In this blog post I’m sharing advice for creative small business owners, written by members of my online community, the Tree House.

I recently realised that what I was really craving something in my business – a feeling of community around my brand. Many people do a gorgeous job of creating that sense of community through their social media accounts or through their email list. But since I had my first child in 2020 I’ve found it hard to stay on top of the amount of time it takes to really build that up.

As a result, when launching my first online course and my course platform the Tree House, I knew I needed to get serious about community building. It’s a brilliant way to help people get through the whole of your course, create a sense of accountability, and allow people to connect with others going through the course at a similar time.

I set my community up on Circle and I am loving seeing it grow slowly and organically! After setting things up, I decided to create a Digital Magazine inside the community platform so that I could post Interviews with members, enabling us to get to know each other and learn about the ups and downs of our business journeys.

Here I’m sharing some of the amazing words of wisdom that have been written by 5 of the community members 🥰 They’ve given some wonderful advice for creative business owners. To read the full Interviews, sign up to the community here.

Helena Murphy – Commercial photographer capturing product, places and people.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to past you?

Nothing that is meant for you will pass you by. Don’t stress about your ideal timeline – it’s going to unravel in the way it’s meant to, and it’s not a race.

What’s one thing you learnt or implemented in your business where you thought ‘Why didn’t I do this sooner?!’

I definitely would have done the SEO work I’ve done this year much sooner, if I could go back! Because SEO is a slow piece and takes a long time to make an impact, it would have been beneficial to work on it from the start and not be so dependent on a platform you can’t control, like Instagram or TikTok.

Read the full Q&A bu signing into the community here

See Helena’s website here

Lauren Clegg – Jewellery designer and maker creating sterling silver jewellery inspired by nature.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to past you?

Trust my instinct and listen to my inner voice for guidance more. I’ve spent a long time looking externally for direction, thinking that everyone else had insider info that I was lacking, but when I’ve followed advice from external sources, it hasn’t fit right. I realised I just need to trust myself and follow my own path.

What’s one thing you learnt or implemented in your business where you thought ‘Why didn’t I do this sooner?!’

This is going to sound really behind the times, but downloading apps onto my phone for the platforms I use for my business. For example, I sell on Etsy, and I used to transfer all the photos from my phone onto the laptop, to upload them onto my listings. It was so time consuming, then I realised I could download the ‘sell on Etsy’ app, and I can upload images and edit listings straight from my phone. Game changer (that probably everyone else is already aware of!) Lol. 

Read the full Q&A by signing into the community here

See Lauren’s work here

Sophie Carefull – Coach for introverted creatives and a business mentor for personal branding photographers.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to past you?

I’d say: “Everything will get so much easier when you stop fighting against yourself.” I spent so many years focusing on all the things I disliked about myself, and rejecting my true nature as an introvert and someone with anxious tendencies, and actually, the more I’ve been able to face and then embrace those parts of myself, the more peace I experience. 

I never used to believe in the power of self-compassion (“If I stop being horrible to myself, surely I’ll never get anything done?!”), but now I see it as an absolutely essential ingredient for a happy life.

What’s one thing you learnt or implemented in your business where you thought ‘Why didn’t I do this sooner?!’

One of the most important lessons for me has been “be a farmer, not a hunter,” as I think the saying goes. I spent so much of my first couple of years in business on a constant (and tiring) treadmill of trying to find my next new client, that I’d often neglect to appreciate my existing clients. 

It dawned on me that it’d be much more worthwhile to cultivate longer-term relationships with everyone I worked with so that I didn’t have to rely so heavily on outward marketing. I started to get more repeat bookings and referrals when I actively encouraged them, which may sound obvious but I think a lot of us overlook this, especially in the early days when your confidence may still be wobbly and you’re just so relieved when a job goes well that you quickly move onto the next thing without looking back.

Read the full Q&A by signing into the community here

See Sophie’s website here

Ammaarah Jeewa – Creative copywriter for creative women

What’s one piece of advice you would give to past you?

Stop letting other people tell you your limitations. Only you can decide what you are and are not capable of doing. You get to dictate what happens in your business, not everyone else.

What’s one thing you learnt or implemented in your business where you thought ‘Why didn’t I do this sooner?!’

Be authentic. It sounds simple, and maybe almost obvious, but it’s so easy to feel like you have to conform to some type of ‘appearance’. Even when I thought I was being authentic, it turns out, I was still trying to hide. It wasn’t until a gentle marketing coach suggested that I look at what I do through the lens of, ‘Does what you’re doing make you love yourself?’ that it really opened my eyes.. 

I was genuinely surprised at how often the answer was ‘no’. It prompted me to take a good hard look at what I was doing, especially in terms of marketing, and adjust things so that I could finally answer ‘yes’.

Read the full Q&A by signing into the community here

See Ammaarah on instagram here

Rebecca Broad – Writer and social media manager

What’s one piece of advice you would give to past you?

Charge. More. Money. 

What’s one thing you implemented in your business where you thought ‘Why didn’t I do this sooner?!’

Oh, I love Starling Spaces. In my business account with them I have Spaces for all sorts: different tax years (I automatically put away 30% of all income), Christmas bonus, my next three months’ wages, new tech fund, and ‘investment’.

It’s made everything to do with finances so much more visible for me. I never used to feel financially safe enough to spend any business money, but Spaces help me to see what I can afford to spend.

Read the full Q&A by signing into the community here

See Rebecca on instagram here

If you enjoyed reading this wonderful advice for creative business owners, you can join the Tree House Community here!

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May will soon become June and this year (2020-2021) has certainly been one I will never forget. I’ve had some amazing opportunities to work with some incredible businesses and had my largest earning month to date in March, but there’s also been a couple of things that really didn’t go to plan.

I had to terminate the contract for one project I was really excited about working on. It’s the first time this has ever happened to me and I’ll be honest and say it really knocked my confidence. The client paid a deposit, we had our kick-off call to make a start which went really well, but there was information I was waiting on.

I asked multiple times for the information I needed and in the end really couldn’t wait any longer. After not hearing anything for over a month I offered to restart the project at a later date (with no restart fee) but have had to shelve it for now with the earnings from it I was expecting to make crossed out of my books. I still haven’t heard anything!

That, coupled with the easing of lockdown in Britain where everyone is happy to be able to see friends and family again (and rightly so) has made for a slower couple of months in terms of earnings compared to my mega month in March. I’m STILL learning, after 4-5 years in business that this is just the way it works.

It’s an ebb and flow, a seasonal rhythm, yet it still catches me off guard. You have times where your business makes you feel like you’re on the top of the world, and then something shifts, and you’re second guessing whether you’re doing the right thing, whether you’re really cut out for running a business.

I’m learning that everything moves with the seasons – my business tends to be busy for bookings from late Summer through to Spring, it’s that ‘back to school’ energy where everyone is hyper focused on starting new things, and it’s the same with the new year too.

That energy runs all the way until about now, where everyone seems to just slow down. It makes sense now I’m thinking about it, Summer is to be enjoyed, it’s for relaxing and going on holidays (staycations this year maybe!). And I think I need to let myself ease into that too. Soon enough the energy will shift again, and if I don’t let myself rest and be at peace with the season I’m in, I won’t be ready to be swept up in all that energy again. 

Sometimes though, it gets to the point where you just need a little sign from the universe that you’re in the right place and it’s ok to rest for a little while.

My sign came in the form of a message through my website:

“I came across your website last year & was COMPLETELY wowed by your work & your warm approach, WHICH SHINES THROUGH ON YOUR CORNER OF THE INTERNET. I wasn’t ready to “take the leap” in my own business then…but I am now. So where did I head to once I made this decision? Straight to you!”

A few days later, this lady has booked into my calendar and we’re looking forward to working together soon. It flowed with ease, no back and forth about scope and pricing, just warmth and excitement and it’s been an exchange that will stick in my mind for a long time.

It reminded me that the seeds you plant now might not bloom straight away. But some time in the not too distant future those flowers will spring up and you’ll realise the things you put in motion in the past made this happen TODAY ?

A potential client and customer that finds you will likely not book or buy straight away. They need to see you and hear from you multiple times until they’re at the point in their life when they ARE ready. Then you’re the obvious choice if what you’re sharing resonates with them and they’ve been reminded about you enough times.

Keep showing up, keep shining. You are seen even when no one ‘says’ they see you in this moment.

To me, being visible in your business of course means being ‘seen’, but it also means being heard and understood. I’ll be honest, I’m not the most confident person, but I have found comfort in sharing who I really am through social media and my website because it has connected me to people that ‘get me’.

When you find those people that understand, those people that are on the same wavelength as you…that’s where the magic is.

