Today on the podcast we get to chat with Lauren Taylor of Letter Magazine — and she is such a sweetheart! We have known her for almost a year now, and have been following her and everything she does with her magazine. We are absolutely thrilled to see her growth and all of the amazing accomplishments she has had in such a short time. We dive into the super sexy topic of becoming an Instagram influencer. We get a ton of questions about this from many people wanting to incorporate being an influencer into their brands.  

Ever wonder how to go about growing your business and which strategy to pursue? Maybe you feel stuck and you are at the breaking point where something’s got to give? Well, today on the podcast we jump into exactly how to scale and grow your team. We tackle all the questions you need to be asking yourself before you even decide whether a team is the right move for you. Because for some of you, a team might not be the answer; it just might be what you think is the answer.

We first discovered Jeff on Instagram. Jeff is a photographer who loves to take a lot of architectural images, and so, naturally, we fell in love with his work. Not long after, we discovered his wife, Kelly, and we just absolutely had to follow them both! We followed their work for a year and a half before reaching out to them, and it’s been such a fun journey getting know them on a more personal level, and getting the inside scoop on how their business actually runs.

If you know of Studio DIY, you know that they have hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, and that their DIY blog is pretty outstanding. In our talk with them, we discover more about their journey, what the early days of Studio DIY looked like, how they built sponsorship and affiliate relationships, and how they decided what to charge for those sponsorships (everyone’s burning question!). They also share what it was like branching out and creating their own physical product line.

Since then, they’ve grown a lot and implemented tons of incredible strategies in their business to make it what it is today. So, if you are a DIY’er yourself, you absolutely have to give this one and listen!

As a two woman team, we get a lot of questions about how we make a partnership work. We always get asked how we met, how we work as a team inside TCC, and what gave us the idea to make the leap from collaborators to business partners. We know it’s not necessarily super common, but it seems like everyone is always interested in seeing how this works. So we figured we would share some of the actual tools and mindsets that we went through when we barely knew each other at first and started the business, like normal people do of course.

When we first met we were each running our own businesses at the time, yet serving a similar clientele. We quickly learned that we had a lot in common and it was not long before we decided to work together, instead of doing the same things separately. We became really fast friends and we were talking literally every day. We realized that with every sentence that we spoke, it was the exact same dream and hope and goal that the other person had.

We are super excited to bring our friend Amber Housley onto the podcast today. We had the opportunity to meet Amber last year at the Savvy Experience and it was so wonderful getting to know her, getting to hang out with her, and learning more about what she does. Because, if you all didn’t know, she does a lot!

Amber has her hands in a lot of creative businesses. She is rocking it at her own brand and along with that, she also has the Inspired Retreat, the Joyful Garden Planner, and her brand new course, Blooming Business Kits. In addition, she’s also the marketing director for Lara Casey Media, which means she’s involved in Southern Weddings, PowerSheets, and everything Lara Casey.

Together we dive into talking about taking a support role and what it’s like to not always play boss. We discuss the benefits, the challenges, what she’d love to change, and what it is truly like to resist a support role and then embrace it completely. We also talk a little bit about balance and what it means to run a lot of creative businesses and have your hands in a lot of different pots. Amber is an amazing example, role model, and a very humble human being, so you definitely have to listen in!

Ever wonder how to keep your business running without actually being in it? Today we’re lifting the curtain, getting super real, and giving you a behind-the-scenes look at how we’ve still gotten things done here at TCC even though we have had a hot mess going on in the background. We want to walk you through the systems, the processes, the mindsets, the workflows, and all the good meaty stuff that we were able to put in place in our business so we were ready when we had to step away.  

So, close your eyes for a second and imagine what would happen if you absolutely had to stop and walk away from your business today? Would you be able to just drop everything if you were forced to? Would you be able to replace yourself if need be? Sounds kind of scary, huh? In this episode we share the strategies that we put in place so that our business could run itself, rather than be an on call business (you know, the kind that buzzes you every hour). Plus, we’re covering some things that we wish we had set in place. So, come with us on our journey to see what’s been going on here at TCC and get some insight on some ways that you might be able to put your business on autopilot the next time life happens.

Today we have Cyndie Spiegel on the podcast. We are talking about some difficult stuff, but it’s stuff that really needs to be brought out into the open. Cyndie drops some truth bombs and we talk about how we treat women in the online world and as small business owners, and how we can give and take criticism better.

Cyndie shares her “don’t, shouldn’t on yourself” philosophy, gives ideas for some collaborations and shares tips on how to make those go well. We also dive into how to deal with negative Nancies and how to get into the right mindset when dealing with the crappy emails, negative comments, and bad juju that we sometimes receive when putting ourselves and our business out there.

