Episode 9: Crafting Success on a Budget: Elevating Your Creative Business
Navigating the world of creative entrepreneurship often feels like walking a tightrope between passion and budget constraints.
Our latest podcast episode delves into the art of building a successful creative business without the hefty price tag. The discussion kicks off with budget-friendly marketing strategies, which are vital for any entrepreneur.
When starting a business, particularly in creative industries like candle-making, initial costs can seem daunting. By leveraging free and low-cost tools, entrepreneurs can effectively promote their products without draining their finances.
The Enduring Power of Traditional Marketing
This episode unpacks the importance of traditional marketing methods like flyers and business cards, attending events, which, despite the digital age, remain potent tools for connecting with potential customers.
A significant takeaway from our discussion is the power of maintaining a personal website. While platforms like Etsy provide a valuable marketplace, they shouldn't be the sole digital presence for any business.
Owning a website allows creatives to maintain control over their brand and ensures they are not at the mercy of third-party platforms.
The Importance of Offline Networking
Offline networking is another crucial element highlighted in the episode. Despite the surge in digital marketing, in-person interactions at craft fairs or local events can lead to invaluable connections and opportunities for growth.
Collaboration: A Game Changer
Collaboration emerges as a central theme in our conversation. Our podcast journey exemplifies how combining talents can lead to exponential growth and creativity.
We explore the advantages of using affordable design tools like Canva and Affinity Designer. These tools democratize access to high-quality design capabilities, challenging the need for expensive subscriptions to traditional software like Adobe.
Mindset: The Key to Overcoming Hurdles
Mindset is another critical area discussed. The episode addresses common psychological hurdles like imposter syndrome that many entrepreneurs face. Overcoming these barriers is essential for business growth.
Embracing a growth mindset and viewing challenges as opportunities can transform setbacks into stepping stones for success. Joint workshops and social media collaborations are suggested as cost-effective strategies to expand one's reach and build a community of like-minded individuals.
Staying Organized for Success
Organization plays a pivotal role in managing a business efficiently. As highlighted, tools like Airtable and Google Sheets are invaluable for project management, particularly when expanding a team.
Establishing a clear organizational system from the start can streamline processes and facilitate smooth collaboration.
Embracing Collaboration and Positive Mindset
The episode also emphasizes the importance of overcoming fears and embracing collaborations. Partnering with others can unlock numerous growth opportunities and help entrepreneurs expand their reach without significant financial investment.
The conversation encourages adopting a positive mindset, staying focused on goals, and using setbacks as learning experiences. Resources like a visibility toolkit can be instrumental in enhancing business visibility and reaching a broader audience.
In summary, this podcast episode offers a treasure trove of insights for creative entrepreneurs looking to thrive on a budget.
By balancing traditional and digital marketing strategies, leveraging affordable tools, and embracing collaboration, creatives can elevate their businesses without breaking the bank. Overcoming psychological barriers and staying organized are additional keys to success.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking to turn their creative passion into a sustainable business.
Resource mentioned: Visibility Essentials Toolkit Bundle For Creatives
TRANSCRIPT:
Kaylie Edwards:
Hey everyone, it's Kaylieig and welcome back to the Creative Juggle Joy podcast. I'm here with my co-host, Delores, and today we're diving into a topic that's crucial for all creative entrepreneurs marketing your business on a budget. When I started my candle business when I started my candle business, I quickly learned the importance of utilising free and low-cost tools and strategies.
At the time, I was working part-time when I started doing the research and pulling all my materials and supplies together to start, and then I moved into a full-time job in a different town when I did start my candle business launch and most of my income went towards bills.
After moving to a new town with a higher cost of living and a new job, I had to stick to a tight budget. Now, as a parent to a toddler, it's even more crucial for me to find cost-effective solutions to run my business.
Delores, I'm excited to explore this topic with you. What do you think makes budget-friendly marketing so essential for creatives and not trying to go for the fancy, higher-paying tools and marketing in the beginning of their journey?
Delores Naskrent:
marketing in the beginning of that journey. Well, back in the day, when I first started with my handmade business, there wasn't the opportunity to advertise online. So that is where I personally now spend more money, but back in the day that just didn't exist.
