creative business Archives - Page 24 of 25

Here's the thing: when opportunity knocks…

How do you spot opportunities? How do you decide which ones to take and which ones to put to one side? Do you struggle with feeling like there are too many opportunities, or too few?

I’ve been thinking about opportunity a lot recently. It seems like it’s a big theme for me, in my business, and for my clients.

In my experience, there are people who tend to see lots of opportunities wherever they are – things that could be done better, new ideas to try, new ways of saying something, a market need or solution to a problem. I’d count myself in that category of people. It just seems to come naturally to me to visualise how something could work. It’s a combination of optimism, idealism, and experiencing things that have worked.

From that point of constantly seeing opportunity, there’s a downward scale to not being able to see opportunity as easily. Sometimes, that’s a result of genetic predisposition, or having been around people who have the gift of opportunity-seeking.

Sometimes, our ability to see opportunity is foggy because we’re in the thick of it – taken over by day to day worries, tasks and to do lists. I know this to be true, especially after running the Small Creative Business Retreat in March, when a weekend of rest, no orders, and no chores allowed my guests to see things more clearly, to see the opportunities in from of them.

So, to see opportunity (before we even think about acting on them), we need to have the mental-emotional capacity and headspace to see them, as well as some experience of using our vision.

And then there’s deciding which opportunities to invest in. This is trickier territory. I’m pretty sure I could teach anyone to see opportunity, given enough time and resources. But deciding which ones to take up? If anyone had a hard-and-fast rule to figuring that out, I’m sure they’d be a millionaire.

Recently, I’ve found that opportunity has come knockin’, as well as the dozen or so ideas and projects I have on a list waiting to be given some attention. It is incredibly difficult to put them to one side! And how do you even decide which ones to push forward?

Here’s the thing:

I thought I’d share my personal opportunity evaluation process, and a bit about my recent decision not to take on any new clients.

What are my overarching business/personal goals and intentions? This is a biggie, but if you haven’t already put in the time to ask yourself this question, spend even half an hour to think about it. Sounds like too little time, but honestly, if you’re really focused on what you want, it’s plenty! Once you’ve got an idea of what this looks like, make sure you have it written down somewhere you can look at it when you need a reminder.
Which opportunities are getting me closer to what I really want to do? Let’s make a move on them.
Are there any quick wins? If there’s anything that requires relatively little effort for a good outcome, I might pop these up the list, but it REALLY depends on what else is going on. When I’m busy, very few things like this move up the list, because I have very little energy/time to spare.
What isn’t time-sensitive? There are PLENTY (think giant notebook full of ideas) of things that I know I’d like to do one day. I don’t have to do them now. There isn’t much lost if someone else does something similar – I’m going to do it my way anyway. So the pressure comes down.
Is there anything I can pass along to anyone else? Sometimes, there are are real opportunities that I can see are going to make someone some money or benefit them in another way. Rather than squeeze myself into every possible shape, I try to share them with people who may be able to make more of them than I can. Sometimes, it’s passing on a product idea to a client. Sometimes, it’s referring a potential client to someone with different experience.

They’re just five pointers I use to figure out my opportunity list. It’s then the art of saying ‘no’, even if I’d love to say yes.

Recently, this has been my big challenge. I’ve been run down by too much going on, too many clients, and I’ve had to cut down on taking new clients on. It’s a big deal, even if I feel relatively confident in it now. There’s always the scared part of me that thinks I should say yes to everything – but I’m not letting that part of me run the show.

I hope you’re able to see opportunities a little clearer with these ideas. It’s all a practice. The more you allow yourself to find opportunities, the more you’ll see them in unexpected places. And the better you get at saying no, the easier it will become.

But don’t forget to say yes sometimes, too.

Here's the thing: what it's like to mentor with me

A few weeks ago, I was on a call with a client who asked whether she was using the time “correctly”, whether she was like other clients in her worries, questions, progress.

My first reaction was: it really doesn’t matter. If this is right for you, this is what we’ll talk about.

So we carried on. And then someone else asked me what it was like to mentor with other people, too. So, I figured it’s probably time to spill the beans.

This week’s blog post is an open letter to all current and future mentoring clients about what it’s like to mentor with me.

