As an interior designer, creating comes naturally to you. Finances—maybe not so much! But being an interior design entrepreneur means being smart about money. Thankfully, there are plenty of industry professionals willing to give out solid advice to small business owners just like you.

Running your own business, you're likely always on the go—so we've found a way to incorporate financial education into your busy schedule: podcasts. You just have to sit back, plug in your earphones, and hit play!

Tune in to the best financial podcasts for interior design entrepreneurs—volume up!

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The Interior Collective

Hosted by: IDCO Studio

Recommended for: the new entrepreneur

When it comes to advice, you're in safe hands with The Interior Collective. This podcast provides actionable tips from highly-skilled professionals and will help you grow your interior design business FAST.

Standout episode: Financial Planning for Interior Designers with Brittney Vier. A power hour covering all the basics of money management for interior designers including managing payroll and taxes.

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The Profit is a Choice Podcast

Hosted by: Michele Williams

Recommended for: the profit chaser

For money-making tips, The Profit is a Choice Podcast sets the standard. Michele Williams is a qualified strategic finance coach, dedicated to sharing her knowledge with interior designers. Michele explores all sorts of topics that will benefit your business such as industry challenges, finance, marketing, systems and strategies.

Standout episode: Reviewing your Profit First Strategy. Have you created a Profit First strategy and implemented it – then left it alone? Let's change that!

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The Interior Design Business Podcast

Hosted by: Wingnut Social

Recommended for: the strategic designer

Dedicated to making the lives of interior designers better, The Interior Design Business Podcast is laser-focused on discussing efficient marketing strategies and exploring the latest technologies in the interior industry. Founded by Darla Powell, an interior designer herself, you can rest assured that everything you hear on this podcast is made for your success.

Standout episode: How to Ask Your Interior Design Clients for Their Budget. Been struggling with client budgeting? Not anymore.

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The Affluent Creative

Hosted by: Melissa Galt

Recommended for: the super planner

As a business owner, every decision you make comes at a cost—from hiring to the design proper. The Affluent Creative explores sustainable ways to build your interior design business and avoid loss. With over 3 decades of interior design history, Melissa Galt is here to help you earn more —in less time and with less stress. Topics covered include hiring locally, securing clients, and increasing profit margins.

Standout episode: Never Worry About Money Again When You Learn to Fuel the Soul of Your Business. This a well-needed reminder of how much you and your brand are worth!

Wouldn't you love to sit down with a social media marketing expert and pick their brain about all things Instagram? Where do I start with analytics? How do I differentiate my brand? And the golden question: how do I turn followers into paying clients? Emanuela Schneider is here to answer your prayers. Emanuela Schneider is a social media manager for interior designers, architects and luxury home decor brands but her expertise can be applied to creative entrepreneurs and freelancers in any industry.

We invited the Visualist community to an access-all-areas chat with Emanuela—an opportunity for creatives just like you to ask their most niggling questions about Instagram and beyond! In case you missed it—here are the highlights...

I want to start taking social media seriously. Where do I start?

Start by planning your first 9 posts! I work with a 4-pillar content strategy: Educational (show your authority), Personal (showcase yourself), Objectional (why should someone hire you) and Inspirational. Your first posts should be a mixture of the above content pillars using your project photos, photos of yourself and even images you find inspirational. Also, remember to add location tags!

What tool should I use to track my analytics?

For analytics tracking: Facebook business suite—you can track years of analytics over there! I'd recommend tracking your analytics every month, especially now that Instagram changes the algorithm so often.

How can I check in with what the algorithm is favouring from time to time?

It's normally very clear once the algorithm updates because a strategy that was working wonders (getting reach and resulting in website clicks) suddenly yields nothing. For example, Reels used to be the best way to increase reach but since Instagram rebalanced the algorithm, still photos and carousels tend to do better. For definitive answers, keep track of articles on social media and, if in any doubt, head to Adam Mosseri's page. He's the head of Instagram and is very very upfront about what Instagram is up to.

Instagram is so saturated in the interior design space, how can I differentiate myself/my brand?

Think about your ideal client and what they want. While there are many designers in your local area who can create beautiful projects, what's your selling point? Hiring someone to work in your home is a very personal, and sometimes stressful, process. The decision normally comes down to how well a client connects with your brand voice. Your client needs to trust you, so always focus on showing your expertise and your personality.

Secondly, have you thought about expanding elsewhere? If you're only on Pinterest to organise your client process, you're missing out! You can start using Pinterest strategically by creating pins with your ideal keywords. Pinterest is a go-to platform for home buyers looking to renovate—89% of users there are looking to make a purchase decision and almost 40% of them plan on getting their ideal home within the next five years. Also, being active on Pinterest actually helps to boost your "Google Juice" since it's a search engine platform. When local clients do research on designers in their area, they'll find your website!

