Transcript 0:00 Hey everyone, my name is Angela Hollowell, and I'm the host of Honey & Hustle. 0:04 On Honey & Hustle, which is a video podcast hosted here on this channel, uh, I talk with a lot of entrepreneurs, founders, startups, nonprofit leaders about what they're doing and how their entrepreneurship journey has grown and evolved over time. 0:17 I specifically focus on entrepreneurs and founders here in North Carolina, but a lot of their stories and lessons can be applied to wherever you are in the world. 0:26 I realize that sometimes while it's easy to turn on a podcast for about 45 minutes w- to an hour or more, and to sit back and listen, it can be hard to kind of consolidate all the lessons into one space. 0:39 So in this video, I really wanna harp on some of the things that you can do to level up your creative business here in 2024. 0:47 A lot of these things are things that I've done in my business, that I've learned from other people, and have implemented and can fully attest to. 0:55 So I'm not just spilling things that I've heard, I'm [laughs] actually sharing things that I know, uh, will definitely move the needle towards profitability, revenue, um, growing your tribe, growing your brand in 2024. 1:09 I have a little list here on my laptop, so if I'm looking away from the camera, I'm sorry, not as much eye contact may happen on this video, but hopefully you can sit back, relax, grab a pen and paper, take some notes, and apply some of the things that you feel are relevant to you and where you are in your journey. 1:25 First on the list is to find a platform that you enjoy, keyword being that you enjoy, and post on it daily. I think sometimes people say, "Well, wow, daily is too much. I don't have time." 1:37 I highly encourage you to make time. [laughs] Sharing your work and your thoughts on the industry or niche that you work in can really attract people to you organically, which is what you want. 1:47 You want as many inbound leads as possible, inbound interests, inbound requests for collaborations rather than you having to go out and pitch cold, email cold, call cold, cold call? I don't know. 1:59 I don't like any of that stuff, so [laughs] that's why I don't know the terminology. But a lot of, uh, inbound leads can really happen organically when you're putting yourself out there. 2:07 Because on some level, you never truly know who's watching, and a lot of people who are watching online or following you online may never talk to you. 2:14 But they'll see the stuff that you're posting, and they'll reach out when the time is right, and that's what you want. 2:19 You want to be top of mind, and the way to stay top of mind is to constantly be in front of their face, whoever they are, the decision-makers that you wanna work with. 2:27 I think that in addition to getting inbound leads, if you're trying to create, you know, a personal brand in addition to this or just create a brand identity, uh, for, you know, your company as a creator, I think that posting every day, you know, you can see what people engage with the most, they can give you feedback, and you can continue to build on some of your more popular posts as you grow and continue to post every day. 2:52 The second one is to create one piece of evergreen content per week. And when I say evergreen, I mean long-form content. That could be a YouTube video, a podcast, or a newsletter. Um, 3:03 I'm not the person to look to for this as I do all three, [laughs] which sounds really crazy, and sometimes it feels crazy. 3:09 But I do think that I definitely noticed a shift when I started Honey & Hustle in my business because I was in front of the camera more, people got to see me, and it also kind of acted as this indirect cosign of my, you know, ability and experience as a creative entrepreneur to be sitting aside people that, you know, people are familiar with and see in the community. 3:32 And so, uh, long-form content really is what sets you apart from your competition. 3:38 There are a lot of, let's say, video creators that are freelancing for brands, but not a lot of people that are creating their own original work, whether that be short films, whether that be educational stuff like this, um, whether that be a podcast or a newsletter, what have you. 3:53 So long-form content, I think having at least one that you can reasonably stick with one a week, uh, is really gonna be a game-changer for you. 4:01 This one may be controversial for our chronically online people, but [laughs] the third one is to go to at least one in-person networking event, whether that be a conference, an industry-specific event, or even just a local event that's in your area. 4:16 I think for me, when I first moved to Durham, a lot of people may know this, a lot of people may not, uh, I went to just about a networking event every night after work for three months straight. 