Portrait → Captures a moment in time
The Show → Gives people the space to express who they are having the courage to let go of the mask to show themselves in t...
Terry Bower is an amazing person and storytellerWe met two weeks ago at a workshop ran by Terry atBusiness & IP Centre Sussex alongsideMike MonkFrom the moment we started talking we instantly connected. We both share a similar mission helping people uncover their true essence through their storiesTerry is the co-founder ofInside Stories going into the depth of stories with words. I bring stories to life visuallySo we had an idea. What if we combine our worlds?—𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿We are crafting an offer that brings our expertise together. Helping businesses shape and visually share their stories. Today’s podcast episode is the first step in that journey—𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀?Terry explains Inside Stories craft stories for businesses. The story of what you do. How you do it. Why you do it. They make your story clear and memorable so when someone asks 'What do you do?' You can tell them a story that helps them remember you—𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲 '𝗝𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗲'The process is about uncovering your purpose. How you want your audience to feel & think & know & what you want them to do. Ultimately what is the thing that sets you apart?Take two oranges for example. They look exactly the same on the surface. What is the thing that makes you go 'I want that one'. Same for a business. What is the thing that makes someone say I want to work with you?That is the thing we are capturing—𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 ‘𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹’...Terry did his 2 Hour Pitch & Purpose session with me literally just before recording this episodeAs someone who also helps people tell their story. Terry did that for me. There is a reason why I’ve arrived at doing storytelling and Terry went deep within that and pulled out specific threads to help me see my own 'what' 'how' and 'why' clearly with me talking and Terry capturing in words—𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 & 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀Terry and I tell stories differently but our approaches complement each other perfectly. Terry goes deep into the details with words and I simplify and bring it to life visuallyWe did a visual experiment. Terry is a happy optimistic loyal person and a sunflower is one thing that encapsulate them all. Thank you for sharing your words to create the cover pictureTogether we craft business stories in words and pictures—𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿We are crafting a new offering at an accessible price...Your Business Story in Words & Picture crafted for your businessThis will be something you could share on social media on your website or with potential clients as a true reflection of 'Who you are' 'What you do' and 'Why you do it'We are looking for business owners who want to be bold and tell their story in a way that feels uniquely themDoes that sounds like you? Stay tuned—Keep squeezing out your juice & we will be in touch with more soon
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15:51
Create case studies with Michael Cheetham
"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." — Edgar Degas
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Are you wanting to earn a living creating your art? This episode is for you
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Michael Cheetham is a Photographer based in Brighton
We had a conversation about being an Artist earning a living doing what you love
Spotlighting Michael’s services we talked through the journey of fulfilling people’s needs doing what you love whilst remaining authentic promoting yourself without undervaluing yourself
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𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 → 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻
From being the kid always with a camera to growing into offering services nationally and internationally. Michael has packaged up his artistry in a way that is accessible. We go into 'how' he has done that
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𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 ‘𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲’
Photography is less than 20% of the business. The delivered product is photographs but it is about the journey Michael takes people on. We explore Michael's method further
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𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 → 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴
Within a service ‘capturing life’ Michael shares it’s not just a camera and a few photos it’s an entire lifestyle. Like many art forms where your entire life is an embodiment of what you offer choose networking over emailing allows people to get a feel for who you are
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𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 ‘𝗘𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲’ → 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀
In the moments when the business hasn’t formed yet but you can see it could in the future. How can you feel progress? Collect case studies!
Create artefacts practicing your own creative process that you can share. Just like Michael did in the early days trying different experiences building him a broad portfolio. Gaining the ability to say ‘for that I have done this and my approach was this…’
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𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 = 𝗢𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀
Something done is better than perfect. Practice putting yourself in the arena practice creating for people getting to know how you operate
One case study is a piece of your work squeezing the juice of your artistry into in digestible form like an orange segment
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𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 → 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 & 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀
Keep creating for you. That will keep the spark alive. Then when you want to turn it into a business move into solving problems for other people with your artistry
People always ask how have you done this in the past?
“I didn’t just get a job with Giorgio Armani did the 400 jobs before” — Michael Cheetham
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Give yourself 1 hour this week...
What is one piece of your art you can create? Who would you love to show?
