In this innovative episode, Christine Michaelis, CEO and Founder of Creative Startup Academy, shares how she has helped with her hands-on approach hundreds of individuals validate their business idea and create a successful start-up.
You will discover:
– How to ensure success of your startup BEFORE YOUR START
– The myth about commitment for entrepreneurs
– The unfair marketing advantage every small business has available to them
Episode Transcript
Scott Ritzheimer
Hello, hello, and welcome. Welcome once again to the secrets of the high demand coach podcast. And I am here with Christine. I’ve tried her name a few times, but absolutely butchered it. So just know that Christine is awesome. I’ve already had such a great time with her in just a few minutes, we’ve been opening up and you are in for an absolute treat. Who is Christine? Well, Christine is a brilliant marketing and creative startup coach, she founded the creative startup Academy and is the author of multiple books. She’s a public speaker, a podcaster, and a workshop facilitator. She has more than two decades of experience in the communication industry. And she worked in marketing and advertising for more than 12 years before she decided to start her own business supporting startups. She works today with small businesses and helps them to clarify how to market their business. And she sees entrepreneurship as a way of life and loves the passion that comes from working in this industry. Well, Christine, I’m so excited to have you here. And I’d love to in just a minute. I’ve got so many questions for you about this marketing and startup because it’s a really, really critical piece of the puzzle here for folks that are just starting and getting out of the gate. But before we get there, I’d love to hear a little bit more the story. Tell us a little bit about what that work looked like in communication before making the leap? And why did it ultimately drive you to make the leap and start your own business?
Christine Michaelis
Yes, hello, thank you so much for having me. Um, well. So first of all, I call myself always the accidental entrepreneur, because I never ever wanted to have my own business. Actually, I never wanted to have that. The struggles that come with that and everything. And I thought I was too exhausting. You always have to worry about the future or something like that. But if we dialed back a bit, I worked like you mentioned at the intro more than a decade in the communication industry. So in marketing, advertising and design agencies, mainly in Germany, and then also in the UK, which was exciting and necessary for everything that I know now. And I still love the marketing world, the psychology that’s behind that figuring out do trends and things like that. However, it was very exhausting, demanding, as in 16 hour days, at least, and not fulfilling enough, I felt something was missing. It wasn’t you, you jumped from one brochure to an app to a website to whatever it was for blue chip clients, let’s say big, big names there and all lovely and I absolutely love the clients. And I absolutely love my colleagues. It’s nothing to do with that. But I just felt I’m exhausted. I can’t do this anymore. What do I do now. So I did actually an NLP practitioner certification, which is neuro linguistic programming, where it’s also a lot about communication and how you improve your communication, how to understand other people better, and to become also better presenter slash speaker in that case as well. And still didn’t know what I wanted to do. So that was whilst I was still working full time. Then the same company was offering the coaching, training and it was like, huh, it’s interesting what exactly he said, because he’s coaching, consulting, all these terminologies flying around. And I was like, Oh, that’s interesting. So I did that as well became a coach, and then again, didn’t know what I want to do. So and I think I’m, I’m stressing that because I think it’s important to understand, you don’t have to figure it all out. You just need to maybe know what you don’t want. And then we can work your way towards the things that you want in life and from life as well. And so I called myself life coach that didn’t last long. That was about two or three weeks that I caught myself that because I started going through networking events, meeting other entrepreneurs and startups. And these are cool people. I like them. They are full of passion, they want to have some impact. They want to change something and they want to turn their passion into a business. And more and more asked me for my advice. And so I started doing that. And I was like, Okay, let’s find a title for myself, call myself marketing and creative startup coach, supporting since then, now almost 13 years ago actually working with entrepreneurs and startups, and that’s how it actually happened. So I didn’t really plan it, but I knew I had to move away from something. And then it just happened to me. And it took me actually very often about this about one and a half years to transition from a full time job still working in the agency. It’s 16 hours a day to a part time job to then do this full time. So it took a while obviously to build up that base.
Scott Ritzheimer
There’s, there’s so much about that. I love one of the things that I want to unpack and kind of the genius behind what you did is I found a lot of folks get to that point of I know I don’t want to do this anymore, right? They get to that don’t want to. And it’s a necessary part of the entrepreneurial journey. But that’s not necessarily the signal that it’s time to make the leap. Right? And so much of why so many startup entrepreneurs struggle is because they start too soon. They don’t take the time before they leave to figure out what am I actually going to do? How am I figured all these things I don’t want to do or how not to do things, but how am I going to do them? What am I going to do? So I love that you do that? I love that you shared that because there’s some folks listening, especially kind of early in the year and they’re thinking, can I really do another year, the corporate life and what I would encourage you to do, and I think your story speaks to this is go start doing some training, go start learning, exploring, you don’t have to quit your day job to become an entrepreneur.