One of the things that we did was to create either business cards or little flyers that we gave out at the shows we attended. So at the time we were mainly doing in-person sales craft shows, craft fairs, that sort of thing and we always made sure to include some kind of a little discount code or a little flyer that they could distribute to friends and family and that way they could get the information on to someone else and we would grow our audience in that way.
We had a website, but we didn't do any sort of social media at all. Now that we've moved into the digital realm, we are able to do a few things. That really helps help us along the way and, believe me, it's always on a budget, even now yes, even with traditional marketing.
Kaylie Edwards:
Let me just add in even with the digital realm going on and we've got all this online stuff, people a lot of time just discount traditional ways of marketing these days, but it still works today.
Like my dad, he's a builder and he has no idea how to use the internet properly. He's getting there slowly. He's now on facebook which was a shock to me when I got a friend request not so long back um but all his work comes from word of mouth and recommendations and that's how I started off with my candle business.
I didn't start off online. I went to craft fairs and events locally and it's just finding out what works for you and your business and pairing that with other strategies like online and social media To kick things off.
Kaylie Edwards:
Let's understand what budget-friendly marketing is. At its core, marketing is about promoting your products or services to potential customers and finding a way to get in front of them.
This can be done through various channels and formats, both online and offline. Online marketing includes things like social media, email campaigns, ads, content marketing, which can offer education, entertainment and inspiration.
Offline marketing might involve local networking, craft fairs, gallery showings and print materials, even getting into your local gift shops Delores. As someone who has transitioned into online marketing over the years, what aspects did you find easier or more difficult? Is it easier to market online compared to offline marketing?
Delores Naskrent:
I wouldn't say it's easier, but I've learned a lot about different things that you can do, so I mean some of those things. A lot of them don't cost anything, and I think for me, creating my website and a point of connection with my audience was quite a surprise, and I definitely tapped into that quite early on with my website and business.
Kaylie Edwards:
I was still working full time as a teacher, so anything I could do to connect with my audience was really helpful yes, like with websites, uh, so like, yes, there are some people out there who say that you don't need a website for business. These days. You can get away with not doing it, but I still think that you should have a website to house your products.
If, even if you have an etsy shop, I would still start off with a website and get them up on there because you can drive traffic to that. You own your website, whereas you don't own your space on etsy or like in the uk we've got folksy, which is similar, and even if you're on spoonflower, you don't own that space where you've put your product and they can shut down your shop if they wanted to.
Kaylie Edwards:
And that was a position I was in when I had to let my shop go. My listings ended up going with it after a few months. They obviously wanted me to renew and I wasn't willing to pay all the money to renew them when I couldn't focus on promoting them at the time.
And if I'd had a website, I could have just had a website and left that up and it wouldn't have cost me much other than just hosting it. You know I always say that you shouldn't do that risk.
I made that mistake, and it's definitely worth keeping to not keeping all your eggs in one basket, as they say. Delores, do you think the traditional ways of marketing are still worth doing?
Delores Naskrent:
I, yeah, I absolutely agree that they are still worth doing. Traditional marketing still has its place. I personally love receiving and using good, old-fashioned snail mail. So whenever I welcome new members to the school, if they provide me with their address, I send them little goodies to make that personal connection.
And since connecting with Kaylie, I've realized how valuable these interactions are for business Plus. Our community is a fantastic spot for conversations and support. It's not just about the advertising, it's also about building those real connections with people.
Kaylie Edwards:
Yes, there's nothing like getting a little surprise in the post. I love receiving those little notes. If you get something like a product off like Etsy, I've noticed some of them do put like a little note, a little thank you note, sometimes handwritten, and that's just.
It makes it more special and you feel much more of a connection with that but with that seller and I think it's just so lovely to get one of those things in the post. It stands out, makes you stand out as a buyer from the competitors too. You know you're going to get more loyalty from somebody if they'd already started feeling that trust and connection with you If you've made that little extra step to delighting your customer.
Some never bother with personal touches and it's a real shame and I think a lot more people should be doing that because you want to be making more connection with your audience and with your customers and it's much easier to promote and sell your products to somebody who's already a customer than it is to try and find new customers. So just keep that in mind.
Kaylie Edwards:
Now let's dive into some practical and cost-effective marketing strategies that have worked for us and worked for other people. Here are five that I found invaluable. I'll start off with the first, because everybody knows it social media marketing.
While I don't want to emphasise it as the only strategy out there, as you can totally market your business offline with other strategies, but it's also a great way to gain visibility, to start off with Using platforms like Instagram, facebook, pinterest or TikTok and whichever other ones come along, where you can tell your story and connect with your audience in short bites.
But it's important to pair social media with other strategies for sustainability and I know that there's a big thing about the reach on social media platforms and it is a big big thing. You know, if you're not paying, it's very difficult to get in front of people.
It's hard for your posts to show up in your followers feed, but it is much easier to show up in people's feeds that you've not actually come across before, so it is still worth doing. Other strategies you can use along with social media, which I highly recommend is obviously email marketing.
Kaylie Edwards:
Getting people from social media marketing platforms to your email list is crucial to get a business off the ground and making sales and getting in front of people and connecting with them. I use um mailer light on the free plan to build and nurture my audience.
This has been essential for keeping my followers up to date on new products, what's going on in the business and what's just going on in the background, because obviously they don't know. And I still have the free plan. But I'm now moving away from that because I've got a new website, um, on a different platform, and it comes with marketing, email marketing features and all sorts of features that I'm working on, but I'm still doing email marketing.
That's always going to be a thing that I'm going to be doing and I highly recommend everybody to be doing that. Even if you haven't got a product yet, get your email list set up at least, because at least then, when you start getting those customers in, when you do have something to sell, you have someone to market to and you also have someone to talk to about it and get feedback from.
Kaylie Edwards:
So another way to pair social media and email marketing is with content marketing. So this works hand in hand. It gives you more ideas for posting and also gives you more ideas for your emails as well. With content marketing, I never got around to actually starting a blog for my handmade candle business, but I'm now launching a blog for my current venture.
It's a fantastic way to provide value and attract potential customers, and my blog will also have our podcast episodes provided there, with the transcripts and show notes for any new people who come to my website so that they can get to know us.
I can then drive traffic aka more people and more eyes from social media to go and listen to our podcast episodes on my blog, then hopefully get them onto my email list as well, if they want to hear more episodes, where later on I can then promote products and services that will help them with their creative business and marketing.
Kaylie Edwards:
This then becomes a funnel. This is how all the strategies intertwine and all lead to one goal, which is obviously getting people to buy your products and services. This is how you funnel people through.
That's what we call in the marketing world is a funnel. So you're basically taking someone who's never heard of you before and then bringing them through a journey to then buy from you.
The end goal and it's the little steps along the way that helps do that so you'd get them from social media or other places then nurture them with content so they start to see you as an authority, start to trust you, get to know you and through, obviously, your emails. That's part of the content marketing strategy, and then you go into promoting Another strategy you can also use, which is is traditional, and also you can do it online, which is local networking.
Kaylie Edwards:
You can also do online networking. I didn't meet many local artists at craft fairs I attended during my candle business days because of Covid, because a lot of my events got cancelled after I'd already signed up for them, so those opportunities never turned into collaborations or partnerships, which was a real shame. I'm currently networking now and that's just doing wonders for my business. I'm starting to build connections with people.
I have collaborations in the works, I have potential collaborations gonna be happening as well, and I'm really excited about that. We just need to find a schedule sometimes that works for both people. Obviously, time zones can be an issue sometimes with people, but you just work it out and you can build so many more connections with people and find audiences that you can relate to.
I also plan to attend art and craft workshops as they come up locally when it aligns with someone who can look after my son for that time. If they can do it through my playgroup day playgroup hours when he's away, that will be even better, but that is something I want to do. I want to attend more events locally to get to know more artists in my local area, whether that's for collaboration or even in the future, if they may buy from me, it all leads to one place that leads me into collaborations.
Kaylie Edwards:
Partnering with other creatives has opened doors for me. My first collaboration with Delores in her student coaching group was a key point in my business. Furthermore, we collaborate and partner on more of our ideas, like this podcast, for instance, which I'm loving creating right now, and there's just so many collaboration opportunities. It helps both parties. Delores, what's been your experience with collaboration so far? How do you see them benefiting your marketing strategy?
Delores Naskrent:
Well, thanks so much for sharing those fantastic strategies, kaylee. I truly resonate with the power of collaboration, because it's been a game changer for me too. In the past, I was a bit hesitant to lean into partnerships, but since starting my blog and coaching groups and now this podcast with you, I've seen firsthand how helpful these connections can be in building our businesses, because we can build both of our businesses at the same time.
Another example would be working with Stacey Bloomfield on affiliate marketing, and that's been incredibly rewarding for me. Not only has she provided ongoing support, but that collaboration has opened up new avenues for my audience too. It's just so inspiring to see how we can uplift each other in our professional journeys. In the professional group I talk about of women that I'm a part of, we share ideas about how to help one another, and it's led to some collaborations that benefit all of our goals so much.
Delores Naskrent:
Just the other day, I was chatting with some of the members about how we could combine our strengths to create something unique and, like you mentioned the podcast, it's also just such a beautiful manifestation of our collaboration.
You bring so much insight and creativity to the table in areas where I've realized I could grow more, and that's been super helpful. And that kind of synergy not only enhances our marketing strategies, but it enriches our experiences that we then offer to our audience, experiences that we then offer to our audience.
So this was really such a great idea, kaylee. I love the response we're getting to. It's been really, really, really heartwarming to have our people that we are in communities with getting so much out of this podcast.
Delores Naskrent:
Overall, honestly, embracing collaboration has empowered me to expand my reach in so many ways that I had never imagined. I genuinely believe that we come together and combine our talents so that we can create something truly special that benefits everybody involved, something truly special that benefits everybody involved.
So I'm I'm super excited about this journey and I love where it's taken us and I just can't wait to see what else we're going to accomplish together. You know how do you feel about that, Kaylie. I mean, what do you think is the most valuable aspect of our collaboration?
Kaylie Edwards:
it's just been a brilliant just. It was the best decision that I've ever made. Um, personally and professionally, I absolutely love the new podcasting journey with you, my partner in crime, my friend, client and sounding board. Um. The past year of knowing you and working with you has been incredible.
Your knowledge and experience in the creative industry never ceases to amaze me. I learn so much from you as you do from me in areas where you are still learning.
I think the most valuable aspect of our collaboration has to be that we work things out together and utilize each other's strengths to find a way to make it work and come up with new ideas and challenge one another, even if sometimes we may go off on a tangent with some of our ideas for a while, but we always bring each other back eventually.
Kaylie Edwards:
Now let's talk about some budget-friendly tools and software that can help you run and market your creative business. Let's talk about these tools. Canva, if you haven't heard of it, it's a fabulous little software that you can use. I started with the free version and I'm now on pro. Didn't last long on the free version. I just wanted straight to be on pro because I just loved it so much.
Kaylie Edwards:
It's fantastic for creating stunning graphics and even smaller product designs. I use it almost daily for all sorts of graphics making printables, digital products, my course slides. You can even edit videos in there, which I found not long ago. And did you know that canva recently acquired affinity designer? This opens so many amazing opportunities for creatives like us.
That leads me on to another cost-effective tool for the likes of digital artists, illustrators, designers and even the design software enthusiasts and hobbyists out there, which is Affinity Designer. This tool is incredible for those who want a one-time payment instead of a subscription model like Adobe.
Yes, yes, I still have Photoshop and I am struggling to let it go, even though I don't use it anymore. I have, I have Affinity Designer as well, and I'm just scratching the surface of its capabilities. It's just amazing, Delores. Since you teach Affinity Designer, what do you love most about it?
Delores Naskrent:
Well, I gotta tell you about my obsession with affinity designer. Kaylee, you are already know this, but seriously, I can't stop raving about it. It has really become my go-to software lately, and for good reason. One of the coolest things that I love about it is that I can use the pixel persona right right alongside the Vector Tools, all in the same document.