We focus on how to own your emotions and take control, which helps so tremendously when working from home and running these businesses by ourselves. Cyndie gives some incredible tips on how to get into positive, successful and actionable mindsets. So, if you are ready to face some hard questions, then this episode is right on time for you!

Today we are talking all about pricing, numbers, and figuring out what the heck to charge for the services that you offer and the products that you sell. We take on the topic with intense passion, so hold onto your socks, because you will hear exactly how we feel as the episode goes on. We get asked what to charge and what others would be willing to pay for it so often, and it’s an important issue to us!

We know a lot of you are floundering about with this whole pricing game. Do not fret — personally, this is the topic that brought Abagail and me together. It is one that we were both equally passionate about. We wanted to be able to illustrate a different side of pricing to creative entrepreneurs. You just have to get started. So buckle up as we dive into some of that strategy today and mindset that goes with it!

We are so excited to share our chat with Jessica Honegger, the founder of Noonday Collection, today. She is a completely amazing human being! She is a boss who truly understands the frustrations, the struggles, and the concerns that come with owning a business. In today’s episode, we talk about giving back with your business, ethical business practices, and the difference between that and fair trade. We even jump into some creativity hacks, and Abagail cries (so you know it’s gonna be good).  

In this episode, you are going to get a lot of great insight into growing and scaling a business. It’s going to get a little emotional, and I’m pretty sure you are going to walk away at the end of it with lots of goosebumps. There is no doubt you’re going to be fired up about making sure your business has a huge impact. We can’t wait for you to listen. This one’s going to be awesome!

Today we’re getting real with blogging. Every time I say the word “blog” I can see the cringe on people’s faces (yes, even through the computer screen). We get it, for some, it isn’t your favorite thing. That is A-okay. But you can’t just assume you are going to escape it. Today, we are going to talk to you about why it is important, how it has been super incremental to our personal growth, and our business growth and some hints and tips for you to make it a bit easier on yourself so you can enjoy it a little bit more.

People get caught up on wanting to see quick results. Like anything else, they think blogging is the quick way to see financial gain. However, blogging is not a get rich quick scheme. Blogging is a totally different world than it was five or 10 years ago. It’s an entirely different strategy with an entirely different marketing game plan, and in order to get paid from your blog, you have to have a different mindset. You must get in the mindset that blogging is 100%, straight up, no joke a long-term game. So if you are looking for some guidance and motivation to grow your blog, then this is the episode for you! Are you ready?

Today we are talking a lot about email marketing! Nathan Barry and the team at ConvertKit have definitely been a lifesaver for our business. They’ve helped us see radical growth since we’ve switched over. ConvertKit is an email marketing service for professional bloggers. Nathan’s background in the blogging world led him to build a tool to help other bloggers and entrepreneurs successfully build their audiences and grow their businesses. Understanding his own needs as a blogger, he went out and built a tool designed specifically for what he needed in his own life.  

So what makes Nathan such an email expert? Well, at ConvertKit they send about 150 million emails every month! That is absolutely bananas, and you can certainly see where his expertise comes from. So, if you want to build a tribe and sell products to serve that audience, then this episode is perfect for you. 

Getting paid to be creative is a myth. Lately, we’ve heard this phrase being tossed around a lot. Heck, we’ve even used this exact phrase to describe our journey ourselves. But the phrase isn’t really accurate. 
 
We aren’t getting paid to be creative. We’re getting paid because we are intellectual businesswomen. We take our business seriously and structure it to pay us. We are constantly strategizing new ways to bring in income and grow our business. We test new ways to market, make new sales processes, and offer new things in new ways. And we do it over and over again. So if you want to hear us bust the myth, then this episode is definitely for you! 

Wondering about how to rock it in your product based business? Well, then this is the episode for you. We are so excited to have Emily Ley from The Simplified Planner on the podcast today. She brings a fresh perspective, shares some incredible nuggets of wisdom and really dives into her ever-evolving business. We’re going to answer some of y’alls biggest burning questions about product based businesses, how they run and how they work.

You are going to hear about blogging for a product based business, the honest truth about wholesale, cash flow, predicting inventory, and seeking grace not perfection. So get ready, we’re going to get started!

We think a lot of people get surprised when they find out exactly how much stuff gets done over here at Think Creative Collective. We think you might be shocked by some of the hacks and the tricks that we implement in our everyday to stay on top of our goals, to make sure that our list gets done and of course so as not to get distracted. In this episode of The Strategy Hour Podcast, we’ll jump into the exact structure we use every morning that holds us accountable to getting stuff done. Plus, how we’re able to set up realistic expectations, not only for ourselves but for each other.