What Would It Look Like For You To Think Just A Little Bigger With Your Business?
Before we jump in: This article was originally shared with my email community in March 2018. I'm sharing it with you on the blog today in the hope that it may be of some encouragement and insight to you in your creative journey right now, and also give you a little sneak peak of what you can expect from Weekly Letters too. If you'd like to receive letters like this one straight to your inbox every Sunday, you can sign up below. You'll also have access to all of my Mini Books too!
If you've been reading these letters for a while now you'll know that I don't believe in growth just for the sake of it.
I don't believe that bigger always means betters.
That we should always be striving for more, more, more.
I truly believe that a whole lot of magic can happen when we discover and embrace what 'enough' looks and feels like for us.
So this letter isn't here to tell you that you're playing small, or that our lives are meaningless if we're not always pushing for bigger and better things.
But this letter is here to talk about how easy it is to get stuck in a cycle of just being responsive in our business. About the trap we can fall into of just existing within the echo chamber of our own creative industries.
We all know how oversaturated things can feel online right now. And it's so easy to feel like we have to run our business in response to everything that's happening around us, that there's a certain box we have to fit ourselves into to make it in our industry.
That our websites have to look and feel a certain way.
That our services and offerings have to be structured and priced like everyone else's.
That our content should be similar to what's already popular in our industry.
That our days should look and feel like other successful business owners do.
But what if there was another way?
A better way, that really supported you and your business to thrive?
What if we could lean into what makes us different? To what makes our work special and unique, instead of what we think is expected of us?
I think there is a way. I see it everyday with the creatives and business owners whose work and approach really inspires and resonates with me.
Like Alexandra Franzen.
Ash Ambirge at The Middle Finger Project.
My wonderful friend Sara Tasker of Me & Orla.
Caroline and Jason over at Wandering Aimfully.
Breanna at Rowan Made.
Kathleen and Emily over at Being Boss.
Their businesses don't feel like they exist in response to everything that's happening around them - they feel like they exist in response to their own ideas, message, approach, and unique perspective.
Think about some of your favourite creatives and business owners and what it is you love most about their work - I'm betting it's not what makes them similar to everyone else, but what makes their work unique and true to them.
So here's my challenge for you today: what would it look like for you to think just a little bigger with your business?
How can you lean into what makes you and your work special, instead of feeling like you have to fit yourself into a format that has come before you?
How can your business exist in response to your own awesome ideas and vision, not in response to everything else that's happening around you?
Seeing what others are doing in our industry can be so inspiring and encouraging, and it can spark some awesome ideas of our own too. Seeing what's come before us can inspire us to know that it's possible for us too, and the lessons others have learned can support us so much in our journey along the way.
But when we stop just responding to everything else in our industry, that's when we can start to see a different, more intentional, meaningful, and impactful path for us to take.
And that's where our magic can really start to happen...
As always, I'm rooting for you!
Sign up below to receive letters just like this one straight to your inbox every Sunday.