Are you meant to be an entrepreneur in the creative industries?
As a creative business coach I often work with women who have big doubts about their abilities and approaches to running their own businesses. Self-doubt, procrastination, lack of direction and imposter syndrome are extremely common obstacles to overcome. In this post I want to explore the characteristics and approaches of people who are likely to succeed working for themselves, versus those that might be better suited to working for others, or reserving creative pursuits for their own personal enjoyment.
Key Skills & Personalities of Successful Entrepreneurs
Resilience
Imagination
Recognise Opportunities
Perseverance
Business Acumen
Belief in their Skills
Understanding of their Knowledge/Skills Gap
Problem Solver
Curiosity
Passion
Some of these aspects can be learnt, others you might have inherently within you already.
It is no doubt true that every society benefits from having a strong creative sector – we need art to nourish our souls. By creating we not only support ourselves (financially, spiritually and emotionally), but we also give back to society and make a better world – we are the drivers of cultural change – we are problem-solvers and dream-weavers, imagination is the cornerstone of all the great advances in history. Creatives often drive innovation and new ways of looking at the world, hence why artistry and entrepreneurship go hand in hand, and why, I believe we are so often multi-passionate (see my blog post on multi-passionate entrepreneurship here) – we love to combine skills, knowledge, experience and imagination – and our whole is so much more than the sum of our parts.
It is often only by working for ourselves that we get to be free in these combinations of our experiences – to try things we could never do within the confines of a 9-to-5 role. We get to try and fail, try and fail until we try and succeed – it’s why resilience and perseverance are key traits for entrepreneurs – we have to be able to take the lows as well as the highs. And to begin with there may be many more failures than successes. To be able to get back up and give something another go is absolutely vital, just as being able to see an opening to explore and cultivate within an industry is. Entrepreneurs are often the ones that try things everyone else says is pointless – we have the ability to see an unfulfilled niche and make it our own. It’s not a skill everyone has, otherwise there would be no such thing as entrepreneurship. Seeing and exploiting opportunities is one of the most exciting parts of working for yourself – you don’t need anyone’s approval or permission to go for it.
I also think it’s important to note that everyone approaches their art differently – for some it is a fulfilling hobby, for others something they enjoy as part of a structured role within an organisation, and for entrepreneurs something they harness into creating a sustainable life free of corporate ties. There is no one way to be a creative – you should always strive to find your own path that fulfils your own personal goals. It can be a vocation, a job, a mental health support mechanism or a driver for cultural and social change – perhaps all or none of these.
You may also gauge success in different ways to the next person – success for you might be financial, it might be recognition on a national or international stage, it might be client-led or simply feeling joyful and fulfilled. Taking time to analyse what you want from your business or work is a really important step to successful entrepreneurship.
If you’d like help developing your key skills and approaches to ensure your business becomes a success story,
do book a free discovery call about my coaching services below.
