Jenny Pace

Episode 7: Why Christmas matters, even in May

Before you listen to this episode, May has now ended but you can still get ahead!

I’ve also got some new Christmas planning resources, including the free Christmas checklist and The Better Christmas Plan mini course.

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What to do now to have your best Christmas yet

No, you haven’t missed a big chunk of the year. Yes, it’s still May. I haven’t lost my marbles!

The truth is that if you’re a maker, the owner of a product-based business, Christmas is a big deal to your business. I have clients who make 50-80% of their turnover in the last three months of the year.

So yeah, Christmas is a big deal.

And it’s worth preparing early.

Getting ahead for Christmas allows you to:

  • Make the most of the opportunity
  • Reduce stress and burnout
  • Avoid sleepless nights and 10-14 hour days
  • Create a Christmas range and marketing content that you’re really proud of
  • Build sustainability into your business

3 top tips for makers who want to do Christmas differently this year

1. Cultivate creativity – and release fear

When things are high in opportunity, the more primitive parts of our brains can get a little stressed out. They don’t want us to try and fail. They’d rather we just kept it safe.

There can be this huge pressure to design a new bestseller, to do everything perfectly, and to hustle hard.

When we’re in that zone, unsurprisingly, we freak out. We either burn out way too early, or we find 10,000 things to do other than work on what we actually want: a Christmas season that’s aligned with your values and your wellbeing.

So before you start letting your anxious, over-analytical, fear-induced brain take over, I invite you to cultivate ease and creativity and FUN into your Christmas season!

Set some intentions: 

  • How would you like this Christmas to feel?
  • How would you like to serve your customers?
  • What feels important and inspiring this Christmas?
  • How can you infuse the season with meaning and merriment?
  • How can you support yourself through it all?

Let yourself create this really lovely, nourishing approach to Christmas this year.

2. Give your future self a gift: plan ahead

While I’m a woman who believes in doing things your own way, there is a law of Christmas that I have seen to be true: The later you leave your Christmas planning, the less likely it is you’ll feel like you’ve given it your best shot.

Whether it’s your fear brain encouraging you to self-sabotage and procrastinate, or a billion things demanding your attention, it’s really easy to leave things until September.

You don’t fancy spending spring and summer on Christmas planning. You find it hard to get into the spirit. Then there are summer holidays, distractions, and the old habit of not getting ahead of the retail calendar.

It’s time to change that habit.

A few things to nail down now:

  • Book a photoshoot. Whether it’s a week to do it yourself or a day with a professional, book this now – and stick to it. You’ll find it helpful to have something to work towards so that your designs are ready, and it’s so valuable to have your photos done and dusted.
  • Plan Christmas into every week. Put a recurring appointment in your calendar 
  • Start dreaming up the support you’d like
  • Decide when your Christmas shop will open, and whether you’ll do an early bird offer.

3. Stay connected with your people

One of the best things you can do now for a successful Christmas is think about your audience. Not just the people who follow you on Instagram (who may or may not be your true audience), but your ideal customers, the people you really want to help, inspire, and sell to.

How can you connect with them, now and at Christmas? What will they find useful, desirable, beautiful, essential, inspiring? How can you expand your connection with them? Maybe deepen it, too?

Go and find your customers. Speak to them directly with the content you share now. Invite them to your newsletter list and send them inspiring emails. 

Building your dream audience isn’t a quick fix. It takes a long time, and requires regular tending. So starting now will not only make Christmas feel easier, but it’ll create lasting results into next year and beyond, too.

BONUS TIP: Join The Better Christmas Plan!

In the podcast episode, I mention a free 5-day challenge, which has now finished.

BUT you can get the recorded DIY version now for just £37!

Together we’ll move past the stress and overwhelm to create a unique-to-you plan that equips you with all the practical tools and support you need to feel totally prepared, in control, and ready for your best season yet.

To read more and sign up now, head to thejennypace.com/betterchristmasplan

Episode 6: The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks: a Better Business Book Club review

Introducing the Better Business Book Club, and The Big Leap

This week, I’m really excited to introduce a special part of the podcast: The Better Business Book Club.

I love books, and I recommend them to clients and community members all the time. When I was starting the podcast, I knew I wanted to include some of my most-recommended books with you, too.

