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Advice for Entrepreneurs: Seeing the Bigger Picture

March 3, 2021 By Sarah Davidson

Today, I’m just jumping right in friends!

After a full year of getting kicked around by Covid, what could possibly give me the right to say “Just relax guys! Don’t get stuck in the day-to-day! See the bigger picture!”

Well, nothing really. Except for the fact that it’s probably something many small-business owners (especially those in the hospitality industry) need to be reminded of right now. I know I did.

“The combination of hard work and smart work is efficient work.” – Robert Half

A business exists to serve you as the owner, the owner does not exist to serve the business. You should always remember this. Why did you start your business? Probably not because you loved answering emails and phone calls all day.

I didn’t just want to be a wedding planner, I wanted to be an entrepreneur. Growing up I was inspired to watch my father trailblaze his own career path instead of climbing a pre-structured ladder. I loved the idea of building a business that encompassed specifically who I was as a person, including my strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes. And honestly, I wanted to take a vacation whenever I wanted!

So what are some steps you can take to separate yourself from the day-to-day, continue to love your work, and hopefully scale your business along the way? Here’s a few to start with:

Define the Vision

So what is your answer to why you started your business? When you think about your why and who you are as an owner and a person, do your current services and methods of operating your business line up?

If they don’t, that’s okay! It just means you’re now being presented with an opportunity to reevaluate. I personally started working with a business coach about a year ago, and in our time together I’ve done a lot of reflection realizing that for my first few years of my business I was just going through a lot of motions. I would just sit in front of my email each day and wait for business and tasks to come to me, then address them as they came up. I wasn’t really sure what I was supposed to do next, but figured that if I always just did a good job at whatever came my way good things would happen right?

Some good things happened, yes. I’m very proud of the work I accomplished during that time, and frankly continually proud of having the guts to just start the business. But since about a year ago, when I did actually define and write down real goals of where I want to be in the future.. Wow have things happened.

I build my weekly to do list around my goals, and I work very hard to prioritize those over day to day operations. The day to day still gets done though. It’s amazing how efficient you can be when there is a true purpose of what you’re working towards.

Think Ahead

“You’re on time if you’re five minutes early. You’re late if you’re on time.”

While I can’t say I’m in love with this Drumline quote, it’s accurate and applicable here. It’s also been in my head since the January NACE Evolve conference I attended.

As a planner it’s my job to continuously be looking forward to what’s happening next, soon, and later. If the first dance is supposed to start at 8pm and I don’t think about it until 8pm, it’s not happening on time.

So where are there opportunities in your business to be building processes and thinking ahead? Take marketing for example. Many people don’t worry about marketing until business is slow. However if they just kept up their marketing efforts when they were busy, they wouldn’t have to worry about ever being slow.

Set those goals and have touchpoints along the way to make sure your work is continuously driving those goals.

Stay the Course

Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. If it was a sprint, we’d all be extremely bored trying to come up with new things to do, since we have no desire to go back to the day-to-day of corporate life.

If you’re still wondering how am I going to make it both personally and professionally through the pandemic, reflect back on what you’ve accomplished. It’s been nearly a year, way longer than anyone thought it would be, and you’re still here. You’re someone who cares enough about his or her business to read this blog and hopefully have some takeaways. That is the attitude that is going to take you somewhere.

Remember who you are and why you started this business. Did you do something today or this week that put you closer to those goals? Then you’re doing great.

Chief Strategist and Creative Director of HUE by Sarah Davidson, Sarah is a sought-after event industry consultant, planner, and strategist based in Madison, WI. Follow her work on Instagram at @huebysd.

Working from Home – The Ultimate Luxury or Productivity Killer?

March 14, 2018 By Sarah Davidson

It’s 2018, and I am currently one of the lucky people who has the luxury of working from any place that has Wi-Fi. There are many occasions where that might be a remote office or a coffee shop, but the majority of the time it means one main location – my home. I’ve been doing this for two years now and for the most part, I wouldn’t trade back for office life. However, there are a few key considerations to take into account if you’re looking at a position within this realm.