How can I find a balance between being personal and professional on Instagram?

First, you need to think about your brand voice—you never want to be too serious to the point where people feel intimidated to reach out. That's why I always suggest having a Personal content pillar, the Personal pillar exists to allow people to connect with the person behind the brand. A great example of Personal content: posting a picture of you and your team members and adding fun facts and caption with a call to action, asking your audience to comment fun facts about themselves for example.

Calls to action are the best way to convert followers into clients. Use a mixture of fun CTAs as above and actionable ones such as signing up for your newsletter or booking a call at your link in bio. Stories are also a great tool for creating Personal content. Take your audience through your day, be yourself, and post fun polls—have some fun! Ideally, you want to be sharing something personal and real, whilst establishing a connection to your ideal clients. Figure out what makes you relatable and share that with your audience.

How often do I need to post on Instagram—is it true the more often the better?

It's not true. The key is consistency. If you can post every day consistently using a real strategy and great content pillars, you will grow faster than someone who posts only twice a week. Even if you don't have much content to work with or much time, being consistent will already make a huge difference.

It is hard to balance the upkeep of my business with the upkeep of social media. At what stage should I consider hiring a social media expert?

In my opinion, it's all about time and priorities. If you have a good understanding of your marketing strategy and have the time and resources to dedicate to social media then I recommend keeping social media marketing in-house. However, if you don't have much time in your day and you're not entirely sure about your marketing strategy then it is worth hiring externally. A good solution could be to hire a professional to spruce up your social media strategy each month, but you still do the actual content creation and posting yourself.

Any tips on turning gifted collaborations into paid collaborations?

Use gifted collaborations as social proof. After that, use your analytics from these collabs to craft your pitch for a paid collab. The most difficult part is getting started—it is all about making the first move with your ideal brands!

PSA: When it comes to collaborations, know your boundaries. When they stop being a benefit to you, stop.

How do I find my target market on Instagram? And then... how do I get them to follow me?

Initially, it's all about hashtags. Next, you need to be visible where your ideal clients are—that way they'll see you and keep you in mind. Think local. Where do your ideal clients frequent? Do they interact with local industry partners? Any local independent shops? A great route is to engage with these local businesses and create a referral relationship. Don't be afraid to follow and connect—hang around their pages and comment on their posts.

When it comes to followers, it's all about engagement. Increase your comments on others' posts, reply to stories, and reply to your own comments. The more you engage, the more reach your posts will have and the more people engage back. Remember: your number of followers doesn't actually benefit the algorithm, it's all about the number of people who engage with your account. I know it can be tempting to buy followers to look "more authentic" but in the long run, it will only harm your account. If your followers are made up of ideal clients and industry partners, your posts will actually make a difference! If they're bought followers, your posts will reach people who have no interest in your service or brand—so Instagram becomes a waste of time!

So... basically, making connections as you would in real life is just as effective on social media?

Exactly! Some people forget to be "social" on social media. But that is the key.
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Visualist regularly invites industry experts to answer the practical questions of our creative community. Brand messaging, financial management, legal contracts—you name it! Secure an invite to our next event by joining us on Facebook.

What defines a creative visionary? What is that spark that elevates their creativity to a new level? Perhaps the answer lies in a series of unconventional habits. Dali took systematic naps to awaken his creativity and Karl Lagerfeld had an infamous army of iPods, iPads and iPhones! Each creative mind has its own set of quirks, idiosyncrasies, and fascinating habits. From the way they conceptualise ideas to the way they execute their projects, the quirks of creatives make their art truly one of a kind. Let's explore the weird and wonderful habits of a few of history's most creative disruptors...

Rei Kawakubo

The spontaneous designer

Rei Kawakubo, the legendary fashion designer and founder of Comme des Garçons, is known for her avant-garde and conceptual designs. And yet, she creates her entire collections without ever sketching a single design! Instead, she relies on a process of trial and error, draping fabric directly on a mannequin to see how it falls and how it can be manipulated. This process allows her to create truly unique and innovative designs. Her designs, such as her "Broken Bride" collection, have pushed the boundaries of what is considered wearable and have made her a true icon in the fashion world.

Tim Burton

The master of whimsy

Tim Burton, the film director and animator, is renowned for his darkly imaginative and whimsical films such as "Edward Scissorhands" and "Beetlejuice". His love for the macabre and his knack for creating quirky, offbeat characters have made him one of the most distinctive and recognizable filmmakers of our time. Tim Burton is always carrying a sketchbook with him and constantly drawing, regardless of where he is or what he is doing. This habit allows him to continuously develop and refine his unique vision and to capture ideas as they come to him.