So if you're in my world and if you are an Illustrator or Photoshop user, imagine if those two programs were put together. And that's what Affinity Designer is for me, and it's like having the best of both worlds. Honestly, just it's so just freeing. I love it.
Delores Naskrent:
Before I stumbled upon it, I was constantly balancing between programs like procreate and illustrator, so I was hopping back and forth, working usually with two or three different softwares at the same time, and let me tell you, juggling all of it could be a real hassle. I have really changed my workflow so that I'm more often wanting to work on my iPad when I'm illustrating or creating repeat patterns anything like super creative. So what I love about Affinity Designer is it's on the iPad. I mean, there is a desktop version.
The desktop version is great as well, but for me, the fact that it's on the iPad is everything, and I love it because it's all in one place. It feels like a game changer because it really just streamlines my workflow. So instead of having to flip between two programs, I can be doing almost everything right there, right in Affinity Designer.
I've gotten to the point in my Affinity Designer training and journey that I have really learned the program super thoroughly so I now can do things like create templates that use repeat symbols in them and I know it's a lot to just try to explain visually, but just know that what it means is that I can spend way more time being creative, whipping up beautiful art, and less time drowning in the nitty-gritty design details or details of the design. That's what it's all about, right, like I mean, for me.
Delores Naskrent:
What do you think, kaylee? I mean, I really think that it's. That's the thing about Affinity Designer is that it just makes me work faster, which makes it seem so much easier, and it makes me just so much more excited about diving into those.
Really, what would normally be a complex job, I can do it now in Affinity Designer so much more easily. And you know what's so exciting too and you've heard of this, you and I talked, talked about this is that Canva is actually the owner of Affinity Designer now, and that's really fantastic too.
Delores Naskrent:
I don't know exactly what's going to happen, but I'm really excited and pumped because I've been using Canva for about a year now too, and I have to say it's incredibly fast and user-friendly.
So I just like you, I'm finding like I'm hardly using my Adobe products right now, so I'm really undecided about whether I want to keep paying for that expensive subscription when I can do so much with Canva and Affinity Designer instead.
I just I don't know, I mean with both of those. I just feel like the interface itself is just so intuitive, and I really believe that mixing Canva and Affinity Designer is going to revolutionize the design game for everybody. So we're just we're lucky that we're both into it already and now it's really happening.
Delores Naskrent:
So I'm excited. I think they're both such effective programs on their own, but together it's going to be just crazy. They're going to make creating stunning designs so accessible to so many more people. It's just such an exciting time right now for creators, don't you think?
There's just this vibe, this vibe in the air that something amazing is happening in the design world, and I personally can't wait to see what comes next yeah, I can't wait to see it happen.
Kaylie Edwards:
I I know there's quite a few people that have like worried about it, thinking that oh no, it's, it's gonna then be a paid subscription or like adobe, and I think, well, no, because they've. They've already said they're not going to do that. Infinity designer and canva have also said when they acquired them that it isn't going to happen, that there's going to be an exciting future.
They're trying to keep it accessible for for people. You know they're into giving free software for schools and for other communities non-profits, you know and I think that's a company. They're companies I can get behind because, obviously, when I first started out, I didn't have the money to be spending on big design softwares.
Yes, I started off with Photoshop, but I literally just had Photoshop. That's all I could pay for at the time. And then, when canva came along and I could do, yes, it can still be a pain in the arse and there are some things in canva I get a bit annoyed about because it's not exactly like photoshop with the layers and stuff and things disappear or you.
It's tricky sometimes. But I absolutely love Canva because it's so much quicker to do things and you can create things beautifully without little effort.
I've done graphic design, and using Canva is just so simple. When I need a quick edit, like if I need a new graphic for an email, it takes me like two minutes to do it in Canva, whereas it'd probably take me like 20 minutes rearranging everything in Photoshop. But yeah, that's just one of those things, isn't it? I can't wait to just see what happens with these two and I'm yeah, I love being on the forefront of these new things.