Christine Michaelis
Exactly. And I think that’s also a bit of a misconception conception. And I want to throw something else in there as well. Because what do you see in Dragon’s Den sharks 10, wherever you are in the world, these were the millionaires of billionaires in that case, as well listen to startup ideas, and then fund them. And they always say, all but you’re not committed because you, you you’re not, you don’t have $500,000 of deaths, and worked in your marriage and was stabbed, almost starving, so you don’t show commitment. I really don’t believe in that. That’s a myth. And I don’t think anyone should go through that I’m taking the leap can be first a side hustle, as they say, unfortunately, will be a hassle. Because you have to juggle two plates at the same time. On the other hand, I would like to also stress and I went through that, and every single person I know that starting out, is going through that. They don’t take care of themselves, they put everything into their business, which is great, and which you have to and necessary. And I think it will never be that no one is doing that at the beginning. But I would really urge people to, okay, make sure you have like regular working hours, make sure you take time for yourself, make sure you make time for others as well. Because usually you love so much what you do, and I still love it after so, so many years. And I do it for as long as I love it. And if I don’t, then I just don’t do it anymore. But you burn out slowly, without realizing because you love what you do. You never switch off even if you go on vacation, it’s notification because you still check your email to answer and so on and so on. And I think that is very dangerous. And I went through almost going through burnout and misdiagnosed with a brain tumor. And all of that came together and all of that, which made me reprioritize things and life and understand, even though I love my business, and it’s my baby in air quotes, I should have a life outside of that I should have other interests, I should meet other people. And I should have I’m off and switch off as well.
Scott Ritzheimer
I think that’s so true. And at the risk of maybe adding some complexity to this. One of the things that is a really big deal inside of a startup is distractions, right? It feels like we’re getting pulled in 1000 different directions. And and I would say for the person who’s taking your advice, you’re saying yes, and there’s things outside of work, this is even more important. So within the context of our startup, what are some of the distractions that you find tripping up startup entrepreneurs?
Christine Michaelis
Well, one thing is that just producing, producing, producing, and trying everything at once as well. So someone is thinking, Okay, I need to have something finished and ready and polished before I can go out rather than what they call minimum viable product, let’s say, or testing some things, feedback. And then just creating everything without even knowing if that’s what they want. And without being then able to change, because probably you’re so in love with your idea of what to do. And that’s another thing. So I had two other businesses that I gave up on. And I have had another business idea that I didn’t even start that I gave up on because market research showed me it will not work. But I understand that you can think as an entrepreneur, this is the best idea ever. It has to do this, the world needs this. I need this, so that you continue doing things even though everything shows you you either just have to change it or give it up completely and it won’t work. So that’s one thing. The other thing, like I mentioned is, of course, working too much and then burning out and then that’s really difficult to bounce back. From what else do we have? We have also people trying to do everything at once. So like you said, we get pulled in so many directions and there’s things that we have to do we have to think about accounting. We have to think about certain things we have to tell people that we exist, and marketing. However, you don’t have to be everywhere at the same time, and you just do all the multitasking, and you don’t focus properly, so it’s not done well enough as well. So being everywhere at the same time is not gonna work, just do one thing, well get used to it, make it a habit and make it so that it becomes easy for you before we actually move on to the next thing. And then maybe the last thing is that not creating a supportive network around you before you even start, or when you start the latest. Because the network is still the, the thing that you have to have the network is your net worth, like they say. And that’s really true for all kinds of reasons for referrals for the shoulder to cry on. Because let me tell you something, if you are an entrepreneur in your family, and the rest is not, no one will ever understand the struggles that you’re going through, they will try and they will be there for you. But they will not understand and maybe sometimes they Oh, you should do this, or you should switch off that which you will not be able to do. Other entrepreneurs will. So that’s why an entrepreneurial network, let’s say it comes in as well.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, that’s so good. There’s so much in there, I want to unpack a couple of these ideas. So one of the things you’re touching on is this tension that entrepreneurs feel because there’s just ambiguity, we don’t know what’s going to work yet. And so we have the tendency to either hang on to it too long to try and perfect it before it goes out there, or to not hang on long enough and try to do everything all at once. So how do you walk people through that fine line of what are the appropriate things to be trying? And how long do you work on them before you know it’s time to pivot?
