In this episode of The Creative Flight, I’m joined by Sophie O’Connor, a strategic brand designer with over two decades of experience across advertising, branding, and studio life.

We talk about what really shapes good work over time, not trends, not platforms, but perspective. How lived experience changes the way you design, who you choose to work with, and what you no longer tolerate in business. Sophie reflects on craft, integrity, trust, and why many wellness brands struggle to communicate what they actually stand for.

This is a conversation about design maturity, discernment, and building brands that aren’t trying to shout their way into relevance. About Sophie:

Founder and Brand Designer, Sophie O’Connor, has spent the last 20 years working with global creative powerhouses – Landor, Saatchi & Saatchi, Mother London, and the BBC – where big budgets demanded even bigger ideas. That experience wired her to create brands that are anything but ordinary.

Since 2016, Sophie has specialised in strategic branding for founders and innovators, building brands that are confident, distinctive and built to last. Working with start-ups to global businesses across health, tech, property and media, every project begins with clarity, strategy and a deep understanding of your story. www.sophieoconnor.uk Instagram.com/sophieoconnorltd linkedin.com/in/sophieoc

About Ivy Malik Ivy Malik is a business and sales coach for creatives obsessed with sunglasses. She helps designers, content creators, and founders understand the psychology behind money, pricing, and decision-making, so they can build commercially viable work without pressure, performance, or losing themselves in the process. How to work with Ivy. Ivy’s signature programme is Flight Club. It helps with the full business growth from business model, marketing to conversion. https://ivymalik.com/flightclub/ If you have most of that already established and only want to work on your sales, you can join the Sales Gym only which helps you close higher paying clients on repeat. https://ivymalik.com/sales-gym-million/ Want to work with Ivy privately. The most popular way to work with her is a no-zoom, unlimited access support that starts at £6K per quarter. Each package is individually created to suit each client’s personalised needs.

Ever noticed how sales conversations suddenly stall the moment you ask, “What’s the budget?”

Clients go vague, dodge the question, or change the subject entirely.

This isn’t usually a negotiation tactic.

It’s a psychological response.

In this video, Ivy Malik, business coach and creator of the Co-Creative Selling Model, breaks down why budget questions trigger discomfort, silence, and avoidance, and what’s actually happening in the brain when money feels emotionally risky.

You’ll learn why budget questions are often experienced as status threats, not financial ones. How fear of judgment, reputation loss, and self-protection drive avoidance. When budget resistance is emotional protection rather than manipulation.

This episode is especially relevant for designers, coaches, consultants, and service-based business owners

Especially for Creatives who struggle with pricing conversations

Anyone selling high-trust or high-value services

Founders navigating awkward or stalled sales calls

If you’ve ever felt tension, resistance, or discomfort around money conversations, this video reframes budget discussions through psychology, neuroscience, and leadership rather than pressure or persuasion.

Sales doesn’t work when it’s forced.

It works when it’s co-created.

About Ivy Malik:

Ivy Malik is a business and sales coach for creatives. She’s obsessed with sunglasses and helps designers, content creators, and founders understand the psychology behind money, pricing, and decision-making, so they can build commercially viable work without pressure, performance, or losing themselves in the process.

How to work with Ivy.

Ivy’s signature programme is Flight Club.

It helps with the full business growth from business model, marketing to conversion. https://ivymalik.com/flightclub/

If you have most of that already established and only want to work on your sales, you can join the Sales Gym which helps you close higher paying clients on repeat. https://ivymalik.com/sales-gym-million/

Want to work with Ivy privately. The most popular way to work with her is a no-zoom, unlimited access support that starts at £6K per quarter. Each package is individually created to suit each client’s personalised needs.

In this episode of The Creative Flight, I sit down with Zina Ajlouny for a wide-ranging conversation about ambition, money, creativity, and what really sits underneath success once you’ve lived a few different lives. Zina has built and co-founded multiple companies across San Francisco, Hong Kong, the Middle East, and Europe, worked inside venture-backed startups and global consultancies, and now advises leaders and founders on how they actually move forward when growth stops being theoretical and starts becoming personal.

We talk about:

- What people really mean when they say “startup” and why scaling is often misunderstood

- Why doing things that don’t scale is sometimes the smartest move

- The role of storytelling and design in pitching, and where it genuinely matters

- Money as an enabler, not an identity

- Why so many women struggle to ask for what their work is worth

- The mental blocks that stop capable people from taking the next step

It’s a conversation that looks at value creation, leadership, and the internal work required to build something sustainable without losing yourself in the process.

About The Creative Flight podcast:

It is for creatives, founders, and multi-hyphenates navigating the tension between meaningful work and making money.

Each episode explores the psychological, emotional, and practical realities of creative business owners from all walks of life. How did their business take flight. From ambition and identity to sales, confidence, and sustainability.

About Ivy Malik

Ivy Malik is a business and sales coach for creatives obsessed with sunglasses.

She helps designers, content creators, and founders understand the psychology behind money, pricing, and decision-making, so they can build commercially viable work without pressure, performance, or losing themselves in the process.

How to work with Ivy.

Ivy’s signature programme is Flight Club. It helps with the full business growth from business model, marketing to conversion. https://ivymalik.com/flightclub/

If you have most of that already established and only want to work on your sales, you can join the Sales Gym only which helps you close higher paying clients on repeat. https://ivymalik.com/sales-gym-million/

Want to work with Ivy privately. The most popular way to work with her is a no-zoom, unlimited access support that starts at £6K per quarter. Each package is individually created to suit each client’s personalised needs.