Tips for starting your own creative business!!

Ever dreamed of starting your own creative business but had no idea where to begin…

In the Nov 2013 I launched a hugely exciting blog collaboration series (Now E-book) where we looked at 9 of the top tips I believed you need in starting your own creative business.

I have met a number of creative’s through my Life Coaching, many of whom have BIG dreams of starting amazing companies ranging from photography, to image consulting to fashion, but have no idea where to begin.

In an attempt to spark that dream in your heart again, and to help bring it to life, I put together a 9-day blog series & now E-BOOK called “Tips for starting your own creative business” where 9 amazing, creative woman, all of whom have started their own creative businesses in the past few years, shared on topics I feel they have earned a right to be considered‘experts’ in. 

Sign up for my Newsletters (on the right of the screen) to 

receive your FREE copy of this AMAZING resource!!

I get to do what I love...everyday!!

Today, I get to share on another blog tour run by Halley from Evolve and succeed. By 'another', I mean that I got share on a past blog tour she ran too...You can read my post HERE.

The hot topic today is 'What has been the hardest and the best part of owning your own business??

So firstly I thought I’d give you a quick run-down on what exactly, I do…and then I’ll answer the 2 BIG questions.

So, what is a Life Coach anyway?? Life Coaching is an incredible methodology that can take you from where you are at today to where you want to be!!

We have all seen and tried the 5-ways-to-a-better-life/weight-loss type programs, and somehow even after months of maintaining, we all ultimately seem to fail miserably at following someone’s else’s plan for our lives. I, as a Life Coach believe this to be due to the fact that you will only ever achieve a goal that is defined by YOU, on your own terms – a goal that you have fully thought through, a goal that you have bought into. Now this sounds a little soft and cushion-ey, but in reality, it is so far from that.

Each of us is the only ‘master’ of our own lives. No one else truly knows what you need and who you want to become. Sometimes these desires are so deeply hidden within us though, that we fail to ever recognize them or if we do recognize them, to achieve them. That’s where I come in!!! My skills, as a life coach, are about knowing which questions to ask you and having the right tools and techniques to challenge and nudge you towards finding these answers within yourselves. Whether it is looking at your life, your career or your dreams, I can help you discover what your ‘BEST’ looks like…and then together we brainstorm, strategize and set goals towards achieving the life you always dreamed of living!

OK, so what's the hardest part of owning my own business?

This may sound silly but I know that all business owners will get me when I say that the hardest part about owning my own business, is that it’s mine. This simply means that nothing happens unless I make it happen, and that can be tiring. But insanely exciting too!! Finding a balance between work and play is tough too when you create a career centred around your passions, as so often the two collide, get mingled together, and you forget that play outside of work, is important too.

But let’s leave the bad bits and focus on the positive side of owning your own business.

So, what’s the best part of owning my own business?

I could answer with an “expected”...my time is my own. But that would be a big mistake, as as much as having your own time is wonderful, it can also be disastrous if you end up sleeping in every day, running a business that isn’t making any money, or moving forward. So for me, I’d say that the best part of owning my own business is a simple, I get to do what I love, everyday!! When it comes to one's career, I’m ALL about “Love what you do, do what you love”. I get why people avoid it, I get that it can be hard to match your passion with a career and that we all need to make a living; but for me the sacrifice has been more than just worth it, it has changed my life.

As a life coach, I get to seek out your potential, hear the insights of your dreams and help to put the stepping stones in place between where you are at today and where you would like to be; and that is why I love what I do!!!

And finally, a motto I live by…

“I can’t promise that you will always be comfortable... but I can promise that it will be worth it!"

{Click on the bird to tweet}

Laser Launch blog party (part deux) is a collection of behind the scenes stories of other online business owners. Check out the other links here.

Defining your dreams

On a few occasions now, when mentioning to people that H and I are off on a nearly-2 month-adventure through South East Asia this week, they reply with a “Wow, you really are living the dream.” To which I smile, nod, and then frown?!

