Lessons

Lesson Info

How to Balance Creative/Manager/Entrepreneur

how Doe I either get excited about things I don't want to get excited about. How do we become stronger now? You know that things need to change your just not exactly sure how or where that's gonna happen. So let's talk about things that we can do about weaknesses in a managerial role. So if you need to strengthen, your manager will roll. This is probably a person who loves creating loves, doing a lot of stuff, and it takes you like three or four days to respond to email. This is the person who is blogging five weeks. This is the person who gets a phone call and then doesn't respond within 24 hours to clients. This the person who knows that the website needs to be changed because that's your online storefront and spends months before something is actually done about it. So I strongly and firmly believe, of setting setting designated work hours for specific tasks each day. The only way to get to become a better manager is to understand the roles and things that need to get done and assig...

n them to get them done in a specific way. As an example, I spend 60 minutes an email every day. It has not changed for the past 10 years. I answer all of my email every single day, and there are very few people who are not getting a response within 24 hours. Obviously, I'm here a creative life, and they will not be getting a response in 24 hours. But I haven't auto responder my clients. My emails are responded to within 24 hours, and I get a lot of email. But because I siphon out my time in 60 minutes, I power through. I get it done. I know it needs to get done and then you just get it done. What happens is that we try to say, I'll do my email and oh, let me just go make some coffee. Let me get the kids off to school. I'll come back to email and then email comes and you get another email that's more important. You can get back to the one that initially got, and all of a sudden you find yourself in email eight to 10 times a day, or it becomes so overwhelming that you let it pile up to 800 emails half of which are spam and then half of which require a response. And you're like, I hate my job right now. But instead, instead, if we were just to say I do what I need to do every single day and then it's done, I do not tap in to email the rest day I might look at it. And if something is pertinent, like the producers were emailing for creativelive, they had to be responded to that day. Fine. But even if I was creating content with our guest, Speaker promised management she knew she was not getting an email response till the next day. Like, that's just the pattern that you create with people and you set the expectations that you want your clients tohave now. I would also send set limited times of work per day, how much time I'm spending cataloging things for tax purposes. I designate one day a week I go through all my receipts, itemize my miles. I do all of those things at one specific time, so it's not looming over my head. I'm in that zone and then I move on. If you have Ah Oh, this is a good one social activity. Part of why we are terrible managers is because social activity, right? We start email and then we see a notification from Instagram Are we start actually writing and then all of a sudden somebody posted in a group that you really wanna be active in. And so what happens is that social activity ruins you as an entrepreneur. It truly does. So the things that I have to do is I use social media as an emaciated carrot in front of me. I do not get on social media until I got to my designated time of day. If I over went my time of day, I do not get on social media and I don't get on social media until I complete tasks. So to pre qualifiers for me to get on social media, I must complete the tasks in the time I designated to myself. Do I sound psycho? Yes, but let me tell you, I have run. Ah, highly successful and profitable business for over a decade. Myself and my husband, that is it. It wasn't until about nine months ago that we actually brought on a team member. So in order to do as much as you want to do. It is possible if you set up a ton of managerial parameters. Yes, what if Social Media is part of your tasks? Where is your tax? Then I build it into my timeline, and social media is part of my task, but it is a variable task. I don't prioritize it over stuff that needs to get done like my client work needs to get done before I'm outside talking about creative life. It's very strict, and I run my business on social media. I know it is the biggest arm of marketing that I possibly could have, and it is still never prioritized over the stuff I need to get done for the business itself. Great question. Um, and if I've noticed you are shipping products, I've designated one day a week or two days a week to ship those products because a lot of times shipping and getting into the process. So I never forgot. In college, we studied scientific management by Frederick Taylor back in like the early start of America, and he noticed that if a person is given a specific task over a prolonged period of time, the rate of completion decreases. So the more you do it, the faster you become and yet so often become so distracted that what takes us minutes to complete is actually taking us 55. Because we're doing so many things we think or being Oh, I'm multitasking or on let me answer this phone, make some coffee and do this email at the same time. And you're doing all three things