Essentials needed to run your creative business
You’ve decided your gonna take the leap and start a creative business because it fulfills your love to serve and create. But where do you start? What all is needed to even run a creative business? Well, today I wanted to share with you what I believe are essentials to running your creative business. What has helped me. I am always learning new ways to make things better and simpler. Which is a point I would like to start by letting you know. Your creative business is just that yours. You will find what works for you and don’t be afraid to try something new or try a different method.
The essentials that I will be sharing I have broken up into three sections. Brand communication, business admin, and lastly, social. The beauty of a creative business is that it is there to meet your needs and your lifestyle. The same goes for background tasks that need to be done to keep your business running. But I know that when I started I was thankful for those creative business owners that shared their process. Which is why I wanted to share mine!
Brand communication:
1. Website Hosting & Domain:
Having a place where you can build a hub for people to learn about you, your business, and your services is vital. This is something I think is so important. Because if I rely on social media platforms then if something happens to them your content is also going to suffer. But having your registered domain that belongs to you gives you peace of mind. To buy a domain you can get it on the website platform that you will be having your site or search google for domain purchasing sites. What I use is Squarespace and this is where I also bought my domain.
2. Email provider:
Having an email provider allows you to have a place to collect emails from your ideal audience. This is great for you if you are sharing content that is related to a blog you might have. This allows you to have a place that you can directly talk to your target audience. I was late in the game with this one. Which why I recommend having this if you do have content that you will be sharing. There are many, but what I am starting to use is Mailerlite. This one allows you to use the free version for up to 1000 subscribers with a business email.
Business Admin
3. Project Management:
I have mentioned in a previous blog that I use Trello in my work to keep my day-to-day tasks organized. If you want to see how I use it you can go here. Another project manager I use is Asana. This one I use with clients to keep our deadlines in a single place and it is clear who needs to provide what. It also gives us a place to keep our communication for the project.
4. Financial:
It is so important to make sure you’re keeping up with the less exciting but so necessary things like taxes, invoices, and payments. What I have been using is Quickbooks which keeps your things nice and organized. You can see who has paid you and who hasn’t but also keeps things organized for when tax season comes around.
5. Legal:
Contracts are an absolute must-have when working with clients. It is to keep you safe from anything that could happen. But also lays out the relationship, what is expected to be delivered, and what you don’t offer as well. It also allows you to bring awareness to the client on what might happen if they are late on deliverables they need to send. I have used Hello Bonsai for legal contracts. But another that is quite popular is The Contract Shop. A part of contracts is making sure they are signed between you and the client. What I use for me and clients to sign contracts is Hello Sign. It is a digital platform for them to do it all in one place. No need to print the paper, scan and then send it. This process makes it easier and simpler.
Social
6. Social media creation:
Part of running your own business is to share your services and the stories of those that have had a transformation through your business. The best way to share is through social media. Using platforms like Canva or the Adobe programs for social media is great. Canva allows you to save time by using pre-made templates. You can also change things around to make them align with your brand.
7. Social media Scheduler:
Posting frequently on social media can be overwhelming and consuming. But make sure to post consistently is important to your business. The best way I have learned to go about this is to use a social media scheduler. What I have been using has been Later. This saves me time but also help’s my work on other parts of my business. Another part of social media is people getting to your site and other links you want them to get to. Using a platform like Linktree makes that process better. Now I use this for now and it is just a quick place to have all the links that I may be directing people to. However, I hope to in the future build out my own social media page through my website to have them go directly there. But this is a great alternative if you are starting.
That’s it! Now you have a toolbox of necessary tools to start and keep your business running. I hope sharing what I have been using helps you keep your business running smoother. Remember as I mentioned in the beginning that you can go and find what best suits you. Let me know if you have any specific questions about using any of these. I would love to know if you have any must-have essentials that I missed on this list? I enjoy learning new ways to make my process better!
