My Business Playbook

Want to scale your creative business? Watch my free 20-minute scaling roadmap here: ⁠https://tools.laurahiggins.com/the-system.

⁠For years I treated my energy like it was unlimited. Then I hit burnout, asked my doctor for a miracle fix, and got told it was "lifestyle stuff" (super annoying). So I changed six things. Some are small, some are big, and a couple are a little bit weird, but together they gave me my energy back.
 
The change I made the same day my doctor said "burnout" (and why I didn't go cold turkey)
The ring that tells me to chill out before I even realise I'm getting sick
Why the first thing you look at every morning is quietly running your whole day
The app that locks me out of Instagram, Slack and ClickUp until 10am
How long recovery really took me, and why I'm being upfront about it
The slightly embarrassing, very basic fix that took one daily decision off my plate
 
Mentioned in this episode: 
Sunrise alarm clock: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0F8NV2KMX
Oura Ring 5: https://ouraring.com/store/rings/oura-ring-5
Freedom app: https://freedom.to/
My Fitness Kitchen: https://myfitnesskitchn.com.au/
Beja Health Collective (IV drips): https://www.bejahealthcollective.com.au/
Mecca Coffee decaf: https://www.mecca.coffee/collections/decaf
Primary Coffee decaf: https://www.primarycoffee.com.au/coffee/colombia-la-serrania-decaf
Glee Coffee decaf: https://gleecoffee.com.au/products/decaffeinated-coffee-afterhours

Want to scale your creative business? Watch my free 20-minute scaling roadmap here: https://tools.laurahiggins.com/the-system
 
Nick designs luxury residential gardens, and when he joined the Next Level Club he was doing around $8K months on word of mouth alone. Worse, his best work takes three years to grow in, so he never had a portfolio he was proud of. Six months later he's doing $25K+ months, has gone from 1,800 to 63,000 followers, and hasn't spent a cent on ads. We unpack exactly what changed, then I coach him live on his next big move.

The five-times-the-price gym around the corner that made Nick rethink what cheap pricing was saying about him
The one question that killed his "pretty finished garden" posts for good
The design tip he almost didn't post because it felt too basic, and the hook that took it past a million views
Why he starts his reels in the middle, and what it did to his skip rate
The old lady and the split shopping bag - the sales mindset that ended his desperate follow-up emails
What's next: a one-to-many offer that won't cannibalise his studio, coached live on the mic

Follow Nick Pembroke on Instagram: @nicholaspembrokdesign
https://www.instagram.com/nicholaspembrokedesign/

Want to get coached by Laura? Book a Scale Session here: https://tools.laurahiggins.com/scale
 
Every creative hits a ceiling. More clients you could take on, more money you could make, and zero capacity to do any of it. I've made all three of these hiring mistakes, from my bedroom agency in Newcastle to now, so you can skip them and make your next hire take work off your plate instead of adding to it.
 
The 70% rule for knowing exactly when to start hiring, way before you're drowning
The one role I tell 90% of creatives to hand over first
Why your first hire is probably smaller and cheaper than you think
The quote that explains why you keep micromanaging, and how to fix it in your onboarding
The two-part vibe check every close hire goes through with me, including a date
Why a paid test project tells you more than any portfolio ever will

Want to scale your creative business? Watch my free 20-minute scaling roadmap here: https://tools.laurahiggins.com/the-system
 
Ever written a caption, stared at it for 20 minutes, then deleted the whole thing? I once cleaned out a junk drawer that did not need cleaning just to avoid filming a 20-second video of my own face. You already know the strategy. This episode is about the thing sitting underneath it that stops you hitting post, and why more strategy won't fix it.

What one of my members said posting content feels like in her body (the whole Zoom lost it)
The magnet rule, and why trying to be liked by everyone turns your content into vanilla mush
Why I gave my ideal client a name, and the one question I ask her every time I sit down to create
The two-word swap that stops your teaching content sounding preachy
A Cornell study, an embarrassing T-shirt, and why it should make you a lot braver about posting
The only metric I want you grading your content on right now

Want to get coached by Laura? Book a Scale Session here: https://tools.laurahiggins.com/scale
 
Most scaling stories online skip straight to the champagne and the Stripe screenshot. This is the real behind the scenes of building an eight-figure business right now - what's working, what we've changed, and the ugly $12K a month we found leaking out of just one department. Plus the move that sounds ridiculous but made a huge difference to how I show up every week: sorting out my lunch.

Why Nath became CEO, and the identity wobble I had to get through before I could hand it over
Entrepreneurs vs intrapreneurs, and how to build a vision big enough that A players choose you over going solo
How skipping lunch turned out to be a real constraint in the business (and the simple fix)
The admin audit that uncovered $12,000 a month, and the Fathom + Claude setup that plugged it
The weekly leadership meeting and scorecard that stop your departments working in silos
The one question to ask about your worst days that shows you exactly what to fix first