Emily Thompson 0:00
So for me, it's just how I've how I've structured my regular workdays. And granted, I have added a little bit of time every week to my schedule that I'm in here working. But I know that I'm coming in here every day to get the jobs done. And by creating the structure of like coming in, spending a set amount of time, 30, 45 minutes on Almanac, getting out the rest of my day, and then giving myself permission to spend another 30, 45 minutes on Almanac at the end of the day has created this ongoing like workflow, where I know how much time I have every day to a lot to whatever the task may be. Because you're right, the truth is, is you have the time and your your efforts will stretch to fill whatever amount of time you give them. So I know I have the time. And it honestly hasn't shifted too terribly much since I've started Almanac. But I am working a little bit more but by systemising it in that way of knowing when I'll be working on what and when it hasn't gotten me out of that chaotic startup phase and into the flow of running a business significantly faster. So for me really just like the day to day like daily grind of getting in here, knowing when I'll be working on what and then moving right along has been really the habit that's helped me find order in the chaos. From Being Boss, this is Making a Business.
Kathleen Shannon 1:30
A podcast about starting a business from scratch and overcoming the obstacles face when pursuing your dreams. I'm Kathleen Shannon,
Emily Thompson 1:37
and I'm Emily Thompson.
Kathleen Shannon 1:46
In this miniseries, we're following Emily's journey as she jumps into life as a maker and retailer with her new creative endeavor Almanac Supply Company.
Kathleen Shannon 2:03
In the last episode of Making a Business, we dove into the boundaries that Emily is creating in her life and work to help her maintain order as she begins her new retail business Almanac Supply Company. As seasoned entrepreneurs and business owners we know the value of setting up boundaries that act as guardians protecting what's most important, and giving us structure for doing the work.
Emily Thompson 2:28
In this episode, Kathleen and I are getting into the daily grind of starting a new company. We know that it's the habits and routines that you live and work by that help you work consistently towards your goals. Luckily for me, I've gotten years and years of refining my own habits and routines that have helped me jump right into this new venture. But that doesn't mean that I haven't hit some bumps along the way.
Kathleen Shannon 2:57
Okay, so I've got a question. What do you consider Almanac in this new endeavor, a side hustle?
Emily Thompson 3:04
I do. I hadn't really gone into it expecting to build a side hustle or that wasn't like what I was here to do. And I didn't think about it like that at all. However, it totally has become a side hustle, or it is a side hustle. It's something that I do, you know, outside of normal work hours. I'm here chugging away at the things. So yes, I'm side hustling.
Kathleen Shannon 3:29
So how are you making time for the side hustle? And is it shifting how you're working during the day?
Emily Thompson 3:35
I'm making time for it by doing all the things that we've been doing. With our very busy lives and businesses all along. It's just now I'm working something else into my schedule. So I'm doing a lot of time blocking. For example, I'm really like living by my calendar. And I have blocks of time set aside where I'm working on Almanac because that is the thing that's quite out of the ordinary. So I'm doing lots of time blocking. I'm also just well part of that is just setting aside extra time. So for example, Thursdays is usually the day that I meet with my my business partner, Holly. Wednesday evenings are when we usually get together and we'll package orders because we release things on Wednesday mornings. And I've blocked off a couple of Thursdays on my schedule to go in and actually do the candlemaking and Thursdays traditionally have been the days that I have no meeting so I'm usually able to do my grocery shopping or catch up on my to do list or those sorts of things. So using some of that extra space. Now for my side hustle. Whenever I come in in the morning, I usually spend you know the first 30, 45 minutes of my day like checking on Almanac and doing any sort of small tasks there before I get into all the work that I need to do for Being Boss which is my main gig. And then at the end of the day, I may wrap up a couple Almanac things before I step out. So lots of time blocking and doing all the things that I was supposed to do for my quote unquote day job, but then fitting in extra things as needed. And then also using task management software, we've been the big Asana users for a long time. So I always know what I need to do. So I'm never wasting any time wondering what to do next, I just go in, look at my task list and and get it done. And we've been doing this for so long. Honestly, the time management of it has kind of been the easiest piece. Making time for it has been kind of simple to do.
