So many people are so hard on themselves when it comes to productivity. We all need to get more done. We’ve all got long to-do lists, many things that we want to accomplish. We act like the challenges that we have to productivity are the result of a character flaw. But most of the time, your productivity challenges are not because of your personality or anything about you.

You might be struggling with productivity because you haven’t given yourself enough structures, systems, or routines in order to help you be productive. Productivity doesn’t emanate from your personality. It comes from the structures and practices that you’ve put in place. 

For this week’s episode, I’ll be discussing six productivity mistakes that you’re making, how you can fix these with a structure, system, or routine. Because staying productive is an ongoing process and it’s my goal to help you do better.

Here are the 6 productivity mistakes that you’re probably making:

1. Not having project management software (System)
2. Bypassing your project management systems
3. Not getting to email inbox zero
4. Overcommitting - doing too much 
5. Starting with the small stuff
6. Taking too long to do things

Links

Getting Things Done, David Allen

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I was texting a friend of mine who is a mom. She has three kids who are home-schooled. She had asked about what I said one time on Instagram about questions to ask yourself when you feel overwhelmed. Another instance is with a coaching client. She is an established business owner but she is struggling with the crushing demand of her daily to-do list. So what makes these two conversations significant? Because both of these ladies – an established business owner and a home-school mom – feel overwhelmed. 

But what does it mean when we feel overwhelmed? First off, it’s not because we are disorganized, lazy, or have some kind of character flaw, nor that we need more time or more help. It has to do with our priorities. And by priorities, I mean that you have a very clear understanding of what’s most important, right now, in your life and business.

And for this week’s episode of the podcast, I will be talking about the 3 reasons you’re feeling overwhelmed and how they are all related to the concept of having priorities. Because when you have clear priorities, and the right priorities, you can still occasionally feel overwhelmed but you will have the tools to combat it. So, let’s dive into why you might be overwhelmed:

1. You might be overwhelmed because...you don’t have priorities.
2. You might be overwhelmed because...you’re focusing on the wrong priorities.
3. You might be overwhelmed because...you have too many competing priorities.

Links

The One Thing, Gary Keller

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When it comes to setting any kinds of goals, most creative entrepreneurs take one of two approaches:

• Dreamers – setting aspirational sales goals that are disconnected from the present reality of their business
• Doers – avoid setting sales goals because they don’t have a category for setting a goal outside of their control

As business owners, we have to accept the reality that our business has to perform financially to be a success. We didn’t get into business for the money but we have to make money to sustain it for the long term. If your business is under-performing financially, ignorance of that is not the solution. Your finances are one of the main indicators of the health of your business. 

We need to get specific about defining success and take ownership of our actions to achieve our goals. Sales goals give us a very important mechanism to evaluate whether the things we are doing in business are actually working. 

So for this week’s podcast episode, I’m diving into what information you need before you can set sales goals. I’ll also be sharing the different kinds of sales goals that you can set because not all sales goals are created equal. And these three sales goals are:

• Break-even 
• Target 
• Stretch goal

Links

Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.

Anna Dearmon Kornick is a Time Management Coach, wife, and mom who helps busy professionals and business owners master time management so they can stop feeling overwhelmed and start spending time on what matters most. 

A lot of creative entrepreneurs struggle with time management, myself included – most especially during pandemic life. So how can we manage our very limited time so that we can be effective at work without sacrificing what’s most important?

In this week’s episode, Anna shares some incredibly simple and practical strategies such as having a morning routine and a workday startup routine to be more effective and balanced. She also talks about two strategies you can start with for a better work-life balance. And lastly, Anna discusses how we can manage our distractions as busy entrepreneurs. 

Links

See more of Anna Dearmon Kornick on her website, as well as her podcast, or send her a DM on her Instagram.

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Emily Ley is the founder and CEO of Simplified, a brand that creates planners and organizational tools for busy women. She has what so many women dream about -- a team of 8 employees, a line of product with Target, written several books, all while being a mom to three kids. But 12 years ago, Emily was in a traditional 9-5 job that she didn’t love. She dreamed of doing something different with her life, something creative and fulfilling.

In today’s podcast, Emily will be talking about the idea of growth. Whether business or personal, growth doesn’t happen by accident, it happens by choice, by intention, by taking action steps. Emily also shares how you can start taking intentional action steps to grow into the person you want to be.

