Jo McCarthy, Criccieth (2025)

19/10/2022

“Where you dey go, Jo?”

I’m not going anywhere, really, BUT I’m going to give myself a break from creating content for Instagram for a while. 💫

I fancy being a consumer without (any self-imposed) pressure to create, and I want to work out how to use this platform for Firain in a way that I actually enjoy.

I thought I’d make this note for myself and share it, so that when my page seems a little stale 🍞 I can remind myself of The Grand Plan 🤪

Thank you for being here so far. Do sign up for Firain Mail if you’d like to hear more from me twice a month. Link en byo. 🔆

>> And I’d love to know… are you changing how you use Insta??

23/09/2022

🔆On launching & holding your nerve

My pal Helen | creative biz marketing] shared an email this morning about launching new products/ courses/ workshops that tied in nicely with a workshop I ran last night for the

Here are my thoughts on launching new things, and I’d love to know yours:

🚀 Work backward (like Amazon do). Who will buy this new thing, and why? How will you describe it and promote it? Build out your messaging before you work on the product/ workshop/ course.

🚀 the big one: hold ya nerve! Helen | creative biz marketing] and I emailed about this with each other this morning. Curveballs will come (for and I, we have been launching during a very confusing time in the UK… ironically our workshop will help with that, but it’s been a challenge to cut through the noise and get attention 💥)

🚀 It’s all been said before, but not by you. It’s unlikely you’re launching something extraordinarily revolutionary. If you are, tell us below!! Most of us launch things we know will be popular and resonate. So don’t hold back thinking there is no room for your perspective. There is.

🚀 Launching is 💤 emotionally, physically and mentally tiring. Look after yourself! During the planning stages, factor in plenty of time for rest and keep that schedule baggy. 📝📆

🚀 Celebrate! You’re doing something interesting, sharing your ideas and as always says, most people settle… but not us, hey?!

🔆Over to you: what are your top tips for launching something new?

image ID: Jo at Firain is a mentor for creatives who want to open and grow online shops. During a photoshoot with she thought it would be fun to plonk a plant on her head. Turns out, it was.

20/09/2022

⚓️ I’ve been thinking about flotsam (the debris in the ocean that was not deliberately thrown overboard, often as a result of a shipwreck or accident) and jetsam (debris that was deliberately thrown overboard by a crew of a ship in distress, most often to lighten the ship's load).

I love an analogy, as you know, so here are some flotsam and jetsam questions to consider at the turn of a season:

🌊 Are there things in my business (products, ways of working, collaborators) that I can change to lighten my load? What does a 'lighter load' look and feel like in the business?

🌊 Are things out of my control affecting the business? How can I ensure I don't run off course and crash?

🌊 Is there something I threw overboard and can now reintroduce to the business? Why is now a good time to make these changes?

🔆 Let me know if you journal around these questions; I'd love to hear how you get on.

💫 At Firain HQ today, I’m working on the workbook for the perimenopause workshop I’ll run with on Sept 28.

We were going to close ticket sales on Sept 21, but we all need T I M E to think and process everything (waves arms around) so we’ll extend the ticket sales until 27 Sept.

Not sure what I’m talking about?! Head to my profile and follow the link, or DM me and I’ll send you the link.

Enjoy your day ⚓️

07/09/2022

August fades into September 🍂🍃🍂

On the menu at Firain for the month ahead:

📝 A very special collaborative workshop on September 28: Be Careful, Your Body is Listening Workshop with Fiona Brannigan ~ this carefully crafted workshop is for anyone affected by Perimenopause. We want to explore its affect on creativity, and Fiona has some practical ideas to support us during this often challenging time.

Read more about it at https://www.firain.com/workshops and look out for more info tomorrow. Here to answer questions in the DMs, too 🌟

📝 Private workshops with , the gorgeously supportive membership group facilitated by . This month, we’ll look at how to launch a collection 🎨

📝 I’ll record a podcast this month, too, with which I am super excited about because a) Liz is a gem of a human and b) we’re going to talk about prepping online shops for the busy Q4 holiday season. Unavoidable stuff for you shopkeepers.