1) Discipline

Everybody knows it, but let’s just get it covered. When you’re working from home, there’s no one there to judge you or keep you on track. You don’t have to get dressed. You’re on your own schedule. And you can watch Netflix all day if you want (which I may or may not be doing while writing this post). You can also take care of household chores or errands during the day. While it’s nice to have this freedom and flexibility, it’s amazing how quickly any of those things can take away from how much work you’re actually getting done. If you have family or other activities that you’re committed to in the evening, those hours that you have during the day can be especially precious. Working from home doesn’t mean you have less work to do than those in an office, and those who do it will find more success if they are disciplined and pointed about how their work gets done.

Personally, I try to take each evening to write down the tasks I want to accomplish the following day and evaluate my schedule to determine how they will fit in. Some days I sit at my computer for 8 solid hours and other days I travel about to a variety of meetings and appointments. I absolutely do take advantage of the lifestyle by scheduling in personal things during weekdays such as workouts or haircuts, but understand that this may mean I work during an evening or weekend instead. Due to my industry, my schedule is very fluid seven days a week, but there are others who have very set office hours as well.

2) Your workspace

Due to the size of our house, I do not currently have a home office. Instead, I work mostly from our kitchen table or when the mood strikes me, the couch. I’ll be the first to say that this is not ideal and creating a dedicated workspace is a HUE goal of mine this year.

If you are lucky enough to have the space for a home office, I would highly recommend it for several reasons. First of all, there are many tax benefits, such as deducting utilities, that you can take advantage of. You would also not have to clean up your “work clutter” as a part of cleaning your home. This is a large issue that I run into – my work space constantly taking over my home space to the point where we rarely eat at our dinner table). Finally, having a nice space in your home that you can invite people to can also be much more pleasant for meetings, such as those that would otherwise occur at a coffee shop, bar, etc. It allows you to control your meeting environment and also save on costs of having to purchase something each time.

3) Socialization

Many of my close friends today are people who I have worked with in the past. The job at the time may have been a “whatever” job, but the co-workers made it worth it and we were lucky to develop a relationship outside of work by going to happy hour. This is the angle that without a doubt, I miss the most from working in an office.

Working from home can be quite isolating at times. I remember my first week when I would greet my husband right at the door each night because he was the only person I saw all day. I felt jealous that I was missing out on happy hour invites and the latest workplace gossip. Eventually, I was able to fill the void with a mix of working away from home some days and also joining a few networking groups in town. It took time and everyone needs to find their own solution that works best for their personality and lifestyle.

Special Consideration – Family and Childcare

This may not apply to all of you but I’m sure to many, whether it’s a child or even a pet. When my daughter was born, I naively believed I would be able to take care of her during the day and still get all my work done at home. Fast forward to today, and she is currently in daycare four days a week.

When I tried to do both, I immediately understood that I could not devote the time or attention that I wanted to either area. When I tended to my daughter, I felt guilty that I wasn’t getting enough work done and when I was working, I felt guilty that I should be paying more attention to her. Once we started daycare however, I was immediately given the gift of dedicated work time, and then was also able to plan ahead to the days I had with her and get my work done ahead of time.

My system isn’t perfect, but it works for where my life is right now. I’m sure if you begin a journey like this you will find your own balance as well.

Good luck!

Featured Photo: Tim Fitch Photography

Vendor Spotlight: Revel

March 1, 2017 By Sarah Davidson

As one of the many creative entrepreneurs in Madison, we find ourselves often crossing paths with like-minded people, pursuing their own dreams in this fabulous town. One such talented woman I’ve gotten to know better recently is Sarah Van Dyke, the founder and owner of Revel – a brand new craft bar downtown, built to inspire, create, and celebrate.

I first learned about Revel while I was still working at Madison Children’s Museum, which is just across the street from their space. Since it’s opened I’ve attended workshops and networking events in the space, and am especially a big fan of their monthly downtown workdays (which include treats!). Recently, I asked Sarah to share a little bit about the history and brainstorm behind the operation, and have shared our conversation here:

Where did the idea of Revel come from?

