4 Things I No Longer Do As A Creative Business Owner

I did a post about the 4 things I no longer do as a creative business owner that's getting a lot of traction. I thought I'd use my newsletter two expand a bit about those things. Let's do it!

Before we dive in I wanted to say how good it feels to just decide you're not available for something anymore. It can be really hard, especially when you feel like you have to do something because…

Well, because why? Because everyone else is doing it? Critical thinking it the most important skill in business next to decisiveness. Check in with yourself. Ask why. What assumptions are you making? Do you actually need to do things the way you're doing them?

You can decide not to. You have the power 🔥

So here's what happened when I stepped into mine and decided not to…

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1. Worry about being cringe on Instagram

I used to really worry about how others perceived me on Instagram — especially Reels. I would imagine someone I went to high school with, or a past colleague seeing one of my Reels and thinking “how embarrassing!" To be honest, I think most people secretly feel like this…

This year I had a bit shift around this. How? I got help. That's usually how big shifts happen.

I invested in two things:

(1) a photoshoot that included BTS footage with Naohmi, so I would have content banked (when I thought about why I found Reels particularly hard, I found a big block was around having video content banked to post)  

(2) Investing in some Reels consulting with Oh Sierra Creative who helped me map out my ideas and wrap my head around the format.

The total investment with the two probably around $4,500 — in the last two months I've gotten 4K+ new followers (and growing), 1K new people on my email list, loads more passive income sales, and sooo many amazing DMs from people who tell me how much my content helps them (truly priceless).

The lesson: invest in your brand + feel the cringe & do it anyway.

2. Prioritize my clients over my own business

I made a shift last year to pour into my own brand first. I decided to be super selective about who got my time after doing a Toggl time audit in August and realizing how many people were capitalizing on my time but me.

The more I put time into my own brand, the happier I was, the more creative I was, and the more my business bloomed.

I started planning out my week on a Sunday night (which saved my hours every week) and plotting CEO time in 2-4 hour blocks. Damn, my whole business shifted. I went from $20-30K months to $40-50K months. And I was working less. I didn't have to sign as many clients.

The lesson: Water your brand garden first. It will feel like a lot of work in the beginning (and really hard to do w all the client work) but it will pay dividends. If you can't find the time, you probably need some support and structure in your business.

PS you can grab my Life & Work template that has a my Sunday night checklist + a walkthrough.

3. Gatekeep my numbers

I’m super open about my numbers, and I know some people find it annoying / triggering. I know because people have told me in my DMs or commented about it. But there's a reason I talk numbers.

It's because when I was on the other side, I was always so confused about how it all worked. I knew there were people who started their own business and made loads of money, but I wouldn't quite understand what it took to get there. It felt impossible.

My entire MO is sharing the messy middle, being transparent, and taking about the stuff that people don't talk about as it pertains to business building. I want to help people understand what's possible. What it all looks like. How they can do it for themselves if that's something they desire.

I think especially as women, we're often in the shadows of economic conversations. I don't want to be left out of the conversation anymore. So I've started my own. You can join the convo or not.

The lesson: it's totally up to you whether or not you want to talk about your numbers! But you can always talk to me about it if you do.

4. Discovery / inquiry calls

I had a few inquiry calls at the end of last year that left me feeling really icky. I just didn't hold good boundaries and basically got my brain picked for free.

This is something I charge a lot of money for if you were to book a strategy call with me. But people will find a loophole if there is one. And I think part of my super transparent vibe sometimes leads to people thinking they can get it all for free. By the way, these people will never be successful. They just want the cheapest route, they're looking for some magic answer, and they want to cut corners instead of doing the work that will actually get them the results they are desperately seeking. No thanks.

I give out a ton of free info on my Instagram. I serve on the daily. You can visit it and know what the brand is all about. Same with my website. I can now confidently say I qualify people with my content. I lead with my expertise. There's really not much you can find out on a discovery call you can't learn from our sales pages and a short DM convo.

My time is so boundaried now. It's for my brand. It's for my son. It's for my life. You're all in or you're out. And guess what? I've never signed more aligned clients than in the last few months at aligned prices. No sales calls required.

The lesson: Your content / website are a great tool to qualify + sell for you without a sales call. Check out our Free Service pages that sell page training if you're service page needs a spruce up.

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