Ava DuVernay

The rainbow writer

Film director and screenwriter Ava DuVernay is best known for her socially conscious and visually stunning films such as "Selma" and "A Wrinkle in Time". But a lesser-known fact is that Ana DuVernay writes her scripts by hand, using different coloured pens to symbolise different characters and storylines. This tactile process helps her to fully immerse herself in the world of the story and to better understand the interconnections between the characters. Her ability to tackle complex themes and bring diverse stories to the screen has made her one of the most exciting and important filmmakers working today.

Jean-Michel Basquiat

The polymath painter

Infamous Neo-Expressionist painter Jean-Michel Basquiat was known for his raw and powerful paintings that often dealt with themes of race, power, and culture. Jean-Michel was rumoured to always be working on multiple pieces at once, spreading them out across the floor of his studio and constantly moving back and forth between them. This habit allowed him to constantly build upon and refine his ideas, producing a body of work that is both prolific and impactful. His works, such as "Irony of Negro Policeman" and "Charles the First", are powerful commentary on race and power, and have cemented his legacy as one of the most important artists of the 20th century.

Diane von Fürstenberg

The reclining designer

Diane von Fürstenberg is a Belgian-American fashion designer whose wrap dresses have become a staple of women's wardrobes, whilst her relentless drive to empower women through fashion has made her one of the most influential designers of our time. But what you didn't know is that her collections are normally conceptualised upside down! Diane von Fürstenberg believes it allows her to have a different perspective and come up with more innovative designs.

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From Tim Burton's constant sketching to Ava DuVernay’s colours, embracing their quirks allowed these artists to create works that are both innovative and timeless, demonstrating the power of individuality and creativity. So the next time you're feeling stuck or uninspired, try embracing your own quirks and see where they might take you!

As a child in her father's garden, Raysa Farah discovered her love for floristry. Whilst working in the NHS, Raysa continued to nurture her passion for posys and finally allowed it to blossom in the launch of her own luxury floristry studio, LK Verdant. Today, the LK Verdant brand is pruned to perfection—earning Raysa a budding Instagram following and regular features amidst the pages of Vogue and Grazia.

Raysa reflects on her unconventional journey into floral entrepreneurship, her boundless creativity and the timeless appeal of a beautiful bouquet.

Where does your passion for floristry stem from?

Since I was a very little girl, I wanted to be a florist. My love began whilst pottering and playing around my father's stunning floral-filled garden. I literally begged my parents to study floristry after I left school but they persuaded me to pursue a more "conventional" career path. So I did.

When I met Mohammed, at the age of 23, he encouraged my passion and love for flowers. He had the business up and running for me just one month after I told him, "One day when I’m old and retired I will fulfil my dream of being a florist." I started by showcasing flower posies (stems picked from my father's garden) on Instagram—and orders were flying in! I soon became so busy that I had to make a decision on which career I wanted. I took the risk and left my very well-paid and credible job at the NHS to chase my dreams (sounds cliché I know). I haven't looked back since.

How did you find the career transition?

Leaving my job in the NHS was not easy. My parents were so proud of me for completing a psychology BSC degree—I was never a high achiever at school and I really had to work hard for my grades. A successful and stable career in the NHS was everything my parents had hoped for me.

I was getting married to Mohammed and would soon be moving out of my parent's home, which meant I would have financial responsibilities of my own. Naturally, that made me anxious but starting up a business meant investing all of my savings—and when I say all I mean every spare penny—in buying materials, trademarks etc. I was anxious as to whether all of the hard work that went into earning those savings would make me a return.

What learnings have you brought forward from your previous career?

In the NHS, I learnt to be super organised—I am still strict on timekeeping to keep everything in check. I also learnt how to work well with others and that you should always listen—then listen again.

How do you push yourself to think outside the box?

I was one of the first (if not the first) local businesses in my area to take a high-end and on-trend approach to floristry. I embraced my quirky and creative designs and subsequently received masses of support from my target audience. I believe I am naturally creative—I don’t have to try too hard to think of new ideas and concepts. Just being out in nature inspires my designs, new environments and seasons.

What role has social media played in your success?

A tip for new business owners: use social media as your main source of marketing. In year one of business, I worked with a lot of social media influencers by sending them my products to review and promote. I also held blogger events with many well-known brands such as Kiehl's, Elizabeth Arden, L'Oréal, Clive Christian, and Kerastase. I believe this is what set my brand apart and gained me a lot of exposure. An engaged social media audience is essential. My most engaged followers also tend to be my most loyal clients that keep my business successful.

