How to Increase Your Sales at Craft Shows (Expert Sales Tips from Experienced Craft Fair Vendors)

Want to learn how to sell more at craft fairs?

You've come to the right place to boost your craft show sales!

In this video & blog post, get expert advice from two seasoned veterans of the maker market scene: Nicole Stevenson and Mallory Whitfield.

Nicole Stevenson is the co-founder of Patchwork Show, which grew from a 25-vendor parking lot event to a multi-city phenomenon supporting thousands of creative businesses across nearly a dozen cities. She also founded Craftcation, the first business + craft conference of its kind in the U.S., and previously built Random Nicole, a six-figure clothing line featured in over 250 shops worldwide.

Mallory is the creator of Badass Creatives and author of How to Make Money at Craft Shows: Art Market and Craft Fair Tips & Tricks. She spent nearly a decade selling handmade products at craft shows.

Watch the video above, or keep reading below for our tips on how to increase your craft fair sales and make more money from your handmade products!

Tips for Selling More at Craft Shows

Here’s our tips for navigating the application process, getting on the jury's good side, and increasing your chances of success:

Create an Inviting Booth Experience

Your craft fair booth setup is your first opportunity to attract potential customers.

Nicole emphasizes the importance of creating ways to draw people into your booth and keep them engaged:

"One of the things that I love is having a little activity for kids or whoever's with people who the person is shopping... Some of our vendors I've seen them do a little coloring station, so they'll have like a little tiny table and kids chairs and you know just Xerox coloring pages and some crayons and that will keep the child engaged while the parent is shopping and that will increase your sales absolutely."

Another smart strategy Nicole suggests is using your less-than-perfect items strategically:

"I'll bring any of the stuff that I made that didn't work out very well, like my imperfects, I'll have those at the front to kind of draw people in. And it's also a great way to get rid of stuff that didn't work out."

Just because that handmade item might seem less-than-perfect in your eyes (we know how creatives often struggle with perfectionism!) - that doesn’t mean that it won’t sell, especially if priced appropriately!

Strategic Pricing and Promotions

Smart pricing strategies can significantly impact your sales. Nicole shares her experience with strategic pricing, using 2-for-1 deals as an example:

"I love two-fers. So, you know, whatever the thing is… when I was selling my t-shirts, I feel like it was $28 a shirt or two for $49. So it was a huge discount when you bought two and especially instead of saying like $56, I did $49."

Mallory confirms this strategy's effectiveness: "One of the things I sold was earrings and I would do... $12 per pair or two for $20. And I had a little sign about this 2-for-1 deal and those were some of my best sellers."

Whether it’s signage for pricing and promotions, or setting up your booth so that it invites people to shop and explore, the way you design and lay out your craft fair booth can make or break your sales. That’s why we also did a whole video dedicated to craft show display ideas:

Maximize Payment Options

Nicole emphasizes the importance of offering a wide range of payment options:

"Make sure that you accept multiple types of payment. So I know we all pay with cards, but have cash and have change. Have cash, have change, have cash, have change. And then accepting Venmo, PayPal, Apple Pay... all of that stuff is going to increase your sales."

Basically, you want to make it as easy as possible for craft fair customers to make a purchase from you!

Create Strategic Impulse Buy Opportunities

Many of the rules that apply to any type of retail environment also apply to craft show sales. As you’re shopping at your local grocery store or favorite brick & mortar boutique, pay attention to what they do to boost sales and consider how you might apply it to your craft show booth.

For example, Mallory shares her experience with impulse items:

"I carried other artists and makers products in addition to my own. One of the artists that I carried, they had really funny greeting cards and magnets with their work. And so the magnets were like $5, the greeting cards were like $4 at the time... the sales of these low-ticket items would often make my booth fee. And so then I got to really make extra money on all the other higher-priced stuff."

When selling at craft shows or art festivals, it can be helpful to have products at a wide range of price points, both inexpensive impulse buys as well as higher end products.

For a fine artist like a painter, for example, this might look like having magnets, greeting cards and prints of your work as low-ticket items that are at a price point accessible to many people. You would also have original artwork or paintings for sale at a much higher price point (potentially hundreds or thousands of dollars per painting).

Inventory Management Tips

One thing newbie craft show vendors often wonder about is, “how much inventory should I bring to a craft fair?”

Nicole offers a crucial rule of thumb for inventory:

"How much stuff should I have at a craft fair? I will say you should have at least 10 times what you hope to sell. So if you hope to sell a hundred dollars worth of stuff, you should have a thousand dollars worth of stuff with you at the craft show."

She adds: "I found that the more stock and variety I brought to a show... the better I would do. Once my stock got dwindled, so did my sales."

Proper inventory management is a crucial skill for any type of retail business, craft artisans included! To learn more about this topic, check out the interview Mallory did with craft business coach Gwen Bortner:

Pricing Your Products Properly

Nicole provides detailed insight into pricing strategy:

"I am a strong believer in a pricing formula... Looking at what are your materials costing you, do not forget to put everything in there. So if you make t-shirts and you screen print on them... what if you sew a tag on the back? And then you're like, okay, the cost of the tag, but what about the cost of the thread? And you're like, it's only like two cents. Well, guess what? That two cents adds up over time."

She emphasizes the importance of proper pricing: "Underpricing, it just hurts everybody. It hurts all of us. So don't underprice."

Custom Orders and Future Sales

Both craft show experts emphasize the importance of being flexible with custom orders. Nicole shares:

"I did tons of custom orders and I would have people pay half of it upfront at the show and then they paid the other half when they picked it up. Yeah, and that worked really well for me."

Talk to People and PRovide A Great Customer Experience

If you want to sell more at craft shows, you need to interact with customers. The art of selling means you need to talk to people and not just hide in a chair at the back of your booth.

Mallory notes that not everyone is naturally suited to selling:

"For some artists... Sometimes you have a big craft show and you might need a helper. There are some artists who have actually found that it is better to just straight-up hire a helper who is more of that extroverted customer service salesperson type if you are really just too shy."

Nicole agrees, adding: "I never had a time where that was not worth it, where it didn't increase the sales enough to at least pay for that, what I was paying that person."

Post-Show Sales Strategies

Both experts emphasize the importance of email marketing. Nicole advises:

"Collecting email addresses at shows if you're not doing that, you are missing out on a huge, huge opportunity. I'm also a big fan of giving them something for signing up for your email address, like having some type of an opt-in."

Learn more about email marketing for handmade businesses

Final Thoughts

Success at craft shows comes from a combination of thoughtful preparation, strategic pricing, and excellent customer service. As both Nicole and Mallory demonstrate through their extensive experience, even small changes in your approach can lead to significant increases in sales.

Remember that every show is a learning opportunity. Take notes on what works well and what doesn't, and continuously refine your approach based on your experiences. With time and practice, you'll develop a system that works best for your unique products and customer base.

Want to learn more about how to be successful at craft shows?

For more marketing & business tips for artists and handmade business owners, subscribe to Badass Creatives on YouTube, or check out other craft fair tips:

• 5+ Craft Show Must Haves (and then some!)

• How to Get Accepted to Juried Craft Shows (Tips from Craft Show Organizer Nicole Stevenson)

• Inventory Management for Creative Business Owners

Shopify SEO: Why Shopify Collections Are a SEO Super Power

Optimizing Shopify collection pages is an underrated secret for improving SEO on your Shopify store.

Collection pages are like virtual aisles that group related products together, making it easier for customers to find what they're looking for.

In this video, search engine optimization expert Kai Davis and I discuss how to use Shopify collections to drive more SEO traffic to your ecommerce store.

In our conversation, Kai Davis shares how to think about and optimize your Shopify collection pages to reach more of the right shoppers in Google search.

Kai Davis, founder of Double Your Ecommerce, is a seasoned expert in Shopify SEO and Growth Marketing. With over a decade of experience, he has helped over 100 Shopify merchants expand their businesses.

Takeaways

• Optimizing collection pages is a powerful strategy for improving SEO on Shopify stores.

• Collection pages act as virtual aisles that group related products together, making it easier for customers to find what they're looking for.

• To optimize Shopify collection pages, it's important to add a collection description, write a specific SEO title, and include a headline at the top of the page.

• Internal linking to collection pages from blog posts or other pages on the website can improve SEO.

• Google Search Console and Ahrefs are useful tools for tracking the performance of collection pages.

Why collections are a SEO super power for your Shopify store

(written by Kai Davis)

Almost every single store I work with isn’t creating enough collection pages.

Collection pages are a great way to get new, targeted landing pages ranking in Google.

I find that most of the time, stores see the highest amounts of revenue from search come through their collection pages. That means that the searchers who start their browsing journey on collection pages are often more valuable than customers who come in through blogs or product pages.

So why aren’t stores leveraging collections more effectively? Most of the time, they just aren’t thinking about them correctly.

How to think about collections

Collections can rank very well in Google for categorical terms, which are terms or phrases related to the products you sell.

That means collection pages are a great way to attract more search traffic to your site.

You want to rank your collection pages for category terms, for example:

• If you’re selling quilting supplies, these are terms like ‘notions’ or ‘quarter panels.’

• If you’re selling chocolate, these are terms like ‘chocolate truffles’ and ‘chocolate bonbons’

• If you’re selling greeting cards, these are terms like ‘mother’s day illustrated greeting cards’ or ‘illustrated graduation cards’

Your collections in your Shopify store are like aisles in a brick and mortar store. Each collection can target a specific topic — like an aisle carries specific merchandise. It’s easy to set it up so this one has your chocolate bonbons, this one has your chocolate truffles, and this one has your chocolate gifts.

The very special thing that people forget about collections is that you have very few constraints on them. You could set up three separate collections, each optimized for a different target keyword, and each with the same products.

Like three collections for:

• Chocolate truffles

• Chocolate bonbons

• Chocolate gifts

And each populate with the same products.

That’s a very effective way to take the same products and reach more customers searching in Google with them.

Here’s why this approach is okay:

• Different target keywords: “chocolate truffles,” “chocolate bonbons,” and “chocolate gifts” are distinct search terms that people use, even though the products might be very similar or even identical.

• Unique collection pages: you can create separate collection pages for each term, optimizing each page for its respective keyword. This helps capture search traffic from all sets of searchers.

To Google and your customers, you have a unique collection landing page optimized for each of these terms. That’s a great way to get a page ranking in Google and bring in more traffic.

How to optimize your collection pages

So, what should you focus on to optimize your collection pages? I wrote a guide on this and you can read the full thing for free at DoubleYourEcommerce.com — click the ‘Collection SEO’ link in the header or on the homepage, or check out the link below:

• SEO for Shopify Collections

In the meantime, here are the top things to optimize:

• Collection descriptions — This is the piece of content that shows on the collection page itself. It is very high impact for SEO and helps your customers orient themselves on the page. ~50-100 words will be impactful for your SEO.

• Collection SEO Title — This is the piece of content that you set way at the bottom of a collection page. It is very high impact for SEO.

