But what if that's exactly why your marketing feels so hard? What if that's why you freeze up when it's time to post, or why your sales copy makes you feel icky?

Here's the truth: Not all purchasing decisions are driven by problem-solving.

When was the last time you bought something expensive purely because it sparked joy? That weekend getaway you didn't "need." That dress that made you feel like your best self. The art piece that moved you.

That decision came from a completely different place than booking an emergency plumber.

In this episode, I'm challenging the biggest lie in marketing:

That fear and pain points are the only way to sell. They're not.

And for creative entrepreneurs, coaches, artists, and anyone selling transformation over transactions? Joy First marketing is often more profitable.

What we're diving into:

• Why the pain-point formula works brilliantly for plumbers but might be killing your premium brand
• The neuroscience behind joy-based purchasing (hint: happy people spend more generously)
• Real brands winning with positivity—from John Lewis's tear-jerking holiday ads to how Ryan Reynolds built a $14 billion empire through genuine enthusiasm and storytelling
• When joy-first marketing is your secret weapon (and the signs you're forcing the wrong approach)
• Why you get this intellectually but still can't implement it (and what actually helps)

The truth nobody wants to say out loud:

You're allowed to build a business that feels good. That leads with desire instead of desperation. That makes people feel better about themselves, not worse.

And it can be more profitable than the fear-based alternative.

Your work matters. Your joy matters. And showing up with genuine enthusiasm in a world drowning in manufactured urgency?

That's how you stand out.

Resources Mentioned:

• John Lewis 2024 Holiday Ad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1bRlnyQeDk
• White Stuff "Walkies" Campaign | https://www.whitestuff.com/life-stuff-style/episode-25
• Citrus 48-Hour Brand Refresh https://go.joyfirstworld.com/citrus (early bird pricing ends Friday)
• Joy First Founders' Circle https://go.joyfirstworld.com/jffc

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What makes Cheetos, Krispy Kreme and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup so dang addicting? These treats aren't perefction on accident, food scientists engineer them to hit what they call the "bliss point": the perfect balance of sugar, salt, and fat that makes your brain scream "more please" without you even consciously deciding.

Your brand can hit this bliss point too.

That sweet spot where what lights YOU up and what the market needs (and is willing to pay for) overlap so perfectly that people binge your content, buy whatever they can afford, and want to stay in your world long-term.

Most founders I work with? They're operating with only one of the 'circles', which means they're either burning out doing work that pays but depletes them, or pouring their soul into something nobody will buy.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the two foundational circles every brand needs, why most of us only nail one, and revealing the third circle that determines whether people stick around long enough to understand your brilliance.

I'm also sharing my own painful story from 2024, how being out of alignment cost me big time, forced me to let go of team members, and nearly broke me. And what finally clicking back into my bliss point created (spoiler: it's Citrus).

You'll discover:

• The ven diagram for sustainable business growth
• Where "finding your why" fits into all this
• Warning signs you're out of alignment (before it costs you big time)
• The third circle that makes everything click
• How AI is changing the game for founders who can articulate their bliss point

This episode is for you if:

• You're making money but losing your soul in the process
• You love what you're doing but nobody's buying
• You keep pivoting, second-guessing, feeling resentful about incoming work
• You suspect there's a "next level" but can't quite see how to get there
• You're ready to stop bouncing between passion and profit

The founders who nail this now: all three circles aligned, are going to blow up in the next few years. Because AI is rocket fuel for amplifying what makes you unique. But if you can't articulate what that is? You can't use that fuel.

Links & Resources:

• Citrus: 48 hr. brand refresh: https://go.joyfirstworld.com/citrus
• Free Masterclass Waitlist: Get the full framework + check-list for psychological consistency: https://go.joyfirstworld.com/future?utm_source=podcast
• Brand in a Week | Whyfinding® | Super Bloom® : VIP Brand Experiences using the Colour Brand® Method": https://go.joyfirstworld.com/branding

Next Week: The Profitability of Positivity: Why joy is the #1 strategy for small business success right now.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You've been trying to fit in. Learning the industry standards. Following best practices. Being professional. Being credible. Being like everyone successful.

But what if you're optimizing for the wrong thing?

What if instead of apologizing, you should be celebrating?

Research shows industry outsiders drive breakthrough innovation at significantly higher rates than insiders. Not despite being different. Because of it.