But remember: Instagram can be a very supportive place but being raw and authentic can also attract a lot of unwanted criticism—you need to have thick skin to work with the general public!

What does "bespoke service" mean to you?

• Providing the highest quality product.
• Clear communication.
• Going above and beyond to source what your client wants/needs—I ask my clients plenty of questions and I always follow their brief to a "T"!
• Delivering on time.

Most importantly, "bespoke" means adding a personal touch to your service, your communication, and your product. Each bouquet is unique—one is never the same as another.

You recently added "author" to your list of creative talents—tell us more...

When my little boy got diagnosed with Cancer, I couldn’t find any resources to educate his brother, Adam (aged 4), about why he was losing his hair and gaining drastic weight with medication. So, I decided to write my own children’s book. Writing came very naturally to me and I had so much fun. It brought me a lot of comfort to know that I had the potential to turn something so challenging into something positive. I want children to believe and understand that they are very special even if they look physically different to their friends.

Editors note: Raysa's story, "The Cub Without a Mane" is available for purchase here.

Favourite flower?

I have way too many! But If I had to pick just one: David Austin roses. My entire wedding was adorned with them and they smell incredible.
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Stop and smell the roses—browse Raysa's Instagram or visit her website.

Looking to make your creative process a little more colourful? Download a colour picker chrome extension.

A reliable colour picker extension is a designer's best friend. Colour is an integral part of the design process and finding the perfect hue can be a time-consuming process, but colour picker extensions are a clever way for creatives to speed up their workflow and make sure they always find the perfect shade. With the help of a chrome extension colour picker, you can spend less time spent searching for HEX, RGB, and HSL values, and more time building beautiful colour palettes into your designs.

Designers have a great eye for colour, but an eyedropper chrome extension can provide a little extra support when needed, making a colour picker extension is a must-have tool for designers, artists, web developers and more. Add these top colour picker chrome extensions to your design toolkit to make your creative process more efficient, and decidedly more colourful!

Top 3 colour picker Chrome extensions for designers

The best Chrome extension colour pickers available to creatives who need help picking colours, identifying colour codes and building colour palettes.

Ultimate Color Picker by Verblike

Made for: The meticulous designer

We all know how frustrating it can be when a colour picker can't identify the perfect colour you're looking for. But Ultimate Colour Picker by Verblike is a colour picker chrome extension that leaves no room for error. This colour picker extension has extreme magnification capabilities and a clear user interface, so you can identify the perfect colour for your project, pixel by pixel. And the best part? It has its own shortcut—use [Shift + Alt + C] for fuss-free colour picking!

CSS Peeper

Made for: The curious designer

CSS Peeper is a favourite chrome extension colour picker amongst experienced designers. Say goodbye to digging through code searching for your perfect colour and instead invest in this smart CSS chrome colour picker tailored to designers. With this colour picker extension, you can inspect the colour palette of any web page in an instant. Then simply copy hex codes across into your design software, et voila! CSS Peeper also has advanced features that unveil the fonts, dimensions and even line height used of any site—a colour picker chrome extension perfect for the nosey designer.

Color Picker by Fardos

Made for: The aesthetic designer

With Fardos' colour picker chrome extension, you can save colours and gradients from any site into a neatly organised, easily searchable library. Search the colour picker extension by colour name or hex code and be greeted with a full breakdown of the colour and its complimentary pairings. Unlike other developer tools, Fardos colour picker tool has a great user interface which means building that perfect colour palette just got a whole lot easier!

Andrea Araiza is a food photographer and stylist—browse her Instagram feed for too long and you'll find yourself getting hungry! But for Andrea, the hard work happens away from the plate. The key to Andrea's mouthwatering shots lies in efficient organisation and seamless client collaboration, for which she enlists the help of Visualist.

Introduce yourself...

Hello! My name is Andrea Araiza, I'm a food photographer and stylist. I work with restaurants and brands to capture their menu and their essence. I photograph so many amazing dishes but my favourite has always been salads. I'm not overstating when I say I love all kinds of leafy greens. They bring so much to a plate when paired with the right dressings, fruits, vegetables—anything really! A salad's place in my heart is undisputed.

I also develop my own recipes to photograph in my studio, I love to cook and I am always eager to try new things—learning has always been half the fun behind the camera and the kitchen. I use my social media as a space to share stories about what I do and how I do it.

What projects have you been working on lately?