• Collection Title (Page Headline) — This is the piece of content you set at the top of a collection page. It is impactful for SEO.

If you want your collection targeting a keyword — like Gourmet Chocolate Eclairs — you want to mention that keyword in each of those places. Mention it in the Collection Title, mention it in the SEO Title, and mention it in the collection description.

For every collection page you create, you want to make sure you’ve entered those three things. And if you’re optimizing your collection for a keyword, you want to make sure you’ve mentioned that keyword in each place.

How to monitor the performance of your collection pages

Once your newly optimized collection pages launch, you’ll want to track their success. Are they ranking for keywords? Are they not doing much? Here are a few ways to do that.

• Google Search Console. That’s free and a great tool you should be running. The performance report in Search Console will tell you the specific keywords that your pages are ranking for and the amount of impressions that keyword gets.

• Ahref’s Free Webmaster Plan. Ahrefs has a free versions of their suite of SEO tools available for your domain when you verify with Google Search Console. Very useful for tracking your performance or understanding which keywords you’re ranking for.

And there you have it. Collections are a great way to get more traffic. I hope you use this information to launch new collections for your store.

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Need help with your Shopify SEO strategy?

Check out Kai's Shopify SEO services at his website, DoubleYourEcommerce.com.

Want Mallory's help with your overall marketing strategy? Schedule a 1:1 consulting session or check out the Badass Creatives Marketing Accelerator.

You can also check out this playlist for more videos about SEO for artists and creatives.

How to Get Accepted to Juried Craft Shows (Tips from Craft Show Organizer Nicole Stevenson)

Applying to juried craft shows or art events can be a daunting process, especially when you’re met with rejection despite your best efforts. But don't worry! Getting accepted to a juried craft fair is totally possible with the right approach.

I spent nearly a decade selling handmade products at craft shows, including many juried events. (I even wrote a book about it!)

And in this video, I invited Dear Handmade Life founder Nicole Stevenson to share her insights on how to get into juried craft shows.

Nicole has been running Patchwork Show, a series of juried craft shows in California, for more than 16 years. She's spent a lot of years jurying craft fair vendors and has some tips on what crafters should expect and how to stay on a craft show organizers good side!

Watch the video, or keep reading for our tips on getting accepted by juried craft shows and art events!

But first, What's the difference between a juried craft fair and a non-juried craft show?

A juried craft show or art event involves a selection process where you have to apply and be accepted to participate in the show. Sometimes it's just the craft show organizer who is there to review the applications and make sure that the vendors that are accepted are a good fit for the show, based on whatever that particular show is looking for. Sometimes a panel of experts reviews and approves applicants based on the quality and originality of their work.

A non-juried show is where you apply within their deadline, and you get in. That's basically it. There's no formal review process, so the range of vendors at the show can vary in terms of the quality of their work. Non-juried craft shows usually don't have strict rules about craftsmanship, and they may allow non-handmade items or MLM products such as Stella & Dot or Avon.

For handmade vendors and artists, juried craft shows might offer greater prestige and potentially higher sales, while non-juried events provide broader access and more opportunities for exposure.

Tips for Getting Accepted by Juried Craft Shows & Art Events

Here’s our tips for navigating the application process, getting on the jury's good side, and increasing your chances of success:

1. Understand the Craft Show’s Juried Process

Each craft show has its own unique set of criteria and judging process.

While Nicole shares tips based on her own experience running a juried craft show, each event will have their own application process and requirements.

Familiarize yourself with these specifics by thoroughly reading the event’s guidelines and rules. Pay attention to:

• Eligibility Requirements: Ensure your work aligns with the show's focus and requirements.

• Judging Criteria: Understand what the jury is looking for, whether it's originality, craftsmanship, or marketability.

• Application Deadlines: Mark these on your calendar and plan your application timeline accordingly.

Nicole advises craft fair applicants to consider whether your brand and your handmade products are a good fit for the show.

Who do your handmade products appeal to? And are those people attending the juried craft show you're applying to?

Nicole suggests walking the show before applying or researching past shows to see if your ideal customer will be there.

2. Craft a Strong Portfolio

A compelling portfolio is crucial for making a lasting impression.

As Nicole points out, "You need some type of a way for the jury to see what you make. At Patchwork Show, we ask for your website, your Instagram, your Etsy, any or all of those things. We also have a section on the application that says, if you don't have an online portfolio, upload five photos of your work. Because for our show in particular, I like being a show for emerging makers."

As she points out, while some shows might not care if you have a website or Etsy store yet, you still need to be able to provide high quality photos of your work.

Nicole says, "It needs to be as professional as possible. Your photographs need to be well lit. They need to be in focus... Photographs are kind of our biggest thing that we look at as the jury."

Your portfolio should include:

• High-Quality Photos: Use professional photos with good lighting and a simple background to showcase your work. Include multiple angles and detail shots to give a comprehensive view. Make sure it’s obvious to the jury what objects in the photos are the products you sell.

• Consistent Branding: Ensure your portfolio reflects your unique style and branding. Consistency in your presentation helps the jury understand your aesthetic.

• Diverse Selection: Include a range of work to demonstrate versatility, but ensure all pieces align with the show’s theme or focus.

3. Perfect Your Application

Your application is your first chance to make an impression, so make it count:

• Follow Instructions: Adhere strictly to application instructions. This includes format, word count, and submission requirements.

• Write a Compelling Artist Statement: Clearly articulate your artistic vision, process, and what makes your work unique. Avoid jargon and keep it engaging.

• Provide Accurate Information: Double-check all details, including prices, dimensions, and materials. Inaccuracies can detract from your credibility.

If in doubt, or if you're nervous about getting rejected by the jury, ask a few friends or family members to review your application info before submitting. Get feedback on how you can improve before pitching yourself to the craft fair jury.

4. Build a Strong Online Presence

An impressive online presence can boost your application. But simple marketing mistakes could ruin your chances of getting accepted by the craft fair jury!

Nicole told me, "When people put their Instagram as the place to see what they make and then their Instagram account is set to private, that's one of my pet peeves. Or they put their website and it's like, this website's under construction or their Etsy shop is empty, there's nothing in it."

Don't frustrate the craft show organizers before you've even met!

As Nicole says, "Make it easy for the jury to see what they need to see to make their decision because the harder you make it for them, the crankier they're going to get."

As you begin to apply to more competitive juried art events, make sure you have the following:

• Professional Website: Ensure your website is updated with your latest work and contact information. A well-organized site reflects professionalism.

• Social Media: Actively engage on relevant social media platforms. Share updates, behind-the-scenes content, and interact with your audience.

You do NOT have to be on every single social media platform. It's important to develop a marketing strategy that makes sense for your creative business.

The main thing is to make sure that whatever website or social media info you share with art show organizers is cohesive and represents your brand well.

If you need help developing a marketing strategy that works for your unique business, please reach out.

5. Gather Feedback and Refine

If you don't get accepted into a juried show, it can be hard not to take it personally.

But like Nicole points out, "It's a judgment on not whether what you make is good or bad, but on whether what you make is a good fit for that particular show.

She told me, "I was rejected from a couple of craft fairs in my craft fair career and it hurt. But when I stopped and thought about it, I was like, man, they're right. This wasn't a good fit, you know? And it's not necessarily that your art is bad. (Although it might be, I don't know.) But it's usually that whatever it is that you're making doesn't fit in with what that particular show is looking for. That's all it is."

If you’re consistently being rejected, consider seeking feedback:

• Reach Out to the Jurors: Some shows may provide feedback on your application. Use this insight to make improvements.

• Network with Peers: Connect with other artists who have been accepted to similar shows. They might offer valuable advice or insights based on their experiences.

Nicole recommends, "You should try to look at your application objectively and think about some general reasons why you weren't accepted. Some shows will allow you to email them and get feedback. We do, but it's after the show season is over. We say if you need specific feedback, email us after the show season is over and we will let you know why you weren't accepted."

She explains, "It could be that your stuff is too expensive. That's something that happens with us. We want our vendors to be successful at our shows. And if they have, you know, $500 necklaces, that's not a good fit for our show. It could be that your stuff doesn't seem handmade, even though you said it was, and it's a handmade only show. It could be that you're in a category that's very competitive, like jewelry is very competitive, and now bath and body is very competitive."

Prepare for the Show!

Once accepted, ensure you’re fully prepared:

• Create a Cohesive Booth Display: Your booth should be visually appealing and reflect your brand. Invest time in planning a layout that attracts visitors and showcases your work effectively. Learn more about how to make your craft show booth look great!

• Get Your Craft Show Must Haves Ready: Prepare business cards, price lists, and other promotional materials to distribute at the event. My craft show tool kit evolved a lot over the years, with a few handy items I couldn’t live without bringing to a craft fair. Check out my craft show must haves!

Getting accepted into juried art and craft shows requires a blend of preparation, persistence, and presentation. By understanding the show’s requirements, crafting a strong application, and continuously refining your work and approach, you’ll significantly improve your chances of success.

Remember, every rejection is an opportunity to learn and grow. Keep honing your craft, and your dedication will eventually pay off!

For more marketing & business tips for artists and handmade business owners, check out Badass Creatives on YouTube!

Shopify SEO: 5 Step Ecommerce SEO Strategy for Beginners, with Kai Davis

Want to get more visitors and CUSTOMERS to your Shopify store?

In this video, search engine optimization expert Kai Davis is sharing his proven 5-step SEO strategy for Shopify ecommerce websites.

In our conversation, Kai Davis shares his recommendations for optimizing a Shopify site for search engines.

Kai Davis, founder of Double Your Ecommerce, is a seasoned expert in Shopify SEO and Growth Marketing. With over a decade of experience, he has helped over 100 Shopify merchants expand their businesses.

He emphasizes the importance of understanding your target audience and narrowing down the target market as much as possible. Kai suggests conducting keyword research using tools like Google Search Console, Keywords Everywhere, and Ahrefs.

We also talk about the importance of optimizing Shopify collection pages, targeting your homepage for a general search term and your brand name, and optimizing product pages with unique content and customer reviews.

Takeaways

• Understand your target audience and narrow down your target market as much as possible.

• Conduct keyword research using tools like Google Search Console, Keywords Everywhere, and Ahrefs.

• Optimize collection pages to target broad yet specific terms in the market.

• Target the homepage for a general term in the market and optimize it with relevant content.

• Prioritize product pages that have higher profit margins, high demand, or are ranking on the cusp for a keyword.

• Utilize customer reviews to add unique content and social proof to product pages.

• Consider incorporating video content, such as YouTube videos, into the SEO strategy.

Kai's general SEO strategy for an ecommerce (Shopify) website:

Step 1: Narrow down your audience

First, narrow down the part of your audience you’re focusing on as ideal customers in order to understand what they’re searching for.

Don’t worry about demographics for Shopify SEO. You’ll struggle to use info like “our best customers are women 35-65 with a second home” in SEO.

Instead, focus on understanding the problems your specific audience is experiencing that drive them to seek out solutions like yours.

