People will often ask me, "How did you get started with your creative business?"
Well...It started when I made my first few dollars selling earrings to my junior high school classmates. Yawn. That's not really what you want to know, is it?
What you really want to know is:
When will I be ready to start my creative business?
How can I learn everything there is to know first so I don't mess this up?
What happens if I try and fail?
Okay then. Let's take this slow.
When will you be ready? Truthfully, you're probably ready right now!
Some of the most successful creative business owners I know started their businesses by literally making a LOT of STUFF for fun. Then, when their tables and houses and garages were a little too full of things they made, they had three options:
Stop making stuff (not really an option)
Give stuff away (you've probably already been doing this)
Sell their stuff to earn more money to make more stuff
Option 3 is the reason you're here.
I know starting your business is scary and there are things you really should learn before you begin. To find these answers, you look outward for help by buying classes, joining groups, and comparing your not-yet-a business to other businesses that have been around for many years.
Here's the thing. Yes, you need to learn the basics of managing your costs and pricing, bookkeeping best practices, production, and inventory management, and how to make a profit, etc., etc. All of these things can be learned and applied with ease with so much free information out there to be found.
But the real reason you are waiting to start your business is likely that you are comparing your fledgling idea with successful businesses that have been doing it for years. Waiting and wondering how they did it. Researching and asking how they started. Figuring out how long it took them to be successful. Putting all of your ducks in a row but never actually getting them moving. Ultimately feeling like you'll never get to where they are, so why start?
Sound familiar?
If it does, then you have some choices to make:
Do you really want this? Do you want to take the time to figure out how to do this successfully? Or is someone telling you that building a business is the only way you get to enjoy your hobby?
Is being an entrepreneur a life you want to live? Making and selling your work, getting it into the hands of people who love it as much as you do? Or does that sound like a form of torture?
If someone told you directly that making a business out of something you love to make is a truly HORRIBLE idea. How would you feel? Relieved? Indignant? Challenged to action?
If you read the above questions and realized that you really DO want to give this creative business thing a try, then I'm here to tell you the truth.
The one thing that is guaranteed to help you start your creative business is to START YOUR CREATIVE BUSINESS. Commit to it and ride it until you don't want to ride anymore. You can always choose to do something else, but you'll never know how successful you can be unless you START NOW.