2023 Intro: Brooke Summer 0:00 Hello amazing business owners welcome back to another episode of build with Brooke, the podcast in place to be to actually make a living doing what you love. I am so excited to be back. As you can hear my voice is not quite at 100%. But it is far better than it was. I am super excited that you get to hear today's episode because after it was recorded, I lost one of my team members and the podcast process suffered a little bit I lost two recordings entirely. And when I was going back through all my backups, I'm super excited to tell you that I found one of them. And that is today's episode. So it is a little bit of a throwback but it has never been published before. And we're going to talk all about marketing about aligned marketing and authentic marketing and what the hell does that look like? And should you be doing the thing that everyone says you should be doing in marketing even if you hate them? So let's listen in. I did want to make a little note that anytime you hear the words business straight up just now the name has changed. So if you hear any links that are business straight up.com You can still use them but the updated link is boldwithbrooke.com. Let's listen

Brooke Summer 0:00 Hello amazing business owners, welcome back to another episode of business straight up with Brooke Summer, the podcast to be at to listen to to embrace if you want to be a creative business owner and actually make a living doing what you love because the cliche of the starving artist needs to be kicked to the curb, right? I know I always say that I used to say can suck and some people were like, We're I don't like that. Whatever. It's okay either way it needs to go. I am so excited for today's conversation. It is all about something that I love.

Brooke Summer 0:36 We are going to talk about marketing, what the hell do I do to build a marketing strategy? What does that look like? How do I get all of these moving pieces in place so that it's something that's manageable and will not completely take over my life. All of these things are included in today's episode and I cannot wait for you to hear the interview with Katlynn Pyatt, she runs authentic branding. And we're gonna talk about what being authentic actually means because that is not just a buzzword. It is something we need to actually pay attention to. Right. So I am super excited to get into today's episode. As always, if you have any questions just reach out in the community at businessstraightup.com/community You can also reach out on Instagram at businessstraightup that is all one word. And yes, there are three S's in the middle after business and starting straight. Some people get confused on that. So look me up on Instagram, come join the community. Let's have a conversation. I would love to help you with your marketing with anything you need help in in your business. If I can't figure it out. I know I have a resource for someone who can. So reach out ask for help the answer to any unasked question is always no. It can never hurt to ask I cannot wait for you to hear today's episode. Let's dive right in.

Brooke Summer 2:01 Hey Hey there awesome people. I am Brooke Summer and you are listening to business straight up the podcast for creative entrepreneurs to learn, connect, grow and build the business and life that they dream. Welcome. Let's get going and dive right in.

Brooke Summer 2:29 Welcome back, amazing business owners. I am so excited to have you here today. And the business owners, photographers, creatives, anyone that actually wants to make a living doing what they love. It is time for the cliche of the starving artists to get kicked to the curb. Right. Today's guest is a brilliant marketing expert, who is a professionally certified marketer and new business owner and a mom of three. Katlynn Piatt and I have talked previously about marketing and the things we see the things we don't see enough of. And I'm so excited to have her here today. Thank you so much for joining me, Katlynn.

Katlynn Pyatt 3:06 Yes, thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

Brooke Summer 3:08 So what has brought you kind of to where you're at, tell me more about your story and what your journey is look like so far?

