Organizing Life and Business
In this episode of Cowgirl Artist of America's podcast, we interview Meagan Beltekoglu owner of new leaf digital to discuss, staying organized and keeping your priorities aligned with your mission, vision, and values.
Transcript
Hi, welcome to Cowgirl artists of America's podcast, a
Megan CGA:podcast dedicated to Cowgirl artists.
Megan CGA:I'm your host, Megan Wimberley.
Megan CGA:Today, I talked to Meagan Beltekoglu owner of new leaf digital to discuss,
Megan CGA:staying organized and keeping your priorities in alignment with
Megan CGA:your mission, vision, and values.
Megan CGA:It was a really great thought provoking conversation that I think you'll enjoy.
Megan CGA:By the way, don't forget that you can apply to show your work at the Cowgirl
Megan CGA:gathering through October 16th on our website, Cowgirl artists of america.org
Megan CGA:.This event is going to be a lot of fun.
Megan CGA:We've teamed up with the Cowgirl gathering to bring the art show to the event in
Megan CGA:the heart of the fort worth stockyards.
Megan CGA:The event is november 10th through 13th.
Megan CGA:We hope you join us.
Megan CGA:Meagan Beltekoglu helps women owned businesses simplify their tech and
Megan CGA:systems so that they can free up brain space for innovation and greater impact.
Megan CGA:A certified director of operations and vetted click up consultant.
Megan CGA:She thinks creating standard operating procedures is fun and loves breaking
Megan CGA:big visions down into focused, manageable projects and tasks using her
Megan CGA:favorite productivity tool, click up.
Megan CGA:A Click up expert.
Megan CGA:She applies her love for strategy, planning and project management
Megan CGA:to every aspect of her life.
Megan CGA:From her children's homework to her basement remodeling to her client work.
Megan CGA:She's a New Jersey born obsessive researcher, MFA four
Megan CGA:bird watcher and homeschooling mother of three in Pennsylvania.
Megan CGA:You can find out more about her and her business at New Leaf Digital.
Megan CGA:But you won't find her all over social media.
Megan CGA:So Meagan and I met because of a women's business group, and CGA had just
Megan CGA:grown so fast and I was so overwhelmed with all the things, and I reached
Megan CGA:out for advice from other women.
Megan CGA:And Meagan, you were so generous and kind, and I just know that you really
Megan CGA:love helping women and you offered to give me some advice and I just, I know
Megan CGA:that people are really gonna get a lot from our interview today, so can you
Megan CGA:tell us a little about your business?
Meagan NLD:Yeah, thanks so much for having me.
Meagan NLD:I'm excited to be here today.
Meagan NLD:My business is I do a lot of tech and system strategy, so I help women figure
Meagan NLD:out like what kind of tech they need, how it fits into their business model,
Meagan NLD:and then I help them learn how to use it.
Meagan NLD:The main part of that is the project management tool, click up.
Meagan NLD:But I also help with other things like automations, integrations
Meagan NLD:business strategy tech strategy, and really just all that backend
Meagan NLD:of the business stuff that isn't so much fun for a lot of people, but
Meagan NLD:is something that I really enjoy.
Megan CGA:How did you get started with your business?
Meagan NLD:It was just in a few years ago.
Meagan NLD:We just needed some extra income and I was like, I can do something online.
Meagan NLD:Cuz I had worked online before as an editor and a translator.
Meagan NLD:But then after my second daughter was born, I stopped doing that cuz it was,
Meagan NLD:hard to manage all the things at that point, after my third daughter was born.
Meagan NLD:And got a little older than I felt like, Oh yeah, I can get back into things,
Meagan NLD:but I didn't wanna do the same thing.
Meagan NLD:So somehow I just stumbled on the world of virtual assistance and
Meagan NLD:kind of started out that way and quickly realized that was not for me.
Meagan NLD:It was a little bit dull for me.
Meagan NLD:And I like the challenge and the strategy and the problem solving.
Meagan NLD:So somebody asked me to help them with clickup and I was
Meagan NLD:like, sure I can do that.
Meagan NLD:And then I just fell in love with it and have been helping
Meagan NLD:women with clickup ever since.
Megan CGA:And when did you start using click up?
Meagan NLD:About three years ago.
Megan CGA:Okay.
Megan CGA:And for people listening, they probably don't know what click up is.
Megan CGA:I just discovered it really recently and I am totally sold.
Megan CGA:It's the most robust way of organizing a lot of things that I have seen
Megan CGA:in whatever way your brain works.
Megan CGA:Can you describe for people what click up is?
Meagan NLD:Yeah, so Click Up sells themselves as one app to replace them all.
Meagan NLD:I think that is a little bit ambitious because Click Up doesn't do all the
Meagan NLD:things, but it does do a lot of things.
Meagan NLD:So click up has a way to create lists of tasks and organize them into folders and
Meagan NLD:then organize those folders into spaces.
Meagan NLD:It also lets you add custom data about your task so you can keep track of really
Meagan NLD:anything that you want to keep track of.
Meagan NLD:What, how many of a certain size painting you've.
Meagan NLD:You could keep track of that and click up if you wanted to.
Meagan NLD:It also has forms, it has docs, it has internal automations, it has
Meagan NLD:ways to communicate with your team.
Meagan NLD:It has dashboards and probably a few other things that I'm forgetting because
Meagan NLD:there's so much that you can do in click up and it's endlessly customizable,
Meagan NLD:which is, both really great and really nice and a little bit intimidating.
