This week's parody is an 80's throwback shout out to Swing Out Sister - one of the most inspiring songs of my youth. We tweaked it for a business audience, obviously, but it's still a toe-tapping good time.
If you're ready for your breakout year, be sure to check out Episode 4, where we talk about business planning and ways to make the rest of this year even better for you.
Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
"Your Breakout Year" is a parody of "Breakout", originally recorded by Swing Out Sister. Parody lyrics by Lisa Robbin Young.
If your business is running you ragged and your clients are a PITA, this video is for you!
This is the full version of the musical parody for episode 3 of Creative Freedom Season 6.
Inside this episode, we're taking a closer look at how each creative entrepreneur type can take advantage of different business models. Sure, you can have any business model you want, but each creative type needs to focus on doing business in a way that's in alignment with their strengths.
Check out the episode to learn more.
Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
"Do What Comes Natural" is a parody of "Natural", originally recorded by Imagine Dragons. Parody lyrics by Lisa Robbin Young.
Here's the full-length parody from Season 6 Episode 2 - How to find a profitable niche.
How can you use the Creative Freedom Business Model equation to help you find your niche - even if you don't have a lot of data to determine if your niche is profitable yet? Find out when you tune in to Season 6 Episode 2 of the Creative freedom Show!
The podcast takes a deep-dive look at Katy and Shania Twain to show you how to carve out your own profitable niche in your industry. BOTH of them came from a musical world that was different than the one they ended up in. It required a little patience and courage to make the jump... and it made all the difference.
Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
"There are worse things I could do than niching" is a parody of "There are worse things I could do", originally recorded by Stockard Channing for the movie Grease. Parody lyrics by Lisa Robbin Young.
As part of Season 6 of Creative Freedom, we decided to take our parodies to a new level. Here's the full-length parody from Episode 1.
How do you build a business that lets you stay true to yourself - you know, without selling out? That's what Season 6 Episode 1 of the Creative freedom Show is all about!
T.A.D.A. is an acronym we developed to help you listen to what's really on your heart and bring yourself and your business into alignment (or back into alignment) with what's true for you. Check out the show episode to learn more.
Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
"Be True to Yourself" is a parody of "Be Good to Yourself", originally recorded by Journey. Parody lyrics by Lisa Robbin Young.
This week we’re going to focus on brand visibility, but not until I tell you a story about Marvin the rooster. That’s right, a neighbor’s stray rooster is going to teach the importance of brand visibility for your company.
After the recent storms in Mississippi, Marvin has been seen strolling up and down our quiet neighborhood street, stopping traffic, blocking our driveway, and waking me up with his obnoxious crowing at 3am every day this week.
I always know where he is because he’s got an unmistakable sound. There’s another rooster somewhere else in the neighborhood who doesn’t crow nearly as often, and I can tell them apart.
Yes, Marvin has branded himself, and it feels like he is EVERYWHERE in my life right now. I can’t get away from him. Even when I chase him off, he’s right back a few hours later.
So... how do we grow brand awareness as a creative entrepreneur? It’s all about showing up consistently to your target audience and having a great logo that draws people in and creates an impact.
As I mentioned in my last episode, consistency and frequency are not always the same thing. No, you can’t just post one youtube video and call it a day - but you don’t have to post multiple times a day either.
It really boils down to finding a rhythm you can commit to for a while, mapping out your visibility strategy - and yes, we’ve got a downloadable in the Rising Tide Learning Library to help you with that.
This episode walks you through finding a rhythm you can commit to for a while and mapping out your visibility strategy.
Check out the show to get started.
Inside this episode, we're talking about:
Rising Tide community members can login and access your free downloads here.
Not a member yet? It's free! When you register for the Rising Tide, you also get email updates, the FREE learning library, and access to episode transcripts, worksheets, and more!
Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
"How I'll Remind You" is a parody of "How You Remind Me", originally recorded by Nickelback. Parody lyrics by Lisa Robbin Young.
Theme music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Websites are both easy and hard to create these days. Sure, it’s simple to sign up for a web building service and "have a website" in just a few clicks, but that doesn’t always make for a good website. Even if you hire a web designer like my brilliant friend, Tracy, you'll only end up with a Stepford Website if you don't include the elements that make your site truly effective for your business.
So in this post, we’re going to explore what’s really important for a website and how you can start pulling in more visitors.
Source: Unsplash (CC0)
One of the biggest reasons why people won’t visit your website is because they don't recognize the value you offer them. A store has value because it sells products. A blog has value because the opinions within it attract readers. There are loads of reasons why people might visit a website, but if you don’t have a reason or if there’s nothing on your website that people would want to see, then it’s not going to get views. It’s really that simple.
