Oh hey, you.. fellow daring leaper of faith, you.. Want to build your creative business from your passions but don’t quite know how to take that leap?
So fair.. So understandable.. It’s kind of a risk you want to be sure you’re ready to take. If you’ve found this blog post, you’ve probably got a creative passion or talent that you’re itching to transform into something more than an admirable superpower – but maybe you’re still teetering on whether to really take the risk and build your creative business – and I am right there with you.
So welcome to my inaugural blog post – the one where I share a few tried and true snips of advice to prepare for taking a leap of faith – while in the middle of my own leap 🙂
I’ve prancercized this out before – building a creative freelance business, along with a couple of partnerships along the way. I’ve juggled freelance graphic design and copywriting with other more experimental business ideas because sometimes you gotta just do something to know if you’ll like it.. But like so many others, I am currently closing up a chapter of working as a full-time marketing professional and leaping back into the uncertainty and bliss of another creative business venture. Yikes – good yikes!
As reserved or uncertain as my personality can be in some big decisions, I find the exhilaration of starting something creative from scratch to be a little addicting. I like to go into these things from a place of honest reflection + magical thinking. This has been my elixir of choice, and it’s a refreshing way to approach the blissful uncertainty of new business ventures.
So read on for a curation of my favorite mental/emotional/soulfilled ways to boldly leap into a new creative business venture.
Build Your Creative Business From Your Passions – Take the Leap!
1 – Honesty + Curiosity = the best launchpad
Where do you really start when you’re thinking about taking a leap into the unknown?
Before you take a leap, there’s this point where you look ahead hoping to see where you’re going to land. If you’re leaping with clarity, you might be able to see where you’ll land. You envision yourself connecting with customers; exploring branding and packaging options; following your plan to sure success.. If things are a bit foggier, you may feel less confident about all the leaping. And that’s where we start. Fog seems to accompany some starts..
To find clarity, I like to start by asking a lot of questions and really being honest. I like to imagine five or ten years out and feel into whether I can see myself still enjoying what is brewing in my creative heart currently. Will I still enjoy writing about inspirational and creative things? Will this business still fit into the way I see my life being in a decade?
Once I imagine into the future, if my answer is anything like “hell yes. I have been loving this for years, I wish I could be doing more of it, and I’d love to do this or some variation of this for long enough to make this worth my while.” then I move into some more exploratory questions – and this is where I get honest while staying curious.
The honest part: ask yourself some questions and answer them honestly. This might be hard if you’re really super committed to your idea and find that your answers don’t really support the kind of business you’re hoping to create.
- Is your passion, skill or talent really something you can and want to make into a creative business?
- Does it bring your soul satisfaction?
- Can you slip into the creative flow and lose yourself in your work?
- Are people already buying the things you’ll want to be selling?
The curious part: ask yourself some questions about how this business will fit into your life now and in the future:
- What kind of business will best complement your life, personality and skills?
- Are you more of a creative solopreneur seeking location flexibility, or a creative collaborator excited about building a business partnership with others?
- Do you want to build your creative business as a physical or digital enterprise?
These are the questions that will suss out whether your passion can be leveraged into a viable business, and what kind of business you really want to commit to. There are still no guarantees of course, but now is the time to try to determine how stable the ground will be where you land after your leap.
2 – You have to believe that you can build the creative business of your dreams
When you think about the idea that led you to search for this article, can you imagine where you’ll be when you ‘land’ after you take the risk? When your business is buzzing along, money and all?
Do you believe it’s possible for you to get there?
That’s a big ask, and really the most important thing to know: do you believe in your idea and ability to transform it into a real business?
In order to feel confident leaping into the unknown, you’ve got to believe that you can do this. You can build your creative business.
Now… That doesn’t automatically mean that your business is a fast success – obviously, you’ll need to do a bit of market research and assess what kind of demand there is for what you’re making or sharing…
You may even need to test a few ideas and learn what works and what doesn’t. (raises hand…)
And sometimes believing in yourself and your abilities can be really hard. Sometimes learning what doesn’t work feels like failure, even when it’s really just a refining and fine tuning process.
So as you build the confidence to embark on a creative business idea, be prepared to see those bumps in the road as snags and not failures – and prepare that you will have them 🙂
3. Prepare to hit a few mid-leap snags
This is the point where you’re soaring through the air and a branch smacks you in the face. You’ll still land.. But shit.. That hurts…
Still… For a lot of creative souls, the challenges and the risks are what make this leap of faith so irresistible. I mean… What in the hell is wrong with us??
