Are you my next creative intern?

I´m looking for a powerful intern to help me sharpen my act with Cille Veje Studio and BUBBLY.

Who am I?

Cille Veje Studio is founded in 2014 by experience economist and business coach Cille Veje and specialized in experience economy,  business coaching, 360 communication and creating wholehearted brands, strategies and lives. I am working with everything from large scale companies to young entrepreneurs, helping in the creation of wholehearted strategies and bringing new ideas to the table. Next to my creative studio I have the start up community BUBBLY, seeking to disrupt the start up scene & create robust & wholehearted entrepreneurs.

Who are you?

Most important to me is that you have a creative brain and a persona ready to bounce ideas back and forth. You are able to juggle a lot of different projects at the same time and are ready to help me maintain a cutting edge in everything we do in my businesses.

You will have a leading role as creative advisor, helping me with everything from writing press material to inspiring articles, doing creative concepts, finding new creative partners and doing 360 visual set ups for our own projects and customers.

• You are speaking and writing fluently in english, since all our communication is in english

• You have an understanding and insight into pop culture and are ready to disrupt excisting markets with new insights

• You know Photoshop and how to create visual identities for our platforms

• You know how to work around social media and have an interest and perhaps some knowledge in how to do marketing

Info:

Since I am based in Berlin and see the world as my global playfield, you can come from any part of the world, as long as you have internet and a computer. The job is a remote job working primarily online (except for if you live in Berlin), so you have to be able to know the balance between getting clear directions and workin on your own.

Since the job is an internship for free I wanna exchange your time and insight for knowledge and creative learning. I’m therefore looking for a person who is seeking an internship during their education, which means students from any school, fx design school, University, CBS, KEA etc can apply for this internship.

What can I offer & learn you?

• How to use your creativity as your force, when you create content and ideas for all kinds of brands.

• How to work 360 and create wholehearted ideas and brands

• How to work around 360 PR including press coverage, SoMe, presence marketing etc.

• A safe space to unfold your creative dreams, learn, fail and be seen and heard for your person and your talents

For any questions please call or mail me. Send your application, creative ideas or great presentations to Cille@cilleveje.com latest at 30.10.20.

Soon we are launching wearebubbly & a new bootcamp

A new platform for women seeking inspiration to the good start up life

So guys, its a while ago since I have posted some of my interviews with new inspiring female entrepreneurs and there is a simple reason; We have been busy workin on our new platform www.wearebubbly.com, which will launch 1th of November.

As you guys know BUBBLY is an exclusive start up community for vivacious female entrepreneurs seeking pep talk, inspiration & mentorhelp for a good start up life. Our new web will be a global home for the new generation of female leaders and entrepreneurs, who are seeking inspiration for a good start up life and will be featuring articles around start up life, a broad feature on BUBBLY heroes, Tuesday talks, upcoming events and off course our new business bootcamp.

New January 2021 bootcamp

In January we are launching a new business bootcamp for female entrepreneurs, last time it was a great success with companies like Spektakel Strik, Palm Petit, Laura Dalgaard and Scrush, if you wanna know more about what our participants said, see below.

There are only 5 spots open on the new bootcamp and you can join us from all parts of Denmark, since the bootcamp is on zoom. Here are some details around dates & themes:

• 5.1 Business mindset: What is your mental mindset for success? The importance of learning to lead yourself before you lead others and lead a company. And a bit about the new perspective on doing business; how to work around authentic and purpose driven leadership and business.

•  12.1 Strategy, identity and design: Where are you heading, how to get there and how to create a wholehearted brand waiting to make a difference in people´s life. A take on how to create a 360 brand with a bright perspective in mind, a clear path to walk and a killer identity to create attention. 

• 19.1 360 PR & SoMe: How to communicate and make people fall in love with you and your work. A take on how to align your communication with your values and start being something MORE for someone instead of something LESS (or nothing) for everyone.

• 26.1.21 Selling my work: How to make my work fly. A take on how to align your sales strategy with your values and how to get over yourself and contact new customers.

Wanna know more, go to http://www.cilleveje.com/bubbly and if you have any questions, please reach out for us! We look forward to the next months!

Trends to keep an eye on in 2020

As an experience economist what I do is pretty much always being two steps ahead, trying to create ideas and movements which people & companies didn’t know they needed. Before I went on vacation I was out at companies & communes to talk about the new reality we live in and on a Sunday like this I wanna try to share and outline the trends I believe I’m seeing, cause maybe it’s something which could be interesting for all small business I know, to take a look at:

1. Prioritizing mental health: How to keep an agile, assertive & realistic mindset in the storm. How to stay grounded in a world of fake news and fear and how to remember your ‘why’ when everyone is afraid.

2. New ways of working: Theres a goodbye to the “normal” way of working, sitting at a desk all day, doing meetings about everything. Remove pseudo work, rethink how to do meetings, resize office cost & large scale office buildings, build a new work environment where people fx are working from home every second week or coming in later. And let them have a “monk morning” of peace and concentration and you will see what happens with the stress level and joy of working.

3. Adaptive business models: Stop sitting and complaining, go unfuck things yourself. Let creativity unfold and do what nobody ever did instead of what others always do. Start distracting yourself creatively and ideas will show up.

4. EQ vs IQ: Theres a new way of being smart and it’s build upon empathy, vulnerability and trust

5. From ROI (return on investment) to ROL (love) & ROH (Humanity): The art of turning your perspective around. Doing money is about thinking service, community and relations way before thinking profit

6. It’s all about feelings: It’s all about connecting with people. Not telling them what you do, but asking them, what do you need from me, how can I make a difference in your life and how do you actually feel

X Cille

Mie Firring: How to go chasing those creative dreams

Since i do a lot of business coaching of inspiring entrepreneurs and have a lot of focus on how to create a sustainable lifestyle and business for yourself, I decided to do a new storyline around inspiring entrepreneurs. What they all have in common is the need for living wholehearted and creating a lifestyle which works around themselves and their need to balance their creativity, business and personal life. 

This time I went online and had a chat with the lovely Mie from Spektakelstrik. I know Mie because she contacted me half a year ago because she was in need of some business coaching, since our partnership has developed and I really enjoy working, talking and hanging out with Mie and her creative mind and sweet personality. Mie is just the person to make you feel good on a rainy day and her colorful work and way of thinking makes you feel alive and happy.

Hello Mie, tell me a bit about yourself and your business Spektakel strik? 

My name is Mie, i am 32 years old, and live together with my husbond and two kids (8 and 11 years) in Aalborg in the northern part of Denmark. Spektakelstrik is my knitter alias, and in my everyday life i am an entrepreneur working with designing and selling knitting patterns all over the world. I started spektakelstrik back in 2016, because i could not stop knitting. I fell in love with knitting.

Spektakelstrik is my creative spot, where i have promised myself to play, have fun, and doing everything on my own compromises. this is MY space, and it´s my privilege as an entrepreneur to decide who i say yes and no to and which energy I want in my company.

Can you describe what creativity is to you and why it is such an important element to have in your life?

Creativity is a big part of me, and it has been with me since i was a child. To me it´s so important to play and have fun, you can also see it in the DNA of Spektakelstrik. Creativity is very abstract for me, and comes in a lot of shapes and colours, but it´s personal and you cant be creative in a wrong way. To me there are no rules, but you know that your ideas are good if they make it tickle in your fingertips, and you cant wait to make them come alive.

I know you are at a place where it´s going very well with Spektakel Strik (congrats - you sure deserve it), how do you manage to have a regular job, a business, a family and still prioritize yourself without getting stressed out?

Spektakelstrik is now my full time job, and actually i dont know how to to prioritize myself yet, but if i have a good feeling inside, i know that i am on the right way of not getting stressed out. It´s very important to me to balance my energy between my creativity, my family life and what I call selfcare. So I know that I have to prioritize my family, which mean that when i am at home, I try not to work to much (except for couch-knitting). Also, it´s important for me to have fun when i work, I dont wanna work to hard, but work fun. This means I am very focused on not to make too tight deadlines. 

I know we have been talking about the importance of nursing you and your creativity to make sure you are thriving, how do you make room for inspiration and new ideas in your everyday life?

I am still struggling with the 8-16 mindset from my last job, but i am practicing to nurse my inspiration by going to art museums, meet lovely people, and pushing myself to do things that i haven´t done before. Thinking about the world is kind and open gives me a lot of inspiration.

Do you have any advice for upcoming creative people and how to get started with their projects?

if you cant let your ideas go, then it means you have to go for them!

Wanna know more about Mie go to https://www.sikkeetspektakel.dk/ or @spektakelstrik

A chat with the great guys from Girls are awesome

This Sunday I was invited for a live talk with the great people behind Girls are awesome. Wanna know more, go to their web.

Hannah Krutmann: How to stop judging yourself for shifting focus

Since i do a lot of business coaching of inspiring entrepreneurs and have a lot of focus on how to create a sustainable lifestyle and business for yourself, I decided to do a new storyline around inspiring entrepreneurs. What they all have in common is the need for living wholehearted and creating a lifestyle which works around themselves and their need to balance their creativity, business and personal life. 

This time I went online and had a chat with the inspiring entrepreneur Hannah Krutmann (@Hannah_lagom), who’s living in Berlin, where I soon will move to. Hannah is such an inspiring soul, joggling everything she´s fascinated by from; her own business, her own magazine and her love for oils. Sit down with a coffee and enjoy this interview and some inspiration from a great role model, when it comes to living life in an authentic and more soft way.