For example, if you’re selling quilting supplies, it could be the desire to commemorate a family event or create a handmade gift. If you’re selling chocolate, it might be the desire to send a gift or an upcoming holiday as a purchasing nudge.

This kind of information helps you understand what your customers are searching for, how that aligns with your product, and what content to create.

Consider the difference in execution if you’re building collection pages for your products. If I tell you:

1. The person you want to reach is 35-60, female, loves travel, and owns two homes.

2. The person you want to reach is shopping for holiday-themed chocolate gift boxes for their relatives (e.g., father's day, mother's day)

The first gives you a vague idea of what keywords and terms to look into.

The second gives you a specific idea that aligns with a particular search intent: people looking for chocolate gift boxes for Father’s day.

Focusing on search intent rather than demographics ensures your SEO efforts are targeted and effective, aligning your content with what your audience is actively looking for.

Step 2: Keyword research

Focus on keywords that make sense for what your audience is searching for.

How can you identify which keywords to focus on? There are a few processes. I’m going to talk about processes first and then suggest tools, some free and some paid.

My favorite processes for keyword research:

1. Look at the keywords your pages are currently ranking for. Identify keyword opportunities to optimize pages or create new pages.

2. Look at keyword suggestions and ideas while searching. That helps you identify new (sometimes more specific) keywords to target.

3. Look at the keywords your competitors are ranking for, and get ideas on the content and keywords that make sense for your niche

When I do keyword research for my clients, I’m doing a combination of these three. The exact process differs based on my client’s strategy and their niche, audience, and products.

But often the process looks like:

• Jumping into the keyword data in a tool

• Searching around in Google as if I were part of my customers’ audience

• Identifying relevant + specific keywords with some amount of search volume

• Making an action plan of ‘optimize this page for this keyword in these ways’

How can you do this keyword research yourself? I’ll tell you the tools to use.

• Google Search Console - It’s free and a great tool you should be running. The performance report in Search Console will tell you the specific keywords that your pages are ranking for and the amount of impressions that keyword gets.

• Keywords Everywhere - This is a freemium Chrome extension (I pay $6/mo for it) that adds keyword search data to search results on sites like Google or Amazon. The search volume near the search box is very useful, and the topical and long-tail keywords suggestions are great when brainstorming for more specific keywords.

• Ahrefs’s new $29/mo plan - This is a more advanced paid product but pretty affordable. Ahrefs runs a site full of SEO tools, including a keyword research tool where you can enter a URL and see the keywords that URL is ranking for and the positions they’re in. Very useful for competitive research or understanding how a piece of your content or competitor’s content is ranking.

Keyword research is often about combining your knowledge of your audience with the big messy pile of keyword information and mixing them together until you start to see insights and ideas.

Step 3: Focus on Shopify collection pages

After narrowing down your target audience and doing some keyword research, then we'll turn to on-page SEO, or making edits to the content on our ecommerce website that will help impact our search rankings.

We'll start by ranking Shopify collection pages for relevant + specific category terms.

Almost every single store I work with isn’t creating enough collection pages. Collection pages are a great way to get new, targeted landing pages ranking in Google.

I find that most of the time, stores see the highest amounts of revenue from search come through their collection pages.

That means that the searchers who start their browsing journey on collection pages are often more valuable than customers who come in through blogs or product pages.

You want to rank your collection pages for category terms.

• If you’re selling quilting supplies, these are terms like ‘notions’ or ‘quarter panels.’

• If you’re selling chocolate, these are terms like ‘chocolate truffles’ and ‘chocolate bonbons’

• If you’re selling greeting cards, these are terms like ‘mother’s day illustrated greeting cards’ or ‘illustrated graduation cards’

You want to optimize your collection pages with a few very important pieces of content:

• A collection title (page headline). That’s the bit you enter at the top of the page:

• A collection description. That’s the bit you enter right under the headline. A 50-100 word description is incredibly impactful for your store’s SEO:

• An SEO title - This is the bit you enter way down at the bottom of the page in the ‘search engine listing’ section. An SEO title (also known as meta title) is very high impact for SEO. It’s what Google often displays in the search results:

For every collection page you create, you want to make sure you’ve entered those three things. And if you’re optimizing your collection for a keyword, you want to make sure you’ve mentioned that keyword in each place.

Step 4: Rank your homepage

Next, rank your homepage for a more general term for your market.

Homepages are often a powerful page on your site. Most of the time, people link to your homepage instead of a collection or product page. And Google sees your homepage as the doorway to the rest of your site.

Those factors combine to make your homepage an influential page for your SEO. One way to leverage that is to have your homepage target a general term for your market with the brand name also mentioned.

• If you’re a quilting store, maybe your homepage targets the term ‘quilting supplies - brand name’

• If you’re a chocolate store, maybe your homepage targets the term ‘chocolate gifts [location] - brand name’

• If you’re a greeting card store, maybe your homepage targets the term ‘illustrated greeting cards - brand name’

Targeting a general term is often more attainable with your homepage than other pages on your site. This approach helps capture a broad audience, driving an audience searching for that relevant + broader term to your homepage.

In Shopify, you can set your homepage’s SEO title on Online Store→ Preferences → Homepage Title:

Step 5: Rank your product pages

Finally, rank your product pages for niche product terms relevant to your ecommerce business.

Your product pages are where potential customers make their final purchasing decisions.

Your product pages do their job by targeting very niche, product-specific terms. That helps them rank when people are searching for exactly *that* product, which can attract highly relevant traffic that is more likely to convert.

• If you’re selling quilting supplies, you might have a collection targeting ‘quilting supplies and notions’ and a product in that collection targeting ‘Probe & Stabilizer Tool 4pc. Set’

• If you’re selling chocolate, a collection page might target ‘dark chocolate gift boxes’ and a product page might target ‘dark chocolate sea salt caramel gift box (20 pieces)’

• If you’re selling greeting cards, a collection page might target ‘university graduation celebration cards’ and a product might target ‘hand-painted university of Oregon graduation card with envelope’

In all cases, your collection page are targeting a broad-yet-specific term, and your product pages are targeting more niche and product-specific terms.

In all cases, you want to optimize your product pages with these details:

• An optimized product title and product description

• Unique content if you’re reselling products; don’t reuse the content from the manufacturer verbatum. Rewrite it in your own words.

• Attributes in your product title like size, weight, color, material, quantity, or fabric, depending on what you’re selling and what your audience cares about.

Oftentimes, product SEO can be overwhelming. You have lots of products! I recommend focusing, first, on optimizing priority products:

• Products that are higher profit margin for your store

• Products that are high demand by your customers

• Products that rank ‘on the cusp’ for a keyword in Google Search Console (~15 - 30th)

Those are the best opportunities to start with when prioritizing your Shopify SEO strategy.

And there you have it!

That’s your general ecommerce SEO strategy for your Shopify store:

1. Narrow down your audience

2. Understand what they’re searching for

3. Optimize your collection pages for category terms

4. Optimize your homepage for a more general term in your niche

5. Optimize your products for ultra-specific product search terms

Beyond that? Make sure to revisit your SEO regularly. Check in on how your pages are ranking and growing every ~2-4 weeks at minimum.

Need help with your Shopify SEO strategy?

Check out Kai's Shopify SEO services at his website, DoubleYourEcommerce.com.

Want Mallory's help with your overall marketing strategy? Schedule a 1:1 consulting session or check out the Badass Creatives Marketing Accelerator.

You can also check out this playlist for more videos about SEO for artists and creatives.

How to Start a Craft Studio Business, with Christy Nelson

You wanna open an art or craft studio business, but wondering... how do I get started?

In this video I'm chatting with Christy Nelson, the owner of Makit Takit, a drop-in craft studio in Lincoln, Nebraska.

She's been running her craft studio business since 2016, and it's expanded to include craft classes & parties, an annual maker market, business mentoring & retreats, and a grown-up craft camp called Makit Together.

Christy shares insights on running a craft studio business, including the business model, revenue streams, and lessons learned. She emphasizes the importance of flexibility, market research, and understanding the financial costs involved.

Takeaways

• Running a craft studio business involves providing a service-based experience for customers to create crafts and selling related supplies.

• Revenue streams can include drop-in craft sessions, classes, camps, birthday parties, and retail sales.

• Lessons learned include the importance of flexibility, market research, and being open to different customer demographics.

• Consider the financial costs of payroll, rent, inventory, credit card processing fees, and marketing when planning a craft studio business.

• Franchising may limit creativity and freedom, so starting your own brand within the local community is recommended.

• Christy Nelson offers business mentoring for entrepreneurs interested in starting a craft studio business.

Christy is the creative business owner of Makit Takit, a drop-in craft studio in Lincoln, Nebraska.

A true boss, Christy enjoys the strategic business planning as much as making things. This has led to her expanding her business to include a mobile pop-up splatter unit, a yearly maker market, business mentoring/retreats, and a grown-up craft camp called Makit Together.

She loves to travel, drink Diet Dr. Pepper, and go to therapy. She has a husband, two grown children, and her mom is her biggest fan.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Mallory

You have been running a craft studio business for a number of years now. I would love to first off kind of talk about like what that business looks like for somebody who may love making crafts, love teaching crafts, but is not sure like what the actual business entails.

Can kind of talk us through the craft studio business model and kind of how you got started with this?

Christy Nelson

Sure, there are a lot of different ways that you can run a craft studio. I'm going to talk about the way I do it and maybe give a few examples of some others that I know of.

My studio is basically run as a drop-in craft studio. So we have all the tools and supplies for people to come in. So it's a service-based but also product because they are coming in and making a product.

Mallory

Yeah, so it sounds like you're making money in a couple of different ways, right? You're making money from people paying you for art classes and from selling the supplies for the classes.

Christy Nelson

Yes. Well, they can come in and pick a project and we have everything for them to make that project. They pay me for basically that service and all of the things included. So it's just a way for people to come in, have a little fun, make something, and we can help them do that.

In my studio, we also do classes, camps, birthday parties. You know, there are a lot of different revenue streams that you kind of need to have for a business like this.

We added retail after the pandemic. That was something that we hadn't really been into before. But now that's a really big part of our revenue now. So that was a nice little pivot. But most craft studios have some component of either instruction, education, and some sort of way to create.

Some people do strictly "come in and we're making this specific thing today." Or some are a little more open-ended but mine we have set projects. They change over time but everybody knows that you're gonna find some things to paint, you're gonna find some things to do with yarn, you're gonna find button art, you're gonna find metal stamping, wood burning. We have our specific things that we do, so everybody knows that they're gonna be able to find something to make.

Mallory

How did you get started in this business and how long have you been doing this business? If people are thinking about this as a potential career path, what should they expect from your experience?

Christy Nelson

Right. Okay, so I started this business in 2016. So I'm in my eighth year going on nine.

Basically, it was something that I had been thinking about for a very long time. And I had been close to opening something similar in 2010 with a business partner and my business partner ended up moving and I wasn't in a position to do it on my own at that time. I had young children and it was just not a great time for me to be opening a business. So in 2016, I had just turned 40 and I was like, you know, if I'm going to do this, I just need to do this. And so I did.

