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Have you been thinking about launching an online course? Well I have the perfect episode planned for you. Today, I have Steph Taylor with me who is a launch strategist. She is going to share with us the 101 on launching a course. Steph has done numerous launches herself that have allowed her to travel and take vacations for months at a time. And today I pick her brain and she generously shares so much knowledge and wisdom on this topic. We talk about:
Who should launch a course When you should launch a course Why you should launch a course Whether the online course space is too saturated and what to do about that What you should do to test your ideas and whether theyâll fly The biggest mistakes people make when launching a course And how you should price your online courseI think youâre going to love this episode and hopefully it will inspire you to start creating a course of your own.
You can find Steph here on her Website, Instagram or on her Podcast
Struggling with your pricing? I have a free Pricing Formula that will guarantee success just for you.
I just wanted to let you know that my free 4 part video training series, The Creative Cure, is still available. If youâre interested in learning 4 strategies to increase the success of your business, by actually working less and having more time in your life for whatâs important, sign up for the free video training at emmalemke.com/thecreativecure. I hope to have you join me there.
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Today on the podcast we have photographer and business educator Emily Magers. Emily is based in LA and has not only established an amazing photography business but now coaches and mentors other photographers through online courses and in person workshops. In this episode we talk about everything, but the kitchen sink, of creative business.
We talk about how to:
Price and know your value Collaborate on styled shoots and excel your business Brand your business effectively Get your work seen and stand out Create community with others in your industry Start a photography business in the wedding industry The benefits of educationYouâre going to love this episode and learn so much from Emily. To find her online, head over to her website or Instagram.
Struggling with your pricing? I have a free Pricing Formula that will guarantee success just for you.
I am also hosting a FREE 4-part video training series called the Creative Cure. The Creative cure is 4 x 10-20 minute on how you can transform your creative business & life, almost immediately. So if youâre feeling tired, overwhelmed and overworked and with nothing to show for it? This training series is for you. Go to emmalemke.com/thecreativecure to learn more and sign up to receive the tutorials in your inbox. They are starting on June 1!
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Today, I have Kate Wilkinson on the podcast with me and Iâm really excited for you to hear this one. Kate is a Pinterest queen. She worked her magic on my very own Pinterest account and I have gone from 12,000 monthly unique viewers to 185,000 monthly unique viewers in the short span of 2 months. She not only talks about Pinterest strategy, but she tests all the strategies out on her clients and gets huge success. In this episode, Kate is going to break down Pinterest for you and talk about how you can start using Pinterest to generate traffic to your business in 2020. We look at what Pinterest is, why Pinterest is so powerful, where to start if youâd like to start using Pinterest for marketing, how to design successful pins, how many pins you should be pinning per day and so much more.
For more on getting started on Pinterest, Kate has a free Pinterest Makeover Guide to help you out.
A great tool Kate recommends to help with posting pins to Pinterest is Tailwind. You can get the first month free by heading to Kateâs Instagram bio and clicking on the link. You can use the link below to find her Instagram.
Where to find Kate:
Website | Instagram | Pinterest
Struggling with your pricing? I have a free Pricing Formula that will guarantee success just for you.
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Iâm excited for you to meet New Zealand's best Graphic Designer, Nicole Macdonald! Nicole is the girl behind the beautiful January Made Design. Within 3 years, her business has taken off and she is one of the most highly sought after graphic designers online. In this episode, youâll get to hear Nicoleâs journey from designing for mechanics and her mum's friends, to now designing for her ideal clients. Nicole shares her challenges and her wins in such a raw and honest way. Youâll love her thoughts on pricing, instagram strategy, marketing, attracting your ideal client and how to stay inspired and stand out to your ideal client and work alongside your competitors. Nicole also gives some solid advice for designers who are starting out.
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Just recently I put up a question box in my instagram stories for creatives who are just starting a business or are thinking about starting a business. I asked them what they would like to know or learn from me in a podcast. I got so many great responses from this, so I decided to turn this episode into a Q/A. Iâm going to directly answer 5 questions that came through from different creatives in the trenches who are trying to figure out what to do as theyâre just starting out. So if youâre new to business and youâre in the same boat, I think youâre going to really enjoy this episode. If you have other questions that you would like to ask me, please do! Iâm pretty much always available on instagram in my DMs to dialogue with any of you, I actually love doing that! So make sure you connect with me on instagram @emmajanelemke and iâll be happy to answer any questions you have.