These are books that have had a big impact on me and on my clients. They’re the game-changers.

Some of them are classic business books, and others (like today’s) are about self-development and self-knowledge. Personal development is such a huge part of running a business. As I shared in Episode 4, the energy we bring to our business is even more important than the specific strategies we use. So checking our beliefs and our outlook is vital.

The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

This book is one I want everyone in business to read. It’s also a book that can bring up a lot of resistance, as it did for me when it was first recommended. I spent years working up to reading this book, and I can see now that that was because I liked being in my comfort zone. A lot.

I often work with clients and we uncover the big vision they have for their business. There’s a lot of clarity and enthusiasm and desire. But it can take a while to actually make it happen. That’s when they need to read The Big Leap.

Key Idea #1: Upper Limit Problems

The first big idea in the book is the Upper Limit Problem. This is the idea that we have an internal thermostat for how much success we can allow, and we subconsciously sabotage ourselves so that we stay within that limit.

The thermostat is typically set in early childhood, and it takes awareness and work to change it.

When I first read about this, I felt like a lot of things clicked into place. I could see that a lot of the things I thought were in my way were internal. And I could also see a lot of these things were within my power to change.

Gay Hendricks asks these questions:

  • Am I willing to increase the amount of time every day that I feel good inside?
  • Am I willing to increase the amount of time that my whole life goes well?
  • Am I willing to feel good and have my life go well all the time?

Saying yes – really, truly – is the hardest and most important step we can take to dissolve our upper limit problems.

Chapter 3 in the book has lots of ways to spot your own Upper Limit Problems and how they show up. For example, worry, criticism and blame, squabbling, deflecting compliments and good things. And, from my own experience, under-charging for your products and services.

Key Idea #2: Zone of Genius

The framework Gay Hendricks introduces in this book is revolutionary, especially if you are a one-woman-band and doing everything yourself!

There are four “zones”:

  • The Zone of Incompetence: we’re pretty rubbish at these things, and there are lots of other people that do them better and quicker than us
  • The Zone of Competence: we can do these things, but we’re not amazing at them. There are still other people who are better and quicker at them
  • The Zone of Excellence: we’re really good at these things, but they’re not our calling; we can usually make a good living at them, but we get stuck here
  • The Zone of Genius: this is our unique happy place! This is our calling, our gift, and we can do these things for a long time without getting bored or tired. The Zone of Genius is typically the key to unlocking happiness and abundance (aka money-making!).

I highly recommend going through your to-do list and putting different things in these zones. And when you read the book, there are lots of great ideas for uncovering your Zone of Genius.

A Caveat On Privilege

This book has so much to offer, but it’s worth noting that Gay Hendricks is a white, straight, cisgender man from the USA. He’s the least likely demographic to be refused power, money, or happiness through systemic and cultural challenges.

If you’re a woman, Black, gay, disabled, or have a history of emotional or physical abuse, you may feel like there are a couple of chapters missing. It’s entirely possible that Gay Hendricks could simply change his mind on the goodness he can receive, and then receive it. Others of us may have systemic racism, lack of power, and legitimate barriers to changing our circumstances.

I still believe this book has wisdom, but I wanted to share this perspective on the book’s limitations.

I love this book!

I get something from The Big Leap every time I read it. And in reality, I want to be taking big leaps throughout my life, so I know it will be in my reading pile for a while.

If you’re bumping on the same turnover for years, or if you get to where you wanted and disaster hits, this is the book for you.

Buy the book

You can buy the book via my Bookshop.org shop. This is a platform that supports independent booksellers, and I’ll earn a small commission, so you can support the production of my podcast!

(You’ll also spot some of my other book recommendations!

Episode 5: 3 Essential Habits For Business Owners & Solopreneurs

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No matter what stage of business you’re at, these three things will make a huge positive impact

After last week’s episode, where we talked about shifting your marketing energy, this week I’m sharing some practical, game-changing habits for you to do regularly in your business.

1. Checking your numbers regularly.

I see you, avoiding looking at your bank account, sales figures, tax return, and open rates. I know it’s vulnerable. I know it opens you up to feeling bad about your business, your ideas, and your self-worth. I’ve been there.

