From Burnout to Business Wins: My Quarterly Check-In
In this quarterly update, I’m sharing the latest happenings in my life and business, including the launch of my newly updated website with exciting new services and ongoing experiments with a quiz freebie. I'm also battling some burnout while trying to maintain balance and prepare for my annual birthday sale in August. I’m also discussing my efforts to build a local entrepreneurial community and my personal adventures with my new puppy, Guinness. Stay tuned for more updates and feel free to reach out with any questions or suggestions!
Transcript below!
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00:00 Hey, welcome back. My name is Ellie. I am the CEO and founder of Calibrated Concepts, and I typically talk all about business, tech, websites, and all sorts.
00:13 Today is one of my videos where it's a little bit different. We're talking all about what's going on behind the scenes in my life and business.
00:20 So this is my quarterly update. If you're only interested in business stuff or you're only interested in life stuff, this video will be chaptered so you can self-filter to what you are most interested in.
00:36 and if you're listening over the podcast, you can see the notes for where to jump to. All right, here we go.
00:44 You ready? let's start with the business. Okay. This has been pretty exciting. Um, for most of the first quarter and then some, I spent really focused on getting my website updated with new offers.
01:04 Just kind of cleaning things up. I find that I kind of need to do this every couple of years where things have pivoted and changed enough in my business, um, as well as in the business world, in the world in general.
01:16 And then eventually enough stuff gets added to the site that you really need to do some, some love to the site.
01:20 So, I spent some time doing that. It took me a lot longer than I had hoped it would because, um, I had some hangups around my site.
01:28 Copywriting, um, and my messaging. And it took me a while to feel like I got it right or right enough to get it on the page.
01:36 Um, so that is now up. My new website went live in early April. No, early May. It was exactly one month late from when I wanted it to be.
01:48 And it's up and beautiful. And I'm so excited about all the new services that we're going to have. So realistically, if you don't know over here, we have website services and then we have system services.
01:58 And this is where we added some things. We have the simplicity solution, which is my three month retainer. We have ongoing work.
02:04 And then we have one off systems setups and training and power hours and those kinds of things. And I'm so excited to meet people where they are.
02:14 So that's that. Uh, the other thing that's been happening over here in the business that we're experimenting with is my team and I are running ads for a quiz freebie that we've had for a few years.
02:25 I put so much time and effort into this freebie before AI was like a big thing. I did, I built the whole thing myself.
02:35 I dreamt the whole thing myself and I really believe in what it offers people. Um, however, I think the like big quiz thing.
02:40 This moment has passed maybe in this online space. So I wanted to see if we could breathe a little more life into it, do some testing, both for messaging, um, but also for how we actually lay out the page that it's on.
02:59 We've not had great results. I haven't dedicated a huge amount of ad spend, but we did get a lot of people going to the page.
03:06 So there's definitely a lot of data there that we can learn from. And we're in the process of really starting to brainstorm what is going to be next freebie lead magnet opt-in invitation into our online email marketing community.
03:21 That is probably the place on the internet that I am the most vulnerable with my people. It's also the place where people learn about things first, and I really want to make sure I'm nurturing them and bringing them in the right way so I'm getting the right fit for that community.
03:33 Uhm, so, other things happening in the business. Uhm, when I first moved back to Pendleton, I started a really tight-knit circle of people who are millennial entrepreneurs to be supportive of each other, to talk about the hard, hard things, the cool things, the scary things of running a small business
03:54 . Uhm, and that's been going really, really great. We had a meet-up at the start of June and decided we wanted to keep our little tight-knit group tight-knit, but also to create a community within our town for, like in a broader sense.
04:13 So we've done that. We've created a Facebook group. This is a tiny town. We already have 60 people in the Facebook group.
04:19 We're going to be doing a networking event in August and, uhm, I think just making sure that we support each other, that we know who each other are.
04:27 I think in previous generations, in a smaller town like this, there wouldn't have been people working necessarily the way that we are.
04:34 So many people are working from home. Uhm, so many people are doing things just not in brick-and-mortar traditional senses. So it's harder to know who your business neighbors are, and I'm really excited to build that community and support with a little help from some of the other people in that tighter-knit
04:52 circle. Uhm, another one, this is a bit of a, just being blunt, blatant, honest, uhm, I am battling burnout here, and it is almost impossible.
05:02 It's entirely outside my business. My business, for the most part, with a lot of love and a lot of work, runs pretty well.
05:11 It is like a damn fine oiled machine. We have really good clients working with right now, uhm, I'm really not worried about much in the sense of the business, but I've got some other commitments outside of the business that are definitely, uhm, I'm fighting to be able to be a little chaotic, a little
05:28 draining, uhm, and I will do my best to create some of the same systems and boundaries and those parts of my life as I can, but some of it's out of my control, so I'm trying to do things like block time off to have to look forward to, taking mini breaks throughout the day, utilizing some of the facilities
05:46 here in my apartment complex for self care, uhm, and again, and it's, it's working-ish, but I know this is a season.
05:55 Summer's always chaotic and it will be fine. I think the number one tool I need to use more is saying no to things.
06:03 So I'm going to work on that. Um, and the last thing happening in my business is starting to prep for my annual birthday sale.
06:11 Every August around my birthday, which is the 29th, I have a sale. Um, this varies from year to year. Sometimes it's just like it started with just website power hours.
