So you want to start a business.
You want an amazing one.
You want one that makes money.
You want one that doesn’t take 150 hours a week of your time.
You want one that burns with passion.
You want one that isn’t run of the mill.
You want one that keeps you creative.
Oh shit – sounds great, now how do you work out what that business is??
Here are my Top 5 Tips for Getting Your Creative Business Ideas Flowing
- Go to a magical place, you know the kind of place where you feel in the zone. For me, it’s anywhere near water – it could be your office, bed or a bar. A place where you feel creative and confident.
- Write down 5 reasons why you want to start your own business.
- Write down 3 – 5 of your creative business ideas. Then for each one, write down 5 reasons why you think it rocks and 5 reasons why you think it sucks.
- Write down at least 1 competitor for each idea and then do a compare and contrast between what you want to create and what they already have.
- Write down at least 3 brands / businesses that inspire you. For each one write out what it is that makes them look and feel amazing to you.
By the time you’ve finished this, you will probably have come up with 50 business ideas, 25 brands that inspire you, lots of reasons why you would be great in business and a mindful of doubt telling you that all your business ideas are terrible or they’ve all been done before. STOP listening to those voices, now!
There is so much that goes in to starting a business that I couldn’t possibly have it all here. Something else I will share though is some of my ‘don’ts’ for starting a business. These things will completely stifle your creative business ideas and lead to stress, burn out, no money and generally feeling like shit with an unsuccessful business. It might not happen overnight, but it will happen.
- Don’t start a business just to make money
- Don’t copy another business
- Don’t do what your best friend told you to do if you think it will make them happy
- Don’t start a business that doesn’t fit with any of your values
- Don’t start a business without doing your homework
To help keep your creative business ideas going, keep a record of all of them. No matter how absurd you think the idea might be. Seriously, I have hundreds of ideas. I’m also prone to doing more than one thing at a time, which whilst exciting can be downright dangerous. It leads to confusion, wasted time, being spread to thin (not that it ever helped my waistline) and usually doesn’t make you money.
The idea is if you want to be a bit of an Entrepreneurial Diva like me, you build one business – have it ticking over and making you money, before you start the next idea.
Also, be very very careful about who you share your creative business ideas with. Beware the dream stealers. Honestly some people with poo poo your ideas just for the bloody fun of it, giving no thought to the impact on your soul or if it did in fact have some legs as an idea. I wouldn’t be worried about too many people stealing your actual ideas – doesn’t happen that often and karma’s a bitch so they’ll get bitten in the bum at some point if they do steal your genius.
Don’t panic about having creative business ideas. Sometimes they will just come out of thin air, out of something you’ve seen / heard or from a need that you can see needs filling.
I used to think I wasn’t creative. Bullshit. Everyone is creative. I just thought I was a failure creatively because I can’t draw for shit (even my daughter can’t control her laughter when we play Pictionary) and I find it hard to visualise some things. I got over myself on this one. I am creative – in many ways, and I promise you are too.
One of the most important aspects of getting your creative business ideas flowing is to be completely in tune with your Top 5 Passions. I recommend everyone take The Passion Test. It changed my life so much that I became a facilitator!!! I offer it on a personal level now, and as of May will be taking businesses into the world of The Passion Test for Business – can’t wait!!!! Yes, it’s another string to my bow but one that is totally in alignment with my passions, skills, ideas for my future business and the picture of how I like my life to look.
I encourage everyone to get creative, get passionate and get started on your own business.