Megan CGA:Yeah, at some point I'm gonna hire you to help me get mine better . But
Megan CGA:the thing that I find really helpful and so many artists are so visual is
Megan CGA:that you can change the appearance of your, what you're working on.
Megan CGA:So you can look at it in like your calendar or you can look at it and I still
Megan CGA:don't even know how to use all the things.
Megan CGA:But that was one of the things that really sold me because sometimes I
Megan CGA:need a list, but sometimes I need to like look at the big picture to get
Megan CGA:everything like there's just too much to remember, and so I really appreciate
Megan CGA:that aspect of click up as well.
Meagan NLD:Yeah, that's one of the big features that sells a lot of
Meagan NLD:people on click up because unlike some alternatives like Trello for
Meagan NLD:example, you don't just have that one way of looking at your information.
Meagan NLD:You being a more visual person, you can make use of the board
Meagan NLD:view or showing images in different parts of your click up.
Meagan NLD:I wanna list and I don't wanna see any extra stuff so I can then use the list
Meagan NLD:view or the table view and hide the things that I don't need to see right away.
Meagan NLD:But they're still in there and people on my team can look at the
Meagan NLD:information in any way that they want to, which is really great for
Meagan NLD:people who think differently or learn differently or just function differently
Meagan NLD:than other people on their team.
Megan CGA:Yeah, and I didn't even think about that aspect in that way
Megan CGA:with teams because, I think as a society we're realizing people don't
Megan CGA:all think the same way and they don't get information the same way.
Megan CGA:And so when we like create this one system, it may work well for you, but half
Megan CGA:of your team might really be struggling.
Megan CGA:And if we meet them where they are, then they're able to be more productive
Megan CGA:and help you for sure in a better way.
Meagan NLD:Yeah, I actually, I have a post on my blog.
Meagan NLD:I can share the link with you that's exactly about this.
Meagan NLD:Which is how click up is great for neurodiverse teams.
Megan CGA:Oh, that's fantastic.
Meagan NLD:So for people who think differently, they can
Meagan NLD:really benefit from a lot of the different features in click up.
Megan CGA:That's awesome.
Megan CGA:Yeah, and artists, I think a lot of artists really do think in a
Megan CGA:nontraditional way, So I think that could be super beneficial to them.
Megan CGA:So when I first reached out to you about doing this podcast, we, talked about can
Megan CGA:we talk about kind of productivity and you suggested how about we talk about
Megan CGA:using your mission, vision, and values to prioritize and be more productive.
Megan CGA:And I just, I love that so much because sometimes we don't have the right
Megan CGA:starting point and when we don't have the right starting point for what we're
Megan CGA:trying to do, it gets so confusing.
Megan CGA:So what is using your mission, vision, and values to prioritize
Megan CGA:and be more productive, what does that mean, at a glance for you?
Meagan NLD:Yeah.
Meagan NLD:So that means really like checking in with yourself periodically.
Meagan NLD:And I try to do this quarterly and I help my clients do this as
Meagan NLD:well, to go back to the basics.
Meagan NLD:Why are you doing what you're doing?
Meagan NLD:And What's the purpose of your business?
Meagan NLD:What is your mission?
Meagan NLD:Writing it out actually for a while I was Oh, I don't need to do that.
Meagan NLD:But I was in a program where we had to do that, and it was actually
Meagan NLD:a really rewarding experience for me to write it out, especially the
Meagan NLD:part where we wrote out our values that was really important to me.
Meagan NLD:And values are not just important because they define you and your
Meagan NLD:business, but they also help you attract people who wanna work with
Meagan NLD:somebody like you and also repel people who you don't want to work with.
Meagan NLD:So that was also like a really fabulous experience.
Meagan NLD:I put my values on my website.
Meagan NLD:I've had people reach out to me and be like, I wanna work with
Meagan NLD:you because I like your values.
Meagan NLD:And I was like, that's so awesome.
Meagan NLD:And then the vision.
Meagan NLD:It's hard for me to think that far out in the future because I have three young
Meagan NLD:kids and I've like just, day to day here.
Meagan NLD:But when I combine these things all together, it really helps me in my
Meagan NLD:business know what I need to focus on and cut through the noise that's out there.
Meagan NLD:Like TikTok, right?
Meagan NLD:It's like noise right now.
Meagan NLD:Like you have to be on TikTok, you gotta do all the Tiktoks or reels, right?
Meagan NLD:A while back, that was the thing.
Meagan NLD:Or YouTube shorts, right?
Meagan NLD:Are these really in line with your mission, vision, and values?
Meagan NLD:When you can take a step back and consider your mission and vision values as the
Meagan NLD:kind of like a screen to decide what you want to focus on, then it really helps
Meagan NLD:you say, actually, for visibility for me, I wanna focus on building referral
Meagan NLD:partnerships, and I don't care at all about making short form content videos.
Meagan NLD:So then you can say, All right, that's, not something I'm at
Meagan NLD:all going to be focusing on.
Meagan NLD:Free up that time from doing that and even thinking about it and
Meagan NLD:focus on what is your priority that's in line with your business.
Megan CGA:Yeah, that makes so much sense.
Megan CGA:I have imagine like one of those little marble games where you have to
Megan CGA:get the marble through the different holes, and so like your vision is
Megan CGA:like directing you where you know this is a good place to put my time.
Megan CGA:And that can be really hard because as a business owner, and artists
Megan CGA:are business owners, finding we don't have unlimited supply of time.
