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Burnout is real and you’ve likely experienced it a time or two, but you don’t have to! In today’s episode, Kady Sandel joins us to share how designers can keep more profit without burning out! Listen in as she shares how she’s built a flexible and free schedule in her business to maintain a healthy work-life balance, along with a few steps to avoiding burnout as an entrepreneur!
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Kady Sandel is a business coach for designers and the founder of Aventive Academy, an online business platform that helps designers freelance their way to $10k+ months. She is the CEO of her branding agency Aventive Studio, as well as the host of The Profitable Graphic Designer podcast.
Why Designers Easily Burn Out
We hear all the time about goal setting and reaching your dreams, but it’s not often that people talk about how they’re going to reach those goals and if it fits their capacity. This is where designers and entrepreneurs alike burn out. Hitting a certain number in your revenue goals in a certain season may mean you’re overworking yourself, whereas you could strategically reach those goals without the burnout.
Kady knows exactly what this feels like, as she experienced this herself as she took her business full-time. Early on, she found herself working over 12 hours a day, forgetting to eat, and always exhausted.
Finding Freedom & Flexibility to Avoid Burnout
This wasn’t what Kady envisioned for herself. She wanted freedom and flexibility. This overwhelm prompted Kady to pivot to not having work hours—working when she wants to within reason. This provides a great work-life balance for her life, which helps her to avoid burnout.
Protecting Yourself From Burnout While Still Profiting
You may be thinking, well the only way to get that flexibility and freedom is to sacrifice profits, here’s some good news. You can still be profitable without burning yourself out. Here are a few steps to take in order to keep more profit without burning out.
Step Back and Rest
One of thee most powerful things you can do for yourself is simple: step back and rest. As easy as it sounds, it’s also easy to forget. Prioritize time for the things you love, find ways to rest in your day to day. When you’re rested, you serve your clients better, keeping them happier and paying you.
Outsourcing & Hiring in Your Business
One way you can avoid burnout is to hire help. Before you do, take a look at what you actually need help with in you business and what will continue to move the needle forward in your business. As you plan to hire someone, you also need to consider how can you make more money in your business without working more, in able to afford to bring someone on.
You may be thinking, well I can’t afford this, but really consider, can you afford to keep burning yourself out? That’s the bigger question.
When you hire in your business, you’re opening up the opportunity for growth in a way you couldn’t experience as a solopreneur.
Hiring in Your Personal Life
As an added bonus, you can also outsource personal tasks in your life, including housekeeping. This could allow you to be more productive in both business and personal life to keep the balance.
There are so many ways you can approach and achieve your goals as a business owner. It simply begins with taking thoughtful action that will serve you best so you can grow your business to the point that works for you. It’s important to remember that whatever your goals look like, when you take it seriously and when you choose to set it up in a way where you have the support that you need so you can consistently do the work that you want to do without experiencing the burnout. That’s how we start to create these businesses that are really designed to endure!
CONNECT WITH KADY
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https://aventiveacademy.com/get-a-12k-client-challenge/
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Review the Transcript:
Bonnie:
Hi friend, and welcome to the Brand Strategy Podcast, a show created to equip you with the inspiration, encouragement, and clarity you need to build a brand of your dreams. I’m your host, Bonnie bti, brand designer, strategist, and founder of the Alum Retreat from sustainable Strategy to heartfelt Encouragement. Each episode is designed to equip you with the tools you need to chase after your dreams because you deserve a brand that empowers you to do what you love, connects with your dream clients, and offers a deep sense of fulfillment along the way. So grab a cup of coffee and join me on this journey, won’t you
Bonnie:
Friends? Welcome back to the Brand Strategy podcast where today we are talking about how designers can keep more profit without burning out with the amazing Katie Sandal. I’m really excited for Katie to be joining us because she is a business coach for designers. Something that you know, I love to talk about all day long. And she is the founder, the creative genius behind Event of Academy, which is the online business platform that she’s created to help designers freelance their way to 10 k plus months. She’s also the c e of her branding agency, event of Studio, and the host of the Profitable Graphic Designer podcast. Katie, welcome to this show. Thanks so much for joining me today.