Hello Hannah, can you tell me a bit about yourself and your thoughts of being your own boss?

Thanks so much, Cille, for having me here on your interview series. I am co-founder of the 70s inspired print magazine Almost 30 and ALMOST, a storytelling agency with no-bullshit approach. I also write as a freelance editor about fashion, interior and modern spirituality and give talks and workshops as an essential oils mentor. I’m a trained massage therapist, Reiki Master and fashion scholar. 

I’ve been my own boss for 2,5 years now and I love it.  To work for myself was a decision I took during a creative burn-out after years in the fast fashion industry and it felt pretty scary at that time. Instead of saving up for the worst case scenario I got myself an old VW bus (called Penny Lane), which I converted into a camper van, adopted my rescue dog Olav and acted as a very compassionate boss to myself for the first year. 

For a few month now, I share most of my work decisions and responsibilities with my sister Marie, who’s the other co-founder of ALMOST Agentur and editor-in-chief at the magazine. This is honestly the prefect set-up for me, to have no one tell me what to do but always have a strong partner in crime by my side. I do sometimes find it hard to find the right amount of working on the scale of procrastination to total self-exploitation but it’s getting better with time. Although I’ve always been quite keen to pleasing others and doing “the right” thing, I seem to have a rebel-gene somewhere  that never made it easy for me to deal with authorities. Working in the roles as a freelancer or consultant now gives me the chance to see eye to eye to the people I work for/with, which changes everything for me. Open communication and genuine interest makes it so much easier to let my creativity flow and bring playfulness into my work. 

Doing PR is much more than making strategies, it’s a way of living and the feeling of being interested in other peoples stories. Can you tell me a bit about your relationship with words and story telling and why you founded Almost and Almost Magazine?

I have been fascinated by all kinds of stories as long as I can think and wanted to always embody and feel them as deeply as possible. From acting as the characters of my favourite Astrid Lindgren stories as a kid to dressing up as characters from fashion magazines or movies in my teenage years, which is probably why I ended up studying fashion theory, exploring sartorial expression and lifestyles as means of communication and a play on identity. 

For me good PR means telling honest stories in all the languages at hand: visually, emotionally, in written and spoken word and especially in the way you relate to others and the world around you. Often PR is misunderstood as the part of Marketing that focusses on journalists but the way I see it, it is a lot more. 

I realised that especially when we launched Almost 30 Magazine, where we did not have any advertising budget and yet press was featuring us. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying press shouldn’t be compensated - not at all actually, knowing that side too well myself, I think a lot needs to happen there - but it was proof to me that an honest story, honest emotions communicated in words and images are what matters to be considered relevant. 

And what also showed, was that it is the relationships and the way you communicate with people that matter. Almost 30 Magazine developed very organically out of my almost 30th birthday party and has been an amazing journey so far. What I thought were my personal fears, worries and problems turned out to be shared by so many others, who could relate to the content of the magazine, became contributors and supporters and that’s all just because we found the words to put these feelings in writing. 

Words are so incredibly powerful, which is, I guess, why we often don’t dare to say them out loud, because they can hurt or get us hurt, but they can also heal. I think there are such great ways of communication from photography, illustration, music and dance to fashion, but words don’t only stand for themselves, they also connect us to each other and support all the other forms of communication. With the magazine, I feel like we’ve done everything differently from what we learned and this is what makes the magazine and the community around it so special. It’s based on vulnerability. As for ALMOST Agentur, our credo is: no bullshit today, no bullshit tomorrow and that’s what we stick to. It was a logical and emotional decision to found the agency to create stories and communication concepts for likeminded brands in the way we do to for our own magazine. We care about the brands and projects we work with a lot and see it as our mission to tell each individual story in the way that fits best. 

I know creativity can change over time and as a creative soul you can have lots of interest. What is the center of your creativity these days and what are you up to?

So true. I can sometimes get really frustrated with myself when I witness my creativity shifting to a new project or form of expression, because the lazy cat in me always wants me to stay put and simply enjoy what I have. After all it’s what I always wanted - at some point. But I am getting more and more compassionate with the part of me that keeps wanting to transform and more curious in a way. Also, I decided to stop judging myself for changing focus from time to time and rather see the connection between the things I do. A big topic in my work with Almost 30 magazine, my spiritual writing and my essential oils work has been the topic of "emotional nudity". Currently, I am working on two other big projects with my sister and I’d say the connecting topic is "empowerment and sisterhood". I hate when people ask me what my job title is because I don’t have a word (yet?) that grasps it. So in the meantime, I dedicate my work to purposes like "empowerment and sisterhood" instead of job titles. Unfortunately, I can’t say much more about those upcoming projects yet, but at the core of them, it’s all about words again - written and spoken ones.