Megan CGA:It is a limited amount.
Megan CGA:And deciding okay.
Megan CGA:Maybe like Instagram is a good fit for me, but Facebook and TikTok aren't, or
Megan CGA:whatever, it is because they do have their different strengths and weaknesses,
Megan CGA:but making sure that they align.
Megan CGA:And then you talk about having your kiddos and part of your vision and
Megan CGA:values for your business, does any of that include vision and values
Megan CGA:for your personal life as well?
Meagan NLD:Yeah.
Meagan NLD:So I try to combine them when I did that because there are some things that
Meagan NLD:are just like non-negotiables for me.
Meagan NLD:If you don't have this, these certain values, like I don't wanna work with you.
Meagan NLD:I don't even really care to know you.
Meagan NLD:To be blunt.
Meagan NLD:So for certain things like that, it's not only like a foundation for How I
Meagan NLD:want to raise my children, but also for how I want to run my business.
Meagan NLD:So I try to make efforts to make that clear, that certain things
Meagan NLD:are really important for me.
Meagan NLD:Like I like anti-racism.
Meagan NLD:That's something that's really important for me.
Meagan NLD:And if you're not down with that, then you know you can
Meagan NLD:find somebody else to work with.
Meagan NLD:And it's, it works really well because it attracts like-minded people and it repels
Meagan NLD:people who aren't of the same mindset.
Meagan NLD:I'm not really sure if I wanna share these things.
Meagan NLD:But once you get it out there You see the benefit and that the people,
Meagan NLD:that you're attracting your people, which is really why you're out
Meagan NLD:there in the first place, right?
Meagan NLD:You don't, you wanna work with people who value the same things as you.
Meagan NLD:So it is important, both as a business owner and as a parent
Meagan NLD:and as a human, to do this, even if you're not a business owner.
Megan CGA:Yeah.
Megan CGA:And it's, a lot of times I think people, especially, I think probably any business,
Megan CGA:but I know artists really struggle this.
Megan CGA:It's like they're trying to be all things to all people.
Megan CGA:And so they're like, Oh, like I'm really like a realistic artist, but I of wanna
Megan CGA:make some more modern looking stuff.
Megan CGA:So it'll appeal to this and I really wanna do my originals, but also maybe
Megan CGA:I should make prints for these people.
Megan CGA:And it's like they're focused.
Megan CGA:on like everybody, and really if they can narrow it down to who their niche market
Megan CGA:is, those are the people that you really wanna get invested in your business and
Megan CGA:that they're gonna be the super fans.
Megan CGA:It's just not everybody wants to go to.
Megan CGA:I don't know.
Megan CGA:The only the first person coming to my head is like George Strait.
Megan CGA:He's like a famous country musician.
Megan CGA:But not, maybe not everybody wants to go to George Strait cuz they
Megan CGA:don't like country music, but that's fine cuz you know what?
Megan CGA:He's crazy successful in where he is working and so if he'd tried
Megan CGA:to do all the different things, he wouldn't be as successful.
Megan CGA:So not being so afraid of, and it's not like you have to be mean.
Megan CGA:, it's not like you have to create enemies.
Megan CGA:It's just like there are certain people that are gonna love what you do that
Megan CGA:are gonna resonate with your work and your values, and those people are going
Megan CGA:to find you if you're clear about that.
Megan CGA:And it's a lot easier.
Meagan NLD:For sure.
Meagan NLD:And I think especially for artists having that niche is really important
Meagan NLD:because, I'm not an artist by any means, I've seen your work, Megan.
Meagan NLD:And now I know Megan, she's the one who does these colorful cowboy kind of
Meagan NLD:animal paintings that are beautiful.
Meagan NLD:And if I know someone who's looking for that, then I know who to refer.
Meagan NLD:I know who to refer them to.
Meagan NLD:And it's so easy that way to get referrals, to find new customers, new
Meagan NLD:clients, and to build your community because you focused in on this area
Meagan NLD:that lines up with your mission and your vision and values, but it
Meagan NLD:can take some time to get there.
Megan CGA:For sure.
Megan CGA:Especially as you're developing your craft or your business too.
Megan CGA:That can be really scary cuz you're like, Oh, I'm cutting out all these people.
Megan CGA:That's okay because at the end it's like you're saying with my work,
Megan CGA:like people can look at my work and they know that is Megan's work.
Megan CGA:And there's artists that have really honed in and you look at it and
Megan CGA:before you even see that signature.
Megan CGA:And that's gonna be so much more powerful.
Megan CGA:It sounds like what you're saying is when we define our lives this
Megan CGA:way and just lean into that, that it actually gives us confidence
Megan CGA:to like just fully be who we are.
Meagan NLD:It definitely does, and it also carries over to a lot of
Meagan NLD:different areas of your life because then it's easier for you to say no to
Meagan NLD:things that aren't in line with that.
Meagan NLD:So if somebody asks you to sell your artwork at a local craft fair or
Meagan NLD:something, and it's just like you know that the people aren't your people, right?
Meagan NLD:Before you define this, you might have felt like, yeah, I should
Meagan NLD:go, somebody might buy something.
Meagan NLD:But once you know like those aren't your people, then you can turn it
Meagan NLD:down and you won't feel bad about it.
Megan CGA:Yeah.
Meagan NLD:And.
Meagan NLD:That's been something really important for me to learn because when I first
Meagan NLD:started my business, I was trying to be like, the virtual assistant who did all
Meagan NLD:the things, and it's just exhausting.