Kathleen Shannon 5:46
Time blocking is legit, it is our favorite tactic for getting everything done. At its simplest, you open up your calendar for the week ahead and schedule out blocks of time to get done whatever it is that you need to get done. And then you get to work.
Emily Thompson 6:02
Because of time blocking, you know what needs to get done when and have time set aside to make it do. And it's such a pivotal habit of ours that lends so much to how we're able to get it all done, that we've created a time management training that lays out how we time block our schedules, step by step, you can access that training by going to the show notes for this episode on our website at www.beingboss.club.
Kathleen Shannon 6:36
Yeah, and I will say like, from my perspective, I also have another main hustle, which is Braid Creative. And really just I have noticed, after you starting Almanac, that there has been more room in our schedules to do things. And it is kind of this idea that you're going to fill up your time with whatever is present at hand. And I think that in the last episode, we talked about boundaries, and just saying no to some things that you can make room for others. And I think that you've been doing a great job at that. I know that we've talked before about habits and routines really allowing you to be on autopilot whenever it comes to starting new things or making big transitions. So I just moved to Detroit. And I'm relying a lot on my habits and routines to really navigate that big change but still feel rooted. So what habits and routines have helped you feel rooted as you're starting this like new, scary, uncertain endeavor.
Emily Thompson 7:37
So for me, it's just how I've how I've structured my regular workdays. And granted, I have added a little bit of time every week to my schedule that I'm in here working. But I know that I'm coming in here every day to get the jobs done. And by creating the structure of like coming in spending a set amount of time 30, 45 minutes on Almanac, getting out the rest of my day. And then giving myself permission to spend another 30, 45 minutes on Almanac at the end of the day has created this ongoing like workflow, where I know how much time I have every day to a lot to whatever the task may be. Because you're right, the truth is, is you have the time and your your efforts will stretch to fill whatever amount of time you give them. So I know I have the time. And it honestly hasn't shifted too terribly much since I've started Almanac. But I am working a little bit more. But by systemising it in that way of knowing when I'll be working on what and when it hasn't gotten me out of that chaotic startup phase and into the flow of running a business significantly faster. So for me really just like the day to day, like daily grind of getting in here, knowing when I'll be working on what and then moving right along has been really the habit that's helped me find order in the chaos.
Kathleen Shannon 9:01
I think that that's such a good point, you know, really breaking it down and knowing what it is that you need to be working on in that 30 to 45 minutes is going to allow you to get so much more done than some people get done in a full eight hours or people who are starting a new project and paralyzed by not knowing what to do next. So I would love to talk about the idea of breaking a big goal into little actionable steps. So what is your big goal? And could you share a little bit more about how you're really breaking it down?
Emily Thompson 9:34
Yeah, so really to start out two things. One, of course I have big crazy goals for sure. There are so many things that I want to accomplish with this business. But I know I know that that can be really debilitating to someone starting out at anything. So because I've done this several times i've i've been very adamant about putting those really big dreams like in a jar on the shelf sitting there waiting for later, while I focused on what's actually attainable at this moment. So for me, launching a new business, my big goal has been having a strong launch. And then just those first two months of business, which at this point, we're almost at the end, or end of. And at the, at the time of recording this, the website has been live for about a month. Yeah, about a month at this point. And we've gotten lots of kinks worked out, we are dealing with our supply chains, and really working on customer service processes, and making money. So for me, the first goal that I had, and the first goal that I'm like coming upon completion of is a strong launch, and money in the bank. So there we go with that one. But then I also have some really big goals as well. So beyond that, the big future goals are having the physical retail space, or going to big markets for huge hauls of product, which sounds really exciting to me or hiring other makers to help us make. But really, I just have to get it down to launching at first. And then breaking down that initial that initial two months of goals was going step by step as to how it is that we're doing anything. So with a website had to be designed, it had to be developed, we had to write the content, we had to load it all up, and we had to launch it and share it on social media. And then getting through those first two months of doing business in the first month of having a live website, it was getting a pop up shop scheduled and getting the product for it and showing up and doing the thing. First, we had to go to the bank and get cash, because you have to have cash on hand, it's really about looking at any goal that you have, and breaking it down into all the smallest steps. And that's always been where our project management systems have come in a place where we can record each of those steps, task them out to our ourselves, I definitely use project management system for things that I'm doing all by myself, or to others to help you. And then giving everything a timeline so that it just gets done. So breaking everything down into bite sized pieces and then getting to work.