Theres a lot of talk around “The new normal”, what have Covid 19 done for you and your business and which learnings are you taking with you into the new reality?

I am definitely not a fan of this “new normal” expression, probably because it frustrates me that how things were before was considered “normal”. So much of what has been coming to the surface in the past months - and currently continues to in the world, in public, in families, in work relations and within ourselves - are loudly screaming hints, that everything was not “normal” before. We just didn’t want to see it or deal with it, because we love the the feeling of “normality”, safety and control. 

As uncomfortable as I find the feelings of not knowing, uncertainty, grief, anxiety, helplessness, loneliness and sadness myself, they can be very grounding and transformational and teach us to let go of the unnecessary and decide what really matters to us. My past months have not been a piece of cake financially, emotionally or relationship wise and yet, I know that I am still in a very very privileged position. It’s tricky to answer this question as it is important to me to neither deny how unbearable theses past months must have been for many people, nor do I want to give a hippie-speech on embracing crisis as a chance and come across as anyone promoting spiritual bypassing. 

I do want to say though, that for some of us this year can be a moment to catch a glimpse at what yin energy in the world might actually feel like. Qualities of waiting, caring about each other, compassion, letting go of control, slowing down and reconsidering our values and purpose in life, job and relationships. 

Having my personal values and purpose more in order, is definitely something I take into my professional life. The other thing I saw again in this time is that creativity is not a luxury add-on to make campaigns or products more colourful, it is an essential to give us a feeling of security when we realise that structures can easily fall apart within a few days. Creativity gives you the strength to react from a place of empowerment, to adjust to new situations and find solutions that are actually right for you. Creativity means freedom. 

Last but not least, I realised again how important our relationships and communication are. With ALMOST we kicked-off a portrait series called #TOGETHERindependent at the beginning of the lock-down, in which we feature different independent labels and creatives to support each other, listen to one another and strengthen the network, which also helps us all to feel more secure because we know we are not alone in this. We are still releasing interviews every week:

https://www.almostagentur.com/zine

You are a very inspiring leader, what do you think defines the new soft definition of being a leader and how can we take vulnerability and empathy into our work?

I think we’ve all been craving equality and authenticity for quite a while now and unfortunately it’s still a long way to go. I admire everyone who’s fighting for it in the big and small spectrum, we all need to play a role on this. There’s so much that still needs to change but a very good way to make a start is in the way we lead. It is scary to make yourself vulnerable and dare to meet people at eye level because it actually requires you also to know your own boundaries and to constantly call yourself out when you tap back into old patterns. 

So basically it means having actual caring relationships with the people you work with and with yourself. Learning to actually allow your emotions a role in your work is a first step. Getting to know them, seeing how they can work with you and not over-identifying with them is a next. The cool thing, if you sign up for this job, is not any life-long security but you most likely sign up for a community that has your back. Having likeminded people around you that support you, mirror you when needed and honestly discuss challenges with you, is all you need to do this. The patriarchal PR team has done a great job forcing intuition, sisterhood and emotions out of anything work related but that shouldn’t stop us to rebrand them and invite them back in. It’s the perfect time to reclaim them.

If you could give aspiring entrepreneurs an advice, what would it be?

I feel like Pinterest is full of good advice about, how growth is always outside your comfort zone and how it’s worse to regret not having taken a chance than regretting having done something, but to me that all never really helped to get me to dare things. 

What helps me though is thinking of the worst case scenario (scary thought for all the "think-positive-spiritual-bypassers”, I know) and then playing out what empowering story I could make out of that. This mental game usually helps me to get over my fear because either way will be ok - it even happens sometimes that I get disappointed if everything works out like plan, because no one is ever going to hear the brilliant story I created around the “failure”. 

This thought experiment also helps me to rarely feel embarrassed or regret anything, which is a good base to cultivate compassion and vulnerability with yourself. You can try this with really small situations, like giving a note with your phone number to a crush. What’s the worst thing that can happen? Your crush never calls? Well it’s quite likely a brave story, that your crush will tell their friends, so why shouldn’t you too? It was a brave, self-empowering and bold act of you - no matter the outcome. Just own your story, whatever story you write.

Wanna know more about Hannah go to https://www.almostagentur.com or @Hannah_lagom

New BUBBLY event 26.6.20

So looking forward to announce my first BUBBLY inspiration night around the theme “The joy of saying no”. The event will take place 26.6.20 at Arrebo in Copenhagen and be featuring a panel talk, goodiebags and a cosy night. The event is for free, but due to Covid19, there are only 25 seats, which means you have to book in advance.