Iâm answering 5 different questions:
When should I start my business and give up my day job? How much money should I spend on my business when Iâm first starting out? What should I sell in my business? What should I put on my website? How can I stand out in my industry and establish a unique voice or style?Links in the episode
My âBeautiful Yearâ course - how to map out a simple project plan for your business The Story Brand website is an awesome place for slogan ideas About me - check out episode number 12 with Elise Hodge on How to Write a Compelling About Me Page. -
In this episode of the podcast, I am joined by the amazing Tatiana Soash who joins us all the way from Los Angeles. Tatiana is a true creative right to her bones and I am really excited for you to hear all about her journey. She is an incredible Graphic Designer and Hand Letterer - her work is truly phenomenal. She has 5.2 million unique monthly viewers on Pinterest and gives us a mini tutorial on how we too can grow that kind of viewership. She also provides some tips on what she does, how she gets her ideal clients and how she has been getting consistent work straight from pinterest. This is an inspiring episode full of actionable tips that you wonât want to miss!
Links mentioned in this episode:
> Website
> Pinterest
> Instagram
> Youtube
> âYou are Badassâ by Jen Sincero
> Tatiana's youtube video on how she got 1 million viewers on Pinterest
> iPad design apps Procreate and Over
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Let me introduce you to Jarrah from SBJ Studios. Jarrah is a marketing expert and helps brands stand out amongst the noise. She is a go-to expert on anything to do with social media strategy and thatâs exactly what she talks about in this podcast episode. We discuss how to get engagement on social media, why instagram is an effective marketing tool, how to use Facebook groups to build relationships and increase engagement, how to use hashtags and much more. Jarrah is a wealth of knowledge and has gained huge success for both her own business & her clients.
Highlights from the episode:
Instagram is a relationship building platforms. Its provides an avenue for us, as brands, to connect with our target audience on a human level, educate them on our industry, brand culture, and in-turn, raise awareness and hype around the products and services we offer. All of this ultimately meaning more sales, more customers, more client. It is not about the numbers, it's about engagement. The number of followers does not determine your success on instagram, it's the relationships you build with you followers that's important and that will lead to conversions. Quality over Quantity - when it comes to content you put out there, it needs to be thoughtful, planned and exactly what your ideal customer is looking for. Jarrah talks against just posting content for the sake of posting. It's one of the biggest mistakes she sees on instagram. A pretty picture attracts, but in the end that want more than just a pretty picture. They want to be educated, inspired or entertained. It's important to promote your instagram outside of instagram for growth. You can put your instagram account in your email signature, a flyer, poster, your personal social media pages, pins on Pinterest, blogs, website etc. It's important to socialise! Essentially, this means liking, commenting, Dming other profiles that share the same values as you. Don't expect people to engage with what you put out there if you're not engaging with other people. That's not how friendship works! Facebook Groups - there are many ways that you can use Facebook groups to grow your audience. You can engage with other Facebook groups or create your own. The key here is to actively engage in Facebook groups, not just passively like posts. Inside these Facebook groups, provide value, and you'll receive new followers in return. Digital story telling - tell a story, this is a great way to engage your audience. People love stories. Make your captions into stories and give your audience a reason to engage. Ask them questions and respond to their answers. Differentiate yourself - Jarrah says, "In the absence of any other differentiator, your potential client/customer will always decide on PRICE. If youâre like me, and donât want to have to compete with every other person within your industry on something as frustrating as price, it is crucial to create a personal brand for yourself that puts you on a pedestal as a thought leader within your industry/niche. That âdifferentiatorâ? Itâs providing value to your audience and allowing them to connect with you on a personal level. Think about it, if your potential client/customer already knows, likes and trusts you? Youâll be the *obvious* choice between you & your competitors". Maintain authenticity - Jarrah says, "For me? Authenticity comes back to that overused, white girl saying⊠âyour vibe attracts your tribeâ. My transparency on Instagram has been KEY in not only the growth of my following, but itâs also been the catalyst for finding my voice as a brand and attracting the kind of clients i want to do business with". Hashtags - they work! According to Jarrah you can get more impressions on your posts by using 30 hashtags. She suggests using hashtags that are relevant to your post and industry. You can read more about what she says about hashtags here.Where can you find Jarrah/SBJ studios?
