If you’re a CreativeLive lover, it’s a safe bet that you’re also an entrepreneur. Maybe you’re a photographer, a designer, a writer, a musician — whatever your discipline, you’re probably here because you’re looking for advice on how to make it as a creative person.
We’ve all been there, and we know it can be difficult to get on your feet and organize yourself. Even just getting into the right mindset to succeed when you’ve gone from working for someone else to being your own boss can be a challenge. But we’ve got a secret weapon.
Tara Gentile is a specialist, and she knows how to succeed as a creative entrepreneur. In her CreativeLive course Value Pricing & Business Models For Creative Entrepreneurs, she details how to get into what she calls an “entrepreneurial money mindset.”
What does it mean to think like an entrepreneur? When it boils down to it, you need to completely re-evaluate how you approach money — you aren’t an employee anymore, you’re a company. Or, to paraphrase Jay-Z, you’re not a businessman, you’re a business, man.
Tara’s course helps break down this entrepreneurial money mindset into the finest details, but here are a few basic takeaways.
- Don’t think of your work as an individual being paid. You’re a company with resources and needs, and all of those need to factor in to your rate.
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Make time (and money) for growth activities. When you’re both the company and the employee, different things matter. Marketing, supplies, and even a good outfit to look professional when you meet a client are all new priorities.
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Realize that your income might be just a fraction of your revenue, and that’s okay. You’ll have the ability to pay yourself more once you figure out where to put the rest of your money.
Don’t think like a worker, think like a one-person, lean-and-mean business.