Katlynn Pyatt 3:15 Sure. Well, I spent 12 years in corporate marketing. And most of that time was focused in marketing, management, creating marketing strategies, I worked at a financial institution, creating those marketing strategies, working directly with the CMO to create brand strategies, and then focus on marketing management. And it was really fortunate while I was there, they were a great organization that supported a lot of continuing education. So that's where I got all of my continuing education things. So that professional certification in marketing management, I have certifications from Cornell University in business strategy and marketing analytics, and just really had this amazing run in the corporate world doing marketing, and I absolutely love marketing. But I was kind of getting to the point where I knew I wanted to make some kind of change. I didn't know what it was, I just knew I didn't want to be kind of stuck in this like rat race of going to a nine to five and only being able to take time off and like travel and go see my family and yes, yeah, with someone else's permission. Yeah. And I so I started kind of thinking about, like, what would this change look like? And I really had no idea and thought it was going to be just a new job, something different. I had been in the financial world for probably almost eight years at that time and was like, I really just I don't know, I don't want to do financial marketing anymore. Like I just want a new challenge and worked with a business coach and I actually can't Tucked in him thinking he was going to help me find a new job. And he was like, you know, I think you would really love running your own business. Yeah. And my husband was like, Finally, he had been bugging me for a really long time. So we decided to kind of take that leap, we started saving, I started building my business, I had planned to go out on my own after I had my third child, second daughter, Ei, and actually was laid off with most of my team in January of 2020. So I was five months pregnant, and I was like, There's no way I'm gonna get another job. Right? Like, not because I'm pregnant, although probably wasn't really going to help. Like, let's be honest. Nobody would say that they're not going to hire you because of that. But

Brooke Summer 5:42 right. Just because it's illegal, doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Katlynn Pyatt 5:46 Correct? Correct. So, you know, we were like, We are close enough, we had been saving for a while we had kicked it into high gear, when there were talks about a recession. And there were talks about budget cuts out my job for several months before I was laid off. And everybody knows the first place companies go to save money is the marketing department. So we had saved and we were in a good spot and decided to just kind of leap in and go for it. And I thought with all of my experience in corporate marketing, I could really help small businesses, I could help entrepreneurs, and show them how to create marketing plans that they could be really confident in. So don't feel like they're wasting their money and just throwing things at the wall, hoping they were stick not seeing the ROI that they deserved. And then with all of my experience in marketing, management, and creating a system to organize an entire team, there was like, I can teach them the tools and the tricks to make marketing efficient and effective for them. So it also doesn't monopolize all their time, because there's like a million things to do as a business owner, right? So get ready. Let me teach you all of these tools and these tricks that the pros use that no one's really talking about. And hopefully it just make your legs a little bit easier and make you really confident in marketing.

Brooke Summer 7:02 Yes, oh my gosh, I still love that. I love marketing. Personally, I know, many people don't, let's talk marketing, let's go. I know that a marketing strategy is a must. And I know that I work with my students on things like this all the time. But so many business owners fight back, and they'll say they're just going to post on Instagram, or they're only going to work word of mouth, instead of really looking at the bigger picture. Why would a business owner need a marketing strategy? What does it actually do for us in the big picture?

Katlynn Pyatt 7:34 Yeah, and then big picture, marketing strategy, this is gonna sound really obvious when I say it, but it makes you more strategic, right? Like, you have to kind of align your strategies with your business goals. So when you say like, Hey, I'm just gonna work on and I've got friends who have done this, and I'm like, Please, can I work with you, like, I have so many ideas, and they're like, ah, you know, I'm just gonna stick to posting on Instagram, I'm really comfortable there. So there's a couple of things. First of all, when you put all of your eggs in one basket, what happens when that basket isn't filling up with those eggs, that is a problem, then you're left scrambling. And when you're scrambling, you're not being strategic about how you're growing your business. And putting a plan together. And understanding the marketing strategies that you want to use. And having well rounded marketing strategies that put you in a lot of different channels means that you can really align your marketing efforts to your business goals. A lot of times I see businesses of any size, this isn't like just small businesses, or just entrepreneurs, it happens in large organizations to where they sort of like separate their business operations and goals from their marketing. And at the end of the day, like your marketing is there to move the needle for your business. So if you don't have a strategy in place, you're probably not moving that needle. So whether it's brand awareness, whether it is increasing your revenue, you name it, whatever that goal is that's going to grow or scale your business. If you're marketing, if you don't have a strategy. How are you growing your business? How are you meeting a goal?

Brooke Summer 9:12 They go hand in hand?

Katlynn Pyatt 9:13 Yes, they do.

Brooke Summer 9:14 Oh my gosh, yes. For anyone that has never really looked at that big picture strategy. How can they start to really build one for their own business? What does that look like for them?

