You are the mama bear, and your creativity is your cub.
Ideas flow through you.
Muses sing to you.
And yah… you make things up. Regularly.
For all the praise of creativity in entrepreneur land, there doesn’t seem to be a how-to manual for how to keep your spigot of good ideas on… and grow your business at the same time.
In fact, the two goals can often seem in opposition.
Growing your business requires you to be regular, methodical, predictable.
Shout it from the rooftops!
"Being creative asks you to be relaxed, open, receptive."
So what’s a creative business owner to do? Even if you don’t think of yourself as “creative”… if you’re growing your business online, you have a lot of idea generation, messaging, and copywriting to do. These things require creativity, focus and time. So, how to you clear space for those things to find you?
Here are some ideas…
1) Build your schedule around your creative time. You’re the boss – so build a daily and weekly schedule that works for you. Don’t make yourself available for meetings until a certain time each day – noon? One? Get your writing, brainstorming, and idea generating done before you turn yourself over to the service of others.
2) Make Saturday mornings your new best friend. If you are mired in the day-to-day running of your business, give yourself 2-3 hours on a Saturday morning to get your writing done. Make this a treat – go to a café or treat yourself to something that makes it feel indulgent and special (like your favorite weekend breakfast food or your favorite radio station as you write)
3) Give yourself downtime to rest + daydream. If you’re always active and engaged, your best ideas won’t find you. Give yourself a 30 minute walk every day, and STOP THINKING. Switch to being receptive. Look. Really take in where you are. Get curious about things that are right in front of you. This is where you meet good ideas. You go out to meet them.
4) Feed your idea bank. One of the reasons that everyone sounds like everyone else on the internet is because they aren’t engaging in outside conversations. I call this “cross pollination” – and it’s about using your WHOLE LIFE for ideas and inspiration. Even a magazine subscription can accomplish this. Or a trip to a gallery or museum or theater. Or chatting up strangers to learn about their worldview. Expose yourself to conversations that have nothing to do with your business – and watch how it stretches your thinking.
You are the mama bear, and your creativity is your cub. Protect him. Show him where the best berry patches are. And look after him, as he isn’t always paying attention and tends to wander away.
Mighty thanks to briannalehman flickr photostream for the mama bear and cub.
What’s one simple thing you do to tend to your creativity and innovation in your business? We’d love to hear it – leave a comment below.
Posted December 18, 2013 at 9:15 am | Permalink
As a creative cook who loves the entire multi-sensory experience from shopping at the farm market in all weather through the chopping and stirring through the table preparation and words of grace….I hear you loud and clear about how that all serves to enrich the the creative muse. I too am into the cross-pollination process…the grocery store is one of my most “fruitful” gardens. I’ll also now and again pick a random book off my shelf and read one random chapter.