Kady:
Thank you so much for this amazing introduction, .
Bonnie:
Absolutely. I’m so excited to get to chat with you because there’s so much that you and I just really align on over, you know, the way that we focus on helping designers reach that 10 k mark and then scale past that. The way that we focus on doing that through advice and encouragement and teaching that is sustainable, that is, uh, value centered, that focuses on really the, the kind of quality of life that our students are experiencing. And so today’s topic about how designers can experience more profit without experiencing burnout, that’s something that I’m so passionate about because, and I I know that you’ve seen this in the years that you’ve been a coach for designers, it’s so easy for designers to work themselves to that point of burnout in pursuit of making more revenue. Is is that, you know, pretty accurate with what you’ve seen?
Kady:
Yeah, exactly. I mean, that’s where I was as well when I started my freelance career. So just to, you know, kind of like give you a quick background. Yeah. Basically when I, um, before I moved to Austin where I am, uh, currently I used to live in Denver and that’s where I really put everything into my freelance graphic design career. And I was, you know, freelancing on the side and I was constantly posting, trying to get clients, going for networking events, blogging, like doing everything you can possibly imagine. And even though I was seeing success when it comes to the money, you know, like, yeah, you can maybe make 8,000, 9,000, even 10 k but you, you don’t feel good about it. So that’s something that I’m passionate about, um, you know, like to talk about today. Cuz people are constantly like focused on like, yeah, let’s hit these goals. But I think it’s very important how you’re going to reach those goals because hitting 10 K in the past and hitting 10 K for me now is totally, totally different. You know, it’s just like really depends on what you focus on.
Bonnie:
Hmm, that’s a really good point. Now, before we get too deep into this conversation, if you’re up for sharing, I know you, you already just shared a little bit about what life and what business was like for you in Denver when you were getting started and you were kind of in that hustle mode. But what does your business look like now? What does life kind of look like for you now that you have kind of grown and, and learned from that season of, of hustle and burnout?
Kady:
Yeah, so in the past, um, well first of all I had a job in Las Vegas in one, you know, printing company. And then I was freelancing on the side and just a few months after that I was able to quit my job. And when I say just a few months, it’s almost a year, but you know, it’s, and it took a lot of work. I don’t wanna, now it sound like, oh, it’s so easy, it’s not . But what I wanted to say is, um, so when I quit my job and freelancing all that, it was a lot of work. I was, you know, trying to be my own like c p a and then as mentioned, like I was constantly working and working even like from 8:00 AM till it’ll be sometimes even 9:00 PM like I wouldn’t even have a dinner and I would be so, so tired.
Kady:
I was just like, go to bed, wake up work. And it was just like so, so frustrating and I wasn’t happy at all. I was constantly burnt out. I feel like. And then today, like how my business structure and how everything functions now is like, I start to work in between like nine and 10, um, am and then I would usually stop around like three or four. I would sometimes get some work in between 5:00 AM and 7:00 AM cuz I like to wake up at 4:50 AM so that at 5:00 AM I’m ready in my office, have a coffee and like really productive. But then if I work five till 7:00 AM then I would maybe stop at 1:00 PM or something like that. So I don’t have work hours. The whole reason why I started my business is to be very, very flexible. And it’s actually, um, like really weird. Like if you were to look into my Google calendar, like I literally don’t have like anything maybe a couple of, you know, podcast interviews scheduled or something like that. But it’s really, everything is so flexible. I don’t have work hours, I don’t have a location where I need to be at or things like that. And that was my goal with building my business.
Bonnie:
Well, and that’s such an amazing goal because that gives you so much freedom and so much flexibility and you get to choose when you’re working, you get to choose what your hours look like any given day and that also helps you to take action in a way that feels aligned with your energy or your health or your capacity, right?