In the past, I had been a craft blogger. So I was kind of in that industry a little bit. I had been to the trade shows. I had been working with brands and doing some of those kind of collaborations and things with their products and supplies. I just had access to all of these tools and maybe it wasn't like my jam to do something but I wanted people to be able to come in and experience a whole lot of different types of crafting or arting or whatever however you want to say it. I wanted them to be able to experience all those things so then they can decide you know like... "do I really want to get into metal stamping? Or did I just want to make one thing?"

Because I think a lot of us, especially, I'm very neuro-spicy. So when you get to that stage where you're just collecting and collecting all these crafts, is that really sustainable? Do I really need $100 worth of whatever to make this one Pinterest project?

So that was kind of like my impetus for starting the store. I was like, I want people to be able to come in. They don't have to buy a $20 pack of whatever. They can get one thing from us to make their project and be successful and be happy. And then if they want to invest in becoming a master metal stamper or whatever, then they can do that.

I wanted to give people this entry into hobbies, an entry into crafts, and trying to find out what they love. So that's what I did.

Mallory

Yeah, that's awesome. So what are some of the lessons that you learned the hard way through starting this business or maybe mistakes that you made? Or I also know that you do some mentoring for other people who are starting these types of businesses. So maybe you've seen other people make mistakes that you had sort of worn against.

Christy Nelson

Some of the biggest mistakes I made... Well, at the beginning, I think I should have started maybe a little smaller.

I also made mistakes where (this is somewhat embarrassing now because my business is based so much on children), but I didn't allow children. When I first opened, I was like "ages 10 and up only." And now my biggest, my biggest customers, like the age range is like eight to 12. They love my store.

But the good thing with a craft studio is you can pivot. Like I wasn't locked into a lot of things. Like my store was such that I could change out projects. I could bring in different instructors. So that was something that I learned early on that you have to be really flexible and see what the market will bear.

I realized really quickly that grownups don't typically invest in themselves in taking classes or just general enjoyment, which I think is a mistake (that I'm trying to remedy), but I realized that the adults were more likely to invest in their children. And so I was losing out on a huge market by not opening up the age ranges.

And at first I was just scared because I was like, I don't want little kids in here with scissors and whatever, all of my tools and just messing everything... But it turns out that the adults are just as bad about ruining tools and things than children. So anyway, that was one of my early mistakes early on was just not opening myself up to more customers.

Another thing was I probably got into a lease too soon.

Mallory

When you're advising people who want to start one of these craft studio businesses, I know that you are very strategic and like me, I love to think about big picture business plan, stuff like that. What do you advise in that regard with somebody just at the very beginning idea stages of this?

Christy Nelson

I have what I call a business plan bootcamp and we talk about just all of the strategy that needs to be involved with starting a business.

A lot of the people who would like to start a business like this are usually very creative and might not have the best business sense. And you can learn business just like you can learn creativity.

So I just like to make sure that the people who want to do something like this understand that it is very much a business and you're not just going to sit around and make things all day, which, you know, if you're getting into this business for that, I don't recommend it.

Usually in this business plan boot camp or just even strategy sessions that I hold with people who are interested in opening creative studios like this, I like to discuss the parts that aren't so fun.

You need to do market research. Can your community even handle a business like this? Are there enough people who are interested? Do you have competition?

I like to let people know that it is a business first and foremost, even though it's a really fun business to be in.

Mallory

You mentioned wishing that you had started a little smaller or maybe not jumping into a lease as soon. This is something that years ago, I was advising a friend of mine who was opening up a brick and store (and now they have it) but early on I was like, "Can you find ways to test this? Doing little pop-ups at relevant local events and partnering with other local organizations and people who will become your customers and sort of building it up that way?"

Christy Nelson

Yeah, so you want to kind of build that social proof or make yourself be an expert in the community.

A brick and mortar does provide that level of, you know, supposed expertise to people. It kind of gives you some credibility that you might not have if you're just like at a vendor fair and trying to get people to do stuff or whatever.

There is that benefit from a brick and mortar, but I don't think the cost of the lease makes up for that benefit at first. So building up a customer base is always great and getting some fans, know, letting people know that you're going to do this so that you do want to grow and you do want to be bigger.

I sometimes suggest to people that, why don't they start a mobile party business? If you're gonna have craft parties, why don't you take it to them first before them coming to you? If you're gonna host some workshops, why don't you find a venue and host a few workshops to see if it's even something that you like to do? You know?

Figure out how you're gonna accept your payments, figure out how you're going to deal with buying your supplies.

Before you jump in and do this, know, whole hog, whatever, test the waters and make sure it's something that you really wanna do because once you sign that lease, you are in.

It's really hard to get out of that lease, and you want to make sure that you are doing something that you love and knowing that there's a lot more involved than just helping people make things.

Mallory

Maybe we could dive in a little bit more to some of the rough financials or the startup costs that people need to be considering when they're putting together these business plans for this type of craft store business.

Christy Nelson

Yeah, so costs. The main costs for me right now are payroll and rent.

And I know when you're first starting, you might not be considering payroll, because you'll do a lot of the stuff on your own. But if you want to get to any place where you have any time for yourself or you want to grow your business, that's something that you need to consider.

And so when I'm doing my business plans with other people, I always tell them include people.

Include some people because if you can't run your business, you need to pay someone to do it. If something happens to you, if you need you know anything (a sick day, a vacation...), so I always include that in because a lot of people are like, "Well I don't need to pay myself right away or whatever..."

Pay yourself, pay yourself, and plan on paying at least one to two other people.

Include that in your plan and try and figure out how many revenue streams you need to be able to do that.

So payroll costs, that's going to vary depending on where you live. It's probably like a third of your total operating costs. Same thing with rent is going to be about a third of your operating costs.

And then the rest... You've got inventory, you have all the extra things that you have to pay for, like you have to pay your credit card processing fees, you have to pay your website, you have to pay any professional organizations that you're in, or like, there's just, there's a lot.

I'll just put it this way. When I started my business, I had, I think, $30,000 up for it, which is very low, actually for most people to start a business. But that's what I had right then. And I was like, OK, I'm going to use this to start whatever. And then month by month, I would invest whatever from our income to add to that.

I would say when all was said and done, I was probably $100,000 in that first year getting established of just like constant investment into my business to the point where now, you know, it sustains itself and I don't have to do that constant investment anymore. So that's nice.

But yeah, you do need like a little chunk of change to make sure that you can get things going and you also need to take into account that those first few months are slow. They're slow.

And you're spending all this time and money just trying to get people to know about you. So having a good marketing plan, a good marketing budget, like all of those things are so important.

I would say collect as much money as you can, but also make sure that when you're doing your planning, you know the things that you're gonna do to bring in revenue and that those will sustain you.

Mallory

Yeah, yeah. I'd also like to talk a little bit about franchise models versus completely creating your art or craft studio from scratch. Because I know that's a question that you've gotten a lot, right?

Thinking about all of these numbers and all of these logistics and business planning, there are, within lots of different industries, franchises, we often think about fast food restaurants like McDonald's. Right? That's a common known franchise, but there are franchise craft and art studios and sometimes people might think like, that would be so much easier. What do you recommend when people are sort of toying with that idea?

Christy Nelson

I definitely have opinions about this and like, it is definitely an opinion and you should make your own decisions about this.

For me, franchising this type of business... I don't like it.

I think that if someone is creative and wants to have this kind of business, then you don't want to be held back by a franchise.

The franchise can help you put systems and things in place, which I think are helpful. You do need those things and I can help you with that. But I think that the money it costs to have a franchise is better put into setting yourself up for success as a craft studio owner than going into this franchise model, which can tend to be quite a money drain, but you don't have as much freedom to pivot or freedom to do more of what you want. Those are my opinions on franchising.

Mallory

Yeah, well that makes so much sense to me and I've never explored a franchise model because I think like you pointed out, I think for most multi-passionate creative people like artists, makers, crafters... the joy is in the doing it our way and being creative and figuring it out and if you're just taking somebody's like, here's the box of what you're supposed to do. There's not as much fun in that and if you're not having fun in some way running your own business, you're gonna burn out.

Christy Nelson

Right. I just think that for the creative art space or studio space or whatever, a franchise model, I don't know, it just takes a little bit of the soul out of it.

A lot of people come to me and want to open a Makit Takit in other places. And I'm like, "No, open your own thing and I can help you make it yours."

If you need help with coming up with some sort of base plan to get your ducks in a row, so to speak... Like, I can help a lot with systems and finding suppliers and things like that.

But I don't need to recreate Makit Takit. Like, Makit Takit is me. I created Makit Takit and you create something else.

I have helped some other craft studio owners and I call them my sister stores. We're not affiliated in any way other than I will always have their back and I will always help them do what they need.

I think that you just need to have faith in yourself and you don't need this extra... I don't want to call it a burden because for some people franchises are freedom from doing that stuff.

But for me personally, for a creative studio, I would say just do it. Do it yourself.

Mallory

Yeah, I think too, with such a like physical location based business that really is a part of the local community. I think that's another aspect too. Like you're in Nebraska, I'm thinking I'm located in New Orleans, Louisiana, and I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and region to region... there's such different, you know, vibes and things that people are interested in.

But also by creating your own brand within your community, you can partner with that community and create a sort of third home for people, like a sense of place in a way that if you're taking a franchise, you can't really do that. It's like the locally owned coffee shop versus the Starbucks, right?

Christy Nelson

Exactly. Yeah, I think there is and there's such a pull for people to support local right now. And I think that's great. Like I want people to support their local mom and pop shops.

And I think with Millennials and Gen Z, they're to that point where they're like, yeah, we don't need another Walmart, we don't need another Olive Garden. They want to support the people in their community who are doing great things.

Mallory

Well, cool. I feel like we've covered so much good information and this is such a personalized experience... We talked about that it's really good to partner with trusted experts and people who have done it before.

If people are interested in exploring this business and want to get mentoring from you and your advice, where can they go to learn more about working with you?

Christy Nelson

My website MakitTogether.com. I have all of my business mentoring on there.

Mallory

Thank you so much, Christy.

CONNECT WITH Christy Nelson

• Christy's craft studio: Makit Takit

• Business mentoring for creatives: Makit Together

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How to Make Time for Creative Projects, with Monique Malcolm

Struggling to make time for your creative projects?

If you're finding it hard to carve out the time to be creative...

Feeling like you're too busy to take action on your art or your creative goals...

You're in the right place!

In this video, I'm chatting with my friend & productivity expert Monique Malcolm. In this conversation, Monique shares insights on how to make time for creative projects.

We talk about the importance of taking tiny actions and breaking down big goals into smaller, actionable steps.

Monique also discusses the need to be intentional and realistic about carving out time in a busy schedule. She highlights the concept of prioritizing big rocks, which are the most important tasks or projects.