But it’s soooooo worth getting courageous on this one!

What you need to do: 

Here’s what I recommend: choose 5-10 key numbers you’re going to check each month, such as your turnover, your expenses, your profit margin, and a couple of key marketing numbers, like your email open rate or Instagram followers. Book a time in your calendar every month, and try to make it the same time and day, like the first Tuesday afternoon of the month.

Key action: 

Make it enjoyable! If that means ordering “I’m a proper business lady” brownies or going to a local coffee shop, do it. You could meet up with a business bestie, take the afternoon off afterwards, or get yourself all cosied up with a candle, some good music, and a pot of tea in the studio.

Why it helps: 

The reason checking your numbers regularly is a game-changer is that it gives you a whole load of accurate, up-to-date data on what’s working on your business, and what’s not. That data, in turn, helps you make smarter business decisions that are totally right for you.

2. Valuing your creative skills and talents

Hooooooo-eee. If I had a pound for every creative who undercharges, doesn’t value their own skills, or doesn’t prioritise their creative time, well, I would go on a nice fancy holiday!

You’ve been creative most of your life, and you’re pretty damn good at illustration / graphic design / sewing / [insert your own talent here]. So you wouldn’t pay someone else to create something like that for you – because you can do it yourself! But there are millions (billions?) of people across the globe who CAN’T create the way you can, but they want a home and life filled with creativity nonetheless.

The other part of not valuing your creativity is that you don’t prioritise creative playtime. Your creativity is your greatest asset. It’s the golden goose that will create income-generating designs for years to come. As long as you allow yourself to cultivate it and develop. If you can’t remember the last time you had time to brainstorm, play with ideas, go to an inspiring art gallery, it’s time for that to change.

What you need to do: 

First, check your pricing. Are you charging in a way that values your time, energy, and talents? Chances are, you’re not. (I typically tell 75% of new clients to put their prices up by 20%.) Plan a price increase and get courageous with it.

Key action: 

Book design time into your week or month. I’m not kidding! Regular time to play with ideas (without the pressure of creating the next bestseller) is a HUGE investment in the future of your business. Make it a regular habit now, and you’ll thank me later. (And please do – I like hearing it’s paid off!)

Why it’s important: 

Oh boy, this one’s not just important for you, it’s a whole movement; it’s important for society and our culture and our children and our future. Ultimately, this one’s a mindset shift, as well as actions to take. But shifting that perspective will allow you to continue building a business that is profitable, sustainable, and a powerful force for good in the world.

3. Prioritising your time (and your to-do list).

Did you notice both the first two points included adding some time to your calendar? That wasn’t a happy coincidence. Lots of creatives like going with the flow (me too!) and being in the mood to create (still me too), but we can also end up trying to do wayyyyyy too many things at once, without any of them paying off.

You can still have fun creative time (see above), but prioritising your time and to-do list is so worth doing, I’m tempted to march round right now and help you do it!

What to do: 

Choose three or so goals to focus on. That means you’re not trying to do a billion different projects all at once. Once you’ve set up your new website THEN you can get stuck into Facebook ads – just don’t do both at once! 

Key action: 

With your goals in mind, you can prioritise your to-do list on a daily or weekly basis, so that your time is spent doing urgent and important things that are really going to make a difference.

Why it’s important: 

When you focus and prioritise, it’s much easier to learn about what you’re working on, and do it well. If you’re just focusing on Instagram, rather than allllll the social channels, you can learn which hashtags work for you, you can get excited about creating content that people enjoy, and you can really get into the swing of making it work for you. Trying to juggle too many things leads to burnout, lack of enthusiasm, and big business disasters. 

Stop avoiding these three key things!

I’m not saying these are the only things you need to do in order to get that thriving, sustainable, and meaningful business. But they are things creatives commonly avoid (at various levels), but that really unlock potential.

So maybe you’ll just do one at a time, or maybe you’re ready to get going with all three. If you do get started, let me know so that I can cheer you on!

And if you’d like some help, I thoroughly recommend checking out The Better Business Collective, the membership group for makers and solopreneurs ready to strengthen their business from the inside out. Membership opens next month, and waitlisters will get a special bonus when it opens!

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