poorly. When you put up those blinders, you come up stronger. Manager. Now there are sometimes some people who I'm talking to, who I find themselves and their identity and being a manager. My emails responded to in five minutes. People get responded to immediately. My accountant has all my receipts at the first of the month all the time. There are people who find their identity in being so organized, but as a result, they're using it as a way not to actually do client work. So they want to do the front word facing client work and get excited, and they're booking it. Oh, we see cast division and then they're like, I'm so busy, Pablo, and they're actually doing the work. You're like you still have time so tired. I just need a break for me, right? So if that's where you're at and you understand that you're using your managerial fluff to protect yourself, I'm actually getting the work done. It's time to outsource. I am a firm believer. Just this past year, we spent 10 years. I did all of my customer support personally, and I realized that I got to a point my business where I couldn't handle it anymore in order for my customers to have, ah, beautiful, complete experience and get a guaranteed response. In 24 hours on a business day, I had to bring in somebody for customer support, and I realized that. And I encourage anybody here if you're using it as a defense. Because so here's a few things that I now outsource because I realized that I wanted to use being a manager being busy. Oh, I love being busy telling people I'm busy, Busy, busy. I outsource my accountant. I outsource a bookkeeper. I outsource a housekeeper. I outsource. Ah, production assistant. When I became very busy in my business and I took on too many weddings a lot once I had to outsource production. For part of that I ironed now a customer support assistant. And at times, if I need to on project basis, since I don't have a CEO, I'll hire somebody as a project manager to make sure that I'm staying on track now. Yes, I realize that it took my business 11 years to get to this point. But let me tell you, I was outsourcing from the very first year of my business. I was outsourcing for the very first year of my business when I was barely turning a profit. But I understood that I was building a long game strategy. I don't wanna be a photographer for one year. I want to be a photographer for 10 years, and in order to do that, I built a strong foundation. Okay, so real quick. I feel like I'm talking like so much I was like, Is there anything that anybody here is going to immediately change? Let go swap. Because I think people online, we watch this. And when you become, um, passive engage er is like, Yeah, I will I will outsource. I've decided What? What are you gonna do? Because I feel like when you call yourself out and you say the things that need to change, they actually change its when we just passed by and like, that's a nice idea. Yeah, I need to do that. Anybody going to change anything when they get home? Yes. Doll. Hire someone to help with doing the block posts and all the social media. Give them the inspiration. But maybe they flush it out a little bit and make sure that it's actually scheduled. Absolutely. That's my least interesting part for me, so I know it won't get done. So in order for her to do that right, it's not enough to say I'm going to outsource the writing of my block post. What you need to do now is you need to say, I'm going to set aside 30 minutes every Thursday to talk with the person who's gonna produce to block Post next week. I'm gonna talk to move the thesis, the ideas for things I find important. Um, I gonna create a Siri's. This person is in a vibe with you. Record the session, and from that 30 minutes, you'll be hands off, you say, Do you have the photos you need can I trust that you do them? Are you sourcing them? Great. Then you What you just did was outsourced as a way to improve your business and spending 30 minutes. That will save you ultimately hours in a day. But this person has to catch your vision. You can't just say, Can you write a post about nubs? Has to be your voice. You're empowering you talking to that person so clearly they have the vision they run with it. It's great. Great outsource. I applaud that outsource. Okay, let's talk about for you, Thio, if you have an opportunity to strengthen your creative role So ah, lot of times, what I hear is people start a business because they're good at fitness. They're good at cake making. They're good at photography and they get to a point. And they say I'm just so burned out. I got into this thing because I loved it, and I'm on the verge of not liking it anymore. You are not alone. What happened along the line is this was the only hat you wore. And boy o g golly, was it fun? And then you realize all the other stuff you had to add made it unfunny. My suggestion to you is to do something crazy and radical and nonsensical, and that is to take one hour every week and do something for you. You fell in love with photography. Pick up your camera and go shoot train tracks. You fell in love with making jewelry. Goto a flea market. Pick up random things. You fell in love with selling your paintings paint with new techniques without getting paid. You got into cinematography. Go spend a day and watch back to back to back Indie films. Do whatever you must do to fall back in love with a thing that ultimately you want to sustain over the long run so often we don't give ourselves the