Meagan NLD:You never become that expert in one area where people know Oh, she does that.
Meagan NLD:Once I focused on doing, click up and like systems and tech work.
Meagan NLD:It became very easy for people to refer me because they're like, Oh, I know her.
Meagan NLD:She does click up.
Meagan NLD:Like I had a call with somebody yesterday and I asked her,
Meagan NLD:How did you find out about me?
Meagan NLD:And she was like, a freelancer we had last year told me that you do click up.
Meagan NLD:And I was like, I don't even know who the person was, but people are referring me.
Meagan NLD:Even last year.
Meagan NLD:Because they know this is what I do.
Meagan NLD:So it just all ties together and it becomes like a holistic part of your life.
Megan CGA:Yeah.
Meagan NLD:It carries over from your business into your personal life
Meagan NLD:and that I think is really special.
Megan CGA:Yeah, you've recommended several people to me too, and
Megan CGA:the people that you recommend are always really focused on that and
Megan CGA:any on whatever their skill is.
Megan CGA:And anyone else who has recommended somebody.
Megan CGA:It's been, cuz they've been focused in on something people
Megan CGA:don't generally recommend.
Megan CGA:Oh, you should hire house cleaning and art.
Megan CGA:And also she babysits like they don't do that.
Megan CGA:They're like, Hey, you need a house cleaner.
Megan CGA:I have the person for you.
Megan CGA:And that's why they're successful cuz they're doing that thing.
Megan CGA:And it's the same with artists.
Megan CGA:When you really get down to your style, you define not only your style,
Megan CGA:but also your business approach.
Megan CGA:There are some artists that are selling things on certain platforms that are
Megan CGA:maybe more mass produced and maybe they're super successful and good for
Megan CGA:them That's their business approach.
Megan CGA:And then there's some artists who are like, I'm only gonna
Megan CGA:sell in high end galleries.
Megan CGA:And they're successful at that and good for them.
Megan CGA:That's their business approach.
Megan CGA:But deciding what you're gonna do, you can't do both of those things together.
Megan CGA:You can't be in a high end gallery and sell your art, at a craft fair.
Megan CGA:It's not going to work.
Megan CGA:I think we're often afraid to say no to things, but we have to remember that
Megan CGA:every time we say yes to something that we are saying no to something else.
Megan CGA:And so if you are constantly saying yes, because you feel obligated and you go
Megan CGA:to that craft fair if that's not in your business model, that is saying no to
Megan CGA:maybe the direction you're wanting to go.
Megan CGA:And so having that clarity will help you with what you should say yes and no to.
Meagan NLD:Yeah.
Meagan NLD:And it's also really important for your systems in your business.
Meagan NLD:And that may not be something you've really thought about, but, taking the
Meagan NLD:high end gallery and the craft fair example, like you're gonna have different
Meagan NLD:supplies that you need as an artist if you're selling in a craft fair or if
Meagan NLD:you're selling at a high end gallery.
Meagan NLD:You're gonna have to have materials.
Meagan NLD:If you're shipping, if you're doing mass production, everything
Meagan NLD:is gonna be very different with your systems in your business
Meagan NLD:based on, how you're doing things.
Meagan NLD:So if you narrow your focus into one area, That allows you to scale
Meagan NLD:that faster if that's your goal, because then you could say, Okay,
Meagan NLD:I'm gonna be shipping out my art.
Meagan NLD:I'm gonna buy, the packing tubes in bulk and I'm gonna
Meagan NLD:invest in this kind of printer.
Meagan NLD:And you really know like what you need to do and you're less all over the place.
Meagan NLD:But it is like a big jump to go all in.
Meagan NLD:And then like you said, feel like, oh, I'm saying no to those things, but the
Meagan NLD:opportunities come and once people know that, you are the person who does this,
Meagan NLD:and that's what you're awesome at.
Meagan NLD:People really, they're, they are knocking on your door because people
Meagan NLD:value this kind of expertise and focus in a world that's really full
Meagan NLD:of so many generalists right now.
Meagan NLD:. Megan CGA: Yeah.
Meagan NLD:That's true.
Meagan NLD:I'm always super impressed, Megan, with your ability, it seems like you see things
Meagan NLD:very clearly and like I could talk to, have you worked with artists before?
Meagan NLD:Not really.
Megan CGA:Because the advice that you just gave is so spot on for artists
Megan CGA:and most people who haven't worked with artists wouldn't know that.
Megan CGA:Like the art industry is weird.
Megan CGA:And to know Hey, if you're like mass producing, you're
Megan CGA:gonna need all these things.
Megan CGA:And if like a lot of people don't recognize those things, do you feel
Megan CGA:like organizing and just like being able to see those big pictures is something
Megan CGA:that you were innately born with, or is it something you've developed?
Meagan NLD:I think that's something that I was innately born with, but
Meagan NLD:I only recently recognized that I was working with a coach a while
Meagan NLD:back and we were trying to figure out like what's my special sauce
Meagan NLD:or something she called it, right?
Meagan NLD:And I was like I don't know.
Meagan NLD:And she was like, You're such a systems thinker.
Meagan NLD:And honestly I just thought like everybody thought like that.
Meagan NLD:And she was like, You're crazy.
Meagan NLD:No, people don't think like that.
Meagan NLD:And I was like, That's just really like how I see.