Kathleen Shannon 12:15
Yeah, I feel like the more you have on your plate, especially if you have a side hustle and a family, the more success isn't just going to accidentally fall on your lap. And I feel like for me, and probably even for you in those early days of starting our first businesses and creating content, and kind of like accidentally stumbling into marketing and this new way and creative entrepreneurship in this new way. Like in some ways, it really was effortless and accidental. And so for me, it's easy to assume even looking at you launching Almanac and not being in it like not being in the weeds with you on it. And seeing from afar, it almost looks effortless and accidental, even knowing you even knowing how much you can break a project down and put it in Asana and task it out down to the tee and really reverse engineer all the steps that goes into getting where you want to go. But you've really made it look effortless. So I appreciate hearing kind of like that you have especially this two month window, I think that that's really especially helpful to hear. Because we all have these launch days, right like these days that we want to make something really happen. But I feel like something that we don't do a lot of is putting these time boundaries around what happens after that launch. So can you tell me a little bit more even about like your habits and routines around your social plan? Especially because I think that's where you're doing a lot of your marketing? And kind of like what went into planning that? Did you plan it all out like a month in advance? Or do you just know that you're going to post every day? So you're posting something every day? Like how did that go?
Emily Thompson 13:49
Sure. So a little bit by the fly, for sure. Because I think every good thing is a little bit accidental. But obviously a lot of strategy in there as well. One of the core strategies that we've had, is creating this, this weekly routine of updating our website every Wednesday morning. So I think we launched I think we may have actually launched on a Tuesday, maybe on a Wednesday, it doesn't really matter. But we launched the site and then and we launched it with a small sampling of products. And we were holding some products back from the website launch because we were planning on a pop up and I didn't want to sell out of everything before we had the chance to do our in person pop up shop. So we were holding back quite a lot of product from our online store. So we launched it with a small offering. And then every week just sort of dripping out a little more and a little more as we can handle because we are doing online and offline as well. We can't put it all online. And we don't want to hold it all for offline either. So finding a really good balance and the way we've done that is by having small weekly updates. And with every one of those website updates that haven't that happens every Wednesday morning. We send out an email newsletter. And you know, if you've listened to Being Boss for any amount of time, you should know that we believe in email marketing, but above all other social media platforms. So for me really growing and focusing on the strategy of email marketing has been my most important tactic for creating some good systems about how it is that we tell people what we're up to, so that the email marketing piece has been super key. And we've tied that to our weekly updates of product on the website, it also keeps me from, you know, having to do some hardcore product management every single day, or, or really, you know, doing lots of marketing every single day. This is my side hustle. This is not something that I have tons of time and energy to put into at the moment, though, I certainly hope to give it more in the future, or hire people who can give it more in the future for sure. So at the moment, it's about being as strategic as impactful with as little effort as possible. So for me, going out those Wednesday morning updates, focusing on email marketing is super important, but also peppering in some fun and relatively organic Instagram marketing, where we don't have a really tight schedule. With that I want to keep it really organic and conversational and fun. And on the fly. I've done some hardcore Instagram scheduling for things in the past, I didn't always enjoy it as much like it wasn't about community at that point, it was just about creating content. And I want to go back to finding a happy medium between the two. But Instagram is one where I really just see myself playing email marketing is the one where you have real strategy, and I really count on or want to count on for helping me grow the business.