Instagram | Website | Facebook
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I have always wanted to have an artist on my podcast, and today is the day! Emma White is an incredible Abstract Landscape Artist who has been exhibiting her work for over 10 years now and studied a Diploma of Visual Arts, a Bachelor of Fine Art & also her Masters in Teaching and Visual Art and Design. Her work is unique and her story wonderful! In this episode we talk about what a day looks like in the life of an artist, what inspires her, how she gets her work seen, how she juggles wearing the artist hat and the business hat. I hope you enjoy this chat that we have together.
Links mentioned in this episode:
> Emmaâs Instagram
> Emmaâs website
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This episode answers the number one question at the moment âShould I be selling at the moment? If so, how?â. In this episode, I talk about my own struggles in this area and give you some ideas on how you can be selling during this time of crisis. The short answer is, yes you should be selling at the moment! I make the following points in the episode:
You need to survive. There is actually more money out there than you think. The governments are pouring money into household incomes to support the economy. Those who are suffering financially are being supported. Donât over dramatise this. Stop making statements like âNoone can afford me at the momentâ. This is a mind game you are playing with yourself. There may not be as many people that can buy, but there are still a lot of people who can & actually want to. Make Adjustments. You may need to pivot and change things up a bit, but you can still sell. Just make sure that it will serve your audience and is relevant to what they are experiencing right now. It might mean you advertise and push a lower priced item during this time. Get your messaging right! Your messaging and how you communicate with your audience will make a difference in your sales right now. Donât turn off and pretend that nothing is happening, speak to the current climate and offer solutions. Your message will mean everything.Get my free guide How to navigate your creative business through Covid 19. I want to see you not only survive this, but thrive! All the best!
Links mentioned in this episode:
FREE - Email Template for Florists FREE - How to navigate your creative business through Covid 19. Amy Porterfield Episode 307. The Village Markets - Insta Market idea. Summergrove Estate - A wedding venue offering Virtual Tours. Amanda Jane Jones - Rainbow window display that went viral. Tess Guinery - Prayer Wall Amanda Jones (The Honest Jones, One Minute Film) - Audio/Video Live JJ Heller - New Song written. Figtree Pictures - Messaging Example Married By Josh - Messaging Example -
This episode is a special bonus episode with guests from different places around the globe. I gathered a few of my favourites together to share some encouragement and advice with you as you navigate your creative business through this crisis that is currently disheartening the entire world. Weâre living in such a crazy time.
If youâre wondering how youâre going to navigate your business through this time, or you need some positivity and encouragement - this episode is for you. Weâre all in this together. Now is not the time to give up, lose heart or spiral into a negative trail of news articles. We canât be in denial, but we can step up, show up & do our part to help our communities get through this together.
Let me give you a word of confidence during this time of uncertainty - you will get through this!In this episode you will hear from:
Laura from La La Social Club Brooke from Brooke Art Studio Riz Macdonald from Foundd Legal Ashlyn Carter from Ashlyn Writes Amy Parfett from the Wed Shed Abby Muendel from Abby Muendel Photography Annalise Maddrell from Going Bare Swell MagazineResources Mentioned inside the episode:
FREE Riz Macdonald's (Foundd Legal) Business Challenge FREE Ashlyn Carterâs Copy Swipes FREE Email Template for Florists during the Coronavirus FREE Checklist âHow to get your Creative Business through COVID 19" -
In the episode I answer the following frequently asked pricing questions:
1) Is there a formula for pricing or do I just need to guess my prices?
There is a pricing formula! In this episode I answer 7 questions and this is my most popular - Is there a formula I can use or should I just guess my prices? I also put together a Free Guide that will take you through the Pricing Formula. If youâre a visual learner (especially when it comes to numbers) I think youâll find it very helpful.
(answer inspired by business finance hero Shanna Skidmore)
2) How do I price correctly when everyone else in my industry isnât?
Stay in your lane! There is more to this answer, but basically, I just encourage people to not look at the competition, but rather, look at the data and the facts. To run your business and for your business to be sustainable you NEED to price properly.
