Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

I never tire of hearing inspirational stories of resilience, particularly those of resilient women. And this last week was no exception.

As a guest of EY, I attended the inaugural Resilient Women 2016 conference in Sydney, Australia, last Friday. The conference appealed to me as I have recently written a book about my own personal resilience—Designer Law School: Legal lessons for design entrepreneurs. The conference was an entire day dedicated to hearing from inspirational female leaders.

The Master of Ceremonies was Jane Caro and she was brilliant at guiding us through a jam-packed day. Jane also gave personal insights about her life, sharing some of the many inspiring stories we would hear throughout the day. When the day kicked off with a ‘Welcome to Country’ by Yvonne Weldon and the ‘Official Welcome’ by Lynn Kraus, Managing Partner, Oceania Markets and Managing Partner, EY Sydney, we all knew we were in for a special day. And special it was!

From ‘The Financial Fairytale’ presented by Melissa Browne, Entrepreneur, Author, Accountant and 100 Women of Influence; to ‘Resilient Women Across the Globe’ by Professor Elaine Kempson, Director, Personal Finance Research Centre, University of Bristol, UK; and the post-lunch panel ‘Sharing the Stories of Resilient Women’ with Christine Nixon APM interviewing Beth Mathison, Telstra Business Women of the Year 2105; and Basia Emanual, a No Interest Loan Scheme client—the day lived up to my expectations. Real stories, real problems, real resilience, real women! Inspiring but more importantly for me, motivating!

The final event of the day–a panel entitled ‘The Money Story’–was one of my favourites, featuring three of the most inspiring and authentic women I’ve ever had the privilege to hear from. Amanda Young, CEO, First Nations Foundation; Tanya Hosch, Head of Diversity and Inclusion, AFL; and Shelley Cable, Finance Analyst, Shell + Project Director, 100 Days of Deadly Mob, told their personal stories about their lives and how they succeed in a world that is far from easy. But at the end of the day, it is being part of and giving back to their community that continues to drive these amazing women. It’s not the individual but the community successes they celebrate!

For me the big take-outs were:

1. A partner (or ‘Prince Charming’) is not a financial plan for any woman
2. If you need help, ask for it!
3. You are so much stronger than you think you are
4. Just keep going, no matter what is thrown at you!
5. Enjoy the journey because you learn more about yourself during the hard times.

For more information on the speakers and the program: Resilient Women

As an aside, here is another comment about my book inspired by my own personal resilience—Designer Law School. Legal lessons for design entrepreneurs:

Innovators and entrepreneurs starting small businesses need access to an ecosystem of support services. But, to get through the ‘start-up’ phase of a new entity we sometimes only have budget to help/hire ourselves. Designer Law School will allow you to get your head around the basics of legal frameworks whilst starting a company. With sage advice, and a great sense of humour, there are many lessons to be learned and experiences to be shared. I devoured this book with relish, and would recommend to any new small business owner.

Dr. Catherine Ball, CEO and Founder, Elemental Strategy 

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*Christine Moody is one of Australia’s leading brand strategists and the founder brand management consultancy, Brand Audits. With more than 30 years’ professional experience, Christine has helped a diverse client base of local and international brands, including Gold Coast City Council, Hilton Hotels and Wrigleys USA, to develop, protect and achieve brand differentiation. Her particular interest is personal brand audits to assist executives realise their full potential. She is also an author and a law student.

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.

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About—Designer Law School. Legal lessons for design entrepreneurs
(Stockists Folio Books: Folio@FolioBooks.com.au; iBook store; and Amazon)

Christine Moody is one of Australia’s leading brand strategists. She is the founder of brand management consultancy, Brand Audits, and several successful start-up companies. Designer Law School is her latest venture.

