So how exactly do you use a creative talent as a business to generate income?
Do you want to start a business but just can’t decide which of your many creative ideas to pursue? Trust me, you’re not alone. I call this the creative person conundrum.
Creative people in a conundrum are usually multi-talented but bad at talking about their talents.
In fact, many don’t even see their creative skills as talents at all. They tend to downplay their talent because they feel it’s not as good as being, a dentist or a doctor. They may not feel they have the right talent to be a creative entrepreneur.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the secret formula for finding your successful idea; however, I can share with you a few tips that have helped me throughout my career.
Sign up for my Business Emails
Find what creative talent people will also pay you for.
For example, I could be very passionate about underwater basket weaving but last time I checked there was no market for that. The whole idea is to be successful and get paid for it. You don’t want to put a ton of hard work into something and still starve! What kinds of things do your girlfriends or family ask you about? Well here’s an amazing thing that God did, many times he’s set it up so that other people will seek out the talents they see in you that you may recognize or fully utilize yet. Those people are key to which talent you have that they’d pay for.
That’s how I started my Inner Circle group. People started asking me to mentor them with their creative businesses. I didn’t even know I had this talent, but others saw it.
So what if you’ve got several good ideas that you feel could be fun and profitable, yet you’re still having trouble making a decision? My guess is you probably have one of the following issues going on.
1. NOT deciding is actually deciding.
When you keeping saying, “I can’t decide, I can’t decide, I can’t decide,” what you’re actually doing is self-protecting yourself from ever making a decision. That’s a hard reality to accept. By NOT deciding, you’re really deciding to put off starting a business because you’re using your indecision as an excuse. Remember this when making any decision, very few decisions on this side of heaven are permanent. It’s okay to choose a few ideas now, and change those down the road.
2. Locking yourself into only one right idea.
Perhaps you just need to look at your decision differently. If you brand YOU, instead of just one talent you have, then you can have many talents to pursue. Then you can try everything you’d like. You’re the entrepreneur, you’re the boss… so you can do whatever you’d like. By branding YOU, you’ve left the slate open for all of your interests, plus when one creative idea has run its course, e.g., the farmhouse market, or the distressed furniture, then you’ll be able to easily fall into something else. Creative business owners are constantly adapting to their environment and market.
3. Your heart’s not in it.
Perhaps you just need to admit to yourself that you’re not really cut out to be an entrepreneur. And that’s okay! Some people do very well and enjoy their passions more by keeping them as hobbies. It’s better to be honest with yourself right from the beginning than force yourself to start a business you will soon detest. I’ve come across many women who may just not be cutout to be a business owner, and that’s OKAY. So read this first: 8 Questions to Ask yourself before starting a Business and really think about it. Running your own business is hard work, and you have to really want to put forth the effort to make it a success. Only you can honestly answer that question.
So there you have it. The not so magical formula of deciding what creative idea to pursue. Pick something, brand YOU, and if necessary ask yourself if you really want to take your passion to the next level of creative business.
Once you’ve made a decision, don’t forget to take action. In other words … Get Started!
Blessings, Jen
Sign up for my Business Emails
If these tips are useful at all, consider joining my Inner Circle where each month i teach you new social media strategies, technical tips and also bring you advice from experts. It’s a fantastic group of creative business owners who network and support each other! You will love it! I’d love to meet you there!
You may also consider joining my Creators Roadmap course when it opens again. You can join the waitlist here. This course will put you on the fast-track to learning everything about bringing in diverse revenue streams for your creative business.
Please share my creative business advice pin on Pinterest and follow my Business + Marketing Board.