I have recently conducted a photo shoot with Don Francisco Cheese, a Mexican American brand. The brief was to capture different ways to incorporate their product into classic dishes with a modern twist—we wanted to create light and airy images that had traditional elements but still felt approachable and young.

I used Visualist to plan the shoot. It is so important for me to be collaborative with my clients and Visualist acts as a visual record of our shared thought process.

Most clients are looking for that real personal touch. Without collaboration, clients are usually dissatisfied as they feel the resulting shots are not characteristic of their brand.

Do you use moodboards in your work?

Yes! Moodboards make it easy for my client and I to understand one another and find the common ground. I make my moodboards in Visualist and save them as a PNG to share with my clients. This makes them easily accessible whilst still making me look professional—how you package and deliver your services speaks volumes.

While the low-hanging fruit answer here is definitely through pictures, I want to say that besides being professional, having a good and casual relationship with your clients is also important. It is highly likely that your client will have someone who's supervising the project and who is more than willing to answer all your questions and share the bits of insight that they have with their own or their client's brand. Being close with those you are in touch with will boost confidence and results in general, in my experience.

Is your working style chaotic or organised?

In my opinion, organisation is one of the pillars of creativity and excellence. It is so useful to have an organised, manageable space that can act as a source of inspiration for many projects.

Organising and searching my Visualist library by colour is very useful. I also love being able to sort and search my Visualist library by tags.

What role does colour play in your process?

I teach colour theory as part of my food photography course. Colour theory can seem like an obstacle in creative lines of work as its title implies that there might be only one right answer, but I think that there lies the most surprising lesson of the course. Working colour into food photography is a matter of storytelling, you can complement the feeling of a warm desert with the same colour you'd use to play and contrast with the vibrancy of a fresh meal.

Colours can communicate so much more than we think, it takes time and dedication to get the messaging just right.

Ola G. Snippen is the creator of Norweigan accessory brand, sovesveis. But his ethereal scarves speak to more than just an aesthetic, they embody the timeless beauty of the Scandi wardrobe and the preservation of traditional craftsmanship.

Ola has always dreamt of launching his own fashion brand, and Visualist is helping him to make it a reality.

Introduce yourself...

My name is Ola, I’m a 23-year-old guy living by a fjord in western Norway. I’m currently studying my last year of a bachelors degree in arts, design, and craftsmanship.

I love creating and have always dreamt of becoming a fashion designer. I created my brand sovesveis (which roughly translates to bed hair in English) as a way of making that dream a reality.

Where do you find inspiration?

I get inspiration from all around me. That could be a song, a plant, or the weather. I am always finding material on my computer from 2014, a photo I printed last year, a note from 2017 and so on—my studio is a mess! However, I need my space to be tidy in order to do my best work.

Boards in Visualist have changed the way I work. Now, whenever I find inspiration I can save it in one space, meaning I don’t have to spend time cleaning clutter before getting to work. The process feels more natural in a way.

What's happening at sovesveis?

I’m currently working on a line of accessories for fall and winter. An essential idea behind the brand is to produce garments that are practical and warm but still look good—Norway is a land with unpredictable weather!

The accessories will be mostly hand-knitted by me but I’m also collaborating with a weaver who will make two one-of-a-kind scarves based on bespoke colour palettes I put together. Visualist has been really helpful here, making it easy to take select colours from imagery and then edit to perfection as a colour block.

How important is colour in your work?

Colour is the essence of everything I do. I want to bring colour to the timeless Scandi wardrobe.

Visualist feels like having a table full of pictures, colours, and fabrics that I can mix and match—with the added benefit of being able to shut the computer and not have to clean anything up!

The scarf is such an elegant accessory, what does it symbolise to you?

For me, as a Norwegian, the scarf symbolises warmth, hugs, and craftsmanship. It also reminds me of my mother, who works as a seamstress of Norwegian folk clothing. A lot of traditional craftsmanship is fading, but my brand exists to keep those traditions alive and relevant.

The scarf, may it be silk or wool, makes one look put together, without having to put effort in with the rest of the outfit. The idea behind soveseis is that the details make the outfit.

In a world of hyper-consumerism and relentless fashion trends, we could all learn a lesson from stylist and sustainability advocate, Jenna Flood.

Jenna uses Visualist in her curation of client lookbooks and finding the perfect colour palettes. Visualist speeds up her process so that she has more time to focus on promoting slow fashion—making an impact one wardrobe at a time.

Introduce yourself...

Hello! I am Jenna (She/Her) I am a slow fashion stylist whose main focus is educating people on issues surrounding fast fashion. I help people build their wardrobes in a more sustainable way with clothing made with ethical practices and pre-loved items. Alongside my work as a stylist, I work at a trade-style clothing store called Mutual Muse in Brunswick, Melbourne. I have also been invited to speak publicly about slow fashion, having been featured on the radio and even in Peppermint magazine!

Where do you find inspiration?

I usually put 'street style' in a search. There are so many street-style photographers out there and there are also many stylish people (and not just at events!) these images always give me ideas and colour palettes for my next project or just day-to-day dressing.

What role does Visualist play in your process?

I am currently curating a client look book with the help of Visualist. The boards and palettes I present should make my clients excited to explore their new style. I use moodboards to get an idea of what my client wants from their style. A client may say they want a classic style, but that means something different to everyone—moodboards help guide me towards what they are looking for. They also help me identify the colours and what a client may like about a certain look.

How important is colour in a wardrobe?

Colour is key in a moodboard, it makes the whole thing look cohesive and helps to communicate the overall vision. I use Visualist's colour search to bring together the perfect colour palettes for my clients.

The colours we wear impact our mood. I always feel so light when I wear lighter colours and I always feel a bit mysterious when I wear darker tones. I know I always feel happy when looking at fun prints put together in interesting ways. I think we should all wear what makes us smile.

What is your favourite colour combination to wear right now?

As we are coming into Spring here in Australia, I am loving neutral tones paired with white and maybe tan or dark brown accessories. Black is always in rotation for me and green is one of my favourite colours to give my wardrobe something special.

Nora Hin Tung is a full-time architect and part-time Instagram curator, her playful feed is a reflection of all that Nora finds beautiful in her daily life. Nora uses moodboards to present her concepts to clients but found that too often moodboarding was becoming a chore rather than a joy—until she found Visualist.

Introduce yourself...

Hi! I'm Nora. I'm an architect working between Paris and Reunion Island.

My job allows me to practice my passion: accompanying people in new stages of their professional or personal life. It's a job rich in emotions, very demanding but really exciting.

How do you use moodboards?

Architecture is a visual job. It is important to use moodboards at the beginning of each project, to quickly invite a client into my world and demonstrate the direction I want to take. Moodboards let creativity run wild and they are a rather poetic and efficient way to understand a person's taste—moodboards don't speak to the brain, they speak to the heart.

I am also fond of making moodboards for myself. I gather inspiration and ideas from the beauty in my daily life—an architect's eye knows how to find poetry in everything.

Moodboards don't have to be perfect—agree or disagree?

A moodboard doesn't have to be perfect but it is about perfection. It is about creating emotions—sensations even.

Finding the perfect images, the perfect colour palette, the perfect balance between forms, fulls and voids... It's a more complex exercise than it seems! But it is a thankless job—a customer decides whether they like the board or not in 3 seconds.

As a creative, it's very hard to say, "Ok, I'm done!" It used to take me hours to complete moodboards but thanks to Studio in Visualist I am saving a lot of time.

Favourite feature?

I'm particularly fond of the background remover, a real time saver! I used Visualist for the first time on my phone. I was shocked by the ease of use and the efficiency of the tool. I could never have imagined making a moodboard from my mobile, let alone in just 5 minutes. Visualist is playful, yet really powerful. It makes my life so much easier!

As a self-employed creative you're likely already wearing a lot of hats, so why make banking any harder than it needs to be?

It is important that creative professionals are able to separate their personal and professional finances—thankfully there are a growing number of digital banks offering a great alternative to traditional banks for self-employed creatives to do so. These banks also offer helpful tools and resources and are often compatible with existing apps in the creative entrepreneur's toolkit including Quickbooks, Stripe and Etsy.

What all creatives have in common, from interior designers to personal stylists, is the desire to spend less time managing finances and more time creating! So we've rounded up the best banks on the market that can help independent creatives do just that...

Lili

Lili is a bank looking to the future. In their own words: "Freelancers and small businesses are redefining work. We are redesigning banking to help them grow their business." Lili is great for creative entrepreneurs at the start of their journey, with no fees and no minimum deposit.

Star feature: Tax Bucket. Lili helps you decide a percentage of your income to set aside to cover income tax—no more nasty surprises come tax return deadlines.

Find out more about Lili here.

Vergo

Unlimited cash back, free wires, free invoicing, expense tracking, and free checking account—and if that wasn't enough, Vergo also comes with no annual fees! Still not sold!? Vergo is backed by design industry mogul, Kelly Wearstler. Now we're talking.

Star feature: Accounting integrations. Connect the accounting tools you're already using, such as Quickbooks and Xero, with Vergo—your accountant will love you!

Find out more about Vergo here.

