4 signs it's time to invest in a mentor for your design studio
You know the saying; you have to spend money to make money. And this definitely applies to running a business as a designer. Because it's one thing to feel confident in your ability as a designer but it's a whole other thing to be confident in yourself as a business owner.
There are so many options out there when it comes to investing in the growth of your design studio, that it's important to figure out what kind of support will give you the feeling that you're in control of your business.
That will give you the feeling that your goals are achievable, that you know exactly how to get there, that will give you solid business and client processes that you can build upon and that will give you your time back so that you can spend it with your family and friends, travel more or finally pick up that old hobby again.
But first things first; what is the difference between a coach and a mentor
Making sure people have an accurate picture of what mentoring is, is really important to me as there are a lot of misunderstandings about mentoring as well as the difference with coaching.
In the small business world, mentoring is often seen as someone teaching from their own experience and telling you what to do. While coaching is where you need to be for the transformation of your beliefs and behaviour as a coach will ask you the right questions to make these shifts.
Breakdowns that I have seen to explain the differences are...
A mentor tells you what to do, which may or may not be right for you- a coach guides you towards formulating your own solution
A mentor shares information gained from their own experience - a coach asks questions to draw out the client's knowledge
A mentor may need to make judgements about certain things - a coach is non-judgemental
A mentor often has more experience in their field than the clients so they can teach them what they’ve learnt - a coach needs none
A mentor great for business growth - a coach great for your personal growth
But mentoring, at least the way I do it, is so much more than that.
Because it's not about me as the mentor. And it's not about how I do things in my business or what has worked for me. As a mentor, I helped clients in other industries than the design industry (which I would not be able to do if I only teach my methods), I helped clients with ADD/ADHD (which I do not have), I helped clients who need to balance their business around having kids (I only have a dog).
Sure I bring my experience from being a business analyst and pricing manager, from running my own department and training staff & interns and from running my own business as a designer and brand strategist to the table.
But my mentoring programs are personalised to my client's needs and based on the goals they want to reach. The programs are geared towards how their business can support their life in a way that is sustainable, that feels aligned and gives them the profit they need.
You don’t achieve that with a one-size-fits-all approach or teaching my exact methods.
And that is what I am very passionate about and what causes the results to be more than learning the skills that they need throughout their business. Because when you start to believe that you can have a business that is aligned, that is sustainable for years to come and that is profitable it changes your beliefs and behaviour and the results will show in your business and in your life.
So let's look at when it might be time for you to invest in a mentor for your design studio. Because when you hire a mentor too early you run the risk of not making your money back but if you hire too late you may have already run yourself into the ground.
Sign 1: You’re feeling overwhelmed and cannot see a clear path forward for your design studio which is causing you to not take action
You’re really confident in your abilities as a brand and/or website designer but this whole other side of running a business where you’re supposed to map out client workflows, work with project & client management systems, have a solid process for your finances (and how to increase it) and have a clear action plan to reach your goals is just too overwhelming.
Every day you think about everything you need to do, should do or could do which leads you to feel so overwhelmed that it paralyses you to the point that you don't take action.
So you're stuck in the same place as you were 12-months ago, wondering why you can't get your design business to be more aligned, more profitable and sustainable. Because right now, all you know is that you just can't keep going like this, but you can't see a clear path forward.
If this is how you feel, then it's a clear sign it’s time to get support to get you out of feeling like your business is all-consuming. In a situation like this, it's great to get someone else eyes on your business. Because keeping your struggles to yourself, thinking them over and over again is NOT going to help you move forward. Because as a business owner, you can not look at your business objectively, you have blind spots, limiting beliefs, or you can be in your own way. Clients have told me that they feel so much calmer after our sessions, because they know they're alone anymore and that they wished they had done this sooner.
Sign 2: You only have time to work on client projects
While you would love more or higher-paying clients, you do have a steady stream of design clients.
You love working with your (ok, most of your) clients and there is nothing more important for you than making your clients happy. And as a result, you’re also working evenings and weekends and there never seems to be enough time to implement all your amazing ideas
But you're in a constant catch-22. You need to streamline and optimise your processes so that you can spend fewer hours onboarding clients and delivering your design services. But to have the time to streamline and optimise these processes you need to shift time away from client work (while still serving the same number of clients).
If you only have time to work on your client project, then it's a clear sign it’s time to get support to not only optimise and streamline your client processes to create space for business processes but also to get help to transition more into the mindset of being the CEO of your business. When each day the only focus is to get the tasks related to current client projects done you're not building your business in a way that is sustainable or that can support your life.
For that to happen you need to step out of the present and make time to do the strategic work that will help your business move forward. And if this is new to you, it can be hard to see the possibilities to reduce time spent on client projects while still delivering the best designs possible without sacrificing revenue. So you need someone who isn't as close to your business as you are to help you with a clear plan to take back your time.
Sign 3: You need accountability to execute your plans
Working for yourself can be great because you have no one telling you what to do, but it can also be really hard for that same reason; there is no one else to hold you accountable.
And you've probably noticed that it's one thing to have an action plan to optimise and streamline your client processes, increase your pricing or launch a new service, but that it's a whole other thing to consistently keep taking action to complete the steps on your action plan.
One of the things most of my clients say when I ask them why they are interested in the mentor program is that they are looking for accountability. When you take a self-study course, are part of a large group program or hire someone to create an action plan for you, there is no one there to hold you accountable for finishing the course or program (I know I have some courses that I never finished and you probably have them too).
If you find that you struggle to execute action plans and feel motivated to do the work because you know someone will ask you about your progress, then it's time to hire a mentor. With my 3-month mentor program, you not only have a personalised action plan, but you also have weekly calls to learn the skills and gain the knowledge you need to implement the steps of the action plan in between the sessions.
This does mean you'll get 'homework' to complete in between the sessions. But that is where the progress happens. Because I don't want us to just talk about what you need to do to achieve your plans. I want you to be able to see progress while we're working together. So that you can test something out, ask more questions or feedback and you can see progress straight away.
Sign 4: You want to grow your design studio
There are just so many possibilities and moving parts that it’s hard to know where to start, what to prioritise & and how to find the time to make it happen.
Do you need to increase your pricing?
Should you move away from 1-on-1 work and add passive income or group programs?
Do you need to offer brand strategy?
Should you start an agency?
Or should you just hire a VA?
There are just so many possibilities to grow or scale your business, but if you're stuck on deciding what the right way is for you, you can benefit from hiring a mentor. As mentioned at sign 1; you can not look at your business objectively because you have blind spots or you can be in your own way. So a mentor can give a fresh perspective on your possibilities and help you to create a clear and actionable to help you get there.
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT
There you have it 4 signs it's time to hire a mentor for your design studio. But there is one thing I want to add to this. While all 4 of these signs on their own can be a good reason to invest in a mentor but you must be open to doing the work.
I say this because the mentoring clients who have seen the most results from working with me ultimately are those that have gone all-in and put in a lot of time and effort to implement everything that we have talked about.
Mentoring is not a quick fix and is not for you if you're looking to outsource the work. It's about betting on yourself and gaining the knowledge, skills, experience and mindset you will need throughout your business.
Do so see yourself in any of these 4 signs it's time to hire a mentor for your design studio? Don’t hesitate to reach out!
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