The Creative Brief with Altar Media

Are You Unqualified?

What makes someone the most qualified person for the job? Is it their degree? Their professional experience? Or is it something a little less tangible? That x factor. The qualification “je ne sais quoi” if you will. 
 
Today we want to encourage you. We believe in you. In fact, we talk about why you shouldn’t let your degree (or lack of one) make you feel unqualified. 
 
Today’s Brief: Take a couple minutes to figure out what those difference makers are that you bring to your business or your industry. What are those unique qualifications that you have that are going to make a difference? Confidently share them next time someone asks about your qualifications.

Shrink Your Goals

“Your goal is too big!! There’s no way you can meet that goal, let alone surpass it.”
 
*insert record scratch here* 
 
What?! Isn’t this supposed to be helpful? 
 
Bear with us.
 
Big goals are scary. It’s hard to know where to start or you talk yourself into a different goal because your original one is just too daunting.
 
Contrary to what you might be thinking, we don’t want you to change your big goal. In fact, you should embrace it.
 
Today we’re talking about one simple strategy to help make your big goal a little smaller, without changing your final goal. 
 
Today’s Brief: Think about your big audacious goal, and shrink it by filling out your own backcast form.
 
Get your free guided Backcasting worksheet here: https://www.altarmedia.co/bigkahuna

Put A Number On It

How do you measure success for your business? Networking more? Building your email list? Those are good and useful benchmarks, but how do you know when you’re done? How do you know when you’ve achieved success? 
 
It’s time to stop wondering. Put a number on your success. $1 million in revenue this year. Three times more clients. Two new employees. Ten hours or less on meetings each week. Whatever goal you want to reach, quantify it.
 
But here’s the secret, the number itself doesn’t matter. Listen now to learn what’s really important.
 
Today’s Brief: Set a measurable goal and implement actionable steps to help you get there.

Please Don’t Buy A Timeshare!

What comes to mind when you think about sales people? Maybe a sleazy used car salesman. Maybe a telemarketer. It’s probably not an image you want people to associate with you. But if you are a business owner, you are a salesperson. You need to make sales to sustain your business. There’s no getting around that.
 
So how do you counteract the sleazy salesperson mindset? Hint: it’s not seeing how much you can upsell. Instead, think about the value you can offer your customers and align it with what they’re bringing you.
 
Today’s Brief: Look at the products or services you offer, and write down what problems they solve for your customers.

Gatekeep Your Schedule

You’re bad at time management. It’s ok, so many people are. It’s hard to balance meetings, business growth, and client work, let alone things like accounting, creative delays, you name it.
However, when you restrict access to your most important time, you reserve the time when you can be the most productive for the week for your most important tasks. 
 
We talk about the tools we use to help us gatekeep our schedule, keep that ever elusive work/life balance, meet with clients, and still get done what we need to do.
 
Today’s Brief: Evaluate your weekly schedule and see what rules and tools you can implement that will allow you to maximize your effectiveness and gatekeep your schedule.

Define Your Season

Pain sucks, but it can be worth it when there’s a purpose, like growing pains. 
 
The right kind of pain or struggle can help us get to where we want to be. Just like growing pains as kids lead to adulthood, there are different seasons for your business. And it’s important to recognize what season, or mode, you are in with your business. 
 
There’s nothing inherently good or bad about any mode, though some may feel more exciting than others. And each mode requires something different to be successful. 
 
Today’s Brief: Identify what mode your business is in, pinpoint three objectives to stick to to stay on track for the season, and share them with someone to help you navigate your season successfully.

What Gets Your Yes

Today we are talking about BURNOUT. Wait, isn’t this your third episode? How are you possibly burnt out? 
 
Exactly. 
 
It is so tempting to say yes to everything. You want to be involved and build relationships. In fact, doing so is necessary to build a successful business. But what so often happens when you say yes to things that are important to other people is that you lose the ability to say yes to yourself. 
 
Today’s Brief: Take a moment and evaluate what is important to your business and personal growth. Block out time on your calendar to let yourself say yes to what is important to YOU.

OOPS! You Got A Bad Review

Bad reviews are a pain in so many ways, but they also serve an important purpose.
 
Today we'll talk about why bad reviews are a great opportunity for your business and what steps you should take to capitalize on them.
 
If you have never had a bad review, chances are you will get off your game one day and make someone mad enough to go off. This episode is for you so when this day comes you will be prepared. 
 
Today's Brief: Go reply to a bad review and let your community know that you have taken the opportunity to to learn and grow. If you haven't had a bad review yet, still go reply to all of your reviews. Your community will appreciate knowing that there are real people behind the online profile. 
 
 

The Competitive Edge(iness)

What would you lose if you started to celebrate your competition?
 
Think about one or two people or businesses that are in the same space as you. Would you ever ask them for help? Cheer them on when they reach a big milestone? Or do you secretly wish that they’d fade from the marketplace so they aren’t an option for prospective clients? 
 
If you’re the latter, you’re not alone. We’ve been there, too.
 
BUT what could happen if you started thinking of them as part of your community, not your competition?
 
Today’s Brief: You know who your industry peers are. DM one of them and ask if you can grab coffee or lunch. Let conversation unfold from there.

What Is The Creative Brief?

When was the last time a podcast inspired you to do something? 
If you can’t remember AND you’re an entrepreneur, startup, or growing business (or you want to be), you can’t afford to not take action. 
 
The Creative Brief is designed to help you do just that. 
 
No gimmicks, no catch.
 
Do the scary thing.
 
Do the exciting thing. 
 
Do the new thing. 
 
Do. 
 
In three minutes or less we’ll help you shift your mindset, get motivated and apply new principles to better yourself and your business.
 
Each of our episodes ends with a prompt to help you do.
 
Today’s brief: If you’re ready to better yourself and better your business, give us a follow.