Episode 5: 3 Essential Habits For Business Owners & Solopreneurs

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!

Episode 3: How To Share Your Products Online

But how do I actually talk about my products?

Today I’m sharing a really common theme among my clients and community members: how to share their products on social media and in email marketing in ways that don’t feel aggressive or sleazy.

You’re in business to enrich your customers’ lives with your products. They’re here to solve a problem, or add loads of beauty to people’s homes and lives. Your products aren’t any old tat – you’re making them because they matter!

So it’s vital that you’re sharing them.

We’re not taught to actively “sell” – and so it feels icky and pushy and inauthentic. I’m here to change that, to teach you things I wish you’d learnt 10 years ago.

Customers need to see your products, on average, 11 times to make a purchase.

Let me just say that again: ELEVEN.

Some customers will see it twice and purchase. Others will see something 100 times before they actually add to cart and checkout. So often, I see clients posting about something once and then assuming (hoping) that their customers will know all about it and remember it’s there when they want to buy it.

Nope. It doesn’t work like that. You have to keep showing your products, to show up when your customers need you.

Ideas for sharing your products

Before we dive into some ideas and inspiration, a couple of important things:

  1. Sometimes we have to be really explicit about what we want customers to do: buy now, we’ve got three left, it’s here. This is so helpful to our customers – and it feels like confidence, not arrogance.
  2. Other times, we use “Show Don’t Tell” as our guide. We let the product speak for itself through high quality content, so that customers are drawn in and can put their own spin on the product.

Let’s dive into some ideas:

  • Begin at the beginning: How did you design it? What was the inspiration for the product?
  • How it started / how it’s going
  • When and what your first order was
  • How you’ve updated the product over time with colours, options, etc

Customers love these stories! It’s a great way to talk through things on Instagram Stories, or in an email to your customers. You could even make a video or a Reel!

  • What you love about it, using language and descriptors that align with your brand values
  • “This really caught my eye / made me fall in love with it” – write this just how you would say it and add it to an Instagram caption!
  • Spell out the choices available: “You can get it in blue or green”

You don’t have to share every detail all at once – use different snippets and details over several different posts.

  • Use feedback and reviews of your products
  • Use screengrabs of comments and reviews as social proof
  • Ask customers if you can use their photos in your marketing so potential customers can see them in real-life scenarios
  • Share a customer story, especially for commissions and personalised products
  • Include different personalisation examples and inspiration
  • Show different ways the product can be used

Behind-the-scenes

  • What’s on your order table today?
  • Create a time-lapse of you making or packing up orders
  • Show the raw materials before you make them – and after!
  • Show how you wrap everything and box it up

Share your products often

My invitation for you is to grab a pen and paper and brainstorm the ways you want to share your products, the different features you want to highlight.

And then keep doing it!

Tag me @thejennypace on Instagram

How to prepare for Christmas even more successfully this year

Last week, I hosted a Masterclass all about creating your own Game-Changing Success Ritual for your business. It was SO much fun to spend an hour and a half (plus a bit extra) hanging out with creative entrepreneurs and makers to talk about how you can balance head and heart.

It’s really easy to avoid looking at your business numbers, even if you know your SHOULD.

There’s always something more urgent to work on, plus it can be uncomfortable and just plain boring.

Which is why I love to create a ritual vibe, to make it enjoyable and empowering to do!

Because ultimately, getting friendly with your key business numbers and checking in on your strategy IS empowering. It’s one of the most empowering things you can do.

It’s all about the mindset

Part of what I teach about creating a Game-Changing Success Ritual is about shifting your mindset, being in a place where you can hear your head, hear your heart, and make the right commitments and decisions for you.

The mindset shift might come from engaging your senses to reset yourself: scented candles, great music, hand cream, a delicious beverage or treat, a cosy cardigan (hi, autumn).

It might come from listening to a pep talk or podcast that encourages you to think in creative, curious ways.

It might come from a meditation that allows you to drop those monkey mind busy-busy worried thoughts and connect with your wise inner self, and your gorgeously creative heart.

And honestly it also comes from reminding yourself again and again that you deserve success on your own terms, that what you want is possible, and that the world is a better place when you are more successful.

Me? I like a combination of alllllll of those things, but you get to choose the things that work for YOU.

Use these tools as you get ready for Christmas

While I recommend the power of ritual for your monthly business review, you can use these same methods to shift your energy from freaking out about Christmas to deeply creative and strategic.

So if you’re trying to get your creative mojo flowing, it’s pretty much impossible to do that when you’re stressed out or freaking out. Instead of trying to push through and getting more and more frustrated, engage the power of ritual to break that pattern and get you into a positive and creative space.

This works well for:

  • Product development
  • Getting your products listed (that positive energy flows through the screen to your customers!)
  • Planning a photoshoot
  • Planning, creating and scheduling your Christmas marketing content
  • Basically any strategic thinking you need to do for your business

Let’s do it together!

If you find it tricky to carve out space for reviewing your business or need some inspiration to get the ritual vibes flowing…

Or if you need mindset and marketing support for Christmas… 

Then I’d love to give you a big warm welcome to The Better Business Collective, my membership group for makers and solopreneurs who are ready to strengthen their business from the inside out.

Featuring a completely game-changing regular business review and a wealth of tools to tighten up your marketing content this season, The Better Business Collective is the place to stop getting in your own way and raise your business savvy up a gear.

Doors close on Monday 14th September at 5pm – it’s time to jump in!

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Enter The Forge

Life's too damn short to chase someone else's definition of success. I'm here to give you the courage and tools to forge your own path.