Christine Michaelis
Yes. So that is probably the what to work on. And for how long there is from idea to idea, of course. Because if you’re talking about the software that bit different than if you’re talking about consulting, or coaching business or something like that, I think you should always think about your basis. Okay, what are your outgoings to live as well, because you need to eat, maybe you need to have a family to look after. And you also need to think about the impact of you working in a different way different hours, maybe to your family, friends around you, your social life will suffer for sure at the beginning at least. But think about money wise, what do you actually need? And how long can you survive without any other income? Then that idea? So you can work out? Okay, no, I might have to do something else or my like I did go to a part time job. So I worked in three days a week instead of five and then had some more time that I took for for my business. And then when to give up on an idea is, first of all, really be open minded and flexible. When you do your research, and you have to do research, there is no way around it. You don’t have to have necessarily 150 page business plan or anything like that depends on if you want investment or not. But if if not, then you should do some research on what’s happening in the market, what trends are out there? What, what to competitors, to what to peep, what’s the alternative solution to what you already offer? Because So too many times I hear, I don’t have any competitors. We don’t something like that doesn’t exist. It does because you’re solving hopefully a problem that other people solve as well, but in a different way or with a different product. And you have to think about that, because he has habits of people as well how they do things. And they it’s really difficult to change habits of people. So it’s really working through step by step with a rational mind. Taking away that passion for a moment, and really checking the facts and figures, is that gonna work? Then try it out for a bit. Listen to the feedback, ask for feedback. It’s another mistake that people make. They don’t ask because they say I’d rather don’t ask maybe they say something that I don’t like in the world. And that’s okay, you can evaluate if that has that is valid or not. And then you need to adjust and change around what what’s happening. And then that’s okay, you flexible as well in the services that you offer in the products that you offer in the pricing maybe. And then if you start running out of money, that’s when you have to stop the latest. I stopped, for example, a business idea because already the market research showed me that it didn’t work. I was going to do it with a friend. We did really extensive market research because we needed investment for that idea. And we worked on that for about six weeks. And then we were like, it’s not gonna it’s not gonna work. And we’re like, no, it needs to work. But then we said okay, let’s leave it alone. So, stepping back and taking out this emotion if it’s very difficult, but you have to do that to be then looking at that idea or at your business in a non emotional way and pivot or change completely.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, so good. So I know one of the things you spend a lot of time on, especially as we’re kind of trying to find what the market is for our service is marketing. Right? It’s, it’s an essential part of the startup process. So the question that I have for you is that many startups will have a tendency to feel disadvantaged, right? I don’t have the budget that they don’t know, the people that they do. I don’t have the opinion that they do. But what would you say are the advantages that startups have when it comes to marketing their their business?
Christine Michaelis
I think it’s, it’s a word that people are afraid of. I think it’s about reframing it, to think about it as I just have to tell people what I do, and why I do things to show my passion. So that way, it will be reframed and reblog. Less Whoo, okay, I need to do this. There. Sorry, what was the question?
Scott Ritzheimer
What are the advantages that this small startups have over some of the bigger organization?
Christine Michaelis
Yes. So, disadvantages might, some people might know is think is that they don’t have a lot of budget. That can be turned into an advantage, though, because you can be more creative, you can figure out some new ways to be seen, by investing your time, so nothing is for free, because for me, time is also money. However, investing time, that’s what pretty much everyone can do. investing money, probably not. And that gives you a lot of opportunities. Another thing is maybe not to be stuck too much in if you don’t really have the background of marketing, that can be an advantage as well, because you’re open to other ideas. And if you think about it, okay, how can I tell people about what, what I’m doing? Where do I find these people? And how can I find through my passion for that, then that makes it much easier, bigger companies with big budgets, usually, they they then outsource things as well. And then they follow only a specific strategy, that probably is just done in a conservative way. And these days, you have so much more so many more possibilities to get seen, but also, obviously to disappear, because there’s so many things that are also free outside that you can do, right?
Scott Ritzheimer
So I want to kind of turn it a little bit because something you mentioned several times earlier in the conversation is this idea of community and support. And you being in that startup entrepreneur mode, it’s just really hard some days, you know, there’s days you wake up, I don’t know that I can do this all over again. So you’ve seen this a lot. You’ve been doing it for a long time, what would you say to someone who’s feeling that way today, they just don’t know if they can take another day at this.
