January 21, 2023
[00:00:00] Kris: Being a soloprenuer can be very isolating. Are you craving connection with like-minded business owners? In this episode, we chat about the benefit of being a part of a supportive group where everyone is facing the same or similar issues as you. You’re listening to The Design and Prosper podcast episode 64.
Hey, welcome everybody. Welcome to episode 64.
[00:00:21] Don: Yes. Welcome everybody. So are you an introvert? That’s one thing we want to ask straightaway. Many designers are, in fact, we know so many and we get that, but we keep hearing about beautiful introverted designers who are feeling isolated, like they’re lacking community, they’re lacking a sounding board. They’re lacking somebody just to speak to about their gorgeous business.
[00:00:45] Kris: Yes, and I’m an and I’m an introvert. Don, you are not quite an introvert. You’re an ambivert. So for those of you who do not know what an ambivert is, it’s a little bit in the in between, isn’t it Don?
[00:00:57] Don: It is. I can cope in extrovert experiences. I can cope, I can get out into a social circle and cope, but I need to run away and hide and recharge, and I need my introvert time to get myself back on track.
[00:01:12] Kris: Yes. So I’m pretty much classic introvert . So it when I need to go out into public, I’m really good, like on camera and that sort of thing, which is odd. When it’s in a group, I prefer little groups and if I have to go to a big party, it’s a little bit like, ah, get a bit freaked out with that sort of thing.
And it is a bit of a generalization, but a lot of designers are introverts. And so if we’re, even though we’re introverts, we still need support, we still need to bounce ideas off people. I know that myself, being an introvert, doing it totally in isolation can be really challenging and even demoralizing
[00:01:53] Don: It can, businesses hard alone. It really is and if your support network is your friends and your family and your partner, they might have really great intentions to support you and to cheer you on. But the reality is they may not know anything about your business. And if they’re not in a creative business, they just won’t get it.
They won’t get what you are going through. And so often they’ll just cheer you on and, and be a great listener maybe, or offer some really well-meaning advice that that just doesn’t feel appropriate for your business.
[00:02:29] Kris: Yes. Also within the creative business world, I’m sure you realize will have very well meaning, caring friends and family who they themselves have subconscious limiting beliefs around what it is to run a creative design business or creative business of any kind and what is possible financially. So they have an unconscious bias, if you like.
So in our experience, they can really dull your sparkle even without meaning to
[00:02:58] Don: Yes, they can. They, and it’s sad but true.
[00:03:02] Kris: Yes, bless them.
[00:03:04] Don: Mm.
[00:03:05] Kris: But they can take you down a notch without, without having that intention.
So, this episode is all about is the importance of finding your people, finding your community, and surrounding yourself with people who are, on the same journey as you, the best kind of people that you can find to support you along your way.
[00:03:27] Don: Mm-hmm. Absolutely. And what we mean by that is people who are going to elevate you, people who want to see you succeed, who aren’t afraid that you are on the same journey. In fact, they’re excited by it. So they’re not seeing you as a competitor. They’re seeing you as a companion in this journey of solopreneur life, and they’re there for you.
They’re willing to share. Assets and resources and stories and you know, the good times and the bad times, and, and in fact, that’s where Kris and I started our real strong connection in business. We were both in opposing businesses in our twenties, in the same little town, and it was a very small pool.
And yep, we were competitors but what we did was we put the fact that we were like-minded, we had the same values, very similar values. Our businesses were very aligned in that, and we put the fact that we were supportive of each other first. So we really had each other’s back and it, and it felt less alone. And we had business partners. We weren’t completely alone. But even in that sense, we, we had camaraderie.
We had another design business supporting us and believing in the way that we wanted to do business. And it just made all the difference to our, to our businesses, I believe.
[00:04:50] Kris: Yeah, and it is kind of strange if you think about it, that we were quoting against competing projects and you know, we were respectful of each other with that. I don’t even remember it being a problem, like going, damnit, Donna’s business got that, or whatever. It wasn’t like that. So, Um, so that’s one of the steps. We want to give you some steps, some actionable steps to create your community. And you have to be proactive about this. You know, they’re not just going to come walking to you. Well, they might, you know, you might have somebody reach out to you, but we need we need you to be proactive about this. So that’s one of the steps. Reach out to local designers and just simply ask if they’d like to go for a coffee.
