The Dream Biz® Podcast | Anti-Hustle Business Strategies for Creative Entrepreneurs

Don't want to make reels on IG? You don't have to.  Find what feels good. Join my free community at facebook.com/groups/freedomtoflourishcommunity

I've been gone for a long time.  Somewhere around April 2020 I decided to pursue content creation, course creation, and try my hand in the Education space. It hasn't really worked out yet. November 2020 brought us back to our home state of SC. My husband was still working from home. It didn't make sense to spend thousands of dollars on rent to just work from home. Starting in June 2021 I took an extended break from the podcast and from promoting my courses. My excuse was that I was focusing on the 8 editing clients I still had and that I wanted to spend time with family. Feeling Like a Failure The truth is, I've felt like a failure for the last 2 years, so I ended up throwing in the towel mentally. I know that I'm not alone in feeling this way, but I continue to compare myself to others. I feel like I don't deserve to be heard. Honesty In Social Media The question I want to explore is: what if we were honest with each other? What if when someone asked how we were we actually told them? Listen in for more or head to christijohnsoncreative.com/imposter-syndrome-honest

Busy season is here whether we like it or not! I don't know about you, but I am BUSY. In fact, busy season came EARLY for me this year. I wasn't fully prepared for it. I told my husband the other day I feel a low grade sense of anxiety like... all the time. Can you relate?! I think it's especially important to guard ourselves against burnout in this season. Every year I tell myself I'm going to put things in place that will make me not hate my life when October rolls around. While I still feel that busyness and anxiety right now, I do have to say I am closer to my dream reality this year than I've ever been. Why? Because I've seriously been working on showing up how I want to show up and setting boundaries that make that possible. Today on the podcast, Katrina Widener is telling us how to do just that and more She's sharing exactly how to prevent burnout as an entrepreneur and what to do when you start to feel it coming. Listen in to this episode for some much needed relief! About Katrina Katrina Widener is a business coach, podcast host, and community leader. Simply put, she helps established entrepreneurs make more by doing less — reaching full alignment in their business through Human Design, business strategy, and mindset. Say ‘see you never’ to draining compromises, and elevate your empire in a way that feels joyful and builds wealth. PREVENTING BURNOUT IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP Burnout and overwhelm are some of the most common struggles amongst all entrepreneurs. By approaching our businesses from a proactive — not reactive — place, we can strategically build them to prevent burnout from the beginning.  Follow Katrina www.katrinawidener.com @katrina.widener Follow Christi christijohnsoncreative.com @christijohnsoncreative

Does marketing your business make you stressed and overwhelmed? Do you log onto social media and compare yourself to everyone else? You are not alone! But what if I told you there's a better way? We believe the lie that we have to be the best at everything. But what if you only had to be the best at being yourself? The reasons you're overwhelmed & stressed about marketing your business are simple: You haven't made a conscious choice about where you will market You haven't clearly defined your goals about marketing on those platforms You haven't laid out an actionable strategy to achieve your goals That all sounds confusing, but it's actually really simple. And it can be fun, too! Friends, the reason you're so overwhelmed is because you haven't decided what's important to YOU and how YOU want to market your business. Instead, you're listening to what everyone else says is important. You are the boss of your business. It's time to empower yourself to act like it! Listen in to episode 62 of the Crush Your Goals with Christi Podcast to learn exactly how to do just that! Join the free masterclass! christijohnsoncreative.com/masterclass Listen to the episode mentioned- Combatting Marketing Fatigue with Juli Smith Follow Christi christijohnsoncreative.com @christijohnsoncreative

As small business owners and especially creative entrepreneurs, it's easy to get lonely. In late 2018, my husband and I moved to California. We are both from South Carolina, so our new home was a big adjustment. The busyness set in and the burnout came quickly. I was unhappy and honestly homesick. So, I started connecting with more people. From that moment on, everything was different. I was happier at work. Joy came back into my life. Having just one close friend changed everything for me. That's the power of community. We are meant to be in community with each other. Our humanness is the biggest thing that connects us. No matter who we are or where we come from, we all share in the human experience. We all know what it's like to be human. I believe that's what connects us. Listen to today's episode all about building community as a business owner! Want to take this topic a step further? Join my Masterclass where I  show you exactly how to make community more of a reality in your life.  Follow Christi christijohnsoncreative.com @christijohnsoncreative

