Episodes
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Episode 13: Interview with Homemade by Mils & Mum
Find them here:
https://homemadebymilsandmum.com/
and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/homemade_by_mils_and_mum/
and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083012546417
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Missing episodes?
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How to launch a creative business: Episode 11: You don’t need Instagram to run a successful creative business
There I said it. You really don’t need Instagram to run a successful creative business. Can it be one tool in your sales and marketing arsenal? Absolutely, but it doesn’t have to be.
If you spend any time on any social media channel lately (not just Instagram), then you will have almost certainly seen the complaints of engagement and reach being strangled for small businesses, the obsession with faster, louder and the move away from the things that made Instagram so popular in the beginning – fun and often beautiful photography, and ways to connect with your friends and family in an uncomplicated, easy-to-use space. Since then it’s become a flagship of small business marketing and things have changed irrevocably – whether we like it or not. It has become exhausting and anxiety-inducing. It has led to a noticeable number of creative entrepreneurs saying ‘no, I’m not doing this anymore’ and leaving to somewhere that feels more connective like Patreon. Or building their own forums and membership spaces. Smaller numbers yes. But more engaged and like-minded.
Recommended Reading:
https://www.katecullen.co.uk/journal/passive-income-ideas-for-your-creative-business
https://www.katecullen.co.uk/journal/patreon-or-facebook-group-for-your-creative-business
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How to launch a creative business: Episode 10: How to launch a new product
Hi and welcome again. Today I’m going to be covering how to launch a new product – this might be a physical item or a new service, course or workshop – it doesn’t matter which, the processes are still the same.
Now, if you’ve read my book (available in my website shop by the way!) then really you can apply all the same principles I teach there relating to an entire business, to this new product or offering.
Firstly, you need an audience of people that are ready to buy – I think we can all agree on that. And hopefully if your brand voice and messaging have been on point up until now with an existing business, then you know what they want and how they want it delivered. If your audience is still very small and new (eg a handful of social media followers, a hundred or so email subscribers etc) then you will almost certainly want to consider an ad launch budget to be able to reach more people that are not yet currently aware of your business.
And this brings me to a little aside – if you truly want your business to be successful, then building your audience is absolutely vital, and to do this you will almost certainly need to invest in some sort of advertising or PR strategy. It comes down to numbers at the end of the day. Now if your core messaging and brand identity (including your voice – how you relate to your potential customers) is really on point then you will no doubt get a higher conversion rate and sell more with a small audience. However, it often takes us a little while to get there, to truly understand and speak to our niche (see my blog post from last week for more info on that), so setting aside some budget for advertising (be it Facebook, Google, or placements on blogs or in magazines or podcasts) will be something you will need to invest in.
And nearly all successful businesses will have relied on advertising in some form somewhere along the way – recognised that they need to reach more people and invested appropriately. And this is where understanding your ideal client profile is so important. So you can set the parameters of your ad to maximise your spend. Correctly identifying who to sell to and what their interests are.
But let’s assume you know your audience, know what they want, you’ve tested it with a small number of people, know it works for them, what now?
Now you need to have a solid marketing plan in place that will convert your lookers into buyers.
1. A good, well-thought-out sales page
You sales page might be a page on your website, or a specific landing page you’ve created in your email marketing system, whatever and wherever it is it needs to contain these key points:
What is the outcome from buying this product or offering, how does it make the buyer feel once they have it? For example with my book my customers are relieved because they don’t have a clue where to start with launching a business, they’re happy because they know it’ll take less time for them to get everything in place rather than having to google it all for themselves. They’re more committed because they have a structure to follow which means they’re more likely to reach their launch date goal. The value I’m giving them is their time and energy back and ultimately that they will be making money (and more money) sooner with my book than if they were to go it alone.
You absolutely want to make the outcomes and benefits clear first and foremost.
You may also want to include then why they should buy from you over anyone else who may have similar products or offerings. Ie your experience, what sets you apart from others that is relevant to this particular item. Eg for me I’ve run my own successful businesses for over a decade, and I’ve helped many businesses launch and thrive over the last few years. I have the experience that people can trust.
How much information you provide often depends on the price of the item in question – low cost offerings will need less information than say a high-priced course or product.
So what else do you need to address – any reasons why someone might NOT buy, eg cost, time, suitability – speak to all the objections someone might put up to stop from buying and counteract them, eg you’ll make your money back in weeks that you’ve spent because you’ll learn how to avoid pitfalls, in the long run you’ll save time by doing this course because you won’t make mistakes, this product might be more expensive but that’s because it has sound sustainability credentials or supports the artist or local community. This product or offering is exactly right for this specific industry or person or character. Use your FAQs to counteract any reasons why someone might not be ready to checkout.
For smaller cost items don’t waffle on too much - people often just want to hit purchase and have it straight away, they don’t want to go through endless salesly pages of info when they have probably already decided to buy.
So some top tips – be clear exactly what is your selling, lead with a benefit or valuable outcome that addresses the specific problem your customer has (eg I don’t know how to launch a business, or I can’t find a local artist to have art for my living room), have a clear call to action (usually a buy now, check out button or similar – you can even make this very specific to you, eg Build Your Website Now, Style Your Home Now, Download Now, Begin Today and so on).
Avoid too many words and paragraphs – bullet points and graphics convert more easily.