1 step is 1 case study. Keep taking the next step and watch your collection grow
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Learn More about Michael Cheetham
→ Amity Weddings (www.amityweddings.com)
→ Photography Service (www.michaelcheethamphotography.com)
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56:54
Origin story of UnitedUs with Jan Rust
Podcast Episode → Origin story of UnitedUs with Jan Rust
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We met to have a conversation about brand storytelling and Jan shared the origin story of UnitedUs
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Jan is one of the creators of UnitedUs a Brighton based brand agency
I first met Jan in 2022. I was in awe of the high quality brand identities UnitedUs had created and reached out
We explored the art of brand storytelling within larger companies flowing into the story of UnitedUs and the importance of relationships within creating authentic brands
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𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱𝗨𝘀 → 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀
Founded in 2012. UnitedUs started out as a partnership between Jan and Luke Taylor
Started with a spontaneous coffee. Spiralled into them talking about print & digital. Jan more digital and Luke more print they started collaborating on projects. Turning it into a company born as PixaDot. Evolving into a more strategic brand agency rebranding as UnitedUs
Now helping clients uncover their unique visual identities by first unpacking the story they want to tell aligning it with their business goals
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𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 ‘𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗹’ 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴
Over the years people have come and gone but UnitedUs has maintained it's core. Jan shares how they have kept the culture authentic and not forced
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𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Jan shares how each client is different but the fundamental process stays the same. Asking who are they? What makes them tick? Why do they exist? understanding what will make them different. Taking note then amplifying it through creative ways such visual identity or written word etc
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‘𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆’ 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱𝗨𝘀
We go into the strong sense of family at UnitedUs. The studio feeling like family home. Clients feeling like in-laws. Jan shares how they navigate together towards a shared purpose with similar values
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𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲
Jan shares how they facilitate giving everyone a voice when working on a wider company level brand project then weave it together to create a ‘hook’
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𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲
Jan shares how creativity is not just all out expression. The team having a level of confidence & maturity knowing they are paid to create value for clients. Deadlines creating guard rails helping to focus. Creativity thriving unlocking challenges together
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𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻
Beyond branding Jan shares how they are leaning into the role as a socially conscious agency and working with students navigating challenges like getting into the industry with the rise of AI
Ultimately with the mission to be a good influence and a force for good
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Thank you Jan for sharing the story of UnitedUs and how you create brands for larger companies that authentically connect with their audience
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Check out UnitedUs → unitedus.co.uk
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33:07
Loving yourself and squeeze your juice out with Solomon Slade
One of the core messages in Solomon’s work is ‘Loving Yourself’ connecting to a message in my work ‘Squeeze Your Juice Out’Both of us help people own and express their authentic selfAs a Coach (Solomon) and Artist (Me) this is the story of how we did that for each other—Solomon is Mental Fitness Coach who has developed a skills-based approach to mindfulness treating it like going to the gymSolomon became one of the first people to commission me to create his portrait in 2023Towards the end of 2024 I enrolled onto Solomon’s 6-week ‘Mental Fitness’ programme and Solomon hired me to create the ‘Book’ to go alongside his ‘Portrait’ to help him get clarity on his business narrativeWe finished working together exactly one year on since I created the portrait for Solomon marking a full circle moment—𝗪𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗻’𝘀 ‘𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀’We go into ‘Loving Yourself’ and learning to treat ourselves like we would our best mateSolomon goes into his early meditation experiences which revealed his critical inner-chatter challenge. How boredom and frustration during those early meditations sparked curiosity reframing them as opportunities for exploration. Growing into creating ‘Mental Fitness’ a practical approach to mindfulness like physical fitnessSol shares how he helps his clients reframe the sabotaging voices within them uncovering the 'gold' beneath them. Stripping away unhelpful layers to connect people back with their ‘essential self.’I share my own experience of being guided by Solomon. Sharing insight into experiencing the ‘Mental Fitness’ framework turning my own sabotaging voices into strengths over 6-weeks—𝗪𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 ‘𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 & 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸’ 𝗜 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗻Solomon shares how having a tangible book from his internal thoughts distilled into a concise narrative has given him the ease and flow to present who he is and what he doesSolomon talks about the value of turning complex ideas into something tangible acting as an anchor for him growing forward—𝗪𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 '𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀'How we both create space for people within our work where exploration can happen freely without judgementThe delicate art of holding creative expression and structuring it to make sense being a co-explorer rather than a guru balancing vulnerability with guidanceViewing life as a game helping people become the main character of their own story. Breaking free from societal structures to create their own path—𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀Loving Yourself → Treat yourself like your best mate. Notice when a critical thought appears catch it and flip itSqueeze Your Juice Out → Create something daily for 1 minute (scribble, write, paint, express you) do it for 100 days and see what grows—Learn more about Solomon Slade → Website🧠
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1:08:20
Origin story with Me
Your origin story is powerful connecting you all the way back to why you began doing what you do today in the first place
Whether you’re starting a new business or simply getting to know someone sharing your story creates depth making you easier to trust and connect with
I help people people tell their story. Being a role model of that myself this is me sharing my childhood love for characters and how it informs my work today
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𝗠𝘂𝗺 𝗙𝘂𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝘆 𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
As a kid my Mum used to read me children’s books sparking my imagination and planting seeds of creativity from an early age
I became obsessed with Mr Blobby. When my Mum took me to Mr Blobby Land I was blown away being inside his world built purely from imagination
Looney Tunes and taken to DisneyWorld as well. Being inside worlds that isn’t this one completely stretched my imagination. It felt like anything was possible within them
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𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝘆 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲
At school I was drawn toward art. In Year 7 my form tutor noticed my obsession with drawing characters and suggested “Asis why don’t you create a character for everyone in the class?"
I created caricatures of all my classmates. Becoming a thread of what I became to do later in life capturing the essence of people and showing it back to them
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𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 & 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲
Curiosity led me to Leeds Art College. I designed smoothie bottles. Exploring the idea of putting skin around feelings turning abstract emotions into physical forms
Moving me into university studying Design for Industry at. One project I’m proud of was designing bird feeders I sketched them and then made them real. They didn’t exist before I imagined them. Realising through drawing you can create life and bring ideas into the world
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𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
In my final year I faced something deeply personal. My stammer. I created a product called SpeechBubble an app that helps people reflect on speaking situations. Generating characters
Characters born from exploring my own vulnerability turning a challenge into something healing
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𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝘁 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿
Today the thread of storytelling character creation and helping people express themselves continues in the six colour portraits I create each connecting to the six chakras with the seventh being your ultimate essence
Growing into now helping people turn their streams of consciousness into illustrated books unpacking their origin stories turning their thoughts and feelings into something tangible that they can carry forward
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𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀
From the very beginning to where you are now. There is a thread in your past that has led you to this moment. This is my origin story I would love to hear yours. Feel empowered to share
Would you like to explore your origin story? send me a message
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Inspiration
Art & Courage Comic Book
& Thank you Mum for fuelling me with creativity from Day Zero
Portrait → Captures a moment in time
The Show → Gives people the space to express who they are having the courage to let go of the mask to show themselves in their truth by sharing their inside story outside to connect the dots within themselves to connect to a wider audience
Join me Asis Patel turning thoughts into reality through creation and storytelling conversations with inspirational people