Kady:
Yes, exactly. Like for example, yesterday it was, I don’t know, like around 1:00 PM and I felt like I’ve done so many things that day. I was like really productive. It was like nine till one. And then I just like, oh, okay, I’m actually, I have to buy something for Christmas, so I’ll just go . And like, I just like stopped working. And then later on I went to pick up my daughter from daycare and took her for a swim class. And there was a woman who, um, she’s a lawyer and she has, you know, full-time job and she got there and she was like super like, you know, like busy after her work. She felt like so exhausted and I’m just like, I was so grateful for my career and how I chose my career. And I’m not saying anything about, about, about lawyers or normal, I, I always called it like normal jobs night to five is normal, , . Um, so, you know, like I just, I just like literally looked at her and I was like, I just would never ever want that. You know? So like literally that flexibility and freedom and just being able to, to have that work-life balance where it’s not, I work nine to five and then I have the weekend. No, I literally have work-life balance where if I wanna work at 9:00 AM I can’t. But then if I wanna hit the gym at 10:00 AM I can do that as well.
Bonnie:
Mm-hmm. and like having that kind of flexibility and having that, that freedom built into your day-to-day, would you say that that helps you from burning out?
Kady:
Definitely, yes. Because you know, as mentioned in the past, I would just like work constantly mm-hmm. and what actually helped me a lot to, to kinda like grow my business without burning out is that, that I started hiring, you know, so the main problem that I see that, you know, other designers and creatives and our ourselves like that we, we sometimes get into that, oh, if I do more, I’ll make more. Not just in terms of money, but in terms of, you know, maybe value to a clients if I provide . And if we are talking now specifically about graphic design, like, you know how maybe when you were starting out or you know, like if you talk to your students and you see these young designers constantly trying to provide like, oh, I’ll send you 10 logo designs because that’s more value instead of no, you will get one logo solution for your specific problem within your business.
Kady:
So like we always think like, oh, more, more, more is going to give us more, but that’s not a case. So when I started hiring people, I started working less and that is actually when I saw the results because I was focused on the right things. And that’s why now I have that like flexibility and freedom because I have a team of people who work with me and you know, I have a copywriter, blogger, graphic designer, brand designer, web developer, and then we all work on, um, on certain projects. So it’s not just me running my business anymore, I am around just to make sure that everything’s working . Mm-hmm.
Bonnie:
Mm-hmm. , that makes a lot of sense. So before you made the decision to start hiring, and actually, you know, we can, we can totally look at the advice and the kind of curriculum that you teach your own students. When you see designers who are kind of in those earlier stages of business, they’re burnt out, they’re not quite in a place yet where they have the, the income set aside to invest in help, but they’re still wanting to obviously create more profit. Where do you see people kind of getting stuck there and and how do you think they can start to get out of that sticky situation where they’re, you know, buying into that more equals more mentality, but the, that is constantly leading them to burnout?
Kady:
Uh, yeah. So when, like, I, I totally understand that’s exactly where I was. So when I, when I moved to Austin and when I was, you know, full-time like freelancing, trying to make things work, I was, you know, as mentioned like really, really burnt out and I was looking into like, what is that that I can do in order to hire someone? So I kind of like had to like step back and make a plan. So basically making a business plan, and it doesn’t have to be, you know, too long or complex. It can be just like your marketing plan, like if you have your goal set and then make actionable steps in order to get you to your goals. And then from there, see what kind of help you would need. So for that, for my business, I needed help when it comes to blogging, cuz blog was always working really well for me.
Kady:
I loved to write and I really focused on SEO and blogging and, you know, SEO stands for search engine optimization and that’s how people can find it through Google. So when someone would, you know, type in, I don’t know, like branding for skincare lines or something like that, they would get to my website or graphic designer in Austin. And so that was my focus on like getting leads to, to my business. However, as I was busy with my client work, and even though I wasn’t making enough money, like I, I figured that I have to figure out how to bring in more leads so that I can make slightly more money so that I can pick the blogger who’s gonna post the blog post for me so that I can actually get more clients, if that makes sense. You know, so kind of like I, I had to figure out how to make slightly more so that I can hire my first, um, my first person who’s gonna actually help me grow my revenue and profit and build a sustainable business.
