Dec 13, 2016
Life is messy and so is running a business. You don’t always get the perfect mix of the two that you are hoping for, but you make it work and find what works for you along the way. We are still trying to find the right “balance” and how all the pieces perfectly fit together. Today, we are sharing a few more of those personal details and what we have done to “make it all work” for us.
Have you ever heard that admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery? For us, admitting that things won’t always be perfect was the first step to acceptance and moving forward. We have always had a lot going on. Our business life together has been an incredible, rollercoaster of a journey with some serious ups and downs related to both our business and personal lives.
We’ve both had major life changes happening at the same time as major business decisions and have had a lot of stress we’ve dealt with along the way. Some of the major life and business happenings we’ve experience along the way have included the following:
- I got married the same week Rachel and I signed on our LLC
- Our first week of business Rachel told me she was pregnant (with baby #2)
- Rachel bought a house as we were talking about finding our first employees and intern
- We signed on our new property the same week I bought a new house.
- Rachel returned from maternity leave the week our first intern and multiple new contractors started
Looking back we’ve been through some crazy times together but we’ve made it all work by working together. We are in this together every step of the way. Our business decisions impact both of our personal lives. We don’t have jobs we can leave at the door and have dealt with a lot of stress associated with our business life together and the decisions we’ve made.
In the episode, we talked through some of the ways we’ve coped with everything that has come our way over our past few years together:
- HONESTY! Being 100% real with each other has been a game changer. We talk about basically everything and are upfront so we can handle any and all issues as they come our way.
- Relying on each other. We can ask each other for help and understand that things come up in life and we need each other.
- Taking time to spend with just our families. Creating time to put away the electronics, leave the email alone, and establish time with just our loved ones has been essential. We create boundaries between work and life so that we can be our best in both.
- Establishing and living for our values. A year ago, we sat down to have a serious conversation about WHY we are doing exactly what we are doing so that we can continue our business in a sustainable way that makes sense for what we want to do.
- Outsourcing things we need but do not enjoy doing so we don’t resent what we are spending our limited time and resources on.
- Deciding when enough is enough. Know when you are taking on too much for yourself personally and when you need to take a step back.
- Knowing what success means for each of us in our business and personal life and understanding that growth does not define success. It’s ok to say no or to revise as you go.
- Letting down barriers. I am not perfect. Letting other people see that we are not perfect has been so beneficial for EVERYONE and has allowed us to work better as a team.
- Taking guilt-free time away from work and supporting each other in taking that personal time!
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again; take the time to find what works for you.
Until next time,
Katey & Rachel
Dec 6, 2016
It’s been a strange and hectic couple weeks around the office. With everything already going on around the holidays, we decided to throw in a couple extra events and then had a few other big things pop up.
These couple weeks have really made us realize just how much our business has grown and how far we’ve come over the past few years. In keeping with that theme, we want to talk about the pros and cons we’ve experienced in growing our business and what growing our team has meant for us, personally.
Rachel and I both started in business as sole proprietors. In the early days, we only had to worry about ourselves. All of our expenses, scheduling, profits, etc., were ours to handle however we saw fit. Those are now all joint decisions and shared responsibilities. We’ve learned so much about ourselves, our values, and what we need to put into and get out of our business in order to make it work for us as we’ve grown.
Growing your business, your team, and your space can seem like “the dream” when you look at the pretty pictures other business owners post on instagram, but there are a lot of unpleasant details just outside the border of that perfect image. In today’s episode, we share both the pros and cons of our past lives as sole proprietors as well as the pros and cons of our current partnership with a team of 10. Here are a few of the highlights.
As a sole proprietor working alone:
- You get to do everything yourself but you also HAVE to do it all yourself. You get to see all of your clients yourself and have the joy of any business related tasks you enjoy, BUT you also have all of the tasks you may not enjoy or might struggle with.
- You choose where you want to be, with whom, and when. You’re the boss and you are only in charge of yourself but you also have to be accountable, organized, and responsible for every bit of your livelihood and there is no one to share the load or lend a hand.
- There are fewer expenses usually, but you have to shoulder all of them.
- All of the profits are yours! BUT you have to make sure you’re paying your own taxes and dealing with your own expenses and accounting.
In a partnership and with a team:
- You have a team full of awesome people to share your day but to a certain degree you are accountable for them.
- Growing your team and opening a physical location can lead to serving a larger portion of your community but that comes with more expenses and responsibilities.