Christine Michaelis
Yeah, first thing that’s normal, everyone goes through that. That already helps, believe it or not. And I went through that. And I still go through that sometimes. Because sometimes it’s just so much to do that. I think I can’t do this. And I’m outsourcing a lot of di to Bas and I have other things, other people that support me and an agency and everything however, it will be like that, and we will never stop. So just noticing that and be up for that. However, then talk to someone about it. Be honest about it is a lot of luckily going in that direction of authenticity, where people share also when it’s hard, because sometimes it’s that shiny world. And also it’s that, oh, it’s cool, that you work a lot. And it’s a hassle. And that’s cool. And you should do that. And no, first of all, it’s your thing. It’s your business. You do what you want in the time that you can and want to do. And if you really feel it’s getting too much. Take a day off. Breeze, clear your mind. And you will come up with new ideas. And you will feel less stressed the next day, believe me and cleaning, cleaning your desk and clean up the mess around you will clean up your head that works really well change your work environment, go round, go outside, if you can, and just step away from your business to then come back with a new energy that really, really can help and talk to people about it. Perhaps their network and say, Christine, can I talk to former woman, fry, shout whatever you need to do, and talk to that person and I promise you that person will say, You know what? I had that last week, it will go go away. And here’s a few things that you can do. And maybe How Can I Help You I had so many people I recently unfortunately my dad passing away and I had to cancel everything. And every single person in my network from a professional point of view not been talking about friends was saying if you need anything in Bay business that needs to be done. Tell me and I’ll do it. This is what you need. This is what you need to start building right from the beginning.
Scott Ritzheimer
Wow. Wow. Yeah, there’s so much power in that. So another question for you here, what would you say is the biggest secret you wish wasn’t a secret at all? What’s the one thing that you wish everyone, particularly those startup entrepreneurs out there? What do you wish that they knew?
Christine Michaelis
That you can achieve a lot with no money. They’d say, you can achieve a lot with no money, but with time, and I don’t mean not having an income, I mean, expenses, you can achieve a lot, if you start building that network, because a lot will come through that. And I think it’s and the other thing I’m going to make the two things is that you don’t have to do it all at the beginning. Because we’re all like sponges at the beginning, every single person I talked to, and meet our same, we go to every free webinar that’s out there, and we download every freebie that we can find that will help us with our entrepreneurial journey until we feel I’m filled up, I can’t take it anymore, and 90% of the stuff you don’t need. And at that time, and 80% of that you will never need because probably with the world and technology has changed so much that he it’s not relevant anymore, what you’ve learned. So really step back, think about what’s the next thing I need to know. And just focus on that. And don’t do all at once and don’t attend any webinar and epic things. You can get hold of.
Scott Ritzheimer
I love that. And so you’ve been open about, you know, the different stages of your journey now. So I’m wondering if we could fast forward today and kind of take the coach hat off for a moment CEO hat on taxes? What’s the next stage of growth look like for you as an entrepreneur? And what challenge will you have to overcome to get there?
Christine Michaelis
Well, there’s lots of projects I’m doing within the creative startup Academy, I just launched a magazine, for example, as well, which is, which is gonna be a new marketing tool, let’s say to get people into the academy, which will be a new interesting journey, because I haven’t done that before. But I’m actually working on a second brand as well, that has also to do with communication. And will be aimed at enterprises, and communication training for for leader ship roles in those enterprises, which is a new exciting thing that say for me. And I just launched that brand, literally three weeks ago. So now I’m starting to build my network for that around but also capping of course, in my existing network, and that will be completely different direction and say, because it’s also different processes. Now I’m working with entrepreneurs and so on. And they are I need I’m working with enterprises where it takes over a year to get in. So I need to be much more patient and have very different strategies in communicating as well. So that will be interesting as well, where I can then hopefully share some insights as well as the the journey in a few years time.
Scott Ritzheimer
That’s awesome. New, a new challenge a new market, but an exciting time. So very excited for you, Christine, how can folks find more out about you the startup, The Creative Startup Academy and the work that you do?
Christine Michaelis
Well, bestest of go to creativestartupacademy.com There you find everything, the books, the academy, and also my LinkedIn. So I’m most active on LinkedIn, and I’m more than happy to connect to new people and folks, so feel free to connect with me there.
Scott Ritzheimer
That’s fantastic. Well, Christine, thank you so much for being here. It’s just a privilege having you on the show. And for those of you watching and listening you know that your time and attention means the world to us. I hope you got as much out of this conversation as I know I did, and I cannot wait to see you next time. Take care.
Contact Christine Michaelis
Christine is a Marketing and Creative Start-Up Coach. She founded the Creative Start-Up Academy, is the author of multiple books, and is a public speaker, podcaster, and workshop facilitator. She has more than two decades of experience in the communication industry. She worked in marketing and advertising for more than 12 years before she decided to start her own business supporting start-ups. She works with small businesses and helps them clarify how to market their business. She sees entrepreneurship as a way of life and loves the passion that comes from working in that industry.
Want to learn more about Christine Michaelis’ work at Creative Startup Academy? Check out her website at https://www.creativestartupacademy.com/ and connect with her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinethecoach/
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