This week, we’re thrilled to welcome Aiden Fishbein to the show. Aiden runs Vitals Agency and is a seasoned creative entrepreneur and film editor. He’s obsessed with proper project planning and organisation, which is something your four hosts definitely need some help with. So without further ado, let’s get into the show!

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Show Notes for This Episode:

[1:00] The gang welcomes Aiden to the show.
[2:00] Aiden opens up about creativity and organisation.
[3:00] Before you break the rules you need to know the constraints.
[4:00] Through pain comes creative birth.
[5:00] Aiden shares how horribly wrong things can go without planning.
[6:00] The “We’ll fix it in post” scenario.
[7:00] Lack of preparation sets Aiden up for failure.
[8:00] Aiden shares how his agency prepares to prevent disasters.
[9:30] Tom explains how Uh-oh’s have strengthened the podcast.
[10:00] Lack of preparation makes you look unprofessional.
[11:00] Dustin is still discovering ways to improve processes at Retro Supply.
[12:00] Reactive and proactive thinking.
[13:00] How do you find the not so obvious pains to fix them?
[14:00] Learn to sit in the pain and motivate yourself to fix it.
[15:10] As a small business how do you measure and complete everything needed.
[17:00] Play to your strengths to gain control of your processes.
[18:20] Most companies have two people planning and implementing.
[19:00] Bringing your business yang onboard.
[20:00] Dustin’s business partner is invaluable to him.
[21:00] What do you do if you can’t hire anyone else?
[22:00] Tom poses a real business scenario for Aiden to assist with.
[23:30] Writing down processes will help you see voids in your system.
[24:00] Documenting processes can also reveal profound niche business insight.
[25:00] How Aiden’s onboard documentation resulted in a refined niche.
[26:00] Finding and letting go of work that is more hassle than profit.
[27:20] Lisa asks Aiden what type of questions helped them find system failures.
[28:00] Business breakdowns can run rampant if not addressed.
[29:30] Dustin asks if there are quick business hacks one can implement now.
[30:00] Eliminating unnecessary meetings saves time.
[31:00] Track time so you know when you’ve had a time saver win.
[32:00] Aiden’s favorite time tracking tool is Toggl.
[33:00] Cutting meetings in half.
[34:20] Ask yourself why you want to get organised.
[35:00] Everyone has their own set of rules and lifestyle vision.
[36:00] Find your goal before you optimise.
[37:30] Perfecting a balance of organisation and creativity.
[38:30] Scheduling a monthly/quarterly business tune-up.
[40:00] Take time to review your metrics.
[41:00] How do you know what metrics to look at?
[42:00] Aiden shares his early creative business days.
[43:00] Personal fulfillment is a real metric. Measure it.
[44:30] You have to have things you enjoy that don’t make money.
[45:30] Low creative pressure prevents Aiden from suffering.
[46:20] Ian talks hobby fun turned business pressure.
[47:30] Ian finds if money projects can kill his creativity.
[48:30] Take care of your reputation and the revenue will come.
[49:00] Aiden shares his top reads with the group.
[52:00] The team discusses Toggl’s functionality.
[53:00] The Moment App for tracking time.
[54:00] Try time tracking strategies before asking your team to jump onboard.
[55:00] The quick hack of daily journaling to find great workday consistencies.
[56:20] Simple polls are easy to read and learn from.
[58:30] The fear of bloated processes and data.
[1:00:00] The push and pull between visionary and implementer.
[1:01:00] Play up to your strengths rather than mitigating your weakness.
[1:02:40] Trying to wear both hats is difficult.
[1:03:00] Introvert vs. extrovert and analytical vs. creative.
[1:04:00] Some people are closely balanced between left and right brain thinking.
[1:05:40] Special thank you to Aiden for visiting the show.
[1:06:00] You can find more about Aiden over at Vitals Agency.
[1:08:00] And that’s a wrap!

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