Use social proof – testimonials and reviews from your testing phase are one of the most compelling tools in your sales arsenal. Real people saying how much they loved the item, the quality, how it made them feel, what the benefit was to them personally – these are all incredibly valuable things to use on a sales page.
Make sure the sales page is easy to use and works on all devices, especially mobile phones. Make sure you have easy ways to buy (eg stripe or Paypal or Apple Pay) – making people get up to find a credit card if they don’t have to will stop some of your sales.
Guarantees can be useful if you have the capacity to offer them - eg guaranteed not to fade, if you do the work and don’t get results then you’ll get a refund.
Keep distractions to a minimum – avoid lots of other CTAs like newsletter sign ups or pop ups – the sales page is there to do one thing and one thing only, to sell this particular product.
Make sure that people can share and send to their friends all colleagues easily too – people often ask each other before purchasing higher cost items, especially partners. So being able to share across social media platforms is a really useful selling tool.
You may also want to consider a time-limited launch offer or discount, eg 10% off everything in the first week of launch, or buy this and get this add-on free for example. Early Bird deals work well for larger items such as courses or workshops and help you get those early sales quickly too.
So once you have a magnificent new product and sales page, how do you tell people about it?
So these are the main avenues I use:
1. Facebook and Instagram ads – I have a small daily budget that generates me the number of sales I need to meet my financial goals. It took time to get it right and I created different ads with different audiences and different graphics until I landed on one that performs consistently for me. If you have the finances, then I strongly recommend you use an ad agency to work all this out for you and get you there quicker.
2. Social Media – Pinterest, my Facebook Group, and Instagram (with autoposting to Facebook page and Twitter) – packaging up the individual points on the sales page into separate posts with more background.
3. My blog and podcast – speaking again to all the points I’ve mentioned, but also making sure I put my own stamp on it all a lot more. Letting my unique approach shine through as much as possible, and showing who I am a lot more.
4. My email newsletters – this again is an opportunity to show the heart and soul of my business and build relationships with my audience. You can also (depending on your email marketing system) set up nurture sequences of emails on a specific product or service, without necessarily bombarding all your subscribers who may not be interested in all your offerings, eg some may want your products, some only your services for instance. At every turn be clear who you’re talking to, what they need or want, and how you can give it to them.
5. Ads or PR features on blogs or in magazines – I sue these sparingly and they have to be a perfect fit. Unless you’re a big business like Apple no-one wants to be sent a press release. You need to seek out publications that are aligned with your ethos and approach for it to work best. And I would always use an incentive of some kind like a code so you know if it’s working for you. Keep an eye on hashtags like #journorequest or #PRrequest (especially on Twitter) - it may be you can offer some sort of advice or story around your business on a topical item. This in turn will generate more eyes on your new products or services at a time when you need them.
So some final thoughts –
Know your audience, build your audience, speak to your audience. Then just talk to them - a lot more than you might feel comfortable with to start out – you need to sell to people to sell things. It’s simple really. Just approach it in a way that feels honest and authentic to you and you can’t go wrong.
And if you need help with any kind of launch do get it touch – my next coaching spots are opening up in the autumn and I’d love to work with some new creative businesses and take them to the next level.
https://www.katecullen.co.uk/coaching
https://www.katecullen.co.uk/book
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How to Launch a Creative Business Podcast Episode 9: Meditation & Manifesting with Emily from Luna Circle
In this episode Kate talks to Emily from Luna Circle about the value of meditation and manifesting as a creative entrepreneur and how it can help focus, relax and inspire you. With some fantastic suggestions on daily practices, as well as an insight into how and why Emily began her own business.
At the end of our chat, Emily also demonstrates a short meditation to bring more calm and peace to your day. A great session to repeat daily or whenever you need to rest, reset and tune out from the outside world.
About Emily
Emily Aitcheson has over 17 years’ experience teaching and facilitating training in movement, meditation and personal development. She has led workshops internationally, produced sold out entertainment events for top London venues and collaborated with brands such as Lululemon, Neom Organics and Move Your Frame. With her company Luna Circle, she delivers sessions on meditation and manifestation, as well as providing intuitive soul readings. Luna Circle runs regular wellness events across the UK.
Links:Website: www.thelunacircle.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lunacirclewellness/
Full Moon Women’s Circle Event: Thursday 14th July 2022. 7.30-9.30pm at The Mount Without, Upper Church Lane, St. Michaels Hill; Bristol, Somerset, BS2 8DT https://www.thelunacircle.com/events
Rose Retreats
https://alicerosewellness.com/rose-retreats
Little Wedding Hub
https://www.thelittleweddinghub.co.uk/
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How to launch a creative business: Episode 8: Creating purposeful content for your creative business
In my blog post last week I spoke about WHY blogging is such an effective tool in marketing your business, the benefits of creating consistent, high-quality content that educates, informs and inspires your potential clients about your products or services. Expressing the benefits of your offerings in a compelling way that truly engages your readers or listeners.
Today I’m going to talk in more detail about HOW you can go about this. Your content creation and posting lifecycle, from blog posts to social media and email newsletters.
I follow a broad 5 step process myself which helps me to create content with ease.
Step 1: is the blog post (or podcast in my case) itself – the longest, main piece of content that you are creating say on a weekly basis. The piece that will take you the biggest effort and time to research and create.
