Building your Brand

Do you ever get sucked in by all the messaging online about growth and what that looks like? For a while, I have known that I don't want to grow my business to be an agency or to have a big team, but sometimes it feels a bit frowned upon to stay small and keep your business lean
I was so excited when Maggie Patterson got in touch and suggested chatting on the podcast about staying small on purpose. This chat was totally up my street! We talked about the "trust recession", AI, how we price and package our work, and so much more.
I hope you will come away feeling encouraged, but also given a confidence boost about building a business that feels right for you.
Key Takeaways:
You don't need to scale to succeed: The majority of businesses are actually one-person operations, yet most business advice focuses on scaling up. You don't have to hire a team if you don't want to; staying solo is a valid and ambitious choice.
Charge for strategy, not just tactics: A common mistake for creatives and consultants is charging the same for strategic thinking as they do for tactical implementation. If you don't highlight and charge for your strategy, clients may overlook you for big-picture projects.
The "Trust Recession" and AI: We are currently in a market where buyers are skeptical and price-conscious, often referred to as a "trust recession". As a solo business owner, your superpower is your ability to offer genuine human connection and build personal relationships, which builds trust faster than faceless brands can.
The "Real Life Rule": Your business must work for your actual life, otherwise you will end up resentful and burnt out. When planning growth, you must consider your actual capacity—not just time, but energy and the season of life you are in (like having small children).
 
Episode Highlights:
02:00 – Maggie introduces her book, Staying Solo, and why she wrote it for the majority of business owners who don't want to manage a big team.
10:00 – Why pricing is the first place to look when refining your business, and why most service providers are undercharging.
13:00 – The "Strategy Stack": understanding that pricing doesn't exist in isolation from your positioning, packaging, and promotion.
20:00 – Discussing AI, the "trust recession", and why solo owners have an advantage in building genuine connections.
39:00 – Maggie's "Real Life Rule" and why we need to stop trying to build fantasy businesses that don't fit our reality.
 
About The Guest:
Maggie Patterson is a consultant who has spent years working with micro-businesses and solo service business owners, such as creatives, consultants, and professional service providers. She is the author of Staying Solo: Your Guide to Building a Simple and Sustainable Service Business, which launched in April 2025.
You can find Maggie at bsfreebusiness.com
Staying Solo Book
Staying Solo Podcast
Brave Boundaries Workshop
I would love to hear what you think of this episode, so please do let me know on Instagram where I'm @‌lizmmosley or @‌buildingyourbrandpodcast and I hope you enjoy the episode!
This episode was written and recorded by me and produced by Lucy Lucraft lucylucraft.co.uk
If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!

In this episode, I dive into how branding impacts the way you show up for your business. I open up about my own experience with outdated branding and how it actually stopped me from promoting my business because I was embarrassed to send people to my website. I talk about why visual identity matters so much in our content-saturated world and how we make split-second decisions based on what we see. If your branding feels off or isn't serving your current stage of business, I'd love to chat about working together this year.
I would love to hear what you think of this episode, so please do let me know on Instagram where I'm @‌lizmmosley or @‌buildingyourbrandpodcast and I hope you enjoy the episode!
If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!
 
Key Takeaways
Branding directly impacts business confidence and consistency. When branding feels misaligned or outdated, business owners often stop marketing themselves and avoid directing people to their website or social media, which stalls business growth.
Aligned branding creates a transformation in energy and output. Clients who invest in branding that truly reflects their vision often experience a surge in ideas, renewed belief in their mission, and more consistent, confident communication.
Visual decisions happen in seconds. In a world saturated with visual content, people make split-second judgments based on colors, fonts, and overall aesthetic before even engaging with the actual content—making strong branding essential for attracting the right audience.
 
Episode Highlights
0:02 - Branding as a uniform you choose
1:40 - My personal experience with outdated branding and how it held me back
4:01 - Client transformation story: renewed confidence and vision
5:46 - Why visual identity matters in a content-saturated world
 
 
Mentioned in this episode:
Studio Cotton

Today on the podcast, I am chatting to Kat Nicholls, the Brand and Integrity Manager at Happiful. If you haven't come across Happiful before, it is a network of mental health and wellness directories as well as a monthly magazine.
I loved chatting to Kat about how the brand came about and what it stands for, but we also dive deep into how to maintain your integrity as your brand grows. We cover some of the mistakes they have made and how they navigated them, along with brilliant advice on remaining true to your values and ensuring those values are communicated effectively across a growing team.
For most of us as small business owners, integrity is so important, so I am sure you are going to find this episode incredibly helpful.
 
Key Takeaways:
Defining Integrity: For Kat and Happiful, integrity is really about honesty and authenticity. It involves admitting when you make mistakes and learning from them, while ensuring you are "practising what you preach" regarding your values and how you treat your employee.
The "Proof Policy": To maintain high standards, Happiful uses a "proof policy" to ensure that any professional advertising on their directories reaches a certain standard of training and adheres to a code of ethics.
The Power of Saying No: Sometimes maintaining integrity means turning down press opportunities or partnerships that don't align with your values, even if they would provide significant brand exposure.
Handling Mistakes: When things go wrong, such as publishing misinformation, the key is to apologise sincerely to those affected, investigate why it happened (often human error), and implement training to prevent it from happening again.
Navigating AI with Integrity: Happiful has developed an AI policy that requires transparency; members must disclose if AI was used, and content cannot be fully AI-generated because human connection is vital in the mental health space. ‌
 
Episode Highlights:
01:00 – Kat explains her role as Brand and Integrity Manager and the mission behind Happiful.
09:03 – We discuss the definition of integrity: honesty, authenticity and admitting when we get things wrong.
11:59 – The challenges of maintaining integrity and considering your impact on the environment and employees as a business grows.
19:53 – How to handle mistakes and course-correct when content doesn't align with your values.
30:52 – Developing an AI policy that balances technological tools with human connection and transparency..
 
