Today’s article is a guest contribution by Dean Burgess from Excitepreneur. It’s a great read for creatives who are just starting out on their business journey. Honestly, I wish I’d read this when I was just starting out. Some of these strategies for new creative entrepreneurs are still relevant even now that I’m over a year in (especially the point about knowing your worth). I hope you find it as helpful as I did!
Starting your journey as a creative entrepreneur can be challenging. Maybe you don’t know how to market your products or services, or perhaps you’re struggling to handle business operations. This is perfectly normal – becoming a skilled entrepreneur doesn’t happen overnight! Hiring an agency like iScribe Creative to assist you with your content strategy can help you advertise effectively, and in addition, these tips will show you how to implement different best practices to benefit your business.
Manage Payroll Properly
If you have employees or contractors, you need to establish an organized payroll system. You can even integrate a timesheet calculator with your payroll software to account for appropriate breaks, cover overtime pay, and correctly classify your employees. A QuickBooks timesheet calculator is a great choice. You can use this timesheet calculator to calculate employee timesheets without delay, and it even allows you to automate this process.
Know Your Worth
Perhaps you never expected to turn your creative passion into an entrepreneurial career. You might be tempted to undercharge your clients or price your products low because you’ve internalized the belief that artists rarely make a decent income.
But this could not be further from the truth, and for creative entrepreneurs, knowing your worth is the key to financial success. This might mean raising your rates. Research what your competition charges for similar products and services to adjust your prices accordingly.
Set Up Retainer Contracts
When you’re running a creative business, you might feel like it’s difficult to secure a steady income. You might work on several big projects one month and then notice that you’re slow the next. To remedy this issue, check in with your main clients to see if they would consider keeping you on retainer. This means you’ll have projects every month from the same clients, enabling you to keep your cash flow steady. Freelancer Map recommends carefully negotiating the terms of retainer contracts as one of the best strategies for new creative entrepreneurs to avoid scope creep.
Engage in Self-Promotion
Self-promotion can feel awkward! But as a creative entrepreneur, you need to advertise your business. And in the early days of your business, you’ll want to take every opportunity for promotion to get your name out there. You can create a small business website and give visitors the option to sign up for an email newsletter so that they can get updates on your offerings.
Social media marketing can also help you connect with new clients or customers. Liquid Creativity recommends utilizing visual platforms like Facebook and Instagram, including calls to action in your posts, and being authentic online.
Focus on Networking
Creativity does not have to be a solo pursuit. When you’re running your own business, you might miss the camaraderie you used to enjoy with former coworkers. But by networking with other creative entrepreneurs, you can find the support you need when you’re facing obstacles and learn more about your craft.
You may want to reach out to fellow creatives online, join a local organization for people who work in your medium, or start attending networking events. Going to networking events might feel stressful at first, but striking up conversations with other professionals in your industry will get easier with practice! Make sure to take down contact info from other entrepreneurs you meet at these events.
As a creative, you may not feel comfortable with every aspect of business ownership yet – after all, you’ve probably always pictured yourself as an artist rather than an entrepreneur! But you can master business management in addition to your creative talents.
Thanks for the fantastic article Dean!
To my readers…let me know which strategies for new creative entrepreneurs in this article resonate most with you. For me, it was 100% the idea of knowing your worth! Your creativity should not be undervalued.
✨
Katelyn
THINK | WRITE | CREATE
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Header Image 📸 Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash
