The Courageous Collective Vardeep & Rupa

In this episode, we chat to Hannah from Shiny Happy Digital to hear about her journey from working in design for a London publishing agency to becoming her own boss.
Hannah is a web designer who helps creative entrepreneurs, with warm hearts and contagious laughs, extend their larger than life personalities onto websites that are as unique as they are. Based in sunny Brighton, she specialises in Squarespace and Shopify and is know for her playful, colourful designs that excite and engage their audiences.
We chat to Hannah about:
Why she chose to become her own boss Finding her niche Why play and joy is key to her business How she got into her networking groove even though she describes herself as shy And why she outsourced her branding We had a great time chatting with Hannah! It was fascinating to hear about her discovery of her niche and the values that are important to her. You will get lots out of this conversation especially if you’re considering a rebrand or unsure how to work out your niche.
You can follow Hannah on Instagram @Shinyhappy.digital and visit her website Shiny Happy Digital.
Thank you for listening to today’s episode. If you are new to our podcast, hello and welcome! The Courageous Collective amplifies women of colour founded creative businesses.
Please rate and subscribe to our podcast to never miss an episode again!
The Courageous Collective podcast is created and hosted by Rupa Bharadva and Vardeep Edwards. Come and find us on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/the_courageous_collective/

Have you experienced Imposter syndrome? As business founders, it’s a term that comes up frequently in our conversations. But what exactly is it and can it be prevented?
We explore this common challenge and provide practical tips to help you overcome your self-doubt. Drawing on our own experiences, we discuss the reasons why you might feel like an imposter and share actionable strategies to build your confidence and self-belief.
We look at whether particular groups of people are more likely to feel self doubt and we take a closer look at perfectionism and how being courageous can help you take that next step.
If you’ve ever experienced imposter syndrome, or unsure how to stop the niggling voice of self doubt, listen to this episode!
We really enjoyed recording this conversation and hope you enjoy listening to it too! Let us know by sharing your feedback and rating our podcast.
In this episode, we share some helpful resources:
How do I overcome imposter syndrome | Ruchika Tulshyan 60% of women put off starting a business due to imposter syndrome | NatWest Overcoming imposter syndrome | Startups Magazine Why imposter syndrome hits women and women of colour harder | BBC WorkLife The Imposter Cure | Dr Jessamy Hibberd Imposter Syndrome : Why you may feel like a fraud | Very Wellmind The key to overcoming imposter syndrome | The Diary of a CEO Imposter syndrome and self-doubt | Wellness with Ella Stop telling women they have imposter syndrome | Harvard Business Review Thanks for listening to this episode of The Courageous Collective podcast! Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review if you enjoyed the show.

The Courageous Collective podcast is created and hosted by Rupa Bharadva and Vardeep Edwards. Come and find us on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/the_courageous_collective/

In this episode, we meet the talented pastry chef and bestselling author, Ravneet Gill!
Ravneet honed her craft at Le Cordon Bleu and made her mark in London’s top restaurants, including the iconic St John’s. She is the host of Junior Bake Off, and she’s also the founder of two businesses Countertalk and Damson Jelly Academy.
Ravneet decided to become a chef soon after graduating with a psychology degree. She explains why she chose to focus on baking. “At cookery school it was cheaper to do either patisserie on its own so I chose pastry.”
Now Ravneet is passionate about taking the fear out of baking through her newspaper columns, cookbooks and obviously Junior Bake Off.
She talks about her work ethic, why she’s not an overnight success, and her experience working in the food industry and the challenges she’s faced along the way.
In the episode, listen to Ravneet talk about how…
Her purpose runs through her multiple businesses Her values help with decision making Her work in restaurants has helped her with her newborn baby Resources mentioned in this episode:
Ravneet’s latest cookbook ‘Baking for Pleasure’ Countertalk - https://countertalk.co.uk/ Damson Jelly Academy - https://www.damsonjellyacademy.com/ Thanks for listening to this episode of The Courageous Collective podcast! Don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a review if you enjoyed the show.
The Courageous Collective podcast is created and hosted by Rupa Bharadva and Vardeep Edwards. Come and find us on Instagram - @the_courageous_collective.

In this episode, we take a closer look at branding with the help of my co-host Vardeep aka The Branding Fox.
Get ready for an incredibly useful episode that will help you understand how to unleash the power of branding in your business.
With more than 20 years of experience working with ambitious entrepreneurs to create standout brands, Vardeep has plenty of advice and tips for creative business founders.
Listen now to hear why branding is so much more than a logo, how it can give you a competitive edge over similar businesses and help you connect with your clients.
Grab a cuppa, pen and notebook as there’s so much good stuff here that you can use within your business right away!
In the episode, Vardeep talks about these helpful resources:
The Branding Fox’s brand audit guide: https://www.subscribepage.com/thebrandingfoxbrandaudit Enterprise Nation: https://www.enterprisenation.com/ Federation of Small Businesses: https://www.fsb.org.uk/ Holly Tucker’s Conversations of Inspiration Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Mi3Msz84zTjRu8bb9M8DO Female founded brands to follow on Instagram:
Mowgli Street Food Holly Tucker Wuka Don’t forget to follow Vardeep on LinkedIn and Instagram if you don’t already! And while you’re at it, do say hello to us on Instagram.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review.

In this episode, we meet Dolly Sembi, who specialises in curly hair. Dolly is known for her ability to help people embrace their natural hair texture. Her passion comes from her experience as a South Asian woman with curly hair,  which was often considered unruly and too big.
In this wide-ranging interview, Dolly talks about becoming a hairdresser later in life, and how she transforms not only her clients’ hair but their confidence too.
We also discuss the challenges of being part of the ‘lost generation’ growing up in the UK and feeling out of place, as well as in India, where we felt like outsiders too.
If you’re considering following your passion, this is a must-listen!
Don’t forget to follow Dolly on Instagram. And while you’re at it, do follow our Instagram too!
https://www.instagram.com/dolly_curls/
https://www.instagram.com/the_courageous_collective/
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5* rating and review. Your support helps to feature more amazing guests.

Welcome back to Season Two of The Courageous Collective podcast!
In our first themed episode, we dive into the topic of resilience and why we consider it an essential skill for business founders, especially women of colour. Join us as we share our personal experiences of resilience and the valuable lessons we’ve learned along the way.
We really hope you enjoy listening!
We did lots of homework in preparation for this episode so do check out the following resources that inspired us for this episode…
The Courageous List
What is resilience? Your guide to facing life’s challenges, adversities and crises | Katie Hurley | Everyday Health Celebrating the resilience of women of colour entrepreneurs | Faster Capital The pay and progression of women of colour - a literature review | Fawcett Society Build your resilience at work to overcome the ‘the pecking order’ | Ruchika Tulshyan | Forbes The resilience recipe for female founders | The AllBright Collective The power of believing that you can improve | Carol Dweck | TedxNorrkoping The three secrets of resilient people | Lucy Hone | TedxChristchurch How to build resilience as your superpower | Denise Mai | TedxKerrisdaleWomen Come and chat to us on Instagram! If you enjoyed this episode, do recommend it to your friends and please leave us a 5* rating and review - we appreciate your support!