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!
Rising Tide community members can login and access your free downloads here.
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Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
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/
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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Special thanks to our Patrons for your continued support.
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.
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.
Music: “Welcome to the Show” by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com. Music licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
If you're like a lot of creative entrepreneurs, you might still be scrambling to put your goals down on paper for the year. In fact, several guru-types are only just now getting around to leading those goal planning workshops. The folks in A-Club and the Incubator did their annual planning before December, so that they could hit the ground running this year. I'm not bragging (well, okay, maybe a little), I'm trying to illustrate a point that the longer you wait to set your goals, the longer it will be before you can achieve them.
But even if you're only just now getting around to it, there's still one thing you've got to remember to do before you shore up your plans for the new year. (more…)
In our last episode, I shared some tips to know if an event is worth attending or not. This week, it's only fair I offer some tips and lessons learned from my past 10+ years of doing live events. From basic teleclasses and online concerts to big, multi day virtual and in-person events, here are 8 lessons I learned - the hard way - that can save you a LOT of headaches and lost money when planning your next live event.
Update: Creative Freedom Live is filling up! We've got 2 private rooms left for the event. If it's a good fit for you, I'd love to see you there!
Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments. Your insights may spark a conversation that helps someone else!
Mentioned in this episode:
If you haven't already downloaded this week's bonus content, you'll want to do that here. Not a member yet? It's free! When you register for email updates, you also get access to episode transcripts, worksheets, and other downloadables!
Fashion jewelry from Kerianne at FancyBargain.com. Tell her you saw her bling on Creative Freedom!
Music: "Welcome to the Show" by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
This is Season Four, Episode Ten. Last episode, I talked about events from the attendee perspective. Today, I'm talking about them from the host perspective. Over the past 10 years, I've hosted hundreds of live events. From my basic monthly Accountability Club teleclasses and weekly Facebook Live Q&A's to more complex virtual and in-person events like Creative Freedom Live (Happening in October! Yeah, baby!)
If you're thinking about hosting your own events, here are the mistakes and lessons I've learned to help you host a successful event that works for you AND your attendees.
Download Season 4 Episode 10 | iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify
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.
9:07 - The live event screw-ups that almost cost me my car
15:30 - The Jeep event that created an experience that hit all their goals
21:20 - The most effective way to get people to attend your event
25:02 - The importance of ethics and delivering on your promises
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Mentioned in this episode:
Music: "Welcome to the Show" by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
This is the last segment on aspects of underearning, but I'm coming at it a different way. Forbes just launched their list of 2018's richest self-made women.
I get where they're coming from, but the truth is that none of us is self-made. None of us just spontaneously appeared from the ether. Someone, somewhere had a hand in our birth and our rise.
So, I'm busting the “self-made” myth bubble in this episode, and showing you the 4 kinds of people you need to succeed, as well as why your environment is such a big deal when it comes to your success.
If you need more structure to get the support you need, or more practice in asking for help, join us in A-Club. You’ll get a lot out of our tight-knit community of folks. We’re all in there, working toward owning our dreams, one step at a time.
Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments. Your insights may spark a conversation that helps someone else!
Mentioned in this episode:
If you haven't already downloaded this week's bonus content, you'll want to do that here. Not a member yet? It's free! When you register for email updates, you also get access to episode transcripts, worksheets, and other downloadables!
Fashion jewelry from Kerianne at FancyBargain.com. Tell her you saw her bling on Creative Freedom!
Music: "Welcome to the Show" by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0