Standout Creatives: Business, marketing, and creativity tips for solopreneurs launching their ideas

A recap of episode 87 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Derek Miller where he talks about why you need to keep your creative momentum, the power of a positive mindset, and not getting down on yourself, among many other things.

Derek Miller has always had a creative side to his life. As a kid he wanted to be a cartoonist, and little did he know, he would become deeply entrenched in that world as an adult through the web comic Cyanide and Happiness. While he was in college, and a few years afterward, Derek was part of a small metal band and also ran a small music blog. He was also a part of a non-profit to help artists turn their passion into full-time jobs. All that experience in the art world helped Derek run three successful Kickstarter campaigns at Cyanide and Happiness. Instead of treating Kickstarter like another crowdfunding tool, he treated each campaign like its own event. After three successful Kicstarter campaigns and constantly being approached by creatives about crowdfunding, Derek decided to write a book on the topic. This led to the creation of his book Six Figure Crowdfunding. In this episode, Derek talks about why you need to keep your creative momentum, the power of a positive mindset, and not getting down on yourself, among many other things. Here are three lesson you can learn from Derek: The Importance of Acting on Your Creativity As someone interested in creativity, you have probably felt the urge to do something, anything, to get your idea out there. The problem is, a lot of times, we feel that creative urge, but never take action on it. Derek believes movement is the most important thing about creation. Creative people suffer when they stop creating. So remember to always leave time for your own creative projects. “The act of creation is very important for intellectual growth and happiness. I really think the most important thing about creation is movement. And the movement of creating it forces you to make decisions, figure out what’s important to you and what’s not, and what kind of emotion, what kind of world you’re trying to create. So any time I’d be overwhelmed with too many projects or something, it came down to I had to drop a project to give myself breathing room to create, because… the process of creation improves all other aspects of your life because it teaches you to generate ideas.” The problem many of us have is, we bog ourselves down with too many projects. We feel the need to occupy all our time to stay busy, but we don’t leave enough time to work on creative projects of our own. That’s why Derek advocates for coming up with, and more importantly, executing your ideas. “Everything you do is ideas and executing ideas. That’s the basic equation for getting anything done… It’s been very important, and any time I’ve jumped in the deep end too much with too many projects, it made my performance suffer and everything, if I didn’t have time to be creative.” Just remember creativity is not a binary thing. There’s no such thing as being creative or not creative. Creativity is a process. “It seems a lot of people view creativity like you are or you are not. That’s a weird way to do it. Oh, you’re either healthy or you’re not. No. It is a process. It’s a process of self-care. It is a process of development. It’s a process of just using your brain and stretching it. It’s not something you are or are not. It’s either you are behaving in creative ways or not creating. It’s not a binary thing. It’s not just Oh I’m creative so that part of my life is handled.” The Power of a Positive Mindset Many of us believe talent and luck are the things holding us back from finding success. Luckily for us, that usually isn’t the case. The thing that most holds us back is our mindset. You can have all the talent in the world and still find failure if you have the wrong mindset. That’s why Derek believes in the power of a positive mindset. “The biggest thing holding most anyone back, myself included, it’s mindset, it’s behaviors, it’s the strategies you use. Those are the thing that hold you back more than in-born talent or whatever aptitude you’re born with. It’s the mindsets and strategies you use and the way you’re able to push past the uncomfort that makes you good.” One of the most helpful mindsets you can develop is one of an experimenter. Don’t let the fear of failure prevent you from trying things out. After all, trial and error is one of the best teachers you can have. “I like the test and failing mindset because again, that gives you the right mindset to focus on the fact that, yes some things you do are going to suck, no matter what. There’s no artist that I can think of, regardless of context, that has not put out one or two bombs… That’s the process of learning and figuring out what your art is. You’re going to bomb. Just learn. Every time you bomb, learn from it.” Just remember that failure isn’t final. It is is our ability to dust ourselves off after failures that allows us to grow and become better. “A failure now doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t turn out being something fantastic a couple years down the line.” Don’t Get Too Down on Yourself No matter how much success we have, we will inevitably face some failure. That’s why you should never let yourself get too wrapped up in your own success or failure. Celebrate your success, but also keep in mind failure could be just around the corner. “Even when there’s a lot of public facing ‘Oh, this is going great.’ Again, struggle, and difficulty, and uncomfortableness, it’s a constant in life.” The thing to remember is to not let your struggles get to you. Most people don’t see your struggles. If you are creating great work, most people will actually like your work. Don’t let negativity drag you down. Know that there are people who will be behind you, no matter how much you don’t like it yourself. “It’s very easy to get down on yourself and focused on the moment of ‘This thing is bad right now.’ But when it comes down to it, the majority of people watching anything or any piece of art you do are not going to know and see all the struggle… A majority of the audience won’t notice that, and the few of them that do, that’s fine. You put a piece of art out there. Nothing’s perfect, but you put a piece of art out there that makes people happy.”