[00:05:34] Don: Yeah, absolutely. That’s it. And you will be, I think, pleasantly surprised. They will probably be craving connection as much as you, and they’ll be like, oh, thank goodness. Thank goodness I’ve got somebody who I can talk with about this crazy industry that we are so passionate.
[00:05:53] Kris: Yeah, and You kind of mentor each other. It won’t be like you are looking for a mentor or somebody who’s more experienced. We’re talking about a level playing field here. People who are on the same trajectory as you. And just like Donna and I were, and we didn’t actually know each other that well. Donna was my lecturer and there was that kind of lecturer student dynamic going on. And then I went out into business and Donna had her business And that’s how we, um, we started the relationship with, you know, would you like to have a coffee? We did not know each other very well, so it was a little bit of bravery on and courage on both of our parts to make that happen. And then we really enjoyed the first experience, obviously, and then we made it regular. So that could happen with you. You could forge a beautiful alliance with some other local designers or a designer in your community.
[00:06:46] Don: Yeah, a beautiful collective that, that would be really lovely to have a supportive, you know, once a month get together or, or whatever,
[00:06:52] Kris: Yeah.
[00:06:53] Don: You can actually bounce what’s happening in your business off each other and, who knows what will come from. You know, we’re, we’re really excited by what can come from that.
Beautiful collaboration can come from that, supporting each other with different resources. You know, it just makes you feel less alone and, and hearing another designer, or design business. Hearing their story just makes you feel like you can do it. You know, I can do this too. You know, we, we, when we were doing our coffee dates and talking about our clients and things, I know we’re inspiring each other.
Like, wow, you’ve got that fabulous client and isn’t that going well for you? And how exciting? And, and we were. Each other’s cheerleaders. And I think having that knowledge that other people are succeeding in their business in this industry makes you believe you can too. And I think that is so powerful. So yeah.
[00:07:46] Kris: Yeah.
[00:07:47] Don: Be courageous, Make that call. Have a coffee date.
[00:07:50] Kris: Yes. So another thing that you can do is join Facebook groups or reach out to people on social media. So I know a lot of you do that. You’re creating networks in Instagram, you’re following each other and you’re DM’ing each other and you’re supporting each other and cheering each other on.
So. If you’re not doing that, maybe it’s time to step up and do something like that. Especially if you’re fairly isolated where your location is, you might be in a small town, like a rural town somewhere. So it’s really important.
[00:08:23] Don: Yeah
[00:08:23] Kris: It might feel okay at the moment to be really isolated and not be connected with others. But if you want a longterm sustainable business, that is essential, even as an introvert, it’s essential. I mean, there’s some beautiful Facebook groups out there and little announcement, little drum roll. We actually have a private Facebook group. Now we’ve just started it for our master class, which is happening very, very soon. Um, we’ve got our masterclass on premium pricing for designers. So. Currently there is a group on Facebook.
To provide support for that masterclass so that people can connect and ask questions about the content that we’re covering in the masterclass. So it’s called. So the Facebook group is called premium pricing for designers. So search for that, but stay tuned. We may just keep it going and, oh, we may change the name. So we liked the idea of having the community. So it’s going to be a beautiful, nurturing place of like-minded creators. Somewhere, you can feel safe and you can talk about premium pricing and the other issues that happen with design studios or the issues that we even bring up on the podcast. So it’s going to be a beautiful community.
[00:09:37] Don: So beautiful. So welcome aboard in there. We’re so excited. It is our first Facebook group that we will be nurturing and already we’re excited. That’s why Kris is like, stay tuned. We don’t want this to end.
And it hasn’t really even begun yet. The masterclass is next Tuesday, 9:00 AM the 24th of January, Australian Eastern Daylight savings time. So yeah, check out our website for the details on that. the the Facebook group, you’ll get a link to that immediately when you join the masterclass.
So, um, it’s so exciting that it might then become a permanent fixture . For design and prosper. We are, we are really like, excited by it. So yeah.
[00:10:16] Kris: Yes.
[00:10:17] Don: See where it goes. Follow us on that little journey. we want to make sure that, that this is mutually beneficial. We want to make sure all of the people are on the same page in that Facebook group.