As usual, I’ll email my Firain Mail list twice a month, too.

So that’s my Can Do list for the month. I’ve mentioned it a few times already, but I won’t be taking on new clients from October to January at least. Need to catch up with myself. Do you know the feeling?

📝 What’s on your September Can Do list? Share below so we can get excited ✏️

20/06/2022

Be where your feet are 👣

I text this to a friend over the weekend. We’ve both lived in lots of different places and it’s easy to forget where we are right now. We look backward and forward but not at ‘here’. It can be the same in business, don’t you think? 🌍

👣 we wait for the big opportunities to come along (rather than saying yes to the stepping stones that might help us get there)

👣 we struggle to pause to reflect on what we’ve created so far, and how we are in control (to a large extent) of how the future of our businesses might look.

👣 we can tread water rather than enjoying the swim; wasting energy on things that don’t matter in the long run so run out of puff when the highs and joys come along.

👣 we feel wobbly, ungrounded, unstable… looking for something or someone or a trend or magic Instagram hack to prop us up.

Whats your version of being grounded? Of being where your feet are? I’d love to know 💫

Image ID: When took photos for me, I insisted we capture these clogs that I’ve had since 1997. They are meant to be dark brown leather, but mine have been bashed around on beaches to the point of no return. My socks are handmade by my friend Gill. Im hoiking up my black jeans so you can see the combo clearly. Im standing on Criccieth beach, and the pebbles under me are a gorgeous mix of greys.

Jo at is a for

17/06/2022

💤 Can you take a break? 💤

It’s hard for product-based business owners to rest and take time off their shops. It’s especially challenging when sales are sluggish. You naturally don’t want to miss a sale 💤

I’d love to know how you take a break? Do you put your shop in holiday mode? Extend postage times? Ask for someone to help you pack orders? 📦

Image ID: helps creatives sell online. This photo was taken a few years before Firain was born, on the Island of Jost Van D**e. Jo is calling her work on a banana phone 🍌 to explain that she won’t be returning, and to please redirect her mail to Ivan’s Stress Free Bar. They said they never got the message… weird.

18/05/2022

The three P’s of selling online:

🌿 Perseverance
🌿 Patience
🌿 People who listen to you when those qualities are lacking.

I just finished a client call with a sensationally busy mum who has about 10 mins a day to build her business. She’ll do it, too, because she has the three P’s in mind. 💫

If you feel you can, tag the people below who support you when you need to feel bolstered. Who listen to your ideas and moans. We all need a bit of a boost right now 🚀

Image ID: my was faffing with seeds and soil and I bored him to tears with the many business + gardening metaphors and took shots for the gram whilst I did it. He got his seeds planted, I got a nice pic. Win win.

helps makers and creatives to plan, open and grow online shops.

16/04/2022

You’re never too late 💫

We met today at as part of the , who shared the story of finding “her thing” when the time was right, after a career in teaching. She just knew she had to keep on creating with a particular technique. It makes sense to her.

I shared with Mary that I struggle to make, to create. I battle to shake off the idea that creativity needs to be FOR a REASON, often to make dosh, and I know from my work with clients that a tension often exists between making and selling 🦄 I want to work on this; I ordered some fabric remnants today from with the idea of playing, experimenting, having a go. I’m already nervous about the lack of structure 😝

I’d love to know if you face this issue in your work. How do you balance the “business” with the “creative”? And do you think, like I do, that business can in fact be creative?! 💫

02/03/2022

Carbs and collabs 🥐

Day two of is brand values and since a deep and enduring love of carbs can’t really be a value as such, let’s go for collaboration.

In my Firain work, this value shows up in a few ways:

🥐 My work with clients is like a tear-and-share loaf. We come up with ideas and plans together. I provide the therapeutic (not therapy!!) space and container in which to discuss, chew, enjoy creative thinking. I do this in one-to-one calls and group workshops.

🥐 If I don’t know the best way forward, I will find someone who does. I want the best outcome for you, and that might be working with someone who is not me. I have a fabulous ‘little black book’ of contacts and I share it with clients liberally.

🥐 I love joining forces with others to deliver and receive training. This is something I’d like to explore more over the next year or so.