So firstly, am I really about head off on a 2 month adventure? Why yes I am. But following this dream meant rethinking other dreams…and that's what I want to share with you today.

Dreams are very real, deep longings that live in the well-hidden spaces within us, only showing face when it’s safe to come out. Dreams are beautiful things, that need to be protected, pursued {actively}, and also re-thought-through once in a while.

You see with dreams comes sacrifice. No dream that really holds value to you, will ever require you to stay within your comfort zone. No; dreams mean risk, adventure, joy. They mean action and sometimes they mean giving up lesser dreams, in order to pursue what really makes your heart sing.

It’s easy to throw out a “Wow, you’re really living the dream” {I have many a time}, but is that really your dream? 

My year in Korea, away from my comfort zone, gave me space to get real with ME!! And one truth I found {that I feel may apply to many people out there too} is that my dreams were as undefined as you get.

It's been easy, for years, to throw out the words, "My dream is..." but truth be told, this was just the easy way out. The vaguer my dreams were, the less pressure there was to pursue them and with that, less chance of failure. Vagueness allowed me to be safe, but it also meant years of working towards an undefined dream, basically a blurred vision.

Let me give you a peak into my world…

My life-long dream (one of the many) was to be a missionary in Mozambique, the country north-east of South Africa. I dreamt of living in the dirt, loving the poor, loving God, feeling fulfilled and alive and at peace. Well...this was my dream until I actively started pursuing it, and by pursuing I mean going out there, in the dirt, loving the poor and learning. It was easy to throw around the ‘dream’ word when I had no idea what I was talking about, but once out there, alone in a world I knew so little about, it took some deep soul-searching {and prayer} to get real with myself and others. Yes, I love working with the poor, yes my heart sings in the presence of black kids and yes yes yes I love the people of Mozambique, but never did I realize the sacrifice that would come with pursuing such a dream. I admittedly ate my fair share of humble pie as I reassessed my dream, all with ‘sacrifice’ {what pursuing this dream would take}, in mind. I’m not saying I gave up on this dream, I will always have a heart for and work with the poor, but by realistically reassessing this dream, I was able to free myself up by not setting myself up for failure of not achieving a dream. I was able to create a more realistic {still pretty far-fetched} but more thought-through life vision, dream J

It's OK to have 20 dreams, and for them to involve everything from family, to career, to the randomness of what makes your heart sing; but my challenge is for you to find a quiet space and to write them down. In writing them down, they suddenly become real...and yes, sometimes tears spring up as we realize how unrealistic some of these are {some in a good and some not so good way}. We get real with ourselves.

It's easy to head in a general direction of your dreams...but being 'general' and not 'specific' will mean that one day, down the line, we will never really get that, 'Oh my gracious, I am living MY dream" feeling. The feeling and definition of where you're at, or what you've achieved will instead be vague. Vague is OK, but it's not your best!!! 

You were created for more than just vague!!! 

{Click to tweet}

Join me in a month today {19th March} for a follow up post {and FREE printable} geared at helping you start your journey in making these dreams a reality!!

Laser Launch Blog party: Goal Setting for second year entrepreneurs!

Today I’ll be sharing a post that is part of the 'Laser Launch blog party', run by Halley from Evolve and Succeed, the topic being “Second year entrepreneurship”.

"Laser Launch blog party is a collection of stories from online celebrities about their second year experiences. Brought to you by: Laser Launch Package - a double whammy of expertise to get your next launch sold-out because your second year should be fun + profitable."

For me, just entering this phase of my 2^nd year as a business owner, I am both exciting and of course slightly apprehensive too. My first year of entrepreneurship was in every sense a roller-coaster ride. I bounced from having no clients to too many, I started new programs that got great reviews, launched big projects that never took off, and learnt so much along the way.

The first year, or season, of starting something new is always exciting, bringing with it new challenges, ways of thinking, relationships and personal growth points. Going into my second year as a business owner, the two main things that I will be focusing on will be consistency and passion.

