In this episode of Two Pixels Off, Brad Hussey and Michael Janda tackle two essential topics for creative entrepreneurs: overcoming the fear of scaling your business and embracing rejection as a pathway to success. Let’s break down the key takeaways and actionable advice that can transform your mindset and business practices.
The Power of "Go for No"
Embrace Rejection as Growth
The concept of "Go for No" encourages creative entrepreneurs to shift their perspective on rejection. Instead of avoiding failure, aim to collect as many “no’s” as possible. Why? Each rejection is an opportunity to refine your pitch, learn about your audience, and eventually land more “yeses.”
Key Actions:
Track Your Attempts: Document your outreach efforts. Whether it’s cold emails, client pitches, or networking, tracking lets you identify patterns and improve your approach.
Learn from Each No: After every rejection, ask yourself (or the client, when appropriate) why it didn’t work and document the feedback for future adjustments.
Consistency is Key: Repeated efforts lead to compounding results. Commit to daily or weekly sales-related tasks to build momentum.
Scaling Your Business Without Fear
Rethink the Risk of Hiring
For many small business owners, hiring is intimidating. Michael reframes this fear by breaking down the perceived financial risk into manageable increments. Instead of seeing hiring as a $60,000 annual expense, view it as a $5,000 monthly trial for three months. This mindset shift allows you to test the waters and evaluate the fit without feeling overwhelmed.
Steps to Start Hiring:
Set a Trial Period: Hire new employees for a defined period, such as three months, to assess their impact on your business.
Analyze Your Numbers: Determine how much you can allocate from profits or savings to support this experiment.
Focus on ROI: Consider how the employee’s work will free up your time, increase efficiency, or bring in more revenue.
Compounding Efforts: The Secret to Long-Term Success
Both hosts highlight how consistent effort in business—whether through outreach, hiring, or process improvement—leads to exponential growth. Much like compound interest, small, regular actions accumulate over time to create significant results.
How to Leverage Compounding:
Set Sales Goals: Define clear, measurable targets, such as sending 100 pitches per month or attending three networking events.
Optimize Over Time: Regularly refine your strategies based on results, improving your efficiency and success rates.
Think Long-Term: Understand that small gains today can lead to massive growth in the future.
Actionable Advice for Creative Entrepreneurs
Create Sales Effort Goals
Consistency is key to generating opportunities in any business. Instead of focusing solely on outcomes, direct your energy toward measurable, actionable tasks that increase your chances of success.
For example:
Daily Outreach: Commit to sending five cold emails or LinkedIn messages to potential clients every day. Over time, this adds up to 150+ contacts per month, significantly increasing your opportunities.
Event Networking: Attend at least two industry events each month and set specific goals, such as collecting 10 meaningful business cards at each event. Meaningful conversations, not just collecting cards, are what build relationships.
Nurturing Existing Clients: Schedule follow-ups with previous clients to ask if they need support or new projects. A simple email like, “Hey, I enjoyed working with you on X. Do you have any upcoming projects I can assist with?” can reignite dormant relationships.
Systematize and Delegate
As your business grows, so do the number of repetitive tasks. Free up your time for high-value activities by creating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for these tasks and delegating them to your team or contractors.
Steps to Systematize and Delegate:
Identify Repetitive Tasks: Examples include responding to routine client inquiries, invoicing, or preparing proposals.
Document the Process: Record yourself performing the task using tools like Loom, or write step-by-step instructions that anyone can follow.
Assign and Monitor: Delegate tasks to team members or virtual assistants. Use project management tools like Trello or Asana to track their progress.
Focus on Incremental Risks
The idea of scaling your business can feel overwhelming, especially when it comes to hiring or investing in new systems. Break the process into smaller, manageable steps to make it less intimidating.
How to Manage Incremental Risks:
Test New Hires: Instead of committing to a full-time hire, start with a part-time employee or freelancer. Use a three-month trial period to evaluate their performance and fit within your business.
Allocate Budget for Experiments: Set aside a portion of your profits to test growth strategies, such as new marketing channels or additional software tools. For instance, you could experiment with Google Ads by dedicating $500 per month for three months to see if it generates a positive return on investment.
Evaluate ROI Regularly: Assess whether these investments are delivering measurable results. If not, adjust or discontinue them without significant financial loss.
Celebrate Progress, Not Perfection
In the creative business world, it’s easy to get stuck striving for perfection—whether in your pitch, your portfolio, or your client work. However, consistent progress, even if imperfect, is what truly drives success.
Examples of Celebrating Progress:
Track Small Wins: Did you get five “no’s” but also one “yes” this week? Celebrate that “yes” and the progress you’re making toward your goals.
Refine As You Go: Instead of waiting until your pitch deck is “perfect,” send it out to potential clients and refine it based on their feedback.
Acknowledge Milestones: Reaching 1,000 LinkedIn connections, sending your 100th cold email, or landing a retainer client are all milestones worth celebrating.
About Two Pixels Off
Hosted by Brad Hussey and Michael Janda, Two Pixels Off is a podcast dedicated to helping creative entrepreneurs run successful businesses. The show covers everything from marketing and pricing to project execution and profitability, all aimed at empowering creative professionals.
If you’re interested in actionable advice for headline writing and other content strategies, tune into Two Pixels Off on your favorite podcast platform, or visit TwoPixelsOff.com for more episodes.