Katie Hornor knew from a young age that wanted to serve God. She also realized that she had a teacher's heart, so she majored in education. After finishing school with a degree in education and a minor in Spanish, Katie and her husband moved to Mexico as missionaries. While in Mexico she worked at a Bible college and local mission college. But one of the most pivotal decisions in her life was deciding to home school her children. This was the moment she realized that other parents in Mexico had no resources for home schooling their children. So, to supplement her income and help out parents who wanted to home school their children, Katie and her husband started a home school blog. Katie realized their was a massive whole in the market for home schooling in Spanish, so she filled that gap. Her home schooling blog became so successful that bloggers started approaching her asking how she grew her business. Katie now helps teach bloggers from all over the world how to grow their blogs and businesses. In this episode Katie talks about sharing your gifts with the world, respecting everyone even if they don't deserve it, and defining what  success means to you. Here are three things you can learn from Katie: Share Your Gifts with the World One of the things that many creatives take for granted is their ability to change the world through their art. We are so concerned with creating our art that we overlook how much of an impact our work has on everyone else. Katie believes we should share our message with the world, and the best way to do that is by working for ourselves. "Working for yourself is so much more fun. It's something that you offer. There's a couple different analogies. When you have a message to gift to the world, when you have something to offer to the world, your vision and your passion come out as the answer to 'What does the world need?" If you can answer that question, then you know where your passion lies and what it is you have to offer. The world just needs that, and you can offer it to them, and that can get you excited about it and excited enough to get up early and work on it before you go to your job or to state up late... and things like that." One of our biggest fears as artists and creatives is not being good enough. We think that our work isn't good enough. We fall into the comparison trap. Katie's solution to that problem is focusing on our unique message. Sure, other people may do the same thing as you, but no one does it exactly like you do. Embrace that advantage. "Working for yourself, you're getting that message out there... I deal with a lot of bloggers who are afraid of comparison. I'm doing the same thing as somebody else. Either I don't want to compete or I'm not doing it as well. I just tell it. You have to stop comparing. You're going to reach people with your own unique message. Yours is different because your life is different. Your life experiences are different. Your training is different. The people who are drawn to you is different than the people who are drawn to that other person. And there's going to be people you can reach with this message that those people would never reach. And if you don't give that message, then those people who you were going to reach are going to go without. If you don't bring this dish to the table, there's somebody on the other side that's going to go hungry because you didn't do your part. And that is a big motivator." It's up to us to share our message with other people. Our gifts can help people who are trying to succeed. All we can do is try to share our message with the world. It's up to others to decide whether or not they want to listen to you. "When you have that knowledge or when you have that experience that can help other people, and when you have that message that's going to change someone else's life, it's your job to give it. Whether the person on the receiving end takes it or refuses it is not a reflection on you, but it's your job to offer." Respect Everyone Sometimes working with potential customers makes you want to tear your hair out. But the thing is, you should always put your best foot forward. It's easy to become angry or frustrated when dealing with tough customers, but as the face of your business, you need to always be your best self. Katie believes this means doing the right thing no matter what. "Those messages of 'Do it right no matter what it costs you, and do it right even if someone looks down on you for it,' and the messages of respect them because they are a person and treat them right even if they act in a way that doesn't deserve it. All of those messages have been huge with us building our business." These interactions are all important because business is all about connections. It's about connecting with your customers and potential customers too. You don't want to lose future business because one person was unprofessional to you. We need to treat each and every person we encounter in our business with respect because our relationships form the foundation of our businesses. "It's the connections that matter... and it is the