5 Business Basics for Creatives

Creative professionals excel in their crafts but are often unsure of the best ways to operate their businesses effectively. 

These five easy business basics for creatives will help you set yourself - and your business - up for success. 

1 - Establish an Online Presence

Have you ever tried to find a business or other creative and found they have little to no online presence? 

Being hard to find gives people - and potential customers/fans/or business partners - the impression you are not serious about your business. 

Creating a thorough, professional online presence is a great way to show the world who you are, what you do, and that you are here to succeed.

An effective start to building an online business presence includes

• Website - Grab a URL for your business as soon as possible. Sometimes your first or second choice may already be taken, and you have to get creative. That's okay. After you have your URL, create a website to establish a more substantial online presence. Don't worry too much about the design or the details at first. Just get a page launched that provides information on what you do and how people can contact you. You can build out the rest and add improvements in time.

• Social media - Start a dedicated social media page for your business. Ideally, this page is separate from any personal accounts you have (while people will want to get a feel of your personality through your business page, not everyone will want to see funny third-party posts you share, food you ate, etc.). Keep your content focused on your business. Instagram is a great place to start if you are new to social media. 

• Business email address - Creating an email address specifically for your business will help enhance your professional appearance. Even if it's subconsciously, people may feel a little reluctant about your business if they are emailing an address that does not appear related to what you do. Setting up a Gmail account is an easy and simple way to create a new business email address (and this will also provide you with access to Google Drive to host your files). 

Some of this feels overwhelming at first, especially for those who would rather spend their time focused on their craft instead of getting in the weeds of the online world. If that describes you, then contact The Blue Moss Creative for help getting your online presence established.

2 - Consistent Branding

You have your online presence established. Now what?

Creating consistent branding across your platforms enhances the user experience for people visiting your pages and helps your business appear more polished and professional. 

The goal with creating consistent branding is to establish a voice, tone, and style for your business that extends across all your media. This includes choosing one or two fonts to use consistently, picking a color scheme, and deciding on an overall style and feel of your pages. 

Have fun with this part. You are a creative, after all. This is an excellent opportunity to bring your personality and your business's energy out through your media presence. 

Make sure to apply your branding consistently across all your platforms, including your website, social media page(s), and your email account. 

3 - Positive Cash Flow

A common mistake many creative entrepreneurs make early on is spending money their business doesn’t yet have. 

While some businesses require initial investments to launch, it's crucial to manage your cash flow responsibly and have a realistic strategy for recouping any initial business expenses. 

Consistently spending within your means will help you build savings within your business and set yourself up for long-term success.

4 - Get Started

Don’t let perfection be the enemy of productivity for your business. 

Oftentimes, it's easy to think that you shouldn't put something out into the world until it's perfect, but chasing the idea of perfection leads most people to never get started. 

Accept that your first iteration of something, whether it's your website, social media page, etc., is just that - the first. Your business will continue to evolve, improve, and grow over time, and that’s the great thing about the natural progression of becoming more of an expert in what you do. 

Get your first iteration into a good enough place, know that it will become better with time as your experience grows, and put it out into the world. 

Your future self will be thankful that you did!

5 - Be Patient and Trust the Process

Many people in our modern age are caught up in the concept of instant success, but this isn't the reality for most businesses. 

Building a strong and lasting business takes time, determination, focus, and a lot of hard work. 

Keep your head up and stay patient.

If you find yourself struggling to see the next step or phase of growth, a good exercise is to look back at how far you've already come and what your business has already accomplished since it launched. 

Trust the process and keep pushing forward. 

The Blue Moss Creative works closely with creative entrepreneurs to help them manage the intricacies of their businesses so they can focus on what they do best, their craft. Contact The Blue Moss Creative today to take your business to the next level. 

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This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute official advice.