Today on the podcast, I'm chatting with Kerry Tottingham, co-founder of the social enterprise A Brilliant Thing. Kerry runs A Brilliant Thing with her sisters, focusing on ‘Healing Centred Design' – a fascinating framework they've developed that blends systemic approaches, creative coaching, and trauma-informed practice to help people and organisations create positive change. Despite this being a relatively abstract concept I thought I’d struggle to understand, Kerry explained the concept beautifully and I know you’ll enjoy the chat as much as I did!

Kerry shares her journey and insights into how Healing Centred Design principles, and even complementary physical products, can benefit individuals and communities.

• Healing Centred Design: It's about blending systemic thinking, creative coaching, and trauma-informed practice, shifting the focus from trauma to healing, and equipping people with design tools to create better systems and adapt to change.
• Adding Products to Services: Creating a physical product (like coaching cards) can solve internal needs (collecting resources), enhance the client experience (changing the environment, offering tangible tools), and act as an invitation into your world and methodology.
• Product Strategy: You don't need a full product business. Products can be used strategically within a service business for launches, as bonuses, or exclusive offers, without necessarily requiring constant sales and shipping if that doesn't suit your model.
• Diversification & Innovation: Offering both services and products, or diversifying income streams and experiences in general, can lead to cross-pollination of ideas, innovation ('Collide and Align' principle), and resilience. It allows you to meet people where they are, offering different levels of engagement and investment.
• The Power of Safety & Collaboration: Building strong, trusting relationships, whether with co-founders (like Kerry and her sisters) or collaborators, creates the necessary safety for creativity, risk-taking, and navigating challenges.

• 02:41: The concept of Healing Centred Design.
• 08:49: The Brilliant Box coaching cards.
• 12:10: How the idea for the physical product emerged from an internal need.
• 18:16: Considering how different types of products (bite-size cards vs. in-depth book) cater to different needs and learning styles.
• 20:55: The 'Collide and Align' principle – intentionally seeking diverse ideas for innovation.

Kerry Tottingham is a co-founder of A Brilliant Thing, a social enterprise she runs with her sisters, Tess and Faye. They focus on teaching and implementing Healing Centred Design.

• Website: brilliantthings.co.uk
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abrilliantthing/
• Podcast: Healing Centred Transformation
• Resources: https://www.brilliantthing.co.uk/the-brilliant-box

• Ideas Fest: Event where they launched the Brilliant Box.
• Hannah's Calendar: https://www.hicommunications.co.uk/product-page/2025calendar
• Sweet Pea Sensory: Maker providing Play-Doh for Kerry's book launch

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 (http://lucylucraft.co.uk)

If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!

Today on the podcast, I am chatting to Rich Webster, who is a designer, entrepreneur, mentor, and consultant. He helps other creative entrepreneurs work less, and I've personally been a fan of his work and podcast for a few years now. We're talking all about how to work less, but as you'll hear, we dive into so much more, from focusing your business to the real impact of mental clutter. I really hope you enjoy this one!

• The 1% Brain Power Myth: Rich explained that the difference between dedicating 1% of your brainpower to a task versus 0% isn't just 1% – it feels more like 100%. Letting go of lingering business responsibilities, even small ones, can free up an enormous amount of mental space.
• Diversification as Distraction: Contrary to popular advice, Rich argues that diversification can often be a distraction, especially for solopreneurs. Narrowing your focus to the one or two things that provide the highest leverage can be far more effective for growth.
• Expert vs. Marketing Business: When looking to grow, solopreneurs often burn out trying to excel at both high-level client fulfilment and extensive marketing. Rich suggests choosing a path: either an "expert business" (scaling with price by becoming a sought-after specialist) or a "marketing business" (scaling with volume through products that don't require your direct time for fulfilment).
• Systemise Your "Non-Genius" Work: Identify your highest leverage tasks (for Rich, it's thinking and writing) and systemise everything else. This involves creating standard operating procedures, templates, and delegating, allowing you to spend more time in your zone of genius.
• The "One In, One Out" Rule for Your Time: Inspired by a minimalist philosophy for the home, Rich suggests that if you bring a new commitment or task (like starting Morning Pages) into your life, you should consciously remove something else to make space for it.

• 01:00: Rich shares his powerful origin story, touching on his journey from addiction to becoming an entrepreneur and how that shapes his perspective.
• 09:00: The surprising mental cost of keeping even seemingly small business commitments active; that final leap to 0% makes a huge difference.
• 11:00: Rich presents his compelling argument that "diversification is distraction" and why focusing your efforts is often the smarter move for sustainable growth.
• 17:00: An exploration of the two distinct business models solopreneurs can adopt to avoid burnout: the "expert business" scaling with price, or the "marketing business" scaling with volume.
• 46:00: Applying a minimalist household rule to your business and time: if you decide to add a new activity or commitment, what will you remove to make space for it?

Rich Webster is a designer, entrepreneur, mentor, and consultant who helps creative entrepreneurs work less and achieve more.

• Instagram: @RichWebbs
• Website: richwebster.co

• Chris Do (Rich's mentor)
• Work Less, Earn More (Rich Webster's program)
• The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

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!