Monique encourages a long-term perspective and considering what will bring fulfillment and avoid regrets in the future. She also provides strategies for overcoming procrastination, including journaling and breaking tasks into smaller steps.

Takeaways

• Take tiny actions and break down big goals into smaller, actionable steps.

• Be intentional and realistic about carving out time for creative projects.

• Prioritize big rocks, the most important tasks or projects.

• Consider a long-term perspective and focus on what will bring fulfillment and avoid regrets.

• Overcome procrastination by journaling, breaking tasks into smaller steps, and using timers.

Monique Malcolm is a seasoned productivity expert, writer, and the founder of Take Tiny Action.

She is dedicated to helping people achieve their goals in a sustainable way.

Monique’s approach involves taking small and consistent steps over time, which allows people to achieve their ambitions while maintaining a healthy, balanced, and fulfilling lifestyle. She lives in Florida with her husband and son. When she’s not working, she loves soaking up the sun at the beach or hopping onto her bike for a spin class.

Monique has also talked with me about How to Achieve Your Creative Goals Within 90 Days and her $173K Debt Free Journey with YNAB. She was also a guest on Episode 29 of the Badass Creatives podcast, talking about setting goals and taking action.

Video Transcript:

Mallory

Hi Monique, thanks so much for joining me to talk all about how to make time for your creative projects.

Monique Malcolm

Well, thank you for having me. You know, I have a lot of thoughts and things to say on this topic, so I'm pretty excited.

Mallory

Yeah. So I know you talk a lot about like taking tiny actions and sort of distilling the big, big plans into smaller, more actionable things. So how does that help us create the time to make our creative projects happen?

Monique

So I think that there is this feeling that for whatever goals and things we have, there has to be these big, giant tasks and steps that you have to take them, to take that goal down and actually complete the goal.

When I talk to people about tiny actions, my biggest thing is trying to get people momentum and sometimes getting started. Then you start to build that momentum.

Mallory

Okay, but what if there's still that friction of, oh, but I have so much on my plate, I have life, I have kids, or full -time day job, or whatever, how do we actually make the time to focus on creative projects?

Monique

Well, with anything, like, I don't think that you can make time. You actually have to specifically carve out the time. You don't have a magic wand, or you can just be like, bippity boppity boop: "I have an hour." Like, it doesn't work like that.

You have to be intentional. Anything that you, goals, projects, whatever you have going on in your life, anything that you want to do, whether it's an important goal or it's just having time for a hobby, you have to be intentional about making that time.

And I think that it's a two -part thing. It's one, you have to be intentional about making the time, so actually putting it on your calendar and in your schedule. But the other part of that is being realistic about what you have going on in your life and how that impacts your schedule. Because if you are somebody who has kids or a partner, you're a caregiver, you have responsibilities outside of like your actual work hours, well, that impacts how much time that you have available.

And so I find that a lot of people get really frustrated because they don't feel like they have as much time as they want to do whatever it is that they're trying to do. But the problem is they haven't taken the time to actually be really clear on like, what is in my schedule? Because once you know, here are the things, here's what I have laid out that I need to do. It's a lot easier to say, well, I can move this or I can cut this. But if you just go into it and like, all right, for two hours a week, I am going to paint pictures.

Great. Where are those two hours coming from? Have you considered like, do you have to do pick up and drop off for kids? Do you have to make dinner? Do you have a long commute? Like all of those things impact your schedule. So that's really the first thing for me is being really clear on like, what is in your schedule this week?

Mallory

Yeah, the putting it on the calendar is so important. And I think too, there's that whole thing about that for everything you say yes to, you're saying no to something else and vice versa, right? Like when committing to things.

Monique

That's exactly right. And sometimes we don't really think about it like that. We're just like, somebody calls and like, hey, can you do this thing? We're like, sure, I have time, I can do it. But every time you say yes to something, you inherently have to say no to something else. Even if like in that moment, you didn't mean to say no to this other thing, you committed. So you kind of are saying no to something else that you could have done.

Mallory

Yeah, yeah, and I'm thinking too about that kind of famous analogy about the jar filled with the different sizes of rocks and sand. Do you know what I'm talking about? Do you want to explain?

Monique

The pebbles, rocks and the sand. Yeah, so there's this story that they talk about this professor, like a college professor, and he's trying to teach his students about how to make time, like productivity. And so he gives, he puts a glass jar on his desk and he fills the jar with sand and then he fills it with pebbles and then he fills it with rocks. But by the time he gets to the rocks, the students realize like everything can't fit in there.

And so the idea is that... You take the rocks, the biggest things, you put those in there first because they take up the most space. And then you take your pebbles and the pebbles will filter in and fill spaces where the rocks are not. And then you have the sand and the sand will go and settle into the rest of those spaces. And so how that relates to productivity is like your rocks are like your big important tasks, appointments, things that need to get done. Pebbles are also important, but they're less important than the rocks. They don't take up as much time and maybe they can be moved around a little bit more.

And then sand, like all the stuff that you just have going on in your life that you have to do. You gotta cook, you gotta pick up the dry cleaning, like stuff like that. But if you plan your week, filling the week with sand, you don't have time for the rocks or the pebbles. So the whole idea is to think about big rocks first, pebbles second, and then sand last. Because somehow we always find time for the sand.

Mallory

Yeah, when I think the big rocks, like those things in our life, it's so important to kind of think really like long term when possible, right? Like I like to really, you know, maybe this is morbid, but kind of think like, what would I regret on my deathbed? Look, looking back, right? Having not done, because that's the thing that most people regret is things they didn't do, not things they did do. And so it's like, those to me should be like some of the big rock.

Like what are the creative projects that will bring me fulfillment or what are like the bucket list items that I want to try to accomplish and try to like work backwards instead of just focusing on like the minutia of the day to day of like dentist appointments and whatever else.

Monique

Yeah, and I think, you know, sometimes I don't even zoom that far out for the big rocks. A lot of times I'm just trying to think about like, what can I do in this week, this day, in this moment that's gonna be most impactful? And a lot of times, if I have a to -do list, the big rock things stand out, but those are usually the things that like I feel least inclined to do. Because maybe they take more effort. Maybe it's something that I don't want to deal with.

Because the sand is like easy stuff. You do the sand all the time. So it's a really easy, like, you know, this won't take that long. Let me just take care of this real quickly. But you will find that like you can spend days just trying to clear the sand items off your list. They keep coming back because a lot of that is like recurring tasks that you have to do over and over again.

So I really think that the perspective of even if you can just pick like one big rock a day, because I know that a lot of conventional productivity wisdom says, pick your top three. I've told people that I made a planner of today's top three, but sometimes it is just a top one. And if I'm having a really good day, it might be a top two. But three is pushing it. So really, if you can achieve one big rock a day, that's seven rocks a week. That's not anything that seems that.

Mallory

Yeah. Yeah. Well, but you mentioned that sometimes even with those things that we know are like the big rocks or the important things to us, there can still be that internal friction of like, is it procrastination? Is it like some perfectionism?

Can you talk more about maybe how you kind of try to overcome some of that or how some of your clients that you've worked with kind of overcome the not like not wanting to focus on the big rocks when they know that they want to and should be?

Monique

Mm hmm. So I mean, it can be a combination of things like you say, it can definitely be procrastination. It can definitely be perfectionism. There can be some fear there. There can be overwhelm.

I like to think that a lot of our feelings of discomfort, what we recognize a lot of times as fear, is disguised a lot of other things. So it can be disguised as procrastination, disguised as perfectionism, a host of other things. So when I talk to people about procrastination, because that's the one I'm going to tackle because this is the one that everybody is trying to beat all the time... Like we all feel guilty that we are procrastinators and we're not doing as much as we believe we should be able to get done because we're procrastinating. At its core, procrastination is an emotional regulation tool. So basically, when you have a task that is causing you discomfort, you don't feel comfortable doing it for whatever reason.

Maybe you're afraid you can't do it properly. Maybe you don't know how to do it. Maybe you haven't broken it down enough so you just feel overwhelmed that you even have to like get up the energy and the momentum to even get this thing done. You find like you feel internally uncomfortable. You feel discomfort. And we are wired as a part of like our survival mechanisms to seek safety and comfort. So safety is like one of our prime directives. Your brain is trying to keep you safe.

And so when your brain feels discomfort, discomfort doesn't feel safe. So your brain is seeking safety again. So it's seeking something comfortable. So that's how you end up procrastinating, procrastinating planning, scrolling on Instagram. Because in that moment, when you do that other task, you relieve that tension. You don't feel that discomfort. And it's just like, OK, I'm safe again. Like, OK, I can. Let me scroll because.

It was getting rough out here, but that doesn't help you move forward on the task. So a thing that really helps me is when I catch myself procrastinating, because usually I don't catch it the first round. I may be like doom scrolling two or three times before I'm like, up. You still haven't done that thing. I need to stop and ask myself why. So I do a lot of journaling. I have a notebook that I journal all kinds of things and whatever it is that I'm procrastinating about, I try to journal what is happening in this moment.

So I have a presentation that I need to do for something that I haven't done yet. So now I need to sit here and think about, OK, what is going on internally? Why have you not done this presentation? So that's the question I ask. Whatever it is I'm procrastinating about, it's like, OK, why have you not done your presentation? And you know that it's due soon. So then I start going through the list. I haven't made time to sit down. I'm struggling to focus on doing this.

Maybe I don't feel like I know where to start with it. Like whatever I have going on internally, I start asking those questions and I start writing it down and whatever comes to mind, usually I can work it out on paper because the thing will float up to the top and it's like, oh, you haven't done it because you've just been putting it off and you just don't want to do it. Or you feel like it's not going to be perfect enough and you don't want to do it. And when I come into like, when I hit the wall of like perfection, then I have to really like reign myself in and be like, okay, come back. Because you know how to do this thing, you would not have signed up to do it if you didn't know how to do it.

So then from there, another thing that I do after I come to the answer from journaling, I start writing down all the steps that I need to do to actually do this thing. Because sometimes it's just a momentum problem. It's feeling overwhelmed. So it's just like, okay. So to do the presentation, what do I need to do?

I need to make an outline. I need to come up with like the main three things that I want people to take away from the presentation. So that would be the thing. I need to come up with my three takeaways. I need to make that into an outline. I need to open up Apple Keynote and open a new presentation document. Maybe I want to decide like what colors are going to be this presentation. I just start listing it out.

And then from there, once I have those lists, that list of steps, I just start making myself build that momentum by going through that list. And it's challenging because I have ADHD. So my brain will be like, this is cute right now, but I don't want to do it no more. So I have a timer. I actually have like a visual timer. I use a digital timer sometimes, but this one here is usually when I catch myself procrastinating a lot and I really need to get it together. I use this timer and I do the Pomodoro method. I'm like, all right, set it for 30 minutes and write whatever you can about this topic for your outline on paper. And that's how I just try to get myself to do the process and get the momentum started. Because a lot of times, if I can get myself moving in the right direction, then I can ride that energy and keep going. But it's just like getting my brain to snag on that thing and actually do it is the hardest part for me personally.