Haha, I’m joking. (and also not – but still laughing..)
Think of the creative people you admire – then research their story. Most of them have tried a few things that just didn’t fit. But they risked it and now they know. And now they’re the ones you look up to for allll of the reasons. Just remember that they, too, were once on the upside down end of the cartwheel.
Snags are an unavoidable part of the creative process, and of business itself. and they help to prune away the activities, tasks, products and services that may not work for you personally, or may not serve your business in the best ways. But I know it hurts when you get snagged right in the face..
In this industry, you have to give yourself permission to fall down and keep getting back up. And then reach out to others.
4 – Connect with Your Creative Community
Thankfully, this one really is pretty accessible to most of us. Social media, online groups, free workshops – there are so many ways to plug into your creative community and build your creative business connections so that you can really flourish.
Even if you’re a self-proclaimed, cozy, inside introvert working from under your fluffy comforter – don’t neglect this step – there are others like you to connect with (quietly.. Digitally perhaps..).
Watching and listening to how others are doing things, sharing your ideas, and asking for feedback, and even participating in scheduled creative meet-ups or challenges, will give you new perspectives, fresh answers to some of your questions, and help you to feel grounded in where you are in your process.
In my first solo business venture, I started my journey off doing The Artist’s Way. That’s because this was before social media existed.
It was a pretty big commitment, but I loved sharing that experience with my other friends who did it alongside me. We all built so much more bravery and confidence in claiming our creativity as our birthright.
These days I’m more apt to join Facebook group, or take a paid or free workshop with others, or maybe even join an instagram challenge. You may find an incredibly supportive creative community on Dischord, or you may choose to join in-person community events.
But don’t work in isolation even if you’ve really got your head down and are working hard to build your creative business.
Connection is one of the most inspiring, soul-feeding, heartwarming parts of being human, and these are the moments we really do need to nurture the sensitivity and vulnerability required to be an artist or a creative in this world. There’s power in community, and if you need to be brave, your community can support you in all of your leaping.
The whole goal is to build something we can enjoy – something that brings us satisfaction, joy and abundance – a dream whose benefits we can share. So share your musings with your community and let them celebrate your wins with you. It’s so worth it. And it leads me to my final hope for you as you leap into your exciting and creative new venture: focus on your joy.
5 – Focus on your joy, and allow yourself to dance with some magical thinking
Business isn’t always joyful or magical. Invoicing may forever be a drag. Creating unique product descriptions, tagging, social media, email schedules – these are all of the things that we know we need to do to keep our business running smoothly – but they may not be the part that lights up our souls. :/
But the heart of a creative business is the creativity itself. And if your business is sucking the joy right out of you, it’s a red flag. And one you should attend to as soon as possible.
When you hit burnout, it’s a sign that you need to make some changes. Even as you work to fine tune things, take better care of yourself and find help, it’s important to revisit the activities that do provide joy and relaxation.
And I think it’s really important to give yourself permission to engage in some serious magical thinking, reimagining and visioning. What would make this business feel more lighthearted and more you? How would you feel if you could change what’s dragging you down?
Give yourself permission to build time into every day for joy and inspiration – it’s easy to get into the trap of feeling like you have to “earn” your joy, and delay your own satisfaction while you toil away.
Keep doing what you love – making the things that you make – designing the products you design – sharing your creations with your community. And keep your heart focused on being on the other side of the first few years. When things really do hum along – and you have a bit more time to watercolor, or sculpt, or sew, or whatever, you’ll be grateful that you didn’t lose sight of the joy as you built your foundation.
Building a creative business is a labor of love – and a labor of confusion – a labor of exhilaration, frustration, worry, thrill, and so many opportunities for expression. But if you’re like many of us creative souls, there’s a force that roars so loudly from within that it won’t be silenced, and the only way to satisfy it is to keep trying; keep creating; keep expressing.
Wishing you a joy-filled leap into the next phase of your creative growth. May the creative force be with you!
This post was all about taking a creative leap of faith and building a creative business from your passions.
Other posts you may enjoy:
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5 Powerful Business Branding Ideas to Build Your Brand Authentically
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