You can also find out more about Emily’s story of growth in her newest book, Growing Boldly, coming out on March 23. It’s available for pre-order now on Amazon.

Links

Pre-order Emily’s new book, Growing Boldly

Sign up for the free training, 4 Steps to Launch Your Business and Land Your First Client.

Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.

Marketing a business when you are first getting started does present some unique challenges, but it’s not impossible. Just some of the problems you may encounter might be:

• Not having enough clients to make the money you need to invest in your business
• Lack of experience and reputation
• Fear of being found out at your full-time job

The first thing that you really need to understand as a first-time business owner is what marketing is – it’s not just about communicating but creating offers that people want and delivering them well. And in today’s podcast, which is the 2nd part of the mini-series all about launching your business, I will be sharing the different ways that you can use to market yourself well when you are just starting your business (or even if you’ve been in it for a few years). These are the 6 things that everyone should be doing to market their businesses well:

1. Understand your ideal client at a deep level
2. Conduct market research
3. Start building genuine relationships in your industry
4. Leverage your existing network
5. Serve the crap out of your clients
6. Get their feedback on what you can do better

Links

Sign up for the free training, 4 Steps to Launch Your Business and Land Your First Client.

Read the HBR article, The One Number You Need to Grow.

Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.

Many people think that you need a ton of resources in order to start a business. I am a firm believer that anyone can start a business, even with limited amounts of time and resources. However, not everyone should start a business, unless they have properly formed expectations of what it’s going to be like. Before going on this journey, you must ask yourself:

• Do I really want to start a business?
• If so, is now the right time?

This week’s episode is part of a mini-series about launching your business. Specifically, we dive into the 4 signs that can help you determine if you are ready to start a business. You are ready to start your business if you are:

• Confident in your skills
• In a stable financial situation
• Willing to fail
• Ready to do the work

Links

Turn your dreams into actual action steps and make your business official by downloading the Service Business Startup Checklist here.

Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.

Most creative entrepreneurs aren’t actually building businesses – they’re creating a job for themselves. People who are building a business are creating systems and employing people to run them. Those who are building their own job just do whatever seems right in the moment, not a lot of thought about its purpose, direction, or planning.

In order to build a business and a sustainable one, you need to have these 5 things:

• Long-term vision
• Marketing planning
• Products/services
• Systems
• Short-term planning

For this week’s episode, we’re focusing on one of the foundational elements in a sustainable business and that’s your core values. I discuss what core values are and how it impacts your business, specifically your day-to-day such as the people you hire, the marketing strategies you employ, and the products/services you will offer.

Links

The E-Myth, Michael E. Gerber

Ringlet Resources

Sign up for Bench Accounting and get 30% off your first 3 months of bookkeeping.

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Why did you start your business? Is it because you wanted freedom or flexibility? Is it because you want a different lifestyle? Whatever the case may be, we can all agree that we don’t start our business with a big vision in mind. And that’s okay.

However, if you want to stay in business long-term, you need to have a big vision of what you want to build. If you don’t have a vision for what you want your business to become:

• You won’t last because it’s too hard, too much work, and too demanding
• You won’t be able to have the lifestyle you want
• You might end up somewhere you don’t want to be

So for this week’s episode, I’m going to talk about having a clear long-term vision for your business so you can stay in the game long enough to be successful, build the business you really want, and know that your hard work is getting you somewhere. I’ll be discussing:

• What a vision is
• The elements of a vision
• Some questions and misconceptions

Links

Sign up for Bench Accounting and get 30% off your first 3 months of bookkeeping

Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.

Sugar Taylor is a multi-media, multidisciplinary creative who has been an entrepreneur for over 10 years. Together with her business partner built a well-known event planning and design company in the DC area called Taylor and Hove. And on top of that, Sugar is a true artist and has done a huge range of creative crafts as part of her business-like branding, interior design, textile design, and other products.

In this week’s episode, I invited Sugar so she can share her perspective as a multi-disciplinary, multi-passionate creative who still manages to be incredibly profitable. We talk about the advantages of being a multi-disciplinary creative as well as best practices for being effective in being multi-passionate without burning out.

Sugar also announces a new project, exclusive here on the podcast!

Links

Follow Sugar on Instagram or check out her website.

Follow Katie on Instagram or visit the website to learn more about her work.