Today on the podcast, Ashley shares about overcoming adversity and creating a business you love. Listen this week for a great talk with an amazing business owner and mom. Read on for more about Ashley's story! About Ashley "I am a self proclaimed wedding guru based in Greenville, South Carolina (willing to travel anywhere in the United States). I grew up in the wedding and event industry. As an only child I went to work with my mom and got to experience the incredible rush of weddings, now it’s in my veins and it is my passion! As a wedding planner and floral designer I have an eye for design and attention to detail -- it's just in my Type A veins. I’m a wife, daughter, friend and I’m a mama to 3 incredible boys. I’m a firm believer in loving big, making memories and savoring moments." Follow Ashley caeventplanning.com @caeventplanning Follow Christi christijohnsoncreative.com @christijohnsoncreative

Renee Dalo joins me today to talk about visibility in your business and showing up the right way. Follow Renée at moxiebrightevents, reneedalo.com and @reneedalo Join Christi's Free Facebook Community What Does Visibility Mean? Visibility is always evolving. It used to be just posting on Instagram and having a cohesive brand and making sure your grid was cohesive. Now it encompases so many more things. It gets so much more of a holistic view of your business and what you're putting out there. It's lives, reels, stories, tiktok, facebook, and blog posts coming together to present a view of your brand. It's everything you put out in your brand along with your face as well. What if it's overwhelming? How to break it down A holistic approach to visibility can be freeing. Less but better is what we are going for. It's okay if you aren't posting every day on social media. What matters is that you use the right tool for the message. It's all about the message. Sometimes the message is best conveyed through a YouTube video better than a blog post. So instead of being overwhelmed by all the tools, think about which tool will work best for your message. It doesn't have to be everything at the same time. Content about best posing will be better for a video than a blog post. Establish Your Own Expertise in the Wide Market The point of visibility is to establish your expertise. A lot of people are talking about a lot of things all the time. Being visible is about showing your smarts, confidence, and showing your face, and creating mindful content that serves. You want them to trust you so that they want to pay you. Your following might be other people in your industry following you. That's okay. Remember you can still do business with a lot of followers or a few. The clients are out there looking to see who is relevant and who is engaged. Even if your followers are fellow business owners, you want to make sure your message is geared to your client. Keep your eye on the prize. Who is your account for? Keep that at the forefront of your messaging at all times. (Side note - you can use fohr.co to find analytics about your account) What about imposter syndrome?  How to step into the expertise role The biggest hurdle to stepping into a position of expertise is the mindset. To help your mindset, you need to exercise your content muscle. It's literally a muscle you need to work out. Don't look at someone who has been doing this for a while and compare yourself to them. Renée talks about how half of the photos on her Instagram she doens't like. But she has to remember that the way other people see her isn't how she sees herself. Her best advice is to just start. Keep Your Values At the Front Let your core values be your guiding light! What are your goals in your business and what is really important to you? Talk about those things on your page and in your content. Prioritize what is most important. That means you don't talk about everything! Don't be afraid to use your voice and be yourself, even if that means being silly if that's you too! Start Today. If you haven't been working on visibility in your business, that's okay. Give yourself grace. Just start today.  Read more at christijohnsoncreative.com/33