If there is one thing that I learnt last year, it was that as much as clients/online followers love variety, they love consistency more. People thrive off stability, and as a business owner, I get to offer that to my clients. I get to present not only a brand that is consistent but a person behind the brand who remains the same. As I mentioned in my blog series post 'Tips for starting your own Creative Business' last year, people buy into who you are and why you do what you do, not what you do. Yes, they see the ‘what’ every day, but it is the ‘who’ and the ‘why’ that keeps them coming back for more. Consistency is key to success.

As much as remaining consistent will be vital for me and my business this year, maintaining passion I believe outweighs all other business goals. Getting to a point when you decide to start your own business is usually fueled by ideas, talents and a whole lotta passion. Your first year as a business-owner has you on a passion-high, with you daily coming to grips with the idea that your passion for something is now earning you money. Your passion to make a success out of something, that lies only in your hands, is so real and so tangible that you cannot but help working late nights, talking about your business in every spare moment you can sneak in a few words and filling your thoughts on your morning runs {or is that just me}. But going into year 2 means that by now things have likely somewhat settled down. Your product or programs are either succeeding or they aren’t, you've create a routine - something that works for you…and routine often has a dulling effect on passion.

In order to keep myself on my toes this year, in terms of both consistency and passion, I coached myself through 3 simple steps and it is now my hope that this will be a tool that you as well as many 2^nd year entrepreneurs will find useful.

 

Step 1: Review 2013

The first thing you need to do is to review your past year. This means finding a quiet space, taking out either your laptop or a piece of paper and realistically writing a personal business review for 2013.

Reflect on things like:

-      Is your business aligning with your values?

-      Product/ Service analysis

-      Is your business aligning with your ideal lifestyle?

-      Financial analysis

-      Marketing analysis

 

Step 2: Room for growth

Now, write down a list of things, within each section of your review, that you want to improve on this year. I.e: Financial Analysis: Expenses; Products: Revise and improve current workbooks, etc. You will use this list to help you create your goals for 2014 in the following step!

Step 3: Set goals for 2014

Use my ideas below as a basic guideline for categorizing your business goals for 2014:

- Product/service Goals {Include both improving products/services as well as what new products/ services you hope to launch}

- Financial Goals {Be as specific as possible. Personally, I break this down into months as well as sections within each month}

- Marketing Goals {This is such a vital part of every business and their success levels. Spend some time reflecting on what you can do to improve your current marketing plan, or if you don’t have one yet, then consider creating one}

- Job Satisfaction Goals {Think lifestyle, work/life balance, relationships at work}

- Personal Goals {This is for YOU, and is as important as career goals. Think in terms of your passions/ interests. i.e – run a marathon, take up canoeing, start playing the piano more, etc}

Ensure your goals are:

1.    Specific (Be as specific as you can when detailing your goals for 2014)

2.    Measurable (Ensure that you will know when you have achieved a goal, ie – create a measure for each goal)

3.    Attainable (Create goals that stretch you however still remain within your reach)

4.    Relevant (It’s easy to set a goal that you know you should set but actually don’t feel passionate about at all. My suggestion is either to scrap the goal entirely if it really isn’t for you at all, however if it just very daunting, then consider changing the wording of this goal into positive language. I.e – Instead of lose 5kg’s, rather – start eating healthy meals 5 days a week)  

5.    Time- bound (Set a time span for each goal – when you will achieve this goal by)

To all the entrepreneurs out there, best of luck for 2014!!!! I’d love to read your comments below and would be more than happy to help where I can. If you’re interested in taking this Goal Setting Process one step further, then please consider joining my Rise &Shine workshop in Gwangju, Korea in Feb 2014. I am also considering running this workshop in Cape Town and in Durban in April 2014, however this will be dependent on whether there is an interest to run it then {use comment section below or contact me directly here if you're interested}

Finally, it is not only my job, but my privilege to help people, like you, set amazing goals for both their lives and their careers. If you found this exercise helpful, and are interested in making 2014 a year that stands out from the rest, then please consider contacting me to book a trial session {free} and allow me the privilege of walking alongside you for a few months, as you set out to achieve your deeply rooted dreams!!