Living Your Dream:To start, you must create.

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?
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 - and 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 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. so we look outward for answers by buying classes, joining groups, comparing our businesses to other businesses that have been around for many years.
Now, I'm all for learning the things you need to know to run a successful business. The basics on managing your costs and pricing, bookkeeping best practices, production and inventory management, how to make a profit, etc. etc. Market research is one thing, but it's an entirely different thing to compare your emerging business with another that has years of experience under their belt.
But the one thing that will always help you start your creative business is to START YOUR CREATIVE BUSINESS.
(more in my next post)