people. If it wasn't for people, there would be no business, so the relationships are huge." Create Your Own Definition of Success When we start our creative journeys, we often forget to define what success means to us. We know we want to be successful, but we rarely define what success actually means. Katie is a huge proponent of defining what success means to us. While most of us have a general idea of what success is, our definitions of success probably vary a lot. Success to you might be quitting your full-time job to work on your art, but my version of success might be traveling the world while practicing my creativity. Before you do anything else, you should define success for yourself. "If you want to begin building your own online presence, number one you need to know what your goal is and what your definition of success is. So your goal for building an online business might be different from mine or the next guy's, and that' okay, but you need to know what it is or you're not going to be able to make good decisions about how to get there and then to know what your definition of success is: How are you going to know? How are you going to evaluate if what you are doing is working? How are you going to know if you've reached success?" Although your definition of success might not be making a lot of money, you still need to make money to support your creative practice. The only way to make enough money is by educating yourself on marketing. This is especially true if you are trying to do everything by yourself. Once you know how to effectively communicate with your audience, connecting with them will become much easier, and you will have an easier time selling to them. "You need to educate yourself well... because if your business is online, you're competing in words a lot, and so you need to learn marketing and you need to learn copywriting. Learn how to sell, how to formulate your story, how to communicate and connect with people in a way that's meaningful and memorable so that you can compete in the different areas that you are present in with your business." Read more shownotes from episode 86

A recap of episode 85 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Ron Dawson the power of storytelling, putting in the work, and learning on the fly among many other things.

Ron Dawson‘s earliest experience with film came through a time traveling caper film he created when he was a kid. Unfortunately, like many creatives, “real life” aspirations took over. Instead of following his passion for film, he followed his interest in business. Ron’s first endeavor in business was attempting to buy and sell businesses with his cousin. Although this idea did not work out, it gave him a taste of the business world. After failing to launch his business buying venture, and graduating with a business degree from UC Berkley, Ron got a job at Screen Play Systems. After some time there, he later moved up to become a business manager at Intuit. While working for these different businesses, Ron was also working as a wedding videographer on the side. This was a pivotal crossroads for him. He could either continue with his six-figure salary, or he could venture out on his own. Instead of continuing to work at a high paying job he didn’t love, he chose to do a job he did love, making films. In this episode Ron talks about the power of storytelling, putting in the work, and learning on the fly among many other things. Here are three things you can learn from Ron: Tell Stories with Your Work One of the things that sets artists apart is their ability to tell a great story. Stories give your work meaning. They impact your audience in a way that your work can’t do on its own. Ron believes his ability to tell a story set his work apart from other wedding videographers. Instead of just documenting the wedding, he got to the emotional truth of the moment. “There is a documented truth in the images that you capture because this is what happened on that day, but I would argue that it’s not an emotional truth of what happened, but then you take those same emotions… and you kind of reduce them down to their core essence and you edit it in a way that flows like a story… and instead of an entire 60 minute Catholic ceremony… you just have the poignant parts of it and all those kinds of things that punch the emotion and you show that in such a way that anyone who watches it will be moved… then that has a more ringing of emotional truth.” The ability to tell a good story allows you to connect with anyone, even if they aren’t naturally connected to what’s happening on camera. Ron realized that anyone can document an event, but not everyone can tell a story that makes an impact. “The emotional truth of the day is that this is a day that moved people to tears or to laughter or to whatnot, and the best way to capture that and instill that in people who are not that emotionally connected naturally is through storytelling and music and the kind of things that filmmakers have used for a hundred years in order to tell stories.” Being able to tell a story through your art makes