Those are the work relationships that are going to make being self-employed both enjoyable AND profitable. Those are the people that are going to be loyal followers and buyers. Those are the people that are going to champion your business whenever they can – you make sense to them.

The only way you’re going to find these people is to BE VISIBLE in all your perfect imperfectness.

Why does being visible matter?

I know that how we are perceived by other people is something we all worry about. It’s natural, even the most confident people can’t help that. What I think is important though is to show up anyway, as our most authentic selves.

I grew up, as I think you reading this will have too, before social media was a thing. The people I saw on TV and in films were heavily stereotyped – one thing or the other, no in-betweens. What we learn as we get older is that people aren’t really ever one thing or the other. We’re all multi-faceted, ever-evolving, and endlessly interesting!

What I love about the internet and social media, is that it allows us to be seen just as we are. There’s no casting director, no one to tell you what to wear, what to say, or how to show up. Real people telling real stories. You write the script, you set the scene, you can be inspirational just by being your very own self.

On social media I’ve found people that look like me. People that don’t look like me. People that have a similar story to me, and people that grew up in a different country and culture. I’m friends with people that have disabilities, both visible and invisible. I’m friends with people who are on the same journey as me and I’ve been allowed an insight into journeys I might never have known about if those people had not been visible.

I learn every day about things from different perspectives to my own. Social media gets a bad rep, but I believe when it’s used wisely it helps us all to realise we’re more similar to each other than we think.

People buy from people, and when you are visible and you share yourself and your story, people get to know you. They root for you, they want you to succeed.

We really are in the ‘age of the small business’. People like you and me are choosing to spend their hard earned cash with other people just like you and me.

Be visible so that people can find your amazing business and connect with you on a deeper level.

Be visible so that the person who feels alone in their journey realises they aren’t as alone as they thought.

Be visible so that people understand why you do what you do and understand where your passion comes from.

Be visible so that someone who doesn’t feel pretty enough, or clever enough, or skinny enough realises that none of that really matters.

Ways to be visible

Being visible doesn’t always have to mean showing your face, but that’s absolutely a good place to start!

After having a brand photoshoot this time last year and starting to show my face more on my website and especially on social media, my engagement levels and the sense of community around my brand increased really quickly.

I also started sharing longer captions on Instagram just over a year ago alongside my images, sharing snippets of my business journey, snippets about my personal life, and just my general musings on business and my lifestyle.

Being visible can be as simple as sharing a picture of your workspace, or the beautiful view on your weekend walk. I truly believe that social media can help you grow your business when you use it as it was originally intended to be used and don’t just try to sell all the time.

• Invest in a personal branding photoshoot if you can. Images of you at work, creating your products, and/or lifestyle images of you just in your favourite outfit, doing things that you love. Let people have that small window into your life. A recent client of mine said she hired me because she felt really connected to me because of the images of myself and my world I share. If you’re in a competitive industry (like I am) a clients feeling of connection to you could be the tipping point to them hiring you over someone else.
• Start sharing longer captions alongside your images on social media. It might feel like a lot of work in the beginning, but I promise you will get used to it. You don’t need to write an essay each time, but can you explain a little more about the product you’re sharing, or your process, or you business journey?
• Write down your boundaries about personal things you feel like you can share and things that you definitely don’t want to share. Thinking about this beforehand will help you to partition things off, no one is asking you to bare all.
• Have a little notebook to write down any thoughts and musings you have throughout the week before you forget them. You can expand on your thoughts when you write your captions. Having a starting point makes it so much easier to write so you’re not faced with that blank box.
• Use an app like Preview to upload your photos, plan how your grid looks, and write some captions beforehand. Don’t feel like you have to plan it all out way in advance though, sometimes I just write a caption as I upload a photo, sometimes I write it in the morning and post in the evening, and sometimes I might plan it a couple of days in advance if it feels like a big or hard thing to share so I can reflect on what I’ve written before posting.
• Talk about your day or your week on Stories, and don’t apologise for wearing makeup/not wearing makeup, making your hair look nice/not making your hair look nice, looking tired, looking happy, feeling sad, feeling overwhelmed. Just tell it like it is, no one needs an apology unless you’ve actually done something wrong.

However you currently feel about being more visible, I promise that it’s not as scary as it might seem. Start small if you need to, all those small steps add up. Most people are actually lovely and you’re very unlikely to get anything but love and support when you share more of yourself.