Create to Convert Podcast

Send us Fan Mail

If you've ever wondered why you're not attracting clients despite working tirelessly, it might be because you're investing your time in the wrong areas.

In this episode, I’m giving you five honest (and borderline brutal) truths about why your design business may not be doing so well. 

Spoiler alert: it’s not the market.  It's what you're doing or failing to do that's impacting your business. 

Tune in to this episode as we dive into the potential roadblocks that could be keeping you from achieving success.

Here’s a glance at this episode: 

• [01:20] Reasons why your business may be failing
• [05:21] #1 Poor positioning
• [07:46] #2 You’re not promoting yourself, your business, and your offers
• [10:26] #3 No business plan or strategy
• [12:29] #4 Staying busy but not productive
• [15:18] #5 Impostor syndrome
• [17:29] How I handle Impostor Syndrome 
• [21:04] Throwing in the towel way too early
• [24:47] Recognize momentary setbacks

🖤 Follow & share

If you find this podcast helpful, share it with a friend who may enjoy it too so more people can discover the show and gain value from it.

Want to stay connected? 

• Join my email community for fun emails and free micro-lessons to grow your creative business right here. 
• Give me a follow on Instagram to peek at the behind-the-scenes of my life and business
• Check out all my free resources and ways to work with me on my website

Send us Fan Mail

Ever wondered how AI can supercharge your design business? In today's episode, we're pulling back the curtain on the AI tools that are revolutionizing the way I work. From streamlining processes to automating tasks, AI is not the future—it's the now. 

But don't worry, this isn't a doom-and-gloom episode about robots taking our jobs. Instead, we're exploring how to leverage AI to work smarter, not harder. Tune in to discover the tools that are making me more efficient, and learn why now is the time to embrace the AI revolution.

Psst – thinking of joining the next round of The Breakthrough Designer? Get on the waitlist as we’re opening the doors in mid-October and I’ll have a whole new bonus module on AI so you can learn how to use AI as a brand and web designer: www.one6creative.com/waitlist 

Here’s a glance at this episode..

• [04:18] Understanding what’s possible with AI
• [05:31] ChatGPT and its plugins
• [12:50] MidJourney
• [15:26] Merlin AI
• [19:23] Castmagic
• [20:22] Descript
• [21:50] Motion
• [25:11] Mayday
• [25:43] Fathom
• [28:01] Loom
• [28:50] Social Juice
• [30:00] ChatNode
• [31:41] SparkMail

🖤 Follow & share

If you find this podcast helpful, share it with a friend who may enjoy it too so more people can discover the show and gain value from it.

Want to stay connected? 

• Join my email community for fun emails and free micro-lessons to grow your creative business right here. 
• Give me a follow on Instagram to peek at the behind-the-scenes of my life and business
• Check out all my free resources and ways to work with me on my website

Send us Fan Mail

Earlier this year, I collaborated with Ran Segall from Flux Academy to create a freelance course called Freelance Ignite as well as some content for their YouTube channel. 

I'm bringing some of that content to my podcast to discuss the five common mistakes designers make when trying to attract more clients, and how to avoid them in your own business.

Even if you've made these mistakes in the past, it's never too late to pivot and improve your approach. Take this as your sign to make positive changes and increase your chances of landing your perfect ideal clients.

Here’s a glance at this episode…

• [02:55] #1 Stop expecting, start acting
• [04:12] #2 Relying on social media 
• [05:04] #3 Cold Calling and Spamming 
• [08:10] #4 Focusing on quantity over quality
• [09:22] #5 Not niching down

Watch this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6EQw-7kVVQ&t=32s

Check out more videos on the Flux Academy YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FluxAcademy

🖤 Follow & share

If you find this podcast helpful, share it with a friend who may enjoy it too so more people can discover the show and gain value from it.

Want to stay connected? 

• Join my email community for fun emails and free micro-lessons to grow your creative business right here. 
• Give me a follow on Instagram to peek at the behind-the-scenes of my life and business
• Check out all my free resources and ways to work with me on my website

Send us Fan Mail

Picture this, you’re having a conversation with your favorite client—the one who gets what you do, respects you as a business person, and appreciates all you have to offer. This isn’t just a fantasy but a reachable reality when you focus on understanding your ideal client avatar (ICA). 

When you understand your ICA at its core, you’re able to reach the right people, with the right message, at the right time and work with people you’re perfectly aligned with. In this post, I’ll be sharing how you can do that—and it all starts with the three things you absolutely must know about your ICA. That's what we're uncovering in this episode!

👉 Grab my free worksheet to nail down your Ideal Client Avatar here: https://one6creative.com/freebie-ideal-client-avatar

Here’s a glance at this episode…

• [00:57] Introduction to the topic 
• [02:32]  The importance of knowing your Ideal Client
• [04:08] The PON formula: Pain, Objections, Needs 
• [04:22] P - Pain Points or Problems - What they want to solve with what you are offering 
• [07:05] O - Objections - The things that may stop your clients from buying from you or working with you 
• [09:58] N- Needs. This is their ‘dreamland’ - their happy place.
• [11:44] 4 questions to ask your clients
• [13:30] Free worksheet to take your ICA research to the next level

🖤 Follow & share

If you find this podcast helpful, share it with a friend who may enjoy it too so more people can discover the show and gain value from it.