Katlynn Pyatt 9:24 So it's actually it is not as hard as it sounds to build a marketing plan. And I know that sounds crazy, because I teach people and I work with clients on greeting marketing plans, but the simplest way to start is to look at your three to five year plan for your business, where do you need to be in three to five years? What does that look like for you? And that really, it can be anything, okay? It could be I'll use myself as an example. In three to five years I want to be at a point where I have replaced or exceeded my previous salary, right. So It could be when I was at the credit union, the mortgage department, for example, their three to five year goal was to change to flip flop the makeup of their loan portfolio from mostly refinances to purchases. So your three to five year goal, what does that look like? Where do you need to be or want to be in your business? So step one, know your target audience. Step two, set that three to five year goal. And then the next step, step three, you want to create a 12 month objective. So something a SMART goal, something that you can measure is attainable, follows that smart format, and that it's quantifiable for the next 12 months, what are you going to do? Is that going to be using myself as an example, again, here's the amount of revenue I need to make this year so that in three to five years, I'm at the point where I've exceeded my previous salary. Yes. So just what do the next 12 months need to look like? Right? So you've got three to five years? And then we're going to focus in and say, like, what are the next 12 months need to look like? And yes, then you start putting your strategies together and saying, what are the actual marketing things, the marketing strategies I'm going to do? Am I going to do podcast guest episodes? Am I going to focus on social media? Is that going to be something I do? Am I going to launch a course? Am I going to go to a certain number of networking events, right? This can be anything like the world is your oyster, when it comes to how you're going to market your business? You just have to know what you're going to do. And you know, if it fits in your budget, like what dollars do you have available if I can't afford to buy the software, if I want to buy software to launch a course. But I can't afford to do that maybe I should reprioritize my marketing strategies. So it's pretty simple. Set that three to five year goal, get your 12 months, your next 12 months kind of narrowed, and and focused, and then start mapping out those strategies. And then underneath those bullet point out what you need to do to make those happen. Do you want to launch a course? What are the things that have to happen, you have to do some market research, you have to draft the course outline the course and start putting some deadlines to it. So you keep yourself on track. It's all about making it actionable at the end of the day, so getting those strategies and those tactics with some deadlines in there for yourself and time lining it out. That's where you start to see the progress.

Brooke Summer 12:27 I know that for so many of my students, they get overwhelmed with all of the possibilities, which is very easy to do. And so what I have started suggesting is choose something that you want to promote every single month and stick with that. Yeah, then that aligns all of your marketing stuff, just like you said, then start making those bullet lists, right of what needs to be done, because you know, what you're working towards for the month.

Katlynn Pyatt 12:53 Yeah, that's smart advice. And I think, and this happens a lot, I see this with coaches, myself included, sometimes I have to remember like, I'm a marketer, and I enjoy doing the marketing things. And I know how to do the marketing things. But when it comes to like clients and things like that, do what you have the capacity for, right, like Don't overextend yourself one thing a month, that's perfect, like, align your strategies with that. So if you're going to promote maybe a webinar or something, if you like to host webinars, or maybe you have like a little ebook or something that you've put together, maybe you are a sales coach, or maybe you brew tea, and you're gonna teach other people how to brew tea, I don't know, you know, whatever it is, that's perfect. Pick that one thing and focus on it. You know, you don't have to overcomplicated and feel like you have to do a ton of stuff that is just going to sap your energy and like leave you no time to do like the rest of your business. Because there's tons of stuff to get done.

Brooke Summer 13:57 Yes, I love that. I think that so many people, myself included, get overwhelmed. And then we just do nothing. And that doesn't serve anyone.

