Automate Your Creative Business

Owning a business can be extremely overwhelming. We have so much to do, and not a lot of time to get everything done.  I know you hear things like all you need to do is automate your creative business.  That will save time which may be true.  As a small business owner, though, you feel like you don’t have the extra funds for more softwares and definitely not enough to hire an employee.

We all started our small businesses to be able to create our own schedule, work less, and make more money.  But the reality is, you’re working more and making less.  Or you’re struggling to find time to even work on your side hustle between your 9-5 and your real life. 

I’ve been there.

I worked 40 + hours a week at a dental office for 4 years before I took the leap as a full time photographer.  I was honestly working over 80 hours every week just trying to make ends meet.

So I get it… It’s a lot.

You’ve probably heard some of the business gurus talk about automating your business for productivity and while it sounds great, you’re really thinking how the heck do you start? And what exactly do they even mean by “automate your creative business”? 

Well, I want to explain exactly what that concept really means… and why you really should take the time to do it. 

Automate your creative business.

When I first started my business I used to think that I needed to have consults for every single potential session- whether they booked or not. Every single consult would cover exactly the same thing from outfits to pricing, a tour of the studio.  

And usually they lasted an hour or longer.  

An hour of time that could have been used for shooting a session that would actually make money for my business. 

And what’s worse, not every consult even booked a session.

Eventually, I realized that at each and every single consult, I was saying literally the same words and phrases to each potential client. And that meant, considering I was photographing 120+ sessions each year, I was spending nearly 120 hours each year just on consults, saying the exact same thing over and over again.

120 hours each year.  It adds up when you think about it that way doesn’t?

Why should you care about my experience?

When I really broke it down and saw how many hours I was wasting on these consults, I compiled everything I say on repeat to clients in those consults and had a very high converting website created by Natalie McGuire Designs. Because of this, I eliminated the need for about 75% of those consults. The few consults I still do, I use Zoom. These clients mainly want to make sure I’m a real person, not a creepy dude, and they take about 10-15 minutes of my time.

What I’m saying is I went from spending 100 hours or more on consults to less than 10-15 hours every year.  And honestly I would say that 10-15 hours is a stretch!

How can you use this information apply to your business?

Well for one, do you have a website yet? And if you do, is it an actual website, or is it more of a business card or a gallery of your work?

If your current website is being used more as a business card or gallery, you definitely want to re-evaluate. You don’t have to hire a high end website designer like I did.  Instead, you can DIY it with some easy tips(Or join 90 Day Dream Biz where I help you with your website copy and SEO).

It’s very important in the current online space to have a website that CONVERTS.  People want connection with the person they hire. They don’t want to just see pretty photos and design.  They need to FEEL something when they visit your website and socials.

Other possible time wasters in your business.

A few other areas you should evaluate in your business are scheduling, email reminders, accounting, and even your marketing.  Most of these can be either automated or incredibly simplified.

Setting up automation is a big task.

Automation set up does take a LOT of time.  You’ll need to set aside a few days to get it done.  But once it’s done, you’ll literally save hours and hours of your working time.

You won’t have to worry about forgetting the little things.

If you’re anything like me, when you’re on a roll or working on client things, I forget to stop and think about social media.  If I didn’t schedule my socials out, it would never get done.  That means I would never be in front of my ideal client when I need to be.

My clients have no idea I’m like this, though, because I schedule out all of my socials to auto post.  For my Instagram stories, I actually use a scheduling software that reminds me when to post so that it’s ideal for my specific audience.   With this strategy, no one even realizes I’m not super active on socials because my Instagram is always updated.

Putting your marketing on autopilot by scheduling it out each month will not only save time, it will also put your clients on autopilot as well.

You can literally automate an entire person’s job.

I know you’re overwhelmed with everything you have to do and I bet you’ve considered hiring at least a Virtual Assistant. But if you take time to find softwares that work for you, you can literally spend $50-200 a year instead of the salary of an employee or VA.  Which means you free up time in your day and money in your budget.

There are softwares that do almost anything.  Client management, reminders, payment automation, marketing, etc.  You name it, there’s probably a software to do it.  It just takes a bit of research to figure out what’s best for you and your business.

If you’re struggling in your business and you need some guidance…

Mostly, I want you to know that there are solutions to most of the overwhelm you experience in business.  If you have an area you’re struggling with, message me here or on Instagram and I will help you figure out a solution to that problem! I truly am here to help you figure out the easiest and best way to run your business so you can work less, make more, and love the life you’ve created. 🙂 

90 Day Dream Biz Course

90 Day Dream Biz is a course that helps creative business owners create profitable and automated 6 figure businesses while working 40 hour months(yes months- not weeks).  This course helps you work less and make more money.  And unlike other coaching and courses that focus only on high revenue goals and busy schedules, we focus on creating this business with your dream life in mind.