Signe Svanholt Skov: A talk about embracing failures and being in the search of creative inspiration

Since i do a lot of business coaching of inspiring entrepreneurs and have a lot of focus on how to create a sustainable lifestyle and business for yourself, I decided to do a new storyline around inspiring entrepreneurs. What they all have in common is the need for living wholehearted and creating a lifestyle which works around themselves and their need to balance their creativity, business and family life. 

One of the best ideas I give to my clients is to “fake it till you make it“- meaning; find some rolemodels who inspire you and know, that if they can make it - you can make it. We have all started at point zero and worked our way up. Look at your rolemodels, look at their energy, get inspired and when times are difficult, try and imagine how they would work around the situation. In this feature I´m presenting you to some of the people, I believe is leading at their field.

The next person in this series is Signe Svanholt Skov - a mom, a wholehearted entrepreneur who moved from the urban part of Copenhagen to an island, Orø, to go for her dream of making her own jewellery brand. Signe has this light and easygoing aura and is very easy to talk to, but she also has this great artsy mind, which makes it funny to talk to her about the subject of doing wholehearted business.

Tell me a bit about yourself and your business PalmPetit? 

 I'm 33 years old, married to Thomas and we have a son, age 3, called Eick and one more to join us in October. I used to go out almost every weekend and dance with Thomas and friends. Now we do it once in a while to feel the old sparkle and feel free for a while. Then we miss our boy, come home happy hungover and go to the woods and play with him. 

I'm a trained goldsmith 2012 and studied jewellery art at 'Institute of Precious Metal' 2013-2016. If you put those two educations and our life as parents together, they go hand in hand with the creation of PalmPetit. PalmPetit started in April 2019. It began as a selfish wish to create a memory of my little boy's hand, who grew so fast. 

I had a hard time coping with that in the beginning. And I thought, 'Perhaps I'm not the only one who would love this jewellery.' Luckily I was right and moms all over the world have welcomed PalmPetit. I feel the deepest gratitude for that.

 Can you describe what creativity is to you and why it is such an important element to have in your life? 

I think creativity is very individual and can evolve along the way for each person. For me, it landed the first time I held a goldsmith saw in my hand. I was really good at the craftsmanship and now I had the perfect media to put my creativity into.

I don't have a continues flow of creativity, as my husband do. His mind is always on work. I have to sit down and get into the flow, but then I love the process of creating. 

You moved from Nørrebro to Orø some time ago, why did you move and what does it mean for your creativity and your business?

 We talked about moving out for a while. We had a small shop together with a friend in our street in Heimdalsgade just next to our apartment, and my husband runs a small culture house called Øen in Mimersgade. We loved the dynamic flow of people  and our local hood. But after having our son, we just felt the need to get more space and nature around us. So we had to try it out. We are not surrounded by as many creative people physically everyday anymore, but at the same time we don't get distracted in the same way we did before. Also we are economically free in a way, we would not be, if we had upgraded our apartment in the city. 

It was also here on Orø, I had the time and space to build up PalmPetit. We go to the city (60 minutes drive), when the need is there and enjoy going home, taking the ferry and feel the peace surround us back on Orø. 

 I know you are a mother next to being a business woman, how do you manage to balance family & business life - and still prioritize yourself without getting stressed out?

 I think that for me it would be more stressful to have a 8-16 job. We have calm mornings without stress and I can pick my son up early and work in the evening instead. For me the goal with PalmPetit is not to make a bunch of money. I want to make other parents happy giving them a the opportunity to make memory of the special time with their kids. And of course doing what I love - making jewellery and being my own boss. As long as I can pay the rent, bye good food and go on vacation once in a while I'm happy. It has been stressful starting up a business, being a mother and a good wife at the same time. But I made a deal with myself not to get stressed. So when I get the feeling that I'm pushing it, I try to take a step back and get my prioritize right; son, husband, business.

Getting time to myself - I'm still working on that.

We are in the midst of Corona, how does it affect your business life and how do you stay calm in the chaos?

 It's a hard time for everyone. My sale went down to a minimum the first week, but I'm actually doing fine now, which I'm very grateful for. I'm also lucky that I don't have a shop rent and a big stock. The place I feel the pressure most is time wise. 

I still get prints in from Jan-March and have too keep up working half time. We take turns working. So customers have to wait a bit longer. Luckily everyone is very understanding. We try to make the best of the situation and actually I think, we have connected as a family in a whole new way. 

 You were part of my Bubbly bootcamp - why did you choose to be part of it?

I really miss inspiration and energy from others. I sit by my own most of the day...and we live on an island, so meeting other women, with there own business and connect in a small group means the world to me. And then of course you Cille. 

I believe you can open some new doors in my mind, both business wise and creative. To be pushed to think outside your mindset and comfort zone sometimes is really healthy. 

 Do you have any advice for upcoming creative people and how to get started with their projects?

