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Creative Courage

Creative Courage

Written by: Matt Essam
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About this listen

Are you a creative business owner? Do you ever feel like you’ve got more to give or that there’s a bigger impact you could make?

Creative Courage is a creative business podcast hosted by award-winning coach, author, and speaker, Matt Essam. Matt explores the internal battles we all face as creative business owners.

From the fear of launching to the anxiety we face around our life purpose, Creative Courage is the first podcast series that will dive deep into the physiology of courage and its key part in our success as business owners, leaders and creatives.

Each week, we bring you expert insights and proven strategies from inspiring entrepreneurs and thought leaders who have conquered their creative challenges.

If you’re ready to elevate your creative journey and unlock your full potential, so that you can make more impact, win better clients and ultimately be proud of what you’ve built, then subscribe to the creative business podcast, Creative Courage, now on your favourite podcast platform.

Join us as we redefine what it means to thrive as a creative business owner.

Copyright © 2023 Matt Essam. All rights reserved.
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Episodes
  • The VA Mistakes Most Founders Are Making with Richard Woods
    Jan 28 2026

    Business is hard.

    With delivery, sales, marketing, and everything in between, there’s too much to do, and not enough time to do it.

    That’s why I tell creative studio owners that the first hire they should make is a virtual assistant.

    And in this episode, I’m joined by Richard Woods - a three-time bestselling author, serial founder, and finalist on The Apprentice - to dive deep into how to leverage VAs to scale twice as fast.

    Richard runs Million Dollar Sprint, where he helps small businesses get to a million dollars as well as Sprint VA, a global virtual assistant business with nearly 200 people.

    If you don’t have a VA yet, this will help you figure out what to look for and where to start.

    And if you already do, you’ll learn how to stop managing them so closely and get hours back each week.

    Covered in this episode:

    • Why most creative business owners wait too long to hire a VA.
    • How to find the right VA.
    • The first task you should outsource in your business.
    • The common mistakes that cause outsourcing to fail.
    • Management strategies for those who hate managing people.
    • How to know when a team member isn’t working out.
    • What will separate businesses from the rest in 2026.
    • And more…

    If you get value from this episode, follow Creative Courage on your favourite podcast app for more transformational content to help you thrive as a creative.

    PS: If you want a custom roadmap to grow a creative studio that works for you, rather than the other way around. Click this link - https://resources.mattessam.co.uk/.

    LEARN MORE

    Sprint VA - https://sprintva.co/courage

    Million Dollar Sprint - https://milliondollarsprint.com/

    LinkedIn For Breakfast - https://www.skool.com/linkedin-for-breakfast/about

    Work with Matt to grow your agency - https://www.mattessam.co.uk/creative-life-accelerator

    CONNECT

    Richard Woods on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardwoodsofficial/

    Matt Essam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattessam/

    LISTEN

    Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2LSpLIyYtBLe03JBC8LjvT

    Apple Podcasts -

    https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/creative-courage/id1721515799

    YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcf0CcYK3MtnITQCyGXoVVR-eTu8SEbAV

    Show More Show Less
    52 mins
  • What Creatives Get Wrong About Content with Chris Do
    Jan 21 2026

    Should you be creating content?

    It feels like everywhere we turn, we’re being told we need to regularly pump out content to attract more clients.

    And yet many creatives I talk to feel stuck when it comes to content.

    They overthink it.

    Or they post a couple of times and they decide it’s not for them.

    But the reality is that most creatives don’t have a content problem.

    They have a clarity problem.

    In this 100th episode of Creative Courage, Chris Do returns for a conversation that goes way deeper than ‘how to get more followers’.

    We talk about what people are missing when it comes to content, the first mistakes people make, why so much content gets ignored, and what stops people from sticking around.

    We didn’t agree on everything… which made this one of the most valuable conversations I’ve had in a long time.

    Covered in this episode:

    • Should every creative business owner be making content?
    • The first content mistakes most people make.
    • How to overcome the internal blockers that stop you posting.
    • What really makes people buy (and what doesn’t).
    • Why there’s more to content than marketing.
    • The missing “thread” in most content.
    • And more…

    If you get value from this episode, follow Creative Courage on your favourite podcast app for more transformational content to help you thrive as a creative.

    LEARN MORE

    Work with Matt to grow your agency - https://www.mattessam.co.uk/creative-life-accelerator

    CONNECT

    Chris Do on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thechrisdo/

    Matt Essam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattessam/

    LISTEN

    Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2LSpLIyYtBLe03JBC8LjvT

    Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/creative-courage/id1721515799

    YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Matt_Essam

    Show More Show Less
    52 mins
  • Freelance vs Agency: Which Model Gives You More Freedom? with Shoaib Ahmed
    Jan 14 2026

    Should you run your business solo? Or is it better to build an agency?

    It’s a question I hear often from creative business owners.

    You started your business for more freedom and flexibility.

    But somewhere along the way, things changed, and you end up with less freedom than you’d get from a 9 to 5 job.

    In this episode, I’m joined by Shoaib Ahmed, who’s lived the agency life, and as a solopreneur. He built an agency doing £30k months with a full team, but realised he could never truly switch off.

    So he burnt it down and went all in on his freelance business, where he specialises in helping people build their personal brand.

    We break down the trade-offs between staying solo and building an agency and how to find real freedom in your business.

    If you’ve ever felt torn between scaling up and simplifying, this is for you.

    Covered in this episode:

    • The symptoms you’re building the wrong size business.
    • The ‘freedom trap’ most creatives fall into.
    • How to make a solo business work without doing everything yourself.
    • What people never measure when they talk about freedom.
    • How to structure your business so you can take time off.
    • The one thing more important than client acquisition that most creatives miss.
    • How to build trust and win business without constant outreach.
    • What most LinkedIn content gets wrong.
    • How to know when it’s time to change your business.
    • And more…

    If you get value from this episode, follow Creative Courage on your favourite podcast app for more transformational content to help you thrive as a creative.

    PS: If you want a custom roadmap to grow a creative studio that works for you, rather than the other way around. Click this link - https://resources.mattessam.co.uk/.

    LEARN MORE

    Work with Matt to grow your agency - https://www.mattessam.co.uk/creative-life-accelerator

    CONNECT

    Shoaib Ahmed on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shoaibahmed21

    Matt Essam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattessam/

    LISTEN

    Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2LSpLIyYtBLe03JBC8LjvT

    Apple Podcasts -

    https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/creative-courage/id1721515799

    YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcf0CcYK3MtnITQCyGXoVVR-eTu8SEbAV

    Show More Show Less
    56 mins
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