Bonnie:
One thing that that really kind of like shows me is about the way that you were approaching that is you were so committed to your own success, you were so invested in making that work for you, that it wasn’t this question of like, should I hire someone? You looked at it and you were like, this is the logical next step. I need this support so that I can then focus on generating more leads, booking more projects so then I can have more money to, you know, afford this and then to grow from there. And I just think that that’s such a admirable way of, of essentially problem solving in your business. I see so many people who, not just designers, you know, creatives in general like who get stuck in this kind of cycle of burnout and they’re so resistant to hiring even like a virtual assistant or an independent contractor because they keep telling themselves this story that they can’t afford it. But it becomes more of can you afford to keep doing this to yourself? Can you afford to keep yourself stuck in this cycle? And, and, you know, struggling in this way and your business is kind of at this plateau and you were like, for, you know, in your own journey, you were like, no, I’m not even like messing with that. I’m absolutely going all in and finding a way to figure this out for myself.
Kady:
Yeah, exactly. I mean, I, I just knew that if, if I don’t make my business work, I’ll have to go back nine to five and I’ll have to go back to either, you know, a printing company or something like that. And that’s one thing I really didn’t want. And when I hit to those like nine or 10 K months, I was just like overworked. And I realized, well that doesn’t make sense either , because then I would rather work nine to five than 8:00 AM till 8:00 PM. So, you know, I I literally had to like step back and make a plan, like, okay, how can someone grow? And I, I think I even Googled, how can a graphic designer grow? How can a graphic designer get better clients? How can you know, how can I go from a freelancer to founder to c e o? Like what is the next step for a freelancer? And that’s when I, some found summer, um, like advice, like you can’t, you can’t really grow alone. I mean, you can to a certain point, but then you need help. And for example, that blogger that I hired, like he helped me like get more clients, get better clients, and he’s way faster, more efficient. Like he, he writes way better, that’s his profession. So why would they try to be a blogger? And I’m not , you know what I mean? Yeah,
Bonnie:
Absolutely. I think like in the online business space, we have normalized wearing all these different hats and I think for every business owner and every designer, there comes a point where, yes, of course when you’re just getting started, you do need to be the one person who’s doing all of these things because you’re just getting started. But just like you said, there reaches that point, there comes that point where it’s not feasible for you to be the person doing everything because it’s actually taking your time and your energy away from what you do best, which is designing and creating these gorgeous solutions for your clients. And that’s how you make money. But if you are spending your time in energy like blogging or
Kady:
You know, social media Yeah,
Bonnie:
Social media, creating your marketing plan, all of these kinds of things that maybe you aren’t that good at or maybe you don’t enjoy doing, you know, it becomes a, a kind of a business situation there where it’s just we’re looking at the facts and the facts are telling us that this is not a profitable use of your time and energy, but these are things that need to happen if you’re gonna continue to run your business in that way. And so then it becomes a matter of, okay, let’s see how we can get the support that we need. Right?
Kady:
Yes, exactly. And I I also know at some point when I did have a blogger and I already had virtual assistant, but we were also stuck. So we were all together stuck like, okay, what would be the next step? How do we go from here? Like how do we get better clients? And that’s when we decided to hire like a full like marketing agency who would completely step in and help us figure things out because it wasn’t just me that I was burnt out, but my team started feeling that way as well. I think I was just transferring my energy to them in a way where I am stressed, you know, we are not making a ton of money, we are fine, but we are working a lot for it. And you just feel busy and it’s constantly this like business, business and like hustle, you know, the hustle cu culture, like post to do this to that. And that’s when we hired marketing agency who actually stepped in and helped us find our niche and ideal client. And I don’t wanna, I, I don’t know if you want to go into that now, but, but basically that was our next step in like reducing the burnout in our agency as we were more focused on one type of client and we knew what marketing strategies would work over trying everything altogether.
Bonnie:
I love that, that kind of sparks a question that I have from there. So, you know, obviously we’re talking about your experience, but when you look at the clarity that working with that marketing agency gave you and your team, are there steps that you would recommend other designers take to help protect themselves from the burnout?
