I recently did 12 free business coaching sessions with budding CREATIVE entrepreneurs... and every single one of them STRUGGLED WITH THE SAME DAMN problemS.
So I broke them down into categories:
1) PRE-DECISION:
A) COMPARE & DESPAIR - “Whenever I scroll on Instagram, I get discouraged.” I compare myself to everyone else and think, ‘oh, they’re already doing the idea I had.. why bother?’ 👉 IMPOSTER SYNDROME lives here and stops inspiration in its tracks.
B) ALL OR NOTHING - “I have a great idea, but I feel like I have to figure out alllll the tiniest details before I even get started.” Ex: I want to teach a calligraphy workshop. But…what website do I use so people can sign up? How do I collect payment? Do I end with a project? What tablecloths do I use? 👉 Instead of going one step at a time and having faith that you can figure all the details out when they come.
C) DECISION OVERWHELM - “I have so many ideas, but I don’t know which one to do, so I end up doing nothing.” This is perfectionism in disguise. 👉 You feel like you can’t move forward until you figure out which one is the absolute BEST idea - but surprise, surprise, there’s no way to find out until you actually start trying them out.
2) DECISION POINT:
A) WANTS v. SHOULDs - “I really LOVE teaching to children, but I hear that weddings are really LUCRATIVE.” (but I secretly hate doing weddings). 👉 If you base your business entirely on “SHOULDs”, you will end up HATING your business.
B) GROWTH DISCOMFORT v. HURTS YOUR SOUL - “I really WANT to connect with people, but it feels really awkward posting my face on social media, so I don’t do it.” v. “The idea of posting 6-7x a day, like Gary V. recommends, is a HELLLL FUCKING NO. I genuinely hate being forced to show up on social media just because I HAVE to.” 👉 This is a subtle but CRUCIAL distinction. In the first example, you need to get a little uncomfortable in order to grow towards your true desires. In the second example, you need to IGNORE the outside advice and find a way of showing up that works for your true inner self.
3) EXECUTION:
A) IT NEEDS TO BE PERFECT - “What if I fail? What if they don’t like it? What if it all goes wrong?” 👉 It feels like if you show up and get a negative response, you’ll actually die. The pressure to get it perfect leads to major PROCRASTINATION.
NOTICE WHAt’S MISSING HERE?
In over 12 hours of talking 1-on-1 with creative entrepreneurs, the problem was never a “HOW TO” problem...
How do I build the best website?
How do I teach an effective calligraphy workshop?
How do I set prices so that my products are profitable?
There are so many places you can learn the HOW.
If you're my people (and if you're reading this, you probably are), it's probably not lack of business KNOWLEDGE and STRATEGY that stops you.
It's lack of IDENTITY.
A person who is able to grow a successful business is scared and uncertain and uncomfortable, too.
But they're the KIND OF PERSON who learns to manage their fear and anxiety so they can do what they want to do.
They're the KIND OF PERSON who practices self-love so they can recover after rejection.
They're the KIND OF PERSON who finds a sense of purpose larger than the sting of individual failure.
When I was working towards the goal of a 7-figure business, one of my business mentors asked me a really powerful question:
"What kind of person do you need to be in order to have a million-dollar business?"
I was scared about raising my prices, about disappointing people, about getting negative comments from strangers on the Internet.
But then I thought about every single successful person I admire - Oprah, Glennon Doyle, Brene Brown, Ali Wong, Kamala Harris, Simone Seol.
They’ve ALL faced their share of harsh, unrelenting criticism from disappointed people. And they’ve all grown into THE KIND OF PEOPLE who don’t let that shit stop them.
When I started shifting my identity from "small creative business owner" to "7-figure CEO. ….that's when I started taking really effective ACTION towards that goal.
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>>>> If your goal is to start and grow a thriving creative business, STOP spinning your wheels looking for more “How To’s”.