Creative Sanity Snippets is my weekly newsletter with quick 1–5 minute reads on pricing, sales, proposals, systems, processes—the real stuff it takes to run a profitable creative business. Join thousands of creatives who get a weekly dose of sanity in their inbox.
I was totally burned out. I was in my second year of freelancing. From an outside perspective, things were going great. “Mike has tons of projects. Looks like he’s slaying it!” But behind the scenes, I was a wreck. I was stressed out and burned out, working 14-16 hours a…
I attended a lot of “networking” type of functions while I was growing my agency. I knew that there was a direct correlation between the amount of people I knew in the business world and the amount of opportunities, growth, and success my agency had. One of the networking groups…
In 2018, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) faced an unexpected crisis in the UK when they switched chicken suppliers. Unfortunately, the new supplier wasn’t able to deliver on time, leading to an unprecedented week-long closure of all KFC stores in the country. KFC lovers were disappointed, and the brand was embarrassed….
Nineteen years ago, my brother had his second child. They named him Thor Odin Janda…and not gonna lie, I’ve been massively jealous of his name ever since. My parents named me freakin’ “Mike!” I could have been named “Thor” my whole life?!?!?! Why didn’t anyone tell my parents that was…
Just like most designers starting out, I would just guess my prices. A client asks for a logo design and I’d think, “I can do it for $_____.” Yeah, that sounds good.” Then I would submit my price and hope to win. In fact, everything about my business was a…
I always loved making friends with other agency owners in my city. Anytime I would meet one at a networking event, I would set up a lunch to “talk shop.” It was an easy ask and an easy “yes” for them. After all, we were both part of an exclusive…
I left so much money on the table when I was scaling my creative agency. Oh man, it is so embarrassing to even confess it here. We would land a great project, then execute like prime Michael Jordan in the NBA finals. The client would be thrilled with the results….
I’ve been at this for a long time, the business and marketing game. At this point in my career, it is rare that I see something that blows me away. I’m not saying, “I know it all,” but I sure have seen a lot of great marketing and business tactics…
I got triggered. It actually happened twice. The first trigger was about a year ago when I heard about some thought leaders training chatbots to answer questions for them. This trigger drove me to create my community, More Creative Academy. My trigger thought was, “I’m going to do the opposite….
These 08 Common Mistakes Are Causing Damage to Your Creative Business I started freelancing 22 years ago. (Holy freak, how has it been that long?) You may know my story, but in one summary statement: My freelance business took off and grew into an agency that I sold in 2015….
A potential new client finally dropped into your inbox. You’ve wanted this client for so long and they are finally here with an RFP. It is almost impossible to believe it! You haven’t wanted anything this bad since you first crushed on Sally during hormone-raging, junior high years. The Qualifying…