a huge difference. It allows you to connect directly to the moment. “It makes a huge difference the way that you deliver and tell a story in terms of being able to communicate a message or like I said, an emotional truth.” Put in the Work Before You Think You’re Ready I’ve talked a lot about how the perfect moment does not exist. It’s a lie we tell ourselves so we don’t have to put in the effort. But you will never get anywhere if you continue to wait for the perfect moment. You just have to walk through that open door when the opportunity presents itself. “As you do projects like that, ideas come up and the industry evolves, opportunities and doors are opened, and so it’s about doing that kind of stuff, and being mindful of the doors that open, and walking through them when you have the opportunity to do so.” Don’t wait until you have the right amount of money or equipment for the job. There is no right formula. The perfect moment doesn’t exist. Get started where you are with what you have. “I think a lot of creatives want to wait… until they have all the money that they need or they want to wait until they have all the equipment that hey need. They’re always waiting for just the right time or just the right formula and you can’t wait. You just have to start working on it.” The best way to make progress with your business is by building momentum and learning by doing. Don’t make excuses. Just do the work. “You need to actually get the momentum and start doing the thing you want to do, and then start learning along the way. But it’s the momentum of doing it, because you can always find excuses as to why you can’t or shouldn’t.” Learn and Do We’re all guilty of placing blame for why we haven’t found success as artists. One excuse we like to use is saying we don’t know enough. “I don’t know how to do that” is a phrase commonly heard among artists. The only way to learn is by doing. You have to put yourself out there. Like Ron says, if you want to be a filmmaker, start making films. “Always be learning anyway, but going back to that Pressfield quote about putting your ass where your heart wants to be, go out and start doing it. If you want to be a filmmaker, start shooting, start making films. This is going to be the number one piece of advice any filmmaker is going to tell you… if you want to be a filmmaker, start making films.” I know everyone wants to be prepared before they get started. But you can’t prepare for everything. There are some things you can only learn by doing. You have to learn as you go. “Start making something and learning how to make it and kind of learn as you go. Don’t feel like you have to learn everything at once.” The point is that you have everything at your disposal to become a successful creative. Stop making excuses for why you can’t do something. If you truly want something, you have to put in the effort to achieve it. “It’s so easy with all the tools at our disposal to do any kind of creative endeavor online now or offline. There’s no excuse whatsoever. Price is not an excuse. Time is not an excuse. There is no excuse to not just get out and start doing whatever it is you that you want to do.” Read more shownotes from episode 85 with Ron Dawson

This is a replay of episode 31 with Colin McCann. Colin believes there is a better way to be productive in our lives, so he set out to create it himself. Most of us would be way too scared to leave our cushy jobs and try to go at it on our own, but with a plan of action and comfortable savings, Colin took that chance.  --- Here are three things you can learn from Colin: Big Risks Don’t Need to Be Made with Snap Judgments Just because you are doing something drastic or daring, doesn’t mean you have to do it on a whim. Before Colin thought about quitting his job, he saved up enough money to make the jump. He lined up his finances so he would have the freedom to work on his project without worrying about how he was going to pay for things. If you want to take a risk, don’t make it a blind risk. Make sure you have everything lined up and planned out. Get all your ducks in a row before taking that leap. Break Things Down Into Small Steps Instead of approaching projects like this great big thing you need to tackle, approach them like many small tasks that can be conquered. When you are trying to accomplish any goal, figure out what the next small task is. When you keep tasks small, your brain can focus on the task at hand. Otherwise, you can get bogged down by the enormity of it. Break each task into bite sized pieces. This allows you to feel a sense of accomplishment as you make your way towards your goal. Believing in Yourself is the Best Way to Self-Improvement Self-improvement is all about your beliefs. Before you can better yourself, you must believe in yourself. Your beliefs are not accidental, they are the result of everything you do. If you want to make improvements in your life, you have to believe you are capable of making them. Once you do, everything becomes easier. We may not be conscious of it, but our beliefs shape who we are and how we approach each day.

