For as long as you can remember, you’ve been a creative person. Whether you’re talented at designing dresses in a variety of styles or you’ve created artistic apps like an online logo maker, you’ve always been making new things to share with the world. And recently, with so many startups and small businesses setting up shop, you’ve been thinking that you have the business acumen–or at least the entrepreneurship skills–to start a creative business of your own. You’re excited about the idea of turning your passion into a business and hiring a team of people who understand what you want to create, too.
So if you’re looking to start a creative business, look no further. By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to success:
1. Choose Your Niche
There are so many businesses out there already. In fact, as of 2016, there were 28.8 million small businesses in the US–so if your business to be special, you have to choose your niche. It can’t just be an architecture firm, or a website design company, or a photography service. You have to focus even more. For example, if you’re an architecture firm, specialize in something like redesigning homes for families with a child coming in–or in creative office spaces for startups. If you’re in photography, then choose a focus: weddings, or family portraits, or travel photos. Once you’ve specialized and got clients who trust you, you can branch out a bit more.
2. Consider the Competition
One of the best ways to choose a niche–but also to do your marketing correctly, such as building a great website and getting out on the right social media sites–is by seeing what your competitors are doing. According to Entrepreneur.com, you should be thinking about it like this: “Seek out professionals in your industry and note what they are doing, how they’re doing it and most importantly, what you can offer that is different. What does this industry need right now? What is unique about my approach that’s seldom done?” You’re a professional, so you know it’s not about plagiarizing but about understanding what works best and how to separate yourself from the crowd.
Considering that the business of creativity is now worth $44 billion, this is some research worth investing in.
3. Get Started–the Right Way
Once you’ve decided what makes your creative business special, it’s time for you to get started with setting up your actual business. According to Think Creative Collective, this means setting up several moving parts of your business: your logo, your website, a blog or newsletter to keep people informed, and social media setup.
A large part of this is going to involve coming up with a philosophy–and deciding what kind of feel you want your service to have so you’re attracting customers who will mesh well with your creative outlook. Unlike an accounting firm, it’s not just the math that has to add up: it’s actual aesthetic tastes that have to match. Once you’ve decided on your philosophy, that can reflect in the colors you use and your web layout. Considering that color increases brand recognition by 80 percent, this can make a huge difference in your marketing strategy.
To learn more about designing the perfect brand aesthetic, take a look at this article from 99designs.
4. Up Your Social Media Presence
Especially for creatives, demonstrating your ability on social media makes a huge difference. For anyone looking for a visually appealing creative service, they’re going to first look on sites like Pinterest and Instagram. And Instagram–which has over 800 million monthly active users–is a great place to start. If you’re able to have an influencer back up your product (in exchange for free services or swag), even better.
Additionally, you can use an Instagram hack to get more followers by advertising on popular Instagram accounts. For example, if you’re a web design firm, you can place your advertisements on the page of an Instagram influencer who’s well known for showing off beautiful websites he stumbles upon. According to Richard Lazazzera of A Better Lemonade Stand, it works like this: “My number one Instagram strategy for getting massive exposure and building a huge audience is to find large Instagram accounts that are already catering to your demographic and pay for sponsored posts on them. It’s the cheapest CPM (cost-per-thousand impressions) of any ad platform right now.”
By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to success with your creative business. From handling the larger aspects of setting up your business to the details like paying your employees with echecks, you’ll know exactly to handle everything. Whether your business is in photography or designing jewelry for brides-to-be, these are the best ways of getting started.
Why have you decided to embark on the venture of running a creative business? What do you think your greatest challenges will be?