Mallory

Yeah, that's yeah, that's so helpful breaking it down into those like tiny steps to overcome the fear. And you said fear. And I know that this is your book. Don't let fear have all the fun. If people want to want to read your book and learn more about you, where do they find you? How do they get in touch with you?

Monique

So they can go to my website, TakeTinyAction.com.

That's the best place to find me. If you want to find my book, it's also available there, but it's available on Amazon and a lot of online retailers. So you can find it there as well.

Mallory

Awesome, thank you so much Monique.

Monique

You're welcome.

Connect with Monique Malcolm

• Website: Take Tiny Action

• Monique’s book: Don't Let Fear Have All The Fun: and other advice for making bold moves even if you're afraid

• Monique’s YouTube: @TakeTinyAction

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$173K Debt Free Journey: The Life Changing Magic of YNAB (You Need A Budget

YNAB is a powerful tool for managing personal finances and achieving financial goals, like getting out of debt. In this video, I discuss the life-changing magic of YNAB (You Need a Budget) with my friend and productivity expert Monique Malcolm.

Monique shares her debt free journey and personal experience of using YNAB to pay off $173,000 of debt and achieve a positive net worth.

She explains the four rules of YNAB, which include giving every dollar a job, embracing true expenses, rolling with the punches, and aging your money. We also discuss the learning curve of using YNAB and the importance of trusting your budget. Monique recommends using resources like the YNAB website and Reddit for support and learning. We chat about the benefits of using YNAB for managing income fluctuations and provide information on where to find resources for getting started with YNAB.

Monique Malcolm is a seasoned productivity expert, writer, and the founder of Take Tiny Action. She's talked about her debt free journey via her blog & podcast here: From $173,000 in Debt to Debt-Free: My 4-Year Journey to Financial Freedom.

She is dedicated to helping people achieve their goals in a sustainable way. Monique’s approach involves taking small and consistent steps over time, which allows people to achieve their ambitions while maintaining a healthy, balanced, and fulfilling lifestyle.

Monique is featured in this video about how to achieve your creative goals in 90 days, and she was also a guest on Episode 29 of the Badass Creatives podcast, talking about setting goals and taking action.

Ready to get started using YNAB? Sign up here with my referral link.

TAKEAWAYS

• YNAB is a powerful tool for managing personal finances and achieving financial goals, especially for creatives.

• The four rules of YNAB (give every dollar a job, embrace true expenses, roll with the punches, and age your money) provide a framework for effective budgeting.

• Using YNAB requires a mindset shift and intentional decision-making about how to allocate and spend money.

• Learning resources and community support, such as the YNAB website and Reddit, can help users navigate the learning curve and gain confidence in using YNAB.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Mallory

Monique, I'm so excited to talk with you about something that we are both very passionate about, and that is the life-changing magic of YNAB, AKA You Need a Budget.

Monique Malcolm

You need a budget and if you don't have a budget, we're going to teach you how to get a budget, because you need it.

Mallory

Get that budget. So you got started with YNAB before I discovered the life-changing magic of YNAB. Do you wanna talk a little bit about what it is, how it changed your life?

Monique Malcolm

Yes. So we got to go back to the year of 2018. So it was December 2018. I remember I had an Ulta credit card, like the store card, and it didn't have like a large credit limit on it. But I was like so close to having it maxed out. And in that moment, I felt so stressed because I was like, shit, all my credit cards are basically maxed out.

And...I was like, I can't keep living like this because it was just so stressful every month to try to balance all of these like minimum payments and then still feel like nothing's happening. So at that point, I found this debt payoff spreadsheet. I put all my debts in there, all my credit cards, my student loans, our car loan, everything in there.

I put all of our interest rates and I had a plan: I'm gonna try to pay off as much of these credit cards as I can in this one year. So that first year, I think we paid off like around $30,000 in credit card debt in that first year.

And at that point, I realized like, oh, I think we could do even more. Cause the totality of all of our debt was like $173,000... that was credit cards, student loans, cars, like everything. (No, I didn't have $173k credit card debt. It was like 100K in student loans.)

But I remember thinking like, great, this has worked out so far, but I hadn't really learned or mastered budgeting. It was working out because my husband works in sales and he gets bonuses. So we were just using like bonus money to throw at those credit cards.

But I was like, I think we could do even better if we actually really learned how to budget and like understood our numbers and ran real things in.

So fast forward to December 2019, and I'm trying to figure out, well, how are people managing their money? Because I've tried budgeting with a spreadsheet and it sucked. And I couldn't understand, like, it just, it was so manual, it took so much effort. So then I saw some friends talking about budgeting and somebody mentioned YNAB. So I looked it up.

And I was like, cool, this looks good. It has an app. It seems to make sense. And so I created my first budget and YNAB in December of 2019. So a year after I decided that I was going to start paying off those credit cards, here we are in 2024. I have not looked back. I have knocked out all $173,000 of debt for the first time. And it took us four years.

For the first time in my marriage, my husband and I have a positive net worth and we've been able to max out 40ks and IRAs and really take control of our finances because of YNAB.

Because it just made, for the first time, it really made budgeting seem less about sacrifice and more about like, what do you want? What are your priorities? How do you wanna allocate your money?

And that shift from like, you have to put $500 desire for groceries. And if you run out, like you got to sacrifice, maybe you got to buy beans and rice so you can stay there. YNAB’s four rules for budgeting changed everything.

Like this whole idea of giving every dollar a job and rolling with the punches. So if you go off budget for one of your categories, you can move money from somewhere else. That felt a lot more approachable to me than just being like, all right, you only got $50 for gas this month, so I don't know what to tell you if you run out of gas. Next month, you got 50 more. Try to get to next month. I didn't like that approach.

Mallory

Yeah, yeah, because I remember way back years ago, I tried using Mint, which doesn't even exist anymore. I think they closed down. But Mint just so we would like pull in my, you know, numbers from my different like checking accounts and credit cards accounts. But it just kind of showed me like what was happening. And I didn't have to do anything.

And I think that's part of it is that with YNAB, you actually have to bring intentionality to your money. You have to like have some awareness and some mindfulness. Actually, one of my favorite finance folks, Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You to Be Rich, he even talks about this. He calls it the mindful spending plan. And in his books and stuff, he even recommends YNAB, even though he talks about like hating budgets. And then it's like YNAB is called You Need a Budget.

But I try to explain this... (when I get so hyped up. I know we both like will fangirl about YNAB, right? And we've like talked to other people into getting on the bandwagon about it...) To me, it's like, it's not really a budget in the way that people traditionally think about it, because it's not restrictive.

It's that you're just creating this awareness and mindfulness about how you're spending your money and how you're like planning to spend money in the future instead of letting it all just like be in the present moment, which is funny because I'm talking about mindfulness…

Monique Malcolm

Yeah, it's a money plan. And I don't think that when I had read about budgeting before and was trying to do all these budget spreadsheets, I mean, I have Google searched budget spreadsheets for years and like downloaded multiple ones and have tried to fill them out.

Nobody ever really, I never saw it presented as like, this is a plan for your money. It really just felt like, great, here are the categories that you have to spend money in every month. Here are the tight containers that you need to put your money in. And like, if the money runs out, you need to discipline yourself and cut back more. And while there is discipline, especially if you have six figure debt, there's a lot of discipline that needs to happen. And there are things that need to be cut back on. But I liked that their approach did not feel like it was restricting me or shaming me into, this is how you get out of debt.

Because when you have six figures of debt, there's already a lot of shame. Trust me, there's a lot of shame. There's a lot of psychological, emotional weight that you carry because you know you're not supposed to have that much debt. It's crazy. It really is crazy.

So to have a program that talked about allocating your money and really asking you to look at like, What are you spending money on every month? Okay, great. You want to have money for dining out? How much money do you want to put there? And if you run out of money for that category for the month, where are you willing to move things around from? So maybe you want to have less money for, I don't know, gas in your car. Maybe you're going to, maybe you have a fund where you're saving for a new phone. Maybe you got to take the $20 out of there and put it into the dining out category if you don't have it.

But it made it be really approachable.

And YNAB has four rules for budgeting. And it's like, your goal is to try to get to rule four. And that's when you kind of have like mastered YNAB.

So I want to share those four rules because I really liked them.

The first one is give every dollar a job.

YNAB is based on a zero-based budgeting. So the idea is that you can only spend dollars that you have.

So if you have a paycheck, it comes in, it's $1,000.

Well, your goal is to take that thousand dollars and look at all your categories in your budget and budget that thousand dollars as far across your categories as you can. You don't worry about future money that you're going to get because you don't have it yet. So it really helped me shift my mindset from just thinking about immediately what bills need to be paid with this paycheck. And it started making me think about, great, I paid all the bills that need to come out of this paycheck.

Also, let me put some dollars aside for like bills that might be coming up soon because I would just use my check and kind of be like, okay, well, I paid, I paid the mortgage. I paid this. I still got a hundred dollars left over so like we can go eat out at the sushi restaurant. But that didn't account for like what's going to happen in the future and really saving for that.

The second rule is embrace your true expenses.

So true expenses are expenses that you're eventually going to have. So it's beyond the stuff of like mortgage, groceries, utilities, is also thinking about, do you have a car? Might you need to do maintenance on your car? You might need to change your tire or oil or getting new tags for your car. Do you need clothes? You need to have like, that's an expense that's gonna come up eventually.

It's preparing for expenses that you don't have on a regular basis, but eventually, you know, you're gonna need the money. So they prepare you by having a category and you put inside a little bit of money each time.

So in preparation of that expense happening. So that's rule two.

Rule three, roll with the punches.

Because YNAB knows you're gonna overspend in some of your categories, especially early on in the process. So the whole idea is instead of feeling bad that you overspent on your dining out budget, well, you're gonna roll with the punches. You overspent, so where can you pull that money from? Is there another category that you can move money over to?

And then the fourth one is to age your money.

And this is how YNAB helps you break the paycheck to paycheck cycle.

The whole idea is that there's a little number in the top of your YNAB app that calculates like how many days has it been since you spent new money?

So let's say right now I got $1 ,000 and I don't spend any of that $1 ,000 until next month. Well, I've aged that $1 ,000 30 days. Basically, I've held on to that $1 ,000 for 30 days. And that's the goal.

When you get to the point where your money is 30 days aged, then you've broken the paycheck to paycheck cycle. Because basically you are using today's, how do you say it? We’re in March. Basically I'm using March dollars to pay April expenses. So it's super, it's so easy.

But tell me what you think about that Mallory. Like, did you find the rules really easy or like they challenged you?

Mallory

Yeah, I mean, I love the four rules and that's why I think, like when I'm trying to explain it to new people, I try to like explain kind of the basic concept of those four rules and that it is, it's a mindset shift, right?

Because as opposed to something like Mint, where it just pulls in your numbers and it just kind of tells you what you have, it's not actually having you like do anything. It's kind of like shifting the way that you're managing things and you're having to actually take action or at least like bring, mindful intention to what you're doing with those, right?

