Some Honest Thoughts On Building An Authentic Creative Business

Lately a friend of mine has been considering joining a high-end life coaching program. “They promise that not only will they train you as a coach, but they’ll also teach you tons of marketing and sales tactics to make sure your practice is successful”, she called me, “What are your honest thoughts on this? Not cheap for sure, but the right path for me?”

So I had a look at the program. While it is possible that some programs out there can offer what is being promised to my friend (in specific settings), that one though seemed to emphasis too much on how to position yourself, how to get “fans”, how to use instagram ads to “skyrock” your business etc.

In the program content, the following areas which I believe are important didn’t get featured highly: what it takes in terms of developing your questioning skills, your listening skills, whether people (often strangers) find it easy to build rapport with you, how well you can articulate a concept, and most of all, your own integrity with your own life.

Still, in 6 months time, you will “turbocharge your practice”. Apparently.

It jarred me and I told my friend why. Here, I’ll share exactly what concerned me.

To make good art or unleash your authentic creative expressions, we must learn to live first – this is the foundation. It applies to all forms of creativity, it doesn’t matter if you are a coach, writer, visual artist, choreographer, fitness professional…But the foundation seems to be largely forgetton in today’s busy market.

It is not commercially attractive I guess. 

Sadly, when the core, essential foundation is overlooked, the market tends to drive well-meaning people to focus on the wrong things.

There are a lot programs out there, usually costing you a good few months of rent, giving you shining promises: Treble your followers! Write sales copy that converts like crazy! Treat your IG Live like your business card! Money is in the FB group AND YOU ARE MISSING OUT!

But the core part, perhaps not so glamarous or sexy, such as diligiently working on your craft, your voice – the real jewel in your content – gets squashed away.

You know, creating that type of work, when in 10 years later you look back, you will be proud of; that you will be relieved that those hours, resources and energy were well spent; that your journey was such a meaningful one; that you never forgot about your heart’s intention.

I’ve seen many talented and kind people who were doing fine in their creative business to start with. They have passion, integrity and good basics. And they can grow from there organically.

Despite the fact they were only starting out, their business felt like a refreshing, bubbling spring. The joy and healing effect of their creative expression was so contagious.

People can feel the vital force and the joyful presence behind, and they responded by voluntarily spreading the words and showing their support including financially.

The size of their business might be small at this stage, but the energy and direction were spot on!

Then one day, the creative business owner saw some programs like the one we mentioned earlier. The promises felt so good and the language so convincing and they were persuaded.

They thought that maybe their simple yet potent vision was not enough. So they invested a lot in complicated “funnels”, they were banking hope on fancy “techniques” to convert…

As much as there is nothing inherently wrong with any forms of genuine, organic business strategies, it is the way that those program leaders who push you into a one-size-fits-all model that is really troubling in the market now.

These creative business owners were uncomfortable to do so but they went ahead, if they’ve spent all their savings into these programs, they’d better make it work, right?

Except that their audience felt this push-pull energy, their fear and their confusion, and shied away from responding like they used to.

For the hardworking creative business owners, their energy, effort and attention could have been used in experimenting how to write better, paint better, coach better, or understand life better, instead, it was used in overly complicated stuff that they paid a lot for but might not suit them well.

Then they noticed a big halt in their business. Those once perceived shining objects froze their beautiful bubbling spring, keeping a distance between their soul and their audience’s hearts.

What you need, instead, is how to value and protect this creative spring in you, so that it will grow into a stream, river or sea, as it is meant to.

Luckily, some of these creative business owners do find their way back. They take off the perceived perfect robe which gurus promised them, and change back to their own clothes, comfortable and well-suited.

They’ve learnt that a lot of real business strategies are based on common sense and their movitation of helping others. Although they do need to make some experiments including errors and have more patience to embrace the journey, they don’t ever need to spread themselves so thin again. Over time, they will find their business flow.

This is the pattern that I have seen over and over again in colleauges and clients. If you are new, how can you avoid learning the hard way then? You wonder.

Well, firstly, I don’t pretend to know it all. But the following seems to be able to set us in the right direction. The more and the better you do the following, the less you need to worry about “conversion” or “marketing”, because they’ll be the natural byproduct of your good, competent and valuable core work – this is a much healthier ecology, for you, for your audience, and for the personal development industry as a whole.

The following might not be easy, but if you truly love what you do, your business life will be simplified and you will certainly find deeper joy.

+ Observe life more often. This takes genuine curiosity and commitment.

+ Only consume information and activities that have your best interests at heart. This takes discernment, and you might need solitude from time to time in order to exercise that discernment.

+ Learn to communicate better via your words and/or your art. For example, read your own writing out loud and see if it makes sense to someone who has no prior knowledge as well as if it still interests people who know this topic well. (It is really hard, but the last point below might help you). This takes a lot of patience and exploration.

+ Learn to coach better (if you are a coach). This takes humility and engagement with the real world.

+ Learn to worry less. Yes, this can be learnt. This way it is not easy to fall for shining objects. Plus when you are relaxed, you are in a better mode to express yourself creatively.

+ Last but not the least, absorb nutrition for your Soul from all forms of classical art and literature. And for this one? It gives true pleasure.

With love,

Yiye Zhang

Photo credits: Unsplash (by Anthony Tran) & Pixabay

ps. If you are a returning reader friend, thanks for visiting again – always appreciate your presence 🙂

If you are new, welcome & feel free to join our newsletter community!