Tips for Starting a Creative Business
I have a feeling that this will be the first of many posts that talk about how to better be productive, find balance and ultimately find space to create the work that you love so much as creative business owner! I've been hesitant to sit down and start typing these words, because sometimes I feel "why me," "what do I have to say that is so important?" However, after so many messages, emails & coaching calls about how to start and manage a creative business I thought maybe it was time I shared some of the tips and tools I have learned along the way.
I am in no way claiming to be the expert in any of these topics but I can say that I have learned a lot, googled more times than I can count and felt like throwing in the towel a million times, why?Because I wasn't sure if I was doing anything right and the advice out there was so broad that it left me wondering "where does my ideas & business goals fit into all of this."
One of the main things I have learned and something that anyone thinking of starting a creative business should keep in mind is that your business is YOURS, it will reflect who you are at your core, it will operate the way you do.
What I have learned is that as solo entrepreneur my business will reflect me.
All of me, my flaws and my strengths. If you are just thinking about starting your own business or putting more time into that passion project that's been sitting on the sidelines, this is something that you need to keep in mind and embrace.
Yep, you need to embrace all of your strengths & weaknesses because they will directly affect how you operate your business.
For example,
Evaluation: I am a huge dreamer, I think that almost anything is possible and sometimes I try to skip steps and just get to that end goal that I had envisioned. This is a piece of who I am and it can be used for either benefit or hinder the way I operate my business.
How it can positively or negatively affect my business: As a dreamer the positive affect is that I keep pushing my business, I keep coming up with new ideas and products to create. The potential negative, I can get so caught up with the "dream" ideas that I skip over actually accomplishing some of those dreams, instead I flip from one idea to the next, never seeing an idea through to its full potential.
What I've Learned: You have to channel those potential negatives and turn them into something beneficial. When it comes to my "dream big" problem, instead of trying to stifle it, I've learned to channel it into a notebook. I give myself permission to write down ALL of those potentially crazy ideas that I have floating around in my head, but I don't leave it just sitting there. Now is the time for Action.
Action: As you start your creative business you have to recognize opportunities for positive habits. The way I turn my "dream big, lack follow through" response was to create space for those dreams in my dream notebook, but then I didn't leave it sitting around collecting dust. I began creating a habit to take action. I flip through the journal and begin highlighting the ideas that meet my goals, vision and even the right timing for my business. I know that these are ideas worth my time and energy, because if you have even remotely started your small business then you know your time is valuable and can you can be left standing at the end of the day thinking "where did the day go" (but thats a topic for another day!).
Ultimately as a creative business owner you need to take a little time and write down your strengths and weaknesses. Evaluate how these things have the potential to be turned into negatives that hinder your business, and then create a habit or plan to counter that potential negative response. Whether you have only started dreaming of that business you want to start or you are 2+ years into running your creative business... take a second to Pause.
Press pause and evaluate where you are and where you want to be. I promise you this. It will be something that you wont regret doing. I wish I did it years ago!!
Stay tuned, part 2 will be on it's way shortly!
Things to keep in mind: