When I first started considering the possibility of offering creative services online around 2015. The creative space was vastly different than what it is today.
During those times, we were inundated with the Girl Boss movement and how women could be their own bosses.
The push was so heavy; you would have thought there were no women in leadership.
That’s the thing about the internet and these small silos. If you can get enough people to believe in an idea, whether new or not and put a different title on it. You can create a movement.
Let me tell you. I was sucked into the movement.
At the time, I worked in retail leadership and put in long hours and days. It wasn’t unheard of for me to work 9 days straight and 15-hour days.
Needless to say, I was ready for a change because I couldn’t see myself living out the rest of my life in that manner.
That sparked my journey to create my business after tackling what I should offer, how to start, what to call my business, and changing the name several times.
I wanted to pursue my love for branding, web design, and development. It would fulfill my creativity and be the perfect outlet to allow me to marry design and technology together.
In my early days of figuring things out, I wrestled with what tools, software, contracts, platforms, etc., to specialize in.
It’s completely normal to try all the things when you are getting started. That is how you’ll figure out what you like and don’t like.
Over time if you keep going, you will pick up many skills that are helpful to other business owners. In client services, you may find yourself helping your clients with things in their businesses beyond your core offers.
For example, if you specialize in website design, you may become an SEO specialist because your clients want to optimize their websites for better performance.
As you keep going, you’ll notice that your skills also increase, and naturally, you’ll want to let people know you offer a suite of services.
There are pros and cons to this…
The pros are that your clients won’t have to find 5 different service providers to help them with their needs.
The cons are that you can offer too many services that become overwhelming to manage.
In order to remain profitable, you need to have solid systems in place to manage each type of service you offer. Otherwise, you can quickly get into a position where you lose money and increase stress.
That brings me to this era of my business, and I can see other creatives facing the same dilemma.
We are over the hustle and want to be in our quiet luxury of business.
Where we do quality work without the pressures of being full-time content creators or learning all the strategies of TikTok, LinkedIn, or whatever is the latest.
During the pandemic, many of us realized that the things we thought were important were not as important anymore.
That looks different for all of us.
In pursuit of more peace, I’m simplifying my creative business.
The first step was to get clear about the type of work I wanted to really be doing, and yes, that could change.
Then simplify my message and use this process to streamline other areas, such as using fewer systems.
Offering fewer services.
That’s the purpose of this community. I want you to create a business around your life. I also want you to create a business that reflects your vision. Not what social media says, a coach, guru, etc.
If you feel the need to simplify this, my post to you. Do it and tune out the noise.
Yes, there are systems, methods, and philosophies out there that tell you how to run a business. Break the rules where they apply to you and use that creativity of yours to design an epic business and life for yourself and your loved ones.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my thoughts on this, and feel free to leave your thoughts below, and don’t forget to join our community newsletter. We would love to have you!
Cheers!
