48: A Conversation with Michele Williams

On this week's episode we welcome business strategist and coach Michelle Williams. Michele helps business owners gain clarity, confidence, and control so they can reclaim their time and to be passionate about their work. Don't miss her thought provoking ideas on money management and business mindset.Questions/comments? Email us at [email protected] RebeccaInstagram + Website Follow ShaunInstagram + WebsiteStuff they mentioned:Fake birkencrocksRebecca and Shaun's minds were blown during Michele's interviewShaun's obsessed with the Merge Dragons! appRebecca recommended the Bardot Brushes for Procreate so Shaun could sketch more without pen and paperWe need less screen time and more reading like Brian's Paquette and DISC Interiors' new booksWhat designers have spaces that live in your head rent free?Are friends and family experiencing quarantine postpartum? Rebecca talks about how hard it's been to meet with friends spontaneously.Rebecca is loving her Birkenstock knock-offs she's calling- birkencrocksOur guest today is Michele Williams, you can check out her website here, follow her on Instagram, or check out her podcast Profit Is A Choice.Michele talks about how she turned her negative profit business into a sustainable living early into her business ownership journeyShe shared how she felt like everyone in the design industry were hiding something from her, but they were just as lost as she was.It's not just enough to be getting paid and have clients who love your work - we've got to develop smart money management strategies.Are you going to be in hobby or are you going to be in business?Try introducing yourself as an owner of a design firm instead of a designerBuild barriers and protections between yourself and your businessChallenge yourself to write down your business mission, vision, values, and policies to identify what your company stands forTake "I" and "me" out of the equation to make things less personalMichele compared strategic plans to tactical plans for business - sometimes you can make plans in advance as part of your business strategy, but in the moment with your clients and projects you may have to do something different as a tactical strategy.Remember that our role is not to be an adversary with our clients or to go against their goals. Sometimes we need to ask ourselves what the clients ideal solution is to a problem and compare it to our own ideal solution and work towards both of them together.We start talking about the book, Profit First, and how to build a business model around itThe first thing we need to do is develop a framework and mindset around money managementMichele offered great ways to manage our money by separating the cost of goods from our operating incomeWe also talk about applying the profit first philosophy to our time, because time is also a currency.Profit is about providing sustainability for our businesses, it's not just about having money.We discuss selling the right product or service to the right person at the right price and managing the heck out of it.The emotional aspect of money can get in the way of making it wisely