166: Your Big One: Weekly Planning for Creative Entrepreneurs

See the show notes for this Episode here.

This transcript has been automatically generated.

Bonnie Christine:
Hi, my friends. Happy Tuesday. Welcome back to the Professional Creative Podcast. I have a shorty for you today, just a thought that I've had that I wanted to share

Bonnie Christine:
with you. I'm Bonnie Christine, and this is where all things creativity, design, business, and marketing unite. I'm a mama living in a tiny town tucked right inside the Smoky Mountains running a multi 7 figure business doing

Bonnie Christine:
the most creative and impactful work of my life. But when I first set out to become an entrepreneur,

Bonnie Christine:
I was struggling to make ends meet and wrestling with how to accomplish my biggest dream of becoming a fabric designer. Fast forward to today, I'm not only licensing my artwork all over the world, but also teaching others how to design their creative life and experience the same success. I'm here to help you spend your life doing something that lights you up. I'll help you build a creative business that also creates an impact, changes people's lives, gives you all of the freedom you want, and is wildly profitable. Welcome to the Professional Creative Podcast.

Bonnie Christine:
You've likely heard me or maybe someone else talk about time management, weekly planning, daily planning, and something that works really, really well in addition to your to do list is a top 3. So a top 3 tasks that if you accomplished in this day would mean you lay your head to bed tonight feeling accomplished. This is an incredible tool because I think human nature is to start with the easiest tasks on our to do list because we love crossing things off. We love feeling accomplished, but everything on our to do list is not created equal. And so if we start with the easiest things, then it's quite possible that we will work all day and not feel accomplished at the end of it, because we didn't actually do anything that truly moves the needle. So the concept is the top 3. What are the top three things to accomplish today that actually move the needle in my business, and then create time blocks around those three things, and then do the smaller to dos in the margins of your three time blocks. Okay.

Bonnie Christine:
So that was just an overview. If you're an artist or designer dreaming of seeing your work on products in the real world, like fabric and wallpaper and greeting cards, but maybe you're struggling to break into the world of licensing, listen up. The art licensing industry can feel like almost an exclusive club with gatekeepers and confusing entry points, but I found a way to simplify everything. Imagine pouring your heart into your art only to see it gather dust. That is not what we want. Maybe you've tried posting on social media, setting up an online store, sending out emails, but it feels like shouting into the void. The art world is confusing, and breaking into licensing isn't just about talent. It's also about finding the right partners that are the right fit.

Bonnie Christine:
Now, I've been in the same boat. I've spent tireless hours researching, compiling lists, learning how to approach companies. Then one day, I had tremendous success. So after so much trial and error, I signed my first licensing deal, then another and another. Today, my artwork is licensed all over the world, and I wanna help you achieve the same success. So I've taken what I consider the most difficult part, and, well, I've done it for you. I've poured over a decade of experience in developing the Ultimate Licensing Handbook. This is a curated list of over 400 companies across 17 plus industries, so you don't have to.

Bonnie Christine:
This handbook is so much more than a list. It's a comprehensive resource that is going to help you eliminate the guesswork. It includes pitch templates that get results and step by step guidance on how to approach companies. If you've tried compiling this information on your own, you know how time consuming it is. It would take months. In fact, we've estimated that this handbook will save you over 463 hours of work, and it gives you direct access to the companies that can take your career to the next level. So are you ready to take the next step? Visitbonniechristine.com/handbook to get your copy of the Ultimate Licensing Handbook and get instant access to all of these resources that we've poured so much into so that you don't have to. Remember, there's room for you, and I'd love to help you get started.

Bonnie Christine:
The thought that I've really enjoyed lately is also a big one for the week. Now, this kind of originated from a book that I read recently by Mike Michalowicz called All In, and it's part of his team meeting process. So part of his team meeting process is that you ask everyone on your team, what was your big one from last week, and what is your big one for this week? Meaning, what's the big one thing that you're accomplishing this week? So if I think about that, in a given week, you'll have 15 big rocks, if you will, from your top 3. But what of those top 15 are like the big thing that you really are excited about, that you accomplished, that you're setting out to accomplish this week? Meaning, it could be a bunch of, let's say you have 15 big rocks in in the week that you're accomplishing, but 3 or 4 of them are related to something even bigger. They're like smaller bits of a bigger piece. And so I love having that focus in addition to the daily to do list, and the daily top three is your weekly one big thing. This is like if you are reflecting on last week, what'd you walk away from that week really feeling accomplished about? And as you walk into this upcoming week, what are you really looking to accomplish? Just one big thing. And so I don't know what that is for you.

Bonnie Christine:
For me, it's some product development right now. I mean, it changes all the time, which is why I love being a creative entrepreneur. But right now, I'm in a deep, deep dive of product development for something that we really haven't announced yet, but we're very excited about coming up soon. But it means that oftentimes, my top three things are related to product development. But, like, my big one for the week is getting, like, maybe the front end of a shop designed. You know what I mean? So I would love to hear what your big one for this week is. Come tell me over on Instagram. I'm @bonniechristine, and I'd love to hear from you.

Bonnie Christine:
Just send me a DM that says my big one, and let me hear what you're up to. I love that. My friends, create the beauty that you want to see come alive in the world. And remember, there's room for you.