Well, if you have a good idea and dream of makin. To quote Jesper Buch; “Don't try to build a Ferrarie, build a soapbox (sæbekassebil).”

You will make a lot of mistakes along the way and learn from it. If you are scared to make those mistakes, you will not get anywhere. Accept your mistakes and appreciate them, you will get so much wiser :-) 

And another true cliche; All beginning is hard. It will get easier. Good luck and have fun.

Wanna know more about Signe & PalmPetit, go to https://www.palmpetit.com/

Anne Mette Kirk: How can you write about the world if you don’t spend time in it?

Since i do a lot of business coaching of inspiring entrepreneurs and have a lot of focus on how to create a sustainable lifestyle and business for yourself, I decided to do a new storyline around inspiring entrepreneurs. What they all have in common is the need for living wholehearted and creating a lifestyle which works around themselves and their need to balance their creativity, business and family life. 

One of the best ideas I give to my clients is to “fake it till you make it“- meaning; find some rolemodels who inspire you and know, that if they can make it - you can make it. We have all started at point zero and worked our way up. Look at your rolemodels, look at their energy, get inspired and when times are difficult, try and imagine how they would work around the situation. 

The next person in this series is Anne Mette Kirk - a mom, a wholehearted activist when it comes to autism and an amazing writer. I don’t think you have to read Anne Mettes book Knust to fall in love with her, you can just take a look at her and her power. She has this gentle aura which you get drawn to and she has waken a curiosity inside of me of getting to know her. Maybe you feel the same way, then grab a cup of coffee and read this interview about being a wholehearted mom, a grateful businesswoman and a creative soul searching for inspiration and flow.

Can you please tell me about your thoughts of going solo and becoming a writer?

They were not thoughts – they were heavy impulses and a force of passion I had never experienced before. I knew instantly that I needed to follow this or I would regret it ever after. Then came all the thoughts: Will I miss my collegues? Am I leaving a stable income? Is my book going to flop? But the creative proces of writing my novel filled me up with so much energy and happiness and there was just one thing to do: Try it out! And that meant leaving my job as a communications officer at The Royal Danish Court.

I know you have been in the corporate game for years, what’s it like to be your own boss now and how is a typical day in your life? 

I don’t have a typical day. Just to give you an example. This week, I started out Monday by editing my new script and gong to the movies to watch a movie, that dealt with some of the same issues as my new book. Tuesday was filled with meetings, Wednesday I had a interview and photoshoot with the Danish Magazine Euroman. Thursday I wrote a new chapter and did some research and Friday I’m once again at my office answering emails and editing the piece I wrote yesterday.

How does being your own boss fit with being a mom? 

I’m the toughest boss I ever had, but a very flexible one. Meaning that I some days pick my kids up early from school, but other days I won’t see them at all because of an interview in Aarhus or a book fair. I often work before they wake up in the morning and again when they sleep. But I also love to bring my kids with me when I’m doing research or if I’m checking out a location. I love to make them a part of the creative process!

I have this urge and need inside me of being creative. I can imagine you feel the same when it comes to telling stories. Can you tell me a bit about your relationship with words and story telling? 

To me it’s like breathing. It’s what makes my heart beat faster and what makes me complete as a person. People often ask me if it’s hard to be disciplined – but it seldom is. I love writing with all my heart and I don’t see myself becoming lazy and stop writing – my challenge is more to remember to step away from the computer and leave my script behind.

I think all creative people know the satisfaction of being in flow - when are you in flow in your creative process and when do you experience flow in your daily life? 

I know for sure the anxiety of not being able to write severals day in a row – writing is for me like using a muscle – the more you use it – the stronger it gets. Being in flow means writing every single day at least for 30 minutes but also to seek inspiration else where. Visit a museum, watching a movie, read books by other authors. How can you write about the world if you don’t spend time in it? Absorbing it and digesting it. Being in flow is for me – keeping the inspiration in flow and all my senses open for new impressions and stories.

You know I talk a lot about gratitude, what’s your relationship with gratitude and when do you experience it? 

My relationship with gratitude is constant and a source of joy every day. I feel grateful every day I wake up and if not, I write down a short list with reasons why I ought to. I refuse to get caught up in negative emotions, and I put my energy in creating stories and moving forward. I’m living my dream every single day and when I meet rejection or setback, I search for the lesson to be learned from it.

I know you just finished a new book, when is it coming and what are your plans for 2020?

Yes, you’re right, I just finished my novel and for the next couple of months I will be doing a lot of editing together with my editor. Writing a book is a nitty-gritty job, where every sentence has to be given love and attention. We still haven’t decided on a date for its release, but I promise to let you know as soon as possible. In 2020 I will also be doing, interviews, book fairs, lectures and I will be continuing my work on creating a stronger support system for families affected with autism. Just like my youngest son. And of course at one point during 2020, I will begin to work on a new novel, you know, it’s all about being in flow! Feeding your creative beast!

