Episode 11 - The Highs and Lows of Breaking $100K

Welcome back to another exciting episode of the Six Figure Author Experiment, where we guide you through breaking your first or next $100,000 goal. This week’s episode dives deep into the unpredictable world of hiring and firing in the creative industry.

Another “Mess-ipode.” Lee and Russell discuss leveling up in your author business by failing bigger and failing forward. 

Opening credits and editing by the amazing Jim Wilbourne. 

Do you like this free form (Squirrel!) conversation or do you prefer a more structured episode? Or do you not notice a difference? :P 

Key Points:

* Hiring and Firing Realities:

* Hosts Lee and Russell initially planned to discuss comic creation but pivoted to talk about the challenges of managing team dynamics.

* Lee shares her recent struggles with team performance, emphasizing the importance of aligning hires with industry-specific experience to avoid costly mistakes.

* Russell highlights the critical nature of making "bankruptable mistakes" as you scale, stressing the need for calculated risks and the inevitability of learning from failures.

* Adventures in Advertising:

* Russell recounts his $30,000 investment in ads to grow an email list, which despite the high cost, provided invaluable insights and a growing subscriber base.

* Discussion on the niche-specific effectiveness of co-registration in ad campaigns, with a spotlight on the varying returns based on the audience's interest area.

* Leveraging Small Wins:

* Lee and Russell discuss the concept of having reliable "levers" in business—strategies or products that consistently generate revenue.

* Lee mentions her successful methods, like specific writing series that guarantee returns, and Russell reflects on his data-driven approach to testing and iterating on different strategies.

* Comic and Content Creation:

* Both hosts talk about their ventures into creating comics and the importance of diversifying content formats.

* Russell shares insights on translating success from one medium (novels) to another (comics) and the lessons learned from high-cost, high-reward projects.

* Lee explores the potential of using splash pages in comics to maximize artistic and financial returns, ensuring each piece of art has multiple uses.

* Future Prospects and Strategy:

* Lee considers combining special edition book releases with comic projects, targeting both romance readers and comic enthusiasts.

* Both hosts agree on the importance of thorough planning and the strategic use of data to ensure the success of future projects.

FINAL THOUGHT:

Navigating the highs and lows of creative entrepreneurship involves a delicate balance of risk-taking and strategic planning. Lee and Russell’s candid discussion underscores the importance of learning from every venture, making data-driven decisions, and continuously adapting to new opportunities in the ever-evolving landscape of the creative industry. Whether it’s through meticulous hiring, innovative advertising, or diversifying content formats, the journey to a six-figure income is paved with both challenges and triumphs.

* Find the levers that make money and pull them 

* Bankruptable Mistakes 

* Two things to do to make your business antifragile 

* Packaging: do something once, profit forever 

* Accessing new markets 

* Building business structures  

* Meet Russell and Lee in person at the Writer MBA conference: https://writermba.com/conference/

Super fan offer: https://www.russellnohelty.com/bystas/

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.sixfigureauthorexperiment.com