I hope you’re discovering new creatives through the Challenge. I’ve noticed that my posts aren’t being seen by many of my followers, and maybe you’re experiencing the same thing. Continue to share anyway. Instagram is a glimpse into your world, a body of work.

PS ~ if you’re fatigued by Instagram, come to my Spring Clean Workshop on March 9. Leenk en bio 💫💫

Image ID: and I thought a breakfast shoot at my allotment would be fun. My husband - despite being comatose in the mornings - very kindly baked a load of 🥐🥐🥐 for us to enjoy. He even brought flaked almonds and icing sugar, because that’s the kind of swanky brand Firain is. We put it all in a wooden bowl and the image shows Jo at Firain slicing into the croissant but not the greedy way she shoved it into her mouth moments later. A mini Bon Maman jar of jam just adds to the swankiness, we thought.

01/03/2022

Hiiii 👋🏼 no, no, not up the ladder, on the bench 👋🏼 I’m Jo at Firain, and I help makers like you to plan, open and grow online shops. 💫

is here, and although we are creating and sharing against a backdrop of turbulent, worrying world events, I want to join in with this challenge and hopefully meet more creatives 👩🏼‍🎨

After years of living overseas (in jungles, islands, big cities) I moved to the North Wales coast in 2017 and opened an online gift shop; Firain is a Welsh word, translating into something close to ‘good, noble, fair, fine.’

In early 2020, I shifted the biz and now I mentor artists, designers, makers, and other creative brains who want to sell through their own shops💫

I keep things S U P E R simple:

🍃we can work together on a one-to-one basis (the focus is sharing bespoke, carefully crafted advice)

And

🍃via fun, ideas-packed group workshops.

My approach is described as “gentle, clear, intuitive and pragmatic” (thanks ☀️)

I also have the huge privilege of working with the and other creative membership groups. 💫

Sign up for Firain Mail, which I send to subscribers twice a month on a Sunday. It’s for creatives, like you, who want to reflect on small business life, and learn practical skills to improve your online marketing.💫

There’s a lot going on today… say hi in the comments if you can, but if you can’t, I appreciate you stopping by 💫

23/02/2022

🧹🧽 Shake it off, shake it off 🧺🧼

Feeling a little lacklustre about the ‘gram? Join me for an Instagram Spring Clean to dust and declutter our accounts 💫

🤳🏽When? 10 am - 11.30 am BST on Wednesday, March 9 via Zoom.

🤳🏽Will there be a recording? Yes! Shared with ticket holders only, not sold separately.

🤳🏽What will we discuss? It’s going to be Marie-K levels, friends:

🤳🏽🤳🏽🤳🏽Reflect on what we enjoy about Instagram, and pinpoint what isn't working for us.

🤳🏽🤳🏽🤳🏽Spring clean our accounts! We'll review our accounts from top to bottom: we’ll look at how to optimise our bios, declutter our followers and accounts we follow, how to make better use of DMs and the many Instagram surfaces like grid posts, stories, and Reels, and create boundaries that make us feel good.

🤳🏽🤳🏽🤳🏽Brainstorm actionable, next-step ideas to maintain our refreshed Instagram accounts. It will feel like we’ve decluttered, re-arranged, and are now ready to enjoy a healthier relationship with the app.

🤳🏽 How much is a ticket? £30 to include a workbook, 90-mins workshop and recording.

Ready to join us? El linko es en el bio… go to the workshops page or DM me 💫

Image description: Jo at Firain stands on her local beach at Criccieth throwing a blanket around because during the photoshoot with , Ted the cockapoo () jumped over it and got sand everywhere. Not his fault. We did have sausages on the blanket.

17/02/2022

My Big Trip to IKEA is off for tomorrow ⛈Thanks Storm Eunice 😫 You had no idea how much I needed a bag of cinnamon buns and a hotdog 🌭 stay safe friends!

Jo McCarthy

19/10/2022

23/09/2022

20/09/2022

07/09/2022

20/06/2022

17/06/2022

18/05/2022

16/04/2022

02/03/2022

01/03/2022

23/02/2022

17/02/2022

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