Katlynn Pyatt 14:07 And the other thing too, that I always tell my clients is like play to your strengths. So I don't love doing social media, like I do it because I think it's a very necessary component of creating a presence online for small businesses and entrepreneurs. But like, that's not my jam. I don't even personally I don't love necessarily spending a ton of time on social media. So the things I do love doing, though, are talking to people and teaching them so I post a podcast, I go on podcast, I host workshops. And those are also ways that I'm promoting my business and that I'm marketing my business. So play to your strengths and the things you like doing. If you do love social media great, like map out a plan and figure out how you're gonna spend your time on social media. But if you don't like there's plenty of other ways you can do it

Brooke Summer 15:00 right for anyone listening that is onboard. And they're like, Yes, I'm ready to start marketing. And then they sit down and they're like, Shit, sorry, I

Katlynn Pyatt 15:10 swear, you're fine.

Brooke Summer 15:12 Where do I go? Now? How can they build this strategy into something that is extremely manageable? I know, we talked about breaking it down to three to five years, and then the 12 month, and then from there, but there's so many options for marketing, and you said, play to their strengths. What are some of the different things that you've seen people implement successfully,

Katlynn Pyatt 15:32 I always recommend starting with like, the free stuff, right? Because that's everybody loves a free 99 price tag. So get kind of your basics in place, get your social media set up, get things like a Google My Business, so that you can ask for referrals and testimonials, and people can plug them in to Google. So when someone is searching for your product, or your service, you're popping up, look for opportunities to partner with other people. So if you you're like, I don't know where to start. And I'm starting at zero, like, that's where everyone starts, first of all, so you shouldn't feel bad about starting at zero, right? Right. But get some of those free things, your social media, your Google My Business and put a website together, even if you do it yourself, it doesn't have to be perfect, right? It just has to kind of tell your story and explain what you've got to offer so that your target audience can see it and you have somewhere to drive traffic that isn't just your social media channels, you know, get those things in place. But even if that seems overwhelming, pick one thing. So if that's going to be getting your social media channels set up, get your social media channels up and ready. And then look for a social media scheduler, there's tons of tools out there that are free, or super inexpensive, like 10 bucks a month, that like you could sit down once a month or once a week, and plug your content into and schedule it and then it just posts automatically for you. Yeah, you don't even have to worry about it. Right? Like, yeah, and it doesn't. So yeah, so start in the places start in kind of the obvious places, where's your ideal audience going to look for you. Because if you're gonna focus on one thing, right, if you're gonna say, I don't have time, or I'm, like, too overwhelmed to do all the things, think about who your ideal customer is your target audience in a way where they would go to find you and start there, right? Because you gotta get in front of them to make a sale. Right? And so if your ideal client or customer, him logs on to Instagram first thing in the morning, but you are over on LinkedIn, like, there's a huge disconnect, right? And they can't find you. And then you're like, Well, I'm hearing crickets, like, no one is coming. So where do they go? How would you start looking for your service and start there, just pick one thing to start on. And then as you get comfortable, you can add things in.

Brooke Summer 18:22 And those baby steps make everything so much easier.

Katlynn Pyatt 18:25 For sure. For sure. Like, nobody goes into their own business on day one, with everything built, if they're telling you that it was like their empire was built and perfect out of the gate, they're probably lying to you. Right? Like, everybody goes in phases, you know, even a year and some change into my business. Like, I'm still doing work on my website and still changing things. I'm still ending. It's never ending it really is. So it's never, it's never going to end. So you're never going to start if you're waiting for that. So pick the one thing, where does your audience show up? And then meet them there?

Brooke Summer 19:02 Yes, I love marketing. I don't even know why. But I do probably because I like to talk. Awesome. I know it's so much fun. But so many business owners do not and they freak out at even the thought of it. And what's funny when I watch this, though, is that when they start to become more adept at it, and dare I say even enjoying it is when they really have confidence in what they're doing. And when they discover how to properly convey what it is that they do. We hear all the time. I feel like it's the buzzword right now be authentic. And while I agree completely I feel like so many people don't share what that really looks like. How can a business owner really nail that messaging to be authentic in their brand?

