’s Doyle’s arrival and sudden departure from Substack. To be clear, we’re not interested in gossip and hot takes. Instead, we’re chatting about our experience watching these events unfold, and how they made us feel about Substack and its users.As well as touching on the dangers of positioning Substack as the antidote to everything that’s wrong with social media, we talk about the constant evolution of the Internet and what this means for online business owners. Embracing our status as Internet dinosaurs, we also share advice to help you navigate these inevitable changes. Links and Further ReadingAre You Going to Start a Substack?How We Are Showing Up on Substack This YearGlennon DoyleWe Can Do Hard ThingsLetters From Love with Elizabeth GilbertEverything Glennon Doyle Did Wrong by Polly VernonHow do you feel about what happened to Glennon? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Join the conversation on Substack.Connect With UsFriends With Business Benefits on Substackcharlieswift.comlove-audrey.comFind Us On Instagram@loveaudrey83@_charlieswiftSubscribe to Our Mailing ListsFranky’s Mailing ListCharlie’s Mailing List Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe

In today’s episode, we’re talking about the Wheel of the Year, a seasonal cycle of eight festivals, or sabbats, that mark the passage of time through the year, connecting with the Earth's natural rhythms and the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Charlie explains the significance of the solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter days, describing some of the symbols and traditions associated with them. We also discuss different ways you can use the Wheel of the Year within your creative business. From seasonal projects and activities to intention setting, this episode contains lots of resources and ideas to help get you started with this seasonal framework. Links and Further ReadingWheel of the Year on Google Calendar (add the one titled Pagan/Wiccan Holidays)Brand SeasonsKatherine MayCreating Everyday RitualsEverythinglooksrosieAre you familiar with the Wheel of the Year? Is it something you use in your creative business? We’d love to hear from you! Join the conversation on Substack to share your thoughts.Connect With UsFriends With Business Benefits on Substackcharlieswift.comlove-audrey.comFind Us On Instagram@loveaudrey83@_charlieswiftSubscribe to Our Mailing ListsFranky’s Mailing ListCharlie’s Mailing List Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe

When it comes to your business, how much self-belief do you have? In today’s episode, we’re answering this question and exploring why self-belief is so important when you work for yourself.As well as discussing how our relationship with self-belief has changed over the years, we dive into the differences between inner work and external validation. We also share some of the things we’ve tried to boost our self-belief. Links and Further ReadingThe Art of Requesting, Receiving and Giving FeedbackTransform Your Business with Co-Mentoring What Gives Us the Business ScariesIs self-belief something you need to work on? Or are you already nailing it? We’d love to hear from you! Join the conversation on Substack to share your experiences.Connect With UsFriends With Business Benefits on Substackcharlieswift.comlove-audrey.comFind Us On Instagram@loveaudrey83@_charlieswiftSubscribe to Our Mailing ListsFranky’s Mailing ListCharlie’s Mailing List Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe

It’s the perfect time of year to spring clean your rhythms and routines, so that’s what we’re talking about in today’s episode. While some things will naturally shift as the seasons change, certain areas of life and business require us to be more intentional. Listen as Charlie walks us through her process, explaining how she supports her mentees to do the same. From figuring out what’s working and what’s not to adopting new habits and overhauling your working week, we discuss everything you need to know about refreshing your daily rhythms. Links and Further ReadingWeekly Rhythm WorksheetsAre you refreshing your rhythms or routines for spring? Join the conversation on Substack to tell us all about it. We’d love to hear from you!Connect With UsFriends With Business Benefits on Substackcharlieswift.comlove-audrey.comFind Us On Instagram@loveaudrey83@_charlieswiftSubscribe to Our Mailing ListsFranky’s Mailing ListCharlie’s Mailing List Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe