[The Creative Freedom Incubator is now open for enrollment! This year we're offering 3 different levels to meet you where you're at in your business journey.]
Once upon a time, back in the olden days of the Internet - when animated gifs took FOREVER to load and emojis were made from text - I really struggled to grow my business. Most of what I learned was through trial and error. There certainly weren't many books at the library on the topic of growing an online business!
There were only a few places you could go online to learn about building an internet business and some of them were shady as hell. You'd pay a hundred bucks for a third generation, mostly illegible, photocopy of someone's hand-written notes from some guru's workshop and you were THRILLED.
(In my best grumpy old man voice) Back in my day, you paid through the nose and you LIKED it!
Internet gurus have spent decades setting up this house of cards: charge premium prices for lackluster offers and make it hard for you to return your purchase. Then, blame YOU when the program didn't get you the results you wanted.
UGH!
I made a lot of mistakes over the years, invested with a lot of so-called experts for programs that failed to deliver. It irritated me. I got burned, and it pissed me off...especially when they said it was my fault for not doing enough. For not hustling hard enough. Because I didn't want it bad enough.
Can you relate?
As I grew my coaching practice, I KNEW I didn't want to be one of those phony charlatans. I wanted to be someone that could bring real experience and honest insights to the table for my clients. I wanted them to know they had someone in their corner who was genuinely concerned about their success.
The gurus are slick. They talk about authenticity and "keeping it real" while they don't have their shit together behind the scenes. Because they're slick marketers and know exactly what to say to part you from your hard-earned money, they get the attention, their list grows, and they keep making money - which perpetuates the problem.
"Look how successful I am! I've made millions, I have loads of followers. I MUST know what I'm doing! Buy from me so I can make more millions and have more followers."
It's a cycle that feeds itself. People believe the hype... until it's too late. You've been burned and now you find it hard to trust anyone to play it straight with you.
I'm not immune. I've been a victim myself. I've paid thousands of dollars to people making millions of dollars a year (or per month!) and witnessed first hand the uncoordinated, discombobulated crap that goes on in their businesses.
Not to mention what it does to folks like you and me. You sign up for a year-long program or an 8-week course with high hopes, only to find out something's off. The marketing said it was for everyone, but it wasn't really for someone at your level. Or it taught your the WHAT, but not the HOW (you have to upgrade for that!). Or worse, it created MORE work for you to do when you were already stretched to the max!
The gurus don't care if you succeed or not. They already got paid!
I always wished there was a way to learn from someone and pay them based on the results their training gave me. I knew one guy who did that, but his program was $100k! You paid $10k up front, and then you paid the rest as you earned it.
Too steep for me!
Still, it inspired me to launch the Creative Freedom Incubator.
When we launched in 2016, I started small - just 4 folks in our first co-hort - to see what we could do. I launched with a simple offer - pay for results. We help you get the results, and you pay us a percentage of your sales, based on the results you get.
I kept it small because I had no idea how well the program would work, and I didn't want to lose my shirt just in case it all fell apart.
Well, it didn't fall apart. And we continued to improve the program. We still kept it small, because delivering to more than 5 or 6 people would have been too much for me.
The result?
When I saw those numbers, I almost did a backflip! I've spent most of this year trying to figure out how to expand this program so that we could help more people. It wasn't easy, but after much tweaking, testing, and feedback, it's ready.
The new Incubator has 3 levels, designed to meet you at your current stage of business growth. Plus (and this is my favorite part) each level is available on a pay-for-results basis.
If you've been wanting to get help in your business, but cost has been a barrier, or you've been burned before and really want to see some results before you make a big investment, I invite you to come see how the Creative Freedom Incubator can help you.
The Creative Freedom Incubator really is "new and improved" and now available to a LOT more people. If you know a creative entrepreneur that could use this kind of support and accountability in getting more of the right things done in their business, please share this with them!
As a creative entrepreneur, it can be challenging to learn to let go of certain parts of your business. As a Fusion Creative, I still find myself struggling from time to time with asking for and receiving help. BUT, without delegation, you will struggle to see growth.
Delegation isn’t just telling other people to do things on your behalf when you feel overwhelmed - it’s also about giving someone the authority they need to do the task and then managing them accordingly to ensure success. If you're familiar with Mike Michalowicz's book, Clockwork: Design your business to run itself, you've heard this before. You don't just assign a task, you delegate the outcome.
If you’re new to the practice of delegation and want to know how to do it the right way, here are some things that may help you.
Delegation isn’t just telling other people to do things on your behalf when you feel overwhelmed - it’s also about giving someone the authority they need to do the task and then managing them accordingly to ensure success. If you're familiar with Mike Michalowicz's book, Clockwork: Design your business to run itself, you've heard this before. You don't just assign a task, you delegate the outcome.
If you’re new to the practice of delegation and want to know how to do it the right way, here are some things that may help you.
Delegating doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to give up all of the things that you currently do for your business. If you are particularly good at something, then it can be beneficial to lean into your strength and start delegating your areas of weakness.
Start with the "low-risk" tasks - things that won't cause the business to fall apart if something goes wonky. As time goes on, and your trust level grows with your delegatee, you'll be able to pass off more complicated tasks.
Many entrepreneurs believe that they need to have in-house staff to which they can delegate, but you've got options! Outsourcing and automation are also forms of delegation and can help you streamline your operations and grow your business during times when you can't afford to hire in-house. Tools like Convertkit and Mailchimp automate your email. Zapier can automate a bunch of things, and you can also hire VAs or even outside contractors to help. For example, suppose you’re trying to source a product from China (or have it made there). In that case, you might look to a company like leelinesourcing or Alibaba - experts in that particular field. Just be sure to check out this helpful how-to guide from Forbes first!
Picking the right person for the job doesn’t automatically mean picking a person who can already do it. There are times when training someone to do it makes sense. If you're hiring a person to fill a specific role in your company, but they're short on one or two skills for that role, training them not only increases their value to the company, it also frees YOU up from having to do it anymore!
Think about it this way... is there someone already in our company who:
If you've already got someone that fits that description, then it might be a better choice to train instead of hire.
You must provide your candidate with a project brief or a process document if you expect them to effectively complete the task you have delegated to them. Successful delegators explain not only the steps to take (if it's a repetitive task), but also the result they are looking for (in detail), including how the project fits into the bigger picture of the company. You also need to provide a clear definition of what success looks like and how you will measure it during the project and at completion.
Delegation doesn’t end when you give your brief. You also need to establish project milestones to check progress effectively. When you first start to delegate, it can be tempting to micromanage individuals. Establishing checkpoints will help prevent you from micromanaging, allowing you to get on with your work. It also helps keep your delegate stay focused without unnecessary interruptions from you! Milestones help you know if a project is on track for completion and doesn't leave you "holding the bag" at the project due date having nothing done.
Delegating is an extremely useful skill to learn. It helps you manage your resources, build a team where delegation is embedded in the culture, and grow an efficient and effective team around you. Want more help? Check out the Creative Freedom Apprenticeship, which is now included in the Level One Incubator!
This is bonus episode 5 in an unscripted series of lessons learned from 25 years as a creative entrepreneur. You're getting 4 big lessons in a single episode as I gear up to lead you through the Fix This Next methodology. Can ya handle it?
President Eisenhower was right: plans are useless, but planning is everything. That said, you can't control the outcome, you can only influence it by what you do and what you choose not to do. Remember, too, that your goal isn't always THE goal, and if you want to achieve it, you need to be consistent. Consistency isn't sexy, but it works.
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Theme music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
First, I'm super thrilled to announce that I'm now a fully licensed and certified Fix This Next coach and I'm booking assessments now. I mention this now because it's a huge celebration, but also because it's relevant to this week's episode. When you can pinpoint the biggest issue in your business, you can fix it sooner and get your business back on track. That's what Fix This Next can do for you. Schedule your Fix This Next assessment today and get the clarity you need to grow your creative enterprise.
“If you can avoid just a few of the biggest, most crucial mistakes that I’ve made, then success is going to come much easier.” Said Shravan Gupta.
Okay, on with the show. This is bonus episode four in a series of unscripted "lessons learned" from 25 years as a creative entrepreneur.
One of the hardest lessons I learned was this: No one is coming to save you. You're a business owner, and you need to act like one. If you don't like the way the system works, the only way to change it is from the inside. In this episode, I'll take you behind the scenes in my biggest business failure and share how I turned it around.
You'll also see examples from Apple, Denise Duffield-Thomas, and Leonie Dawson, to show you why you need to take control of your business and act like a business owner if you want it to grow - and how growing for growth's sake is only going to make you miserable.
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Theme music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
This is bonus episode two in a series of unscripted "lessons learned" from 25 years as a creative entrepreneur. Your business is NOT the Field of Dreams. If you built it, ya gotta market it or people ain't coming - or BUYING!
At the core, marketing is sharing your message with an interested audience. But what's that message? And where do you find an interested audience? That's what we're looking at in this episode! You'll also hear about some real-world marketing examples and my "SIMPLE" framework for marketing and launching your offers.
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Theme music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Firstly, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope 2020 is as amazing for you as it has already been for me. I just celebrated my 45th birthday, and the entire weekend was superb. Then, on Monday, Charlie and the gang at Productive Flourishing published my guest post about the 25 lessons I've learned from 25 years in business. Some of them I'll be sharing in future episodes, but if you want the whole list, go check out Charlie's blog!
This is Episode Two in a series of unscripted conversations I'm hosting on the podcast between seasons. This episode shares one of the first principles I started teaching to direct sellers when I first became a coach: The most important "product" that your company has to offer is you. No matter where you go, there you are, on display for the world to see, and if you represent a business, that's part of the reputation of the company.
It's just as true today for creative entrepreneurs as it is for direct sellers. In a world where there are lots of people doing things similar to you, the truth is that YOU are the competitive advantage your business relies on most. As the face of your company, you were what your audience is buying into every time they make a buying decision. This week's bonus episode fills in the details and helps you get a handle on it even further. You'll also get a peek into my business and see what's been working, what hasn't, and how we're re-tooling for 2020
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Firstly, to those of you celebrating it, MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope Santa brought you everything you wanted this year.
I debated back and forth about launching a Christmas episode, but here we are. This is Episode One in a special bonus podcast-only series I've created to share the most important lessons I've learned over the past 25 years. Yep. I've been an online entrepreneur for over 25 years now - back when the World Wide Web was a new-fangled thing and the Internet itself was a young upstart, barely old enough to drink.
A lot has changed in the past two and a half decades. Ideas have come and gone, money was made and lost, businesses opened and closed. I was there through all of it - and learned quite a few lessons along the way.
This episode talks about the single most important lesson I've learned in my 25 years online - how your mindset is more important than the mechanics of being a creative entrepreneur... and how to set yourself up for success.
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Theme music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
As I gear up for my annual review, I'm seeing a lot of online entrepreneurs push out their "X Lessons from X Years in business" posts. It occurred to me that, after 25 years in the online world, I'd never done one of these posts.
I'm actually doing a series of lessons learned on the Podcast over the next couple of months before the launch of Creative Freedom Season 6 (oh, it's happening, folks!). In January, I'll share a detailed post with 5 more lessons on Charlie Gilkey's blog. Today, here are 5 biggest lessons I've learned from 25 years of building a "portfolio career" as a creative entrepreneur. My clients will likely recognize most of them as things I say ALL the dang time. Well, if it's been true for 25 years, it's probably worth repeating one more time!
Okay, I gotta rant a little. There's nothing that grates my toast more than the phrase "EPIC CONTENT" (be sure to say it like you're announcing a monster truck rally this Sunday-Sunday-SUNDAYYY!)
In the final regular episode of Season 5, I'm going OFF about how this phrase "create epic content" has become synonymous with "if you can't make something that goes viral, then don't do anything at all" - which is a trap that either keeps you stuck on a hamster wheel of content creation in your creative business or paralyzed by perfectionism to the point of doing nothing at all.
Instead, I'm going to show you an easy way to share engaging, meaningful content with your audience on the regular on any platform. And you don't even have to create it all. In fact, if you want to have a life, you probably shouldn't!
THAT, to me, is what epic content creation is all about!
December is content creation month at Creative Freedom HQ. I'm leading a series of workshops to help you plan AND create your content for 2020. Be sure to sign up for email updates to get advance notice of the next one!
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Theme music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
As a creative entrepreneur, you've got LOTS of ideas. How do you keep track of them all? Can they even be managed? How do you decide which ideas to pursue, and which ones to table for later (or even give away to someone else)?
You're in luck because this week I'm sharing some useful tools and resources to help you organize your ideas and get clear on what you're going to move on now, and what can wait. You'll be able to end the distractions and stay focused!
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Music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
You've probably heard the phrase "riches in niches" more times than you care to count. As a creative entrepreneur, finding a niche can feel challenging if you don't solve a "problem" or "pain" with your Great Work.
That's why I don't support the idea of looking for a pain to solve, but instead, looking at core values - which are a clearer indicator of why clients buy from you (and keep buying from you for years to come). In this episode, I'm stealin' a process from the manufacturing world to help you hone in on why clients buy from you and how to find more clients just like 'em.
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Music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
If you're a heart-centered creative entrepreneur struggling with pricing, there's good news: you don't have to subsist on a survival-level income, and you don't have to price gouge your clients in order to be successful. There's a middle ground that's profitable and sustainable.
Your pricing tells a story, and it's personal. For creative entrepreneurs there is no topic more in need of a mindset shift than pricing. Pricing is more than just materials + time. It's about your pricing mythology, your audience expectations, and other considerations that we'll run through in this episode.
P.S. Tickets for the 2020 Creative Freedom Retreat go on sale soon! We're going to NOLA, baby! Make sure you're on my email list to be one of the first to know more!
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Music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
How ya liking the new website? Have you checked out the virtual card deck or taken the new version of the quiz yet? I haven't done a formal post yet about all the changes. That's coming soon. Right now, I'm coming off the high that is Creative Freedom Live. I got home earlier this week, and it's been fun to unwind and "recover" from such an amazing weekend. More on that later, too!
Today, though, I'm going to do my darndest to make business models approachable and easy to navigate. Just hearing the word “business model” can conjure up spreadsheets, process diagrams, flow charts, and other stress-inducing imagery. But business models don't have to be stressful.
Once you figure out your unique business model, you’ll like how sexy the results are: more money, meaning, and impact. More Raving Fans for your work, more freedom, and more time to focus on what’s truly important to you.
The best part? It isn’t hard to figure out. The hard parts are sitting down to DO the work and then staying true to the business model that works for you. If you follow along today, you’ll even have some of that handled, too.
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Music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
While it sounds sexy to "make dolla billz in your sleep," there are three huge misconceptions around creating passive revenue in your business. In this episode you'll go behind the scenes and see how I've set up passive revenue streams in my business, and just how "passive" they really are.
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Music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sales coach and author, Jeffrey Gitomer, famously said, "Customer satisfaction is worthless... do you want your wife to be satisfied or loyal?"
It's a little crude, but the point is well taken. As a creative entrepreneur, having a loyal following means you've got Raving Fans who love your work, support you financially, and you can make great money doing what you love. If they're not loyal, they'll drop you like a hot rock as soon as someone new hits the scene.
So how do you build customer loyalty?
L.O.V.E.
It's an acronym for the 4 actions that draw your audience closer and help you build meaningful, loyal relationships with them.
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Music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
One of the things that stops creatives from growing their business is a fear that they don’t have the credibility it takes to attract quality clients. Fusion Creatives tend to be “credential collectors” which stops you from bringing your Great Work to the world. This episode shares five things you can do (starting today) to build credibility in your niche, even if you’re just starting out.
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Music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Think you're ready to hire a business coach? Jessica did! She asked what kinds of questions she should ask during a hiring interview.
Not so fast!
Before you plunk down your hard-earned cash, make sure you know what you're getting - and that you're ready to make the investment.
Too many creative entrepreneurs get burned by hiring the wrong person at the wrong time. This episode gives you specifics about the different kinds of business support that exist - including coaching - to help you determine what will serve you best at your current stage of business growth.
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Music: "Welcome to the Show" by Kevin MacLeod. Music and sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 3.0
Brace yourself... Creative Freedom Season Five is here!
That's right! After a year of researching, scripting, filming, editing, and travelling, Creative Freedom is back for another season of inspiration and education to help you Own Your Dreams Without Selling Your SoulTM.
Creative entrepreneurs from all over the place sent me questions to answer, and we're kicking off the season with a few of the most important ones. Today, we're talking about branding, specifically how to re-invent yourself or brand yourself as a creative entrepreneur.
It's not always easy to brand yourself when you're constantly evolving. Heck, even the concept of branding has evolved over the years. This episode gives you some questions to consider, along with a brief history of branding through the centuries - and what it means to you (and your clients) in its current evolution.
If you’re listening to just the podcast, you’re only getting about a third of the deal. Catch the Creative Freedom web series or join me on Facebook on Fridays at 5:30pm Central time for a LIVE Q&A about the week's topic.
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Sponsors & Credits
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Music: "Welcome to the Show" by Kevin MacLeod. Music and sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 3.0
Feeling like you can't focus? You're not alone.
According to a 2015 research report from Microsoft, our attention spans are shrinking and may now be on par with goldfish. Since 2000, our ability to concentrate has shrunk from 12 seconds to about 8 seconds. A goldfish has a 9-second attention span.
Citing a possible evolutionary response as we shift to a multi-tasking, multi-screen digital world, the Microsoft report seems to suggest that we can't focus on anything for more than a few seconds at a time.
So explain to me why binge watching Netflix is on the rise (and feels so good), and how my kid can stay rapt in his Minecraft world for hours on end?
In Daniel Goleman's book Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, three types of focus are identified. Goleman uses scientific method and extensive case studies to show that these three types of focus are needed at different times for different reasons. Too much focus in one area for too long creates an attention deficit that makes it hard to focus in other areas. What are these types of focus?
According to Goleman, "Inner focus attunes our intuitions, guiding values, and better decisions." This is our opportunity to look within, serve our own needs, and make sure we have our own oxygen mask on first. I dedicated an entire chapter in Creative Freedom to what I call the I-Matter paradigm, and it begins with knowing what really matters to yourself.
This isn't being selfish. I've said before that self-care isn't selfish. We've got to make sure we're taking care of our basic needs, and so often, that doesn't happen. Binge-watching releases dopamine, which triggers feelings that make us feel good. Emotional eating does something similar. Many creative entrepreneurs put their own dreams, desires, and needs on the back burner in order to serve the needs of others. The result is a form of personal deprivation. It makes sense, then that the only thing you want to do after a long day at the day job is sit on the couch for a little "Netflix and chill" time. You've got to re-fill that Inner Focus "tank".
Goleman writes that "outer focus lets us navigate in the larger world." You've got to be aware of your surroundings, your environment, and the constraints under which you're operating. Otherwise, it's difficult to be a citizen or a creative entrepreneur. Like trying to walk blindfolded through a dark room you've never been in before. If you don't know what's in there, you're probably going to bump into a lot of stuff before you make it across the room.