You bring lots of worries, thoughts and ideas – I listen and try to identify the most important bits.
We talk about everything – products, marketing, websites, branding, pricing, suppliers, social media, colleagues, business, family, weather, food, tea, rest, meditation, books. Everything is on the table.
We talk about feelings as well as practical stuff, and I usually add a to do list for the week which can include anything from uploading a product to researching a supplier to getting an early night. Sometimes it includes throwing out everything that was already on your to do list.
We repeat things on a week to week basis – sometimes we spend weeks talking about the same thing before it feels like we’ve made progress. This is entirely normal, and to be expected, as we realign your business practice and create new habits and ways of thinking.
Time management is always a thing – always.
I will encourage you to use (make you use) spreadsheets. Resistance is futile.
We usually end up with a shared, secret Pinterest board to share ideas for branding, photography and projects. This is one of my favourite parts of the job.
Typically, you need as much encouragement as I can fit into a call. It’s okay to need real reassurance from someone you can trust.
You can ask for what you need – nothing is off-limits to talk about, but I might point you in a different direction for better help where relevant.
I am an excellent secret-keeper. Several clients have shared news with me long before anyone else, because I’m here to help plan for change.
There will be moments of silence as I scribble down notes. I’ll ask you to repeat things, or say more about something, so that I really feel like I know what you’re worrying or thinking about.
I’ll give you options, suggestions, choices. It’s up to you to take them.

Here’s the thing

There’s no right way to run a business. Yes, some of the things I work with clients on (like getting your pricing to work for you) are business essentials. But a lot of the time, we talk through questions that are varied, multi-level and complex. The places where you can’t see the wood for the trees. I help you see the wood.

If I had one message for all my clients or anyone who feels they it, this would be it:

It’s okay to need reassurance, and it’s okay to feel like you’re stepping into the unknown. You are. And it’s amazing.

My first retreat

I find Cliff House quite easily. I’d been studying the map for weeks (probably months) and felt like I knew all the landmarks by heart. I pull in, and it feels like the clouds part.

I get out of the car, and let myself into this beautiful Victorian house, which is – fortunately – everything I had hoped for. I walk through the hallway, into the dining room and through to the kitchen. It’s in there that I do a little jump up and down, starting to feel the bubbles of excitement for what this weekend is going to be.

My sister arrives shortly afterwards, which ramps up the excitement. She and Ross are almost as amazed as I am that this is our home for the next few days.

We walk round everywhere, getting lost and confused a few times. Holly and Lara arrive, and after that, guests arrive in fits and starts. Every time someone new arrives, I feel the excitement all over again.

There are introductions, squeals, hugs, so much chatter. As evening comes in, there’s Prosecco, and then dinner is served. The food is good. The wine is good. Both are better than I had hoped.

Everything’s pretty smooth so far, but I’m nervous for the next bit. For the opening ceremony. This is where I show them what it’s going to be like, here on this retreat. I’m going to introduce some concepts, and I’m going to lead a meditation. Are they going to go for it? Will I be able to calm my nerves to do it?

And there are some hesitations, but everyone sinks into this new way of being – a different kind of workspace.

We start to relax in a way we haven’t in a long time.

Every moment starts to get longer, and suddenly it feels like we have so much time.

***

I’ve been trying to find some words to explain what the retreat was like, for me and for my guests. It’s taken a while (unusual for me – I like the words). The retreat weekend was more than words, more than output, more than problem-solving.

It was a feeling.

Last week, I looked back through my notes of how I wanted guests to feel at the end of the retreat, and my notes say: seen and heard, supported, allowed to thrive, nourished, clear, well rested.

Yes, that’s what I wanted. And that’s what happened.

It’s easy to forget that being well rested, really relaxing and letting go of the brain clutter, can allow you to open up to new ideas, to what you really want. That’s what we did.

And on Saturday afternoon, as guests were going for massages and making moodboards, it felt like we’d been there a week. We’d been there 24 hours.

The messages I’ve received then and since have been wonderful, tear-inducing things. I know that the retreat made a difference to everyone who came, and it’s amazing seeing how much people have achieved in just over a week since they got home! That’s what clarity does, I guess.

But it’s also changed how I’m looking at my business. This is the work I really want to do – working with small business owners holistically, talking to them as people as well as businesses. Not just at retreats, perhaps, but acknowledging what we believe and how we feel as people can drastically effect our work as businesses.

Yes to that. And yes to more of this work for me.