5 Simple Ways To Be the Leader of Your Creative Business
01. FIND YOUR BUSINESS BESTIES
In order to be the visionary and CEO of your business, you need to cut the naysayers out and find the people who support you. It's all about your mindset.
"You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." — Jim Rohn
Find people that are also in the creative world you're living in that get what you're doing.
Make sure they are people you trust and can rely on. Make sure they have their own goals and ambitions. You can't do it alone. Find people to ride this entrepreneurial rollercoaster with.
02. ALWAYS CREATE MORE THAN YOU CONSUME
Don't get stuck in the research phase. When we're first starting out, shifting our brand, or trying something new, it's easy to let the fear of starting keep us in consumption mode.
Stop stalling, and start creating the thing you're afraid to create.
When a problem or question comes up along the way, then do some research, but do not let the research sidetrack you and take over.
If you want to be known for something and impact people, you need to be creating.
Take Action:
If you have 80 tabs open in your browser window and downloaded every free ebook and training out there, it's time to cut yourself off.
Close the tabs — yes, all of them — and clear out your downloads folder. Set a specific time on your schedule when you're allowed to consume content.
For example, I read during breakfast and listen to a podcast while I walk my pup. This keeps me from consuming all day long and forces me to choose quality content vs "all the things".
03. DON'T GET STUCK IN THE COMPARISON TRAP
There are two top ways we get ourselves stuck in the comparison trap:
a. We look at what someone else is doing and immediatly think we need to change our entire business plan to do what they're doing.
b. We look at what someone else is doing and go down the spiral of: "Why should I do that if she's already doing it so well? What makes me different? Why would anyone buy from me?"
Take Action:
a. Unfollow. Unfriend. Silence the noise that's stressing you out.
b. Befriend them. (I personally love this solution.)
Most of the time, when you actually befriend the person you're comparing yourself to, you learn they're an imperfect human facing struggles and fears, just like you.
04. YOU NEED TO KNOW YOURSELF
In order to build a successful personal brand and business, you need to get to know yourself.
You need to know:
what you're good at (and not so good at)
your personality type
how you work best with people
what you want to spend your days doing
Ultimately, you need to know what your version of success looks like so you can let that dictate how you structure your business.
Own who you are, how you best show up for people, and what you stand for.
Take Action:
I'm a sucker for personality tests so if you've never taken one, start here.
If you already know your personality type, think about the lifestyle you'd ideally like to live.
For example: If your lifestyle involves picking up and moving every month, meeting with daily one-on-one clients might not be the most successful way to run your business. Creating pre-recorded classes or a self-paced course might be the way to go instead.
05. STOP FOLLOWING OTHERS COOKIE CUTTER FORMULAS FOR SUCCESS
What worked for someone else, will most likely not work for you. No two journeys are exactly the same. We are all good at different things and communicate in different ways.
If an expert is saying you must blog daily to reach success, and you absolutely hate writing, you're setting yourself up for failure trying to follow their formula. Instead, you could find a way to share content that actually inspires you to show up and do the work.
Find what works best for you, your business, your personality type, and your people (aka potential customers). That will help you reach success faster in a way that feels good.
Take Action:
What "rules" are you currently following in your business that no longer serve you? Let them go.
Instead, find what you love doing and what other people love you for, and do more of that.
BONUS
Want to learn even more about becoming the leader of your creative business?
Listen to my former business + life coach, Lisette Van Der Valk, and I chat all about becoming a leader in your business on her podcast, The Leading Lady!
Want more personal branding and creative business advice?
That's exactly what you'll get when you join my weekly Brand Love Letter crew!