Let me paint you a picture of our lives before Trello! Endless piles of paper, three journals working simultaneously (supposedly with different subject matter in each), scratched out to-do lists (and when they got too messy we would spend time rewriting them). I was in a constant state of panic, like I was going to forget a meeting or a deadline. I worried (even more than normal) that our whole business would fall apart over one missed task.

In the past we used Wunderlist as our project management system. It worked for a time but as our business grew and became more complicated, it ended up like the notepads, one hot mess.

We knew there had to be a better way!

Enter Trello - A free business tool that changed our lives and improved our business. But don't Google anything yet! Trello on its own is a little confusing, but don't worry - we've fixed it.

Everyone wants to get tailored content. But how can you do that when you just have a huge list of names? How are you supposed to make sure Taylor gets emails about building his brand and that Monisha gets emails about creating systems to streamline her business?

It’s time for you to up your email marketing game and collect more information on your subscribers.

What Do You Really Need to Know?

As much as we all want to make a fabulous living while drinking fancy cocktails poolside, as entrepreneurs we don’t always have that luxury! The weeks seem to fly by, and late nights and work overload become common. 

What if, instead of spending every waking hour of every day with your nose to the grindstone, you could instead trick yourself into making more money? Spoiler: you can! | Think Creative Collective

When it comes to starting a business, there are usually a lot of overhead costs. Let’s be honest, those overhead costs can get overwhelming rather quickly, can’t they? You have people coming from every angle recommending that you use this cool new tool that they use because it got them one billion followers. Well, that’s a slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean!

Want to know the hardest part about opening your business? Simply getting started. That’s the only thing you need to focus on. You need the bare minimum to get the ball rolling on this cool new idea that you’re ready to show the world, but you’re overwhelmed by starting and worrying about how to afford to launch without putting it all on your credit card or taking out a loan.

Crap. It's that time again. You have to send out another newsletter. (Didn't you just do one of those? Oh yeah. That was a month ago. *face-palm*)

You sit down at your computer, staring at the blank screen. Suddenly, you find yourself going down a Google rabbit hole, frantically researching what happened to all the characters from Saved by the Bell.  

With little time left in your day, you whip together a fast, frenzied newsletter and hit SEND. And then... nothing. Your open rate is dismal. No one is responding/sharing/clicking. And, for sure, no one is BUYING.

So why is this happening?

Well, there could be several things going on. Often, it’s not just “one thing”, but rather a combination of several issues. Let’s dig into those issues and some quick fixes, shall we?

"I LOVE my business but… keeping up with the financials makes me feel all sorts of icky!"

That statement right there, is exactly what I hear from almost every creative I work with, time and time again! It feels like they have mastered all areas of their business but one. Managing finances correctly is a highly dreaded task for most creative entrepreneurs. I feel their pain, I really do! That’s why I want to provide you with a few simple but valuable steps to help you get started and begin to conquer this “left field” task. After reading this post, my hope is that you feel better and more capable of tackling this head on. Let’s get started!

You've watched your friends, colleagues and competitors land guest blog posts, podcast and television interviews and features in your favorite magazines. (You know, places like The Huffington Post, Being Boss and, ahem, this here blog.) They’re getting featured and getting the chance to grow their audience, boost their revenue and earn the kind of credibility you crave.

You want to have that experience – and that success – too. So you jump straight to working on some pitches of your own and end up missing a crucial step in the process of getting featured. (Don’t worry – almost everyone does.)