So how can you add value to your website? For starters, fixing your content can be a good way to get more people to visit your website. Your content might not be relevant to current trends, or maybe your content isn’t very well organized which means it’s hard for people to find anything of value in your web pages. Alternatively, it could just be that nobody is hearing your opinion because your voice isn't being heard in the marketplace. Anyone can start a blog, but getting people to actually care about what you have to write takes patience, persistence, and a willingness to show up consistently to share your voice.
You could try different types of media. We have a podcast, blog, and YouTube videos. You could invest more of your dedicated social media time in engaging with people and having discussions - you know, being "SOCIAL". You can even partner with other creatives and cross-promote each other. There are lots of ways to grow your reach and there are many platforms to make it easier.
You may also want to consider how you structure your content. The right keywords help you get found for the topics that matter most to your audience. Good search engine optimization can help you get noticed on Google and by other search engines. Your use of keywords and the way you structure your sentences can have a huge impact on how easy or difficult it is for people to find your website.
This has been a problem for me, on and off, over the years. When I launch a new site, everything feels perfect inthe navigation, but then I create new things, launch new offers, and now I want to put EVERYTHING in my navigation.
Whoa there! That won't work because a confused mind always says 'NO!'
Even if you have a lot of great content on your website, navigation can become an issue if you’re not thinking smartly about how people browse your website. Website navigation practices are important to learn because they’re essential for building fast and accessible websites (Riley can help diagnose your website accessibility issues!). The general rule of thumb is that you don’t want to click more than three times to access something from the main page. If you need to click a dozen links just to reach what you want, then it’s going to be a bad experience and people are going to hate it. But you also don't want seventy-jillion links from your home page to everything on your site!
So what can you do to improve your website’s navigation?
For starters, you need to prioritize. What are the MOST important actions you want a new visitor to take from your home page? More often than not, your home page is being seen by people who've never visited your site before, so what's the "first impression" you want them to have? Returning visitors are usually coming to some internal page of your site via some link they've found (or that you've shared with them), so you might want to consider a different navigation for your home page than from the rest of your site.
Having some kind of search function is also important. For instance, if your audience knows what they want to search for, then they should be able to just enter a few words into a search bar at the top of the page, hit enter, and then be given a bunch of results. On a wordpress site there are several ways to "hide" pages that you don't want to be found via search, so there's no reason to not have some kind of search functionality on your website.
It’s also a good idea to split your content into meaningful categories. For example, if you have a blog, then you’ll want to organize your content by subjects. If there are further categories, then you can organize them underneath the main subject. There are loads of small techniques like this that can make your website a much more pleasant experience to browse. Organizing your website content can seem time-consuming at first, but it’s honestly quite easy to manage if you’re willing to put in a bit of effort to categorize everything.
There are several tech issues that could make your website a pain to visit. Here are the big ones:
Building a functional website is one thing. Building a website that makes an impact, increases your reach, and grows your income is another. It takes more than a few clicks on a site builder. It takes a strategic approach to design that both engages new visitors and invites them to become customers.
In this week’s dose of empowerment for creative entrepreneurs, I’m keeping my word. Last time, I told you we’d dig into how to build a sustainable marketing strategy for your business. It begins with knowing your stories, so before we go any further, be sure to download your copy of the mini workbook inside the Rising Tide learning library that accompanies this episode. Think of it like a study guide that’s going to help you make your content marketing plans go a whole lot faster from here on out.
Let’s also address the elephant in the room when it comes to creating content and then marketing said content: Burnout. Decision fatigue, and the sheer volume of tasks that have to be done to create and promote that content.
Too many folks have equated consistency with frequency - myself included. But they are NOT the same thing!
So how do you develop a profitable, sustainable marketing strategy that doesn’t lead to burn out? The good news is that it’s totally possible.
This episode shares 3 sustainable business practices that help to pull you out of the content hustle and step into the creative freedom you crave.
As a friendly reminder - this month I’m leading the Cashflow Creator workshop - a small group intensive where we take a long hard look at your business model. You know: You + why + who + what + how. All things that will help bring the tips from this episode to life for your business!
Check out the show to learn more.
Inside this episode, we're talking about:
Rising Tide community members can login and access your free downloads here.
Not a member yet? It's free! When you register for the Rising Tide, you also get email updates, the FREE learning library, and access to episode transcripts, worksheets, and more!
Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
"The Content Hamster Wheel" is a parody of "Running Just To Catch Myself", originally recorded by Mark Schultz. Parody lyrics by Lisa Robbin Young.
Theme music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
In today’s dose of empowerment for Creative Entrepreneurs, we’re getting tactical and practical. By that, I mean, we’re looking at your planning for your business. Now, I don’t mean business plans - which I believe are mostly useless for creative entrepreneurs who aren’t looking for external funding. There’s a much simpler and easier way to do them - which we’ll talk about in a future episode.
Instead, I’m talking about strategic planning and goal-setting for your business.
I know. I know. It’s March, and I hear you saying, “Lisa. Why are we talking about goal setting and planning now, when the year has already started?
Because if you’re like some creatives I know, you’re still in recovery from 2020, which was a hell of a ride in more ways than one.
The end of Q1 is hot on your heels here in March, so it's a GREAT time to reflect and re-set for the remainder of the year if you've already done your annual planning. OR, you can get your year in gear now and set yourself up to be on track for the rest of 2021.
This episode shares 5 tips to help you get your strategic business planning done for the next 12 months - whenever the year begins for you!
Check out the show to learn more.
Inside this episode, we're talking about:
Rising Tide community members can login and access your free downloads here.
Not a member yet? It's free! When you register for the Rising Tide, you also get email updates, the FREE learning library, and access to episode transcripts, worksheets, and more!
Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
"Your Breakout Year" is a parody of "Breakout", originally recorded by Swing Out Sister. Parody lyrics by Lisa Robbin Young.
Theme music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
We started talking about business models in our last episode. Don't let your eyes glaze over because whether you like it or not, you've already GOT a business model. So, it's important for you to have a better understanding of how they work and - more importantly - which business models are best for your creative entrepreneur type.
This week, we're taking a closer look at how each creative entrepreneur type can take advantage of these different business models. Sure, you can have any business model you want, but each creative type needs to focus on doing business in a way that's in alignment with their strengths.
That's what we're looking at in this episode.
The podcast "deep dive" this week shares an example of how a Chaotic Creative can transition from a product-based business model to one that is more profitable and capitalizes on the boutique nature of a high-touch, personalized business.
Check out the show to learn more.
Inside this episode, we're talking about:
Rising Tide community members can login and access your free downloads here.
Not a member yet? It's free! When you register for the Rising Tide, you also get email updates, the FREE learning library, and access to episode transcripts, worksheets, and more!
Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
"Do What Comes Natural" is a parody of "Natural", originally recorded by Imagine Dragons. Parody lyrics by Lisa Robbin Young.
Theme music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
We have gotten such great feedback on the new season of Creative Freedom! Thank you! If you haven't seen the first episode yet, what are you waiting for?
Close your eyes for a minute and think about Katy Perry - you know, the strong-willed, powerhouse vocalist behind Roar and Firework. See her in all her glory.
Okay, now that you've got that image in your head, try to imagine her singing her edgy songs about... Jesus.
Yeah. I know. That was weird, right?
Well, Katy Perry started her singing career as a Christian artist. SERIOUSLY! She signed a record deal and released her first album in 2001 as "Katy Hudson" - her real name, btw.
It flopped. It took 7 years of trial and error before her second album made it to the airwaves and made Katy the candy-coated pop star we know today.
Whether you love her or hate her, she's got an amazing brand that's immediately recognizable in a niche that's unlike anyone else in the industry.
Wanna know how you can do the same thing?
This week, the podcast takes a deep-dive look at Katy and Shania Twain to show you how to carve out your own profitable niche in your industry. BOTH of them came from a musical world that was different than the one they ended up in. It required a little patience and courage to make the jump... and it made all the difference.
Check out the show to learn more.
Inside this episode, we're talking about:
Rising Tide community members can login and access your free downloads here.
Not a member yet? It's free! When you register for the Rising Tide, you also get email updates, the FREE learning library, and access to episode transcripts, worksheets, and more!
Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
"Worse Things" is a parody of "There are worse things I could do", originally recorded by Stockard Channing for the motion picture "Grease". Parody lyrics by Lisa Robbin Young.
Theme music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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.
Rising Tide community members can login and access your free downloads here.
Not a member yet? It's free! When you register for the Rising Tide, you also get email updates, the FREE learning library, and access to episode transcripts, worksheets, and more!
Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
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.
Rising Tide community members can login and access your free downloads here.
Not a member yet? It's free! When you register for the Rising Tide, you also get email updates, the FREE learning library, and access to episode transcripts, worksheets, and more!
Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
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.
Rising Tide community members can login and access your free downloads here.
Not a member yet? It's free! When you register for the Rising Tide, you also get email updates, the FREE learning library, and access to episode transcripts, worksheets, and more!
Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
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
Rising Tide community members can login and access your free downloads here.
Not a member yet? It's free! When you register for the Rising Tide, you also get email updates, the FREE learning library, and access to episode transcripts, worksheets, and more!
Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
Theme music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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.
Rising Tide community members can login and access your free downloads here.
Not a member yet? It's free! When you register for the Rising Tide, you also get email updates, the FREE learning library, and access to episode transcripts, worksheets, and more!
Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
Theme music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/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.
(more…)I can't tell you the number of times I've seen "make six figures" come up on someone's annual goals. When I was a young entrepreneur, it was one of my goals more often than I care to admit. It felt like something I should be doing. Shouldn't every creative entrepreneur have a six figure business? Isn't that the goal? To make more money, have more fun, and enjoy life in the process?
Well, yes and no. (more…)
[Note: for the past 9 years, I’ve posted an annual re-cap of the highs and lows, lessons learned, etc. You can find previous years here: 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 ]
It's my birthday - or will be by the time this post goes live. That means it's once again time for my year in review, for those among you interested in the inner workings of me, myself, and I. If you're new to this ride, you might want to check some of the previous years' posts to catch up. Otherwise, strap yourself in, because we're taking a ride in the way-back machine to this time last year.
One of the phrases my clients are probably tired of hearing me say is "Plan. Do. Evaluate." It was something I learned from my kid when he lived in the wilderness camp for two years. They did it every day. I'm not so gung ho, so the beginning of a new year is a great time to look back, see what went well, where things went off the rails, and begin to formulate a new plan for this year.
My 2018 theme was Wealth and Health. My definition was "finding the appropriate balance for me between making a living and having a life; Working in a way that affords me the ability to enjoy my life, while experiencing wealth and happiness at a deeper, soul level, with a sense of peace and contentment I’ve never had before."
So that was the "plan" part. The "doing" didn't go as well as I'd imagined, but not nearly as bad as I'd feared. My 2017 theme was Collaboration, and I doubled down on that in 2018, bringing on a few new (and amazing) part-time team members to round out the organization. I got a LOT better at trusting Jeanie to do the work... maybe a little too well. There were times when I found myself with little to do - and no motivation to step things up. I found myself going through a mild depression about half way through the year that lasted most of the third quarter. More on that as we look at how I fared in my 5 Key Area goals.
This year, I wanted to trust more deeply. Opening myself to a loving relationship wasn't really on my mind when I set my goals for the year, but nothing sets you up to trust more deeply like new love. I met and fell hard for a guy that checks boxes I didn't even know I had. That was one of the biggest surprise blessings of the year. It hasn't been easy to let go of old stories, patterns, and habits. 10+ years of marriage creates some deep ruts in the routine patterns of your brain. It also came with challenges that really forced me to examine my beliefs about life, God, and really, everything. The year-end result is exactly what I'd hoped for, even if it didn't happen the way I'd planned. I know myself more deeply. I trust my decisions more fully, and I feel infinitely more confident in my relationships because of it.
About mid-year, I got the intuitive guidance that I needed to pare down everything and get ready to move. So I did. I put nearly everything in storage, expecting that I'd go on the road once my youngest was back home with his dad. That didn't happen. At the very last minute, I found a new apartment on the opposite side of town and I've been there ever since. It worked out so effortlessly, that it felt like Divine timing.
Trust the process, right?
We had some clients complete the Incubator earlier than expected (all but one was a Chaotic creative, which is another story for another day). That also called me into a deeper relationship with my sense of Faith. It's easy to say "letting go of a client makes room for something even better". It's another thing to believe it and live by it. I expected this might happen as the Incubator grew - a function of needing to refine our screening process as our pool of applicants grew. Several clients were entering a business downturn when they came to us (normal in every business), and when cash flow slowed, it scared me a bit. I had to lean harder into my Faith, trust the process, and keep showing up to do the work in front of us.
This year's goal was a continuation of last year. I needed to continue to rehabilitate and strengthen my relationship with myself. My ex remarried in a surprise wedding in China, which created a lot of unexpected emotional stuff for me. As an advocate for my child (who still lives with my former husband), there were a lot of unanswered questions about his new stepmother and stepbrother. As someone still friends with my ex, it was another emotional blow in the trust department. The emotional tailspin found me unable to complete the Creative Freedom shooting season, and we ended with only 10 episodes - my shortest season to date.