So we’re attracting people in there who are 100% behind premium pricing and who after the masterclass will truly understand the value of preparing yourself. To be able to charge premium prices and then hopefully support each other through that whole journey so that we can elevate pricing for designers, you know, worldwide, that that’s a big wish, but that’s what we, that’s what we’d love to do.
[00:10:54] Kris: Oh, it’s one of our missions, you know, to elevate the pricing of graphic design worldwide, and we can do it together. We can, we can start in the premium pricing Facebook group. Okay.
[00:11:04] Don: Yeah, let’s do it. Okay. Another way you can do this is you can join a graphic design association. We are absolute believers of that, there are fabulous resources on all of the uh, graphic design association website. So depending on where you are in the world, um, we will leave some links in the show notes for you.
So there’s AGDA, which is the Australian Graphic Design Association. There’s AIGA, which is the American Institute of Graphic Arts. So, AIGA. There’s DBA in the UK and there’s the UK Design Council and Type Directors Club. There’s so many, but we’ll leave you some links to those for you to check out.
And if you are not a member, they are a paid membership generally. Uh, but they were worth it. They are absolutely well worth it. You can tap into lots of fabulous resources and a network of other designers. It’s great to take a peek at that and see what you.
[00:12:00] Kris: And my favorite part of being part of an association like that is the networking, like the functions and the interesting speakers. And. You know, sometimes they might host a dinner so that you can have that beautiful. Tax deductible, little gathering in dinner. It’s a nice experience, a lovely experience with other like-minded designers. It’s wonderful.
[00:12:21] Don: It is wonderful. So get yourselves out there, beautiful introverts, and make sure you take a peek at those associations and, and join up and see what comes from that. You never know what comes from this type of connection with other like-minded people. We cannot stress that enough. It is so important for your business to be successful.
[00:12:42] Kris: So an important idea that we wanted to mention to you to grow community. This one is very near and dear to our hearts. Is to invest in group learning or group coaching. So a beautiful group coaching experience, such as our very own academy program that we have for designers.
[00:13:01] Don: Absolutely. The learning experience is amplified when you do it with a group of other people. There is lots of evidence that we are going to speak to in this podcast in a little bit that basically speaks directly to the power of learning and growing in a group. you know, not doing this solo, you do not have to do this alone.
The team becomes a mirror, which helps you become aware of your strengths and your weaknesses. It’s incredible. It’s this whole, I almost want to sit up in my chair, Kris, when we talk about this because it really does lift you like the, the group dynamic is really uplifting and elevating in so many ways, and it’s the feedback we get time and time and time again about the academy, the group learning, the community.
Is one of the most favorite parts for many of our academy people, it is the most favorite part for them because of this gorgeous, amplified learning experience that they get to experience with with each other, and they, and they feel less alone immediately.
The minute they join the academy, the minute they jump into our, our exclusive academy Facebook group, they are not alone. And it’s, it’s so special. It’s really special.
[00:14:27] Kris: It is really special because you’re sharing the journey with people with similar goals, they have values that are similar to you. They have similar needs to you. Their passion for design business and design is similar. But also you sharing some of the, not so good stuff, like the shared challenges and the difficulties along the way, like the share pain, you know, it’s challenging, it’s challenging making changes in your design business. And if you join the academy, we’re asking you to make changes. We’re asking you to do the work, to make your business a beautiful success. So.
It’s going to provide new synergies, new possibilities, new energies, collaborations. You know, you’ll be in a beautiful cohort, a group space. It’s just a beautiful thing.
[00:15:12] Don: It is. It is. It’s so beautiful. It’s that collective that that really is special. Uh, you know. It’s absolutely so beautiful when we elicit all the beauty, all the brilliance, and all the wisdom from each person in the group that is of benefit to everyone, even us, Kris and I, as your guides, as the facilitators of the group, we experience it too.
I don’t know how many times Kris and I have gotten off the group learning experience, that beautiful q and a session that we have each week. During the the academy and we are lit up. We are vibrating with excitement from what we’ve just experienced in the group. Or we’ll dive into the exclusive Facebook group and we’ll, we’ll be like, wow, look at them supporting each other.
Look at what’s unfolding in there. And it just fills our heart with joy that there are a lot of designers, no longer alone anymore. They’re not having to do it on their own anymore. And it just really fills our heart with joy.
