Everyone has distinct likes and dislikes, and our brains all work in different ways. But as business owners, we’re all looking for the tools and systems that will allow us to run our businesses in the best way possible.

I just hit my 6th year in business, and I have spent so much time over those years trying to figure out what tools and systems were right for me. I wanted to get organized, have tools that work for the way I individually think and like to see information, and have a system that would allow me to scale my business. It’s only been in the past little while that I’ve finally gotten down to a method that really works for me, my team, my clients, and my partner in my other business, Creative Boss Method. Since business owners are often curious about tools others are using and whether or not they might be a good fit for them, here I’m going over my four favorite business tools and how I use them in my now successful system.

Many businesses are pivoting right now due to COVID-19. With so much uncertainty in the economy here in the US and around the world, businesses are having to shift into what’s going to work in the current circumstances with what they can control. And I’m right there with all of the small business owners figuring out how to work at home on lockdown with my kids while the schools are closed. I’ve had to make some quick adjustments, and I wanted to share the things I’m specifically focused on in the hope that they might help you, too.

I’ve been in business for 6 years!

In those 6 years, I’ve been on cloud nine, ready to throw in the towel, and everywhere in between.

I’m about to get super real here with my reflections and 20/20 hindsight, but I have to own that I’m grateful for all of the business experiences I’ve had because they’ve shaped where I’m at today. And my hope is that by sharing these thoughts, you might get some encouragement and clarity around things going on in your business.

“Scaling your business.” What does that even mean?

A lot of people think of scaling as hiring actual employees, but really scaling is about finding whatever avenues will work to run your growing business faster and more efficiently, leaving you with the time to keep growing your business.

Before founding Crystal Clear Creative Studios, I actually worked in HR for over a decade. So based on my corporate and entrepreneurial experience, here are my top 3 tips to make hiring and outsourcing a good experience so you can successfully scale your business.

How was your 2019 business year?

Let me tell you about mine.

Today I’m sharing the top 3 turning points for my business in 2019, and maybe my takeaways will spark something for you and your business in 2020.

We all know you’ve got to spend money to make money. But when you’re a business owner looking to invest for growth, it’s easy to find yourself pulled in a lot of different directions. Let me share the investment spots in which I‘ve gotten the most value for money.

Things come up. Whether it’s waiting on rebranded labels, shipping problems, or damaged products, there are lots of random issues that can cause problems with your photoshoot.

However, as a product photographer, I’ve noticed there are 2 specific things that seem to come up pretty regularly to keep small business owners from getting the results they were hoping for from their product photoshoot.

Is your product shoot budget a bit smaller than you would like? I

 know it can be very difficult to come up with the money for a full professional product shoot of everything you offer all at once. 

So let me give you the suggestions I’ve given a lot of business owners who are unsure about how to get their professional product shoots done on the budget they have.

I work with A LOT of product businesses. In fact, I’ve worked with 150 this year alone!

And even today in a world full of branding and marketing info, there’s one mistake I still see product business owners make all the time.

“How do you do it all?”
“How did you get where you are in your business?”

People sometimes ask me these questions, and the answer really comes down to mindset and the things I choose to do every day.
So I want to touch on how I’ve personally changed my own business mindset for success and some of the habits I’ve developed for getting stuff done.