permission to do the thing toe. Make us. We got in love with what we do by watching indie films by using our camera by baking cakes. And yet we won't go back to that because it's like I'm not getting paid for it. I only now working parameters I only will Onley fulfill orders of my clients are requesting when you do something that you love, people are drawn to it. You become a trendsetter. That's right. That's right. Okay, now let's flip the script. There might be some of you who are just spending too much time creating. Leave me. I'm in my creative zone. What don't you get Understand? Making art? This jewelry isn't just a bracelet. This jewelry is a derivative of people working in India for 10 hours. I need to work. Okay, if that's where you are, that what I need you to dio is to give yourself parameters the same way that we can actually get work done in a task base is the same way that we can actually produce. Stephen Press Field is one of my favorite authors and he writes one of the best books, please between the E M. If that's like a business book, he writes the War of Art Stephen press both it is. Even if you're not a reader, you read like a small little page every night before you go to bed radically transforms your mind and all, he says. If you want to create, show up every day, show up every day, show up every day and he would show up every day and work for an hour because that's all he had were here, he wrote a story, parlayed a story of a person who had a full time job with the family and this person decided. And also Stephen Hawking, I wrote. I read his Bible and he woke up every day one hour before his kids and family got up. And that one hour ended up being setting the precedent for his business and his career. When you have parameters to get your work done, guess what. You get it done. So if you're spending too much time creating, you're spending too much time on the minutia that somebody may or may not notice. That's the parameters will be setting up now if you are actually completely out strongly like I've over extended myself. I bit off more than I could chew. This happened our first year of business. I had never shot a wedding. I'd never run a business. I didn't even know how to use my camera, and we ended up booking 38 weddings our first year, and I booked. This is a true story. I booked three weddings one weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then next weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday this is That's only a mistake that a novice and an idiot would dio, and all this time I was buried under work, and that's when I said, I need help and I hired a production assistant. Outsource that now that's relegated to photography. But this is what I'm saying to people who are bookkeepers who are cake bakers who are finished professionals. You can take on too much, and hiring a production assistant cuts into your profitability but enhances your sanity and the longevity of your business. So let's talk about strengthening the entrepreneurial role. Now. This is a role that I actually did not flex, probably for the 1st 56 years of my business. I learned that I had to start growing because in the first year I was just trying to survive. And second year I was trying to learn. And third year I wanted to fight and scrap for my space in the world and in the industry. And in the 4th, 4th year I started getting clients consistently, who I was like, Oh my God, this is really working. Started building a name for myself in the fifth year, I talked about how I started thinking, How can I diversify the business? The minute I decided to diversify my business instead of just being just a wedding photographer, shooting just weddings was the minute I started thinking much bigger for my business. And the minute I started thinking bigger for my business, my business got bigger so often we can't think of the final product out of fear, out of doubt, out of feeling that you're going to be let down. But if you don't get there, if you don't dream of getting there, you'll never get there. So let's talk about this. So if you feel like have a hard time thinking about the future, I get it. I empathize, and I sympathize. So my challenge to you is to find 3 to 4 other entrepreneurs. They do not have to be in your own industry. They could just be people that you really like, who are all about the hustle who resonate with you. And if they're in their industry, double win. But it's not necessary. Thes air people they're gonna connect with every three months set aside, you're gonna get on Skype or Google Chat. You're like, OK, guys, this is what? This is where I am. And this is where you open your kimono and you let everything show. And I don't even know if that's proper. I don't know if that's robber. That's a term though, right? Yes, right. No, Dad. Make it up. No. You guys have never heard that. Oh, God, I'm feeling I'm feeling like I'm sweating. Okay? So you're gonna you're just gonna bear it all. You're gonna show everybody where you are, and you're not gonna be afraid to say Listen, I know on the outside I'm making a lot of money, but I don't know what's happening to it. Something's happening to all the money I'm making, right? So you're gonna be very, very, very hell bent on being communicative with your group, and then they're going to challenge you like this is where you wanna go. How can I help you? What do you need tethered to their basically accountability buddies? Your maturing each other along