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How to avoid outsourcing too soon!

How to avoid outsourcing too soon!

How to avoid outsourcing too soon!

How to avoid outsourcing too soon!

Welcome to the Crystal Clear Podcast where we strive to empower the everyday creative boss to elevate and grow a business that matches your creativity and passion for creating products.

 

Things mentioned in this podcast episode:

Outsourcing is a common and often used tool  in the small business community. Generally, it starts with the need and desire to show up everywhere. In your ambition, you want to do all the things, all the time and in all the right places. Thus begins the pull to hire people to help, so that you don’t burn yourself out.

How do you avoid the spiral into an outright burnout, but also avoid outsourcing too soon?

Continued…

Find your healthy balance! Its going to be a different path for every business owner and every type of business but you can almost always count on finding your balance and feedback by getting some insight from other Creative Business Owners like yourself.

Start by marrying yourself to one source of marketing to get the ball rolling. Then repurpose that; let it grow. Nothing in business happens fast if you don’t already have an established audience. It’s not always desirable but is the best way to keep your budget under control if your income and profit aren’t yet consistent.

At the end of the day don’t rush yourself into thinking outsourcing is the thing you need right now! If you’re in the first few years of business it may not really be an option. Instead, look at one-time projects, collaborations, and one focal point for your marketing until you get the traction and growth.

Need more direction and guidance? I challenge you to join The Creative Boss Society and see if you don’t gain the direction, strategy and step by step guidance to grow your business.

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About Crystal

Corporate America had me at hello for 10 years. And just when I thought I was where I was supposed to be, God changed the narrative and helped me find more time for my husband and two beautiful girls through my own photography business. Now, I live for all things styled photography and serving the business community exclusively through styled imagery and personal brand photography.

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To Niche or Not To Niche, That’s the question!

To Niche or Not To Niche, That’s the question!

To Niche or Not To Niche, That’s the question!

Welcome to the Crystal Clear Podcast where we strive to empower the everyday creative boss to elevate and grow a business that matches your creativity and passion for creating products.

 

Things mentioned in this podcast episode:

 

To niche or not to niche is the question up for debate. So I decided it was time we talked about it. Niching isn’t always what you think. It’s so taboo and it can sometimes feel like it’s impossible to niche your business or even figure out how to niche in the first place. Everyone is afraid of alienating people or potentially turning business away and no one wants that. So let’s talk about the different ways that you can niche so that you AREN’T alienating people or turning away potential business but instead GROWING your business. 

Continued…

Niche by talking to a particular audience. Who do you notice the majority of your audience is? Are you talking to creative bosses? Product-based businesses? Maybe fitness gurus, mom, the knitting community, dog lovers, etc? I think you get my point! Start by knowing who you are talking to and what space they are in. 

Niche by services offered. Maybe you have a broad audience so it’s hard to find a specific audience you are talking to. A different way to niche is by the services you are offering. Photography for example. You can niche in product photography, portrait photography, family photography, brand photography, wedding photography, etc. I could keep going but I think you get the point. Maybe you are a graphic designer who only does social media posts or you offer illustrations for hire. Or maybe a digital product shop. All of these examples are niched by the service that they offer not the audience they are speaking to. 

Niche by industry. This is a similar, but still different, way to niche your audience. When you niche by industry look at who you are serving. Maybe your focus is helping product bosses with their physical products or helping moms of teens. Developing products for teachers or even more specifically offering digital support tools for SLP teachers. 

When you niche down you are essentially just looking to find the person or service you enjoy the most and then speaking to them specifically in order to help grow your business. 

Let’s look at the pros and cons of niching down in business. 

Pros: 

-> Getting really specific on the person you are working with

-> Become and be seen as an expert in your area quicker and more easily

-> Dial in on what problems you can solve

-> Dial in on your offerings and area of expertise

Cons: 

-> You can limit your ability to grow out of or beyond what you are doing

-> You can be so dialed in or niched that you can’t really make a living from it

-> You have to look at your growth as a long game verse a short game because it can sometimes take a bit more time to find your people and have your audience grow

This is just one of the many things I can help you work through inside The Creative Boss Society. Inside of The Creative Boss Society Membership, I help you figure out who your audience is, how to market to them, and how to ultimately convert them to paying customers. Head on over and check it out. Can’t wait to see you on the inside. 