Kathleen Shannon 16:43
Woo, we'll have to talk about that more. In our next episode, whenever we really dig into the work, I want to ask you, if you there are any other systems and processes, kind of related to habits and routines that are helping you work really efficiently. And we may have covered, we may have covered them. So if you don't have anything else, if you're like this, write it down in your to do list. That's cool, too. But I know that you love some systems and processes
Emily Thompson 17:09
I do. I do love some systems and processes. And really, you know, at the moment, it's just like day to day get it all done. However, I will say another one of the goals that I have that I haven't quite put into place for this business. Actually, let me back up a second because one of the things that I am doing for this business that I don't do for most of my businesses, but is something that I'm getting in and doing absolutely every single week is tracking the money. So for Indie Shopography. And for Being Boss, we have our money man who takes care of all of those things for us, he sends us monthly updates, so we're always in touch with it. But we're not responsible for the day to day transactions. However, with the creation of this business, I really wanted to have my hands back in the money so I could see if it was being healthy, and what I could do about it. And so one of the systems that I've put into place and girl you should see my spreadsheets, they're beautiful, is weekly going in and tracking multiple things in our business around sales, whether that's total sales, or what products are selling, or whatever it may be. Because there are a couple of things we're tracking, also like profitability. So whenever we're making orders of product, being able to calculate how many products we'll get out of it, and then what the profitability of those products will be. So really digging my hands into the numbers. And doing that every single week is definitely part of the new processes for having this business that I don't do anymore in the other ones. But I want to do in this and because it's so important to start out that way.
Kathleen Shannon 18:33
Have you learned anything from really being hands on with the money in that way? Has it directed any of your decisions thus far? Have you been surprised by anything whenever it comes to getting in the money every week?
Emily Thompson 18:45
Right? Not really surprised by anything. Again, I feel like I have enough experience in this that I've known what to expect and everything sort of lined up, which has been really nice. But it reminds me how much I love business and how much how much it is that I'm not, you know, a creative who's having to slog through business because that's how I'm going to have to make money. I really am one of those people. I love spreadsheets, and I love numbers. And I love playing with profitability, and finding value where you can and all of those things. So maybe one of the things that's been most surprising is how much I love getting my hands dirty. And the numbers again, for sure.
Kathleen Shannon 19:19
I know it's so funny, because I remember early on a Being Boss episode you were talking about on a Friday morning. When do you look at money now?
Emily Thompson 19:26
Now, now it's actually usually I guess, Monday morning. So I run the numbers for the week that just passed.
Kathleen Shannon 19:34
But I remember you specifically talking about how you used to do all of your numbers on Friday mornings. And one morning you just had enough and you were crying over spreadsheets.
Emily Thompson 19:44
And that was bookkeeping, there's logging your bank transactions, which David is doing, but we're also so I'm actually also tracking those separately in a spreadsheet and context of like several other numbers that were run, that we're running. So in terms of like, exporting bank statements and putting them into into accounting software, I'm not doing that because I don't have to do that I could if I really wanted to. But really, it's about taking those numbers and doing things with them that I enjoy doing.
Kathleen Shannon 20:16
I see. So really looking at kind of like, is it helping you decide what products you'll buy next? Or like looking at how you will allocate money towards different things? Like how is, you know, bookkeeping separate from looking at your revenue? Or like really get that that top level CEO view of your money?
Emily Thompson 20:38
Yeah, there's a hardcore difference between, you know, doing your bookkeeping, which whenever I think of bookkeeping, I literally just think about it about categorizing expenses. Like that, to me is what bookkeeping is, it's about, it's about categorizing expenses, which actually doesn't give you a hardcore look at how the health of your business is doing. It just lets you know where your money is going or where it's coming from. But whenever I go into my spreadsheets, and I see where we're planning to spend money, where we are spending money, even though it is more or less the same, but in a different context, it gives me more information about where I should spend more money. So at this phase in our business, and we talked about in the last episode, how we've given ourselves the boundary of starting this business with only $4,000. And that's, you know, for everything to get started, plus the first couple hauls of product as well. We've had to be super thrifty and maybe not even thrifty though, I will say I did opt for Vista Prints like a super great deal on business cards over some really nice Moo.com ones that I really wanted. But we'll have to wait till later. It's really helped me be thrifty in some ways. But it's really given me some structure around making decisions as to what products to go into in the beginning and what I really want to focus on and what rule really define the Almanac Supply Company brand. Because I feel like so many businesses get really excited about having money to spend on product, especially in the product world, where you go in and you buy all the things like anything that looks cute or might you know, work with what you're doing or you know, buying supplies that you don't need, or whatever it may be. Because I've been looking very, very seriously about the how much money we have to spend, what sort of profit margins we want to pull, what sort of profit margins we're getting on the things that we've already purchased. I know what I need to spend my money on, and what I need to wait until later until we can buy bulk, or whatever it may be like I have such a better understanding of the financial situation of our business by doing it this way, that no other bookkeeper who's just categorizing expenses ever could.