As a creative entrepreneur, you serve a market. That market exists in a larger environment. Can you create whatever you want? Sure, but creating in a vacuum doesn't usually pay the bills. You've got to be aware of what the market wants, and make key decisions about how you're going to respond to those needs. Can't do that very easily if you don't know what's going on in the world. Plus, for many creatives, the world at large is a great source of inspiration for your material.
Lastly, Goleman says that "other focus smooths our connections to the people in our lives." Some people are jerks who couldn't care less about the people in their world. Some people have mental health issues that prevent them from being able to connect with others. But empathy, emotional intelligence, and the ability to read people and respond appropriately are valuable tools for any person - including creative entrepreneurs.
When you make that deeper connection with your customers, you develop Raving Fans. These people love you to pieces, recommend you to their network willingly, and share your Great Work with the world without being paid to do it. Aside from the financial benefits, it's the kind thing to do. Developing compassion for the people in your community (virtual or otherwise), gives you greater perspective and developing stronger connections helps your own emotional and mental health as well.
Looking at these three types of focus, it makes perfect sense to me that a lack of focus in one area can create ripple effects in the others. In fact, as a creative entrepreneur, you'll use these types of focus in different combinations, depending on your Creative type. I've identified these "focus blends" that tend to show up for creative entrepreneurs in different situations:
If you're a Chaotic Creative, you'll lean on Charitable focus more frequently - which is part of why Chaotics are more likely to undercharge than their Linear counterparts. Linears tend to use Professional focus - sometimes to the detriment of their own health and well-being (Type-A personality anyone?). Which means that Fusions are caught in Personal focus a good portion of the time - resulting in a chronic state of analysis paralysis. Learning to develop a more Global focus exercises all three types of focus more evenly, and helps creatives see their own blind spots a bit more readily.
So how do we improve our different focus styles? Practice. Goleman writes that "Attention works like a muscle - use it poorly and it can wither; work it well and it grows." Here are a few ideas to help improve your focus:
Inner focus - You might choose to meditate, or simply sit quietly and pay attention to your body. As a kid, my high school drama teacher taught us an awareness exercise. "Feel your socks on your feet and your feet in your socks. Feel the pants on your legs and your legs in your pants. These subtle shifts in awareness help you focus on you, what your body is experiencing, and what you're feeling in the moment.
Outer focus - Use soft focus, or peripheral vision to experience the world around you. Instead of fixating on something in front of you, close your eyes and listen to the sounds of the room you're in. Pick out voices in conversations or instruments in a song. Find ways to experience what's going on around you that don't directly involve you.
Other focus - Playtime with kids is always fun. Volunteer your time and attention. I try to donate blood as often as possible. Find a way to help someone else, or just ask them how their day was and really listen to them. Put your attention on someone other than yourself.
These are all ways to strengthen your focus muscles in various ways. Which ones will you try?
Sometimes you just need someone else to be in the room to keep you on task. A-Club has regular co-working sessions to help you stay focused on your goals and dreams. We meet several times a month on Zoom to work together and celebrate our progress on our goals. If you'd like to have personal support to stay focused on your dreams, enrollment for A-Club is now open and includes personal one-on-one coaching every few months to help you make even faster progress.
Congratulations!
You've made it to that point in the year where most people have blown off their resolutions, quit going to the gym, and returned to life as they once knew it.
But not you, right?
You might be tired of goal setting blog posts at this point, and I get it, but the sad fact is that too many people are only just now getting around to thinking about what they really want this year. If you've already set your goals, great. If not, review my previous post about the importance of looking back before you make a new plan. Then, strap yourself in and let's look at how to get what you really want this year.
Because, let's face it, you need this to be your year. According to many people I've talked to, 2018 was not their best year (to put it mildly). If that's also you, then you need to see big improvements over last year. You want to see real, positive, sustainable growth this year.
So how do we actually DO that? These three ideas aren't always easy, but they're exactly what you need to grow your business like never before.
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