I have a spreadsheet that I use and that I help my clients to use too that covers things like choosing blog post titles, blog categories, and most important of all what the PURPOSE of this point of content is. eg is it to speak about the benefits of a product or service (for example with social proof and testimonials from happy clients), is it to educate your readers about features of your products or services that they perhaps might not know, are you encouraging them to sign up for a piece of free content like an email newsletter lead magnet, are you leading them to sign up for a course or workshop, or to buy a specific product? Every piece of content you create should have a purpose. Even if it’s not a specific action as such, then it should be to build trust or to encourage relationship-building through discussion of a relevant topic.
Once you know the purpose of your blog post or podcast it’s so much easier to write that piece with a beginning, middle and end – like you are telling a story. Stories are interesting, stories compel and engage.
Step 2: for me is Pinterest, I’ve been an avid user since 2011 when it was new and small all the way through the huge visual search engine it has since become. For me Pinterest goes hand in hand with my blogging supporting my SEO efforts. As a photographer now and as a stylist and product creator previously, the visual search capabilities of Pinterest have been vital in helping me grow my business. I use my blog post categories as Pinterest board names, so every blog post again has a purpose and at least one place within my Pinterest boards. I always pin my blog posts, using Canva to resize images and create pins suitable for Pinterest, ie tall pins.
A good Pinterest strategy alongside your blogging can really help get your organic Google traffic working better for you.
Step 3: next I consider my Instagram feed and how I can break up the key takeaways from my podcast or blog post into short form for Instagram. Using images from these for my feed (resizing for Stories and Main feed respectively).
I research the most appropriate hashtags for the content and make sure I have everything uploaded into Planoly. Sometimes I manually write the actual post in the moment, or I create it in Planoly and schedule it (depending on how busy I am or if I’m away).
Step 4: I include more information or talk around the blog post or podcast content in my email newsletter, explaining how it might help my readers and direct them to the blog or podcast episode. I never assume people have seen it already on another platform, we consume hundreds of pieces of content every day, so I don’t worry too much about repetition. I just try to look at different aspects of the content on each channel so it remains as fresh and interesting as possible. I also invite my readers to respond to my emails on different topics. I like to hear from my subscribers in my inbox too.
Step 5: I post in my Facebook Group about the topic and create conversations around the topic. Sometimes the topic has come out of previous group members’ questions, so I always try and listen to them and what they need help with.
Top Tips for Content Creation
How to come up with the ideas
Create content around your day to day activities (eg photoshoots, your products, materials, FAQs, your work life, your workspace, your home life, collaborations, workshops, events, skills you've learnt or teach, personal thoughts on your industry or niche, help posts, how to posts and idea posts).
Research your intended topic by typing it into Google, see what comes out on the first page (and the suggested related search terms as you type), read them, how could your post be better, more informative, more niched into your specialism and USPs?
Create each post with a specific intent – PURPOSE is everything with content, is it to get the readers to book a discovery call, understand your value and experience, buy a product, learn more about you, sign up to your email list, follow you on Instagram, take your free mini course, download your lead magnet etc etc
Design
What images will you use? Ensure they are resized for web use and specifically for your blog's required dimensions in pixels (use an app to help you, eg JPEGmini or Tinypng.
Rename your images so that they include good SEO terms like your blog post title, ensure you have use your alt tag descriptions too.
Split your blog post into paragraphs with useful headings. Use bullet points if you have a lot of information to convey.
Distribute your images throughout to further illustrate your point.
Add outgoing and inbound links (eg to the photographer or to a product in your shop).
Continuity
Post at the same time and day at a regular interval, eg daily, weekly, fortnightly so your readers know when to expect your content.
The biggest thing to remember is to make your content of consistently high value.
If you’d like help developing a strong, personal content plan for your business do get in touch with me.
You can book your free discovery call on my website at www.katecullen.co.uk/coaching.
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Episode 7: Why you need an email list in your creative business
Working on email list building and content is often one of the key things that my clients want my help with, or they haven’t considered how vital it is to creative businesses at all and we explore why, what and how to harness this amazing sales channel, without feeling icky, repetitive or boring.
So why do you need an email list?
A well-crafted, purposeful email is still one of the best ways to engage with your audience and create those all-important connections with your ideal clients. If you can create a relationship where you are regularly providing considered, helpful or enjoyable content that can only be accessed by being on your email list, you are much more likely to be creating future customers and clients.
It’s an opportunity for you to establish your authority in your niche, to allow your potential customers to get a feel for your approach, knowledge and skills and hence how or why they might wish to buy from or book you.
The key to building any part of your customer relationship is consistency. So decide when and how often you can commit to creating your email content and stick to it.
An email list will also always be yours – it’s not subject to algorithm changes like social media or Google – you own and control it.
How do you get sign ups?
There are 3 areas you can create maximum opportunities for potential customers to see your email subscription opportunities:
1. Ads eg Facebook, Instagram, Google etc which present your ‘newsletters’ for sign up – usually by offering a freebie or lead magnet.
2. Social media – talking about it on your posts as well as adding a sign-up link in your profile bios.
3. On your website – eg with pop-ups, sign up areas on your website and so on.
How do you decide what content to include?
The content of your newsletters will vary based on your business model, whether you are selling products or services, and how many types of ideal clients you have.
If you have different ideal client profiles you may want to consider segmenting your subscribers into different areas of interest, eg those that are interested in workshops versus those that might be interested in your products. That way you can make sure that your content is specific and useful to each demographic.