Kathleen Shannon 22:53
Yes, we believe that knowing your numbers and being able to make a profit is what separates the bosses from the hobbyists and Emily's deep dive into the numbers is obviously giving her a perspective of Almanac's, financial health, and situation that will have her more easily growing. And that's a bit different than what we see most creatives doing, which is ignoring the numbers until tax time.
Emily Thompson 23:17
It truly has to be developed into an ongoing routine to run your numbers. Know where your business stands and gather the information you need to make informed decisions about your business. For these early phases, I'm certainly running my numbers weekly. But even for my more established endeavors, I run through the financials every single month, on a day that I call my CEO day. Setting aside time for this, even if you don't love your numbers is so important for keeping yourself in the driver's seat of your business.
Kathleen Shannon 23:55
So one of the habits and routines that we have over at Being Boss that we've been practicing for a really long time is taking our values and bringing them into an intentional practice. So how we bring our values like actions to our values is with our intentions and we do this every month. So I'm curious, are you doing this over at Almanac are your intentions at Almanac separate from you know kind of like your typical monthly intention practice. And tell me a little bit about what that practice is looking like for you.
Emily Thompson 24:31
Alright, pause it right here just a one last time because without a bit of context, we know that talking intentions is going to sound super weird.
Kathleen Shannon 24:41
Intention setting is a practice that Emily and I have practiced for several years at this point. And it's not uncommon for us to discuss them with each other. To explain what this looks like. I think it's best explained by diving into the intention section in our book Being Boss, Take control of your work and live life on your own terms. Now available wherever books are sold.
Emily Thompson 25:03
Setting intentions, you already have intentions whether or not you realize it. As you listen to me read this book, you're intending to learn some things that can help you be more boss. When you're done, you may pick up your phone with the intention of making reservations for dinner so you don't go to bed hungry, intentions, big or small, shape your actions all day, every day. And it's up to you how mindfully or consciously you shape your reality with those intentions. If your intentions remain unconscious, you will always be a victim of your own circumstance going along for the ride of your life rather than choosing where you go, and what you create. So if you ask us what our favorite boss habit is, it is intention setting. Setting intentions is purposefully bringing conscious attention to how you want to move through life. For example, if you wake up one morning with a lot of errands on your schedule, you might approach the day with an intention of efficiency. You have a lot to do in a small amount of time, and making an effort to be efficient will keep you focused on not wasting your time or energy. If you don't create a conscious intention that will support your goal of completing all your errands, you might find yourself feeling frazzled and rushed or end your day without getting it all done. So do you want to run errands like a boss or not, it's your choice. How you choose to tackle a full day is just a small example of how you can bring intentions into your daily life. Setting monthly and even yearly intentions can make a big difference in how you actively participate in shaping your reality and all aspects of your life. From your relationships and home to your business and career setting intentions and practice and mindfulness. When you're practicing intentions. You're aware of what you need at any given moment. And you're tapping into this state of being that will most help you feel the way you want to feel while helping you find success. we've adopted this practice to help us be mindful of what we desire and proactive about cultivating not only the thing, but the feeling in our lives. Perhaps you have a day that calls for focus, or a month that needs a little more kindness. recognizing your needs and committing not only to practicing those intentions, but also to identifying where they're already abundant in your life will set you on a path toward any goal in a way that resonates with you. We've made a routine of setting monthly intentions that guide our actions for the month. We've used these intentions to help us find discipline during busy months. Grace when we're trying new things, and to be articulate when our calendars are filled with speaking engagements. Here's how we do it. One, take a broad look at your projects and priorities for the month. Do you have a lot of client work personal projects or content creation? Maybe you've lined that speaking gigs podcast recordings or workshops, or maybe a big family vacation. Two, check in on how you feel about the tasks at hand and get a sense of what values or feelings you need more of during the month. Perhaps you need to dedicate your month to organization great for taking off new projects or tightening up your ship. Balance. Just perfect if you're feeling overwhelmed, or magic if you want to appreciate the wonder around you. And three, set your intention. It's usually a one word intention or a short mantra. Write it at the top of your to do list or on a sticky note on your laptop. Now it's key to set up your daily routine to remind you of the intentions you want to cultivate and to enable you to practice them. It's easy enough to set your intention. But it's up to you to find a way to remind yourself and hold yourself accountable to your intention. schedule it into your calendar, set daily reminder alarms on your phone, or share your intention with a close friend or even your community. If you don't get it perfect every day. That's okay. practicing your intention is about taking action repeatedly until you get proficient at living in a way that feels totally boss on your terms. The point is to put your intention at the forefront of your daily life so that you can work every day to recognize the good that you already have, and continue to cultivate more of it in your life. This way you can practice your values and reach your goals with meaning and be present in the process along the way.