SVD: Madison has such a vibrant downtown with tons of amazing restaurants and retail shops – and I wanted to add to that with a more ‘experiential’ business. The initial idea was to create a bright, happy, social space where people could come to connect with friends, escape the stress of everyday life, and enjoy a fun new experience.

Incorporating DIY projects was natural since that is something that has brought me enjoyment (and stress relief!) over the years. I think there’s so much fun and satisfaction that comes from finishing a project from start to finish – (especially in this age where we spend all day staring at our never-ending email inbox) – and Revel makes it easy and affordable for anyone to do that!

And let’s be honest… who DOESN’T want a space to host pretty parties in? That may have been some of my motivation too 😉

What do you think people like best about your business?

SVD: We get many compliments on both the physical aspects of our space, but also how welcomed and comfortable people feel when they visit us. I spent many years working in the hospitality industry and it’s so important to me that each guest who comes through our doors has a fun and carefree experience!

I think people also appreciate that we have something for everyone. We offer a wide range of projects that are appealing to a variety of aesthetics, budgets, etc. We also strive to offer customization options for each – so a guest isn’t walking out of Revel with the exact same thing everyone else is.

What have you learned since opening Revel?

SVD: Yikes. SO MUCH! Running a brick-and-mortar operation that’s open 6 days/week and with a constantly changing schedule/menu is both exhilarating and challenging. A few things I’m continuing to learn and work on are:

Flexibility – as a new business we’re constantly adjusting and making tweaks to our offerings, space, workflows, etc. to fix problems as they arise, improve the customer experience, and make operations run more smoothly. That requires flexibility from my entire team!
Delegation – I’m a bit of a control freak, but I know that for Revel to be sustainable, I can’t do everything myself. Fortunately, I have an amazing team – so I’m learning to take advantage of their skills and am getting better about delegating to them!

What crafts or workshops have been most popular so far?

SVD: For the drop-in Craft Bar, string art (particularly the Wisconsin design) has been a favorite. I think people like making a customized piece that they can display in their home…and getting to let out stress by hammering nails doesn’t hurt either! J For our workshops, beer/wine glass etching, iPhone photography, and gold leaf paintings have gotten a great response.

If any readers have ideas for projects they’d like to see on our Craft Bar menu or as workshops, we’d love to hear them!

What goals do you have for the future?

We have so many fun things in store for 2017! In addition to keeping our Craft Bar and event offerings fresh and new, we’ll be rolling out a customer loyalty program to thank and reward our frequent guests. Other goals include hosting more parties and incorporating a few more “dude DIYs” and date night offerings into our menu. We had a great response for our holiday pop-up shops and the DIY kits we had for sale this season so will also be exploring the feasibility of a more consistent retail offering in our space.

Give an overview of how private events work – how and when can they happen, capacity, what do people usually do? Most popular types?

Our drop-in Craft Bar is currently open 6 days/week, so many smaller groups (~10 or fewer people) take advantage of that and just make a reservation to come in for a #drinkandDIY.

Larger groups can choose to do projects off our Craft Bar menu too, though they can also book a private instructor-led workshop or just use our space to enjoy food/drink and their guests’ company.

We offer both fully private and semi-private bookings and can make an event special and affordable regardless of the size of the group (though our max capacity is around 50 guests).

Some events that we’ve had booked here in our first six months include:

Birthday celebrations
Corporate team building/retreats
Bachelorette parties/bridal showers
Baby showers
Networking group happy hours/socials
Holiday parties

If anyone has questions about private events or is interested in discussing cost/availability, they can email me at hello@revelmadison.com!

Revel is located at 107 N. Hamilton Street, just off the capitol square, and open six days a week (mostly evenings and weekends). In addition to the DIY craft bar, they have an actual bar in the space as well to enjoy cocktails and snacks while crafting! Check out their schedule here to see the many different events going on and learn more about this great spot!