I always tell my clients to celebrate their wins, because they are important milestones in our journey to success. And today it is my turn to celebrate something fabulous: The Creative Business Coach is ONE! One year ago I decided to launch my new venture to support creative entrepreneurs in their business, and it has been a blast! A lot has happened in just one year, and I am so grateful for all my followers, clients – and my family, who have been very supportive. What has been happening over the past twelve months, and what have I got planned for you next?
After moving to Spain from Scotland in 2018, I initially set up as a copywriter. Moving abroad without a job lined up means you have to reinvent yourself, and being a good writer and marketeer, this was an easy way to start earning money abroad. Still, it was pretty boring and lonely at times, to sit in my home office without any human contact, writing product descriptions for companies I had no affinity with. But it was income, and I felt I didn’t have a lot of choice living in Spain, so I just kept going. Then, in 2020, like so many other freelancers, I was hit by the lockdown blues and most clients cancelling jobs.
Turning my passion and skills into a business
I suddenly sat at home with a lot of time to think, and after signing up to an online business course, I was encouraged to think more about what I really wanted to do in my life, and as a way to earn money. I was encouraged to dive into my inner world and dig out those talents, skills and gifts that I could start sharing with the world. I landed on creativity. I have always been a creative, from as long as I can remember, and spent my childhood drawing, painting, dancing and doing drama classes, followed by a life-long passion for singing and playing in bands. In my career I spent twenty years in marketing and communications jobs in the arts, always surrounded by other creatives.
I breathe creativity.
Combining this creativity with my marketing knowledge and entrepreneurial skills, felt like the natural next step. As a coach and mentor I wanted to help others bring out their own inner creativity and the confidence to shine, and create successful, sustainable businesses doing what they love most. The Creative Business Coach was born.
2021, in essence the first full year of my new business, has been a year of hard work, transformation, and many teachings. I have not just coached my first real clients this year, I have gone through a huge transformation myself. Entrepreneurship comes with a lot of personal development. Diving deeper into who I am as a human, what my purpose is on earth, what I want out of life. Therapy, retreats, books, plant medicine, and investing in a wonderful business coach myself, have all propelled me into the next chapter of my life. I am fully enjoying the journey, no matter how uncomfortable at times. It makes me feel very alive.
And this is what I tell my own clients all the time: growth comes with pain. Getting out of your comfort zone is not easy, and can feel horrible. But working on yourself, trusting in the process, and being fully open to what the universe has to offer you, is 100% worthwhile.
What I will be doing as The Creative Business Coach in 2022
First things first: let me list some of my major wins and ‘get out of my comfort zone’ achievements of 2021! You all know that starting a new business is hard, and this was the same for me. However, I made sure that although it was hard, I enjoyed the ride. These are some of the things I did:
- Grew an audience from scratch, and created an online community on Facebook.
- Decided to say no to copywriting clients who did not feel aligned anymore, and raise my prices for this service – it felt GOOD.
- Started doing ‘lives’, in my own Facebook group and as a guest speaker (yes, I found them nerve wrecking too!).
- Had professional brand photos taken (oh man, the difference they make!).
- Designed and launched my first 7-week online marketing course. (a helluva lot of work, but a lot of fun!).
- Delivered three keynote speaker gigs about joyful marketing, at online events internationally .
- Did my first in-person talk in Spanish in front of a group of all-male business students of the university of Valencia (this one topped all of the fear-factor-stuff for sure!).
- Decided to invest in a coach to help me in my personal and professional development
- Signed my first 1-to-1 clients, with new people booking now each month (yay!).
- Launched my free online group coaching clinic on every first Wednesday of the month.
So what will The Creative Business Coach look like in 2022? I will continue to offer 1-to-1 programs to clients who are ready to dive deep and bring out the best in themselves for 3 to 6 months. I will do the group coaching clinic once a month. I will also continue to write, offering value and inspiration, and explore where my stories and thinking will take me. Who knows, I will start writing a book!
No doubt I will organise a few courses or masterclasses on various topics throughout the year. And I am also exploring the possibility of holding creative (business) retreats, in-person, here in Spain. (Imagine this…a few days of working on yourself and your business, with group coaching, mindset, inner work and creativity workshops thrown in…good food and conversation with like-minded people, and all in an inspiring place…to come away with clarity and focus, and a lot of new ideas for your future. What do you think? Are you in?)
One of the insights I have had this year, is a very personal one. I discovered that I had left the inner artist behind in adolescence, like so many of us do, ending up choosing a ‘safer’ career, and working in an office. I want to bring her out more.
I don’t regret any of the choices I made, and am grateful for all the education and work experience I have gained since. Still, most of my adult life I have promoted and helped other creatives in their work, and not fully acknowledged my own potential as a creative being and artist. To build a truly sustainable, and joyful coaching business, I will therefore start dividing my time between coaching and developing my own creative practice.
I will continue playing in my band, have signed up for abstract painting classes, will keep on writing, and will be open to whatever else comes on my path that inspires me. Fueling my own creativity will help me to better help my clients too.
If anything, The Creative Business Coach will embark on a wonderful journey of serving others while staying true to her own inner artist. I am excited for whatever comes next!
Sounds like you did good in 2021. It was great to stumble across this post from the past, and now that 2022 is here, I hope you’re doing well so far. You have a nice page here, and I enjoyed going through it!