The Biz Skills They Don’t Tell You About!
Welcome to Episode 31 of the Hidden Creative Podcast!
Hey there guys and welcome to episode 31 of the Hidden Creative podcast. I’m your host Taylah and I created this podcast to help bring real, raw and honest conversation to the world of business for regional creatives, small business owners, entrepreneurs and aspiring.
So often, we seek out this list of things that we should be doing to have a successful business, and we don’t even understand half of the points listed. Then, we are too scared to ask for help, question what something means, or put our hand up and say we don’t understand because we don’t feel we belong in this world of business and sometimes don’t even take ourselves seriously enough.
I’m going to say you started your business because you had a passion for something and wanted to share it with others. You didn’t go to business school to learn the technically correct way to run a business. You fumbled your way through and still do, but here you are.
Bringing real, raw and honest conversation to this world, to your world of business, for me is all about opening the conversation for YOU. Creating a safe space where you feel comfortable enough to reach out, say you don’t understand something, or that you have no idea if you’re doing something right and to talk about the topics on the podcast that you may be too nervous to ask about.
Because guess what. You’re not alone. We ALL are in this boat together. And when you discover this, it all gets so much easier.
Instead of running a business, you become the creative you are… only now behind the wheel of this amazing platform that you started and built to help others. A creative business owner who grows + experiments with the ways they can provide their product or service to the world.
Now today’s topic flows on from this. We are going to open the conversation around the business skills that aren’t often spoken about. The skills that I believe are really essential for business growth in the regional small business + creative world and business skills that make doing business feel freeing, fun and incredibly impactful. Sure we can focus our attention on things like marketing and branding, you can concentrate hard on growing your knowledge around financial management, customer service, sales, campaigns, and you should. But, don’t miss this really important set of skills that will directly impact the results you receive from your learnings in business.
In 2019, I began my journey as a course creator. I started the Mindful Business Hub, and I helped rural creatives and small business owners with things like branding, marketing, content creation and management, sales, customer service and more. All the things I thought were the most impactful skills a business owner should have. There really wasn’t much we didn’t discuss or cover.
However, throughout the courses’ life I started to notice patterns.
The course member could be given the exact step by step and then not do the work to achieve the results they said they wanted to achieve.
The course member could rely heavily on someone else doing it for them and end up with results they did not want
The course member could let their own fears and blocks stop them from achieving what they wanted and unfortunately stay stuck and never move ahead
The course member could come up with excuses, problems and reasons why it COULDN’T happen for them, and inevitably train their mind not to see the solutions and opportunities
All of this was happening even after they spent the money to buy the course to show, teach and practically give them the information that had proven results to help them grow their business.
It really got me thinking.
It got me thinking about the people who weren’t taking action. About the people who were giving up their own resourcefulness and power. About the people who were following someone else’s strategy to the detriment of their own goals and desires. The people who weren’t getting results.
Was it the content? Was it the way it was delivered? Was it not good enough? Was it too much? Was it not enough?
Upon reflecting on all of these questions, I kept coming back to the one thought - that person would tell me what they wanted, I would show them how to do it, and then THEY wouldn’t do the thing to get them closer to their goals. Even though that’s why they paid me in the first place.
So, why not? What was the piece of the puzzle they were missing?
Well the answer…
They lacked the foundation skills (not often taught in business courses) that drives them to TAKE ACTION!
One can be given the roadmap, the car, the fuel, the backseat driver, all the things, but if they don’t push the pedal they won’t go anywhere - and I know one can play devils advocate in our day and age where driverless cars are becoming a thing. My point here is it doesn’t matter how many lessons you learn, if you don’t take action from them, then they won’t benefit you.
Taking action is the cherry on top of your set of business skills. It’s the implementation of all the amazing things you experience and learn from and know will help your business improve.
Without action, you are stagnant. And how often does inaction hold you back. I know it has for me.
So in saying all of this, let’s get to what this podcast episode promises, and that is a list of what I personally think are the most impactful business skills one can have as a regional small business owner that aren’t often spoken about. Skills that help guide you to take action to actually move the needle and grow your business in a way that feels right for you.
I have 4 that I’m going to list, so here they are…
Impactful Business Skill #1
Confidence - Confidence is not something you were born with. It’s not a personality trait that is passed on. It’s a learned behaviour, a learned skill and SOMETHING you need to practise particularly in your business. Growing your confidence will directly impact the action you take because you will feel confident to try new things, to feel the fear and do it anyway, to show up and make your dreams become a reality. Work on growing your confidence everyday in your business adventures and you will see amazing results because of this skill. There’s so many ways to do this, and I’ve chatted about growing your confidence on the podcast, go back and have a listen if you haven’t already, it’s episode 26.
Impactful Business Skill #2
Mindfulness - The art of being mindful each and every moment of the day. Why do we need this in business, because you need to know that what you are doing is aligned with who you are and what you want in life. Otherwise you won’t achieve the results you want. Your business IS a reflection of the life you are creating for yourself. If you aren’t mindful of this, then you may feel forced to take action that isn’t aligned with your goals, but someone else’s. And while it may feel ok in the beginning, it won’t end well. Learn the art of mindfulness and it doesn’t have to be as woowoo as I know you’re thinking. It can be as simple as journaling your thoughts for the day, or taking a quick moment to check in on how your feeling overall.
Impactful Business Skill #3
Creative Thinking - We all have the ability as creatives to think creatively. It’s what you do and it’s who you are. But, a lack of confidence and unfortunately very full and busy thoughts don’t allow quiet time to let that creative thinking happen. Creative thinking helps align the output of your actions and helps you to path the way to your goals regardless of your circumstances or surroundings. So growing this skill, which you absolutely can by growing your confidence and being mindful, and teaming that with some quiet time to allow your thoughts to level out, will help you to think creatively within your business. It is in this exercise that your best ideas are born and the growth of your business depends on it.
Impactful Business Skill #4
Self Awareness - Being self aware. Yes this is a skill that will directly impact your business. Being self away means not only knowing what you like and don’t and what you’re good at and not, but it also means knowing what triggers you, what prompts a spur of the moment reaction from you rather than a well thought out response, and what stops you from taking action at all. Being self aware allows you to hold yourself accountable and identify when you are in a season of inaction. You are present enough with your self to call you out when you are holding your business back.
So there you have it. The list of business skills that I don’t often see spoken about, but I believe are so incredibly impactful.
They aren’t pretty, and they involve more emotion and mindset work than one would expect, which is probably why they aren’t spoken about often, but it is within these set of skills that your business growth will be impacted the most. Because as I’ve said, you can watch all the youtube videos, talk to all the people, sign up to all the courses and go to all the workshops, but if you don’t take action, if inaction holds you back, then it holds your business back. And regardless of how many notes you take, you won’t move anywhere until you take that action.
As always, I love to know your thoughts, and like I said at the start, I am here for real, raw and honest conversation - if there’s something on your mind, a question a thought, send me a DM @iamtaylahmaree and let’s chat. Speak soon.
Looking for more?
I love to help rural creatives build an impactful small biz with heart and I do that through photography + business mentoring. If you want to learn more, head on over to our photography or mentoring pages here 🙂 Or send me a text, I can’t wait to chat with you xx