Meagan NLD:Everything is in terms of like strategy and systems and preparing
Meagan NLD:and making sure things are organized.
Meagan NLD:I'm not, if you came to my house it's not like a totally like perfect organized
Meagan NLD:like Pinterest style house, but my mind is pretty organized, I think.
Meagan NLD:And the way that I think about things is like really sequential.
Meagan NLD:Like I know I have to do this, to be able to do that, and it's pretty easy for me to
Meagan NLD:focus on cutting out the noise because I know there are certain things that I don't
Meagan NLD:like or I don't care to be involved with.
Meagan NLD:But it's taken me about 40 years to get to this place.
Meagan NLD:. Megan CGA: So say you've developed a good
Meagan NLD:off, like your kid gets sick or you have to leave, whatever it is, do you feel like
Meagan NLD:that you have a hard time redoing that system for that moment, or are you just
Meagan NLD:okay, this are how I switched the things.
Meagan NLD:Like everybody else, we had covid a while back and after that
Meagan NLD:the first few days I was like trying to work from my phone and stuff and
Meagan NLD:then I was just like, No, I can't.
Meagan NLD:And once I started feeling better, It was a little like trying to get back
Meagan NLD:into things slowly, but because I have like systems for so many things,
Meagan NLD:then I can just easily pop myself back into where I was at before.
Meagan NLD:And I know, I can look in my click up and see like, all right, you've
Meagan NLD:got 30 overdue task waiting for you.
Meagan NLD:Like awesome.
Meagan NLD:And try to go through that as I, had more energy.
Meagan NLD:But I think as a parent you really learn to be flexible even
Meagan NLD:when you really don't want to.
Meagan NLD:So it's, it's always a learning process and I try to have a growth mindset where
Meagan NLD:I see this, everything is a learning opportunity and I always wanna know
Meagan NLD:like, how can I do better next time?
Meagan NLD:How can I use what I've learned to.
Meagan NLD:Not have to deal with this next time, being down with Covid, then how can I
Meagan NLD:take that experience and make things in my business maybe more on autopilot so
Meagan NLD:that things can happen without me if I do get sick again or, my kids get sick
Meagan NLD:or, we're traveling next week overseas, so I've set up some things so that I
Meagan NLD:can, hopefully be selling things while I'm on the plane, or while I'm away
Meagan NLD:from internet service for a few days.
Megan CGA:Yeah.
Megan CGA:I think having that solution based like thought pattern is so
Megan CGA:much more healthy cuz it's so easy to be like, Oh, I failed at that.
Megan CGA:I really stunk at doing this thing or whatever, and we beat ourselves up and
Megan CGA:we're just wasting our energy on that.
Megan CGA:How do we, Okay, that didn't go the way that I wanted.
Megan CGA:I acknowledged that, but what can I do to make it better the next time is
Megan CGA:so much more of a productive way to use our thoughts and our energy, brain
Megan CGA:power than to just beat ourselves up.
Meagan NLD:Yeah, I like to have a little kind of retrospective
Meagan NLD:with myself after those things.
Meagan NLD:Like I had a client call yesterday morning that didn't really go as I expected for
Meagan NLD:a few reasons, and I took some time after it to just think like, How can I prevent
Meagan NLD:the same thing from happening next time?
Meagan NLD:How could I make sure that I'm better prepared for what my client might say and
Meagan NLD:how can I make my client better prepared for what to expect in the first meeting?
Meagan NLD:. And then just, jotting some things down to think about and then maybe
Meagan NLD:coming back to them in a few weeks and saying are these things that I wanna
Meagan NLD:add into my systems for how I work with people, will that make a difference?
Meagan NLD:Is that gonna help, both sides?
Meagan NLD:Yeah.
Meagan NLD:So I try to always have a kind of reflection period when I have something
Meagan NLD:that kind of doesn't sit so well with me.
Meagan NLD:And it helps for sure.
Megan CGA:Yeah.
Megan CGA:And that's for everything, for artists like to just maybe you go
Megan CGA:to a show and something doesn't go wrong, go the way you wanted it.
Megan CGA:But yeah, it's so important to just have that moment of reflection,
Megan CGA:acknowledge it, and then figure out like what to make it better.
Megan CGA:And let go of all the judgment of yourself and other people,
Megan CGA:if we can get nobody's perfect.
Megan CGA:No, we're not gonna agree with everybody about anything.
Megan CGA:We're not always gonna like communicate in the best way or see eye to eye or
Megan CGA:whatever it is, but bringing compassion into those spaces and Hey, like
Megan CGA:that didn't go quite the way I want.
Megan CGA:Here's the way I can fix it in the future or like whatever it is.
Meagan NLD:Yeah, I love that.
Meagan NLD:Especially in the online business world, there are so many like haters and
Meagan NLD:trolls out there, and if they haven't come for you yet, , they will, but
Meagan NLD:they'll show up and they're not nice and just ignoring them and realizing
Meagan NLD:that you can do things your way.
Meagan NLD:That's why you're doing this in the first place, right?
Meagan NLD:You're not working in some corporate job in a office.
Meagan NLD:I mean maybe you do full time and you do your art part-time or whatever, but you
Meagan NLD:still have these things that you're doing because you want to get this out into the
Meagan NLD:world and it's okay to do things your way.
Meagan NLD:And I've had so many people tell me like, I don't share any photos
Meagan NLD:online and I haven't done this for.
Meagan NLD:I don't know, 12 years or so.