Katlynn Pyatt 19:46 Yeah, so this is something that even as the owner of a company called authentic branding and marketing, you know, I still have to work on because it requires this level of vulnerability. 80 that is sometimes really hard to get past especially like, I am a pretty private person. So it's hard to kind of get past this. And I recently got some really great advice actually from, I guess, on my podcast, his name is Mike Isla Malley. And he was like, identify like, six emotions that you really identify with, and then map out or kind of jot down, like how those six emotions like show up in your business. So for me, I like my clients to feel very confident in their marketing. Likewise, I'm very confident in my marketing. So I look at that list kind of on a regular basis. And I say, How can I share something that relates to one of these emotions. And I'll be honest, I don't share a ton about my personal life. You know, I kind of pick and choose, but I'm never going to be one who likes splashes my kids across my social media channels, or like snapshots every living moment of my life, and then post it to my business channels. But I show up authentically, in other ways, like, I am really passionate about marketing. And that education, that empowerment that I like other people to feel, that was one of the words that really resonated with me, was empowerment, I find ways to empower my audience. So for me, that's knowledge. And so look for ways that feel good to you. So if it doesn't feel good to you, it's not gonna come across authentically to your audience. So like just nixed that right out of the gate, like, I tried sharing pictures of my kids. And I was like, there's just, I just hate this, like, I don't love it, you stop doing it. But I really liked that advice, and something that I started following. And it's really changed the game for me, like, find those like six emotions that really resonate with either how you feel about your business, or how you want your clients and customers to feel about your business, and then create messages and content based on those feelings, because that's going to be very genuine, right? You can't fake that stuff, right? Yes,

Brooke Summer 22:20 I heard Sara Blakely say something about what are her filters for Instagram? She goes, I didn't want to get on Instagram. Everyone told me I should be on there. So I said, if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it in a way that feels good to me. So what are my filters? And I'm so sorry, I can't remember all of them. It was a book launch. I, I really loved thinking about it from that perspective. And it's kind of the same thing with the emotions, right of what are the filters that I want to put all of my information through? Because they're so integral to my brand?

Katlynn Pyatt 22:48 Yeah, absolutely. Another thing I'm a big fan of. So I took the six emotions concept. And I'm a big fan of creating key messages. So and that's not like, pretty much any marketer is going to talk about key messages. So that's like, not revolutionary. But I took those like six emotions. And then I started creating like some key messages, which are just like, sounds super obvious to me. But they're like the points that you want to make on social media or in any of your marketing, really, and I created those. And I use those as a way to just like pull things off the shelf, and get it out there. Because they are very true to like how I feel about my business. They generally come off as being pretty genuine and authentic, or at least I hope so. Yeah, it's not I hope somebody would be like, this sounds weird. But at the end of the day to me just use your gut, like, it doesn't feel good to you because you're trying to copy somebody else, or you are trying to put a persona in place. Yes. Like it's not going to feel authentic to you. And the moment you don't feel authentic, it reads as disingenuous to your audience. Yeah. And they're like, they might not know why. Right, but it's gonna be like this subconscious, like, something is weird here. And I don't know if I trust this person, like, dilutes what makes you special. Yeah. And it kind of makes other people put their guard up and go like, Ooh, what's like slimy salesman alert. What is this person going to try to sell me that I don't need. Yeah, they're not going to be able to like recognize why, but it's most likely going to tie back to the fact that like, you don't feel good about whatever it is you're doing. And so it's going to read disingenuous, yes, you can't fake it.

Brooke Summer 24:36 I love that. I think that it takes time to write like, what you know now for your business and what you really want to convey right now. might be different even in six months. Absolutely. And having the giving yourself the permission to be flexible in that is so important because I know my work has changed. I've been a boudoir photographer for 12 years now. I've been a teacher for five. And my messages have changed consistently, business for a long time. So it's so important to allow yourself to grow and change. Even if people latch on to something, it's okay to let it evolve.

Katlynn Pyatt 25:15 Yes, absolutely. I mean, it's going to happen naturally. And the more you fight it, the less authentic, you're gonna feel right. Like, I went through that recently, I was like, I knew I needed to make a target audience change. And I've been like holding out on it. And everything I started to do, more and more felt like is not really me, it wasn't very authentic, because I knew I was kind of like holding back and not being very true to some of those feelings and some of the key points that I knew I needed to make. Yes. And you can tell so like that evolution is going to happen. Everybody goes through it.

