We were lucky to catch up with Eryn Morgan recently and have shared our conversation below.
Eryn, thank you so much for making time for us today. We’re excited to discuss a handful of topics with you, but perhaps the most important one is around decision making. The ability to make decisions is a key requirement for anyone who wants to make a difference and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your decision-making skills.
Decision making is wired into my DNA.
From an extremely young age, my parents (who were both teachers) encouraged me to get good at it. My most famous 4-year-old quote is, “Mommy, it’s hard to choose.”
But choose I have. My parents taught me how to work backwards to solve problems. By figuring out the end result or outcome I wanted, they’d help me strategically think through each step that was required to get me to my goal.
Obviously, not every plan goes perfectly. So they also helped me work my way through unexpected challenges using critical thinking to work my way into the next best decision that still kept me on the path.
Making strategic decisions has become second nature now. We have a funny household saying, “chess, not checkers.” It describes my default mode that has me look at the whole board, see all the strategic possibilities and combinations, and then make strategic choices based on what I want to create for my life. I’m always 3 moves ahead.
I’m super grateful for these hard wired abilities. I’m able to help my clients strengthen their capacity for decision making through our work together, which really allows them to lead their businesses with confidence.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m Eryn Morgan, a business coach for creatives. I work with designers (graphic, brand, and web), copywriters, brand photographers who have project based business models where they sell their creatives services B2B. My clients are entrepreneurs and freelancers who “accidentally” started their business. They aren’t pros at marketing, finding clients, selling, or building out the systems they need to grow. And that’s okay! They’re amazing at their creative crafts, have beautiful aesthetics, and their clients LOVE them. So once we add some of the strategic elements to their business and give them the roadmap on how to run their mini-empires, they’re quickly able to scale to $10k+ months and start achieving their dreams for financial freedom and lifestyle flexibility.
I LOVE my business because I get to have a ripple impact on so many lives. I help my clients build their confidence and get so much joy from even their smallest wins. Being a creative entrepreneur is never easy, but I believe it’s always worth it. So in every way that I can empower my clients toward success, I have made it my mission.
The best way for interested creatives to get to know me is to attend my monthly Creativity Showcase. I host it the first Friday of every month at noon EST. Creativity Showcase is a free, low-key virtual networking event where attendees make deep connections and show off and celebrate creative work. Interested creatives can register to attend at https://erynmorgan.com/resources.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Resilience.
Curiosity.
And a positive attitude.
When you bring a positive attitude to growing a business, you’re already ahead. Yes, it’s hard. We’ve all heard the phrase “if it was easy, everybody would do it,” but that really is true. Being a creative entrepreneur will test you, stretch you, and become a catalyst for your personal growth. Approaching it with positivity makes the journey a whole lot more fun.
When challenges come up, it’s critically important to access your internal resilience. The only way you fail is if you quit. So when you decide to grow a business, you’re inherently deciding to be a problem solver. That’s where the curiosity comes in. I don’t believe there’s a problem that cannot be solved. It’s up to every business owner to build and develop their problem solving and decision making skills so they can get through challenges.
I have a friend who is a great golfer. But he hits bad shots all the time: ball in the water, a sand trap, or behind a tree. That’s where he asks what I think is the most powerful question ever… “What’s possible now?” He can make his next shot a positive move towards the pin when he’s curious, positive, and resilient.
No matter what challenge I face, when I ask, “What’s possible now…?” I’m in command of my choices, attitudes, and next steps. And that’s why I’m still here today, almost 10 years into this entrepreneurship adventure.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
Overwhelm is unavoidable when we have big dreams and goals in our businesses. I coach my clients, and I ask myself this powerful question when overwhelm hits me: “Do I not know what to do, or do I not know where to start?”
The answer dictates the next action. If I don’t know what to do, then I need to get clear on my goal and then work backwards to determine my action steps. If I don’t know where to start, I need to look at my list and prioritize. I know that seems oversimplified, but when you think about it, its the solve for the problem.
Whether it’s overwhelm because you have to many tasks and projects on your plate and need to prioritize, or you’re overwhelmed because you have too many goals and deadlines and need to prioritize, you’ll quickly find your path forward.
Action is the antidote to so many of the things: fear, anxiety, overwhelm. But to take action, we must have clarity. And that’s exactly where that powerful question starts to lead us.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://erynmorgan.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erynmorgan/
- Other: Creativity Showcase: erynmorgan.com/resources
Image Credits
Shannon Confair
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