Meagan NLD:And this is just a personal choice and I don't share photos
Meagan NLD:with my kids or anything.
Meagan NLD:I've had so many people tell me like, nobody will work with you because they'll
Meagan NLD:think you're like a bot or like they don't think you're real or like you
Meagan NLD:don't have your picture on your website.
Meagan NLD:But I haven't had any problem.
Meagan NLD:So really you can do things your way, invent a new way,
Meagan NLD:be different, be creative.
Meagan NLD:There are so many opportunities out there and we certainly don't need like
Meagan NLD:more cookie cutter anything out there.
Meagan NLD:Yeah.
Meagan NLD:That's why I love to work with people who are really interested in
Meagan NLD:innovation because there are so many copies of, like business coaches for
Meagan NLD:example, they're like a dime a doesn't.
Meagan NLD:And I really love when I see people doing things differently.
Megan CGA:Yeah.
Megan CGA:Yeah.
Megan CGA:So on the tech side of things, how can the tech we use, help us or hinder us?
Meagan NLD:Yeah, that's a fabulous question.
Meagan NLD:I think tech can really help you streamline things.
Meagan NLD:Just taking, like scheduling a phone call with somebody, there are tools
Meagan NLD:that you can use to schedule your calls that don't involve that back and forth.
Meagan NLD:Oh, are you free Monday at nine?
Meagan NLD:What time zone are you in?
Meagan NLD:No, I have a meeting.
Meagan NLD:Then can we do Tuesday at 12?
Meagan NLD:Where, you just click on their link.
Meagan NLD:You book the time that works for you.
Meagan NLD:And you know get an email with the Zoom call link and that's it.
Meagan NLD:It saves so much time for people.
Meagan NLD:So that is a way that tech can really help you.
Meagan NLD:The ways that it can hurt you, I think is like when at least for
Meagan NLD:me as a techy person, I can get wrapped up in Ooh, there's so many
Meagan NLD:like nice shiny objects out there.
Meagan NLD:I wanna try that one and that one.
Meagan NLD:And that's it's part of my business, so I have to do that.
Meagan NLD:And to some extent, but if you're not, you don't have a tech focused
Meagan NLD:business, it can be really hard to make those decisions for yourself.
Meagan NLD:Should I use honey book?
Meagan NLD:Should I use dubs shadow?
Meagan NLD:What should I do?
Meagan NLD:And that's where it may be helpful to chat with somebody about it who?
Meagan NLD:Is more knowledgeable in this area because they could really help
Meagan NLD:you narrow down and figure out what is the best option for you.
Meagan NLD:And the nice thing with tech these days is that there's so many ways to
Meagan NLD:personalize things that you can still have that personal touch come through
Meagan NLD:when you're using technology to run your business so that it still seems
Meagan NLD:like people are getting that personal connection and they are getting
Meagan NLD:that personal connection with you.
Meagan NLD:Because you're creating the copy for the emails you're sending out, for
Meagan NLD:example you are creating the design for the website or influencing that.
Meagan NLD:So it really is showing your personality and your business and who you are, but
Meagan NLD:it's making things so much easier for you at the same time by eliminating all that
Meagan NLD:manual work having things happen while you're sleeping or while you're vacuuming.
Meagan NLD:And that's just fabulous.
Meagan NLD:When I think back to like how people ran businesses like 30 years
Meagan NLD:ago, I just can't, I can't even imagine how hard it must have been.
Megan CGA:Yeah.
Megan CGA:So much human power for sure.
Megan CGA:, I remember when I contacted you, that was one of the things.
Megan CGA:I was like I think my post said I have so much to do that I
Megan CGA:don't even know where to start.
Megan CGA:And the tech side, I was like, I know there's gotta be tech that
Megan CGA:will help me automate some of this.
Megan CGA:Cuz I had 146 members to enter into our site.
Megan CGA:That in and of itself is a huge task.
Megan CGA:And then you start looking at the tech and you're like, Oh my gosh I
Megan CGA:don't wanna get the wrong one and then I have to start it all over again.
Megan CGA:It was so helpful talking to you and just about the tech.
Megan CGA:And honestly, I was so busy at that time.
Megan CGA:I don't even remember our conversation, but I know that I like
Megan CGA:went after it and did some things.
Megan CGA:But it was so helpful.
Megan CGA:Yeah.
Megan CGA:Talking to a tech person who could just.
Megan CGA:Do use this system, like use this app and to be able to offload that brain power.
Megan CGA:If you can outsource choosing your tech from a knowledgeable expert,
Megan CGA:like what a quick way to make a huge impact on your business.
Megan CGA:Just let , for sure.
Megan CGA:Do the thought,
Megan CGA:. Meagan NLD: Yeah, and I think this
Megan CGA:information overload that we live in right now, we have the resources
Megan CGA:out there so we could go and make that decision ourselves, right?
Megan CGA:You could go and look at every website and try to figure out
Megan CGA:what's best for yourself, but do you really want to do that?
Megan CGA:Do you really wanna spend your time doing that?
Megan CGA:A few months ago, I wanted to buy a painting for my sister who just
Megan CGA:finished her doctoral program.
Megan CGA:And I'm really clueless about most things, art.
Megan CGA:And so I asked two of my friends who are a bit more knowledgeable
Megan CGA:What size painting should I get?
Megan CGA:I didn't even know, what size made sense, and they were like, you want this
Megan CGA:size, whatever, 10 by 14 or something.
Megan CGA:I don't even remember.
Megan CGA:It's probably wrong.