[00:16:14] Kris: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it, it surprises even us how we learn and grow through the group learning experience. Being the, the guides of this, you know, the facilitators, there’s a leap that happens within the group learning environment. And there’s lots of research around why that is. it is like a mirror you mentioned before Don you are a mirror to everybody else and you can see what they’re doing. They can see what you’re doing and. You can share things that aren’t going so well. And then you can share things that are going well. And that creates a greater awareness. It’s leveraged learning because you go. Oh, wow. I didn’t know that could happen. Or you be going, oh, that happened to me. And now there’s a solution. I can see the solution now.
And one of the things we get feedback from a lot of our academy members is. Especially from the QnA mentoring sessions, the coaching sessions. It’s beautiful because first of all, what they say, it’s like therapy, which is so funny. We’ve had so many people say this is like therapy.
Um, and. Who knew who knew a business group could be like therapy, but also there’s usually a question somebody asks that you wouldn’t have thought to ask, or you didn’t know it could happen to you. And it’s like, oh my goodness. Yes. I wouldn’t have thought to ask that question, but it’s so important. So that that sort of thing happens as well.
So that’s why the leap happens. In that group learning environment in that group cohort, that’s going along together. And you’re going to have your individual goals. Yes. And your way of doing these, what do we always say, Don?
[00:17:47] Don: We always say, your business your way. Absolutely, yes. Yeah. You will not lose that. You won’t lose sight of that because you will be supported to maintain it. However, you will have other possibilities percolate, and they will come to the surface and present themself to you and, and you’ll be like, wow, I hadn’t thought of that idea or that pathway and you know, you can get excited about adding on to the way that you are doing things. But it is your business, your way, always.
[00:18:19] Kris: Yeah. So that whole feeling of like, it’s just little old me trying to get there, trying to figure it out along the way. You know, I’m not alone. It’s not just little old me. I’m not alone in this, like other people who are going through this too. And there’s this beautiful synergy that happens where the sum of the total is greater than the sum of the parts. Right? So. That’s that’s what happens. That’s the definition of synergy, essentially. And so the individuals within that become bigger it’s a bigger force it’s just so great
[00:18:49] Don: it is. It’s so motivating, isn’t it? It really that group dynamic motivates you. You see what’s possible for others because they’re sharing their wins, they’re sharing their successes, they’re sharing their highlights. So it’s like, wow, this is possible. It’s possible for me. You see other people, other gorgeous designers in business making courageous steps, and you can see that it’s possible for you too, and you’ll see proof. Of other people who are in the process of doing it and people who have done it, who are validating the next steps for you. Yes, this is a way to do it. Yes, that’s the way that will lead to success. You know, this is the fifth time coming up that we have run the academy and our community are getting more and more, big results, results, results, results. And they’re a massive part of the community still. So if you were to join the academy group, you will get access to people who have been there for five rounds. So there’s all that wealth of knowledge that they bring to the table and they’re not shy about bringing it, which is great. It is a very supportive group.
[00:19:59] Kris: Well, that’s another benefit because they’re actually gaining confidence there. Gaining by elevating and helping others. And that will happen for you too, because it’s like, wow, I’ve got something valuable to offer here. I know the answer to this question this is so great and that’s a beautiful thing to celebrate in a community
[00:20:18] Don: Oh, it’s so validating, isn’t it? That That’s yeah. That’s really powerful. Yeah.
[00:20:23] Kris: It’s also very energizing because you’ll have people cheering you on and celebrating you. But also acknowledging and supporting you when things don’t go. Right? Because. Progress and growth is always, you know, it’s a bit wibbly, wobbly. It’s never like this linear path. That’s going up, up, up, up, up, up, up, it goes up and down and up and down and overall the pathway’s always on the rise, but it can dip down. So go up and down, you know
[00:20:49] Don: yeah,
[00:20:49] Kris: And having some support and being in a group. We’ll naturally cause you to raise your standards because you will see other people raising their standards and getting away with it. Not not getting away with it. That’s the wrong. The wrong phrase, but it’s validating. It’s it’s real. It’s true.