- You can provide fewer direct services personally, but may have more business related tasks to take care of your team and will be paying others to provide the direct services you were providing.
- Having a brick and mortar business is such a cool experience! It has saved on travel, allowed me to learn so much, and is what I consider one of my biggest personal achievements BUT there are so many things we never thought would be an issue or ever gave a single thought to before opening our doors.
There are so many conversations Rachel and I have had over the past two years that we never thought would come up, but the most important topic we’ve covered regards our values. Finding what you value in your business and personal life is the most important thing to consider when working to find the next step in you business.
Find the why behind your decisions and make your most important choices based on what YOU need.
Until next time,
Katey & Rachel
Nov 28, 2016
Our clients shape our business; they are the reason why we do exactly what we do. We’ve talked in the past about defining your business and what sets you apart, but one component that is just as vital, is figuring out who specifically you want buying your product or engaging in your services. Creating an avatar for your ideal client and having a business filled with the right clients can help inform your large decisions, find appropriate marketing strategies, and articulate what you want to see in future development.
The first step we recommend is identifying where you are providing services or products to for your clients so you can then determine who you are looking for and where to find them. Is your business online or in-person? Do you have a physical product, a service, or an online product? Knowing what YOU do will help you determine what else you need to know about your client. Our free online course will help walk you through a series of questions to help you determine your business identity if this is something you are still struggling with.
The next step we recommend is identifying your red flags and ideal traits. What kind of clients do you know, for a fact, you DO and DO NOT want. We listed a couple of our red flags in this episode along with some of the questions we ask ourselves and things we keep in mind when looking for our ideal customer:
- Red Flags
- Lack of response or respect of time
- Missing appointments or trying to reschedule at the last minute
- An unwillingness to be flexible
- Pushback on policies we have carefully crafted.
- Refusal to communicate via email or file forms online
- Issues with payment
- Things to keep in mind & Questions to ask
- You do not have to say YES to everyone willing to pay for your services
- You may not be the right fit for that person
- What does the client need? Are they looking for a service that isn’t your speciality. If so, it’s ok to refer!
- Is this a client you want talking about your business? If not, they may not be the customer you want.
- Do they understand your product or services?
- How do you feel about your initial contact with your client?
- Trust your gut. You know what’s best for you and for your product, service, and team. Create your ideal vision for your client and stick with it.
- You can always revise your vision as you go.
Determine what you want to be doing and with whom so that you can continue to do your best work every day without risking serious burn out. Take care of yourself in your business every day by making the decisions that work for you.
Until next time,
Katey & Rachel
Nov 8, 2016
How is it already November?!?! This year has been flying by! This week Rachel and I are headed to our National Music Therapy Conference in Sandusky, Ohio, where we will have a booth in the exhibit hall for the first time together! I LOVE going to conferences! It is a time to be around like-minded, incredibly talented people who inspire me to do be better every day. I always come home from a conference feeling excited, mentally refreshed, and usually physically exhausted from all of the awesome sessions, conversations, and time spent with friends.
With travel plans and events, this is not only a busy time of year for our business but we are also moving into a holiday season and have had a lot going on personally. That all adds up very quickly and can start to feel like a huge burden. In this week’s episode we shared a few of the ways we stay grounded, focused, and on the right path throughout this crazy time. Here are a couple of the things we mentioned during our Tuesday chat:
- Find a friend and vent. Letting the craziness that surrounds you build up is never a good thing. Often, just letting it go, venting, journaling, phoning a friend, or having a good cry can be the most beneficial thing for everyone. I know that I always feel better if I can simply talk it out.
- SLEEP!! I know it’s tempting to stay up until all hours of the night working on whatever amazing project you have started or simply trying to play catch up, but I can promise that a good night of sleep will help be more productive, pleasant, and peaceful the next day.
- Most things can wait. Making mile long to-do lists is a bad habit that I am trying to break. Prioritize what you need to do instead of what you would like to see yourself accomplish. Pick the one, singular thing that absolutely HAS to get done and let the rest wait or delegate it to someone else if at all possible.
- Be Thankful! It’s so easy to get caught up in the business and forget why you are doing what you are doing and with whom. Stop and take a minute to realize how wonderful things really are and be grateful for the incredible things you have been able to accomplish.
Until next time, enjoy the beautiful season and make time to spend with the people you love most.
-Katey & Rachel
Nov 1, 2016
In this week’s episode of the Creative Business Breakdown, Rachel and I talk about the importance of educating your community in whatever way makes the most sense for you. We share some of our favorite tips for reaching your target audience and leaving an impact on whoever you are talking to.