Megan CGA:Having somebody to ask that question to and not spending all my time like Googling
Megan CGA:and like falling into these rabbit holes.
Megan CGA:It really it saved me hours.
Megan CGA:I would've been there googling, like for hours looking on Pinterest and I would've
Megan CGA:driven myself crazy and it was just so helpful just to ask a friend what size?
Megan CGA:And they were like, they told me and I ordered it in the end.
Megan CGA:Yeah.
Megan CGA:And I think, One thing about the Western culture is it's very do it yourself.
Megan CGA:You get out there, you do the work, and it can be really hard to switch
Megan CGA:that mindset to say, You know what?
Megan CGA:I don't have to do that work.
Megan CGA:I don't have to be thrifty on this because ultimately the thriftier thing
Megan CGA:is to like, let someone else do that.
Megan CGA:Do that work for me.
Megan CGA:And so yeah, that can have such a huge impact.
Megan CGA:What about briefly tech for goal tracking?
Megan CGA:And not just tracking what you need to do, but I think also keeping some
Megan CGA:sort of list that you can go back to Oh, I accomplished all these things.
Megan CGA:So when you're feeling like you haven't done anything and you're stinking at
Megan CGA:life, you can go back and you can look at it list and be like, Oh wow.
Megan CGA:Like I've actually done a lot.
Meagan NLD:I have so many of those days where I'm just like
Meagan NLD:did I even do anything today?
Meagan NLD:And the really nice thing about click up is there's the home section and
Meagan NLD:click up where you can go to your home and then there's a section where
Meagan NLD:you can see your done tasks and it just shows them right there for you.
Meagan NLD:So you can be like, Okay, yeah, like I did actually do something.
Meagan NLD:So I like to have look at that from time to time.
Meagan NLD:And then I also have my strategic planning and click up.
Meagan NLD:And this is something I help my clients with, but I also do it for myself.
Meagan NLD:I actually did it with a few of my friends.
Meagan NLD:We got together on Zoom and we just took some time and we
Meagan NLD:did our planning ourselves.
Meagan NLD:And I have that in my click up and then I have that favorited,
Meagan NLD:so I can just go and look.
Meagan NLD:Okay, those are my priorities.
Meagan NLD:I just checked in yesterday to see, how am I coming with my Q3 priorities, as we
Meagan NLD:approach Q4 and it looked pretty good.
Meagan NLD:I got to see I completed a bunch of stuff.
Meagan NLD:Some probably won't get done, but that's okay.
Meagan NLD:And it's really nice to be able to just have that live
Meagan NLD:somewhere that's not in my head.
Megan CGA:Yeah.
Megan CGA:That's the biggest thing tech can help with.
Megan CGA:I think it's just getting it out of our head because we have limited capacity.
Meagan NLD:Oh yeah, for sure.
Meagan NLD:I took a fabulous course about this called Building a Second Brain, and it's all
Meagan NLD:about getting things out of your head.
Meagan NLD:So as just a person existing in this you know 2022, we're
Meagan NLD:bombarded with information all day.
Meagan NLD:And how do we sift through that in a meaningful way?
Meagan NLD:How do we store what we want to reference again maybe in the future?
Meagan NLD:How do we create these filters for ourselves to ignore things that
Meagan NLD:really aren't that important to us?
Meagan NLD:What kind of content do we want to consume?
Meagan NLD:Yeah.
Meagan NLD:And how then can we use that content in the future for
Meagan NLD:projects that are important to us?
Megan CGA:Yeah, man, I think if you're interested, we might have to
Megan CGA:do a part two about cutting out the noise , because I've heard you a lot.
Megan CGA:And the other day I'm usually pretty good about keeping my open browser
Megan CGA:tabs on my phone down pretty low.
Megan CGA:But I looked at it the other day and I had 96 tabs saved in my browser, and I
Megan CGA:was like I looked at Pete, watch this.
Megan CGA:All of them delete.
Megan CGA:I'm, I just deleted all of them because I was like, That is unfinished work to me.
Megan CGA:That's stuff I know need to look at, and I can't keep carrying that
Megan CGA:stress around knowing that I have 96 unfinished things that I wanna look at.
Megan CGA:and like focusing back in on Okay, whatever.
Megan CGA:I'm fine right now.
Megan CGA:If those are that are important, they're gonna come back to me.
Megan CGA:But yeah, just, let me know later if you wanna do.
Meagan NLD:Yeah no, that would be fabulous.
Meagan NLD:I have just checked on my phone, I have 50 open tabs which is a little
Meagan NLD:bit high for me, but I am traveling overseas next week and so I have been
Meagan NLD:like researching a lot of things.
Meagan NLD:I think I have an excuse.
Meagan NLD:. Megan CGA: We did a fun game with ours.
Meagan NLD:I think I might make this into like a real, that people can interact
Meagan NLD:with or something, but it's look at what is the very first tab you have
Meagan NLD:saved or whatever, and see what it is cuz it's interesting to go back.
Meagan NLD:Yeah, in some ways, like what you did is really like the
Meagan NLD:best approach to just declare like bankruptcy and like just delete them
Meagan NLD:all and then move forward starting with a new approach to dealing with it.
Megan CGA:Yeah.
Megan CGA:Okay.
Megan CGA:Just two more questions if you're still good.
Meagan NLD:Yeah, sure.
Megan CGA:Okay.