Kady:
Yes, and this is something that not many designers will actually do it, but it’s literally stepping back and resting . Uh, you know, like a lot of designers are into this like, oh, let’s do this, let’s do that. And they, they don’t like really step back, maybe go to a pool, maybe take a weekend off, take a whole week off because, you know, they, they think that they’re, that something’s gonna happen in that one week that they’re going to lose a client that they don’t even have anyway. Um, they think, think that if they don’t post on Instagram, something’s gonna happen with algorithm or I don’t know what, but you know what I mean, like mm-hmm. and then they constantly do and try to figure things out like what is the next thing, what is the next thing when in fact they should just rest? And like I know now that every time, and I start even like feeling close to like, oh, I’m too busy, I feel burnt out, I just, I just like, leave everything, go for shopping, , uh, do you know, like take a bath bomb or go somewhere, go for a walk, go to a pool, do something, and then you feel completely different and refreshed and you go back to your task list and then it doesn’t feel as heavy as it was before you took that rest.
Bonnie:
That makes so much sense. And what I love about that is you were saying that as designers, it’s easy for us to keep looking at like, okay, what’s the next thing? What do I do next? But how are we supposed to actually do the next thing if we don’t have the energy to do what’s on our plates right now? Like , we have to rest. It’s not, it’s not a matter of, you know, being like selfish or frivolous or anything like that. It doesn’t, it doesn’t mean anything negative. It purely means that you are committed to pouring back into yourself so that you have the energy and the capacity and the space to pour back into your business or into the people around you when you want and when you need to.
Kady:
Yeah. And you know, like I, I think that 2020 was the year when I really, really learned what resting and like stepping back and kind of like pressing that break and like slowing down really, really means. And even though I would take breaks and go to gym and all that during my work hours, and when I say work hours, like, I mean like nine to five, but in 2020 I was actually, when I got a baby and all daycares were closed and I didn’t have family around me and you know, I had to start waking up at 5:00 AM to, to be able to work because my daughter would, um, would wake up at seven and you won’t believe how many things I was able to get done in those two hours. So 5:00 AM till 7:00 AM way more than in six hours before I decided to be focused and rested.
Bonnie:
Hmm. That’s incredible. Well, during that time of focusing on rest, let’s say that for the designers who are tuning in today, they’re, they’re, you know, falling along, they’re hearing what you’re saying and they’re saying, okay, Katie, I’m gonna take that advice. I’m gonna step back and I’m gonna rest. Once they have reached that point of, of resting or intentionally working rest into their schedule so that it’s, it’s a habit, it’s a practice, not just like this one time event. Are there actions or steps that designers can take to start to generate more profit? Wow. Being mindful that, you know, we don’t wanna go back to that, that stage of burnout.
Kady:
Yes. And I think that that’s outsourcing and hiring and just adding more people to your team so that you can take the rest and then so that you can rest and, you know, take whatever you need in order to be better leader, better business owner, even better designer. So hiring, outsourcing, having that support to, you know, to be able to grow and like focus more on like profit instead of like working constantly. Um, that’s, that’s kind of like my advice. So like if and designer is like trying to make more money, they should, they should really know like who their ideal client is, what their dream project is, and also like how much profit they need to make and then focus on getting projects they will love. And either, either you do that by yourself where let’s say you focus like a couple of hours a day in order to get like those amazing clients that you want to get and then take a rest.
Kady:
Or you hire someone while you are resting because that, that marketing idea or something was, was your idea. So now you get to really just like look into your business from almost like outside perspective and be able to, to say to your blogger what kind of topics, let’s say she needs to write, what we need to focus on next. And then if you have a designer, how they can style the portfolio that you have and things like that. So I think that outsourcing hiring is, um, is kind of like the next step if you’re really looking into like having, uh, like a flexible lifestyle and freedom, for example, that I have now. And I, I don’t think I would be able to do that if I didn’t have a team of people working with me and if I was still, you know, like freelancer, if that makes sense.
Bonnie:
Oh, that definitely makes sense. , out of curiosity, do you think that, have you found value in investing in support in your personal life to free up more time or more energy to pour back into your business? Or is that something that you have done?
Kady:
Yes. So for example, now I have, and this is now personal, so not business related, but it’s, it’s still all related, right? It’s all , it’s all together. So I have cleaners and I don’t clean my house anymore and that’s because I, I don’t want, I, I see that task as a waste of time. That’s at least for me. So I don’t wanna do that. And I have cleaners in my house, an amazing woman and she loves her job. , which was also important to me. . Yeah, she just loves it. So it’s kind of like, so she helps me also building my business. Cuz if I was not, you know, like if I was not feeling good about my house, where my office is at as well, , then maybe I would be less productive and, you know, that could also likely to burn out if you have a lot of things on your to-do list at home. If I have to-do dishes, if I have to-do, do, uh, laundry, if I have to clean the floors, if I have to, you know, all those things. So that’s why I have help in my personal life that can support my, my business as well.
Bonnie:
Hmm. I love that. And I actually have a similar setup. I absolutely have looked at my personal life and my home life and identified these, these tasks where it was, they were important, they were essential, they needed to happen, but they were not the best use of my time or my husband’s time. And by outsourcing that to someone who loves to do that or who would appreciate that opportunity or who would benefit from that income, that is such a gift to us and that is a gift to them. And it’s a great way for me then to free up more time physical energy, mental energy so that then during the hours when I need to be working for my business and I need to be on, whether it’s for a client or I’m showing up for a student inside my program, I’m able to do that.
Bonnie:
And I don’t have this like, you know, super, super long to-do list running through my head of all the things I need to do at home as well. And I, I do think that, you know, it depends on every person’s business and every person’s life, like what kind of support they need. But just like you were saying earlier, it’s important to kind of sit down and essentially take that inventory of if I wanna grow, if I wanna hit that next level in my business, where do I need help? Where do I need support? And for some people it might be a mix of, you know, you need more support in your business and in your personal life or you know, one or the other.
Kady:
Yeah, exactly. And for example, like my cleaner, so I, I, I like how you said that we also help them, we support them, and I now see her growing her business as she’s hiring cleaners . So I just love, love all about it.
Bonnie:
That’s amazing. It’s, I think that it, it’s so powerful to be able to see the impact that our businesses have, not just on our lives or the lives of the clients or customers that we work with, but also the way that we’re able to have impact in our communities around us when we take the money that our businesses have generated and we spend it in our community. So whether that’s hiring an assistant or a housekeeper or a cleaner or you know, someone who helps you with meal prep or anything like that, it’s so incredible to see how you generated that income through this business that you’ve built. And so when your business flourishes, not only are you benefited, but the way that you then are able to take that, that income and use it as the tool that it is in your community that just creates this ripple effect, I feel.
Kady:
Yes. And you can always go even like further. It doesn’t have to be always just like investing or like giving money to, um, to service providers. But for example, you can always go to like local shops and you can buy jewelry from local artists or paintings, and then you’re supporting the creative community by the business you created. And um, you know, it’s just like there’s no the end .
Bonnie:
Oh my gosh. Absolutely. Like there’s so many infinite ways that you can have that impact and it starts with, you know, taking the thoughtful action that will serve you best so you can grow your business to the point that works for you. You know, I know that you and I have been talking a lot about, you know, 10 K months and that’s something that we both help our students to reach that as a goal within our, our individual programs. But you know, that goal might look different for everyone. For some people the goal might be 10 K months, 20 K, 30 k, and beyond. For some people they might be happy, they might, you know, enough for them might be 5K or one K or whatever it looks like, you know, everyone has different goals. But I think that it’s important to remember that when whatever your goals look like, when you take it seriously and when you choose to set it up in a way where you have the support that you need so you can consistently do the work that you want to do without experiencing the burnout, that’s how we start to create these businesses that are really designed to endure, in my opinion at least.
Kady:
Yes. At the, and at the end of the day, it’s not about hitting that goal of 10 k, 20 k 30 k, whatever it is, it’s about what you can do with that and not just what you can do with $10,000 and 20,000, but why, why you wanna make that much money. You know, the reason behind that is bigger and every person has their own individual reasons. So for example, this year I was able to, um, to buy a couple of condos for my parents who don’t really have and never really had like, jobs . Um, so like my, my dad is a painter and he’s been a painter like on a construction site and things like that. And he’s now at that age where he can’t do that anymore. But then retirement is almost like non-existing. So I was able to buy with, with the business that I made, I was able to make enough money to buy them a couple of condos so that they can do Airbnb and make money that way.
