Ep. 89 Should You Start a Creative Business? With guest Erin Nielson
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Ep. 89 Should You Start a Creative Business?
Today Kristin is talking with Erin Nielson, a watercolor artist who has turned her creative hobby into a thriving business. She’s sharing her perspective on how you know if you should merge your creative passion with business.
We talked about:
Why Erin keeps some parts of her art just for herself
How to know if you’re ready to start a creative business
Why finding your purpose is so similar to finding your creative voice
How to stop feeling discouraged if your work doesn’t match what you want for it yet
Erin’s Purpose Statement (and her Purpose Statement for her business!)
How Erin translates her purpose into the day-to-day choices of doing what matters most
What it’s like to feel contentment despite not having perfect circumstances
Dealing with feelings of inadequacy as a creative
Learn more about Erin’s work on her website or watch her YouTube watercolor flower tutorials.
Grab this FREE beautiful watercolor printable Erin created just for you!
Erin created a custom watercolor print just for The Progress Project and we wanted to share it with you! Get a pdf version sent to your email HERE.
We’re also mailing a physical copy of this beautiful print to any of our new Patreon supporters that sign up for our Patreon Community in the month of November!
Links Mentioned In This Episode
FIND YOUR PURPOSE COURSE: If you’re ready to start setting goals from a clear understanding of WHO you are and WHAT you really want, you’re ready for our Find Your Purpose course. It’s available to purchase December 30th - get on the waiting list HERE.
Learn more about Erin’s work on her website or watch her YouTube watercolor flower tutorials.
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Recap of Episode
How do you know if you’re ready to start your creative business?
Erin suggests that the only way you’ll ever know is just by jumping in and trying it. You can wonder and wait forever, but the only way you’ll know if it’s right for you is by going for it!
Remember that you’re growing WITH the business. You’ll probably get overwhelmed and confused and frustrated but just focus on the next step. Know that you’re equipped with whatever you need right now!
And what you do now will equip you for the next thing you’ll do. Trust that you’ll learn exactly what you’ll need for the stage that you’re in.
You have to do the rough draft before you get to the good draft. You have to be bad at it so that you can get good at it.
Amazing quote from Ira Glass that Kristin mentioned
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste.
But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you.
A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this.
And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions.
And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take a while. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
Erin’s experience taking the Find Your Purpose Course
Erin also shared her experience in the Find Your Purpose course and how it helped her create a Purpose Statement for her life -- and one for her business! She said she thinks finding your purpose is the same as finding your creative voice.
She moved from setting what she thought were good life goals to setting goals that she actually has control over. She began to be creative in how she looked at things to see that what she ultimately wanted were actually things she already had. Realizing this is so powerful! It helps you find ways to make your dreams a reality right now.
Living out your purpose is not something that only happens in the future! Having a Purpose Statement not only reminds you what you’re working for but also what you already have. Moving forward from this place of contentment, abundance, and gratitude makes your goals so much easier to achieve
“I’ve never been able to articulate what I want in life into a few sentences until I took the Find Your Purpose course. Just to have that made it all worth it.” -Erin
If you liked this episode then you’ll really LOVE these ones!
Ep. 58 How to Selflessly Take Care Of Yourself - with Rio Grange
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