Kaylie Edwards:
Probably helps that I was kind of brought up in the digital age as well, so other tools and software I use to help me run and plan my business is the likes of ClickUp. I started with Asana on the free plan and then, when they took all those pro features away, I was quite upset because I'd already uploaded all my projects into it.
So, yeah, I ended up settling on ClickUp for my project management. It helps me stay organized and collaborate with others easily. I can just send a link to somebody and they can get access to my board and away. We go and add tasks and things and follow tasks and put comments on them. It's brilliant, but I'm still learning and finding new ways to use it.
One of my favourite ways to keep track of all my learning, like my courses and resources links. All my business links and business information is in one place on a board, which I know will be even more handy when I bring someone onto my team one day, because they will be able to find everything there. And that's kind of what I'm using ClickUp most at the moment for not just projects, but keeping all my links and everything saved in one place.
Kaylie Edwards:
Another one I use is Trello for tasks. For my tasks, I use the free plan. It's great for planning out my projects with my checklists, and I love Trello because it's visually appealing, whereas ClickUp is a bit boring, which annoys me, my creative brain I think I can get quite bored easily. We're just looking at white, white space. So, yeah, trello is a little bit of visual appealingness for my brain and I've got it set as my browser.
Kaylie Edwards:
If I open up a new tab, it comes up with my daily to-do list. It's very bright and flamboyant and it catches my eye and I'm like, oh, yeah, okay, okay, that's the next task I need to be working on. It's just one of my favorite ways to keep track of all my tasks and another way to create checklists for specific areas in your business that I came across this year was actually creating checklists in google sheets, which I'd never heard of before. I did not know that you could do it.
Basically, it's Excel file, isn't it, and I didn't know you could create checklists in Google Sheets. It was so fun to play around with when I found this out, that somebody had already started making products of basically just checklists in Google Sheets. It was awesome to find and I've been playing around with that and, yeah, I've already already created some products which have google google checklist sheets, which is fabulous. I can tick things off and follow it along.
Kaylie Edwards:
Um, and that leads me also on to google suite. So these tools obviously are fantastic because they're free. It's like microsoft office apps, basically word document, isn't it? Um, okay, they make sharing information so easy and just designing things or putting content in them, like I do my slides and stuff sometimes in what they call google slides.
I draft content in word docs within google and move it across to canva when I'm designing it, which saves me so much time, because obviously that's another pet peeve of me with canva is sometimes I go to add things into a workbook that I'm creating in Canva and it moves, trying to resize everything as I'm copying and pasting it in, so it's just easier to just put it in a Google doc and then I move it across when I'm designing. Delores, what tools have you found helpful in your marketing efforts?
Delores Naskrent:
Well, you, of course, just kidding, though I do appreciate all the help. Honestly, one of the biggest game changes for me was bringing on an expert in online advertising.
Organized is absolutely key. I mean, where would we be without the organization? It may sound surprising, but when you hire someone to help, you often end up doing even more work, especially with graphic design, so I've really had to step up my game in creating visuals and planning how everything looks.
Delores Naskrent:
My two assistants that I have right now are golden. I mean, I can't even imagine staying on track without them, but I have to stay organized myself, too, so I I love the idea of all the things that you were talking about. In fact, I'm going to check out Trello because it sounds really pretty.
I want pretty, but I've been relying really heavily on Airtable to manage my projects and you know it's it's included working on or working with all of those who help in my business, so it's a great tool for me to keep everything in one place. We've used shared documents and collaboration tools, and that makes sure that everyone is in sync, so, no matter where they are or what time zone they're in, we can still keep tabs on each other and what, what has gotten done, what needs to be done.
Delores Naskrent:
So, between air table and google sheets, those are the two main things I think that I use to stay organized and, of course, my sticky notes that I have all over the place. But being organized is really critical for me.
You know, even I laugh about the sticky notes. But using the right software actually helps me work much more quickly and more efficiently, and I like right now that I'm saving a lot of standard operating procedures in those Google Docs. So I think when my business grows more, I think it'll make it really a lot easier to get whoever I'm hiring on the same page as me.
So I definitely agree with you there, when it comes to working with a team, that you need that kind of organization system set up well before. So you know, start right away, start now, before you're building your business. Get that organized so that you know how your stuff is organized before you try to get somebody else on board to help you.
