Grow your practice with this list!
Congrats! You have decided to grow your practice. Deciding to grow is the first step of many. I know you might feel overwhelmed by the thousand things to do, and I tell you that it might get a bit hard, but this too shall pass just like your teenage years.
Here are a few things you need to grow as a creative professional:
Website. This one is important. Your website is your own thing. You are not re-inventing the wheel, but also (and I can't stress this enough) CURATE your work. Choose your best pieces, which takes me to point 2.
A portfolio is not everything you have ever done, and your portfolio should showcase things you want to work on in the future. Do you like Lettering? Then put some lettering pieces there. Do you like murals? Then get on it. "But Andrea, I do not have professional work in that domain," I heard that A LOT. Create your projects, be your boss. No excuses.
Get your profiles on social media to match. Your handles need to be the same everywhere. On this note, a massive boooo to the human who took andreacataro from me on Facebook. Mea culpa because I took too long, and this other human, Andrea Castro, took it. So I have @andreacataro everywhere but Facebook. Luckily for me, I barely use it. Lol.
Figure out your prices. I recommend looking at other designers. If you are in mural art, visit Pandr. For Lettering, look at Martina Flor and Jessica Hische
Network. Network. Network. Yes, that one is difficult. I am an introverted extrovert, which means I will be an extrovert once you know me, but I will not approach a random human and start making small talk. It is not my forte. However, I have been forcing myself to go to networking events with RGD, Women Who Freelance and Monday Girl. It is a good exercise and an excellent way to connect with other creatives.
Share your work. I am still working on this because I get busy and forget to share, and I am a work in progress.
Outreach. How are people supposed to know what you do if you do not tell them? There. Go, outreach now.
Prepare your business cards and promotional materials. Be an advocate for your work. Love your work, promote it, and talk about being proud of it!
Organize your tasks
Create email templates and have them ready to send. To give you an idea, I have templates for outreach, saying hello, saying yes or no to a potential client, etc.
Need some more help? Consider enrolling in a Coaching Program. I did, and I loved it!
11 . Enroll in a Coaching program. I could not have done it without Martina Flor's Leap Now Program, and I will be writing a review about it in another post.
Bye for now!