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Hi <<First Name>>,
Books! That will change your business for the better.
I can feel a big change brewing for Aeolidia. The time has come to hire again. Your mind would be boggled if you knew how much time I spend working on social media and similar stuff that almost anyone could do for me if I would just relinquish it.
Rather than just hire someone willy nilly out of desperation, I am trying to make a plan that accounts for the future, and I have some books to recommend to you (whether you're ready to hire some help right now or not).
Tracy Matthews of Flourish & Thrive joined us in our Facebook group last month to talk about delegating and hiring, and she couldn't have come along at a better time for me. She recommended a handful of books, and I snapped up these two:
The E-Myth Revisited. There's a good chance you've read this. A LOT of business advice on the internet is inspired by this book. If you are an craftsperson or designer of some kind and you started a business because you were really great at the art and design and then discovered that there was a whole lot of crazy BUSINESS stuff you then had to do, this book is for you.
It is unflinching about the realities of being an entrepreneur. It will either make you quit struggling and go get a job (could be the best thing that ever happened to you), or it will prepare you to dig in and figure out how to make a small business really work.
Rocket Fuel. If you have a partner in your business, or suspect you need one, this book is for you. You need two personalities: the Visionary (Walt Disney, say), and the Integrator (his brother, Roy). If you're the Visionary, like me, and have piles of ideas that don't always get off the ground and start working how they should, learn who you need to balance you out.
This book is great for figuring out what your strengths are, narrowing in on what you should be doing, AND it has a lot of helpful info for how to structure your company.
In fact, both books share a similar example organization chart, and give the advice that you should plan out your org chart (all the different roles and "jobs" in your business) as if your business is big and grown up and has many employees and departments. Even if it's just the two of you. Even if you never plan to get bigger than a few people.
This was eye-opening for me, and I spent a day mapping out what Aeolidia's structure could look like 10 years in the future (when we're designing interactive virtual experiences or whatever passes for ecommerce then). Then I highlighted all the "jobs" Sam and I have been splitting between us, one color for each, and needed to take a nap. [imagine a dizzy face emoji here]
If you want to dip your toes into the concept before you buy the book, the website has some fun quizzes and an introductory video: rocketfuelnow.com
These other two books are on my shelf to revisit:
The ONE thing. This book! I have talked about it before, on the blog and in the newsletter. If you're like me (Visionary!) and have tons of ideas, get distracted easily, and maybe don't always follow through on everything, or have time to get everything done, this is going to be SO helpful for you.
Quit trying to do everything! Just to the ONE Thing that matters (and yes, there is just one). Really helpful for focusing on what is going to make your business grow (and the theory can be applied to every other aspect of your life).
Unsubscribe. This one is for if you feel like your email inbox is taking over your life and your day. I have read a lot of things about productivity over the years, and I don't think there was anything in here that was brand new to me. But! It's a quick read, and it's motivating for actually figuring out a strategy to get back in control of your day. If you feel like email and social media are taking up all your time, this book will be helpful. (Bonus: if you would like to develop better habits in general, The Power Of Habit is an interesting and helpful read).
What have you been reading to help your business? Anything you'd recommend? I'd love to hear.
P.S. I had the pleasure of talking with Tara Gentile about how I've grown Aeolidia as a web agency on her podcast, Profit. Power. Pursuit. You can listen to it (or read the transcript) here: Growing an Agency With Aeolidia Founder Arianne Foulks
We also recorded a bonus episode where I specifically give tips for anyone trying to sell products online. You can find that one here, along with all the rest (look for episode 57.5): Power. Profit. Pursuit episode list
Doing the bonus episode was part of my resolution to make sure I'm doing my best to reach the right people any time I agree to speak. These things take me a decent amount of prep time, and talking to the people who will care about our services is an important part of the decision.
P.P.S. I wrote an article for a book! All over the world, creatives are turning their hobby into their livelihoods--and Crafter's Market offers the competitive edge you need to make your craft your career. You've seen a version of this article before on my blog. I haven't had the chance to read this book yet, but it's packed with resources, and some helpful articles, too.
P.P.P.S. You'll get my next newsletter next Wednesday, and it will be about Google's new rules for pop-ups on your site. Stay tuned!
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