Lessons about pancakes and over-communicating
Published on
May 13, 2024
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Issue #
013
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6
minutes
What's ahead:
What we're learning from diving back into content creation, and a reminder that doing what you say you're going to do is a business tip that never gets old
We're in the midst of our content creation extravaganza, and boy, are we learning a ton!
Last week was all about filming and editing long-form video content, and this newsletter will share with you a few lessons important lessons we've already gleaned. Let's dive right in!
- Jason and Caroline
predictable 🔄
What pancakes can teach us about predictability
👩🏻🦰 👋: Ever notice how the first pancake always ends up burnt, lopsided, or just plain inedible?
The reasons are obvious: You need a tester or two to get a sense for how hot the pan is, the consistency of the batter, and to practice your flipping technique.
This truth about your first pancake has a lot to teach us about predictability in business, especially for us creators, always diving into new ventures.
As we mentioned above, Jason and I are in the middle of a 5-week content creation journey for Wandering Aimfully and Teachery. And let me tell you, we’re flippin’ a lot of metaphorical pancakes. 🥞🥞🥞
Last week, we dipped our toes into short-form video. Spoiler alert: it was slow, frustrating, and downright inefficient. 😅
But, with each attempt, we got a little better. (You can watch all about what we learned in this YouTube video documenting our process.)
This week, it’s all about filming and editing long-form YouTube content for Teachery.
Our first video? Let’s just say it took twice as long as expected with MANY exasperated sighs throughout.
The point is, though, we learned soooo much from the process. We learned a better way to script, a better way to film, a better way to import footage, a better way to edit… we found every single part of the process could be improved thanks to “burning” that first pancake.
Which brings me to this week’s lesson on predictability.
Sure, we preach about systems and processes being one critical key to building a calm, sustainable business. But here’s the caveat: predictability doesn’t magically appear from thin air.
You have to wade through the messy middle of creation in order to discover the patterns that lead to predictability.
So, if you’re knee-deep in first pancake-land, embrace it. The beginning is supposed to be slow and inefficient.
First Pancake Lessons About Predictability:
Reset Your Expectations: Don’t compare your choppy waters to your favorite internet creator’s smooth sailing. Social media does a tricky thing by highlighting everyone else’s story AFTER they get through the rough seas. Remember, all the calm waters for you are on the other side of the chop, so just keep sailing and you’ll get there. (From pancakes to sailing? Yes, I love mixing my metaphors.)
Efficiency Comes Later: You can’t improve something that doesn’t exist yet. Efficiency is about reducing waste, so give yourself permission to actually experience that “waste” in the beginning. It will make the systems you eventually develop that much sweeter.
Embrace the Journey: Don’t rush through the first pancake just to get to the predictability phase. Take your time and soak up the experience because that’s where the real learnings live.
Remember, predictability is a worthy pursuit, but you simply can’t skip that first pancake.
Now, hit reply and let us know: What’s the “first pancake” you’re tackling right now? Share with us one lesson you’ve learned that you intend to apply to all your future pancakes. 🥞
- Caroline 👩🏻🦰
Profitable 🤑
The simplest way to get ahead in business: Just show up
👨🏻🦲 👋: Nine years ago, I was writing a weekly article on Medium (remember those days??) and out of the 100+ articles I published there was ONE article that got way more attention than the others.
The title of the article: "Just Show Up."
I wrote about the fact that the simplest way to succeed in business and stand out from your competition is to be a person who ALWAYS shows up (*more on what this means in a minute).
When I re-read that article, I was a bit more adversarial and cynical than I am today, so I’m not going to point you to it 😅. But, I do believe the lesson still stands true to building a thriving, profitable business of any kind.
* What does “showing up” mean to me exactly?
When you promise a deliverable, at the very least, you communicate about any change in the deliverable date.
If you are going to miss an agreed upon deadline, you're proactive in communicating to your customer the new date.
You don’t ghost 👻 customers ❌.
Why is this Just Show Up article resurfacing in my mind? Well, for the last few weeks, we’ve been engaging with different freelancers to get various types of work done (video editing, SEO strategy, blog content research, etc).
And, just as it happened nearly a decade ago, a few of these freelancers have missed the mark on just showing up and delivering our agreed upon work.
Trust me, I fully understand that life happens. We believe in being humans first, so I'm more than happy to offer people flexibility (probably even too much flexibility at times.)
All I ask for in exchange for flexibility is communication.
What many freelancers neglect to understand is that when you don’t communicate and when you go into 👻-mode, you end up hurting your reputation and it causes wayyyyyy more long-term harm to your business than if you just sent a simple email/message/etc that says,
“I’m sorry, XYZ thing came up unexpectedly and I need to move our deliverable date to ABC. Thanks for understanding.”
Running your own business is hard, but poor communication can make it ten times harder on you.
It may feel like NOT acknowledging a missed deadline or a deliverable timeline is the better option, but as someone who hires freelancers often, I can tell you that 100% of the time, I would always prefer to get a proactive message than to hound someone about an agreed upon deadline.
Remember, someone is hiring you to make their lives easier in some way. When you fail to communicate, they feel like they're paying you to make it harder.
If you’re reading this message and you find yourself in the cycle of 👻’ing your clients from time-to-time, please don't beat yourself up over it. It happens.
Instead, make this a moment where you decide to shift into being proactive. Honesty and vulnerability go a long way and are absolutely appreciated/understood.
Freelancers that ghost me? It's pretty much a guarantee I won't recommend those folks or enlist their services again. Yet, I will always think about working with a freelancer again who clearly communicated and managed expectations, even if that means deadlines got pushed.
- Jason 👨🏻🦲
gimme, gimme more
Ways we can help you build a calm online business:
Start building online courses with Teachery. This is our other business baby, an online course platform we created to help you build beautifully branded online courses that look completely custom.
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