This book is a cautionary tale for all designers, entrepreneurs, managers and educators. With the wit and wisdom born of long experience (and some pretty hard knocks along the way), Christine encourages her fellow designers (and all designers, creatives and entrepreneurs, for that matter) to respect and understand the legal issues that affect their daily business. In a series of practical ‘lessons’ full of ‘good-to-know’ tips and topics, the book alerts others to the risks of ‘doing business’ without a keen eye on the possible legal pitfalls along the way. At the same time, Christine engages the reader through her obvious care and concern for their challenges and encases her ‘lessons’ in the motivational framework of her personal struggle for justice and survival.

Photo credit: View from EY Sydney offices—Resilient Women 2016 conference x Christine Moody.

Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

Designers—and I count myself as one!—are great at what they do, but not so great at ‘the other stuff’. We are naturally curious and excited about interesting projects and opportunities—sometimes at the risk of the practical detail. The personal crises we sometimes find ourselves in are often a result of rushing ahead without considering the long-term consequences.

We get swept up in the excitement of a project and ‘lose our heads’. So, in my book Designer Law School: Legal lessons for design entrepreneurs, I set out to make designers aware of the ‘other stuff’. I wanted to give them the opportunity to take a breath and understand the possible legal implications of what they do. As a designer, my natural inclination was to lead with my heart and not my head. I was often very emotional when it came to decision-making.

In the book, I share my personal experiences because I ‘get it’. I ‘get’ designers and the world in which they live. I ‘get’ that designers don’t make any distinction between work and life. To us, work is an integral part of life! We love what we do and we spend our lives doing it. In fact, I’m sure that other professionals may be secretly jealous: we get to do something we love every day of our lives!

First, I have learned that you need to seek professional help from other parties, including your colleagues, your lawyers, and your accountants. You need to surround yourself with trustworthy advisors and mentors who will help bring you back to earth when your heart is telling you to simply sign a document and get the deal done so that you can start work. But this is not enough.

You also have to understand what your advisors are saying and consider their advice in both short and long-term scenarios.

I want you to understand when you need to seek professional legal advice, how to find it and how to brief a lawyer to get the best outcome.

As the old adage goes, ‘If it sounds too good to be true…’. Never be afraid or in too much of a rush to get a second opinion. If you are—and I have been guilty of this—bad decision-making can result. In particular, I want you to understand when you need to seek professional legal advice, how to find it, and how to brief a lawyer to get the best outcome.

During the writing of my book, I enrolled in Applied Australian Law and have really enjoyed understanding the legal terminology and how it fits into the Australian legal system. The idea is not to become a lawyer, but to be able to speak to designers in a language they understand and assist them to navigate the business world.

As an aside, I continue to be overwhelmed by the positive feedback coming in for my book—Designer Law School. Legal lessons for design entrepreneurs. Here is another comment that I wanted to share:

Get over yourself and buy this book! Christine Moody provides sage advice for any design business looking to engage lawyers, she has built a bridge over the communication divide to enable your experience with legal practitioners to be the best it possibly can be.

Sarah Bartholomeusz, Founder and CEO, You Legal; and author of How to Avoid a Fall from Grace and Kingpin: Legal lessons from the Underworld

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*Christine Moody is one of Australia’s leading brand strategists and the founder brand management consultancy, Brand Audits. With more than 30 years’ professional experience, Christine has helped a diverse client base of local and international brands, including Gold Coast City Council, Hilton Hotels and Wrigleys USA, to develop, protect and achieve brand differentiation. Her particular interest is personal brand audits to assist executives realise their full potential. She is also an author and a law student.

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.

…………………………………………….

About—Designer Law School. Legal lessons for design entrepreneurs
(Stockists Folio Books: Folio@FolioBooks.com.au; iBook store; and Amazon)

Christine Moody is one of Australia’s leading brand strategists. She is the founder of brand management consultancy, Brand Audits, and several successful start-up companies. Designer Law School is her latest venture.

