IYKYK - Business gets to be easy (er)

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Transcript

Speaker 4: 0:27

Welcome to Designing Success from Study to Studio. I'm your host, Rhiannon Lee, founder of the Oleandra Finch Design Studio. I've lived the transformation from study to studio and then stripped it bare and wrote down the framework so you don't have to overthink it. In this podcast, you can expect real talk with industry friends, community, connection, and actionable tips to help you conquer whatever's holding you back. Now let's get designing your own success.

Speaker 3: 0:51

I wasn't actually planning on recording this episode, but we have two spots left inside of the Framework Express, and every time I explain to people why I actually built this, they're like, huh, okay, I, that actually makes so much sense, and I'm here for it. So I thought I would jump on that. Bring out a little bonus episode for anyone who's interested in joining us on a 12 week business sprint or hearing a little bit more about what it involves. So before we get into it, I want you to hear something. It's a short audio from one of my private coaching clients who, let's just say she came to me with, I wouldn't say a business mess. I wouldn't say, chaotic, terrible systems processes, anything like that. But she had a couple of staff. She knew her systems could flow better. She would be using much better. software and that she could understand how that software complements others and that we could build her an entirely new ecosystem of processes and systems and then also find a centralized way to communicate those to her staff and just level up the expectations. So we had so much fun over the two weeks. I can't believe how much we got done. At one point we were like, whoa, we are completely ahead of what I thought would take her months. Yeah. So I will turn over to Heidi and Laura.

Speaker: 2:05

Hi there, Rhiannon. Hi. This is Heidi and Laura from Look Styling Co. We've just finished two weeks with you

Speaker 2: 2:12

it's been super valuable and we've learned so much. Yes. Got a little list here of everything that we've learned. I know.

Speaker: 2:20

There were so many things, like literally we were trying to, I've been in business for 11 years and we just wanted to do an overhaul. Make sure that we were doing things in the best possible way. Serving our clients really well, how we could improve things. And just

Speaker 2: 2:35

like even within the team the best use of our time our SOPs, that was one of the things that we cleaned up a lot and it was super valuable.

Speaker: 2:44

And we've got direction to keep doing a bit more of that. Also what to charge. I'm talking about About that and how to, yeah, maximize that. We looked at different models and also email marketing is something that we've been putting off forever. So we finally have direction on that. We know the application we want to use to do that.

Speaker 2: 3:05

And we found that each of the bots as well, the ChatGPT bots, has been not only Great to know like how they can help us, but just they've become part of our team as well. So yeah, it's been super valuable.

Speaker: 3:18

Yeah. So even for people who are already using chat GPT in their business, I found that this was a much better way to do it. We were doing it, but really on a surface level. So that's been great. As well as time management for the whole team, there's three of us. So we we have better systems in place now for that. And,

Speaker 2: 3:38

Yeah, just like the, what applications are best suited for us and our needs and our client's needs as well. Yeah.

Speaker: 3:46

And look, just a million different questions on all sorts of different topics were answered over that time. And we really appreciate it. Would totally recommend your services to anyone who needs help in improving their business, whether they've been in business for a short time or a long time. So thanks so much.

