We recently connected with Kia Zomorrodi and have shared our conversation below.
Kia, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever head any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?
The first step for me in overcoming a creativity block, is to plan for a creativity block. When we have important creative deadlines, I try to plan to have ideas days before they are due. That leaves a buffer for a creative block which happens on many, many occasions. I create a list of ideas that just pop up in my head. Sometimes early ones can be winners, other times they all end up in the trash and I hit a block. When there’s time, I take it to step away from the idea. Naturally, something will pop up that then organically turns into a great idea. Another method I use is to just go down a rabbit hole into research and look for a batch of random references around the topic. For example if I’m stuck on an commercial idea for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I’ll look into the history of PB&J’s and how they were created, I’ll search for funny TikToks around the topic, I’ll see what other commercials have done, I’ll look for customer testimonials and why people love or hate PB&J’s, I’ll talk to family and friends about it etc. I’ll list everything and anything onto a “swipe” document that I’ll use to kickstart ideas.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I run a boutique agency called Bacon & Eggs Media. We handle creative and production all in-house, creating comedic and witty ad campaigns for fast-growing brands.
The world of advertising is expensive, slow, and still somehow leads to bleh ads and content that no one enjoys watching. We wanted to create an agency that changed this up. We didn’t have a background working in the space, so we had no preconceived notions on how things should work. We just launched the agency and created our processes based on what was efficient for our clients. We trimmed the fat, built nimble scrappy teams, and came up with winning ideas that turned into a commercial that people actually enjoyed watching (and sold stuff!).
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Networking and building relationships was a big one for me! I was able to get my first clients, as well as my team through people I had met through my first job, college, and even back to high school folks I had kept up with! It’s always important to put effort into building relationships and staying in touch.
Being able to manage stress and stay optimistic during it all is MASSIVE to being an entrepreneur. There are many, many periods that I (and entrepreneurs in general) deal with a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety around the unknowns and unpredictability that comes with it. You have to be able to not let it affect you, and continue pushing through it. Working when things are going great, is EASY! But working and putting in the same amount of effort when things aren’t going to plan, is difficult. But I think that’s a key quality that makes a successful entrepreneur.
In my industry of making ads, my knowledge of e-commerce and ad buying has given me a unique perspective on creativity and advertising. At one point, I worked as a media buyer, purchasing media and running ads online. This experience provided me with valuable insight into which types of commercials are impactful, the strategy of writing them for sales, and how they contribute to actual business impact.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I’m a big fan of getting everything out of my head. I’ll sit and use a notebook I have to braindump everything I’ve thinking about. And I mean EVERYTHING. From there, I’ll use it to build it into my task management software like Notion or Motion where I can time block it all and set a plan to get it all done. As long as I know everything I need to do is accounted for somewhere with a clear plan of action, I can start to feel less overwhelmed.
Contact Info:
- Website: baconandeggsmedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baconandeggsmedia/?hl=en
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/baconandeggsmedia