Brooke Summer 25:54 Yes. Oh, my gosh, I love this conversation. Marketing is like, near and dear to my heart. It's so funny. When I look back on my jobs that I've had throughout my life, they've all been things that have kind of prepared me for where I'm at. So travel, and marketing, and customer service, and tech and all of these things. So it's amazing to see that growth, I know that you are a mom of three, and even for the listeners who are not parents, because we do have some that are not parents. Yeah, we are all juggling something. Yep. Right, like family, friends, life, kids, maybe a day job on top of our businesses. So there are so many things. Do you believe that work life balance is attainable? Or do you think it's a myth? And just something that we have to accept that there are certain seasons?

Katlynn Pyatt 26:42 Hmm, maybe I'm just unwilling to accept that there are seasons like certainly there are moments, right? There are moments where it's not going to feel balanced, like you're going to work a little bit later on a given night than maybe you want to. But I really do believe that there is harmony that can be achieved. I don't think it's ever going to be like perfectly good word for Yes, yes, I don't think it's ever going to be perfectly balanced, right? Because like, on Monday, I might have to stay an hour late for a meeting where a client's stay an hour late, like I leave my that my home, but like, you know, I'm logged on, and I'm working an hour later than, like, I like to be typically, because I need to meet a client. But the next day, or maybe Friday, I'm gonna clock out and like leave my desk, and my work behind at two o'clock in the afternoon, and I'm not gonna look back, you know what it's like. So I think there is harmony that can be achieved. And I think it's just kind of giving yourself the grace to know that like, if you're trying to seek like a one to one balance, I don't think like you're ever going to get there anything you're going to be with you stress yourself out trying to like our for our I think it's more about looking for that harmony and going, Okay, well, if I have to stay late, or maybe I've got a really busy two weeks with a big project I need to get done. Then after that two weeks, I'm going to make an effort and I am going to hold myself accountable to maybe working less than I typically would Yes, so that I can kind of come back to that center and come back to a place where I feel really good about both of those things.

Brooke Summer 28:29 Yes. And I actually asked that with the marketing plan in mind, because we have to look at the big picture of not just our business, but our entire life, because ultimately our business should fit into our lives, not the other way around. Right? Yes, yes. And so chances are you went into business because you love what you do, whether it's like providing a service or a product and marketing is another piece of it. So how are we going to fit that into our lives, so that we're not working all the time?

Katlynn Pyatt 28:57 Right. So that's where all of the tools and like the tricks that professional marketers use come in handy. Yes. So I mentioned you know, if you're doing social media, if that's going to be your thing, look for a social media scheduler, so you're not like living by a reminder on your phone every single day to like post something. Those again, can be free, they can be really inexpensive, and they automate everything on your social media. So all you have to do is kind of keep an eye on the comments and like pop in and respond to a comment or DM or something like that. Same thing, I'm a big fan of batching your work so that is a game changer, especially if you're looking for that harmony, right? That's where I feel like that harmony really comes into play. Like I'm gonna have a long day of batching my content and like my podcasts or something at the beginning of the month, but then like it's done and it's out of my hands and it's taken care of. So look for opportunities to batch it. Use an organ As ation tool and a huge fan of Trello, it's free, it's like the easiest thing to use. And that can kind of keep you on a schedule. So you can see like, where you're spending your time you can play on for those big projects so that you aren't being bombarded at the last minute going, like, oh, my gosh, I committed to doing some Instagram videos or a presentation with somebody and like, it's two days before now I have to prep for it. And I'm going to be you're late, and it's going to stress me out. Yeah, if you use an organization tool, you can see it coming up, and you can plan for it. And so you can work on it a little bit at a time scheduling anything you can schedule ahead of time schedule ahead of time, your emails, yeah, emails ahead of time. So batch anything that you can and schedule anything that is possible for you. There's tools like Zapier that can do tasks and things for you, that is so powerful, I need to be better about it. I set it up for a client, but I honestly haven't used it for myself. And I think I need to like look harder at it.

Brooke Summer 31:09 I tried and I sat down and I was like, Holy shit, this does so much that I just can't do this right now. And then of course, I forget. So.

Katlynn Pyatt 31:18 But that was the impression I got the impression when I set it up for my client. I was like, wow, there's really a lot here. And I don't know if I understand how to like, make it all work for me in a time period. That's, like, realistic for me. But look for those tools. What are some other tools that I am a big fan of? I am a big fan of using, you know, I could not get into a sauna. I've used it. And I feel like there are a ton of people who like love. And I was like, how am I not figuring this out? It was just like, not interested in.

Brooke Summer 31:21 And then I like and I love Asana or Trello is because it will do the list like Trello does, you can drag stuff, but it will also do an itemized list. So it has both whereas Trello does not. Which is what I kind of want both.

Brooke Summer 32:05 Right, right? No, that's

Brooke Summer 32:07 totally how I feel kind of girl. Yeah,

Katlynn Pyatt 32:10 absolutely. Other tools. I'm a huge fan of I use Slack a ton. Even as somebody like solo in my own business without a team, I use it. And I coordinate like vendors and things. So my website developer who helps me with my website, and he's a good friend. It works out. It's like a text chain, really. But I use it to communicate with my clients. I use it to communicate with vendors that I'm hiring to do my work my website developer, my SEO person, my social media person, because it keeps everything out of my email. And it just kind of consolidates everything there. I use Trello, you could use Asana in much the same way you can organize your vendors there. So look for places to where you can, like consolidate that communication and keep it like out of your email out of your texts, because that's where stuff gets lost, right? Like, what's the graveyard of like anything that needs to happen is your Gmail or your text messages. And then truly, honestly, I use an old school like an actual planner, like I set so once I've got my like year goals, I set quarterly goals, like I break them down into quarters, and then I break them down into months. And then that's how they get I'm like, Next Level probably a little like OCD about organizing things. But I used to, and I love it. Yes, I mean, truly, like, it works for me, because if I'm not doing those things I am not getting like I'm not keeping myself organized. Yeah. And this is actually based on a model that I learned in the corporate world. It's called the traction method. And it basically like you set these year long goals, you break them down into quarters, or what they call rocks, and then you're responsible for figuring out like how you get that rock done. And basically like these are the things that are going to move the needle for your business. And so I take those things, I break them down into quarters, and then on a daily basis, I'm just like, What do I need to get done today like I'm looking at what I have mapped out in Trello and I time block it on a physical piece of paper. And then I like try to stick to it like try is a very key word there. But I think if you're looking to kind of keep yourself organized so back to like your original question like look for ways to batch look for tools that are going to automate for you and then like time block your days so that you know what you need to get done and you're sticking to it and holding yourself to it.

Brooke Summer 34:46 Oh, I just started doing that. I've rebelled against that for so long, especially as an artist and a creative I'm, I'm a free spirit. I want to do what I want to do and I do still feel that but blocking out Free Day has given me so much freedom to be done when I'm done.

Katlynn Pyatt 35:04 Yes, absolutely. And I think that is a huge thing. When I think about like finding that harmony, that time blocking plays a big part in it, right? Because when I block out my day is and I go, and I don't necessarily, when I was in the corporate world, I had to like, be pretty rigid, because a lot of times like those blocks were meetings that other people needed me to, you know, as an entrepreneur, and somebody who like doesn't answer to anyone, except myself, I can be a little bit more like free, a little less rigid. And say, if I want an extra 30 minutes, because I'm really in the zone on something like I can give myself that without being like, oh, no, you set at 10 o'clock. Yeah, switch over to your email. But when I think about that harmony, like that time blocking is what allows me to go like, Okay, if I can just get these things done today, then I'm not going to feel bad about turning my computer off at three o'clock when my kids get home from school, or about not turning it on at all on Friday, because I'm going to go to the park, and I'm going to do whatever it is that I want to do. So it's kind of a give and take. And sometimes the creative flow just takes over. And it does. Anyway, it does.