Ensure that your emails are engaging and in your brand voice – think about the things that you want to learn or hear about when you’re considering a purchase or hire. What are you interested in, what engages you?
The format might be relevant too – if you write beautifully and engagingly then maximise your skills there, if stunning imagery is your thing, then make sure you include plenty of photographs. Video content is also increasingly popular, and a video diary could be a really great way to engage your audience.
Whatever content you include, always try and make it unique to your email list – something your audience can only access by being on your list, eg unique help, inspiration or discounts. First access to your workshops or limited product ranges for example.
Encourage email responses too – if you have a question that would help you understand your audience better then ask it – this is your opportunity to give someone the opportunity to personally reply without it having to be on social media and publicly viewed.
Make sure there is at least one clear call to action in every email, eg shop a sale, view a new collection, book a call, listen to a podcast, read a blog post – the premise is that you want your readers to want to go on and find out more about what you are offering. The more time they spend with you on all your channels the more you build the Know/Like/Trust factor which will ultimately lead to sales and bookings.
Make it so worthwhile that your ideal clients will never want to hit that unsubscribe button.
How may subscribers do you need?
Numbers are not as important as engagement – you could have thousands of subscribers. but if only 10% of them are opening your emails, or only 1% are clicking through to where you’re sending them then you’re not harnessing the power of your emails. Your content is maybe not interesting enough, or not compelling enough to get them to take action.
The open and click through rates are the metrics to pay attention to – if you’re not getting a good percentage of your subscribers opening or clicking then think about revamping the way you present your content to be more engaging.
I’m going to leave you with a few tips:
Tips
1. Choose an email platform that you feel confident using and understanding and is affordable for you – there are a great many to choose from now. My own personal current favourites are Squarespace (if of course you have a Squarespace website) and Flodesk (which is attractive and easy to use).
2. Create at least one valuable lead magnet or ‘freebie’ that your ideal customers will love that they are prepared to give you their email address for, it might be a ‘how to guide’, free download, discount code, kit list etc
3. Promote this lead magnet at least once a week on your channels with ads if you can too.
4. Create a ‘nurture’ sequence of 5-7 emails – emails that follow up on the lead magnet sign up, or on a specific purchase from you. Send these out every day or every couple of days immediately following sign up or purchase.
5. Use (and therefore collect) first names as well as email addresses so you can address your subscribers personally.
6. Write good, attention-grabbing subject lines – if people don’t open your emails all the hard work you put into your content is wasted.
7. Look at your statistics for each email you send and learn from it – specifically your open and click through rates.
8. Respect your subscribers – don’t spam them with too many emails. Keep your content relevant, interesting and enjoyable. Reward them for their loyalty.
So I think I’ll wrap this up here – if you want help with creating the perfect lead magnet, or crafting content that is relevant and purposeful then do get in touch.
You can book your free discovery call on my website at www.katecullen.co.uk/coaching.
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Episode 6: Editorial shoots for your creative business
Hi, today I’m talking about styled shoots, or editorials – what they are, why you should do them and how to go about organising or participating in one should you be invited.
First things first, I want to be clear what we’re talking about today:
So the difference between a Brand shoot and a Collaborative Styled Shoot – a brand shoot is for YOU, you should expect to pay for it – from photographer to stylist, make up artists, models and hiring of other elements like furniture or location. This is solely to promote you and your business, the images might be used in blogs and magazines as well as on your own website and social media for PR purposes.
Collaborative shoots are usually organised by one or two people, but everyone gives their time in exchange for the images and share costs. The end goal is usually to have the images published on a blog or in a magazine that is suitable for all the brands involved, with later on the ability to use the images on each of the participants websites and blogs and social media.
Today I’m focussing on collaborative styled shoots (or editorials). I’ve been styling and managing these (from concept to mood boards and on the day styling and direction) for over a decade now (with close to 100 shoots featured on blogs and in magazines around the world). And of course, I’ve been photographing them more recently too alongside my creative direction skills. I also used to run online courses and live workshops on this topic (I’m pondering on a new one soon too – watch this space).
But anyway today I’m sharing some of my top tips for getting the most out of collaborative editorial shoots, whether you’re the one organising it or you’ve been invited to take part in one.
The First questions to ask are always:
WHERE will it be published
This is core to understanding the PURPOSE of the shoot – (which is always ultimately to attract your attract IDEAL clients – what do they want to see and where are they likely to look for it?
WHO else is involved – do their businesses align with your look, style and ethos
This is all about the right TEAM building - you all need to be on the same page – no one person gets the limelight. The aesthetics and client base must be the same or very similar to be effective – so that everyone will get the exposure they desire and the shoot has a consistency of approach look and feel.
Please don’t post in Facebook Groups for team members for collaborative shoots unless you are VERY specific about who you are looking for in terms of style and content – you will be very unlikely to find your dream team this way.
Instead research and find your prefect team members – don’t be afraid to reach out to people – if you have a strong brief with a story that resonates and a clear direction and idea for publication you are much more likely to get a ‘yes’, than if you just reach out saying you are doing a ‘pink themed shoot’ – what is special about what you’re doing? Why should that supplier want to be involved?