Kaylie Edwards:
It makes things run so much more smoothly and I know for myself it's really made my marketing efforts truly take off yes, like organization especially when you're getting a team in is vital, obviously, so the listeners some of you won't have even started yet but it's also good to keep in your back of your mind is how you're starting to do processes in your business.
As you start to do them like what, the steps you need to take, what do you need to do? Like even if you're just uploading your product to etsy or to your shop on your website, what are the steps that you go through each time?
How can you be more efficient with it? How can you? Maybe is there steps that you can cut out or that you need to add in that will make it easier for somebody who you may bring on as an assistant.
Kaylie Edwards:
It's always good to keep that in your back of your mind, like I didn't do that when I first started, and it makes it so much difficult when someone actually comes into your business and starts seeing things. Obviously, when I start work, when I started working with clients like Delores, obviously then I needed to be way more organized and figure out processes so both of us could be on the same page. You know what we were both working on.
We need to know what we're doing and when, and I will put my hand up to this, like I'm still learning some of it. I'm not a particularly natural person when it comes to organization and I still struggle with it. Um, you know, I go.
Sometimes I go days without actually looking at my tasks, but that's mostly because it's in my head, and sometimes I'll just go off of what's in my head and then I'll come back to it, because if I'm working on just one project, You're still young, so you can still do that.
Delores Naskrent:
I can't rely on mine at all.
Kaylie Edwards:
Saying that my mind has got so much worse since having my son, it's probably because you've got so much more to do like responsibility, wisewise, like you've got another little person you've got to do things for and remember things for, like today.
He wasn't in playgroup today and even though I knew, because I was like I get an extra half an hour in bed, it's fine, I know, I remember that, but his playgroup staff were reminding me the day before do you remember?
We're not in tomorrow it's a staff day. And I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I remember, because it's an extra half an hour in bed. But it's like keeping organized is crucial and, like I'm saying, like with team members you may be bringing in is another thing to always keep in the back of your mind.
Even if you may not plan to have team members ever, you still want to keep your processes somewhere that you can always go back to if you need to.
Kaylie Edwards:
Collaborations can significantly expand your reach. My first partnership with Delores was a pivotal moment in my business. It taught me the immense value of working together and leveraging each other's strengths and, obviously, where one of our weaknesses may fall short, we build each other up and help each other and support each other.
So since then I've had a mix of successful and not so successful collaborations, some that even didn't even go ahead, that were supposed to happen, but each taught me valuable lessons.
Kaylie Edwards:
I look to mentors like Ken Solomon, sage Grayson, who utilize collaborations effectively for their businesses and they don't do so much social media. They they do a lot of their marketing through collaborations and it is very effective. They've got huge email lists and bringing in daily sales.
So you can collaborate on podcasts, on workshops or even create product bundles with other creatives or closely related businesses, which can be incredibly beneficial for you. Just make sure it's an even exchange of energy on both sides or you are both getting something of value from the collaboration. Don't go into a collaboration where you're the one doing all the work or the other person is the one doing all the work and you're just sitting on the sidelines.
Don't do that. Make sure you are giving value and that you're also receiving value from that collaboration. Delores, what are your thoughts on collaborations?
Delores Naskrent:
I know we've touched on this already, but this is such a super important thing it really is, and I I love talking about collaboration, so it's it is bound to come up more often than than not with you and I, I think, because working with others has really opened up so many doors for me, and it's amazing how much we can achieve when we join forces and share our talents. I recently did a summit where I really wasn't part of that particular world when it came to.
This was for LaserCraft Fest, and I'm not really part of the laser craft industry and yet I have a specialty and that's teaching affinity designers. So that was a really amazing thing to do was to join forces with these other women and present a little class and some free product, and this was kind of one of the first times I'd done it, so I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but it really came together and I got a lot of value out of it.
I got a lot of new students and a lot of people added to my mailing list, so there were great benefits involved.
Delores Naskrent:
I find also that those collaborations like that one in particular really energized me and it helped me to stay focused. I really genuinely want to add value for the other people too, so I really put a lot into it.
