Welcome, grab a coffee & let’s chat about what’s wrong with slow living. Okkk… maybe that wasn’t what you were expecting me to say, especially as my Substack publication is called Finding Simple & Calm, but hear me out…

I don’t know about you, but there are lots of people out there that make living a slow and simple life look easy. But, I’m not sure if it's really that simple or easy. 

What if you’re just an imperfect human (spoiler alert, we’re all imperfect) with a job and children and bills to pay? And what about if you’re introverted, neurodivergent (🙋🏼‍♀️), or your physical/ mental health doesn’t allow you to spend your days swishing through lavender fields?

Can you live a slow and quiet life as a self employed neurodivergent parent of 3, one of which has complex health issues, whilst also trying not to get further into debt with the ever increasing cost of living? Can a REAL person live a slow life? Well, that’s what I’m aiming to find out.

And if you’re a creative, you’re going to love it here. I am passionate about creative small businesses, and about simplifying business as well as life in general. That’s why I’m going to help you reduce the overwhelm in your creative small business, and spend more time doing what you love. And that’s why I’m so pleased that you’re here! To help you say no to the overwhelm and yes to the support and community you need.

I’m going to be the Dr Watson to your Sherlock Holmes: you’re the mastermind genius and I’m the critical support whenever you need me. But wait, let me tell you a bit about me first…

Hi, I’m Sophie, welcome to Finding Simple & Calm. 

I thought I had life sussed. My husband and I had bought our first home to raise our two children and two sausage dogs. I left my busy nursing career to work for myself and reduce my stress. I lived my dream simple and calm life, I even taught a course teaching others that they didn’t have to live a stressful life. Life was wonderful and simple, and I was happy and enthusiastic. And then it threw me a curveball.

I gave birth to my third baby in February 2023, and everything changed. My beautiful brand new baby boy had/s lots of wonderful quirks, and not so wonderful health issues. I was diagnosed with postnatal depression, and my dream simple and calm life that I once knew had disappeared in a heartbeat.  

I was desperate for my old life back, but my new journey didn’t seem to match up with living a simple and calm life. And that left me feeling… lost. A loss of identity, a loss of purpose, a loss of self, a loss of good mental health. A loss of everything. So I was left wondering if someone with stress and worry and anxiety and depression could, in fact, live a slow and simple life. Are those two things even compatible? 

You see, I love creating. I found my creative side in my early twenties and have been a creative business owner, and worked with creative business owners, ever since. Writing is my passion. I love working through a problem, or a question, or my thoughts and feelings via writing. Writing makes sense to me, and I’m much better at writing than I am speaking (that’s because I’m neurodivergent and I find in-person, face to face communication quite difficult). But here on Substack, my writing flows and I find it easier to hold conversations and build relationships. I love it! 

So why subscribe?

What are you going to get here? So much! you’ll get my honest thoughts about the realities of motherhood, being neurodivergent, battling my mental health and being a creative business owner. I’m also going to provide you with workshops, courses, tips, tools and all the support you need to simplify your creative business, and reduce the overwhelm so that you can get back to doing what you love, and spend more time with the people you love.

I’ll cover all aspects of business including:

• Planning, Organisation, and Productivity

• Design and Branding

• Content Creation and Social Media

• Sales and Marketing

• Administrative Tasks and Business Operations

• Mindset and Wellbeing

As a free subscriber, you’ll get my personal posts as well as some simple business tips, delivered straight to your inbox or your Substack app. There’s also my free chat space (like our very own private WhatsApp group) where we can check in and get to know each other.

Paid subscribers get extra benefits, including:

• My more vulnerable personal posts where I don’t hold back.

• In-depth written posts exploring a business topic further.

• Access to ALL courses, training, workshops, masterclasses and guides.

• A monthly Ask Me Anything post to get personalised help and support with any questions you have about your creative business.

• Quarterly business reset call to prepare for the next 3 months, make a plan and stay on track.

• Q&A calls with experts in different areas of business

• Paid subscriber only chat space to get more access to me.

If any of this resonates with you, I’d love to connect. Are you struggling to find the perfect simple and calm life, too? Is your creative business causing you more stress than joy? Come and chat to me, I’d love to know more.

I can’t wait to start this journey together. I’m so pleased you’re here.

Speak soon Sherlock,

(Aka, Dr Watson) x

Contact me:

You can reach me at: findingsimpleandcalm@substack.com, or DM me here on Substack:

Contact me to discuss collaborations, guest posts or just to chat about something or nothing in particular. You can always reach out to me.