[00:21:08] Don: Yeah, absolutely. It is validating. That’s it’s proof. It’s proof that it can happen for you. You can do this so, you don’t need to just trust us on this. There are oodles of research, uh, papers out there that support these findings, there’s a Johnson and Johnson, um, not the baby powder, Johnson and Johnson, uh, a 1989 study. Um, but even though it’s 1989, it’s, it’s still very relevant, in the group dynamic. I don’t think anything would change with that.
[00:21:40] Kris: Hey, some of the best things came out of the eighties and they’re still happening now. Like the music.
[00:21:46] Don: Let’s talk about the music. No, maybe we shouldn’t. The podcast will blow out for hours.
[00:21:50] Kris: It will.
[00:21:51] Don: Um, so yeah, it’s, it’s basically this beautiful study said that there, from group community learning, there is higher achievement and greater productivity for all. There is more caring, supportive, and committed relationships.
There’s greater psychological health, social competence, and self-esteem. All the juicy stuff, all the great stuff. From a group learning environment.
[00:22:16] Kris: Yeah. So they discovered through these studies that when you’re working in collaboration with others and you’re working towards a similar goal, You are more likely to even retain the material better. So you have better retention and you are able to solve problems at a higher level as well. So it’s really fascinating. It’s like what happens in that group dynamic has really surprised us. Hasn’t it Don? Like. We weren’t quite expecting that to happen with the academy. We thought it would be great and helpful and wonderful, but we just didn’t realize quite how elevating the group dynamic would be.
[00:22:51] Don: Yeah.
[00:22:52] Kris: We are just so in love with this academy group of people, we just adore them so much and it just fills our hearts with joy. That we get to continue life with them because the academy you get to keep coming back with future rounds, like you get to rejoin, you know, you get to attend the. Uh, future rounds of QnA sessions and the coaching sessions.
You get to come back and refresh, you know, reconnect, reconnect with past academy students, connect with new academy students. So it’s a lifelong journey, you know?
[00:23:23] Don: Yeah,
[00:23:23] Kris: It’s because we’re dealing with long term businesses.
[00:23:28] Don: Exactly.
[00:23:29] Kris: We don’t want you to burn out. We don’t want you to be like, oh, I’ve had enough. I’ve had enough after three years. You know it can be a beautiful long-term sustainable business for you.
[00:23:40] Don: Absolutely. So to lean on the findings in the research that we found, people are six times more likely to reach your goals if you’re in a group. Six times, six times more likely to reach your goals, and that’s incredible. Geese fly 70% faster when they are in a group. That’s incredible. So it’s almost like we are saying, let’s fly together and go 70% further with each other, you know, six times more likely to reach your goals.
That’s powerful. And when you’re sitting there alone as an introvert in your beautiful business going, you know, this is hard. You know, I need somebody to bounce ideas off. I, I don’t know what the answers are. I don’t have a solution. There is a solution. Get yourself out there. Get yourself into a community, all, all of the ideas that we’ve listed here today, if the academy feels right, please come and join us.
We’re opening doors again next week, so that might be the perfect community for you. Whatever it is, get yourself out there and get yourself talking to other like-minded design business owners so that you can elevate together.
[00:24:51] Kris: Yeah, take that next step. What is that next step for you? It could be just a little baby step. What can you do? It might just be joining a Facebook group. You might be sending a little DM to a fellow designer that you think, oh, wow. They’re really aligned to me and how I work.
And so just take that step and we are here for you when you are ready. We’d love you to join the academy. And if you are really seriously considering it right now, go hop on our website. Go to design and prosper.co forward slash the academy. And if our doors aren’t open. Uh, join the waitlist because we offer something very special to our waitlist is that we don’t offer to anyone else. So absolutely go and get your butt on that list.
[00:25:38] Don: Okay. All right. I think we are there. Reach out. We, we are here for you. We believe in you and as all of our academy and our one-to-one students know we are your biggest cheerleaders, and we, we really are. We back all of you beautiful designers worldwide. We are backing you. We want you to succeed.
[00:25:58] Kris: Yeah.
Yeah, where your community too. So send us a DM. Maybe that can be your next little step. You can send us a DM or an email because we love it. We absolutely love it. We read every single one. Please do reach out to us .
[00:26:12] Don: Yep. All right. Wherever you are, we hope you are well and thriving. Until next time, we’ll see you later.
[00:26:19] Kris: Bye.
[00:26:20] Don: Bye.
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