Many early-stage entrepreneurs discover that growing a profitable business is hard. When you’re in the early stages, it’s tempting to look at other people’s business and try to reverse engineer success based on what we see other people doing. 

It’s not the external things that allowed others to build profitable businesses. Businesses don’t make money because of the external things you can see, but they make money because they are built on a strong foundation that you can’t see.

Building a business with no foundation is like building a house but spending all of your time and energy picking out the paint colors and fixtures. You have to make sure the actual structure of the house is sound!

To have a strong foundation as a creative entrepreneur, you need 5 things

• Vision: You need to know what you want the business to become in 10 years
• Marketing Plan: You need to know and understand your ideal client and how you are going to reach them consistently.
• Financial Plan: You need to price your services adequately to cover your expenses, taxes, personal salary, and yes, profit. 
• Systems to Scale: You need to take a systems approach to everything you do in your business so that you can grow and scale.
•  Short term goals: Be specific about what you are trying to accomplish in your business right now and map out the action steps that are going to get you there

References and Links

E-Myth, Michael Gerber

Sign up for the Thrive Business Bootcamp waitlist by visiting katiewussow.com/waitlist. 

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A lot of us KNOW that we need to get some help on the business side of things. But we feel overwhelmed because there are 1,000 ways to get help. Between courses, memberships, coaching, masterminds, and conferences, we oftentimes don't know which is the best option for our unique situation.

Successful people don't get overwhelmed and shut down when they need help; they identify the best solution and go with it.

In this episode, I'm giving an overview of four different kinds of help you can get for your business, why they're great (because they all are), and how you know which one is right for you right now.

In this episode, you'll discover

• How to know if a particular digital product (course or membership) is perfect for you
• The question you should be asking before you buy a course or membership (hint: it's not, "can I afford it?"
• The key differences between group coaching and 1:1 coaching and how to know which is best (hint: 1:1 isn't always better)
• The role of masterminds and why the heck they're so expensive

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Many creative entrepreneurs really struggle with feeling like they have way too much to do, and not enough time to do it. 

• They feel pulled in a lot of different directions.
• They have incredibly long to-do lists that only ever get longer.
• They wear a lot of different hats in the business and don’t know the best way to allocate their limited time.
• They easily lose focus and motivation when life gets in the way.

Most creative entrepreneurs are relying on brute force and caffeine to get things done instead of systems and structures. One of the neglected systems and structures is PLANNING.

In this episode, I walk through five steps to plan your work week so that you can stay focused and productive. This is an overview of the exact process I use to plan my own week as well as the process I teach inside of my signature program, Thrive Business Bootcamp.

The five steps are:

• Review your goals. Look at your annual or quarterly goals and remember the big picture of what you’re trying to accomplish.
• Review last week’s progress. Make note of your wins, what’s working, and what’s not working so that you can adjust accordingly.
• Review your projects, tasks, and calendar. Before you make your list for the week, remember what’s on your plate.
• Make your list for the week. Write down the things you want to get done and pick your top three priorities from that list.
• Time block what’s most important. Block off time on your calendar for things that you know you will struggle to find time to do.

Sign up for the Plan Your Perfect Week workshop here.

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Today we’re talking about time management un-hacks. Why un-hacks? Because these things aren’t gimmicks or tricks or secrets. On the contrary, these are the things that successful people do so that they can be truly productive.

And true productivity is measured not by how many things you can get done. It is measured by the impact of what you get done.

The three time-management un-hacks are to:

• Define your priorities: You have to decide what’s most important and let everything else be less important.
• Allocate time to your priorities: We talk about ways to intentionally allocate time to what’s most important on a daily and weekly basis.
• Protect your priorities: We talk about ways to put boundaries around your priorities so that you can stay focused and on-track.

Sign up for the Plan Your Perfect Week workshop here.

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On today’s show, I interviewed Tamera Darden, who is a friend of mine and also my brand photographer. Tamera is the creative director of Darden Creative, a digital content creation agency for beauty, wellness and lifestyle brands, and professionals. 

Since starting in 2016, She's worked with almost 50 brands & influencers, including Base Butter, Harper's Bazaar, & Macy’s, creating content for their social media platforms & websites. In addition, her work has been featured on Good Morning America, Shopify, Rolling Out and other digital publications. She is originally from New York City and is now based right here in Washington, D.C.

Tamera’s journey as an entrepreneur has been far from easy. She is an incredible example of perseverance, hard work, and grit. On the show today she talks about:

• How she started her business as a professional photographer with only an iPhone for the first 18 months
• Best practices for staying committed to your business while still taking on part-time jobs to pay the bills
• The biggest mindset shift that allowed her to start filling her pipeline with clients.

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You can find Tamera’s work here and follow her on Instagram here.

In today’s show we talk about how to make wise investments in your business. It is so tempting to look to others to tell you how to spend money, but as the business owner, you need to be empowered to make these decisions yourself!

In this episode, I cover the dos and don'ts that can guide your investing decisions. You’ll discover:

• How to overcome your fear of spending money on the wrong thing
• How “magic bullet” thinking can sneak in and sabotage your investment decisions
• The biggest temptation to avoid when it comes to outsourcing, and what to do instead
• The most important thing to do before you spend a penny 

Sign up here for my free live training on February 3 and discover how to make real money from your creative business…so that you can keep doing what you love while balancing a full life.

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On today’s show, I interview Amanda Shuman, branding and web designer and founder of Carry Love Designs. Amanda’s “science-over-art” approach to branding and web design creates not just pretty websites, but financial results. In today’s episode, she explains how she uses branding and web design as a tool to grow her clients’ businesses. 

In the interview you’ll discover: 

• The most important element of your website (hint: it’s not your logo, your photography, or even your portfolio)
• How you should approach your website in your first year of business
• The biggest mistake I’ve personally made on my website, and what I wish I would have done instead

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On today’s show I review five of the biggest mistakes I see creative entrepreneurs making when they set business goals. I talk about:

·      Why setting too many goals can leave you frustrated and overwhelmed

·      How to break down your big-picture dreams into strategic 12-month goals

·      How to avoid setting goals that are safe and comfortable

·      How to stay committed all year to your goals

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This time of year everyone is talking about their New Year goals. And I'm all for it. But, looking ahead without learning from the past is a big mistake. There are three questions you need to ask yourself before you set 2020 goals.

• What went right?
• What went wrong?
• What did I learn?

Next, I'm sharing my biggest takeaways from 2019:

• Do the thing
• Consistency is king
• I have a personal brand
• Profit is more than just money

Last, I'm sharing how my takeaways informed my 2020 goals and focus areas.

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As we head into a new year, we all have a lot we want to accomplish. As creative entrepreneurs, it's easy to feel like we have too much to do, and not enough time to do it.

It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking busy-ness equates to progress in business, but it doesn't always work that way. I'm walking through three ways I see creative entrepreneurs staying stuck in busy without getting results. These ways are:

• Overpreparing
• Using tactics with no strategy
• Doing too much

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