3) Should I list my prices on my website?
I encourage you to get in front of your potential buyers in a conversation through email, over the phone, or by skype. If your prices are on your website, you may deter some people from even contacting you. These people may actually be willing to pay your price after you take them through a nurturing sales process. In a nutshell, you want to have as many people enquire as possible to have the best chance at converting the most people into high paying clients. Inside the episode, I give some ideas of when you need to have your prices on your website, but these are only in unique cases.
4) How should I price my services to friends and family?
Short answer - just be consistent. Itâs up to you!
5) Do I have to raise my prices to make more profit? Or is there another way to make more money?
You can do other things such as decrease the costs in your business. The other option is to get more clients, but thatâs not usually the desired outcome because that means more time investment. Basically you have two options to increase profit - increase price or decrease spending.
6) If I know I need to increase my prices, what do I do with current clients on retainers?
Communication is key and incrementally increasing your prices by 10-20% (no more) at a time. Itâs also important to show how youâll be adding value with the price increase. This will reassure current clients. Obviously, if you have one-off clients, you cannot increase your price.
7) What if people donât book me because my prices are too high?
You donât want everyone to book you. The aim should be to get 30% of your enquiries turning into clients. Not everyone. Not everyone will pay your price and thatâs ok.
Links mentioned in this episode:
> Pricing Formula - This pricing formula guarantees profit every time.
> Hannah Murphy & Jess Shipton Episode
> Copywriter - Elise Hodge
> Copywriter - Ashlyn Carter
> The School of Beautiful Business - Waitlist
> Two Warm Hands - Ceramicist
> My facebook group âMake It - The Creative Business Podcastâ
> Shanna Skidmore
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In this podcast episode Iâm interviewing Riz Macdonald! She is the owner of a company called Foundd Legal that helps people like us, creatives, designers and makers, stay legal & protect our businesses. Now this is something I know nothing about so I was so excited to be able to pick Rizâs brain for you guys. Here is just a few of the things we talk about in this episode:
Contracts When and who to use contracts with Privacy policies Terms and conditions The importance of all this legal stuffRiz breaks down everything into simple language, which I really appreciate. And to make things even nicer, she has a beautiful accent to listen to.
Links mentioned in this episode:
> Foundd Legal website
> Foundd Legal Instagram
> Rizâs Instagram post about using contracts with friends
> Mailchimp
> Active Campaign
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Are you struggling to attract your ideal client? Are you posting on instagram and hearing crickets? Do you feel like your business isnât growing and youâre not sure why? These are all questions that my guest today, Sandra Chau, is going to be answering. Sandra transformed her business and many other creative businesses with visual strategies. She provides tips on how to use cohesive imagery in your business, how to make your Instagram look aesthetically pleasing and how to take and find photos to use in your business. This episode is all about how you can implement a visual strategy in your business and strengthen your brand.
Links mentioned in this episode:
> Sandraâs Instagram page (a great example of strategically used, beautiful imagery)
> Sandraâs online School of Visual Branding
> Sandraâs website
> Stop Looking Like Everyone Else - Free Online Workshop
> VSCO - an awesome photo editing app Sandra uses
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In this episode I interview the queen of productivity, Hannah Murphy. Hannah is a university student with a business on the side (wow!) The fact that she can manage both studying and a business is testament to the fact that this girl knows how to organise herself! In this episode, she shares her story and also her batching tips and tricks. We use the word âbatchingâ a lot, so for those who donât know, batching is grouping similar tasks together and doing them all at the same time or on the same day, in order for you to work most efficiently. Hannah breaks this concept down further in the episode through a little mini training session. Hannah so kindly broke down her batching strategy into 5 simple steps. Here is a little sneak peak into the 5 steps:
Work out when you want to work. This one's my favourite! She says the first step is to figure out when you actually want to work and how often you want to work. This way you can make sure your work doesnât interrupt that dream life youâre trying to create. Brain dump all the tasks you do. Hannah thinks there is something really liberating and powerful about getting out a pen and paper and writing absolutely everything down that you do in your business. Categorise each task. Once you have it all down on paper, you can categorise the tasks. A little Marie Kondo style! Sort and group together similar tasks for optimal organisation. She gives some really great examples of how she does this in her business. Plan your batch days. Now that you know whatâs going on in your business, you can plan your week out and allocate similar tasks on the same day. House them somewhere. Lastly, Hannah encourages creatives to house their tasks in a project management tool. This way, you donât have to try and remember everything youâre doing, your project management tool can do that for you. Her recommendation (and mine actually) for this is ASANA. Itâs the best!I hope that you enjoy this episode as much as I did! All the best with batching your work and creating a more productively, and ultimately, more profitable business!
