36: Navigating the Question of "Can I Pick Your Brain"

I said yes to everything that came my way, every opportunity and every Can I pick your brain as well? Because likely I wanted to pick the other person's brain too.

I'm Bonnie Christine and this is where all things creativity, design, business and mind marketing unite. I'm a mama living in a tiny town tucked right inside the Smoky Mountains, running a multi seven figure business, doing

the most creative and impactful work of my life.

But when I first set out to become an entrepreneur, I was struggling to make ends meet and wrestling with how to accomplish my biggest dream of becoming a fabric designer. Fast forward to today. I I'm not only licensing my artwork all over the world, but also teaching others how to design their creative life

and experience the same success.

I'm here to help you spend your life doing something that lights you up. I'll help you build a creative business that also creates an impact, changes people's lives, gives you all of the freedom you want, and is wildly profitable welcome to the Professional Creative Podcast.

The question we've likely all gotten Can I pick your brain? We've likely all gotten it, and we've likely all asked it as well. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But this podcast is actually inspired by a conversation that came up in my mastermind. We're called the Mark Makers a few weeks ago because I think that it's something that we all have to navigate and our answer will likely change as we grow and develop in our own business. And so I'm going to talk you through three different scenarios for how to reply to this question. Can I pick your brain when you get it the very next time we're talking about this? Because boundaries are so important. And so if you missed episode number 35, go back and listen to the three different types of boundaries that I think are really important to establish in our business. And one of them is around saying no, or at least just being really mindful of how we're spending our time so that we make sure we're spending it on the things that matter most. But like I said, every creative has varying needs at different stages in their careers. And so we're going to talk about this from a beginner standpoint as well as a successful creative professional standpoint as well. So let's first start with the beginner at the beginning. It's likely that you're saying yes to everything that comes your way. And this is partly what gets you going. It's partly what gets you a little wind under your wings. We're typically all yes girls at the beginning. And I was as well. I said yes to everything that came my way, every opportunity and every Can I pick your brain as well? Because likely I wanted to pick the other person's brain too. When you are beginning in your creative entrepreneurship journey, embracing opportunities and learning from these experiences really crucial for both your personal and your professional growth. If you can maintain an open mind and a willingness to learn, you can really gain a ton of valuable insights and develop new skills and expand your networks. Meeting new people is an incredible way to find collaborations and just get to know each other better. Saying yes to this can I pick your brain Request could potentially lead to unexpected connections, collaborations, or even mentorship opportunities. These interactions will allow you to practice your communication skill and your problem solving skill, and these are all invaluable assets to your growing business. So here is an example of how you might respond to this question. Hey, absolutely. I would love to sit down and chat. Can you send me over a list of topics or questions that you have so that I can make sure to be prepared? I can meet this day at this time or this day at this time. What works best for you? So let me break down this response. First of all, it's a yes. Second of all, it asks for a little bit of context so that they can send over some topics that they're interested in. Not only is this going to help you feel less nervous because you'll make sure to be prepared before you go, but it also ensures that you're the right person. Say maybe they think you do something in your business that you don't actually do, and then you'll get together and it might just be a waste of time for both of you, right? So have some context around the topic that they want to talk about. This will give you some time also to maybe pull some pull together some resources that you want to send them. And then I really like the proactive way of saying I could meet this day at this time or this day at this time. What works best for you? That means that you are really taking control of your schedule and you've already identified times in your schedule that this would work. And so that proactive approach is much better than the reactive approach. Meaning yeah, let me know what times work best for you.

Right?

