There is a slower, gentler and more profitable way of running a business
Welcome to Female Owned!
Hello, and welcome to Female Owned!
Here’s what people are saying about this newsletter:
“I just wanted to say that I found this month’s newsletter super helpful as usual. It was really helpful to get me thinking about a few changes I could make. I made notes of all the points you addressed in here for future reference so just wanted to say thank you :)” — Ruth Werwai, co-founder and owner Raincloud & Sage
“Your newsletter is one of the few newsletters I immediately open and read” — Alice Hibbert, jewellery designer
“I love how much value you provide in your newsletters!” — Marjolyn Poutsma, founder The Slow Living Guide
“Your materials are brilliant and very meaningful. You have helped me to take some important steps to this week, and there’ll be more to come. I can already feel the difference and I can’t wait to start putting your advice into action!” — Natalie Warner, knitwear designer, teacher and writer
“I have read and subscribed to many business coaches newsletters and Astrid's stands out as useful, unique, and wonderfully relevant in a time when women especially are encouraged to just do more, hustle harder, and burn ourselves out. Astrid has a different approach, one that embraces ease and intuition and I love that.” --
I just received your latest email and it was a lovely read! — Sarah Phelps, stationary designer
Loved this, you have such a calming presence even via email. — Jen Wright, slow business mentor
Hi, I’m Astrid Bracke, a reading, tea-drinking, plant-collecting small business mentor with a PhD in English Lit.
This is female owned, the newsletter for small business owners who want to run their business away from the hustle.
In this newsletter I show you that you can run your business differently from the norm: away from the productivity hacks, the get rich quick schemes and sleazy marketing tactics.
So many of us start a business feeling like we need to do a bunch of things we don’t feel comfortable doing—but that they’re just a part of building a business. So we spend more time on social media than we want to, create marketing tactics that make us cringe, and repeatedly cross our own boundaries in how and when we work.
I’m on a mission to change how we think, feel and talk about work, small business and freelancing.
In this newsletter, I’ll help you get back to the reason you started your business in the first place. I’ll help you discover how to build and run your business in a way that feels good to you, that fits into your life—without having to follow all the “rules”.
I’m all about building and running a slow, gentle and profitable business—and this newsletter is full of resources and encouragement to help you do just that.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve learned a lot about how I want to run my business in a way that supports me. I’ve learned what works for me (writing newsletters, blog, creating worksheets, doing workshops, 1:1 mentoring, Pinterest) and what doesn’t (social media, “hard” launches, video, being “on” all the time).
What you get when you subscribe to Female Owned:
my signature blend of mindset shifts and practical strategies to change how you approach and run your business
encouragement and support, both through the newsletters and the community that I’m building around it in the comments threads
inspiration for building a business away from the norm, and away from hustle and productivity culture.
It’s time for a revolution in how we run our businesses. Female Owned is where I take you along with me.
Free subscribers receive
2x/month posts with strategies, resources, interviews and tips on creating a slow, gentle and profitable business without the hustle;
a community of small business owners who also crave a different way of doing business: comments on free all posts so you can connect with other small business owners.
Paid subscribers receive
2x/month posts with strategies, resources, interviews and tips on creating a slow, gentle and profitable business without the hustle;
a community of small business owners who also crave a different way of doing business that you meet in the comments section of the posts, especially the paid ones;
a quarterly mini-guide to help you go more in-depth: practical and mindset strategies around money; trusting yourself as a business owner and more;
monthly Q&A-style posts where you can ask questions and comment on what it’s like to run a small business away from the norm of productivity and hustle culture;
behind-the-scenes posts where I share how I run my business without social media, how I set prices, how I market in a way that feels good and more;
occasional more personal posts on topics ranging from mental health to trusting my body and more;
bonuses such as practical worksheets and templates around marketing, pitching to podcasts, making a money plan and more;
knowing that you support something that you value ❤️.
Ways of working with me through 1:1 mentoring
A list of all of my favourite resources
Moving your business away from social media: all of my resources on social media and business, from blog posts to my free 4-week email series
Interviews with inspiring small business owners like you
My blog, with behind-the-scenes posts, practical strategies on marketing, money and more