Want to stay connected? 

• Join my email community for fun emails and free micro-lessons to grow your creative business right here. 
• Give me a follow on Instagram to peek at the behind-the-scenes of my life and business
• Check out all my free resources and ways to work with me on my website

Send us Fan Mail

I'm really pumped to have Eva Couto join us in this episode! Eva is one of my very first Breakthrough Designer students. She's all about helping badass business owners stand out with branding that's both bold and strategic, making it 100% unique. Imagine being able to flaunt your business to the world, knowing there's nobody quite like you out there!

Eva also got some practical tips and exercises lined up that you can totally use to bring out your own business's unique personality. So, get ready to take some notes!

Here’s a quick rundown of the episode…

• [00:04] In today’s episode, we are joined by Eva, a brand designer & strategists from Portugal who helps business owners standout with bold, strategic & 100% unique branding.
• [03:19] Eva shares about how we met the first time.
• [06:11] Eva looks back at her past to know what she truly wants - finding her niche.
• [10:51] To become a business owner, you have to be unique - stand out and step out of your comfort zone. Eva always likes to ask her clients the things they hate in their own industry as this gets them think differently.
• [14:16] It’s hard to identify something special about ourselves because to say something good (about ourselves) is hard.
• [15:20] Eva likes peeling layers off of her clients like an onion to dive deeper, get the frustrations and get to why they started a business.
• [16:17] The little decisions that you take after the major ones are the ones that count for who you are and what your business will become.
• [18:01] When you’re starting out, getting inspired by other people is normal but as you progress into your career, you become more confident as an expert in your craft and really start showing up as you.
• [22:02] It’s normal to outgrow your brand because you evolve as a person and so your business too.
• [24:34] Eva practices the exercise with her clients where she would ask them their personality. And when they struggle to describe themselves, she would tell them to ask others to answer for them.
• [29:04] You may not connect with every one else but there will be one or two who will based on your stories, experience and background.
• [33:17] The easiest way to translate your personality to into branding is through colors.
• [36:06] Continue experimenting until you feel what color/branding feels right to you.
• [44:04] Amplify your uniqueness by taking a look at things around you that you like. Think about what your values are in your business
• [48:05] If you don’t talk about your brand, no one will know you exist.
• [50:28] It’s not only about doing the internal work but also taking the internal work out and using it to promote business.
• [52:38] Eva shares about her personal unique trait and brands that embrace her personality

___

Learn more about Eva

• Website: https://www.evacoutodesign.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evacoutodesign
• Less Bland More Brand Challenge:

🖤 Follow & share

If you find this podcast helpful, share it with a friend who may enjoy it too so more people can discover the show and gain value from it.

Want to stay connected? 

• Join my email community for fun emails and free micro-lessons to grow your creative business right here. 
• Give me a follow on Instagram to peek at the behind-the-scenes of my life and business
• Check out all my free resources and ways to work with me on my website

Send us Fan Mail

We're taking a trip back to February 2021, when I was celebrating five years on this wild business ride!

I'm about to spill the beans on the 8 pieces of advice that, honestly, I'm pretty glad I didn't just nod along to. And it's all up to you, really – whether you want to take these and run with them.

Here’s a quick rundown of the episode…

• [00:05] This episode is from the Archives as I used to have a different podcast with a different name.
• [00:38] Even this was recorded in February of 2021, when I celebrated 5 years in business, this is still packed with so much value that you’ll enjoy listening.
• [00:58] I’ve come to the realization that 5 years have already passed since I left my corporate job and started my own business journey.
• [02:20] Take note that since this was a past recording, some dates, mentions and resources may no longer be applicable. This episode is about the 8 business advice I’m glad I didn’t listen to.
• [02:53] Just because I decided not to listen to this type of advice doesn’t mean you shouldn’t either.
• [04:18] The first advice I’m glad I didn’t listen to is that you must gain traditional professional experience before starting your own business.
• [07:16] The second advice is that I shouldn’t quit my current job until I have at least 6 months worth of savings.
• [10:00] The third advice is the need to niche.
• [13:23] The fourth advice is to go where the money is.
• [15:38] The fifth advice is to stop being emotional in your business.
• [17:45] The sixth advice is that you shouldn’t give away your value for free.
• [20:45] The seventh advice is the client is always right.
• [22:12] The eighth advice is that great product will sell itself again.
• [25:25] Keep in mind that advice is rooted in personal experiences, so what worked for someone else might not work for you.

🖤 Follow & share

If you find this podcast helpful, share it with a friend who may enjoy it too so more people can discover the show and gain value from it.

Want to stay connected? 

• Join my email community for fun emails and free micro-lessons to grow your creative business right here. 
• Give me a follow on Instagram to peek at the behind-the-scenes of my life and business
• Check out all my free resources and ways to work with me on my website

Send us Fan Mail

If you clicked on this episode, it's likely you're not feeling 100% confident about your prices. No worries, I totally get it! We all want a little validation and someone to tell us it's cool to up our prices.

So in this episode, I'll be sharing six signs that'll tell you, "Hey, it's time to raise those prices!"

Here’s a quick rundown of this episode…

• [01:03] It’s time to up your prices!
• [02:01] Sign #1
• [02:47] Sign #2
• [04:29] Sign #3 
• [07:30] Sign #4 
• [10:05] Sign #5
• [11:52] Sign #6

🖤 Follow & share

If you find this podcast helpful, share it with a friend who may enjoy it too so more people can discover the show and gain value from it.

Want to stay connected? 

• Join my email community for fun emails and free micro-lessons to grow your creative business right here. 
• Give me a follow on Instagram to peek at the behind-the-scenes of my life and business
• Check out all my free resources and ways to work with me on my website

Send us Fan Mail

Today we’re talking about a topic that often feels quite taboo, but everyone loves hearing about - Money! At the beginning of my journey, money used to make me super uncomfortable but I quickly realized I needed to get comfortable with it in order to grow my business.

So in this episode I talk about money mistakes that many designers make, the mistakes I made myself, and of course I share the lessons that came with it.

Here’s a quick rundown of this episode…

• [01:10] Let’s talk money!
• [02:35] Mistake #1
• [03:42] Mistake #2
• [04:48] Mistake #3
• [06:06] Mistake #4
• [08:04] Mistake #5
• [08:59] Mistake #6
• [12:03] Mistake #7
• [13:13] Mistake #8

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign up for The Breakthrough Designer Waitlist: https://one6creative.com/waitlist-breakthrough-designer

Sign up for a free trial of Yocory - your all-in-one business hub for freelancers and small business owners: https://bit.ly/ctc-podcast-yocory

Profit First - book by Mike Michalowicz

Follow & share

If you find this podcast helpful, share it with a friend or your audience so more people can discover it and gain value from it.

Come hang out with me on Instagram or check out our website.

🔥 Learn more about The Breakthrough Designer™ and how to become a confident designer AND business owner.

🖤 Follow & share

If you find this podcast helpful, share it with a friend who may enjoy it too so more people can discover the show and gain value from it.

Want to stay connected? 

• Join my email community for fun emails and free micro-lessons to grow your creative business right here. 
• Give me a follow on Instagram to peek at the behind-the-scenes of my life and business
• Check out all my free resources and ways to work with me on my website

Send us Fan Mail

If you're a service-based business then chances are, at some point or another, you thought to yourself: "How can I scale my business without working 24/7?"

You're not alone my friend!

As service providers, we get seriously involved in doing the best possible work for our clients, but the 1-on-1 model isn't always easy to scale. That's why in this episode, I'm sharing with you 5 different ways you can diversify your income and scale to a whole new level.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Contract Shop (Affiliate): https://thecontractshop.com/pages/l2fsummit?ref=yevgeniyadavarashvili

The Designer's Content Playbook mini offer: https://one6creative.com/designers-content-playbook 

Sign up for a free trial of Yocory - your all-in-one business hub for freelancers and small business owners: https://bit.ly/ctc-podcast-yocory

___

Follow & share

If you find this podcast helpful, share it with a friend or your audience so more people can discover it and gain value from it.

Come hang out with me on Instagram or check out our website.

🔥 Learn more about The Breakthrough Designer™ and how to become a confident designer AND business owner.

🖤 Follow & share

If you find this podcast helpful, share it with a friend who may enjoy it too so more people can discover the show and gain value from it.

Want to stay connected? 

• Join my email community for fun emails and free micro-lessons to grow your creative business right here. 
• Give me a follow on Instagram to peek at the behind-the-scenes of my life and business
• Check out all my free resources and ways to work with me on my website

Send us Fan Mail

When was the last time you connected with your past client? When was the last time you asked them for a referral?

If you're having trouble answering this question then this episode is for you! Your past clients are an amazing source of referrals but many business owners tend to forget about that because they're so busy chasing the next lead.

In this episode, I'm sharing two simple scripts to help you ask your past clients for a referral and reignite the relationship.

Here’s a quick rundown of this episode…

• [01:00] One of the biggest mistakes you can make with your clients
• [01:40] A lurker vs. a nurturer
• [04:14] How to ask for a referral - a simple word for word script
• [05:36] My own email script

___

Mentioned in this episode:

• Get your free ticket to the Purpose To Profit Design Business Summit (Aug 22-26, 2022)
• Learn more about The Breakthrough Designer™ and how to become a confident designer AND business owner.
• Check out "Exactly What To Say" by Phil M Jones

___

Follow & share

If you find this podcast helpful, share it with a friend or your audience so more people can discover it and gain value from it.

Come hang out with me on Instagram or check out our website.

🔥 Learn more about The Breakthrough Designer™ and how to become a confident designer AND business owner.

🖤 Follow & share

If you find this podcast helpful, share it with a friend who may enjoy it too so more people can discover the show and gain value from it.

Want to stay connected? 

• Join my email community for fun emails and free micro-lessons to grow your creative business right here. 
• Give me a follow on Instagram to peek at the behind-the-scenes of my life and business
• Check out all my free resources and ways to work with me on my website