Have you ever wondered what success even means or if you’re making your way through it? Sometimes it’s all about the small victories that make us grow and celebrate ourselves, and sometimes it’s the huge and super hyped emotional successful stories that will lead us to a championship winner feeling.
That being said, we asked veteran members of the G&B Family about how they organize their days to lead to small victories that consistently push their businesses forward. Keeping track of your daily wins is a great way to figure out where you’re heading, and how to continually improve your business. We know these tips from the top will help!
THE MOST IMPORTANT DAILY TASK
The most important task to do daily to make sure your business is where you want it to be
Steffy Degreff (@steffy):
Steffy feels that checking and managing her editorial calendar correctly is crucial for her business. She adds “every day I check my editorial calendar and make sure every signed contract has been added, which shoots have to happen ASAP, which posts are going live, and which brands I’ve heard from but need to follow up with. I go about it somewhat systematically – First when I hear from a brand, I add it to my “reached out to me” list, and then when we book a job I always calendar the shoot date and the live date. The last step is to check in on which posts have to go live for the week, and making sure we have the approvals we need. If I fall behind on checking my editorial calendar, there’s times where I may miss shooting a certain campaign, or I won’t have approval to go live on the specific date the post has to go up, so I make sure to be very on top of it!”
Courtney Halverson (@prettylittlefawn):
Courtney says, “I create a series of lists, both in my calendar and on note pads to organize for the day, as well as the coming week. I need to see things written out physically, so I will go through emails and add in due dates for each project into my planner. I will create a list of what needs to get done for that day, as well as for a few days in advance. Basically just creating a visual map of everything that needs to happen, with a way to physically check-off each project. That’s what helps keep me on top of due dates / planning how to shoot.”
Tommy Lei (@mybelonging):
Making sure you meet deadlines and don’t miss meetings seems like the secret to success for everyone! Remember that success starts with little things such as organization. Tommy spills the tea by adding, “I think having a constantly updated calendar is key to remind yourself of upcoming deadlines and scheduled meetings. Super thankful that my GNB management team helps with this. Before this, I would often double book or overbook! I also like to stagger meetings, especially if they are in one particular part of town, to better maintain my sanity, as I have usually have an extensive content production schedule that coincides with everything.”
“Every day I check my editorial calendar and make sure every signed contract has been added, which shoots have to happen ASAP, which posts are going live, and which brands I’ve heard from but need to follow up with.”
– Steffy Degreff (@steffy)
ONE ORGANIZATION TIP
One tip to help organize your projects to make sure they’re a success
Steffy Degreff (@steffy):
Knowing your limits and not overdoing it with your schedule is always a good idea to set yourself up for success. Steffy tells us “I always try to shoot jobs sooner rather than later, and I try not to schedule too many shoots in one day. If a job is due three weeks out, and the product arrives, I’ll try to shoot it two weeks early. I also never schedule more than 2-3 shoots in a day or I feel burnt out and I think it shows in the images.”
Courtney Halverson (@prettylittlefawn):
Categorizing and prioritizing is also a great way to start a project with a bang. Courtney says “When I receive packages of product, I immediately pull everything out, and start separating out the products. If it’s gifted, it’s not a focus, but for the shooting projects, I create the outfits that need to be shot, and then hang said outfits up, in order, on the rack in my office. This is where another list comes into play, because I always have a list of outfits that need to be shot, and for who. I sometimes combine things so that I can get two projects done with one look, so that I’m not having to shoot a new outfit every single day.” Ha! Multitasking at its best. Great stuff, Courtney!
Tommy Lei (@mybelonging):
Having a BIG project can be overwhelming, but breaking it down into smaller goals will get you from A to B, moving one step at a time. This let you keep your sanity lol. Tommy says “Some projects require more project management and scheduling than others. For projects that are bigger and have lots of moving parts, so to speak, I try to break them down into reasonable chunks so it seems less overwhelming. It’s also important to realize that you may need additional assistance, whether it is photography or video editing, so you can better focus on the large project at hand.”
“I sometimes combine things so that I can get two projects done with one look, so that I’m not having to shoot a new outfit every single day.”
-Courtney Halverson (@prettylittlefawn)
ONE THING I WANT TO CHANGE:
One thing you personally want to get better at for your business, and your idea on how you plan to do so
Steffy Degreff (@steffy):
Analytics are a super important part of the job. They allow you to back up what you do with hard numbers. Steffy wants to get better at checking analytics and numbers. She adds “I would love to get better on the reporting piece – I feel I always have so much going on with jobs before the post goes live, that I forget to record analytics. I am going to begin to calendar sending over instagram story views so I stop forgetting!”
Courtney Halverson (@prettylittlefawn):
When you have lots to do in your day-to-day, it’s easy to get caught up by just checking off stuff in your list. It’s crucial to make some room in your schedule to think of what you want to achieve in the long term and other plans you have for the future. For Courtney this is a special one, she tells us “I want to start thinking about my brand in the long term. I would LOVE to be able to continue to shoot campaigns for the rest of my life, but I don’t think the industry will always be this way, and I don’t know that there will always be a space for me as a blogger, when there are plenty of young talented girls signing up daily to do what I do. I tend to only think about things a few months in advance, and tend to be a little too in the moment with projects, rather than looking at the long term. It’s scary to think about the future, so I often avoid it. I’d like to get better at that, and also, super not fun, but I would like to be more organized with finances. I suck at anything to do with money, so I need a better system when it comes to things like receipts and write-offs. In an ideal world, I want an accountant, but I think I just need to be able to do it for myself.”
Tommy Lei (@mybelonging):
Being a perfectionist is a great trait to have, it will always make you deliver quality results. But sometimes you get caught up in doing things so perfectly, that you drown yourself in tasks. As important as it is to get yourself organized, it’s also SO important to know when to ask for help. Delegate, honey! Tommy says “The one thing I often struggle with is trusting and handing the work over to others. It’s tough because the work we do is so specific, so personal and particular to our identities. I often only work with people I already have an established and creative relationship with. It takes the guess work and uncertainty out of a lot of projects. But I have to remind myself that sometimes I have to just let it go and not be so anxious with everything!”
“The one thing I often struggle with is trusting and handing the work over to others. It’s tough because the work we do is so specific, so personal and particular to our identities. I often only work with people I already have an established and creative relationship with. It takes the guess work and uncertainty out of a lot of projects. But I have to remind myself that sometimes I have to just let it go and not be so anxious with everything!”
-Tommy Lei (@mybelonging)
Our G&B Family is top notch and always keeps things 100%, but we wanted to give you a little insight and give them a touch of human color so you can rest assured that we all have flaws but we certainly work by constantly evaluating ourselves and being honest so we can recognize that we got some things to work on. Success is such a strong word and you don’t need to elevate it to an unreal dimension. Count your blessings and be grateful for all the things you accomplished during this day.
Getting on a personal level is how our G&B Family is able to create a community and go beyond speaking to them. Being an influencer or creating influential strategies, for us at GNB, is more than showcasing products to followers. We’re into creating conversations, speaking directly to our people and following up on conversations.
We want to see our G&B Family thriving and elevating themselves to a superstar high level, because we put our heart in them and they to their communities. So next time you think you haven’t succeeded on anything, think about all the paths that you’ve already taken to get there.
You are here! Keep moving forward.