What Does Marketing Fatigue Look Like? First, we are better able to realize we are experiencing marketing fatigue by a feeling. It feels bad. If you're feeling overwhelmed, tired, or marketing your business is overwhelming, that is marketing fatigue. Sometimes just putting words to the feeling is helpful. Another piece is if you're scared to stop because you don't know what will happen could be marketing fatigue. With new apps and trends, it can be overwhelming. The thought of adding another platform to your plate may just make you snap. Tiktok, Reels, & Trends, OH MY! Instagram, Pinterest, and Tiktok are changing every second. Sometimes it feels like once we get a system down everything changes. Usually what happens is we buy a new course to teach us how to use it. There is a fear that if you're not the first on the new trends that you're done. But you actually don't need ot feel that way. But Juli suggests that there is a better way. How to Combat Marketing Fatigue First, Remember where you make money. If you are a maker like Juli, you can't compare yourself to someone who makes YouTube videos or Tiktoks for entertainment. Her business model isn't Instagram reels. Knowing where you make your money can help you prioritize your tasks. Second, understand that marketing fatigue is normal. Other people feel it, including those who are very successful. You are not alone. It's real. Knowing that can take the temperature down. Third, and most practically, remember your goals. What are your goals for being on a new platform or for using a feature?Julianne Smith is a nationally recognized wedding accessory designer, digital media strategist and small business educator. Julianne is the owner of The Garter Girl, a stylish wedding garter design company she started in 2004, after she couldn’t find a wedding heirloom worthy of her best friend. Read more at christijohnsoncreative.com/27 About Juli: Julianne Smith is a nationally recognized wedding accessory designer, digital media strategist and small business educator. Julianne is the owner of The Garter Girl, a stylish wedding garter design company she started in 2004, after she couldn’t find a wedding heirloom worthy of her best friend. The Garter Girl is known for stylish and meticulously handmade wedding heirloomsthat are too pretty to toss. The Garter Girl and Julianne have been featured on NBC’s Today Show, Lifetime, The Knot, Martha Stewart, Brides, and Glamour as well as many top wedding magazines and blogs. Julianne helps creative small businesses throughout the wedding industry who are struggling and confused with their online presence. Julianne offers done-for-you services, online courses,and speaking engagements on search engine optimization, blogging, and Pinterest. Connect with Juli: @thegartergirl or thegartergirl.com Listen to More Episodes Connect with Christi @christijohnsoncreative or christijohnsoncreative.com Join my Free Facebook Community

Jordan Kentris from A Good Day talks to us about embracing the hidden power of criticism. How do we step back from the emotion? How do we parse through criticism to get to the core of what we need to change? Listen in for the full conversation. Jordan is the founder and owner of a boutique design firm, A Good Day which was created to serve planners and their eclectic couples. It's a one-of-a-kind stationery that establishes a unique brand for each event. Jordan is a UX designer by trade and utilizes his experience to work with business owners on their branding. An innovator in the industry, he was recognized by BizBash as one of the Most Innovative People in 2020 as well as a finalist for the NACE One Awards Innovator of the Year. Jordan's Website | Jordan's Instagram Christi's Website | Christi's Instagram Today, Jordan is talking to us about Embracing the Hidden Power of Criticism. When someone criticizes you, it can be hurtful. It can be especially hurtful to creative entrepreneurs and solopreneurs since so much of our business is a reflection of us or our personalities. We might think that when someone gives negative criticism, it’s a personal attack or it means they don’t like us. When receiving criticism, it’s important to recognize that there are different types of criticism. The first are personal attacks. Often, personal attacks have more to do with the other person than with us. Someone may have been having a really bad day or there were alot of external factors going on. So it’s important to recognize that not all personal attacks will carry weight. When it comes to criticism that you need to take to heart and learn from, it’s important to let go of the mentality of “what’s wrong with me? I’m not successful!” and instead get down to the meat of the feedback. We can take the emotion out of the feedback and learn from it. Step away from the hurt and see what happened. Evaluate whats happening so that you can avoid it in the future. Think of a piece of criticism like an onion with layers. The first layer is the emotion. You can take that out. Once you get down to the core you can start to see okay, what happened? Then ask, what led into the criticism? Was it a problem with my client experience, was it a lack of communication? Was it an onboarding failure? Were you just in a bad mood when you spoke to the client? You can also look for consistent threads. If you get consistent pieces of feedback that are negative, it’s time to evaluate yourself and see where you might be contributing to the problem. Accountability groups or groups of peers can also be helpful to have a soundboarding, to ask for feedback, and to ask for help. When asking for help, ask from a diverse group of people as well so that you don’t just hear from people like you. Finally, there’s a way of asking for feedback that won’t set you up for a personal attack. Let your clients know you are open and want to hear feedback. That can take away some of the emotion and disarm them so that you can have a great conversation. When you get feedback, ask yourself “how many times is this happening?” And “how much weight do I need to put on this piece of feedback?” If someone says “I don’t like the color blue.” that’s different than “I have a hard time reading the text on your website” or “the header image is too big and takes too long to scroll.” Thanks again to Jordan Kentris from A Good Day for coming on the podcast!