Speaker 3: 4:03

I could listen to that all day. I just love the relief. On that last day of private coaching, there's always this sense of Oh my God, I cannot believe I've finally taken the time out to look above and down onto my business and set up standard operating procedures and set up all of the things and it's done. I never have to think about that again. Of course, we do little tweaks and evolutions as we go along, but the body of work, the hard stuff, is all done in a supported way. You can hear in that conversation between Laura and Heidi that it's not just some nice advice that I provided. It's a real change, and it's exactly what's happening inside of the Framework Express. I'm going to talk to you about why I built it, what's inside, and why, if you're still sitting on the fence, one of these last two spots should be yours. Many of you will already know about The Framework. It's a 12 month long program. It's an amazing community. I absolutely love running it. I see heaps of success from the students inside, but it is geared towards an emerging designer and we often have girls come and join that while they're still studying interior design or when they've just stepped out or just started to make a career change and that really supports them at that level of their business. Thank you But I was hearing a lot from my coaching clients that not everyone actually wants a big group. I know that I have had the feedback before that it, for some introverted students, it just wasn't a great fit because they're, they effectively know there are so many students inside of the framework. Not everyone has 12 months to commit either. So once we get to the established designer level, it's really hard to commit time to your business. I find that even with private coaching, it's hard for people to say, you know what? Yes, let's do two weeks of intensive coaching. Whilst all this busy stuff is happening inside of my business, it's not always the best fit. And also the content inside of the framework is really geared towards business basics and marketing basics. And by this stage of business, you've actually grasped a lot of that, and you've got your own beautiful presentation packs, and you know exactly what your process is and what you send when someone inquires, and all of that basic stuff. What you really need is that next level, and you need to be able to do a very quick, Inventory of what's happening in the business right now. Get yourself to a baseline, clean up all the mess, and then look to scale and grow. As you know, I've been doing a lot of private coaching over the last 12 months and I kept hearing the exact same thing. I would love to be in a group setting or have a community, but I want it to be small, focused, and high level. I don't need more information. I need structure, systems, and actual execution. The kick up the butt. I hear that phrase all the time from designers just saying, I actually just want someone to keep me accountable. I want to meet with you every week, have actions that I have to go away and do, and if I do those, I will get this result. And That's exactly what the framework express was for. I get it. So I built it because I was literally like, you know what? I don't want to spend a year with you either with experienced designers. I don't need a year of your time. I just need two weeks to private coach you or 12 weeks. If you don't want to do it in that sort of intense banner of two weeks. So this is not just another watch some videos and, DIY, patch it together course. It's a 12 week business sprint where we meet. There'll be an intro week. I'm going to find out everything that's critical inside of your business right now. Anything that we can improve to build the curriculum around that. So it's quite targeted on the girls that will be inside. After that intro, I'm going to go off and build the Trello boards that we are going to follow and add to and tag each other. They're living documents. I'll be in them. You'll be in them. We will spend a whole quarter working together inside of those Trello boards. We get in, we sort it out, and we get shit done. And you walk out with a business that actually works for you, instead of running around, putting out fires all day, and thinking, I will get to this, I really must do SOPs, I really do need to look at what tech's available, what's changed, or, I need to sit down and finally figure out AI, and if, like, how I'm going to use it in my business, because I really want to also save all this time that I see all these other business owners saving. So here's exactly how it works. 12 weeks, because as I said, the year is just too long for this type of designer or small business owner, and two weeks is just too intense for them as well. They need to come and meet weekly across the 12 weeks. 12 topics. Automation, systems, scaling, making your business easy, digital marketing, local area marketing, branding and websites if needed. Procurement, pricing, there'll be a pricing review whether you like it or not because I haven't worked with all of these girls before and I need to know if there's any way that I can stretch them or any way that I can support them. Just not leaving anything on the table and making sure that all revenue opportunities have been explored. And then we make 12 big moves because you don't need more information, you need actual execution. So what is the major action we're going to do from each of the weeks? We go away, we take action, we come back, we report on that, and we move to the next big move. And that's how we get it done over a quarter. Alright, so I'm talking to you now. This is Tuesday morning. If you're listening to this in live time and there are two spots left. One of them could be yours. If you're listening to this and thinking, oh my god, yes, that sounds exactly what I need. Just don't overthink it. Reach out to me. Let's get on a call. It might be right for you and it might not. Already, I have turned away so many people from this course because I know who this course is for. You are established. You've had some clients. You've got some processes. You've got some documents. You know what you're doing, but you know there's a better way. AI. And you also know that there's so much functionality in the systems that you're using that you're not aware of. They could automate with other things. We could set up all sorts of workflows that don't require your physical presence. And that's what we're looking to do. If you already know, this is right for you. I hope you can recognize the opportunity and just go, you know what? Let's just do it. Get in, get out by May. Everything is completely different. Imagine where your business could be if you just went, I'm not going to get in my own way anymore. I'm not going to overthink it. I'm just going to lock it in. Get help with systems, automation, structure, productivity, audits, like just knowing exactly how I need to do things. And having that business that feels good. It's easy. It flows. Business is never going to be easy. I'm absolutely not going to hang my hat on a guarantee that it's going to be easy, but my gosh, it's going to be easier when you understand this includes all of my AI assistants. So you will get 15 assistants who will start taking over things like emails, things like captions, Blog writing, nurture email sequences Clancy writes all my emails. I think I mentioned the emails, but he's just my little favorite. And Sylvie is gonna do all the content planning, like we're going to learn the systems that it takes so that you no longer have to do these things and take half a day out of your time for social media marketing, which you never signed up for anyway. Anyway, don't get me on to that high horse. This will become a epic Ted talk on why interior designers are not social media marketing managers. But I do want you to walk away with a feeling. like the constant struggle is over and that's exactly what we're doing inside the Framework Express. But we start soon and once the spots are gone that's it. I don't think and I don't know and I have not committed to running this again this year. At this point of time this is a beta round. If it goes well I might think about it in the second half of the year but for now the only other options is to spend 12 months with me in the Framework or two intense weeks with me private coaching. This is the only way to get a quarter of a month. Weekly time with me, an hour and a half a week with a business coach, as well as all this targeted focus. You will not know yourself. Amazing. If you're ready to stop thinking about it and just do the damn thing, go to the show notes. I will put a link in there. You can DM me on Instagram at oleander underscore and underscore finch and don't DM me a word. It's not anything cheesy or weird. If we're gonna work together on this kind of intimate basis for 12 weeks, then it's okay for you to come over and have a conversation with me and just say, hey, I'm not sure if this is right for me. Can we chat? Because I love that and I will tell you straight away if it is or isn't suitable. I cannot wait to work with this group. It's going to be so next level. If one of the last spots is yours, I'll see you on the inside. If you're sitting there thinking this sounds amazing, but it's not quite right for me, I'll completely let it slide. If you could do me one favor, if you are one of the a hundred plus designers I've privately coached or someone who knows what I do, I would super love it if you shared this episode with a friend who needs to hear it because. The Framework Express is going to be life changing for those who take up on the offer. And you might have a friend whose business is thriving or they're doing really well and in the front end, but the behind the scenes could really do with the skills or the AI assistance. If you private coach with me and you have access to them, basically, if you've been having business chats with people who are feeling overwhelmed, constantly saying I just need to get my system sorted, I want you to work on the business, not in the business, but never actually does get around to you, I promise you, they will thank you for sending this episode across. And if you're that friend that's now listening, let's just make it happen.

Speaker 6: 13:19

That's it from me until Thursday where I'm bringing you an interview with Emma Bloomfield of eBee Studios. Emma celebrated 14 years of business recently and she had so many insights to share and I just know you're going to love our chat and I will drop that for you. Regular programming on Thursday. Chat to you then. Bye for now.

Speaker 5: 13:38

That wraps up another episode of Designing Success from Study to Studio. Thanks for lending me your ears. Remember, progress over perfection is the key. If you found value in today's episode, go ahead and hit subscribe or share it with a friend. Your feedback means so much to me and it helps me improve, but it also helps this podcast reach more emerging and evolving designers. For your daily dose of design business tips and to get a closer look at what goes on behind the scenes, follow at oleander underscore and underscore finch on Instagram. You'll find tons of resources available at www. oleanderandfinch. com to support you on your journey. Remember, this is your path, your vision, your future, and your business. Now let's get out there and start designing your success.