Bonnie:
That’s amazing. And see that’s just one incredible example of the impact that what we create can have on the people around us, the people that we love and our families. And so understanding the why, like you were saying, why do you wanna make that, that amount of money that is gonna help you stay motivated when it gets tough? Because, you know, I think we both can agree running a business is challenging. It’s not, it’s not the easiest thing .
Kady:
Exactly. I I sometimes feel that it would be easier if I was to have a night to five ,
Bonnie:
. No, but that’s, that’s so real. And I think that a lot of people feel that way. I know I’ve definitely felt that way, you know, at different points in my career and I’ve been doing this for 10 years. But I, I acknowledge that having that connection to why we’re passionate about generating a certain amount of revenue or a certain amount of income and understanding our connection to that will keep us motivated when we are putting in the time and the energy and the hard work. And also keeping that sense of why in mind can, I think help protect us from burnout because we know, hey, if I wanna generate this amount of money so that I can set my parents up for retirement and I can help support them when they are no longer able to work, then we know, okay, this is so much bigger than me, this is so powerful, so impactful for my family, so I’m gonna make it a priority to not burn out because if I’m burnt out, I can’t reach that goal.
Kady:
Yes. And I also think, you know, like I made my why I think like four years into business and that was like too late because before I had my why before I defined my why. And I know that sometimes it’s not as easy as just figuring out like, oh, why do I wanna have my business? It’s not, you know, like maybe freelancers would think like, oh, I just want the freedom and flexibility, but what does that really mean? And I think that that’s why I was burnt out because I didn’t, didn’t have a reason behind like, like the example that I just gave you about a couple of condos, you know? Mm-hmm. . So it didn’t have a bigger reason behind my why and then I just, it just didn’t feel right.
Bonnie:
That makes a lot of sense. And you know, I think that it’s, it’s all well and good for us to want as business owners, as designers, it’s all well and good for us to want to make money because we wanna make money. There’s nothing wrong with that, but what are you gonna do with that money? How is that money gonna change your life or change the life of someone you love? You know? Because for me personally making money that thought that doesn’t get me out of bed in the morning excited to show up and do the work that I do. But if I think about the impact of what I can do, the legacy that I can leave through the work that I do, that gets me excited.
Kady:
Yeah. It’s totally different if you know why you wanna make that money versus Oh, I wanna make the money .
Bonnie:
Exactly. Well, we’ve covered so much great stuff today in this conversation, but before we start to wrap it up, is there a final piece of advice or encouragement that you would wanna share for those who are tuning in today who are dedicated to increasing their profit without burning out and they’re starting to think, okay Katie, I need to look for that support and I’m gonna actually take that next step to seek out that support in my business. Any kind of like parting words you’d wanna leave them with?
Kady:
Yeah, so hire as soon as you can , and if you cannot hire right now, focus on the things that’s gonna help you hire your first, um, your first either employee or contractor. I also wanna say that when I talk about hiring, that doesn’t mean that you have to consistently now all of a sudden have a lot of income. And it doesn’t mean that you will be doing, you know, like giving them paychecks. Like every month you can go and hire freelancers like someone who’s gonna help you per project. Like maybe that’s gonna be a logo designer. If you have a client and then you can keep the profit, or that’s gonna be a blogger like I had, or that’s gonna be a web developer or whatever it is. Just go and hire so that you can focus on bigger things and make bigger impact so that um, you know, everybody can be happy around you. .
Bonnie:
Mm-hmm. , that’s such great advice and also a really powerful distinction because I think that if you’re just getting started in your business or maybe you’re only a couple years in, and the idea of having like a full-time employee just like scares the pants off of you , you know, there’s absolutely so much value in hiring contractors and hiring freelancers that is absolutely a viable way to grow your business. And when you reach that point where you do have the re the revenue and the capacity to hire a part-timer, a full-time employee, you can make that switch, but don’t feel any pressure to do that like right off the bat.