This episode is sponsored by my very own guide called Start simple in Surface Pattern Design. Have you ever wanted to see your artwork on products or work for yourself and use your creativity to build a career that you love? If so, I made this guide just for you. I created it as a way to Help creatives take the overwhelm out of getting started in Surface pattern design and begin learning how to design their own fabric. Fabric and wallpaper, gift wrap and stationery. Inside this 44 page guide, you'll learn how to gather inspiration and create collections. How to promote your work and pitch like a pro. How to create income from your artwork and get a behind the scenes look at what it takes to design a fabric collection. Whether you want to add an extra income stream from licensing or craft an entire breathtaking career, the Start simple and Surface Pattern Design Guide has you covered and it's entirely free. So hop over to bonniecristine.comguide to download your copy today. Again, that's bonniechristine.comguide. i'll meet you there. Okay, so now let's go on to the second type of person. This we'll call the busy creative. And this is all around the art of saying no. So this is after you've found some success, but you' still a one person show, meaning you don't have any help. So there's this transition of getting started and then eventually finding some success and then really getting spread quite thin. Now my goal is to help you hire before you get to that point. But almost every single one of us has been there. We're doing everything in the business. We're wearing all of the hats and doing absolutely all of it. And so at this point you've got to transition from saying yes to everything to only saying yes to the very best things that actually serve you and help you move your business forward. You will become busier and busier as your business grows and managing time and your priorities is going to be essential. You have to figure out how to balance your work and your personal life and also your self care. Especially when you're faced with an influx of requests for advice or mentorship. And this is tricky because when you're at this stage is likely when you're getting the most requests for Can I pick your brain? So learning to say no or redirect requests becomes really essential in order to maintain focus on your own goals and quite frankly, your well being. Busy creatives need to carefully consider which opportunities not only align with your values and objections, but also your time, but prioritize those that provide the most significant benefit while minimizing your risk of burnout. So here's an example response for you to give someone the next time you get asked, can I pick your brain? So here it is. Hey, I don't do one on ones, but if you'd like to tell me about the topic that you're interested in, I can potentially point you to some good resources. So if you listen to episode number 35, I taught you how to say no, but how to say no with a yes. So this is an example of that. You are saying no very clearly. I don't do one on ones, but you're saying it with a yes, but tell me more about what you're interested in and I can send over some resources. So this is a really lovely way to still help someone out because likely by this point in your business, you've got a ton of books and classes and resources, or maybe even other people who do offer one on ones in your back pocket. And so say no, but say it with a yes, but do say no, meaning be careful to be clear. Notice that I didn't say, oh, I'm really swamped this month. Can you check back with me next month? And notice that I didn't just not respond at all right. I responded quickly and clearly, but kindly. So that's really important for people to be able to respect where you're at in your business. Now let's move on to type number three. We'll call this one the Successful Professional Creative. And this is all about charging what you're worth, because at this point in your business you might actually have enough time on your hands because likely you have some help now. So you're not doing everything all the time. But just because you have time doesn't mean that you need to exchange it for free. And so at this point you need to start charging for your advice because it's worth something. At this point you have built up a wealth of expertise and your time and knowledge are so valuable, it's essential to charge appropriately for these one on one consultations and it's easier to go ahead and have this all set up in advance. Charging for these types of sessions ensures that your time is well compensated and that you can continue to focus on the core business activities that you find most important. And honestly, offering paid consultations also helps manage the demand, because now you'll only be attracting those who are genuinely interested and willing to invest in your knowledge. So it's really a lovely way to connect with people who are really serious and I find that it makes these sessions way more productive and applicable for them as well. So charging for consultations will reinforce the idea that you are a professional and your advice has value and ultimately contributing to the overall perception of this creative entrepreneur's worth in the market. So here's an example of what you might say I'd love to. I get this question a lot so I offer paid one on ones. They include a pre survey and a follow up with a summary of my advice and recommended resources. They are however much an hour and you can book one with my calendly link below. So let's break this down and I'm so excited to offer a freebie around this one as well. If you're at this place in your business, absolutely offer paid one on ones if you want, but make sure that you're charging enough per hour that you're kind of excited about it. So Maybe you charge $300 an hour or $150 per consultation, or maybe you're charging 5 or 6 or $1,200 for an hour. Whatever it is based on your expertise in the industry, make sure that you are valuing it for what it is. So anytime that I do paid one on ones I always include a pre survey so that I know where we're going, what they're interested in, and I can better really hit the ground running with my suggestions for them. And so the download for this episode is my pre survey. So the questions that I ask anyone who books a paid one on one with me now, I actually don't really offer paid one on ones anymore, but there was a time in my business that I did offer them pretty frequently and I would always have them do this pre survey. It is invaluable information, but what it also does is really help the person who's booked it with you sit down and get clear on what they want to gain most out of your session together as well. So it's just a really nice way to make sure you stay on point and focused and everyone has gotten their thoughts straight before you get into it. So you can head on over to the show Notes for this episode. To get that download. Visit professionalcreative.com blog36 to get your hands on it. And I hope that this has helped you just put some thought into how you are going to respond the next time you get asked this question. And you know, I want to admit that this is tricky because you'll be getting asked this question from peers from people that you don't know, but also from people who you do know and maybe love and their friends. Right? And so really having a game planned and it's honestly something that I still struggle with, but it has helped in order to put this in into frame beforehand so that I can be ready for the right response for the right moment. As a reminder, go get the download the pre survey that I ask over on the show notes for today's episode. You can find show notes for all other episodes as well over@profropriationalcreative.com friends always work to make the beauty that you want to see come alive in the world. And remember, there's room for you. I'll see you next time.