This book is a cautionary tale for all designers, entrepreneurs, managers and educators. With the wit and wisdom born of long experience (and some pretty hard knocks along the way), Christine encourages her fellow designers (and all designers, creatives and entrepreneurs, for that matter) to respect and understand the legal issues that affect their daily business. In a series of practical ‘lessons’ full of ‘good-to-know’ tips and topics, the book alerts others to the risks of ‘doing business’ without a keen eye on the possible legal pitfalls along the way. At the same time, Christine engages the reader through her obvious care and concern for their challenges and encases her ‘lessons’ in the motivational framework of her personal struggle for justice and survival.

Photo credit: Study Desk Still Life x Christine Moody 2016.

Brand + Business x Christine Moody*

‘Design Thinking’ and innovation go hand in hand. Design Thinking according to Stanford University’s d.school is a process that includes five stages or modes:

1. Empathise—empathy is the centrepiece of a human-centred design process.
2. Define—the mode of the design process is all about bringing clarity and focus to the design space.
3. Ideate—the mode of the design process in which you concentrate on idea generation.
4. Prototype—the mode is the iterative generation of artifacts intended to answer questions that get you closer to your final solution.
5. Test—the mode is when you solicit feedback, about the prototypes you have created, from your users and have another opportunity to gain empathy for the people you are designing for.

I attended d.school bootcamp in 2011 as part of my Masters Degree and have continued to use the process in every part of my business and personal life. I have used this method on everything from creating new products and services for retail clients  (i.e., developing Poppy Cakes’ Party in a Box), to working through my personal legal challenges, to creating a stronger and more refined, authentic personal brand (i.e., writing the first book in what will be a series of books, Designer Law School: Legal lessons for design entrepreneurs).

Whenever I get stuck on an issue, I grab my Moleskine notepad and start writing, drawing, and visually problem-solve. I also make sure that I am aware of what is happening outside my design world. I do this by reading constantly—books as well as online journals. I also make sure I hit the streets to see what is happening. For example, I find out what new retail stores are opening (both Australian and international brands) and go and visit new stores to get a feel for the brand. I also overlay these field trips with reviewing the brand’s online stores and social media.

Design thinking is action and taking action is what you have to do to truly become innovative.

As an aside, I continue to be overwhelmed by the positive feedback coming in for my book—Designer Law School. Legal lessons for design entrepreneurs. Here is another comment that I wanted to share:

 All entrepreneurs have a list of things they wish they had known before starting a business. But what if you could learn them all in one place, sparing yourself endless hassle and confusion? This book lays out the steps you need to take to protect your interests and create a thriving, lucrative design practice.
Dorie Clark, author of Stand Out and Reinventing You, and adjunct professor, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business

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*Christine Moody is one of Australia’s leading brand strategists and the founder brand management consultancy, Brand Audits. With more than 30 years’ professional experience, Christine has helped a diverse client base of local and international brands, including Gold Coast City Council, Hilton Hotels, and Wrigleys USA, to develop, protect and achieve brand differentiation. Her particular interest is personal brand audits to assist executives realise their full potential. She is also an author and a law student.

For more information: chris.moody@brandaudits.com.au or +61 419 888 468.

…………………………………………….

About—Designer Law School. Legal lessons for design entrepreneurs
(Stockists Folio Books: Folio@FolioBooks.com.au; iBook store; and Amazon)

Christine Moody is one of Australia’s leading brand strategists. She is the founder of brand management consultancy, Brand Audits, and several successful start-up companies. Designer Law School is her latest venture.

This book is a cautionary tale for all designers, entrepreneurs, managers, and educators. With the wit and wisdom born of long experience (and some pretty hard knocks along the way), Christine encourages her fellow designers (and all designers, creatives, and entrepreneurs, for that matter) to respect and understand the legal issues that affect their daily business. In a series of practical ‘lessons’ full of ‘good-to-know’ tips and topics, the book alerts others to the risks of ‘doing business’ without a keen eye on the possible legal pitfalls along the way. At the same time, Christine engages the reader through her obvious care and concern for their challenges and encases her ‘lessons’ in the motivational framework of her personal struggle for justice and survival.

Photo credit: Stanford University d.school