In today's episode, I chat with Meghan Ely of OFD Consulting. We're talking about how to Give Your Brand a Voice in 2022 with PR.  What exactly is Public Relations? How does it differ from Marketing? And why is PR important for creative small business owners? These are all questions we'll tackle on this episode. We'll give you some easy wins so you can learn how to represent yourself & get featured. Meghan also shared with us how to prep your website for Press, plus how to pitch to media outlets. I can't wait for you to listen. Read more at christijohnsoncreative.com/25 Meghan is the owner of OFD Consulting. She combines in-the-trenches event experience with a love of wedding PR to empower her clients to take their businesses to new heights. She is a certified wedding industry professional. And, Meghan was the 2020-21 NACE Speaker of the Year. Meghan represents clients globally and has earned them coverage with the New York Times, Martha Stewart Weddings, The Knot, Refinery 29, Domino, Forbes and Real Simple, and the list goes on. As a long-time industry speaker and writer, she is a WeddingPro educator with The Knot and WeddingWire, as well as a regular contributor to Wedding Planner Magazine, Catersource, and SpecialEvents.com. Currently, Meghan serves as the 2022 International President for WIPA. Follow Meghan: ofdconsulting.com and @ofdconsulting

No more being overwhelmed when tax season rolls around! Today I'm talking about how to make your bookeeping process really easy. Join my FREE community for Creative Entrepreneurs HERE.

Join my free group at facebook.com/groups/freedomtoflourishcommunity

Do you feel stuck in your inbox stressed out about responding to leads? Do you feel like you have people ghosting you constantly? Today I'm sharing how to turn your leads into clients with my practical process to stop the ghosting & start booking more clients!  Get the show notes here: christijohnsoncreative.com/booking Where to Find Clients (Ep 3): christijohnsoncreative.com/find-clients How to Create a Website (Ep. 5): christijohnsoncreative.com/how-to-create-a-website/ Check out my course The Freedom to Flourish Course

Is your business scalable? Or are you still stuck trading 1 for 1 your time for money? I'm sharing with you ideas on how to generate passive income  as a service-based business owner. Get the show notes here: christijohnsoncreative.com/passive-income Boss-ladies I mentioned on the podcast: @deniserathbrinkman, @_nicholelauren Join my FREE Facebook Group for Creative Entrepreneurs

Education as a small business owner is so valuable! It can help you improve your craft, stay current with new trends, & find community. Today I'm sharing why education is valuable, how to find educators, & also what to look out for on those webinar pitches we all fall for! Let's dive in!  Join my FREE Facebook Group at HERE.

Habits are so important! Stephen Covey said, “you are what you repeatedly do.” And that’s true! Your habits show what you value. Often, our habits show where we spend most of our time. Today, I want to share with you my game-changing habits for 2021 and 3 ways to help make sure your habits stick. Let’s dive in! Get the show notes at christijohnsoncreative.com/habits Get my FREE Masterclass How to Get It All Done Without All the Stress @ christijohnsoncreative.com/masterclass

Learn exactly how to write the third email in your welcome sequence! This email is where you pitch your product to your audience. Here's how! Get the show notes here: https://christijohnsoncreative.com/nurture-sequence-3/ Join my FREE Community here: https://facebook.com/groups/freedomtoflourishcommunity

Community is VITAL as a business owner. Finding community can be difficult, especially when you move to a new place. I'm going to share with you how community is helpful for encouragement, for learning, for getting advice, and for referrals. I'll also share how to find community!  Check out the show notes here: christijohnsoncreative.com/community Join my FREE Facebook Group for Small Business Owners: facebook.com/groups/freedomtoflourishcommunity

Download the goal setting action plan at christijohnsoncreative.com/goal-action-plan Join my FREE Facebook Group to watch the live recordings & ask questions HERE Read the show notes at https://christijohnsoncreative.com/setting-goals/

Ever feel like you're just stuck in your email inbox or in mundane tasks instead of out there doing your best work? Automation & outsourcing can SAVE you during busy season. Learn how to quickly and effectively automate your booking process, your FAQs, your social media posting, & MORE!  Check out the show notes at christijohnsoncreative.com/automation-outsourcing Join my FREE Facebook Group