Ellou

ElloU is the financial offshoot of Talenthouse—"a network of creative platforms aimed at building a barrier-free space for your talent." ElloU offers three tiers of membership to suit your growing business needs. As a member expect free transfers, free incoming payments in Euros, and currency exchange rates at your fingertips.

Star feature: Exchange rate calculator.  Make cross-border transactions a breeze with exchange rates available at the click of a button.

Find out more about Ellou here.

Found

A sophisticated way to manage your money. Found provides built-in bookkeeping, business banking, smart tax tools and professional invoice templates. In summary: "Smart, simple banking."

Star feature: Customised branded invoices. Stylish and functional, Found lets you create customized in a matter of minutes and supports client payments via Cash App, Zelle, Venmo, and PayPal in addition to credit card, debit card, and direct deposit.

Find out more about Found here.

Mettle

NatWest's cool younger sibling—Mettle is a business account designed to help sole traders or co-owned limited companies "start, run, and grow." With Mettle you can create invoices, export data to your accountant or sync with your existing accounting software—and its all completely free.

Star feature: All Mettle customers receive eat NatWest FreeAgent for free!

Find out more about Mettle here.

Martha Tobyn is the founder of Anemone—a London-based wedding planning, design and styling studio for stylish, modern couples. Martha also acts as Head of Styling at The Wedding Academy.

Martha took an unconventional path into the wedding and events industry and has continued to approach her work with a unique flair. Martha reflects on her process with the help of an old wedding day tradition: something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue...

Something old

There is still a place for wedding traditions but I encourage my couples to adopt (if any) the ones that are meaningful to them and ditch those that aren’t. I am a firm believer in doing your wedding your way. Rather than conforming to expectations and what has come before. Most often the only essential bit is the legal ceremony. Apart from that, I say do what feels most like you and that may involve creating new traditions.

I find that my clients value the traditions they can emotionally connect with, and those that provide a great memorable moment that can be captured in the photos. Popular traditions include those such as the aisle walk, confetti moment, and wedding party speeches (with more women speaking too, yay!) More rarely seen are traditions such as a bouquet toss or a receiving line. Elements such as a cake cut or first dance are being modernised with fun or creative twists.

Something new

The first thing I need to know when taking on a new client is the date! I can get booked years in advance and certain weekends such as bank holidays can be popular. So, I need to check that I’m free for their preferred or already confirmed date before we chat further. I also feel that a connection is key to a successful wedding planning partnership so I offer a complimentary call to get to know them better. It’s important for me to be able to "get in their heads" and start to develop a sense of their vibe, priorities, budget, and style. Then we can get a feel for if we’d be a good fit or not.

Something borrowed

After university, I planned to launch what I thought was going to be my dream career in the fashion industry. I ended up working as a production/studio assistant for a couture bridal designer. It was wonderful to see the dresses sketched out and skilfully crafted. Whilst assisting with a bridal fitting one day, I really felt how special the moment was for the bride and what an honour it was to be part of a very important milestone in someone’s life. I remember thinking how rewarding that might be.

Years later, when I felt I needed a career shift, that memory popped into my head. From that point on, I put all my time and energy into retraining and building a business that is very fulfilling and sparks my creativity. So much of what I learned during my previous career in fashion applies to my work today. When I considered a career change, I looked at roles that would benefit from what I’d already learned. Budget management, working to a strict timeline, liaising with suppliers and negotiating are all skills that apply to both jobs.

But I think the biggest lesson I learnt in fashion is the importance of maintaining equilibrium and keeping all the stakeholders involved happy! A wedding is a big life project, with lots of people and emotions (as well as money) invested. Crucially, both roles involve taking something from concept to physical delivery, through refinement and paying attention to all the details.

As a wedding planner, I learned very early on whilst assisting some of the best UK planners, to surround yourself with a trusted team, talented suppliers and passionate assistants who you can rely on to deliver—as a planner the team you build with is everything! A great supplier collaboration can produce magic, whereas a bad one can cause so much unnecessary stress. If you recommended a supplier, they are representing you.

An industry friend and colleague also once told me that no matter how long you’ve been working in the industry, you learn something at every wedding. It helps you learn and grow and makes you an even better planner for the next one!

Something blue

This particular colour palette is modern, muted, and autumnal. I absolutely love creating colour palettes. There are so many things that influence colour choices but ultimately my couples inspire their own wedding palettes.

I start with the couple's preferred colours or colours taken from treasured possessions and places they love. I consider these in relation to the venue and location as a backdrop, and then I refine them by considering complimentary and contrasting colours. These could be from something I’ve seen in nature, on the catwalk, at an art exhibition or just fulfilling my interiors itch on Pinterest.