New to business and not sure you are ready to dive into a membership just yet? Check out my freebie vault where I give you resources to get you started. 

 

Like this episode?

Comment, share on Pinterest, or even snap a screenshot and tag me on Instagram! I’d love to hear what you think about props for product photography.

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About Crystal

Corporate America had me at hello for 10 years. And just when I thought I was where I was supposed to be, God changed the narrative and helped me find more time for my husband and two beautiful girls through my own photography business. Now, I live for all things styled photography and serving the business community exclusively through styled imagery and personal brand photography.

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It’s Okay to Outsource Things You Love Doing & Here’s Why!

It’s Okay to Outsource Things You Love Doing & Here’s Why!

It’s Okay to Outsource Things You Love Doing & Here’s Why!

its-okay-to-outsource-things-you-love-photography-product-ecommerce-content

Welcome to the Crystal Clear Podcast where we strive to empower the everyday creative boss to elevate and grow a business that matches your creativity and passion for creating products.

 

Things mentioned in this podcast episode:

 

Do you have a hard time outsourcing the things you LOVE in business? You aren’t alone. Today I want to help you to give yourself permission to outsource the things you love in business in order to free up more of your own time. It can be hard to give up those things you love because it is like handing off your baby. 

But here are a few reasons why it is okay to outsource those things you love. It is natural to be a perfectionist which will oftentimes lead to spending too much time on a project trying to get it just right. You end up spending so much time investing in something that could be hindering your growth. It is also easier to remove yourself from the outcome when you outsource. Sometimes we tend to take things a little too personal when it doesn’t turn out as we envisioned. 

Now, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind when you are beginning to outsource tasks. It is important to nurture the person you are outsourcing things to and remember where you started. They will not do it exactly like you and there may be some mistakes in the beginning but that’s okay. It is a learning process. You have to allow time for error and corrections. Give examples and share HONEST feedback. 

Photography is an easy thing to outsource when you are first looking to outsource something in your business. Many people outsource their photography to me and here are a few reasons why. My process has been perfected to capture the key things you are looking for. I am thorough when creating images and my clients understand that. I also have good communication with those I work with. A good, honest, and trusting relationship is a MUST and that is accomplished through good, open, and efficient communication. 

If you are looking to outsource your photography feel free to send me a DM on Instagram and shoot me an email at info@crystalcreativestudios.com 

Like this episode?

Comment, share on Pinterest, or even snap a screenshot and tag me on Instagram! I’d love to hear what you think about props for product photography.

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About Crystal

Corporate America had me at hello for 10 years. And just when I thought I was where I was supposed to be, God changed the narrative and helped me find more time for my husband and two beautiful girls through my own photography business. Now, I live for all things styled photography and serving the business community exclusively through styled imagery and personal brand photography.

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How To Show Up As An Expert

How To Show Up As An Expert

How To Show Up As An Expert

Welcome to the Crystal Clear Podcast where we strive to empower the everyday creative boss to elevate and grow a business that matches your creativity and passion for creating products.

 

Things mentioned in this podcast episode:

 

Today on the podcast I am sharing my top 5 tips on how to show up as the expert in your field now. 

First, you need to define your zone of genius. So you are a photographer, content creator, product boss or web designer. Great! That is good to know but you need to take it a step further and know the ONE thing that you do really well that will help you create that position of expert to other people. As a photographer that could position yourself self as a photographer who specializes in product photography with an emphasis on flat lay product photography. This is getting really specific and giving you an area to market your expertise. 

 

Next, you need to make your communication clear. When you are talking about what you do you should always be very clear about what you specialize in. When positioning your content, by the language you use, your “elevator pitch”, your bios on social media, everything! It should CLEARLY state what you are an expert at. 

Give more than you take. ALWAYS. Giving mediocre and generic tips aren’t cutting it anymore. People want VALUE. When you give tips they should be worth something. They should be specific to your expertise. 