Does the shoot have a message that will resonate with your perfect clients – for example inclusivity, sustainability or a way of showing off what can be done that’s innovative and different. This is where Pinterest is not always your friend – when building a mood board try Not to choose imagery directly related to the shoot concept or theme – try to be more inventive with your inspiration and ideas. Instead focus on emotions, texture, colour and overall feel of what you are trying to create.
The end goal must always be to get PUBLISHED – otherwise what’s the point? Bear in mind that it is increasingly difficult to get published anywhere unless one of the team is a featured vendor/advertiser on the intended publication.
RESEARCH – look at the blog posts or magazine articles carefully – what are common themes and types of content that get published in the outlets you are aiming for?
Think about BUDGET - every good shoot costs money – it should always be viewed as an investment – be up front with the team if you expect them to share costs for models, set design or venue fees. But be aware that not everyone’s input might be equal, for example florists might have to spend hundreds of pounds to design the look you want, and they can’t be reused after the shoot.
Organisation is vital, everyone needs to know exactly when they’re needed – do a call sheet, create a mood board so everyone is on the same page and detail every element in your design.
Ahead of the day make sure everyone knows how to get to the shoot location, provide emergency numbers to call in case of delays or problems. Devise a full itinerary to ensure everyone’s contribution gets the shots required and that nothing is overlooked, as well as keep you on schedule.
A shoot day goes past in the blink of an eye, and running out of time and/or daylight are really common issues!
After the shoot day
Make sure your photographer is aware of the requirements of the outlet you intend submitting to for publication so they can ensure they have the right image sizes, types and dimensions for submission. Don’t be disheartened if your first submission isn’t successful, keep trying other outlets.
Ensure everyone has a copy and paste list of the full list of contributors with website and Instagram links so that everyone is appropriately credited for their work.
Don’t be tempted to overshare images ahead of publication, especially if a blog or magazine requires no sharing until publication. Make sure you know what the exclusivity periods are and be careful to communicate any rules to all the team. You don’t want your hard work to be for nothing if a feature gets pulled due to someone excitedly sharing before they’re allowed!
Once you have the go ahead make sure you share as much as possible on the day of publication and beyond – really make that investment work for you and enjoy showing off all your inventiveness, creativity and skill!
I hope you’ve found this a useful introduction into editorials, but do get in touch with me if you need help designing and/or shooting your own – I can coach you through designing and executing a successful shoot, and am always up for collaborating on the right project as a photographer too!
You can book your free discovery call on my website at www.katecullen.co.uk/coaching.
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Starting up a new creative business can be exciting yet daunting. Today I’m going to talk about the best things you can do for yours to ensure success and to avoid being one of the 6 in 10 businesses that fail in the first 3 years.
According to the Small Business administration statistics around 20% of start-ups fail in the first year. So how can you avoid being one of them?
1. Lack of business plan
Creatives are often in business because they have arrived there by accident. They may have started selling their art as and when the opportunity arose, but there was never a clear intention to become a business. And that’s ok, not every creative outlet needs or wants to become a full time business.
But if you do intend on it becoming your main source of income then a vision for what you want your business to become, and how you plan on achieving that is really important.
We all know how fickle the world can be, with one thing being really big one year and disappearing to be overtaken by the ‘next big thing’ in the blink of an eye. So strategically planning for a sustainable business, business growth, doing your market research, and really understanding how many sales or leads you need each week or month to allow your income to be predictable and sustained is a vital part of the process.
Creatives especially are often drawn into the trap of reacting rather than planning ahead. And it doesn’t always have to be just financial either, it might be getting featured somewhere you admire and getting recognition for your talents, being invited to collaborate with your heroes, or being able to do something to promote and support your causes and beliefs.
2. Lack of investment
This can be lack of investment in yourself, eg your skills, the tools you need to grow your business in terms of knowledge or the real physical tools that allow you to scale or improve. eg for me as a photographer being able to upgrade my kit as I add to my skills base and experience, or courses that teach me how to improve my artificial lighting abilities, or perhaps a marketing course, or business coach to help you get there faster.
This could also be investment in real terms such as a grant or business loan that enables you to get set up from the start. For this you will usually need a strong business plan with the SMART goals embedded.
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Realistic
T – Time-specific
3. Lack of business know-how
One of the biggest reasons for failure is the simple lack of knowledge of what it takes to run a successful business, eg choosing the right business insurance, legal frameworks, sound financial management including how to do your accounts (even if that is outsourcing them), how to price your products or services, how to position then market your business effectively, your brand identity and market research (knowing your target market and what they want), and things like backing up your website or digital assets.
Creatives especially tend to focus on the creative side with no idea of how to reach potential customers and to create a coherent brand identity with USPs that speak to their perfect customers or clients. Visibility in the online world is vital for success for most businesses (although not at the expense of making real life in person connections!).
Charging too little is all too common too, mainly due to confidence issues or a general lack of investigation of what the market rates are for your niche. But remember people won’t buy something that appears too cheap – they will think there is something wrong with it!
To tackle this I suggest writing down what you consider to be your real strengths and weaknesses, being honest about where you might need help and support and the investing in those areas is really important for success. Burying your head in the sand about things like professional photography of your products, or not being able to build a converting website for your brand are all things that can make or break a business, but that you can easily find other experts to do for you.
Yes they will have an initial financial outlay, but what you get back in time. Time to create and time to focus on the things you’re really good at that will make your business thrive.