Like for example, one of the rules, like the first rule about giving every dollar a job was really important for me. And so I don't know if you do this too, but with YNAB, you can have more than one budget under your same account.

I have my personal budget, but then the really life-changing thing is then I have a separate budget for my business stuff. And this is one of those things like I wish I had known in my creative business years and years and years ago.

Because now within my business budget, I am able to plan for those true expenses, things like taxes, right? Even like sales tax, like, you know, federal income tax, all of that stuff. Also things like a lot of as a business owner, a lot of software expenses, it's better if you can do the annual cost of the software, right? Like something like, you know, Canva Pro, right? For your annual subscription is going to be cheaper than if you're paying on the monthly subscription, right? But that expense is a true expense that comes up once a year.

And with the targeting and the goals that YNAB gives you, it makes it really easy to keep setting aside just a few dollars every month towards that.

But before I was using YNAB, I had a really bad habit of money would come into my business. I kind of was looking at those checking in savings accounts, like you were saying, to kind of see, oh, this is how much money I have right now.

And I think I was like giving every dollar like two or three or four or five jobs in my head, right?

And so that's how I got into debt because I like you, I started YNAB and all this stuff a little bit after you did. And I actually found your blog post where you talked about your debt-free journey and you shared that debt tracking spreadsheet. And I use that spreadsheet myself because I had done a lot of investing in myself and investing in professional development and gotten to at least like... $30,000 in credit card debt over the course of a year.

And then the pandemic hit and everything was changed and my income tightened up. And I was like, I got to get figure this out.

And I found your blog post and I found that debt tracking spreadsheet and I discovered YNAB and I kind of switched job situations all around the same time. And kind of just like made some mindset shifts. And through that, I was similarly able to completely get myself out of debt over the course of like the next year or two and now.

It's been life changing. I have no debt anymore right now.

Monique Malcolm

You talking about mindset shifts... One of the things or a few things that I like to share with people when they start YNAB for the first time, there is a bit of a learning curve.

Once you get it and you master it, like you're golden. But there is a bit of a learning curve with setting it up.

So it is one of those things where you just kind of have to take your time and adjust over time. So like coming up with your categories and like of of places you spend your money.

Yeah, you're going to have obvious ones like groceries, rent, that kind of thing. Then you may have less obvious ones.

I have a category for like my son's glasses because they just were so expensive. And I don't know. It's like every time I got hit with the glasses bill, I was like, why is it so much? So that's like a category that I had to add so that we would just put a little bit of money aside every month for glasses because we know he's going to need them eventually. So stuff like that.

So it's being open to testing that out and changing those things. But the big one, there's two that I find are really challenging for people that they have to learn to shift.

The first one is being YNAB poor.

Being YNAB poor, this is basically so since YNAB is a zero base budget and you are budgeting for future expenses, you will find over time that when you go to add your money into your categories… It does not stretch as far as you would think. Y

ou're just like, I didn't get all the categories before the end of the month. So you kind of have to make some trade -offs of like, you know, is it important to add money to the glasses fund this month or could you skip it a few months and add money to, I don't know, the Christmas fund?

You have to make some trade -offs there because your money is only going so far. But, and that gives you this sense of like, oh, I'm not making enough money because man, like it didn't, it didn't cover the thing. That's totally fine.

You will find your rhythm over time and there will be times where you'll be like, yeah, I can skip this for a few months and I'll just make it up on the back end. So being comfortable with that.

And then the other part of that is it's kind of related, but learning to trust your budget and make buying decisions off of your budget and not your bank account. Because since you are saving for future expenses, for example, I have a category for renewing the registration on our cars. So it's a small, it's a small thing. Like it's not a lot of money, but I know every year at the end of the year, I need to renew our car tags. So I have that set up.

Well, over the course of the year, you build up these, this balance in your bank account where you're just like, man, I got a lot of money in here, but no, you don't have a lot of money in here to just spend on whatever you want. You have money in here to spend on your budgeted items.

So you have to be really mindful to not make decisions during your Target run by looking at your checking account and be like, no, I got money. I can go to Target. It's like, no, you don't. What are you in Target for? Are you in here for clothes? Are you in here for groceries? What is it? What does that look like in your budget and why now? And then make your decisions based off of that.

So those two are really important shifts of things that I had to understand.

Mallory

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, and so when I was first getting started with YNAB, I watched actually a lot of YouTube videos.

YNAB themselves have a really great YouTube channel. They have a lot of different series. They have one series that I love is called Heard It From Hannah, and she kind of explains like the four roles and gives a lot of tips about how to use the budget. I love hers because she uses a lot of emojis in her budget, which I also do because I like the little visual cues and it...makes it feel fun to use my budget every day.

Another person that I learned a lot from is Nick True of Mapped Out Money. He has some really good like deep in-depth like walkthroughs. And he also has one about setting up like some business budgets and even using Profit First, which is like a kind of like business way to think about like accounting and bookkeeping and stuff and like using that in conjunction with YNAB.

Did you use any of that stuff when you got started with YNAB?

Monique Malcolm

I use a lot of the stuff on their website. So like YNAB's website has articles, there's videos, like it's really detailed. I would go through and search there.

The place that I found a lot of YNAB information, Reddit. Reddit, there's a YNAB group on Reddit and it's very active. And I love it because there's people who are budgeting for the first time and learning the magic of YNAB and like they're super excited or sharing like, you know, "I finally have a positive net worth" and it might have like shown in the red for months or years and then it's like slightly above and it may be like $100 positive, but it's like, we saw where you came from and now look at where you are and you're on your way to something better. So Reddit has been super clutch. And I have found that Reddit has been really helpful, especially for looking for specific situations with YNAB.

So... I mentioned my husband gets bonuses. Well, I found helpful Reddit threads about like, what do you do when you get windfalls? Because bonus money, like it fluctuates and it's not the same every month. And so it's not money that that I can always like plan for because I don't know what it's going to be.

So I found some really helpful threads about stuff like that that helped me figure out like, how do people manage when they get tax refunds or they get bonuses and stuff like that? that were really helpful. I also looked up like how do people, once you master all of like the four rules and you're doing it, like what do people do next?

There are plugins and stuff that you can add. There's one called Beyond Rule Four, which helps you if you're a person who's super into like the fire movement, so financial independence, retire early. There's a Chrome extension that you can add that can help you do some calculations with that and like pull your YNAB information in. That's super cool.

There are some really great threads on like if you're a high earner, how do people who have more money work with YNAB? Because at some point, if your income increases and you don't necessarily need it for the discipline of like budgeting, but you still like the process, it's been helpful to read that for other people. Like how do they manage YNAB? Like when they are, they do have enough money to cover their expenses for them. It's like, what do you do with the overflow? And like, how do you manage that? So Reddit has been super duper clutch in that respect.

Mallory

Yeah, and I know there's some really good Facebook groups too about YNAB. I think there's like an official YNAB fans Facebook group or something like that that is very similar if you're more of a Facebook person. And what you said too about when you have income fluctuations, I think that can be one of the areas where YNAB can be really life -changing, like for a lot of creative businesses who do lots of different things and might have income that like goes up and down.

I think YNAB can really make a big impact if you're struggling with like, oh, this month I have all of the money and I can pay for all those things. And then next month I feel like I'm completely broke. Well, YNAB with the true expenses and all of that stuff helps you plan for that and like manage that so that it starts to feel more stable over the long term, the longer you use it.

Monique Malcolm

Pretty much. I mean, it is a game changer and I'm not, I, Mallory knows this because she's seen like my debt payoff journey.

It's such a life changer and it's just such a different way to really think about budgeting and saving money and really planning for money. And I think that is the part that is so missed in a lot of conversations around money and how do you make the most of it, is planning for your money and YNAB helps you do that in like a really easy way once you you get it up and running and going.

Mallory

Yeah, yeah. And so you mentioned your, your, your debt payoff journey. And I mentioned I read your blog post about it. I know you have that spreadsheet linked up to can you tell people where they can find you where they can find that blog post?

Monique Malcolm

Yeah, so you can find that on my website, TakeTinyAction.com.

I did a whole podcast episode about my debt payoff journey, how I paid off $173,000 in debt in four years, my husband and I. And so I actually link in that podcast episode, that blog post to the debt payoff calculator and some other resources that I have for YNAB because...

I just love it so much and I just want more people to learn how to use it and master your money.

Mallory

Yeah, thanks for nerding out about YNAB with me, Monique. This was so much fun.

Monique Malcolm

Same, thank you for having me.

CONNECT WITH MONIQUE MALCOLM

• Website: Take Tiny Action

• Monique’s book: Don't Let Fear Have All The Fun: and other advice for making bold moves even if you're afraid

• Monique’s YouTube: @TakeTinyAction

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Quarterly Planning for Creatives (The KEY to Productivity

Quarterly planning allows for focused and adaptable goal-setting in creative businesses. In this video, I discuss the importance and impact of quarterly planning for creative businesses with my own business coach, Gwen Bortner:

Gwen offers accountability and coaching through her Quarterly Tune-Up program, and I offer Seasonal Planning Sessions every 3 months as part of the Badass Creatives Marketing Accelerator.

In this video, we chat about the benefits of quarterly planning, such as the ability to focus deeply on specific projects and adapt to changing circumstances.

Gwen shares a case study of a client, the owner of a yarn and knitting shop, who experienced significant progress in her business after implementing quarterly planning. We talk about the value of accountability and the role of a business coach for creatives in providing guidance and support.

Our conversation also explores the concept of success and the importance of alignment in long-term planning. Finally, we discuss the non-comparative and supportive environment of the Quarterly Tune-Up program and how you can get involved.

Gwen Bortner is the founder of the business operations advisory firm, Everyday Effectiveness.

Gwen has a background in the craft industry, with years of experience as a professional knitwear designer & knitting teacher.

She helps visionaries scale their businesses to seven figures and beyond without the stress and overwhelm of trying to do it all on their own. Her approach comes from the belief that personal and professional success looks different for everyone, and most business owners waste time and energy trying to conform to outside expectations and definitions of success.

TAKEAWAYS

• Quarterly planning allows for focused and adaptable goal-setting in creative businesses.

• Accountability is a key component of successful quarterly planning.

• Long-term relationships with a coach can provide valuable insights and support in achieving business goals.

• Success should be defined on an individual basis, free from comparison to others.

• Gwen’s Quarterly Tune-Up program and Mallory’s Badass Creatives Marketing Accelerator both offer a curated and supportive environment for creative entrepreneurs.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Mallory

Hi, Gwen, and thanks for joining me to talk about something that I know is near and dear to both of our hearts, and that is quarterly planning for creative businesses.

Gwen Bortner - Everyday Effectiveness

It is near and dear to both of our hearts. Quarterly planning is, the way I describe it, is “the new black” in planning.

Mallory

Yeah, because there's often, I feel like for a long time, the focus was on like quarter or like annual and yearly planning, right? And looking at the entire year, whether you start on in January or you do that like kind of business fiscal year thing that starts in the middle of the summer for, I don't know, like whatever reason. But why is quarterly planning so important and impactful?