Educating doesn’t have to be a formal event or scripted process. Spreading the word about your business or product can be as simple as starting a conversation with your cashier. Most of our influential conversations take place outside of the board room or classroom setting. Very rarely will you find us making a structured sales pitch or formal presentation about our services. Most of our marketing and education happens within everyday conversation with all of the people we meet along the way. We never know who could be a potential client, so being prepared to talk to anyone and everyone is on the top of our list of tips for educating our community.
When you encounter situations where you can share your story and provide a little insight, keep in mind these few things we shared in the podcast this week:
- Stay off your soap box – Nobody wants a lecture. Unless you are a professor or making a formal presentation, keep it conversational. Instead of professing your message to your audience, get to know them and make the education piece specific by asking questions and finding your in. Ask the questions that can make it personal.
- Keep it simple and limit your talking points. What are the few basic things that someone needs to know about you or your business? What information is going to keep them interested or grab their attention. Limit yourself to the bare basics so you can get the important things across when you are pressed for time but know where you can go next and what details you want to share in longer conversations.
- Practice your elevator speech – Ask everyone you know to ask you questions about your venture so that you can work out exactly what you want to say, how you want to say it, and without using too much jargon. Challenge yourself, can you limit your main talking points to 20 seconds?? What if you only had an elevator ride to share as much as possible?
- Leave them wanting more – You don’t have to share all your business details in one visit. Encourage whoever you are speaking with to follow up the conversation or seek out more information. Leave them wanting to learn more about you and your business.
- Have your resources ready – When encouraging that continued dialogue, be sure to have your resources at the ready so you can direct people where to find you and ask their questions. Keep your business cards stocked, your website up and running, and your mental list of additional resources ready to go.
- Make the effort to make connections – Put yourself out there and be approachable. A warm smile and a listening ear can go a long way.
If you are ever met with resistance or hostility, just keep doing your best work. Not everyone may be ready to hear what you have to say in that moment. Remember that someone may simply be having a bad day or may need a rain check and that’s ok!
Until next time, smile and keep being your awesome self!
-Katey & Rachel
Oct 25, 2016
Episode 3 of the Creative Business Breakdown is all about working to find those things that make your business special and finding what works for you. No two companies are identical and for creative business owners there aren’t any exact blueprints or manuals out there to tell you how to make it all work or how the pieces fit together.
Rachel and I have no formal business training to speak of and have spent a great deal of time over the past few years talking about what sets our business apart and makes us unique so that we can best create the business that works for us.
Our company feels so different from most traditional businesses. Not only do we have an online store that we are constantly creating new products for, we also provide services for individuals in our studio, as well as providing contract services to individuals in the community. There is an additional online educational component for other music therapists and entrepreneurs that we are working also continuing to grow through our blogging, podcasting, and upcoming continuing education opportunities. On top of ALL of that, we are part of the relatively young field of music therapy.
We’ve had to get creative in both the business and service side of things considering that music therapy is an innately creative field and we are creating our own business rule book as we go. We’ve learned a few things along the way that we hope will help you in finding your creative business identity.
- Find what feels good! What story do you want to tell about your business? What makes you happiest? How do you want to present yourself?
- Be true to yourself. You cannot run any business but your own. Make sure that what ever you are doing aligns with your vision for your company and isn’t trying to simply re-create what your see on your instagram feed.
- Talk to every one! Get advice from others but put your own spin on it! Getting an outside perspective can be so helpful in determining what you want or identifying the questions you need to ask yourself.
- Understand that there is a lot of trial and error. We are always open to trying things we like and that we see work for other business owners BUT with the general understanding that if it isn’t the right fit, we can quickly move on to another solution that may work better
- Take what you learn from others and from research, try it out, learn from your mistakes or successes, revise, and move on.
- You have a different product and service than anyone else, even if they are in the same field or selling something very similar. Determine what sets you apart.
Creative entrepreneurs tend to be idea people. Rachel and I get so many wonderful ideas every day that we get so excited about but all while trying not to get carried away. For us, it’s about loving what we do and finding what fits for us. When things fail, we try not to take it to heart and instead either revisit our flops another time or revise what we are working on to make it fit with what we want.
Moving on can sometimes be difficult because we pour so much energy and heart into everything that we do, but understand that self worth is not defined by the success of business. Find what works for you, having the ability to take a step back, and determining your business identity helps to inform everything you do.
Until next time,
-Katey & Rachel
