GS #20: Time-Saving Templates, Verbalizing Value, and Embracing Outsourcing

Last week, we continued to build out the curriculum for our new program coming to WAIM Unlimited in a few short months. 🤫🤩 It's been a while since we created a standalone program, and it feels amazing to see everything coming together!

We're also gearing up to finally launch Teachery's socials this week (TikTok, Instagram and YouTube) so we're excited to start sharing content on those channels and inspire creators with what Teachery can do!

Now, let’s jump in to the goods!

- Jason and Caroline

predictable 🔄

3 templates we use that save us HOURS

👩🏻‍🦰👋: Today I want to share a dead simple idea that consistently saves me time every single day of running our businesses: templates.

More specifically, Notion page templates. You don’t have to be a Notion user to benefit from the idea of using templates in your business, though. You could use Google Doc templates, Canva templates, etc. The main tip here is...

I thought this week I'd share with you three templates that save me a ton of time and creative energy in the hope that it inspires you to make your workflow even more predictable!

#1 - Launch Project Template: This one was a game-changer for us! With the click of ONE button, I can spin up a new project that already has databases for new sales emails, a sales dashboard, planning docs for my launch, a promotional content calendar, launch tasks, etc. It’s amazing! If I tried doing this setup from scratch every time, it would take hours to set everything up and write it all out.

#2 - Video Script Template: I have page templates in our content calendar for every single content type (Instagram carousels, Reels, etc.), but now that I'm creating YouTube videos for Teachery, my video template is my new favorite. I have areas for the title, video concept, and script.

My favorite thing in this template is using Notion’s automated buttons to add lines of my script and specific blocks so I can storyboard the visuals that go with each line of my script.

#3 - Podcast Episode Template: We’ve evolved this template over the course of 3 years, and it has everything we need! A section for our transcriptionist, episode recording notes, and a place to drop the episode cover art.

These are only 3 of the dozens of page templates I use on a weekly basis! I have templates for brainstorming; for monthly, quarterly, and yearly planning; for writing the curriculum of our monthly coaching sessions, etc.

​- Caroline 👩🏻‍🦰​

Profitable 🤑

Get clarity in your messaging by writing a value proposition statement

👩🏻‍🦰 👋: Have you ever written a value proposition for your business? I find this one exercise so helpful because it forces you to clearly articulate the unique value your business offers to your customers.

Our Formula

We use this guiding formula to write a value proposition statement:

It's a mouthful, I know, but here are the basics to include:

1. What you offer: Clearly state the product or service.
2. Who you help: Identify your target audience.
3. How you help: Describe the problem and your key benefit or solution.
4. Why you’re different: Highlight what sets you apart from competitors.

To give you an example, here’s our value proposition for WAIM:

Where to Use It

Now, this is obviously a long statement. The key with a value proposition is not to paste this all over your website in its kind of "corporatey" form; It's simply to get CLARITY for yourself so that you can pluck out little snippets and pieces of it in the appropriate places to communicate with your audience. For example:

• Your home page: Include a short and snappy version of your core benefit at the top of your home page ("Grow your Calm Creator Business") and a longer version on your about page.
• Social Media Bios: Use a shortened version for clarity and impact. ("Grow your CALM Creator Business selling digital products * Bigger launches with less stress!)
• Newsletters: Remind your audience of the value you bring on your opt-in page and in your emails! ("A weekly newsletter for solopreneur creators - Practical tips to help you grow your creator business—without burning out.")

PS. We have a section for your Value Proposition in our Calm Creator Business Plan for Canva. It’s a free whiteboard resource that shows you every aspect of your creator business at a glance. You can grab it for free here!​

​- Caroline 👩🏻‍🦰​

Peaceful 🧘

We *finally* found a winning formula for outsourcing our video editing

👨🏻‍🦲👋: A month ago I shared with you that we started working with a video editing service. We had only sent them 2 videos to edit at the time and I broke down our process we’d put together to create more predictability in our video content creation.

Well, good friends, I’m happy to report that we’ve completed 7 videos with the beCreatives team (aff link) and would HIGHLY recommend using them as a video editing service! 👏👏👏

In case you missed my previous email about outsourcing video editing, here is the super quick recap:

• 😩 We’ve tried multiple freelance editors before with minimal success
• 👨‍💻 When editing myself, it takes 10-12 hours to do the edit
• 😵‍💫 Video editing also eats up a ton of creative energy
• 🙈 I needed to loosen the perfectionism reigns!

There are two takeaways I’d like to share with you based on our experience of finally finding a great video editing partner who is freeing up our time and mental bandwidth…

#1: Be open to experimenting with outsourcing even if you’ve tried before without success. Sunk cost bias is real and all the different editors we’d used in the past made me feel like we’d never be able to outsource our YouTube video editing effectively. But, being open to do yet another experiment landed us a winning answer that we wouldn’t have found had we given up!

#2: Wearing all the hats and letting perfectionism run your business will hold you back. We 100% understand that you may not have the budget to pay a video editing company yet (or insert any paid outsourced task here). However, some of the biggest breakthroughs and inflection points in your business journey will come when you let go of perfectionism and stop trying to do everything yourself.

It's hard to strike a balance when you're a solopreneur who loves to wear all the hats, but allowing others to help you with a few core business activities can give you the margin you need to bring more peace into your business.

Running a calm business happens when you keep yourself open to experimentation and are willing to fight your perfectionistic tendencies so you can find a workload balance that is finally sustainable.

And if video editing (short-form 🤳 or long-form 📺) is something you want to outsource, beCreatives offers a 14-day 100% satisfaction guarantee!​

Ps - here’s our latest video edited by beCreatives.

​- Jason 👨🏻‍🦲​

This week's "Pick the flick!"

New game alert!! Hit reply to this email and guess the movie based on the two household objects. Full transparency: you will win nothing. 😅 Except bragging rights and the knowledge you are a movie nerd like us. It's silly. It's fun. What movie will we do next week? 🍿🎬

latest from the pod

210 - Should you hire a team?? Is hiring the right fit for you? In this episode, we share our thoughts on keeping our “team” small and not going down the path of hiring more people. We discuss our experiences with freelancers and how maintaining a low-stress and minimal interaction relationship works best for us. If you’re thinking about growing your team or hiring freelancers, this episode offers some valuable insights. LISTEN ON: APPLE | SPOTIFY | WEB​

​

Thanks for reading! We pour a lot of love into these weekly newsletters, and we hope you can feel it!

Did a friend share this with you? ​Subscribe here.​​