Kady:
Yeah, exactly. And like, to be honest, like my branding and design agency is a floating agency, which means that we hire based on the projects that we get. So for example, if I get a client, let’s say a skincare line and they pay me 20,000 per project, and um, like my expenses are let’s say 5,000 or 15,000, you know, if I pay everyone who’s gonna be involved in the project, if I have a brand designer, web designer or whoever. So, you know, like, and then I keep that like profit in between and that’s how I make my business basically profitable. But we all work together and it wasn’t like everything on me, so I didn’t feel like too busy and I cannot get to like burnout. Like everybody’s working towards the same goal and we are all working together and you know, that’s how I outsourced and hired freelancers. But then when that project is gone, I don’t feel stressed, like how am I going to pay them, you know, next month? Mm-hmm. ,
Bonnie:
That’s such a good point. And I, I think that, um, it’s important for more people to know that that’s an option, right? Because I think that it’s easy for us to assume that working with a contractor needs to be this ongoing like month after month after month contract. But if you’re looking at it from a project basis, that can offer a lot more flexibility. Especially if your and oh my gosh, this could be like its own podcast episode , you know, especially if the way that your, your business, your studio works, your inquiries, your projects are uh, maybe seasonal or maybe there’s more spacing between each one. That sort of floating agency model is worth looking into. Yeah. So thanks for sharing that .
Kady:
Yeah, exactly. And I mean, now I do have a lot of work and a lot of projects and I have one developer who, well, lets go to, but he’s still not my employee. He, you know, he gets paid now every month because they have a lot of work, but I don’t feel, I don’t feel stressed. Like if tomorrow, if if I decide to close my agency tomorrow, he’ll be fine. Cuz he’s a freelancer and he has other projects on his plate too.
Bonnie:
That is a really good point. . Well Katie, I know that folks are gonna want to connect with you more, learn more about the incredible podcast you have, maybe check out the incredible program that you have created for freelancers. So where can people find you online?
Kady:
Yeah, so my website is inventive academy.com and they can also find me on Instagram at Adventive Academy.
Bonnie:
Awesome. And you’ve also created this really fantastic free resource that you were so generously sharing with people who are tuning in today. And it is your, your challenge, your free five day challenge that shows people how your branding agency books 12 K clients and how they can do it too in just a few days. Is that right?
Kady:
Yes, that is correct. And they can find that on adventive academy.com and it’s gonna be in the header, so it’s like really easy to find.
Bonnie:
Amazing. And for those of y’all who are tuning in today, we are gonna have the link to that free challenge and all of Katie’s links as well as the show notes in today’s episode over@brandstrategypodcast.com. So you can head on over there, click on the latest episode link and you’re gonna see everything that you will be looking for about the kind of our recap of our biggest talking points where you can connect with Katie, how you can get your hands on that free resource and if it’s at all helpful, there also is a full transcript of today’s conversation. Katie, thank you again for joining me. It’s been so fantastic getting to talk about this and I am so hopeful that those who are tuning in are walking away with some really great ideas starting to kind of turn in their minds around how they can take those next steps to generate more profit and get the support they need to do that.
Kady:
Yeah. Well, thank you so much. This was great and I hope that, um, a lot of people can, you know, make
Bonnie:
That decision to hire and rest. Hmm. I love that. friends who continue in today, thank you as always for showing up, for listening, for engaging with the conversations and the topics that we share here on the Brand Strategy podcast.
Bonnie:
It’s incredible
Bonnie:
To have you as a part of this community.
Bonnie:
And as always, I’m cheering y’all on from Waco.
Bonnie:
Thank you so much for joining me today. Friend. Before you go, I would be so grateful to receive your feedback on the brand strategy podcast. If you enjoyed this episode or the podcast in general has helped you grow your brand, I’d really appreciate it if you left us a review in iTunes. Your positive reviews enable the brand strategy podcast to continue to grow and reach like-minded creatives just like you. Thank you for all your support and encouragement as together we pursue building brands with purpose and intention. Until next time, I’m cheer you on from Waco. Go.
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