Brooke Summer 36:18 It's so true. Oh my gosh, thank you so much to all of the listeners and business owners and photographers that have joined us. Thank you so much for listening today. I'm truly honored that you press play and spend this time with Caitlin and myself. Thank you so much for being here. Caitlin. I'm glad we could connect for anyone listening that wants to learn more, where can they find out more about what you offer and connect with you? Absolutely. So

Katlynn Pyatt 36:43 my social media handles are all at authentic branding. So you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, in my website is get authentic branding.com. Okay, so anything there, I've got a resource page that I really brought up. I actually did a lot of work on it in the past few months. But there is a free resource bundle there. So if you need help getting started on your marketing, it comes with a sample marketing plan. So if you listen today, and you're like, oh, that sounds really great. I'm never gonna remember it that is there for you. It comes with my favorite free marketing strategies that I like to use right out of the gate, branding elements, the organization tools that I talked about, all that stuff is covered there. And that is free to download. I've got templates and things there. So my resources page, I'm just really proud of spent a long time working that out. So hosted podcast is called Startup marketing. So you can find me there nerding out about pretty much anything related to marketing.

Brooke Summer 37:44 That's awesome. Thank you so much for being here. If you are listening, and you're someone that loves to help other people, and you know someone that needs this information, maybe they're struggling with marketing, they're overwhelmed in their business, please forward this episode over to them. I know how much Katlynn and I both would appreciate that. If you are thinking wow, Brooke and Katlynn, this content was amazing. How can I thank you, I have a way you can think me if you can head on over to iTunes and leave a review. I know it seems silly and small. But those reviews means so much to us. It helps me know how I can better serve you and it helps me get amazing guests like Caitlin. So if you hit pause now go leave a review. You can screenshot your review before hitting submit and send it to Hello at business straight up.com. I have a free thing for you freebie. And it changes all the time. So i are i never actually say what it is because it changes all the time. So sometimes it's a free template. Sometimes it's shop credit sometimes, you know, we have all sorts of fun stuff. But I'm really excited for everyone listening to start to implement this. So thank you for being here. And for all my listeners. You didn't think I was gonna let you get away without homework right? Homework action steps. I want you to set aside 15 minutes in your calendar this week. Yes, don't wait. Yes, actually schedule it in your calendar to start walking through these steps so that you can implement a marketing plan and come over to the community and share any hazard takeaways. You can also tag me on instagram if you'd like and join the community and Facebook group at business startup.com/community Thank you so much for being here today. Caitlyn, do you have any words that you want to share encouragement before we end today's episode?

Katlynn Pyatt 39:25 I will end with one of my favorites. That is be brave, not perfect

Brooke Summer 39:31 Wait wait can we hear that again?

Katlynn Pyatt 39:35 Be brave, not perfect. I love that. For my favorite book by rush ma saw Johnny's Girls Who Code is the founder behind it's the name of her book, be brave, not perfect. Well change your life.

Brooke Summer 39:51 I love that. I've never heard of that book. I actually run boss book club and we have a huge list of books that we want to get through and I've never heard that So I will absolutely make a note of that. For anyone listening, be brave, not perfect. I love that we might have to I make bracelets out of things. No, I see them. So that might have to go on a bracelet. It is time for all my listeners, everyone listening to start stepping into that CEO role in your business, to look at the bigger picture of your business and marketing so that you can grow and not only be profitable, but sustainable too. I cannot wait to see what you do with your business. You have the power to impact the world and I'm so excited to see what you do with it. Have an amazing rest of your day. Thank you, Caitlin.

Katlynn Pyatt 40:38 Thanks, Brooke. Have a great day.

Brooke Summer 40:45 Thank you so much for listening to business straight up. I'm so glad that you could join us today. Check out the show notes for this and all of the episodes at business straight up podcast.com And I can't wait to talk with you again. Have a great day.