A strategy should be simple, and make decision-making and business-running easier. But the word strategy has become so confusing.

When it comes to business, particularly of the small kind, you may question why I can help you launch your own? Easy – I’ve been there, done that.

Just like slow cooking, the slow startup concept can lead to maximum ease, maximum flavour and maximum enjoyment.

I’ve been trying to perfect a recipe for a while. The beauty of congee, just like your business, is that you can make both your own.

I was inspired to see the launch of Jasmine Dowling’s new ‘Still Life’ collection of paintings and prints which had a huge emphasis on choosing to take the slower path. As a fan of all things slow, I invited Jasmine to answer a few questions on this new collection for us all.

I’ve been curious about the comforts we turned to during isolation and what they can tell us about ourselves. For me, during isolation I found myself turning to food and cooking comfort foods – in particular, kneading, rolling and shaping pasta, and slowly tending to sourdough bread. Here’s what kneading dough and comfort food has taught me about business…

In my Brand Clarity strategy workshops with small business owners, the real value goes beyond the strategy outputs. Through collaborative discussion, there are always little epiphanies about people’s businesses and brands that might seem like a no-brainer to me at the time, but are often buried in what they are doing or think they should be doing.

I chatted to Kate from Mayde Tea about the value of an outsider’s perspective on her business during COVID-19.

Fancy getting involved in making your own bread and embracing slow cooking, but don’t have the patience for sourdough? Embrace your inner Nonna and try out the best focaccia recipe ever from Magdalena Roze and Dave Lovett!

Through real, judgment-free, face-to-face conversations, can we help each other to navigate uncharted waters? Who are those people you can turn to? As a small business owner myself, I know the power of having an outside perspective.

Can we use the power of this pause to re-align our businesses to be the best building blocks they can be, for our local communities, our planet, ourselves, and our families?

I think we can use it to take this slowness and intention forward.

You can’t get much slower than something that takes four days of tinkering and tweaking, after all. Trust me, it’s worth it.

This is what I wish I’d had when I got my first starter. Featuring a recipe from the boys at The Bread Social and a how-to-guide by the lovely Cass Amundson, this will get you (slowly) cooking bread in no time.

My friend Caitlin Cady recently invited me to participate in a little interview series called “The Good Sit” as part of the launch of her book: Heavily Meditated: Your Down to Earth Guide to Learning Meditation and Getting High on Life. It explains why I cook, and why I’m cooking so much during this period of isolation, so I thought I’d share it on here.

With so many of you asking for more food recipes, I thought I’d continue the Slow Cooking series.

I’ll share one simple dish, two ways. Each time featuring a chef and a cook. This week, it’s flatbreads - with Danielle Alvarez of Fred’s Paddington and Sally Tulloch of Farmer Jo.

I shared my personal story of burnout, recovery and subsequent pivot to slow living and slow business, with my lovely client Liz Cook (founder of One Seed Perfumes) on her new podcast, On Conscious.

My favourite type of meditation hands down, is COOKING! It’s where I get in the zone, decompress and find my flow state. And I do it nearly every night of the week. But on Saturdays, I’ve embraced the #SaturdayNightPastaNight movement.

Here are two amazing recipes for Cacio e Pepe if you want to get involved - buon appetito!

I hope this workbook helps you find another ground, from which to see the path forwards with clarity.

This week has been heavy. It feels like suddenly, we have found ourselves in limbo, with many of us having parts of our life sub-consciously decelerate to a halt.  

Naturally, with my curiosity about this collective slowdown piqued, I’ve been chatting to friends about this question too, including those who were already living a slow life, and wanted to share some of their thoughts with you.