Megan CGA:So I think this idea of defining our mission and vision and values can be a
Megan CGA:little challenging and it's easy for us to get way too broad with it, and that
Megan CGA:does not help us narrow our focus down.
Megan CGA:Could you walk us through like how you would define that?
Meagan NLD:Yeah.
Meagan NLD:So for your mission, it's really important to be specific, so when I read
Meagan NLD:your mission, I shouldn't be able to look at it and say Oh so and so other
Meagan NLD:artists could have that same mission.
Meagan NLD:Like what about it is really unique?
Meagan NLD:If you go and read the missions of Nike or Apple or Target or these big
Meagan NLD:companies that we see all the time their missions are always something unique.
Meagan NLD:So that, you know that it's specific to them.
Meagan NLD:It's a process for a lot of people where you're gonna wanna write it
Meagan NLD:and think on it and come back to it and revise it and share it with
Meagan NLD:people, share it with your followers and see what do they think about it?
Meagan NLD:Don't be afraid to put it out there and get feedback on it.
Meagan NLD:It took me a really long time to realize what my mission actually is, and it's
Meagan NLD:not helping people with click up, that's just the means by which I do it, but it's
Meagan NLD:really to help women free up brain space so that they can be more innovative.
Meagan NLD:Because as women, we are just tasked with all this mental overload.
Meagan NLD:There are like some funny memes and cartoons about it.
Meagan NLD:And it's just so much who remembers all the doctor's appointments?
Meagan NLD:Who schedules the cleaners?
Meagan NLD:Who does the grocery shopping, the gifts, everything.
Meagan NLD:It's usually the woman, right?
Meagan NLD:And so how can we leverage technology?
Meagan NLD:To actually help our brains function as they're intended to brain.
Meagan NLD:The human brain can't hold more than four to five thoughts at once, but
Meagan NLD:we are so guilty of shoving all this stuff in there, so we're not able
Meagan NLD:to be innovative because we're just focused on these day to day things.
Meagan NLD:Once we get that out, that's when we become innovative.
Meagan NLD:Long story short, it took me a I'll say, two years to realize that was my mission.
Meagan NLD:And I went through whole bunch of iterations of writing it out
Meagan NLD:and saying, No, that's not it.
Meagan NLD:Writing out, No, that's not it.
Meagan NLD:And just slowly kind of step by step, piece by piece, I figured out what it was.
Meagan NLD:So for values, I find it to be a little bit easier to list, five things that
Meagan NLD:you stand for, five things that you're opposed to and not just write like, one
Meagan NLD:of my most important values is honesty, but write really what that means to me.
Meagan NLD:At my business we value honesty because blah, blah, blah.
Meagan NLD:Oh.
Meagan NLD:Really writing that out, that the act of writing it out, I think
Meagan NLD:is really the most valuable.
Meagan NLD:And for your vision to just think like, where do you wanna be in a year?
Meagan NLD:Where do you wanna be in three years?
Meagan NLD:Where do you wanna be in five years?
Meagan NLD:Where do you wanna be in 10 years?
Meagan NLD:And keep coming back to those and they can change.
Meagan NLD:And also thinking, your business vision and about your personal life, your family
Meagan NLD:what's your vision for that future?
Meagan NLD:What do you want that to look like?
Megan CGA:Yeah, for Cowgirl Arts of America, we have an advisory board
Megan CGA:and we've recently been talking about making sure that our messaging is
Megan CGA:really clear . And so we really have talked a lot about approaching things
Megan CGA:from what we stand for and what we do.
Megan CGA:I think there was like a phrase that said, and I still need to
Megan CGA:update it, but it said, we believe in collaboration, not conflict.
Megan CGA:And it, they're like, why even mention conflict?
Megan CGA:Because if that's not what we believe in, we just need to know
Megan CGA:that we believe in collaboration.
Megan CGA:And so that guides every aspect of what we do.
Megan CGA:Okay, so last question is talking about our mission, vision, and values.
Megan CGA:If it seems like we're pretty broad and we've like tried to narrow it
Megan CGA:down with what you've just told us to do, but we're having a hard time, are
Megan CGA:there any tips you have about like just narrowing it down a little bit more?
Meagan NLD:Yeah, so what I remember doing for myself, Thinking about
Meagan NLD:two other people who have similar businesses to mine, and looking at
Meagan NLD:everything that I wrote and asking myself, Could one of these people
Meagan NLD:have written the same exact thing?
Meagan NLD:And when I said yes, then I knew.
Meagan NLD:I still had a little bit of a ways to go.
Meagan NLD:Once I was able to read it and say No, they wouldn't be able to
Meagan NLD:do that's when I knew that I was heading in the right direction.
Meagan NLD:It still took a little bit of more refinement after that, but really not
Meagan NLD:being afraid to be different and to.
Meagan NLD:Share those things about yourself that make your business unique, that
Meagan NLD:make you unique, and having that be part of what your business is.
Megan CGA:Yeah.
Megan CGA:That's awesome.
Megan CGA:Megan, I won't take any more of your time, but thank you so much for being on.
Megan CGA:I think that this is just so much valuable information for anybody really,
Megan CGA:but especially for our artists, that we're helping in their businesses.
Megan CGA:So thank you for being on here and sharing all your wisdom.
Meagan NLD:Thank you so much for having me.
Meagan NLD:It was really fun.
Megan CGA:Yeah.
Megan CGA:Awesome.
Megan CGA:Have a good day and safe travels.
Meagan NLD:Thank you.
Megan CGA:All right.
