What’s Your Excuse for Not Starting Your Creative Business?

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I’ve been getting emails and messages lately from people who say, “I really want to start my business but ______ (fill in the blank)”

The hesitation to start is something we all have to overcome. After all, if starting a new business wasn’t a little nerve wracking, intimidating or overwhelming we would ALL be working for ourselves. Right? THEN who would check us out at the grocery store?

So I ask, what is holding you back?

And what if I told you that it’s really not so scary or un-doable?

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Let’s start with this question – Do you believe in yourself? Of course you do or you wouldn’t keep waking up in the middle of the night, night after night, thinking about your business, the products you would make and sell, where you would sell them and who you would sell them to. You wouldn’t continue to daydream about being your own boss, working from home and sharing the things you love to make with the world. You do believe in yourself. You believe in what you make. You believe you have a shot or it wouldn’t keep coming back to you. So why not put that belief into action? You don’t have to quit your job or move into a one room hut in order to get started. Just start where you are. Sell a few things to friends and family, co-workers or at a smaller craft show. Just get your feet wet and the sense of accomplishment you get from just a few sales will have you believing in yourself even more.

Do you worry about making mistakes? Do you hesitate because you think you might “mess things up” somehow? Your marriage, your career, your kids? Here’s the thing… we all make mistakes. Mistakes with our families, our careers and our businesses. It’s part of life. The thing to do is to go into your business with the mind of a kindergartner. Know you are a  beginner and own it. When you make a mistake be honest, fix it, and most importantly learn from it. Honestly, there are very few mistakes you can make that aren’t fixable. Really.

Are you worried that once you get started that there will be things you don’t like about owning your own business? I’ve got news for you. There WILL be things you don’t like. You may not like balancing ANOTHER checkbook, paying taxes, or schlepping your stuff from the car to the booth at the craft show in the rain. But I do know one thing… there are things about what you are doing now to earn a living that you don’t like too. Whether it’s getting yelled at by your boss, punching a time clock or the lack of flexibility in your current job – oh yes, there are things you don’t like.  We all have to do things we don’t like. It’s a part of life. BUT if it is important to you to be your own boss, have some flexibility so you can have a family AND pay the rent then the things you don’t like so much about running your own business will seem like a piece of cake. The little irritations will just be little blips that hardly register in your consciousness.

The bottom line here is that you’ve got to take a chance. Some people will like your products and some won’t. Everyone likes something different – and that is what makes the world go around – but you will never find those people who will love what you do/make/sell if you don’t put it out there.

Tell everyone you meet about your business and what you love about it. List your business everywhere and look for opportunities to get the word out. If you love what you do/make/sell you are bound to find other people who will love it too. And those people will want to share it with their friends who like the same things.

But you’ll never know until you stop making excuses and get up and get going.

Do you own a creative business? What made you get up and get started? I’d love to hear what motivated you to get going.

By: Vicki O’Dell, The Creative Goddess

You can find more of Vicki’s article right here on her profile page!

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