I have been working hard and in secret on a big change in the direction I want to go into as an artist. I realized that I was happy with my work but that the way I applied it has so far not led me to the life and success in my career that I want to live. I know that I could try much harder first before moving into a different direction, but I realized that I really enjoy working for myself. If I went and got a graphic design full time position I would gain valuable experience but I could not think of many scenarios where that would lead me to creating the exact work I enjoy and to using all the skills that I know I have deep down, even if I have never used them before.
The other option of freelancing is closer to that, and is what I have been aiming for so far with small successes and I could dive really deep into that. However, there are quite big hurdles to overcome ( New Zealand’s small market for illustration, my relatively small network of contacts, some really depressing pay for beginners in the industry…).
So I thought about the fact that before pouring a lot of work into all that, to look at options or ideas that I could work on that really really excite me, that cover more of my skills and that bring me the most benefit, creatively and financially. And I actually got some answers from my explorations.
I am now working on being a REAL entrepreneur. And not just some freelancing on the side, but a real business that lets me achieve the live I want to create for myself.
It is super scary and and at the same time exciting. I am not in the delusionary state of believing that everything will work out perfectly and I might even fail, however I am wildly determined not to :-).
Part of this is to learn and improve as much as I can about business, marketing and audience building.
And here is where my recommendation comes in. I found a really great marketing and business coach for women, called Marie Forleo. She is a really fun energetic and positive woman who calls it like it is and gets straight to the point. I love her authentic and funny personality and her content is ace.
I have been watching her weekly TV episodes for a while, but I decided to join her really big course, the RHH B School this year and it has been amazing. I have made really great friends, got to know some really successful women and of course got loads of great content for me to create a thriving online business. Her content is precise, targeted and tested, so there really is only useful things in there. There are really deep exercises that can really transform how you do business.
Anyways, I can only recommend the programme, but if you can’t join, you might want to look at her weekly quick episodes at MarieTV. I love that too and watch it every week, she really covers some interesting topics.
