As a business coach, I’ve heard so much moaning and groaning about “having to keep up a social media account.” In this episode, I make 2 things clear: 1) You don’t HAVE to have a social media account to run a successful business, PERIOD. 2) If you decide to host a social media account, you need to stop treating it like a burden! Otherwise, it’s never going to become the powerful marketing vehicle you hope it will. In this episode, I share how I’ve made peace with social media, and I hope it helps you find your own peace too.

If you need help managing your inconsistent income, you can book a sales call to learn how my simple financial system helps you plan for expenses AND pay yourself more.

I used to struggle making space for self-care or my hobbies because they weren’t “productive.” Now, I see those items as a VITAL part of my business! Making time for self-care, hobbies, and inspirational activities has actually helped me be MORE productive and grow this new business to make its first major custom order in less than a month, and continue to rise from there. I hope this episode helps you reframe your thoughts around what count as “work” so that you become more productive, less anxious, and more inspired in your day-to-day!

If you need help managing your inconsistent income, you can book a sales call to learn how my simple financial system helps you plan for expenses AND pay yourself more.

This might sound silly, but one of the main things holding my clients back is that they don’t actually want their big dream as much as they think they do. I know what you’re thinking - “Huh? Of course I want 6 figures/to own my own creative business/to quit my job!” But I ALSO know you’re thinking, “Well, yes I want that but I can’t quit my job because of the stability/I don’t think I’ll actually be able to make 6 figures with my dream business/I don’t think I’m a good enough artist to have my own business.” If you’re caught between the tension of those two opposing thoughts, you’ll also find yourself stuck growing your business. This episode will explain how to get you unstuck and moving forward so you can become the entrepreneur you always dreamed of!

If you need help managing your inconsistent income, you can book a sales call to learn how my simple financial system helps you plan for expenses AND pay yourself more.

In today’s episode, I dive more into the details of the launch of Paper and Rouge, and specifically why I decided to start with retail sales instead of online. I also share how I prioritized sales, marketing, and product development with limited time and why I made the choices I did. I hope that this helps you find focus in your own goal-setting!

If you need help managing your inconsistent income, you can book a sales call to learn how my simple financial system helps you plan for expenses AND pay yourself more.

After years of coaching creatives, I finally decided to start my own stationery business called Paper and Rouge. After years of coaching creatives, I also learned a thing or two about launching a creative business, which I’m excited to share with you in this episode today.

After only launching in January (and taking my first drawing class in February), I had my first major custom sale, and I’m already selling cards to a local retailer. It’s taken both a huge leap of confidence and a lot of trust in my financial planning, and I’m excited to dive into the mindset shifts that allowed me to make this huge business moves. This is my most personal episode this season, so I hope you enjoy and find something valuable to take away!

If you need help managing your inconsistent income, you can book a sales call to learn how my simple financial system helps you plan for expenses AND pay yourself more.

Most clients come to me when they're reaching the edge of burnout. Things are technically working well in their business - they're regularly hitting 4- or even 5-figure months - but they're trapped in this fear cycle, worried the next month won't bring in any revenue.

The first question I ask them is how much they're paying themselves. 9 times out of 10 the answer is that they're not. And as soon as we come up with a cash flow plan, it’s amazing to see the burnout melt away.

The best part? You can do this yourself, right now!

So in this episode, Nicole will discuss why paying yourself a regular salary saves you from burnout, how to pay yourself a regular salary even if your monthly revenue is variable, and we’ll also unpack the stories that get us into the habit of not paying yourself in the first place. This is a juicy episode full of tons of tips and heartfelt anecdotes that you won’t want to miss!

If you need help managing your inconsistent income, you can book a sales call to learn how my simple financial system helps you plan for expenses AND pay yourself more.

Are you feeling like a failure because you make 4-figures one month and what feels like nothing the next month? First of all - you’re not a failure; you’re totally NORMAL. Secondly, this episode is for you! Nicole talks about how to analyze your business’s cash flow so that you can better manage your money AND your time. If you’re struggling to make sense of your books, this is an episode you won’t want to miss!

If you need help managing your inconsistent income, you can book a sales call to learn how my simple financial system helps you plan for expenses AND pay yourself more.

At the beginning of your business, it’s totally fine to set open-ended goals. If you’re still doing that at the 5- or 6-figure mark though, you’re probably finding yourself constantly coming up short and running into frustration and heartache. Today’s episode is going to show you a clearer and more effective method of goal-setting that helps you finally hit the 6-figure level. I hope this episode also helps you own the expertise you’ve gained up until this point (or feel like an expert at any level!).

If you need help creating a simple, effective, and time-saving 6-figure business plan, you can book a sales call to learn how my 1:1 coaching program can help you reach your business goals with clarity and ease [https://calendly.com/nicole-ralston/sales-call?month=2023-04]

Nicole talks about why staying stuck in a stress cycle not only leads to burnout but also prevents you from scaling your business to 6-figures. You’ll learn what causes burnout, how to process stress (hint: it’s not by achieving your big business goals!), and how self-care will help you hit your 6-figures more easily and quickly.

If you need help breaking the entrepreneurial burnout cycle, you can book a sales call to learn how my 1:1 coaching program supports both your business goals and your well-being [https://calendly.com/nicole-ralston/sales-call]

We can get so wrapped up in the “newness” of our businesses when we’re first starting out that we may not stop to evaluate where we’re putting our energy every day. I’m sure you can relate to this, but during my first year of business I found myself running on fumes sometimes in order to check the boxes of what I thought was important. In this episode I’ll be sharing some of the lessons I’ve learned, especially recently, as I take a step back from social media and take inventory of how I’m marketing my business and splitting my time. We could all do with the reminder to make sure we’re investing the same thoughtfulness in our personal lives as well, because neglecting to do so is contrary to why many of us start businesses in the first place: for that extra freedom. I hope you’ll learn something from this episode and that together we can distribute our energy with more intention and compassion.

Here are some things I’ve learned:

• Anything that grows needs care and attention.
• A powerful question to ask is, “What do I want to nourish?”
• The importance of a monthly budget and knowing where my money is going.
• Ask yourself how to grow a fulfilling life, and how our business can support that; not the other way around.
• Viewing the business trajectory as an atlas rather than a singular path can help cut down on perfectionism.
• I don’t want to get back on the content-making machine.

Resources from this episode:

Are you interested in crafting a fulfilling, growth-oriented experience for your clients that scales? Take my free mini-course Build Your Foundational Framework

Interested in working with me? Check out my Service Page

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Meet my podcast editor Angelina at The Intentional Edit :)

My intro music was produced by Moshun