Creative Economist
What's the big secret?
Hey everyone,
Here's the thing. You may or may not know, but I recently quit my full-time job as Head of Production for a creative ad agency and started my own production company.
I did this for a lot of reasons, personal and professional. But one of the reasons was that I saw myself getting bigger clients (like the biggest possible clients!) and better projects than I was doing at the agency.
This transition started out slow. I was getting a new job, and completing it... then time would pass... and I would get another job and complete that... and then more time would pass.
This was the cadence of new jobs for me. But here's what I realized...
Working this way is like climbing up one step of a ladder, then stepping back down to the floor... then climbing up one step of the ladder, and stepping back down to the floor.
I just wasn't getting anywhere.
It's because I was thinking in this linear - get a job, do the job - repeating cycle. And that's no way to climb a ladder.
So, what's the #1 thing that has grown my production company from a side-hustle hobby to full-blown business?
Delegate. Delegate. Delegate.
It seems obvious now. But if you are busy working on completing a project, you can't find new clients.
This was a tough pill to swallow for me. After all, I'm the creative type! I wanted to have my hands on everything.
But the reality is, that your business can't grow if you are trying to do everything yourself
Double down on the things you are good at, and outsource the rest.
Yes, you'll be making less money per project. Yes, you'll have to give up some of the control. And yes, it can still be creative, fun, and fulfilling.
The truth is, you will be giving up some of the money on each project, but I was amazed at how quickly I was able to ramp up my business because of this shift in my mindset.
I went from making $10-20K annually in side gigs to pulling in over half a million dollars in revenue, almost instantly.
I know this may not apply to all of you. Not everyone is doing client work. But I'd wager, that no matter what you are doing, you could put this mindset shift into practice to help yourself grow to new heights within whatever career trajectory you are on.
Give it a try, and let me know how it goes!
Alex Darke