Hey Reader,

The theme of today is...no longer doing it all yourself. We're talking about outsourcing. Let's get straight into it.

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The Messy Middle

If you're like me, you like to do everything yourself.

Scratch that, you WANT someone to step in and do things for you, but the thought of handing over control is just too much. Too risky.

The thought of outsourcing or letting go of certain tasks or responsibilities probably feels like this:

You'd rather just white-knuckle it and do it yourself.

(If you're feeling called out, just wait until you see the Resource section 😮‍💨)

This is probably one of the hardest lessons I've learned in business, but I'm finally ready to step back from the roles & responsibilities that aren't mine to carry.

One area being: marketing. Kinda.

Last week we met with Content Strategist who's going to be creating some content for us around The Breakroom. *cue sigh of relief*. We'll still post the content, but she'll be creating carousels and reels. That means we'll be more consistent with posting & I can spend more time where it counts: client and community calls (my actual favorite thing ever).

I can't tell you how relieved I am about that. The fun thing is, it's already trickling into other areas. This afternoon we reached out to someone else to design our new Podcast cover (coming soon...!) because the more I procrastinated on designing it, the more I realized I didn't want to do it, I wanted someone else to do it for me.

I'm beginning to realize that, in order to get where we want to go, we need to bring other people in. Just because I've been doing marketing, doesn't mean I need to be the one to continue doing marketing.

What got you here won't get you there.

And I don't want to get "there" all by myself.

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Overheard Seen in The Breakroom

This week we had our monthly Hot Seat Coaching call inside The Breakroom and half-way through...our wi-fi dropped and kicked us off the call. 🫣

*cue Lyndon and I scrambling to get back online, wondering if anyone would still be there*

After what felt like 5 very long minutes, we managed to get back online and came back to THIS:

I cannot tell you how much that meant to both of us. It was such an encouraging moment & I'll be cheesing about it for awhile.

That's the energy behind the Breakroom. You have enough things to be serious about, this is where you get to come and just be yourself. And yes, we will 100% talk through situations that you need support on, but we're also going to laugh our butts off, too. 🤗

PS, we have our Pinterest Like a Pro masterclass with @itscoleylane next week!! You should come!

Join for only $97/mo

(No monthly minimum required)

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We Wrote That

The "Preferred Vendor" Model: How to Scale Your Creative Agency Without "Getting Married" to Employees

Based on how much it’ll make a difference for your business, your intuition likely tells you that "hiring" is a massive, permanent life event. It feels like getting married: your business decisions now determine if this person has food to eat and a roof over their head.

That pressure is paralyzing. It is the single biggest reason creative service providers stay stuck in the "doing it all myself" trap, capping their income and burning out.

I’d like to push back on that notion. You don’t need a spouse (a full-time employee); you need a roster of reliable dates.

If you are thinking about the paid-by-project route (which is my preference for starting out), there isn’t an expectation that you will be their primary source of income. They won’t be "twiddling their thumbs" if you aren't keeping them busy unless you choose to set that expectation.

Here is the strategic framework for scaling your capacity without the guilt, using the Preferred Vendor Model.

1. Build a "Preferred Vendor" Bench

If I were in your shoes, I’d start by taking a "preferred vendor" approach. Your goal is to find 2–3 contractors that...

Read the rest on the blog

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Resource of the Week

We're reading Clockwork by Mike Michalowicz this month for our Business Book Club and this paragraph stopped me in my tracks.

That reframe was so incredibly helpful for me. The biggest thing I'm learning about leadership right now is, it's detrimental to be doing it all yourself. If you want to scale, you have to do things differently. Having the right people in the right roles is what will help you scale.

'Nuff said. Let's roll.

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THANK YOU FOR READING ALL THE WAY TO THE END!!!!

Cheering you on always,

Jo

PS, we're doing a giveaway for The Breakroom!! Enter here for your chance to win a 3-month membership. 💻✨