Are you interested in turning your craft into a business?
I decided that I would give it a go 18 months ago and right now, I am still happy with my decision. But I just want to talk a little about the reality of it all. About the last few weeks I have had, not to put anyone off because I would always encourage you to do what you love, to be the best you can be. I just want to let you know the reality of it, from my point of view.
It has been a few weeks of creative setbacks for me and I have been so desperate to get back on track. The things you just don’t want to think about when you start your creative business, the administration, the accounts, the insurance, the website to name a few, had their arms wrapped so tightly around me that I could not breath! Couldn’t create!
There has been no time to finish the infinite number of projects I have started. Just as the taxes are done, the debt is paid, paperwork is almost up to date and there is finally light at the end of the tunnel. Well, it was a long way ahead of me but I finally felt like I could reach that distant light when…I realised that the children are on school break and another week will pass with minimal creating achieved!
I have always been so organised…so on top of it all. And boy is it a rollercoaster when you realise those days may be gone! But when you are running a business in any niche, you have to be on top of the legal stuff and the administration side of it all. So what do I do? I make lists and plans, write down my tasks, prioritise them and most importantly I stick to it.
I take a 2-plan approach…the ‘business’ stuff and the ‘creative’ stuff. You really do need to stay ahead of the ‘business’ stuff. If you don’t, this is when stress and anxiety will start to creep in and that’s not good for anyone’s wellbeing! What you don’t want to happen is find that your mojo ups and leaves, so I make sure I have some time set aside for creativity, short as it may be; you have to find a balance!
I get a lot of question about making your creating a business and the one thing I cannot stress enough is, it is hard work. It is not all about the journals; there are so many other aspects involved. If you are prepared to put in the hours as they say, it can work out. You need to remember that there will be times, days, maybe weeks at a time where you don’t get to sit and create as much as you would like but those times pass and it is so worth it in the end. My creative drought is almost over and I am in a good place, in terms of the business, to get creating.
There really is no ‘takeaway’ from this post. I have nothing to give you except a light at the end of a tunnel that you will one day go through.