I worked hard on creating two lessons, two classes and a lot of digital downloads, and I think that you know it in the end was 100% worth it. I highly encourage it.
So if you have the opportunity or you can seek them out somehow, definitely grab hold of that kind of a collaboration, because it can be very, very, very what's the word for it Lucrative. Joining groups, or even getting a coach, can really help you to grow too. So, you know, think about it, not necessarily just as a team, but as an individual. There's so much that we can learn from each other, so I just think that why not reach out and connect with other people?
Kaylie Edwards:
like, obviously, that's such a big part of our world and like, yes, you might just be starting out and thinking, but I'm just like this little artist or like this, I know somebody who's doing pottery or something and you've just started. You think, well, how could collaborations work for me? I don't know anybody. Go out and find them.
Go out, find somebody who has a similar business to you or has a similar audience to you and see how you can collaborate together. Can you do a giveaway, um, on social media? Can you do a joint workshop or anything like that. You know you can find ways to collaborate with people and it can help both parties.
Obviously, don't go and seek out somebody who's got like millions of followers or something like that, but find somebody that's kind of on par with you, who's on pretty much the same journey as you. Lastly, let's talk about mindset a little bit. We did talk about this in episode seven, um, so go back to that episode if you haven't heard it.
Kaylie Edwards:
But selling your work can bring up fears, and fears of judgement, fear of being seen. I've struggled with imposter syndrome, worrying and questioning if my designs were good enough or if anyone would buy them, fear of negative or hateful comments.
You know I've had them and it can be so discouraging and can crush you your soul if you let it, but it's. All I can say is that you really need to think of the positives that are coming out of it and look at what your drive is for it, for your business, what do you want to get out of it?
But adopting a growth mindset has helped me navigate these challenges, especially during my difficult pregnancy and my pivots. If I hadn't embraced that mindset, I might have given up on my dreams. Delores, how have you dealt with fear surrounding marketing and selling your work?
Delores Naskrent:
surrounding marketing and selling your work. Well, here's the secret just adopt a growth mindset, and that could be a game changer. Really, it's about seeing the challenges as opportunities to learn and grow. When I was fighting cancer, I kept working and reminded myself to stay positive because I was like laser focused on my goals.
That helped me to connect with incredible mentors along the way, and taking a bunch of classes and working with these mentors really took my mind off the scariness. So I think that's something I would recommend is just dig in and do something else.
Like if it feels awful and you're having just a bad day, like that, dig into something that just is going to energize you.
Delores Naskrent:
I know that if I'm feeling anxious about marketing my work, I just remember it's perfectly okay to have those feelings. It's, it's part of the journey. I mean I'm going through that right now.
We're working really hard on some stuff that we have coming up and it's really easy to get discouraged and exhausted. But I think that you know if I can be of any help to anybody out there listening. I want you to embrace that growth mindset and view every little setback that you have as a stepping stone to success. I know you can do it. You've got this.
Kaylie Edwards:
Yes, it's so normal to feel uncertain, but the most successful creatives push through those fears. If you want to dive deeper into mindset strategies, I'll link my visibility toolkit for creatives in the show notes. It comes with a five-day challenge to help you set, step out of your comfort zone and get visible with your business and products.
It's ideal for anybody who's starting out or anybody who has already started their business but feels a little bit stuck and isn't getting the growth that they wanted. So please check that out. It'll be in the show notes the link to that.
To wrap up, marketing your creative business on a budget is entirely possible and very rewarding. By utilizing effective strategies, tools and collaborations, you can reach your audience without overspending and I know it's easy to overspend. I still do that sometimes myself.
Delores Naskrent:
Thanks so much, everyone for joining us today on the Creative Juggle Joy podcast and Kaylie, I am going to check out that toolkit. It sounds great and it's something I know I could use right now if you found this episode helpful.
Kaylie Edwards:
We'd love it if you'd leave a review or share it with a friend who might also benefit from our episodes. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode until next time. Keep creating, keep juggling and, most importantly, keep finding joy in the process. Remember there's joy in the journey, even on the craziest days.