Find your brand and stay true to your brand. This wont happen right away but once you know, you will know. It’s like saying “yes to the dress”.
Community over competition. Working together will help you learn more and be inspired. Don’t copy others but talk with other creatives in your field. It feels great to share your experiences, and hear others. Find someone to mentor, this will help you develop your skills and make you feel great about yourself. I wish someone would have taking me in when I was starting.
Try new ideas and don’t hold back. Push yourself, it will only help you find your niche. If you don’t try it you wont know. But don’t try too many things you get are sinking.
Hire professional to do the things you don’t know how to do. At the begin you may not have money, so do it yourself. Once you have a little money outsource as much as you can. This will leave so much extra mental space in your life to focus on what makes you happy, creating.
Take breaks when you feel burned out. If you don’t you will run yourself into the ground. Pick a day, a few hours or a month to do something just for you. I take at least one vacation or a month off in January each year. At the end of the wedding season I live for my time off and turning my email on vacation mode.
Network. Duh, but it’s true. I am not a social person unless I am with my friends but once I went to a few events and pushed myself it slowly became easier and easier. Now I can walk into an event and socialize, maybe meet one client or at least be inspired by the others in the room.
Do not devalue your work. We need to make sure we are getting paid for all of our time. We often are quick to give a discount just to get a client but in reality we aren’t doing ourselves or our business justice. If another client comes your way and you know they can’t afford you (as I can’t afford myself) but you love them and really want to work with them, maybe give them a discount in exchange for total creative freedom or social media content. I suggest creating a budget for the year. Only offer so many discounts or a number of discounts. Once you hit your quota you are done for the year.
Timing. Do not get down on yourself if your plan is not going accord your timeline. Sometimes things happen over night but not always and not for everyone. We get lost and want everything to happen right away because Instagram lives seem so easy. Your business may not be going the way you want it but maybe your personal life is or vice versa. We can’t have it all.
Be good to your body. Most of us creatives we use our hands, our feet, and we stand or sit for long periods of time. We need to take breaks and stretch, replenish our bodies with food and water. Don’t wake up in 20 years, where you can’t lift a paint brush because of carpool tunnel. Stop and focus on what your body needs at all times.
Find something that always gets you in the grove. I listen to Bon Iver every time I am having a block, hungover or another rough day. As soon as I play Bon Iver the juices start flowing. It’s my starter song. Once I am in the mood I switch to electric dance for a wild colorful wedding or 70’s rock for a boho themed wedding, find your thing. If you don’t like music maybe it’s a cup of tea or 10 minutes of meditation. Find a go to, to keep you inspired.
Thanks for letting me share my tips for creatives. I hope this helps a few of you wild and out of the box thinkers.