A recap of episode 84 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Brett Michael Innes where he talks about adapting to your situation, why mentorship is powerful, and not letting fear get the best of you.

Brett Michael Innes didn't know if he would ever fulfill his dream of becoming a film maker. As a teenager, he knew he wanted to make movies but there were a few things that stood in the way of him accomplishing his dream. During that time, his family went into debt, so he couldn't afford to go to film school. He also had to work at a call center just to support himself. After some introspective thinking, Brett decided he wanted to pursue his dream of film making. So he worked a year at the call center so he could afford to go to film school. With the help of his parents and a scholarship, he was able to finish with a degree in film production. Although Brett wanted to major in directing, he was forced to get his degree in film production. This ended up being a stroke of luck because this experience with production helped him land a contract with M-Net, the HBO of South Africa. With the help of M-Net, Brett was able to work on his novel, Rachel Weeping, and his movie Sink, at the same time. Both the novel and movie were met with critical acclaim, which has allowed him to continue work doing the thing he loves, making films In this episode Brett talks about adapting to your situation, why mentorship is powerful, and not letting fear get the best of you. Here are three things you can learn from Brett: You Can Always Adapt Many of us feel stuck in our jobs or our careers. We believe it's way too late to change. Should haves flood our thoughts. I should have started earlier. I should have taken a different path. I should have taken more chances. If your mind is filled with should haves, I have good news for you. It's not too late. Stop dwelling on the past. Everything you've done up to this point will help you moving forward. "I think nothing is wasted. A lot of people may switch a degree or change jobs or careers in their forties and feel that everything that led up to that point now has been wasted because they take a sharp right, but actually, it all feeds into that thing that you're doing. Now I'm appreciative of it, but when I was in the midst of it all, it completely overwhelmed me." The most most important thing you have at your disposal is your ability to adapt. Human beings have adapted and evolved many times over millennia. Brett was able to adapt to his surroundings. You can too. "I think if I look at myself, it's that flexibility of not saying this is the only way it's going to be done and if I don't it won't work out. If it doesn't work out this way, it's a failure. But to now see that as with water, I've just got to find the grooves that are in the landscape and the career landscape that's happening around me, and just keep going at it." All you have to do is be like water. Even when things get in its way, water learns to maneuver through the gaps. "Just keep being creative and to just move like water through that space. I'm able to find success and see something happen not according to my own plan." The Power of Mentorship Artists often overlook one of the most beneficial relationships they can be a part of, mentorship. Before the industrial revolution, that's how most occupations worked. You would work under the tutelage of a master. You learned directly from someone who was skilled in the craft. Nowadays we try to do everything ourselves. We aren't interested in learning from others. Brett believes we can greatly benefit from having a mentor. "A lot of guys disregard what someone with thirty years of experience could teach them. And for me it's that curiosity of learning from those who have gone before even though market is changing drastically and how we do things changes, there's just something incredible about just the emotional intelligence of someone who's done it before is able to impart to you." The only problem is mentors have to be willing to take you on. They must want to impart their wisdom on the upcoming generation. "The reality is it comes from his side, someone who is older actually seeing that they want to father or mentor a younger creative. And it is as it is in life... Babies don't bring themselves into existence... It's the parents who make them and father them and choose to impart knowledge into their lives." Brett's goal is to become skilled enough to impart his wisdom on others. He wants to pass down wisdom so future generations can find success like he has. "Hopefully when I get to the point where I can teach someone something, I will see that that young filmmaker who just needs someone as a sounding board, to be there for them." Don't Let Fear Hold You Back One of the biggest reasons artists don't have successful careers is that they let fear control them. Instead of going out and doing the things they dream of, they do nothing. They give in to insecurity and fear. "If I look at a lot of my peers who are wanting to do stuff, who are single with nothing standing in their way, the biggest thing that holds them back is insecurity and fear, and I don't have that side to myself when it comes to pursuing a career." Another problem many artists have is one of perfectionism. They wait for the right moment of perfect opportunity. But there's no such thing as the perfect moment. You can't wait for permission. You can't wait for some imaginary benevolent patron. You just have to go out and seize things yourself. "I know a few artists who really, they don't want to do anything because, if it can't be done perfectly, they don't want to attempt it at all, and I think that's a mistake to make. It's a thing of starting to do it and not waiting for someone to pay you to do it either... If you have a job that enables you to do the stuff that stuff for free, don't try and make it so that you have to... make a career out of it. That can come later. Just do it on your own dollar." Stop waiting to be discovered. That rarely happens. Most artists who are discovered have worked many years at their craft. They worked relentlessly at their craft with an obsessive passion. "I think there's a big discovery kind of fairy tale that's fed by your idols or... if someone just discovers that I can tell or write a story and they'll pay me to do it, then I'll do it. That's absolute B.S. Firstly those people who are discovered... have been doing it for years and it's just the way these shows work... that's not real. It's a scene that we love because in our own heads it means that someone can wave a magic wand and our lives can be transformed in a creative lotto, where suddenly we get to do this. But some of the best artists in the world never received a dollar for the paintings that they made or the poems that they wrote. They were just obsessed with this thing and they did it. I think that's a healthier approach to how we do things." Read more shownotes from episode 84

This is a replay of episode 30 with Natalie Kim. Natalie believes we should not rely on others to further our careers. We are no longer beholden to decisiosn from the gatekeepers. We are the deciders of our own destiny. In this episode, Natlie tells us why we need to pursue own own dreams. --- Natalie Kim is an actress, writer, and artist. She also hosted It’s a Draw With Natalie Kim, where she interviewed comedians and cartoonist while they drew. On this episode, Natalie talks about why you need to work on your own projects, lessons she’s learned from stand-up and improv, and why vulnerability helps with acting and in life. Here are three things you can learn from Natalie: Choose Yourself For a while, Natalie listened to what other people told her. She let her manager and others decide what roles she would appear in, which led to burning out. It was only when she went back and worked on her own projects that she was able to find happiness in her work. Don’t let other people tell you what you should be working on. Decide for yourself. If you don’t like the projects that people are offering you, work on your own projects instead. The Power of Vulnerability Natalie has learned that being being vulnerable and open not only helps you with acting, it also helps you in life. By being more open, it allowed her to be more human and to experience things more fully. We often go through life trying not to show too much emotion, but the thing is, people are more trusting when we are open. It is much easier for people to empathize with you when you are being honest with them. This mutual honesty and trust allows you to build a strong connection with each other. Dealing with Inconsistent Audience Reactions As a stand-up and improv performer, Natalie has learned to deal with different reactions from the audience. Some nights people will laugh, others it will be silent. The only way to deal with this is to realize that not everyone will have the same reaction to your work. Instead of worrying about it or letting it get to you, learn to move on. Don’t let what others think dictate what you think about yourself. You just have to hone your craft and be so good people can’t ignore you. The difference between professionals and amateurs is the ability to deal with criticism and the reaction of your audience.

A recap of episode 83 of the Cracking Creativity podcast. If you liked it, check out the full episode with Cebo Campbell where he talks about why you should put your all into your work, why you should take your time, and why you should always strive to be the best.