I spent the rest of the summer hanging with my kid and my new sweetheart, digging into those relationships for some stability and comfort. Intellectually, I knew that I had no longer been attached to my ex husband for well over a year, but emotionally, the marriage started a grieving process I didn't even know I needed. So I took it easy all summer, until we were able to finally tell my son the big news. Initially, he seemed shocked, but took it well. As time has gone on, however, he's had some emotional "leaks" that indicate he's trying to wrap his 12 year-old brain around what's happening to his family.
I felt the final stitches of my family ties unravel this year. My last trip back to Michigan brought some joy, but a lot of pain, and it became clear that it's not my home anymore. It's where my kids live. It's where some of my best friends are. But it's not home.
2018 was a year of immense clarity for me in my relationship to myself. I've gotten much better at being my own advocate - before I need to learn a hard lesson about boundaries. 🙂
On the one hand, this year was a joke in the physical fitness department. I didn't hit my goals and I found myself undoing all the progress I'd made in 2017. On the other, I learned a LOT about my body. A trip to the ER got me more focused and curious about how nutrition really affects me. I learned that iron is inversely related to blood pressure. So if my iron is higher, my blood pressure is lower. I didn't learn it from the ER doc who was treating me for a migraine, tho. I learned it from donating blood at Red Cross. This year I learned a LOT about what works for my body (and what doesn't) - mostly through trial and error. I learned that, while I'm grateful for medical doctors, they're overworked and focus on symptoms more often than causes. It's up to me to be in the know about my body and what it needs to be healthy. I've been lazy about that all my life. That changed this year.
My emotional funk also did a number on my mental well-being this year. Despite having a fantastic relationship with a guy that I see as a real blessing in my life, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. We each hard plenty of relationship fear and baggage that was triggering us, and it took patience to drop the baggage and hold each other instead. Suffice it to say that 2018 was an emotional roller coaster that gave me a lot to be grateful for after a LOT of emotional labor to be ready for those blessings.
It was a banner year at Ark Entertainment Media. We did more than double our previous year's earnings, making it one of the highest-grossing years of my entrepreneurial career. We expanded the Incubator this year, which helped bolster revenue, but book and course sales were higher, with an average 33.73% of my revenue coming from leveraged offerings. My goal was 60%, so I fell short, but with the business downturn in Q3/4, I'm pleased with the final outcome, since we're on track to do even better in 2019.
One of the interesting things that I discovered was that Portable Coaching is a great feeder to my other offers. In fact, by the end of the year, most of the people who started Portable Coaching had graduated to A-Club or another program. Since I didn't market it heavily, the program didn't get many new enrollments. On the other hand, A-Club doubled in size this year, and our retention rate is still around 80% with an average member lifespan of about 20 months. Still one of the highest in the industry, as far as I know. And we just added private coaching as a "consistency incentive" to stick with the program, so I think we're going to do even better as we move forward.
I added coaching because I realized how much more progress people can make with even just a little help from me. Clarity matters, and a good coach can help you get that clarity quickly.
After the launch of my book, Creative Freedom, I saw a flurry of activity from radio stations, podcasters, and other media outlets that wanted to talk about the book and my process for helping creative entrepreneurs make good money doing what they love. My goal is at least one interview or guest post a month, and that's a goal I'm maintaining this year. We're entering year three of the Creative Freedom brand and season 5 of the show is just around the corner. Yes. I got out of my funk long enough to develop a content plan to re-launch the show very soon.
I feel like I lived in a sense of Health and Wealth last year, but it certainly didn't look at all like I expected it to. I'm glad 2018 is over, and i'm already soaking up the rays of 2019. It's a beautiful day in Nashville today, and, for the first time in a long time, I have fun plans to be with someone I love on my birthday. That is no small thing for me. It's more meaningful than me winning the lottery without buying a ticket. More meaningful than bigger gestures. Just staying true to what I really want and seeing that become reality. I want more of that in my life, and this is a great start to my year.
It's a #BraveNewYear for me, and as Gavin said, I don't want to be anything other than me. The writer. The Performer. The Singer. The teacher and coach. The friend, lover, and mother. Just me. And be well-compensated for it. This year, it's about a new album, a new publishing division (got a book inside you? Let's talk!), and new ways to reach even more creative entrepreneurs to help them own their dreams without selling their soul. There's more, and it'll come in time, but for now, that's the news that's fit to print. I'm off to enjoy my birthday!