Along with giving more than you take you also need to show up and be helpful! This is hard. It sometimes takes a little bit to see the fruits of your labor in this area but don’t give up. You have to develop trust and you do that by showing up and being helpful consistently. This is the only way they will truly see what you have to offer. Make sure you are always offering a quick and easy solution. 

Lastly, show up confidently and be REAL. You can do this by talking about the thing you know and know WELL. Wrap it into realistic stories about yourself. Be real. People crave real. Show up imperfectly. Showing some flaws will pull people into you because it makes you relatable. It allows them to see that they can one day be at the point you are or they can afford you because you were once just like they were. That relation is gold. 

When you take these five tips and put them into action your customers will start to see you as the expert in your field and will come to you for all their needs.

One of my favorite ways to show up confidently and real is Instagram stories. It’s my jam. If you are looking for some tips around stories pop on over in my inbox and I am happy to share! I also want to invite you to The Creative Boss Society where we meet twice a month making sure you get the strategy you need and the accountability to execute on it. I offer support around exactly what you need to grow every month.

Like this episode?

Comment, share on Pinterest, or even snap a screenshot and tag me on Instagram! I’d love to hear what you think about props for product photography.

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About Crystal

Corporate America had me at hello for 10 years. And just when I thought I was where I was supposed to be, God changed the narrative and helped me find more time for my husband and two beautiful girls through my own photography business. Now, I live for all things styled photography and serving the business community exclusively through styled imagery and personal brand photography.

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3 Ways A Group Mastermind Can Accelerate Your Biz 2021

3 Ways A Group Mastermind Can Accelerate Your Biz 2021

3 Ways A Group Mastermind Can Accelerate Your Biz 2021

Welcome to the Crystal Clear Podcast where we strive to empower the everyday creative boss to elevate and grow a business that matches your creativity and passion for creating products.

It is that time of the year, the time to start focusing on where things are going to go from now to December but also for next year! It’s easy to get really narrow focused on serving your clients and doing client work or creating products but as business owners we can easily forget to stop and work on your business. You may not even feel like you know how to do that!

A lot of your fellow creative business owners within The Creative Boss Society have been telling me that they are just exhausted with making decisions and trying to predict what is gonna happen with this year and a lot of them are just ready to move on into 2021. 

If you find yourself in that same place I just want to let you know that you are not alone. In this episode we cover 3 ways group masterminds can accelerate your business. 

The Creative Boss Society is the kind of mastermind that can help you grow your business next year. I know because I built it to serve other creatives just like ME!

Things mentioned in this podcast episode:

 

  • Gain increased focus in your business through weekly accountability check in and support! 
    • Narrowed in on serving and doing client work that we forget to work ON our biz
  • Get more growth – month over month with focused trainings and steps to implement. 
  • Get more motivation and be challenged to show up, put processes in place and move your business forward to success!
  • Reduce complacency in your business, routine and tasks. Gain the desire to improve and grow!
  • Get the community you desire to grow! Check ins and challenges that help you move forward and connect with other like-minded creatives.
  • Collaboration opportunities! Learn how collaboration can help accelerate your growth. Build long lasting business relationships with those willing to step up and help you succeed.
  • Have ONE source for support and sales focused “training”. No more 99 course bundles, searching Pinterest for endless freebies that only skim the surface. Get straight to what you need!
  • Get REAL! Find that this is a place to be vulnerable about biz ownership. To explore the things that don’t feel great and learn how to get past it, together.
  • Asking the questions to get help and guidance you need. Don’t get stuck or left behind. We will challenge you to empower yourself by asking what you need help for so we can make sure you get it!

Like this episode?

Comment, share on Pinterest, or even snap a screenshot and tag me on Instagram! I’d love to hear what you think about props for product photography.

Keep Listening ↓

About Crystal

Corporate America had me at hello for 10 years. And just when I thought I was where I was supposed to be, God changed the narrative and helped me find more time for my husband and two beautiful girls through my own photography business. Now, I live for all things styled photography and serving the business community exclusively through styled imagery and personal brand photography.

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