If you want to know more about Anne Mette follow her at https://www.instagram.com/kirkannemette or go read her popular and great book , with the danish title; Knust.

Pics by Kim Vadskaer

Sine Gerstenberg: For the love of words

Since i do a lot of business coaching of inspiring entrepreneurs and have a lot of focus on how to create a sustainable lifestyle and business for yourself, I decided to do a new storyline around inspiring entrepreneurs. What they all have in common is the need for living wholehearted and creating a lifestyle which works around themselves and their need to balance their creativity, business and family life.

One of the best ideas I give to my clients is to “fake it till you make it“- meaning; find some rolemodels who inspire you and know, that if they can make it - you can make it. We have all started at point zero and worked our way up. Look at your rolemodels, look at their energy, get inspired and when times are difficult, try and imagine how they would work around the situation.

One of the persons I am inspired by is Sine Gerstenberg ( I dont think she actually knows it - now you know Sine), who decided to leave her great job because of her love for words and adventures. Sine is such an openhearted and professional person and no wonder, she has become one of the most interesting freelance journalists in Denmark, with articles for Eurowoman, Alt for Damerne and Berlingske. I took at chat with Sine around her love for words and how to be a mommy with her own business.

Can you please tell me about about your decision of going solo and being your own boss?

It was a decision that was a long time coming. I have enjoyed so many great professional experiences and met powerful colleagues in most jobs, but I felt restricted in the 9-5 work routine - and frustrated about all the stories I couldn't write. 

How does your new way of living match, your life as a mom?

I have three kids and I try to be present with them. However, I am also extremely ambitious and a high strung nerd. Being my own boss allows me to be more flexible, so I can cook all meals for them, and hang out in the afternoon, and then get shit loads of work done, when they sleep or are away on playdates

I know you are a fan of words and litteratur like me, how did you fall in love with words - and what does it give you?

I have had a love story with words since I was a tiny kid. I could read before I started school, and I kept a journal even before I knew how to spell. Words flirt with me and haunt me. They make me laugh in surprise and cry with joy.  They keep me up at night and they give me peace of mind. They represent an enduring and paradoxical love story in my life. They can intoxicate like no other drug.

I think a lot of people are choosing to be entrepreneurs because of the freedom in everyday life. How is a typical day in your life?  

There is no such thing. But every single day starts with a run and ends with coffee. I have days when I spent an entire day writing in silence wearing yoga pants and a hoodie, and days packed with interviews, meetings and business lunches. There are days that feel like I'm cheating and days when the struggle of being independent is palpable and a bit unnerving.

How do you balance yourself in a life as your own boss? How do you make sure your not constantly workin?

I don't. There is no balance. I work every day and I don't 'really' work ever. I cannot let it go - and I don't think I want to.

What is your best advice for other women going after their dreams?

Be kind to yourself, choose a partner that supports you, make sure you don't mind working more than you ever have, never work for anyone who doesn't respect you, never give up on your dream - but be open to adjusting it. Give zero fucks and take up space.

Wanna know more about Sine, go to https://www.instagram.com/sinegerstenberg

Pic by: Lasse Bak Mejlvang

Wishing all of you a merry Christmas & a Happy New Year

The end of the year is coming, and in a few days I´m going at Christmas vacation with my family. These days I´m looking back at a busy year where I had the blessing of working with what I love most. It´s been a year full of good people, colourful PR projects & events, strategy development and a lot of business coaching of entrepreneurs and bigger companies.

2019 was also a year, where I developed a mindful, holistic and wholehearted way of creating sustainable brands, strategies and lifes and I am thankful for everyone coming my way, having an interest in my way of approaching creativity, strategy and wellbeing. I look forward to lots of excitement, good people and creative projects i 2020. 

Wishing all of you a merry Christmas & a Happy New Year, 

Love Cille

So what is success to you?

One of the biggest things I see when I coach CEO’s or entrepreneurs is how they so quickly forget the most important element in their business; their personal success and how they thrive in life.

What started out as a dream often become all about execution, budgets and bigger is better and a few years into having a successful business which everybody looks up to - you have lost yourself and the reason for getting up in the morning. I know the story cause I hear it every week and I know it from myself, cause it’s the same story I did with focusing on big money and prestige and forgetting about passion. What happens is that one day what was your dream, no longer is a dream. 

But i doesn’t have to be this way. As much as being responsible for our clients, our budgets and our employees we have to take responsibility for ourselves. Without your why, the company is suffering. As entrepreneurs and CEO’s we have to change the perspective of success. If you ask me, success is not working your ass off 80 hours a week, seeing nobody, having no time to eat, love or sleep.