About The Guest:
Kat Nicholls is the Brand and Integrity Manager at Happiful, a company that owns a network of online directories for mental health and wellbeing support, as well as a monthly magazine. Her background is in content writing, podcasting, and coaching, and she now focuses on ensuring the brand maintains its authentic, value-led approach.
You can find out more about the magazine and directories at http://happiful.com
I would love to hear what you think of this episode, so please do let me know on Instagram where I'm @‌lizmmosley or @‌buildingyourbrandpodcast and I hope you enjoy the episode!
This episode was written and recorded by me and produced by Lucy Lucraft lucylucraft.co.uk
If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!

In today's first solo episode of the year, I'm sharing the one resolution I'm committing to in 2026; writing! I'll be honest I've already stumbled a few times, but I'm learning to let go of my all-or-nothing mindset and embrace consistency over perfection. I talk about why I've always told myself I'm "not a good writer," how I'm using the 750 Words website to build a daily writing habit, and why this practice is going to transform my business. Plus, I'm opening up about my goal to write a book this year 👀 and how I'm learning to be kinder to myself along the way.
I would love to hear what you think of this episode, and what your goals are and/or your approach to your goals so please do let me know on Instagram where I'm @‌lizmmosley or @‌buildingyourbrandpodcast and I hope you enjoy the episode!
If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!
Key Takeaways
If you keep telling yourself a negative story, it will continue to be true  For years, I've told myself I'm not a good writer, but I'm realizing that story isn't serving me. By practicing daily, I'm proving to myself that writing is a skill I can improve, not something I'm inherently bad at.
Consistency doesn't mean perfection. I've struggled with an all-or-nothing mindset my whole life, but I'm learning that missing a day here and there doesn't mean failure. It's about showing up regularly, even when it's not perfect; whether that's writing, going to the gym, or any other goal.
Daily writing is an investment in my business. Writing shows up everywhere in my work; email marketing, blog posts, website copy, client communications—and by improving this skill, I'm setting myself up to communicate better across all areas of my business. Plus, I'm building a bank of content I can repurpose later.
 
Episode Highlights
2:07 I explain why I don't usually make resolutions and prefer to hold my goals loosely
5:15 I'm revealing my 2026 resolution: writing 750 words every day using the 750 Words website
7:25 I'm opening up about the negative story I've been telling myself about not being a good writer
11:45 I'm discussing my all-or-nothing mindset and how I'm learning to be kinder to myself
 
Mentioned in the episode:
Live Podcast Recording; in person event with Gavin Strange (Aardman)
750 words website 
Episode with Laura Belgray

Happy New Year and welcome back to the Building Your Brand podcast for 2026! I am so excited for what I have in store for this podcast this year.
To kick things off, I'm thrilled to welcome back a returning guest for her third time on the show: Alice Benham. Alice is the perfect person to start the year with because I love how she thinks about goals and working on your business rather than just in it.
In this episode, we demystify the difference between those two concepts (because I honestly get confused all the time!). We also discuss why it is so important to make time for big-picture strategy, even when it doesn't feel urgent, and how to create a vision that actually motivates you.
I hope this episode serves as a lovely motivational start to your year and helps you make a plan to grow your business in a way that feels really good to you.
 
Key Takeaways:
The difference between "on" and "in" the business: Working in your business is employee mode (admin, client work) where you notice immediately if it stops. Working on your business is CEO mode (growth, strategy) where the impact is seen months down the line
The urgency trap: We often neglect working on our business because it lacks the immediate urgency and dopamine hit of client work, but it is essential for long-term growth.
The AB Method: Alice breaks down her strategy into three key habits: casting vision, setting goals, and tracking progress
Hold the vision tightly, goals loosely: Your vision is the ultimate destination or feeling you want, while goals are just the vehicle to get there. It is okay to change your goals if a better path appears
Track what matters to you: Don't just track arbitrary numbers like revenue if they don't serve you. Create a "scorecard" with 3-5 metrics that align with your specific goals, such as how aligned your work feels or revenue from a specific offer
 
Episode Highlights:
02:27 – Alice explains the "Dummies Guide" to the difference between working on and in your business
11:59 – Why documenting and tracking is vital to stop you from being led purely by emotion
18:41 – The danger of "vanity metrics" and why Alice recommends a simple scorecard with a maximum of five data points
23:25 – How to avoid "goal distraction" by ensuring your goals are actually your own and not just what you see others doing
30:08 – Why vision work is like taking a spatula to the inside of your brain to scrape out ideas

 
About The Guest:
Alice Benham is a business strategist who helps business owners grow by working on their business, not just in it. She is the founder of the "On It" programme, which provides the structure and space for business owners to set goals, track progress, and cast their vision.
You can find Alice on her website or Instagram.
 
Mentioned in this episode:
On It: Alice's programme for business owners to work on their business. Use code LIZ10 for 10% off

I would love to hear what you think of this episode, so please do let me know on Instagram where I'm @‌lizmmosley or @‌buildingyourbrandpodcast and I hope you enjoy the episode!
This episode was written and recorded by me and produced by Lucy Lucraft lucylucraft.co.uk
If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!