Soul Traders Amy Snoekstra & Bo Wong

Bo and Amy talk about creativity and how it's naturally woven into the fabric of the way we live and do business as soul traders. Amy and Bo ask if creativity is for everyone, bust the myth of the 'creative genius' and talk about cultivating a creative practice.

In this episode:

•Bo is getting better at saying 'no' as she's fully booked for the rest of the year.
•Amy and Bo ask: can everyone be creative?
•Bo wants to bust the 'creative genius' myth.
•Amy loves the idea of cultivating a creative practice.
•Amy's been reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, she suggests you follow your curiosity, not your passion.
•Bo asks what we can learn from writers about beating creative block.
•Bo loves the idea of giving time to 'blue sky thinking'.
•Amy has been working with a Fremantle based visual artist who has a 'naughty corner' in her studio for paintings that aren't working out.
•Bo's a big fan of productive procrastination.
•Bo and Amy share the creative goals they've kicked recently

Links:
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert's website

Hannah Gadsby's Nanette

Artists Emily McGuire's website

Why Walking Helps Us Think By Ferris Jabr in The New Yorker

What I Miss Most Is Swimming: Immersion, even just thinking about it, is the balm we need right now. By Bonnie Tsui in The New York Times
Bo's new creative project @the_bush_arranger

We're on Instagram! Yay! Follow us! @soultraderspodcast

Thanks so much for listening! If you enjoyed the episode, please leave us a review and share it with your soul trader mates!
Join our Soul Traders Podcast Community on Facebook (go on!)
Have a question? Email us at soultraderpodcast@gmail.com or tag us on social media using the hashtag #soultraderspodcast. You can also find us on Instagram as @soultraderspodcast Music and production by Dingo Spender

Bo and Amy chat with Lucy Peach: a performer, author, podcaster and self-proclaimed 'period preacher'! Lucy's work is about empowering women to observe and understand their menstrual cycles and hopefully learn to leverage the unique opportunities that come with them.

Bo and I asked Lucy about her creative work, how she manages her energy throughout the month and what advice she would give to soul traders who have a cycle!

Links:
Lucy's book Period Queen is available in bookstores right now or online via Booktopia

Listen to the Period Queen podcast on Spotify.

Find out more about Lucy via her website.

In the attention economy of Instagram, good photography is a valuable commodity. You may have something amazing to say, but if your photo doesn't stop people scrolling, they simply won't read it.

In this episode Bo shares her tips for scroll-stopping photography on Instagram, including orientation, framing and composition, lighting and tips for shooting interiors.

Make sure you check out Amy's mini episode about writing captions. It's a great companion to this one. Happy snapping!

Links:
Mini episode: Amy's tips for writing great social media captions
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2lZsKqZoiHpCqQ6TbrZc2Z?si=LARLO5g7SHGsjCPcfO5xZw

Adobe Lightroom for mobile app
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/adobe-lightroom-photo-editor/id878783582

Thanks so much for listening! If you enjoyed the episode, please leave us a review and share it with your soul trader mates!
Join our Soul Traders Podcast Community on Facebook (go on!)
Have a question? Email us at soultraderpodcast@gmail.com or tag us on social media using the hashtag #soultraderspodcast. You can also find us on Instagram: Amy's Instagram @amy_snoek Bo's Instagram @b_o_w_o_n_g Music and production by Dingo Spender

Bo and Amy respond to a question from the Soul Traders Podcast community about getting paid as a creative freelancer. They discuss valuing yourself and your time, finding clients that value you, 'scope creep' and payment systems.

Thanks so much for listening! If you enjoyed the episode, please leave us a review and share it with your soul trader mates!
Join our Soul Traders Podcast Community on Facebook (go on!)
Have a question? Email us at soultraderpodcast@gmail.com or tag us on social media using the hashtag #soultraderspodcast. You can also find us on Instagram: Amy's Instagram @amy_snoek Bo's Instagram @b_o_w_o_n_g Music and production by Dingo Spender

How competitive do we need to be in order to be successful in business? Can competition and comparison be helpful? When do these things become unhelpful or toxic? In this episode Bo and Amy talk about how they've dealt with competition in their working lives and ask the question: is it possible to incorporate a healthy level of competition into your business without comparison dragging you down?

In this episode:

•Bo and Amy want you to imagine them wearing 80's tennis gear while you listen. Think pastels and sweat bands. Okay?
•Amy confesses that she's never been a competitive sort of person and finds the whole idea very stressful.
•They discuss the idea of cultivating an abundance mindset.
•Amy recommends curiosity rather than comparison for conducting competitor research or looking at what other people in your industry are up to.
•Bo thinks competition can be useful as a way to keep you moving forward and expanding your skill set.
•Bo discusses the lone wolf culture of photography.
•Bo talks about struggling to find a mentor early in her career and finding a supportive community to share resources with interstate.
•They discuss the idea of 'comparisonitis' and social media.
•Bo and Amy share the goals they've kicked recently

Links:
Laura Jane Williams article in Red Magazine - Stop slagging off Instagram

Writers & Lovers by Lily King

Phosphorescence: On Awe, Wonder And Things That Sustain You When The World Goes Dark by Julia Baird

Thanks so much for listening! If you enjoyed the episode, please leave us a review and share it with your soul trader mates!
Join our Soul Traders Podcast Community on Facebook (go on!)
Have a question? Email us at soultraderpodcast@gmail.com or tag us on social media using the hashtag #soultraderspodcast. You can also find us on Instagram: Amy's Instagram @amy_snoek Bo's Instagram @b_o_w_o_n_g Music and production by Dingo Spender

Amy gets asked this question all the time: how do I write engaging captions for social media? In this episode she shares some of her ideas about great writing for social media and tips for writing engaging captions, including what to do when you're stuck for ideas, how to structure a caption and how to create content that is valuable to your audience.

Links:

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

If you want to learn more about writing, I strongly recommend Write Right, a course run by The Good Copy studio in Melbourne

Thanks so much for listening! If you enjoyed the episode, please leave us a review and share it with your soul trader mates!
Join our Soul Traders Podcast Community on Facebook (go on!)
Have a question? Email us at soultraderpodcast@gmail.com or tag us on social media using the hashtag #soultraderspodcast. You can also find us on Instagram: Amy's Instagram @amy_snoek Bo's Instagram @b_o_w_o_n_g Music and production by Dingo Spender