Links mentioned in this episode:
> Hannahâs freebie - How to Create a Productive Schedule in 30 Mins
> Asana
> Hannahâs Instagram
> Hannahâs Pinterest
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Rest. Itâs such a beautiful word! One of my favourites actually. The word brings warmth, breath and joy to my heart. I mean, who doesnât love rest?! Usually when we think of rest we think of sleeping, time out, holidays and a binge session on Netflix. But, in this episode, I want to talk to you about a new type of rest that doesnât come immediately to your mind. What I want to share with you is a ârhythmâ of rest -- of soulful rest, that can transform your life. This is not a sleep, itâs not a holiday (although all of those things are very healthy and very important) it's a rest for your heart. A time to reinvigorate your heart, soul & mind.
In this episode I will share with you:
A break down of my own definition of rest, âto cease from work in order to remember, restore and return. Remember whatâs important, restore what may have been lost, and return rest to others through serviceâ. I also breakdown what I mean by rhythm and what a rhythm of rest is. I talk about rhythm being a song and I how believe that rest needs to become a song in your life, a beat that you sync your life to. I talk about adopting a daily rhythm of rest and what that might look like. I talk about my daily rhythm. We get really practical with ideas on how you can rest daily and have this become a routine &/or spontaneous thing each day. I share with you my weekly rhythm of rest that I call the Sabbath. I talk about why I have a Sabbath every week and why I think the Sabbath is important. I share with you briefly what the Bible says about the Sabbath and why I believe that God loves rest and wants us to rest. Despite your worldview and belief system, youâll love this concept of a weekly rest. So donât tune out just because I mentioned the word âGodâ. This episode is for everyone - I promise! Recently Iâve been inspired to have a monthly rest pattern and I talk about some ideas for this inside this episode too. My husband and I have unintentionally been having a yearly rest pattern. I want to share with you what this is. Itâs not just a holiday, sipping kombucha by a pool (although that is great and Iâm totally up for that too!). Itâs about a yearly rest rhythm that aligns with my definition of rest - remembering, restoring & returning. It will all make sense to you once youâve listened to the episode.I talk about a few Biblical concepts in the episode that you might be interested in delving into deeper. In this episode, I look at the concept of the âSabbathâ. If youâre interested in learning more about this, Iâve put together a free guide where you can have a look at some passages in the Bible yourself and see what you think. Interested? Here is the link.
Links mentioned in this episode:
> Nancy Ray on monthly rest. Nancy talks about a monthly rest, but also a daily, weekly, yearly rest too. Nancy is a kindred spirit. I was inspired by this episode, which made me reflect on my own life and the way I incorporate rest. You can listen to her episode called âRule of Lifeâ if youâre interested in more content on this topic.
> FREE GUIDE - âBiblical Business - The Rhythm of Restâ. If youâre interested in going deeper into what the Bible says about the Sabbath or youâre interested in learning about why I do the Sabbath the way I do, download the freebie and take a look for yourself about what the Bible says.
> My facebook group âMake It - The Creative Business Podcastâ. I hope to have more actual conversations with listeners on the page, so if youâre wanting to chat, thatâs the place to be. -
In this podcast episode, I catch up with Elise Hodge to talk about âAbout Meâ pages. Elise is a copywriting wiz and also has a Christian blog called She is Light, but also teaches copywriting to creative entrepreneurs. She helps creative women craft compelling copy that will convert prospective leads into paying clients. Inside the episode we unpack more of Eliseâs journey as an entrepreneur and we look at 7 amazing points on how to craft a compelling âAbout Meâ page on your website. Her 7 points are:
Your about page is not about you Introduce yourself Identify your customers problems Expand on the problem Insert yourself as the solution Tell your story Include a call to actionIn the episode, Elise goes into detail and explains each of these points, so it is definitely worth the listen!