When I’m creating concepts for inspiration editorials I am drawn towards more unexpected colours or combinations rarely seen in real weddings. It’s always fun to inspire couples to be exciting with their colour choices. I think some of the most exciting trends for 2023 involve how colours will be used. I predict more confident use of unexpected accent colours. Such as pops of light blue in more soft or muted palettes, or flashes of bold red or orange in a pastel scheme. I’m also expecting to see more monochrome styling and florals as an update on the modern neutrals that have been very popular.

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Browse a beautiful archive of Martha's work on Instagram. Find out more about Martha's services on her website.

Wed & Prosper is an award-winning wedding planning and styling service based on the Isle of Wight, co-founded by sisters Carrie and Rachel Almond.

The pair reflect on their journey into the industry and the moments that make their job special with the help of an old wedding day tradition: something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue...

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Something old

We took quite different journeys into our role as wedding planners...

Rachel‍

I spent a few years working on cruise ships and I used to love getting asked to decorate the big events or help with setting up the onboard weddings—there is something so rewarding about helping people make memories. The things people will always remember are how a place looked, the music that was playing, or even the smell!

Carrie‍

I worked at the Minghella Film Festival, where I was involved in planning and organising everything from catering to driving Jude Law—that’s when I knew the events industry was for me. When I was 15, "event planner" was on my careers printout along with "bank manager". I did become a bank manager, but have since forged a career in weddings on our little island.

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Now, one of our favourite parts of the job is the feedback we get from guests. Obviously, it's amazing when the bride tells us how much we have done for her, but we really love it when the guests and relatives tell us the behind-the-scenes info that we may not have known about. Such as that the bride was in tears with stress and anxiety until we showed up, or that she didn’t know what she was going to do until we fixed it!

The look on all the guest's faces when we reveal the venue all kitted out is also a big win for us! We are from a small island, so when we get stopped in the street or on the school run as someone has heard of a wedding or seen it on Instagram it really brightens our day and gives us an extra lift.

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Something new

Our enquiries come via social media, website, phone calls and emails. Many of our clients don't live on the Isle of Wight and so we offer a free consultation via video as part of our onboarding process. We always ask new clients what they love and hate, what they do for hobbies and how they want to feel on their wedding day. This gives us a great idea of what sort of vibe they want and which suppliers will suit them. You have to like your wedding planner as you are trusting them with one of the most important days of your life so, for us, the first consultation is really important.

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Something borrowed

We ask our clients early on to start collecting and saving images. Some clients are super organised, with folders dedicated to different elements of the day and a clear vision of what they are trying to achieve. Other clients find the creativity side a bit harder, which is where we step in to help with our styling consultancy service.

To illustrate ideas, we put moodboards together and provide sketches of how different areas of the venue will look. We may also bring clients into our studio and put together different items for centrepieces, swapping and changing items or colour schemes until they are happy.

We really believe in making sure each wedding is different and showcases the couple's personality— that it’s not just copied from a Pinterest or Instagram post they have seen.

Lately, we are seeing a rise in people wanting bigger flower installations, along with décor suspended from ceilings and marquees instead of just focusing on the table décor. Our clients want people to be surrounded by beauty and create more atmosphere—it is all about having every angle covered for the photographs.

We are also seeing some traditions being broken. For example, instead of throwing the bouquet, brides will give all the ladies a single stem flower that everyone throws at the same time. This approach means the traditional element of the bouquet toss is still there without it ruining the amazing bouquet that a florist has spent lots of time making and you have given a hefty sum of the budget to.                

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Something blue

To start building a colour palette, we start with the dress. What colour scheme are they thinking for their own dress and those of the bridal party—is that going to suit everyone? Then the time of year also has a big influence on the colour scheme, for example, deeper colours for winter and maybe pastels for springtime. Once a few of the bigger questions have been answered we will then look into the colour of décor.

The venue and how it is already decorated also have a big impact on the colour scheme chosen, it is so great when a venue is quite clean-cut and neutral because it allows the client to really bring their personality into play. I like to start with the florals—looking at what is in season and what colours we can get hold of—and develop from there, bringing in the colours of linen and napkins, designing the stationery and making sure everything complements each other.

We call this colour palette, "All The Shades of Green". The idea was to use a mix of deep forest greens and lighter garden greens mixed in with some darker berry colours. This was an October marquee wedding and the idea was to bring the English garden that surrounded the stately home into the marquee itself.

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Browse an archive of Rachel and Carrie's work on Instagram or learn more about their services on their website.