Kathleen Shannon 29:47
One word intentions. Make intention setting very simple by choosing a single word represent what you want to focus on. This word becomes your intention. Daily, set an intention for the day to help you hone in on the task at hand. For example, your intention might be competence on a day when you're pitching to a potential client. Monthly, you can also pick a one word intention for the month, giving you something to practice in all aspects of your life and work during that time. Having a one word intention allows you to experience your world through a different lens with every new theme and it makes you more mindful of taking steps toward what you want. Yearly intentions, beyond your day or your month, you can also use a one word intention for an entire year. We like to do this practice every year for our business. If you're not a fan of making new year's resolutions, a one word intention is a great alternative and conversation piece. We've had the year of growth, the year of joy and the year of balance with each intention driving our decisions and actions for the entire year.
Kathleen Shannon 30:56
Tell me a little bit about what that practice is looking like for you.
Emily Thompson 31:00
So talking about intentions, and this monthly practice is actually one of the goals that I am. I'm currently going after now that we're almost at the end of month two, which is really sort of the end point for my first actual goals for Almanac have some Well, it's funny, my goal now is now like setting monthly goals like developing some sort of habit, or really some sort of routine that helps me set monthly goals. So I do look forward to creating a monthly goal setting sort of routine or ritual for this new business, because it's been something I've found so helpful and insightful for the other businesses that I've run. And product businesses do require you to be so much more hands on, I think, than service based businesses in terms of really knowing those numbers. Because you have to keep control of raw goods. And you have to keep control of like finished product inventory and making sure you're buying things at the right time and in the right quantities and those sorts of things. So just goal setting in general is one of the things that I will be tackling next. And part of that absolutely does include intention setting. So for me, you know, this year, my intention is peace, which is a good one when you're starting something new for sure. But for me, this is just adding a whole other layer to that practice, like, you know, if I'm bringing peace into my life, I'm going after peace and Being Boss or even Indie Shopography, what does peace mean, in the context of a new startup? And how can I go go at that, like find peace in the chaos of starting a new business. But for me, also, I see a lot of my intention, my you know, yearly intention, and helping others find peace as they live with nature. So I even feel like creating this business is a practice of my intention, in peace or of peace. And because it all plays together, as far as monthly, it is something you know, I do do my monthly intention setting and on the same level, like it will just wrap Almanac will be wrapped up in that monthly practice that I already have.
Kathleen Shannon 33:10
Yeah, that's what I was curious about. I mean, because I could imagine, you know, in my businesses, it being more topical and saying like, okay, over here, my intention is going to be this. But I think that you and I are both really holistic in how we're blending work and life and bringing whatever intention that we're setting, personally to our professions across the board. So I'm curious, you have a business partner, and I don't know where she stands on the Woo, um, how does she feel about your intention practice? And do you think that it's something that you all will do together or something that she'll start doing as well?
Emily Thompson 33:48
Perhaps she does not know about my intention practice. I don't think we've had that conversation yet.
Kathleen Shannon 33:55
Well now she nows.
Emily Thompson 33:57
Right now, you know, Holly. Hey, girl Hey, right. Um, but I mean, obviously, I'll have to introduce her to it, because it's such a part of how it is that we work and how it is that we blend life and work to create, you know, creative products, whether they are service or product, how we create those things and feel fulfilled by them as like as creative entrepreneurs and feel good about the businesses that we run to sell those things. So, so I will definitely introduce her to it, if only to let her know what's driving my weird actions and insights every month. So she has some like backstory of the weird things that I say.