Success is worth nothing, if it doesn’t feel good. It’s worth a try, to shake up your perspective and be able to meet yourself with the same interest and understanding you give to your clients. Could you make small pockets of time for your creativity, for playing, for alone time, for time with your beloved ones, for inspiration and for learning to understand the value of saying no to things, clients and projects that doesnt match you? Maybe letting things wait until tomorrow, where you will have a better perspective? And you will see that what was a dream, still is a dream. It’s all about your perspective. 

Ifyou are in need for a talk about your perspective, you are welcome to contact me.

Love C 

How to count your 2019 blessings & set your 2020 intentions

December month is a warm and giving month, it´s a month where we give back to the people we love, to our community and to the people who are in need of a helping hand. December is also a month where we take a break from being on auto pilot and take a close look at the year that went by and start making us some thoughts about the coming year.

Whether you came to my platform in the interest of your business or private life, you can make this exercise and get some perspective on what you or your business have achieved in 2019 and where you wanna go in 2020.

Your blessings from 2019

Before we tune into this exercise let us get inspired from the power woman Michelle Obama and her idealistic and realistic way of looking at life. When we take a look at the past year it´s not with the eyes of perfection, but It´s with loving and reflecting eyes, letting our negative or perfect self talk stay where it belongs (not in our lifes):

You´re not supposed to do this perfectly. You don´t do life perfectly. - Michelle Obama

To sum it up, the following reflection is not something that has to be perfect, but it´s an inspiration to look with postive and constructive eyes on 2019, taking a close look on what you have learned. Cause in all the good and the bad, there are som lessons to learn and some meaning to grow from. I have made some questions for you, find your notebook, sit with a good cup of coffee or tea and start reflecting:

• 2019 was a year full of..

• In the past year I learned to..

• In the last year I met those people, who gave me this knowledge..

• If I should sum up 2019 in three words it would be..

• I am letting go of this from the last year..

• I want to take this with me into 2020….

My intentions for 2020

There is nothing that any of you can´t do. - Michelle Obama

To do the same thing over and over again is just stupidity, but often we put our life on auto pilot or keep our self in the same old beliefs, because we are unaware that we actually are living from others beliefs. Now it´s time to change that, cause you can do much more, than you believe. Especially with the right mindset and intentions.

This is a small starter, but if you are in need of some help for finding your focus for 2020, you can always contact me. To start with you can start reflecting on these questions:

• 2020 is the year where I want more of..

• 2020 is a the year where I am setting my team and I need help for this..

• In the coming year, life will be more simple if I start or stop doing this..

• My theme for 2020 is this..

• My mantra for 2020 is this..

How to keep your focus

An excellent idea for keeping your focus for the new year, is to start washing all the dirt away from your glasses and take a close look at reality. You don´t need other people to accomplish you for what you have achieved or understand the way you are going, as long as you can see it yourself.

Buy yourself a notebook and a couple of nights in the week sit down and take a look at your intentions and see if you are where you wanna go. If not, do some adjustment. You can also start writing a short list on things and people you felt grateful for that day. Keep it simple and specific. This can be a powerful way to keep your focus, keep the negative selftalk away and connect you to the small things in life, for which we can be grateful for.

Playlist from my New Years workshops here

You can also book a life or business coaching session by contacting me here.

Happy new year,

Love Cille

An eclectic story: Hunkøn X YO STUDIOS

Some months ago we got the job to come up with an idea on how to launch the new yoga clothing from Hunkøn and activate it PR wise. It was clear to me, we had to do something extraordinary and we had to make a fun and ambitious partnership with some creative and premium ambassadors from the yoga world.

In a long time I have been crushing on the ladies from YO Studios and their creative and colorfull approach to the yoga world. When we got the job of activating Hunkøn´s colorful and comfy yogaclothing, I only had one partner in mind; YO studios. I had a story in my mind on creating a partnership focusing on eclectic vibes and combining the calm yoga universe with a hip hop approach. We wanted to show, that a calm and inward yoga sessions as yin yoga also can be colorfull and powerfull, full og energy and potential. The tagline we created the universe around was the sentence “Don´t even go with the flow, be the flow” from Jay Z, which embraces the world of both YO studios and Hunkøn.

One of the key elements in the work was to create a soundtape, that could work around the calm and at once empowering theme we wanted to create and the only one to create it was the dj Fedty, who has also been the sounddesigner of Rotate by Birger Christensen´s show, Guldknappen, Glossier etc. She created a powerfull, bouncy and at once calm soundtape, go listen it here.

The rest is story and hard work, cause last week they launched their new partnership and I look forward to see how it goes from here. I am very proud of this collab. If you wanna join the events, go to yostudios.dk , if you want to listen to Fedty´s soundtape go to Spotify or if you wanna shop the clothing go to Hunkon.com