Sara Blakely (fax machine salesperson → Spanx). Yvon Chouinard (climber → Patagonia). Rihanna (cultural outsider → Fenty Beauty). None of them succeeded by fitting in. They succeeded by leveraging what made them different.

Today: The four types of valuable outlier perspectives. And the exact framework for turning your "weirdness" into strategic advantage when building a brand.

You'll discover:

• Why industry insiders are actually constrained (and you're not)
• The outlier type you probably are (and didn't know was an asset)
• Why neurodivergent thinking creates natural business advantages
• The four-step framework from hiding difference to leading with it
• Why "what if I alienate customers" is the wrong thing to be worrying about
• How to price for uniqueness instead of competing on sameness

Listen if:

• You've been hiding parts of yourself to seem "professional"
• You don't have traditional industry credentials (and feel like an imposter)
• Your brain works differently than "normal"
• You've been told you're "too different" or "don't fit the mold"
• You're tired of trying to be like everyone else
• 
  

• Whyfinding® Sessions: Get Nic's help finding, defining your 'weird' : https://go.joyfirstworld.com/branding
• The 'troll' post on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DQmC_0gDLR-/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You have 0-7 seconds. In that time, three subconscious questions get answered:

"Can I trust this?"

"Is this for me?"

"Is it worth it?"

Obviously in this time, your clients are not consciously analyzing your logo. But they are feeling their way to their answers to these three questions.

Today I'm breaking down the three elements that actually drive the feelings in your first impression, and uncovering what makes buying obvious or creates instant resistance instead. And why most brands are accidentally creating discord instead of harmony.

You'll discover:

• Why color discord happens even when your brand colors are "right"
• The personality type mistake that makes premium pricing feel "too expensive"
• How imagery can undermine credibility before anyone reads a word
• Why sophisticated visuals with uncertain copy kills conversions
• The three-question harmony audit to check your own brand
• How to fix the biggest gap without rebuilding everything

Listen if:

• You've invested in beautiful branding but conversions aren't improving
• People say "you're too expensive"
• Your brand feels "off" but you can't figure out why
• You're getting mixed signals about your positioning
• You want clarity on what actually moves the needle

• Free quiz: Discover your brand personality type: https://go.jnicholesmith.com/quiz
• Waitlist: 48 hr brand refresh program: https://go.joyfirstworld.com/weekend-waitlist

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From ancient Greek mythology to Marvel movies. From Shakespeare to Star Wars. The same patterns keep showing up because they're wired into human psychology.

And when your brand taps into these universal patterns, you're not just creating marketing. You're activating something that bypasses conscious thought and goes straight to emotion, memory, and identity.

And if you’ve been in my world a while, then you know just how important emotion is when it comes to building a successful business. It’s not ‘nice to have’ - it needs to be the core of your brand and all your marketing.

Today, after many many requests for this episode, I'm breaking down the twelve Jungian archetypes and why they're one of the most powerful strategic tools you can use to create instant recognition, deep connection, and fierce brand loyalty.

But here's what most people get wrong: They pick an archetype based on what sounds cool and end up with a stereotype instead of a strategy. The secret is understanding the four core motivations underneath the twelve archetypes. That's what transforms this from marketing gimmick into psychological strategy that runs all the way the way from your reels to your company’s vacation policies.

You'll discover why brands with tight archetypal clarity grow 97% more than confused brands, how Founders like Richard Branson manage to infuse their archetypes across over 400 companies worldwide.

• The Four Core Motivations:
• The Four Core psychological Motivations driving all archetypes
• Jung’s 12 Core Archetypes with Brand Examples
• The difference between founder archetype, brand archetype, and product archetype
• Why combining primary and secondary archetypes creates depth
• Warning signs of archetypal dissonance and which archetypes and personality types clash (and what to do about it)
• How to translate archetypes into voice, visuals, and customer experience
• Creating an archetypal strategy document for consistency

• "The Hero and the Outlaw" by Margaret Mark and Carol Pearson
• Nic’s Color Brand Quiz: https://go.jnicholesmith.com/quiz
• Get on the waitlist for our new course to build your brand with archetypes: https://go.joyfirstworld.com/weekend-waitlist

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you spend hours researching the perfect font pairing over and over again, you're not actually working on your business. You're avoiding something scarier.