Kathleen Shannon 34:37
Are there any other habits and routines that we haven't chatted about that you would like to talk about whenever it comes to Almanac Supply.
Emily Thompson 34:45
I think one of the things that we'll be diving into only stores we actually absolutely have started dipping our toe in is just the systems and processes that make the business which are just is just a business word for habits and routines, like the steps that you take to reach any sort of goal. The whole beginning phase of any new business is super chaotic and scary for especially like Type A's, like myself. So bringing those in super early or as early as you can, is really important. But I've also really had to learn to let go a lot to through these beginning phases and understanding that most of the beginning actions that you take in creating a new business, you know, the whole thing about being efficient as a business is to take actions that you can take over and over again, so they become highly efficient. But as you're starting a new business, you're doing so many things that you never have to do. Again, there is a complete lack of efficiency. And you just have to accept that those first steps of getting your bank account and applying for your licenses and setting up your website and finding a payment processor. Like those are not things that you can systemize you can if you're going to have multiple businesses like I do, I definitely made it easier for me to take those first steps. But for me, someone who really relishes in the idea of having daily habits are ongoing routines, it was really difficult to be thrown into the uncertainty of the day to day actions. And for me, just really going back to those tried and true tactics of project management of like keeping record of things, having very clear communication, and giving myself a ton of grace to those first couple of steps was really important now that we're through those first, those first several weeks of setting up a new business, we are finally getting into the stages of having these weekly systems, or daily systems or whatever they are to help us help us provide for our customers in the way that we want to whether that's packaging orders, or dealing with customer service emails, or doing our marketing, whatever. We're just now getting in those phases. So I guess what I want to say is for anyone who's starting a business, enjoy the chaos as much as you can work your way out of it, and then start setting up systems because there is a period in the beginning of business, where it's not about habits and routines is about doing what you got to do to get there.
Kathleen Shannon 37:19
Yeah, I mean, we love a good metaphor. So like I couldn't help but think about remodeling a house as you were saying that and whenever you're tearing it down, like that is not the time that you're trying to figure out what your morning routine is going to be like, you should just get through it. Categorize your stuff, get your walls up, do whatever you've got to do. And then imagine you know how you're remodeling to set yourself up for a better morning routine or a better life that you want to live. And I think that really that starting phase of a business is like that, where you're tearing things down, you're taking stock, you're reorganizing so that you can have those habits and routines that you want.
Emily Thompson 37:58
Absolutely. And then you start setting up those habits and routines immediately
Kathleen Shannon 38:08
On the next episode of Making a Business.
Kathleen Shannon 38:13
Okay wait we need to like dive in here because I cannot wrap my head around like retail and wholesale and I mean, I know what it means but go ahead and explain it for...
Emily Thompson 38:26
For you. For Kathleen. All right, Kathleen. So, whenever you are maker whenever you are making the product you make the product need have your like cost of goods. For a maker who is properly pricing themselves the minimum markup that you do for your product to go to sell to wholesale so that would be me selling to another business who will then sell it at retail would be 50% for wholesale. So let's say I make a candle for I'm just throwing out numbers here.
Kathleen Shannon 39:01
Would you use real numbers or do you not want to?
Emily Thompson 39:03
I could use real numbers Let me pull up my spreadsheet.
Emily Thompson 39:08
Mindset, boundaries, habits, and routines. These are what turn a creative into a boss bees foundations and more makeup our new book Being Boss, Take control of your work and live life on your own terms. A guide slash workbook slash sleep with an under your pillow book filled with what we've learned over the years as working, thriving creative entrepreneurs. Plus what we've picked up from the hundreds of conversations with industry leaders and experts on the Being Boss podcast.
Kathleen Shannon 39:41
And it's all so that you can cultivate confidence in your work, make good money doing what you're best at and live a life you love. To learn more about our book and order one for yourself go to beingboss.club/book.
Emily Thompson 39:55
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Kathleen Shannon 40:06
Do the work.
Emily Thompson 40:07
Be boss.