Try not to rely on one or two main customers, eg if you sell wholesale, or you have service-based clients. Cash-flow can be a fine line to tread, so having plenty of irons in the fire is always a good plan, eg passive income streams, and varying sizes of client base. That way if you lose on of your big customers overnight, your business will survive.
Analytics – understanding your data. Again creatives often tend to avoid analysing their sales and bookings, but if you don’t understand how and why you made those sales how will you replicate or build on those successes? I highly recommend looking at your website analytics and email open/click rates as a minimum, and really delving deep into how any form of advertising you’ve taken out works for you. This is key if you don’t want to overspend or underspend. Knowing how many ‘leads’ you need to generate to maintain an income level can really take the worry out of wondering how to get customers each month.
4. Mindset
This is one of the easily overlooked but vital parts of running your business. It can be an emotional roller-coaster, for so many of us our business is wrapped up in our own sense of self-esteem and worth, and a bad month of sales, disappointing job or customer can really dent our self-confidence.
Valuing ourselves, our time and setting clear boundaries (I have a blog post on that!) is a really important part of structuring any new business.
Most creatives find the ‘selling’ aspect of their business icky. But if you don’t ‘sell’ you don’t have a business, so finding ways that you can promote your products or services is an intrinsic part of what you need to do to create a successful enterprise.
If you don’t tell people what you do or sell enough then how will they know to go and invest in you?
Creating consistent, good content around all aspects of your business is the best way to connect with your ideal audience, grow your following and make those all-important sales.
So think about the ways in which you can do this most effectively – where do your strengths lie? Perhaps you can create amazing imagery, or your write really well, or you love talking – what channels could you maximise your skills in, eg podcasting, blogging, YouTube channel and so on. It’s best to start out with one or two main channels that you put lots of effort into, then branch out as you master them and see results.
Fear of failure can be paralysing too, but almost no successful business has risen to great heights without some sort of failure along the way. So recognise that you might stumble but know it is all a learning curve and as long as you learn from your mistakes you will always take that net step on the rung to where you want to be.
Thinking we know best! It takes courage to really listen to what your customers want – to follow up on feedback, particularly negative feedback. We tend to avoid it because it makes us feel bad about ourselves and our business, but fixing tiny things on a product or service can often have huge impact on client satisfaction and hence then on referrals and more work generation.
So I’d love to hear from you – what pitfalls worry you the most? Where will you be putting time in over the next few weeks on your business to support success? Let me know by commenting here on the podcast or DM me on Instagram.
You can book your free discovery call on my website at www.katecullen.co.uk/coaching.
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Episode 4: Choosing and designing your website as a creative entrepreneur
One of the main stumbling blocks for creative people is technology, often this puts people off starting their own business, or taking it beyond an Etsy or Instagram feed.
So today I thought I’d give you some top tips on choosing and implementing your own website with minimum fuss.
Now I’ve had my own website in various forms for 11 years, I began with Wordpress and then a couple of years ago I switched to Shopify for my products and Squarespace for my coaching, branding and photography services. I no longer have my products so am just on Squarespace now.
So, first off, why did I switch from Wordpress?
To be honest because I’d had the website so long, I had added to it and changed it bit by bit so that the design had become a bit diluted, everything was a bit clunky – I had loads of plugins all doing different things, and to be frank it was costing a lot more than it needed to. It also broke, a lot. Again, mostly because it had been through so many iterations it was no longer fit for purpose.
So I decided to have a clean start, split my shop off onto Shopify (SO easy for ecommerce) and my services onto Squarespace – beautiful sleek design, easy to use and really intuitive to build. And even running both these websites it was STILL CHEAPER than my Wordpress.
So, how do you go about choosing the right platform for you:
So (and no affiliate financial benefits for me saying this I might add), I would always now go Squarespace for portfolio or service businesses, and Shopify for product-based businesses.
Yes Squarespace does have a shop facility, which is fine if you have a handful of say digital products that complement your services, but Shopify is hands down the easiest ecommerce solution right now for anyone who is selling products.
The first thing I do with my coaching clients if they want help with their websites is get them to write down a list of ‘must haves’ for their website, eg an About page, sales page, shop, portfolio etc etc, and then a ‘nice to have’ eg podcast modules, video options, integrations with other platforms (eg your email list, Zoom, teaching platforms, meeting booking systems and so on). These are things that you feel you might like to have later on, but aren’t necessarily essential to the website right now.
So, let’s focus on Squarespace for a moment.
You can build your own design but I’d always go for a theme template if you can afford it, it will save you so much time and look so much better (unless you’re a CSS ace!).
My favourite theme/template shop is Squaremuse – excellent design optimised for actually selling and promoting your services rather than just looking nice.
The portfolio options and sales pages are superb and particularly so if you struggle with writing website copy as they have loads of helpful hints of what to put in each section.
I like that you only pay for the add-ons you use with Squarespace, eg their scheduling systems, email list, shop etc. It makes it very affordable straight away, but allows it to grow with you as you build your business.
And Shopify, similarly I would always go for one of their themes – the premium ones have lovely designs and are fairly simple to implement. It allows you to have other really great options like Point of Sale, worldwide shipping designations, accept multiple payment gateways (far more than Squarespace), eg Google, Amazon, Apple Pay, as well as things like Paypal and credit cards.
