Unleash Your Creativity – 5 Ways to Thrive as a Creative Entrepreneur

Do you dream of quitting your 9-5 job to pursue a creative hobby? When your kids are napping, do you find yourself thinking what it might like to take the leap and share your work online? Are you thinking of starting a blog? If so, this post is for you! Today we’re going to talk about your creativity and how to thrive as a creative entrepreneur.

I know many of you read the blog for recipes or for design inspiration, but I’ve been getting lots of questions about the business side of things – an interest in wholesale, questions about how surface pattern design works, or just general blogging questions.

I believe we are all creative. Yes, even you who tells me that they can’t draw a stick figure! We are ALL CREATIVE but we are taught after a certain age that we need to stop being creative to be productive.

I started this blog back in August 2011 as a creative outlet. When I began I didn’t know where I was going or the amazing journey this blog would take me on. I’ve had the good fortune to meet amazingly talented artists, designers, entrepreneurs, storytellers. I’ve discovered hidden talents and gifts within me that I didn’t know were there. If I didn’t start the blog I may not know that they were there still….

Okay, I’m not telling you all this to make it seem that I’m an amazing creator or artist, but I’m telling you this because I believe YOU are creative and YOU have hidden gifts inside of you that you might not even know are there yet.

My Creative Path

The thing with creativity is it sneaks up on you. I’ve found it bubbles under the surface just waiting to be unleashed. Before I share my “secrets for success” I want to tell you about my story, my creative path.

Back in the summer of 2011, it felt like my creativity was nonexistent. I had two very young children. My days were full – playdates, playgrounds, long walks, cooking, cleaning etc. BUT I wasn’t feeling very fulfilled creatively. I NEEDED a creative outlet. I’d gone to hear an author speak at Buttonwood Books and they recommended starting a blog.

I clearly remember being on a walk around Minot Beach with the boys, and our dog, Poppy; and telling Luke how this writer suggested starting a blog. I laughed and said, “who would want to read what I wrote?” We walked some more and he said that he actually had been thinking of starting a blog and thought he would do it that week. Of course, he knew this would get me going.

That first post was the beginning. Nearly 12 years later, I discovered a passion for painting furniture, styling and interior design, painting with watercolors, creating stationery, and designing fabric, wallpaper and home decor elements.

My Creativity Over Coffee series is meant to help with creativity but I want to do more to help you achieve your goals and tap into your creativity.

5 Ways to Thrive as a Creative Entrepreneur

There are more than 5 tips but let’s start with these!

A Space to Create

I don’t really have a set studio but I enjoy painting in my sunroom. For me it’s essential to have a space where I can always have my paints, papers, and brushes all set up so when the creative inspiration hits I can just paint.

If you don’t have a dedicated space where you can have your creative things then you might fall into the pitfall of saying, “Oh, I can’t really be bothered to pull everything out or set things up. I’ll just do it tomorrow.”

My Creative Spaces

We live in a 1927 Dutch colonial so our home isn’t huge. I use a table in our sunroom for painting. If you’re painting I highly recommend setting up in a light filled space (even if you have to use the dining table or kitchen counter).

This is the room “styled”:

But this is me sitting and painting here the other day:

I share an office with my husband and this is also our guest room. Luke used to have his own office but everything changed with the pandemic. In our shared office I have a desktop computer with a good screen (I invested in a Mac). This is where I write posts, edit photos, and also scan my watercolors, and turn my art and drawings into wallpaper, fabric, and home decor products.

Finally, at the top of the stairs (on our landing). I have our “warehouse” it’s where I pack wholesale and retail orders for our online shop. This the space where we store most of our inventory and marketing materials.

My Creative Space Essentials

• A cart to store all my art supplies
• My creative spaces must be light-filled
• Headphones – noise cancelling head phones are essential when my husband is on calls and I love listening to music when I create, edit photos and design
• Comfortable seating
• Space to spread out

Be Curious

“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.
It matters that you don’t just give up.”

― Stephen Hawking

Every morning my husband I start each day walking on our local beaches with the dogs. This time on shore, a space to be in awe of the natural world, sets my day up with an openness to approach life and work more creatively. Sometimes I’m inspired to paint objects we find on the beach or the waves and other times this being in nature can make me feel just really relaxed and more open to creative ideas.

I don’t know about you but I believe in a growth mindset. I believe we’re always learning and growing. It’s so important to try new things and get outside of ones comfort zone. Last year, I decided I wanted to learn Adobe Illustrator and this experience has opened up so much more in my businesses. More on that in that in a bit.

Set Goals and Write Them Down

This is a big one! I’m a daily “to do” list writer, BUT it’s also important to really sit down and think about what your big and little goals are for your creative business. I like to break these up into manageable tasks.

For example, this year I have a few big goals for myself. My goal is to increase the wholesale portion of my business which tripled last year. So I spent the first part of this year preparing for the New England Made Wholesale Show in Portland. I will be one of 300 small business owners exhibiting to over 3,000 shops. I’m looking forward to meeting small independent businesses but also looking forward to meeting LL Bean and Stonewall Kitchen. Our booth is 104 for any wholesalers heading to the show.

After this show, I plan on focusing on my portfolio and starting to pitch companies in the home decor and wallpaper space to license my patterns.

John and I are also going to collaborate on a new product – more to come on that!

Consistency is Key

“Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally. It comes from what you do consistently.”

– Marie Forleo

It’s my goal to paint and create EVERY day. That is my goal, but it doesn’t always happen. I will say when I’m consistently painting I find it easier to get into that flow state.

Whatever you decide you want to do – whether it be writing, creating art, or crafting – do it consistently.

I will also say that consistency is important when you show up online for your readers and followers, too.

Invest in Yourself

This one is really hard for me, often times I will invest in my husband and kids but NOT MYSELF. Can you relate? Last year, was the first year I really decided to make a big investment in myself. I enrolled in Bonnie Christine’s Immersion Course.

I’ve updated this section to have the 2024 Immersion links and information.

In this 8 week course, I became proficient at Adobe Illustrator to create repeating patterns. Half the course was devoted to learning adobe illustrator and the other half was devoted to the business side of surface pattern design – marketing, creating a business, legal advice, contracts, how to generate multiple sources of income including how to license your artwork and create a portfolio.

I usually don’t share things like this on the blog, but I’m honored to be an ambassador for Immersion this year and the course opens for enrollment February 13th and is only open until February 20th with the course beginning on February 26th. I don’t want you guys to miss out in case you’re interested in it!

Bonnie is so good and what she does. She’s an amazing designer, but perhaps even more an inspirational and motivating teacher. If you’re looking to get into surface pattern design or want to learn illustrator I highly recommend this class. It is an investment but I don’t think I would have been able to learn illustrator or so much of the nuances without her course.

Since completing her course, my work has been featured in two magazines, I’ve launched a Spoonflower shop, I’ve designed over 50 patterns (I’m currently working on more), I’m creating a portfolio, I’m working with brands on products, and I’m looking forward to pitching big brands this spring!

Here you can see a peek of some of the patterns:

The collection called A Shore Thing which I created during Immersion. It will all be available soon in my Spoonflower Shop.

Bonus

For those that sign up for Immersion through my affiliate link, I am offering a bonus group coaching session for everyone, and one-on-one coaching to 20 students! The 20 students will be chosen randomly. Bonnie will let me know who signs up through my link and I will be in contact with you after the course opens.

Well, I hope this post was helpful and gave you some ideas for unleashing your creativity! I’m so excited to see where it takes you!

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