4:26 And that drastically changed my ability to get inbound leads within this area because I had a lot more people in this area connected to me, following me, recommending me, referring me to people. 4:38 And while, yeah, I could grow, maybe do paid ads on social media for this area or whatever my local area is, um, having people that actually know you and can speak to who you are and speak to, you know, your ability to perform is really gonna be a game-changer when it comes to, uh, referring someone in word of mouth. 4:59 Which is, again, part of what you want. You want as much organic inbound leads as possible. Back to online. So the online version of this would be to connect with at least one new person virtually or in person each week. 5:12 So if you go to a networking event, try to have at least one person that you wanna connect with further, talk with further about what they do, and see how that connection can be mutually beneficial for both of you. 5:22 On LinkedIn, that's reaching out to, you know, people in your network or reaching out to people who have liked your content, who have commented on something you posted, and seeing how you can connect with them and collaborate with them. 5:33 I think that sometimes the mistake that we make is building these huge followings that are people that just don't know us, you know? Again, like, there's nothing wrong with building a huge following on social. 5:44 But if that doesn't convert to people who are raving fans, who are speaking on your behalf, who are referring you, then what good is it to have followers? 5:53 You know, people that really don't know you or care about what you do and can't speak to you as a person. 5:59 I also think people connect with the intent of trying to sell themselves really often, and I'm really hoping that- Reaching out to people on a regular basis gets you out of that. 6:09 I think that, you know, if you connect with someone on a genuine level, whether you work with them or not, um, is inconsequential, because you may not work with them today, and maybe six months from now, and maybe a year from now, but if that person, you know... 6:22 It's the know, like, and trust factors. 6:23 If you at least know them, and they at least like you, and they trust you to do a good job at whatever it is, then they're either gonna refer you or keep you in mind when they have something that you would be a great fit for. 6:33 So I think it's less about selling, definitely more about connection. Something, this is... 6:38 next one is something that I didn't do at first, but something that I'm super grateful to be in the practice of doing now, which is scheduling quarterly check-ins to document my wins, my challenges, areas I can improve, potential investments for my business, potential opportunities for me and my business, and of course, quarterly taxes. 6:57 Uh [laughs] the last one is obviously not fun. 6:59 But, uh, before all of that, I think it's good to sit down and realize what you have done, what you could be doing better at, and what are some things that you're struggling with that you could reach out to your network and ask for help on. 7:11 And sometimes that sounds like such a, you know, "Oh, yeah, like, of course I, I know what I've done." 7:17 But until you write it down, until you really look at it and really be honest with yourself, I think sometimes it's hard for you to grow and progress if you're not having those difficult conversations with yourself, and giving yourself grace for the things that you have accomplished. 7:31 So it, it's does, has done wonders for me, and I highly recommend it to anyone else. I currently have a Notion doc or database that I do this in, that I track my wins for each quarter. 7:42 And of course, I have QuickBooks and Google Sheets for my finances, so I can send that to my accountant. 7:47 But, uh, just checking in with yourself, giving yourself time to, to grow, to act, to do, and to live, and then come back and kind of reflect, reset, set goals for the next quarter, and making sure that you're moving towards the goals that you have for the year or for, um, the next three years. 8:04 Whatever, you know, your kind of scale of plan is for your business. 8:08 This one, I will be honest that I'm not the greatest at, but I'm getting better now that I work with a lot of different subcontractors, uh, is writing down your systems and processes. 8:18 And that's systems for marketing, sales, updating your website, updating your reel, updating your media kit if you're trying to monetize your brand and audience. Um, 8:30 yeah, just what it takes for you to create a YouTube video, what it takes for you to create a podcast, writing down that system. 8:36 I think for me, not only does it help me communicate that to people that I'm working with, but it also helps me identify areas that can be improved or streamlined, whether that be through tech or through outsourcing certain parts of my processes. 8:50 Um, I think it's just really, really helpful for you as you grow and scale. 8:54 A lot of people start, like I did, as solopreneurs, solo creators, but eventually, hopefully [laughs] you're gonna grow out of that, and you're gonna have people that are helping you achieve your vision along the way. 9:04 And this, to me, has been one of the greatest ways to just save yourself a headache down the line. 9:09 [laughs] This one can mean many different things to many different people, but for me, it's really important to dedicate time to learning more about marketing and sales and business development. 9:19 Uh, I think as a creator, as a naturally curious person, a person who naturally wants to grow in your craft, I don't think I need to tell you to practice your creativity. 9:28 But I do think sometimes, um, what hinders a lot of creators from being successful and being full-time creators is not really understanding the business side of having a creative business, of being a freelancer. 9:41 And so really taking time to learn more about that, and, uh, I feel like it's also, like, there's no point at which you're gonna stop learning this, because it's like a new levels, new devil situation. 9:53 You know, as you grow from maybe zero to 1,000 followers, like, that's a set of learning and marketing. As you grow from 1,000 to 5,000 followers, like, that's a different set. 10:04 Uh, as your services grow from maybe $1,000 for a video to $5,000 a video, that's a different skill set and way of thinking about packaging and pricing. So as you grow, like, you're gonna need different things. 10:17 You're gonna need to know how to successfully reach those new milestones in a way that feels comfortable, in a way that feels right, in a way that doesn't burn you out. 10:25 Um, so I think that in addition to learning at your craft, you have to learn how to market your craft at the level that the services that you're doing are worth. Yeah, and this is useful for a lot of different things. 10:36 For me, you know, I did buy a course very early on, and I'm working on making a course for creative freelancers like you to kind of distill everything that I've learned for people who are trying to make that jump from maybe full-time to... 10:48 or side hustle to full-time. 10:50 And I think that, you know, it's gonna be applicable for a lot of different things, for email, social, affiliate links, brand partnership, and learning how to hire and how to structure your ideal team. 11:00 All of that goes into learning and growing and just being a creator for a long time. 11:06 So I don't know about you guys, but there are times when I do get stuck, when I need a little bit of inspiration, and I've found over time that just trying to keep a swipe file or a place where you can go to look for templates or inspiration can be really helpful in getting you out of those creative ruts a little bit faster. 11:25 And that can be writing, that can be video, um, it can be podcasting. It could be any number of things. Um, I personally keep it simple. 11:33 I use a Notion database for this, and I use the Notion web clipper tool or the Save to Notion feature on my phone. Um, some people use maybe more constructive products like SwipeWell. 11:43 I think Corey Heinz, Corey Haines created that Um, pretty cool product for people that read. Readwise would probably be good for you to keep notes on the things that you're reading. 11:53 I think it's just really helpful to help you get unstuck as quickly as possible, and I think for creators, uh, for people like me who just want to keep that creative wheel going and going [laughs] and going, it can be really, uh, deflating when you feel like, oh man, like, there's something I wanna create. 12:09 I don't know how to go about it. I don't know what that first step is, and sometimes just that zero to one first step is what we need to get going, to get the ball rolling to one to 10, 10 to 100, et cetera, et cetera. 12:20 So keeping that swipe file, super, super important. 12:22 I also keep an unhinged amount of screenshots, [laughs] which is nowhere near as organized as my Notion database, but it helps and it works, and you just have to try to find things that work for you. 12:33 This one's kind of niche, but I do think it's important as we're in an era of podcasting and, uh, podcast interviews being forms of media and press, um, press runs, if you will. 12:46 Um, but I think to document and track your speaking engagements, if you are someone that speaks, if you appear on a podcast, if you appear in a blog, if you appear at a conference or at an event, or if you're just mentioned in any relevant way on social media, I think it's great to log those somewhere. 13:02 Again, I use Notion. I'm sure there are other tools out there. You could honestly start with a Google Doc, which is what I did. Um, just keeping track of those things, um, in case you ever wanna reference them. 13:12 They can be great sources of content. I know people hate that word, content. Um, but keeping track of them. What are some things that worked really well? What are some things that your audience really liked? 13:23 Uh, what are some things that you enjoyed doing that you would wanna do again and repackage and build upon? 13:28 So I think sometimes, again, a lot of it, yes, it's for your own, like, knowledge and awareness of this is what I did. You know, you could put that on your website. 13:37 But it's also for your own growth, too, to see, like, how you've grown. What are some things you enjoy? What are some goals you have with speaking and putting yourself out there? Where do you feel most comfortable? 13:48 You know, how can you package some of your mes- messaging a little bit better for the next time? Uh, just a lot of different things. 13:55 I think speaking, especially even just speaking like this, like on YouTube, is really, really helpful because you, uh, you know, if you're writing your ideas down and then distilling them in a way that you can share, then you're automatically putting yourself in a position to not just teach, but also learn. 14:12 You know, how can I express myself more clearly? How can I distill the things that I've experienced and learned to someone else who may be curious about my journey and how it can help them? 14:21 Documenting the kind words you get is just so, such a good practice, you know? And I don't just mean, like, getting reviews and getting testimonials. Those are great, absolutely. 14:30 But I also mean, like, keeping them in a file for you on, like, a rainy day when you're like, "Ugh, nobody's watching what I'm doing. Nobody's looking at my work. You know, am I even good?" 14:40 Like, there's always that one person that your work has resonated with, and they're probably gonna comment. A lot of people won't. That's okay. 14:48 But people that comment, take the time to respond to an email newsletter, take the time to comment on a YouTube video, take the time to reach out to you about a podcast episode, like, that over time just compounds and it just really adds fuel to the fire on those days that are inevitably going to come where you're like, "Why in the world am I doing this? 15:06 Is somebody forcing me to do this? Like, what is happening? Like, why am I putting myself through this challenging phase of being a creative business owner?" Get out of it. 15:15 Like, the faster you can get out of that, like, negative mindset, the better. And this is definitely one way that's truly helped me and I think will help you as well. 15:23 As an introvert, I know that fellow introverts are gonna cringe when they hear this, but hear me out. Spend time with at least one creative community group as consistently as you're able to. 15:34 Uh, this could be a creative community, industry-specific community, a niche community. It could be online. 15:41 It could be a live, like virtual online live event, uh, where you show up and you talk in the chat and, you know, you engage with the host. Uh, it could be conferences that you go to once a quarter. 15:53 Uh, any number of things. 15:55 I think it's just good to be in community because sometimes the worst thing that can happen is that we can isolate ourselves and make ourselves believe that we're the only ones going through a rough time. 16:04 We're the only ones working through, you know, a certain creative business problem, you know? And when you isolate yourself, you make it, you know, this experience very lonely. 16:14 It gets very easy to feel like, well, there's nobody in my corner. 16:17 There's nobody going through what I'm going through, so I can't talk to anybody about it, and you kind of suffer in silence, and that's the exact opposite of what needs to happen. 16:25 It doesn't mean these groups should be a replacement for a therapist and you're trauma dumping on them [laughs], but it does mean that it's very likely that if you're going through something, somebody else is going through that or has been through that and can help you walk through that in a healthy way, and that's what community is all about, and hopefully you can also return the favor. 16:44 Um, and that's what community is all about. I think you need community. I don't think we get anywhere without community. 16:49 So this is my encouragement to the introverts or to the extroverts who feel like they're too busy or the ambiverts who are trying to find the time. Make the time, even if it's just one time a month. 17:01 You'll be so happy that you did. 17:02 So this last one I think is really imperative, and it's something that I try to practice on a daily basis, which is discover the things that bring you joy, the things you'd like to make more time for, and the things you couldn't care less about. 17:16 If the things that you don't really care to do, that don't bring you joy, that you don't think you're that great at, uh, make a plan for how you're gonna automate, delegate, outsource, or just straight up not do it [laughs] um, because it's just a waste of time on some level. 17:31 Um, you know, if you're fighting through a video edit like me, uh, because you don't necessarily enjoy editing, you just are used to editing, um, and you feel like, uh, you know, you'd rather spend time away from a computer screen to grow the business and let somebody else edit who enjoys editing, make time. 17:48 This is where the tech versus people conversation comes into play because when you're a solopreneur, you don't have as much capital probably to, you know, outsource a lot of things, so finding ways to incorporate tech into your processes is gonna be really helpful. 18:02 Like, if I was still Like early on, if this existed, I probably would have definitely taken advantage of it, and it's AutoPod, which is like a plugin for your editing NLE. I know they have a Premiere Pro plugin. 18:14 I'm not sure if they have one for Final Cut or DaVinci, but using that to edit the podcast and just make that process a whole, whole lot faster 18:22 would have been a game changer for me back in the day, and I think that some people may not think about it because they're like, "Oh man, I got to pay $200 a year." 18:30 Dude, there's no human in the history of ever right now that exists [laughs] that you can pay $200 a year to edit your podcast. Like, that is just the long and short of that. 18:42 So finding ways to, like, extend yourself and buy yourself time to do the things that you enjoy in your business is really important because if it gets to a point where you're not having fun, you're not gonna wanna do it, and fun has to be the critical element in everything that you do as a creative business owner. 18:58 Maybe not everything. There's always gonna be, like, 2% things that you don't enjoy, like taxes, but it's like it makes the blow a little bit softer when you do enjoy 80 to 90% of what you do, right? 19:10 When it starts dipping below, like, 75%, like, you're probably gonna start losing interest in it. You're probably gonna start looking for a job. There's no bad thing about being an in-house creator or in-house marketer. 19:20 Let me just put that out there. 19:21 But there's also a big difference in the time freedom that you have when you're working for yourself versus working for somebody else and the creative freedom that you have to pursue original projects like a YouTube channel, like a podcast, like a newsletter, versus when you're doing that for someone else's brand or company. 19:37 Find ways to keep it fun, and keeping it fun typically means doing the things that you enjoy and not doing the things that you don't enjoy. 19:45 If you want more ideas about how to level up your creative business and you wanna learn from founders, both people that I interview and people that I profile, I write a newsletter called Please Hustle Responsibly, and I would love to have you in the community. 19:58 There's a link in the description for you to check it out and subscribe. Uh, we write twice a week at this point, and we're super excited about the community that we're growing there. 20:07 If you're looking for an even bigger business boost and direct access to me, we have a premium version of the newsletter called Please Hustle Responsibly Plus where you can get all of those things and deeper dives into my creative processes, uh, you know, the tools that I use, how I've been able to grow my LinkedIn to 10,000 followers, how I generate leads from LinkedIn, um, my quarterly retrospectives that I talked about. 20:31 Uh, if you want deep dives into all of those things, that's all available on Please Hustle Responsibly Plus. Love to have you there as well. 20:38 When you subscribe to the YouTube channel, check out the podcast, and subscribe to our newsletter, you are directly supporting the work that we do and create for you guys to learn and grow as creative business owners. 20:49 If you like this video or if you like this podcast episode, I would greatly appreciate a like on YouTube or a rating or review on your, uh, streaming platform of choice, and that's it for me. 21:00 This is my first solo podcast video, so super excited to see how you guys enjoy this, and I will see you guys in the next video. [upbeat music] If you've been getting value from Honey & Hustle, I need a quick favor. 21:15 Would you take 30 seconds right now to leave a review? Reviews help other people discover the show, and honestly, they help me know what's landing with you. 21:24 Whether it's this episode or one from a few months ago that stuck with you, just share what made it worth your time. You can leave a review wherever you're listening right now, and I appreciate it in advance. 21:36 See you in the next episode. [upbeat music]