It has really good order fulfilment options and things like local pick up options too – it just makes the whole process of selling physical products incredibly easy. It also is good for digital products by adding in an app.
Both platforms have excellent integrations with social media and analytics so you can see how well your site is performing. Particularly great if you find Google Analytics to be a little overwhelming.
So how to set them up
How easy you find this is always going to be how easy you find techy stuff generally, Squarespace I’ve found easier generally, although Shopify is not too bad once you get used to it and I’ve found their support to be very responsive and helpful.
Here is a list of things to get ready before you begin so you can run through it easily:
1. Images correctly sized. Get all your images sized to the right pixel sizes (your theme or template documentation should tell you what these are). Once sized I always run mine through Jpegmini or Tinypng to compress them and make them smaller without loss of quality so they don’t slow mine or my clients sites down.
2. Similarly with your logo files, make sure you have them as pngs not Jpegs for web use and that they are correctly sized.
3. Have a list or all your full social media urls (not just the handles) so you can copy and paste them in easily.
4. Have all your login details and passwords – eg Paypal, Google, Facebook
5. Have your codes and ids ready, eg Facebook Pixel id, Google Analytics ID
6. Have all your Ts & Cs and policies written.
7. Have all your page text written for copy and pasting.
8. Have all your brand colours as HEX numbers (eg #E1E1E1)
9. Have your brand font files ready (if they aren’t inherent to your chosen theme)
10. Have your domain details ready.
11. Have your email set up.
12. Have your newsletter sign up list ready (I use Squarespace’s myself, and recommend Flodesk for Shopify).
13. Create a spreadsheet of your products (if you have any) with title, description, price, variations (eg colour, size).
I hope you’ve found this brief overview useful, but if you find it all a bit too much, do get in touch, I’m happy to help you work out the best choice for you and implement everything if you need it.
You can book your free discovery call on my website at www.katecullen.co.uk/coaching.
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Welcome to episode 3 of my podcast. This time we’re looking at what it means to be a multi-passionate creative entrepreneur and changing direction in your business.
Kate talks about how she changed the core directions of her business and busts some commonly held misconceptions about what it means to be a true creative in business.
As it’s coming up for a year since I made a big change in my business (from creating hand dyed silk ribbons to becoming a brand and product photographer alongside my existing business coaching services), I thought I would address some of the misconceptions around what it means to be a creative person in business, and some of the hurdles we have to overcome when we decide to change direction, offer new services or have a switch into something entirely new.
You can book your free discovery call on my website at www.katecullen.co.uk/coaching.
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Welcome to episode 2 of my podcast. This time we’re looking at outsourcing in your creative business.
Why you should do it, When to do it, and how to go about it
So, why IS outsourcing such a great idea?
Outsourcing is great for 2 main reasons:
1. It gives you time back. Time you can spend doing other things that you excel at in your business, like making things or supporting your clients. If you’re operating a business of one especially, then having other people take some of the load off and allow you tie back in your business can be hugely rewarding, it allows you to work on not just in your business.
2. It allows you to get a specialist on board on the thing or things you’re not good at that might be holding you back from succeeding or scaling your business. As an entrepreneur it can be tempting to try and do all the things and play all the roles in your business, from social media manager to accountant, photographer, stylist, SEO expert, web designer, graphic artist and beyond.
And whilst you might very well be excellent at all these things, it’s unlikely that a specialist couldn’t do it better or more efficiently. This is the cold hard truth – sometimes we need to get over our own egos and accept that we are not always the best person to do everything in our business.
This can be a hurdle that’s difficult to get over, entrepreneurs often like to be the one in charge, to have ultimate control, and letting go of some tasks can be a true mindset problem for some of us (guilty!).
Taking a little time to really be honest with yourself about the things you’re not so good at, as well as the things you are can be really beneficial.
For instance, I have outsourced copywriting and my accounts. I love knowing that some of my critical sales pages are written in my voice, but that they are optimised to really work for me in the best way, something I would not have achieved on my own. And there’s nothing nicer than not having to worry about the tax returns and sinking under piles of accounts, or having to spend hours each month on spreadsheets or accountancy software – I’d much rather be out an about with my camera working for more clients, or being able to support another business through my coaching (both of which also bring me in more money and easily cover the costs and more of the freelancers I employ in these areas).
Most importantly I don’t have to do the things I don’t love in my business.
When to outsource?
Deciding when to outsource in your business usually is determined by three things:
Time. Money, or Lack of growth.
Perhaps you’re running a business whilst still going to a day job. Perhaps you have young children or need to care for a family member. If your business isn’t getting off the ground, or has stalled because you haven’t got the time to really make it succeed, then outsourcing one or more tasks can be a way to gain back control and move it forward.
Remember, outsourcing shouldn’t be seen as a negative cost, it should mean that you can then earn more than enough money to pay for it and then some. Either because you get back more time, or because you know someone else will do it better and bring you in more clients.
If you aren’t seeing the results you want in your business, why is that? Perhaps you have an amazing product or service, but you’re not good at marketing it, so you’re not getting the sales. Would an ad agency or a social media manager help you gain a bigger audience, or could a creative business coach like me help you devise a marketing and content plan that really worked for you?
Often in our businesses we reach a plateau. A status quo that we might have been happy with for a while, but for some reason you can’t seem to break through that invisible barrier and really take things up a gear.
Sitting down and really analysing what works and what doesn’t can be illuminating, perhaps you need some fresh branding that better attracts and aligns with your ideal clients, or perhaps you need some better photography that really connects with them. Often we do all these tasks ourselves when we start out, but if you really want to scale your business, investing in these professional services can make all the difference.
How to go about it do I learn it or outsource it?
One of the biggest questions we ask ourselves as entrepreneurs is often ‘can I learn how to do this for myself?’. When what we should be asking ourselves is ‘do I WANT to learn how to do this myself?’.
I personally love learning how to do things myself in my business, I’m endlessly curious, especially on the more creative end of the spectrum of business tasks. I love finding an app that saves me time (probably a whole other podcast episode on that alone!), but I also love collaborating and working with others. So finding people I adore working with that can help me in my business has been a revelation.
So think carefully about the things you do enjoy, perhaps you love learning web design and would enjoy creating your own website for example, or perhaps anything technological fills you with horror and you would be overjoyed to pass it off onto someone else.
Of course outsourcing is not without risk, this is why it is so important to do you research, look at examples of these specialists’ work, view their portfolios (does your business fit with the types of clients they’ve worked with before?), are there clear testimonials that speak to their previous good standards of work?
It’s important to set expectations from the start too, timescales and costs are really important to be nailed down so there are no surprises, and you feel you can trust the work to be done on time and on budget. Outsourcing should be reducing your stress and workload, not increasing it after all!
Outsourcing also means you can avoid having employees instead too – if that’s what you want of course! You don’t have to worry about all the extra things that having staff entails, it should make it more affordable and more flexible too, especially if you have peaks and troughs in your income throughout the year.
I hope this has given your food for thought on where to assign some of your business budget in the coming weeks and months. Don’t forget I’m here to help guide you on this journey too. Just get in touch if I can help you with supporting your business grow.
You can book your free discovery call on my website at www.katecullen.co.uk/coaching.
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Hi, I’m Kate, welcome to my first podcast in my ‘How to launch a creative business in 12 weeks’ a series for readers of my book by the same name.
At the beginning of the book I talk about having the right ideas to begin with, before thinking about building the structure of your business and marketing it effectively. So, I want to help those of you that were at the stage of wondering what to choose as your creative business idea. It may also help those of you that have decided your business idea to really make sure it’s the one for you and to tweak any details before you proceed to launch to make sure you are building not only a business you love but one that works for your lifestyle.
How to choose the right creative business idea
Creative people often excel at a great many things, which is of course wonderful, but can also be confusing and make it difficult to settle on a particular business idea and model. In this podcast I’m going to explore ways you can decide what the best choice is for you, whether you have no idea at all about what to choose, or if you have a couple of strong ideas and can’t pick between them.
What will your working week look like?
Firstly, it helps to imagine what, where and how you might be working as this will immediately rule out some business ideas.
You will need to consider:
1. When you will work? If you have children or pets or personal health considerations what hours do you need to work around them. eg I need to do the school runs and walk the dog each week day. We do not have family close by to help us, so my work is perfect for our family life. If you currently have a job, be it full or part time or on shifts which days or hours could you devote to your business? Would your potential clients be available at these times too, or does it even matter (eg if you are selling products online it may not, but if you are say styling weddings it may be different)? If there isn’t an alignment there then you may have to think again.
2. Where will you work? If you are working from home do you have a space that you could dedicate to it? Do you need stock to be stored anywhere? Will you rent office space or storage units? Some of these may have cost implications that will need to be factored into your start up costs.
3. How will you work? Will it just be you, do you need to employ or outsource to others? Do you want to even be an employer, or would you prefer to be working alone? Do you see yourself in an artist’s space, or at a computer or out in the field creating for people, eg interior decorating. Will you have to spend time doing a lot of admin or packaging orders or speaking with clients? Even in a creative business if you work alone you will have to wear many hats, ensuring the finances get taken care of, that your website, social media, marketing and advertising channels are set up correctly and much much more. The actual time you spend creating will only be a fraction of your full working hours (at least until you can make enough money in your business to outsource all the things you dislike doing the most!).
Creating a day to day life you want to live is really important, there is no point in setting up a business that makes you just as miserable as a job you already have. So think carefully about the time you might have to spend alone, with others, at home, out and about and how much this might take in up front investment.
Next think about the things you love to do and how they might be turned into a profitable business.
What are your absolute passions and innate talents – perhaps its painting, blogging, photography, graphic design, web design, sculpture, ceramics, crafts, writing, stationery, paper making or any other creative pursuit. Next you need to consider whether your chosen favourite(s) are known to be profitable (eg you know that being a photographer is possible because 1000s of people do it). You then need to ask yourself if you could be happy doing it day in day out instead as something you currently do a few hours a week or month. If your heart leaps at the thought, the answer is probably yes!
At this point you may have a million ideas of how you could pursue this new self-employment dream, but the key here is to focus on one core offering to begin with. Plan and execute that well and then think about adding to your core product or service range once you have proven your business concept works.
I hope this is a useful insight into how to go about starting up your own business. I look forward to bringing you more podcasts soon as you progress through the content of the book on your journey to being a successful creative entrepreneur.
If you’d like to work with me on a 1-2-1 basis to work through your business ideas I have a limited number of coaching slots open each month for new clients. You can book your free discovery call on my website at www.katecullen.co.uk/coaching.
