Empowered Lessons from Trying Something New
Empower Creative Agency hosted eight workshops throughout the summer and fall of 2022. Image courtesy of Empower Creative Agency, LLC.
Trying new things can be scary. From trying a new restaurant to trying to write a new business plan, and everything in between, novelty can be exciting or terrifying... or a mix of both, depending on your personality and perspective.
When it comes to small businesses, trying new things can feel risky. If the stakes are high, you could lose your livelihood and face financial repercussions in your personal life. If the stakes are low, you may find yourself wondering if it's even worth the effort. And while Empower Creative Agency LLC can't advise on your business ideas (at least not without thorough discussion!), what we can say is that even the low stakes chances offer valuable lessons and insight that will empower you and your small business moving forward.
Testing Something New
Throughout the summer and fall of 2022, Empower Creative Agency hosted a series of Empower Workshops to build up a scholarship fund to help entrepreneurs and creatives who can't currently afford Empower's project management services on their own.
The workshops featured various professionals and experts who presented on their skills and passions to empower others for success. These workshops included topics such as social media, fundraising and nonprofits, intellectual property law, and more.
Paris Gramann, founder and owner of Empower Creative Agency, knew that she had clients who needed help and insight in areas beyond her expertise—but areas that her other clients and connections were well-versed in.
Her first step was to reach out to her clients and network to see if there was interest in both attending the workshops and in presenting a workshop. She found there was enough interest to move forward, so she built a calendar for eight workshops over the course of the summer and into the fall.
Unfortunately the attendance wasn't what she had hoped for and she determined that, financially, it didn't make sense to keep going forward at the time.
“Empower can hopefully be a continuing source of education and empowerment for our clients,” she said. Although she doesn't have immediate plans to relaunch the workshop series, testing out the service option helped her see that education can be a pillar of Empower Creative Agency LLC in the future, once she devises new strategies.
“It has good bones,” Gramann said. Even though this experiment didn't go the way Gramann envisioned and hoped, she still sees the value that the trial run provided.
“It's called me to be more specific about what it is we're doing,” she said.
Successes from the Test
As humans (or perfectionists) we're quick to label things “failure” if they don't meet our every expectation. Gramann could easily label her workshop series a failure and move on to the next thing. Her clients and network didn't attend in the numbers she anticipated; the ticket sales didn't provide large sums of money to fund a scholarship; and despite her desire to keep pursuing and offering education opportunities, she had to make the tough choice to honor the cap she'd set on the test instead of pushing to grow the service.
But Gramann can pinpoint several valuable things that came from the series, which means it's not a failure, just a learning opportunity that can and will empower future ideas.
For one thing, her presenters were able to get public speaking experience and, for those who wanted it, a small paycheck from hosting a workshop. Gramann offered her eight presenters $60 for their one-hour time slots. Some took the money and others donated their time/the stipend back to Empower Creative Agency.
For first-time presenters, being able to show that they have been paid to present on their area of expertise can help get a foot in the door for future engagements. Additionally, several of her presenters found it really helpful to have Gramann work with them to fine-tune their presentations and create a cohesive workshop experience.
For those who attended, they were able to learn about new topics, get insight and ideas for their own projects, and create network connections.
Gramann herself also learned several valuable lessons from developing the workshop series.
She learned that the education aspect of her business, while not a main focus now, is something she is very passionate about. It will look different, but Gramann intends to keep working with her clients to offer educational materials in relevant fields and topics. Gramann already has some ideas for how she may incorporate the essence of the workshop series into her business in a more accessible and sustainable way.
The workshop series also helped Gramann practice delegation and letting go of control during the execution of an idea. She hired someone to help her with the logistics of the series and that required Gramann to let go of the reins and share responsibility, something Gramann said is oftentimes difficult for her.
All in all, Gramann considers her workshop series a low stakes project. Even if she didn't break even financially, the series mostly paid for itself. Plus, she gained a lot in knowledge and content that is relevant to her small business and creative clientele. Moving forward, Gramann knows to start with the basics of the idea and build on it over time, giving clients the opportunity to buy into the idea in stages without overwhelming them or herself.
“A lot of stuff is very helpful if people do it,” she said. But if people don't care to get started or do a task, then the idea or task's value doesn't come to fruition, so in essence it isn't valuable.
By breaking future projects and service tests into smaller trial pieces, Gramann can more easily see what people are interested in and what is acted upon, which will help her build something that her clients and network are excited for and gain value from.
Lessons for Next Time
Reflecting on her workshop series, Gramann sees a few things that she would do differently, if she brings back the series in the future.
Marketing of course makes a big difference in any sales or event launch. And while Gramann tried to market her workshops over the duration of the series, she knows she could do better in the future.
She would also like to find sponsors for future series or individual workshops, so that the sales generated by tickets could be solely put into the scholarship fund.
Gramann is glad she was able to test out a new idea. Her test efforts turned out to be bigger than necessary, she said, and she needs to find ways to get more people involved.
She isn't ready to throw the whole idea away just yet. The need and interest for knowledge is still there and Gramann is committed to finding a way to fill the gap. With intentionality and creativity, nothing is out of reach.
Trying Something New?
Gramann has a few tips for anyone test launching something new.
Set a cap. Whether it's a set number of workshops, like Gramann's series, or a certain amount of time to generate interest or sales, giving yourself an end date for your trial run is important. You should give yourself long enough to gather good data on the interest, need, and sustainability of your idea, but not so long that it drags on or becomes the unintentional launch of the service.
Take time for reflection. Setting aside time to reflect on what you've learned after your trial period will help you really understand how it went, what you can do differently or better, and whether the idea wants to be relaunched in full. In reflecting on the workshop series, Gramann was able to pinpoint areas where she invested more of her own time and resources into elements that her clients weren't interested in, as well as realizing that offering educational opportunities is something she is passionate about. Reflecting on her own and with others who are familiar and/or involved with her business has allowed Gramann to see which pieces she wants to take moving forward and has jump-started the brainstorming for how to incorporate her passion into her business without taking on all the work involved in the workshops.
If you're feeling stuck and unsure where to go next with your small business or project, Empower Creative Agency's project managers can help you reclaim or redefine your goal and work out a plan to get there. Schedule your discovery call online today.