This is what I call 'procrastibranding'. And if you just felt called out, stay with me. Because I'm not here to shame you. I'm here to help you understand what's actually happening and how to break the cycle.

Today I'm breaking down why brand work feels so productive when it's actually sophisticated procrastination, what it's really costing you in money and opportunity, and the practical framework for finally committing to your brand and focusing on what actually generates revenue.

You'll discover the three psychological drivers of procrastibranding, why "good enough" often outperforms "perfect" in today's market, and the one question that changes everything. Plus...

• The three warning signs you're caught in procrastibranding (and which one is keeping you stuck)
• Why repetitive creative work feels productive but what it's costing you
• The hidden costs nobody talks about
• How inconsistency kills word-of-mouth (your most powerful free marketing)
• Why imperfect authenticity builds more trust than sterile perfection right now
• Which 20% of branding actually moves the needle
• My "good enough" checklist: four boxes to check before you launch
• When a rebrand IS worth the investment (and when it's not)
• Five practical strategies to break the procrastibranding cycle

• Free Brand Personality Quiz: https://go.jnicholesmith.com/quiz
• Joy First World: https://joyfirstworld.com/
• Book a Brand Breakthrough Call: https://go.joyfirstworld.com/branding
• Joy First Founders' Circle community: https://go.joyfirstworld.com/jffc

The truth? Your ideal clients aren't waiting for your logo to be perfect: They're waiting for you to show up and help them.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Picture this: A room full of 5 yr olds listening to 'Golden' - when that three-part harmony hits... their little faces lit up - they could feel the harmony (and I got about 1000 cool points from my kids for being the mum who not only came in for career day, but managed to work KPop Demon Hunters into my presentation about Colour Psychology)

If your visual brand is as on-point right now as the Huntr/x high-notes - customers are doing the exact same thing as those kids. They're lighting up in your funnels, on your website and in your social feeds.

But how do you know if you're peddling visual harmony or discord?

In today's episode, I'm breaking down why some brands make you feel instant trust while others make you want to close the tab (even though you probably can't quite explain why).

• The neuroscience of how your brain processes visual harmony (and why your brand should care)
• What Gordon Ramsay and fine dining can teach us about brand consistency
• The five elements I adjust most often in Design Time hot seats (and how to audit yours)
• Why mixing colour groups creates the same discomfort as notes out of tune
• How to identify visual discord in your brand using the "scramble test"
• Real metrics: why harmonious brands show higher conversions, longer time on site, and better word-of-mouth
• The biggest harmony pitfalls facing most Founders, and how to fix them

LINKS FROM TODAY:

• Starling Bank rebrand analysis: https://www.tiktok.com/@joyfirstworld/video/7550797369546198294
• Free Brand Personality Quiz: https://go.jnicholesmith.com/quiz
• Book a Call to talk about your rebrand: https://go.joyfirstworld.com/branding
• DM me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jnicholesmith

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Picture this: I'm VP of brand at a tech startup, locked in a battle with our UI/UX designer over whether our app's greys should be warm or cold. She's insisting on blue-based greys: Apple does it, all the big tech brands do it, so obviously it's correct for technology, right? Wrong.

And today I'm going to de-code for you why this seemingly insignificant detail reveals everything you need to know about colour psychology.

• What happens in your mind with colour before your cognitive mind analyzes anything
• The four groups of colour and how they correlate with personality types (with the exact science behind it)
• How to choose colours strategically based on psychology, not just preference
• Why certain colour combinations create delicious harmony while others trigger instant distrust
• The critical questions to ask before choosing any colour for your brand
• Real examples of brands getting colour psychology right (and catastrophically wrong)
• Why it's so important to stick to colours from one 'group' to get the results you want with your brand
• The psychology behind every major colour from brown to pink (including which one to avoid entirely)

• Free Brand Personality Quiz: go.jnicholesmith.com/quiz
• Tara Lynn & Co. photography (sunshine brand example)
• Janna Scharfenberg website (seaside brand example)
• The Ad Girls rebrand: theadgirls.com (fireside brand example)
• Natalie MacNeil website: nataliemacneil.com (fireside brand example)
• Dr. Romie Mushtaq - Busy Brain Cure book
• Starling Bank rebrand breakdown (mentioned)
• Dealing with Whiteness podcast series (previous season)
• Color psychology resources and tools
• Book a strategy call with Nic
• Super Bloom program information
• Color Joy program

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.