06:20 Um, and this year it'll probably be a little different again. Um, so stay tuned and keep an eye out for what is actually falling on Labor Day weekend here in the U.S.
06:29 and the week right after the bank holiday in the UK and Ireland. All right. So that is all the stuff, the good, the bad, the messy.
06:39 What's happening in my business at the moment. Um, I do, I guess one last thing I want to say is part of the reason I have such good clients happening right now is the fact that I create this content.
06:51 My two most recent clients, one found me here on YouTube and the other found me here on the podcast. So please, please make sure to create content in your zone of genius and to make it regular can.
07:04 Okay. So box over my life update. Let's start with this. Look how big he's getting. This is Guinness.
07:24 We got him at the start of the April. was 11 weeks when we got him and now he's five months.
07:32 He is an English Cocker Spaniel. He is gorgeous and for the most part, he's pretty, pretty well behaved. Uh, he is a lot of work but he is so, so much fun and he's So snug.
07:44 And he's so in love with me, almost too in love with me, but, uh, I really, really am so happy.
07:50 I also created him a silly little Instagram account called Guests for Guinnesses, where we share all the places locally then and beyond that are dog friendly.
08:00 Because when I looked up, tried to find a list of where accepts dogs in our town and around our town, I could not find it.
08:08 Any good options. I didn't find a list, so I'm making the list. Shocker. But it is really nice, actually, to have an Instagram account that's just kind of for fun.
08:16 Like, I'm not making money on it. I don't feel like I have to teach people things. It's just like me showing off my cute little dog and all the fun places we go.
08:24 And that has been a lot of fun. Uh, other things. I got a bike. Uh, I got a second hand, very, very, vintage, uh, Italian folding bike, and it needs a little bit, so it's definitely rideable, but it needs a bit more work before I think it'll be super comfy to take everywhere.
08:42 Um, mostly the back wheel hub needs cleaned out, rebuilt, something. But, um, that'll be a fun project for us. Um, and I just, I just like being able to zip about, and I definitely have this vision in my head of me being the city councilor who cycles everywhere.
08:58 However, the reality of that is facing me that it is frickin' hot here, and you don't want to show up to all these, like, really professional meetings sweaty.
09:05 So, we'll find the balance. Um, I paid my taxes in two countries. That was hell, but it's over. Um, we've been, one of the things I'm doing that I really enjoy is making stuff.
09:20 So, Paul and I have started making our own beer. We just did a, uh, summery lemon shandy, and did all the bottle toppers and American flags, and are gonna be serving that to our guests for our 4th of July party, uh, in a couple weeks.
09:36 And we're really looking forward to that. Um, I sewed another dress, so, and, so I've only done two ever. I did one last, a couple summers ago, and I did one this summer.
09:44 Because I just really wanted a black, linen, maxi dress, and couldn't find what I was looking for. So, I sewed it, and I'm in love with it.
09:54 It was quite the learning experience, um, because the pattern I picked was not for a linen-cotton blend, it was for a striped dress.
10:01 It was fabric, but I used ChachiBT to help me amend the pattern, and that was actually pretty brilliant. I learned a lot about how to amend a sewing pattern from that process.
10:14 The other thing is I got this bag for free from an order of swimsuits I did, and I wanted it to be burgundy, so I dip-dyed it, and then on the first dress I sewed a couple summers ago, I accidentally got.
10:25 a tiny bit of that dye on that dress, so now I've dyed it burgundy. And so I've experimented with dyeing, and I'm learning about how that works, and how to make it really effective and not splotchy, and how long things need to go, and water temperature, and that was a lot of fun to, I guess, try a new
10:41 thing in that or two. For Memorial Day weekend, we went camping, and it was Guinness' first camping trip, and it was so, so fun.
10:49 And if you want to see more the bit of it, you can, either on my Instagram or his. Umm, but it was our first time being back in the U.S.
10:58 camping with our own gear, and we realized there's a few gaps, so we're working to building out our camping kit.
11:04 I'm currently on the lookout for, like, the best, most durable, but still sort of collapsible camping chairs. If anyone's got any tips.
11:13 It's Trek's favorite chairs out there. I am on the hunt. I've done so much research lately. Umm, and so, yeah, we're getting our camping kit together, and really start to look forward to being able to be a little more organized.
11:29 We ordered all these big totes. So, there are clear lids, and hey, umm, so we got these so we can have, essentially, just throw everything in the car and go.
11:37 and not make it feel like it's this big kerfuffle to go and enjoy a weekend away with family and friends in the woods.
11:45 another thing that we're doing is, I'm on this, like, never-ending hunt for the right venue locally here for our 10-year anniversary party.
11:53 I've reached such a several. I technically have a hold in one venue. Umm, I've been in communication with a few.
11:59 I'm really stressed out. I are going to find, like, the right venue and the people who actually just want to, like, take my money, which feels so weird.
12:05 Umm, but in a small town, I don't, I don't know exactly what's going on here, but I cannot get anyone to commit to taking my money and letting me have their venue in August 2026 for our 10-year anniversary party.
12:18 So, umm, we do have a couple of options, but all of our perfect options. Questions? Or just, like, out there in limbo, barely responding to us.
12:28 So, that's been interesting. Umm, but it is what it is. We're rolling with it and we're doing our best to figure it out.
12:37 Umm, and the last thing is I went to a really fun private hot springs in Washington for my friend's birthday.
12:42 You can see some pictures of that on, on the ground as well. And it's just, text goes here
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