the way. And when you miss the mark, they're gonna help you get back to where you want it need to be, and then the following year, they're gonna recalibrate so 3 to 4 people we can do that. If you do not have the possibility of doing that, please connect here in this room on my Facebook page, Simply put, make yourself vulnerable and just say I'm looking for people. I do this Connect, Connect, connect. I can't tell you how many times has this happened as a byproduct of what we do when we community build and has radical changes. Okay, so next. And this is something that I didn't do up until two years ago because I create a strategic plan for 12 month growth and I realized that I can say this is what I want to do in a year. But it wasn't until I broke it down into smaller segments. We're gonna talk about what this exercise looks like for me, so I every year we'll have a 12 month growth plan, and at the top, I will list my yearly revenue goal. What do I want to make in this year and then now for me? As I'm building this out as a wedding photographer, At least in Southern California, there's a distinct seasons, right? So brides love to get married between certain seasons in California, so I can say quarter one and quarter four are going to be the lowest performing quarters for me because brides are not getting married. So I'm getting hired primarily, and Q two and Q three. This will be the largest percentage. So for math sake, let's just say I want to make $100,000. It wouldn't make sense for me to do to 50. Wait. Thank you. I was home schooled. You guys, I'm telling you, this is a struggle. Israel 25 25 25. It wouldn't make sense there. So I have to understand. Now, not only am I attributing what I think I can do in these quarters, I'm going back now. I don't need 1 to 2 projects each month. This is just a sample. Some months might have four. Some might not have any. Some months might be zero brought in the month of December. I had zero projects going, but my projects were actually going to be for a January opportunity with creative life. So I've planned for this. I know where I'm going. I know the derivative of my efforts Now I can't guarantee success, But the minute I say I did everything I can. This is what I think I'm really going to make. And JD and Eyes firmly subscribe to this ideology of good Better Best That way you're just feeling like, hey, we hit are good, but we missed our best. But having that like spread makes you feel like Okay, this is where I can estimate where my funds gonna go from. And now, once you know how much you wanna make in each quarter because oftentimes I talk to people like, how much you wanna want a million dollars next year? Great, Awesome. So let's break this down. And we know them running at 100% doing everything they possibly could the maximum they could bring us 500. So instead of feeling like you let yourself down, we're just looking at the reasonable realm of what is possible. And if you fund somehow in the next 12 months, find a new project to generate $250,000. Awesome. But why not us? Figure out what we're doing now? Set those goals and then amend as we progress throughout the year. My mom always said, If you don't know where you're going, you'll never know when you arrive. How awesome for you to set $100,000 goal and you end up hitting 1 25. And here's the thing. If you never set that goal, you could get 1 25 million. I wish we did 1 50 really boo, because last year you don't think this is possible, so taking the time to do this will radically change your approach. So if you want to have your business survive, the thing you need to focus on is creating balance in your business roles. If that's outsourcing, if it's setting up parameters, if it's working through the I'm gonna be very honest with you. I am not a public speaker. I'm not. What people see today is three solid weeks of working and giving the same dang presentation to my husband as he's on his IPhone. And the dog is like Yes, yeah, this is hard work, but I know that by be putting in the hard work, something good will come out of it. It's doing the work. When I didn't want to do the work, it was saying, I'm not gonna get on Facebook even though I want to get on Facebook, and instead I'm just gonna work through this content that's running a business. It isn't fun. It isn't glamorous. But when you hate your goals on when you're unfolding that table from target when you're dining with your friends when you're vacationing with your husband When you get to go see Hamilton in New York City as a lifelong dream and you get to do it as your birthday, you say I'm living the ding life. All the hard work made sense, all hard workers. Good. So what we're gonna do is, um, before we get into Q and A, we're gonna get into Q and A because this is like I told you, that was the media section. But we got through it. We hit the ground running and we covered a lot off material in just like the few couple hours of this. So we know who we want to work with. We know how we want to attract that person by creating value based content. And now what we did is that the outward facing, But we just focused on the inward facing all the work that you can do to attract the right client and no here talking to it's gonna fall flat if the inside of your business is hollow if it's broken. So this assessment is coming out better on the outside. This is gonna be great, because this is hard work and I absolutely applaud to you. Thank you guys so, so, so much.