Links mentioned in this episode:
www.elisehodge.com.au www.sheislight.com The Bible â Matthew 5:14-16 Eliseâs About Me page @elise_hodge -
We live in a world that has come to hooray the hustle and congratulate the busy. It's true, that we even find value in how busy we are and we think THAT is success. But success is not busyness. âBusynessâ is a facade to the problems and issues we face in life and business. Business is a strategic and smart way to face the issues in your life & business.
It is possible to have a smart business, not a busy one. In this episode, I talk about my journey from busy to smart. I outline 4 things I did in my business to turn it around. Here is a snapshot of those 4 things that I did to make my business smarter:
I assessed what was working & what wasnât working and focused on the things that were actually moving the needle forward in my business. The things that werenât working, I quit. I increased my prices & set a limit on how many clients I needed. Increasing my prices, meant I could reduce the amount of clients I needed in my business. This meant I was working less and making more money. I developed a smarter marketing strategy. We often can get so busy marketing in ways that arenât actually bringing in revenue. I identified what marketing strategies were bringing in money and focused on these few things. I then said no to other marketing opportunities. I developed better systems! With good systems in place, I could work less and save time on mundane tasks. I will give you examples of how I did this in the episode.Freebie: My Top 10 Business Tools for Creatives
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In this episode I connect with and interview a great friend of mine, Jasmine Flamenco. She is a serial-preneur! She's had her hands in a lot of creative pies and has recently settled into a Graphic Design business where she creates some beautiful and unique logos, websites and designs for other creative business owners. During the interview we talk about Jasmineâs journey from studying graphic design at university, working for Graphic Design companies and then doing her own thing. I also pick her brain around the importance of visual branding, a logo, a website & a pretty Instagram feed. I think youâre going to love some of the really practical tips she gives us on all things visual in a creative business.
To connect with Jasmine, follow these links to her Instagram page and website.Links mentioned in this episode:
The Wild Now Tess Guinery - Apricot Memoirs and The Moon Flower Monologues Brendon Burchard - High Performance Habits The RE Club -
Boundaries! If I struggle with anything, itâs this. Boundaries! This is something I am intentionally working on in my life & business at the moment and something I think you should be working on too. In this episode, I give you 5 boundary ideas that you should implement straight away! Theyâre easy, but effective! Here is a snapshot:
Create office hours. Begin your day at a particular time and end your day at a particular time. Stop working just âwheneverâ and merging your personal life and business life together. Limit your client intake. Decide on how many clients you want to take on each month and stick to it! This will actually be a positive thing in so many ways. Personal Phone Use. Our phones can be so interruptive. If we work with our phone by our side, the temptation to pick it up, scroll social media, or instantly respond to text messages is too big! Put your phone away and have a window during the day for phone use. Plan your Big 3. Thank you Michael Hyatt for this one! The guru of productivity says to pick 3 things to work on and prioritise everyday. Get these 3 things done before you do anything else. Give yourself more time than you think. When you communicate with clients, let them know something will take you 3 days if you think it will take you 1 day. Under promise and over deliver.The Beautiful Year Retreat
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In this podcast, I talk about my favourite topic, Money! I believe itâs really important for creative business owners to understand the money in their business. Knowing your numbers will give you freedom and confidence. Ultimately, it's the money that helps us live the life we want to live. Most creatives have started a business because of a lifestyle change and itâs the money in our business that will help us achieve that. I talk through 6 practical steps you need to take to understanding and making more money in your business. Here are the 6 steps:
Highlight 6 months bank transactions - highlight and categorise every transaction into Job Costs, Overheads or Income. Calculate totals - what is the total for each category you highlighted? Calculate profit - what is your overall profit? Determine percentages - what percentage can you put to each category? For example, 30% job costs, 20% overheads and 50% profit. Evaluate your percentages - What percentage are you taking away as profit? Are you spending enough on your business or are you spending everything on job costs? Determine your needs - how much do you actually need to make? How can you increase your price or decrease your spending to reach that goal?I go into the details of each step in the podcast, but you can also download the freebie that outlines exactly what steps you need to take to determine whether you should be increasing your price in your business.
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