Gwen Bortner - Everyday Effectiveness

So for me, the key reason is that it is long enough to actually get something significant done and short enough to not get distracted or bored or to leave it to the end.

I mean, raising my hand here as someone who's done this myself when I was doing yearly planning was all of a sudden somewhere around October, November, it was like…Crap, there was a whole bunch of things I was gonna do by the end of the year and I haven't done them yet and so I'm gonna start them right now. And it's like, well, if I can actually get them done in a quarter, I should have done them by March. You know?

Mallory

Yeah, well, and I think too, I think over the last few years, more of us have realized it's like things change, right? We have like world changing pandemics that affect everybody's life and you could have planned your year and it would all just, you know, not matter anymore. Everything is different.

Gwen Bortner - Everyday Effectiveness

You think? Yeah, well, and that is part of it, is things have always been dynamic, but they continue to be more and more and more dynamic, right? And so it allows you to be able to adjust to those dynamics as they're happening.

It also allows you to focus on different spaces within your business over the course of an entire year, instead of getting too myopic on one particular aspect. And I have a kind of a different philosophy about goals than a lot of people do, which is related to why I think the 90 day or the quarter or the three month or however, and I know you like to think about it in seasons, which is also typically a three month kind of thing. Different people think of it differently, but it's generally in that three month, 90 day quarter kind of container.

Mallory

Yeah, and I think it's so helpful for like multi-passionate creatives or people who, you know, are trying to tackle multiple different projects or like creative interests or aspects of things because you're kind of focusing just for a set amount of time a little bit more deeply instead of trying to do all of the things all at once.

Gwen Bortner - Everyday Effectiveness

It really is. It's about that distraction factor. Anyone who's highly creative, and everybody I work with, is in some capacity or another. And a lot of them are creatives in what I'm going to call the traditional way.

And the distraction is real, right? The whole shiny object, oh my gosh, this is interesting. Most of them have some level of multi-passionate in them. And it's easy to say, no, we're not going to look at that until next quarter. Back here, back here, back here. No, no, back here, back here…

And it's a short enough time that it's like, okay, I don't have to just hate this for 90 days. You know, I can focus, I can do it, and then get excited about something else.

Mallory

Yeah, well, in 90 days is like, it's so like, it's far enough out that it gives you the space to plan a thing, but it's close enough that it still feels real.

Like, actually the first time I ever hosted the Badass Creatives Marketing Accelerator as an in-person retreat, this was back in 2018. I got really great advice from Michelle Villalobos about setting a 90 day like date for the retreat and then just telling people about it and then figuring out the logistics afterwards, basically? And that's how I got it done, was just picking a date 90 days out and then just doing it.

Gwen Bortner - Everyday Effectiveness

Yep. Yeah, just making it happen. And it is that 90 days gives it enough urgency that you don't just keep putting it off and putting it off and putting it off and putting it off.

And at the same point, like you said, there's still enough space that it's not like, that you're gonna fail all the time.

Cause that's another thing is that we get caught up of setting these really aggressive goals or whatnot. And then we fail and then we start saying, yeah, I'm not really good at planning goals and I can't do all that.

That's not actually true either. So it also allows you to get better at setting goals.

That's one of the other things I talk about with my folks when they're coming into quarterly planning is the first couple quarters are probably gonna go really poorly. And that's okay because it's actually a skill to learn how to plan. And so just be prepared.

Like all new things, you're probably gonna suck at it at first, and that's okay, but you're gonna get better as time goes on, and if you just allow yourself that space and permission, you'll be surprised.

Mallory

Yeah, and when you mentioned that you work with a lot of other multi passionate creative types, me being one of them, right? I'm enrolled in your Quarterly Tune-Up program.

But could you maybe share kind of like a more tangible, specific like story or case study about one of your clients who's kind of seen a transformation after they started shifting to this quarterly planning, you know, in their business, how that's been able to help?

Gwen Bortner - Everyday Effectiveness

I had a gal that was in my quarterly tune-up a couple of years ago, and she owned a yarn shop, and it was successful. She had owned it for years. So it wasn't like that she was failing in any sort of way at all.

But when she joined Quarterly Tune-Up after her first quarter, so as she came into the beginning of the second quarter, her comment was, "I got more done on my business, not in my business, but on my business last quarter than I have in the last three years."

And so it wasn't about the stuff that she was going to be doing anyway, which is all the stuff that we actually really like doing, right? And that comes naturally to us. It was about doing the stuff that she knew she needed to do that was actually going to make impact on the business, but was always finding reasons not to do.

And by using the accountability process that we use, which is part for us, that's actually for us, the value of the Quarterly Tune-Up. It's less about the planning and more about the accountability. She said, just knowing that Gwen was going to, you know, look at my list and see how I did, meant that I took time to focus and do the things.

She got deep into her finances and really started understanding what was going on in her finances. She got jobs and roles lined up in ways and started understanding why things, you know, weren't working as well as they could be. You know, there was a whole bunch of things, you know, very specific things, and they were, of course, specific to her business. And, you know, someone else is going to get completely different results. But it was about that focus and knowing that there was some accountability behind it as well. It wasn't just words on a piece of paper that didn't get looked at again until three months later.

Mallory

Yeah, yeah, the accountability piece is huge because like, I've definitely felt that as, as I've been going through the Quarterly Tune-Up and like the weekly accountability check-ins, right?

And like, I often use parts of that almost like journaling. Like I probably, I don't know what it is compared to your other people, but I feel like I write a lot, but it's more for me, right? And to communicate it to you. But then I also so much appreciate like getting helpful feedback.

But also just like sometimes just validation about my ideas, right? Like, oh, this isn't, you know, this isn't so far out there. Like this is, you know, maybe I'm on the right track. I hearing from somebody else like that could be really helpful.

Gwen Bortner - Everyday Effectiveness

Well, and you know, there's a couple of things. So, and I'll just tell you, yes, you are one of my more verbose folks, but I love it, right? It's not a problem. And I tell people when they first come in, it's like, some people take about five minutes to do this and others, you know, write me short novellas each week. And I'm okay with, you know, anything and everything in between that, it doesn't matter.

Because ultimately, this accountability piece is really for you to be able to look back and see what did I do? Where did I get, you know, what was working? What wasn't working? You know, where did I have an insight that I need to now apply as I move forward? It's all of those elements.

And, you know, I love being able to celebrate wins with people, I mean, that's always a really exciting thing. But also part of my superpower is being able to see that little something that's like, this might be a bigger deal than you think it is. You need to pay attention to this, or have you thought about...?

We call it micro coaching. I don't know what else to call it because it's not, you know, it's not like real, real coaching, but, but it is, there's a little micro bits of insight and often all of everyone who's ever done Quarterly Tune-Up has said there's often some sort of insight that they're like, oh, yeah, that made me think about this very differently. It expanded my thinking or took me down a slightly different path that really was valuable.

So it's not just the accountability, but it's that it's someone who's really looking at it and paying attention to it and really trying to provide value and not just saying, did you or didn't you?

Mallory

Yeah. And it's like creating this space in between those like every three month check-ins to, you know, because we're thinking really like big picture seeing the whole forest in that like once a three months, right? But then in the weeks in between, you're like in the woods, traveling the path and trying to make sure that you're still staying on the path. And it can be so helpful to have somebody else just to like, make sure that you don't get lost completely in the woods.

Gwen Bortner - Everyday Effectiveness

Well, no, and that's exactly it. And I talk about almost every quarter that when we set goals, I don't see the goal as the success necessarily. I see it as the direction that you're heading and that my responsibility as your accountability partner is if I see you going off that path, that you're doing it with intention, not with distraction.

And doing with intention is completely fine. Because sometimes we don't know that the goal that we had in mind isn't actually our best goal until we're part way down the path. And then we're like, oh, this wasn't what I thought this was. You know, I need to do something different. And so I'm never worried about, you know, did you actually achieve the goal, but did you move your business forward with intention?

Mallory

Yeah, yeah. And I think that's why it's also so helpful to work with a coach over like a longer period of time too, right?

Like when I joined Quarterly Tune-Up, I think you offer the ability to do just like a quarter, right? But I was like, I want to do it for an entire year. I want to commit because I knew that for me, and I think for most people, like there's more value in that longer term relationship.

I see the same thing with my students in the Badass Creatives Marketing Accelerator where it's like, if you say that you have one goal that you're working towards... The longer we can work together, the more I can see like, are you, is the thing that you're saying you wanna do really in alignment with the things that you're already doing, right? And I know that you see a lot of that with your people.

Gwen Bortner - Everyday Effectiveness

Oh yeah, oh yeah. I mean, that whole alignment thing is huge. And we were talking about it recently on a short-term LinkedIn Live set of episodes that I'm doing with another ops person and talking about that way to think about what is success really mean to you?

And sometimes, and you were commenting on that, sometimes there's a lot of unlearning that has to go on because we've been conditioned with the best intentions most of the time by our family, by our spouses, by our environment, by our friends, by whatever we're surrounded with, right? And maybe with less good intentions by social media to define success in ways that may or may not really resonate with us, right?

And it takes some time sometimes to go through this process before we start realizing... Oh, this success thing that I think I'm wanting is not the thing that I'm actually wanting. Success actually looks very different for me as an individual.

It's one of the key values that we hold up in the Quarterly Tune-Up is there's no comparison. It's a completely non-comparative environment. And I think, you and I haven't talked about this, so I want you to be completely honest, but I think everyone who walks into the Quarterly Tune-Up the first time finds it really supportive, even though they don't know anybody, right? And they feel very welcome.

But it's because there is this non-comparison. We are all on our journey and we're supporting one another even when we're running very, very parallel. I mean, we have some folks that have very, very similar businesses, but they're 100% supportive of one another because our journeys are different.

Mallory

Yeah, yeah, it's been a really incredible group to be a part of. I've only been at two of the live Quarterly Tune-Up sessions so far, about like halfway through my first year with you, but it's been amazing. If people are interested in getting involved and maybe joining Quarterly Tune-Up and learning more about working with you, how should they get in touch?

Gwen Bortner - Everyday Effectiveness

So they can find more information at EverydayEffectiveness.com/QTU

And they can read a little bit about what the process is. And at the bottom, there's a book a call button because we curate who comes in. And so we talk to everybody before they join. There is no just, I push the button and I sign up because we wanna make sure that they're at the right stage, that they're the right attitude, that all of the things really fit, because that's why when new people come in, they actually feel like they belong, because we've got a curated environment that we're holding for folks.

Mallory

Yeah. And I do something very similar with the Badass Creatives Marketing Accelerator. I think that's really important to make sure that everybody in a group like that is really in alignment or sort of like on the same field of values and things. Awesome. Yeah. Thank you so much, Gwen. I appreciate you.

Gwen Bortner - Everyday Effectiveness

Mm-hmm. It makes a huge difference.

Oh, I love having these conversations and I can't wait for the next one!

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