Powerful Website Design Inspiration For Female Entrepreneurs – [Free Guide]

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The Creative Business Dream

Here is a content-full post to get you started building your powerful website and your free guide! Have you ever dreamt of having your own small business from home, working on your dream in a creative and useful way? I know I did! For the past 15 years, I have been working in a very demanding job. I love architecture, and I have been lucky enough to work with people I love, but the job itself was very time-consuming. It was the norm to work for 12-14 hours a day in a high-stress environment.

I kept dreaming of a remote job and being able to do what I loved at home, and using my creative skills to produce something that others wanted in their homes. Something positive and good and deeply rooted in the art world. I wanted to run a women-owned business that resonated with passionate female entrepreneurs.

So in the evenings, instead of relaxing on the sofa in front of the TV, I got to WORK on my online presence. And I mean I hustled! I found many interesting artists who made a full-time living as a successful artist, doing what they love and had more freedom, a studio space, a profitable business, but what I really wanted was:

• Something that would fulfill me, grow beauty in the world and that I could enjoy doing every day.
• Something that was profitable and helped me provide the life I needed for my family.

How I Got Started

I wanted my own art business. Working with dream clients, on my own custom brand, own website, and in charge of the whole process. And, here’s how I started. From online platforms, to an art website, to social media accounts, online courses, brand identity, online marketing, researching potential customers, email list and marketing efforts! I put it all together in one FREE guide that will set you up TODAY with all the tools you need to build upon, in the right order. Get your copy here and start on your thriving business today!

So, want to do the same? If you have a creative passion, something you’re good at making with your hands and others have shown interest, keep reading for more tips.

How Do I Start An Art Business?

I get asked this question a lot! If you’re here, you’re likely a familiar with some of my work. My focus is on creating artwork that is heavily grounded in a natural, exploratory and tranquil state. I paint with oil, watercolour and soft pastels and sell my original work through my website, small and large retailers in Canada and the US, and the Etsy Marketplace. My business includes selling original paintings, prints, retail products and digital products. I also coach other artists, and teach in-person watercolour classes to adults and children.

I aspire to create intentional and intuitive artwork that enhances our lives in an organic and nature-inspired way. I strongly believe that a beautiful life is defined by an honest approach to how we build and move through our day and what we choose to focus our attention on. When I started four years ago, I was working a full-time job as an architect and painting in the evenings. I made MANY mistakes, including not investing in the right information from the beginning.

I had up to that point believed that I could pretty much teach myself anything I wanted, and while I still believe this to be true for all of us to some extent, the time it takes to get there is much longer and when you’re trying to start and grow a business, time is essential. Over these next four years, I both struggled and succeeded and found the greatest strength in any entrepreneur is knowing when to ask for help. If you can relate to any of this, you’re not alone! I think often times we start slowly, thinking we can just work at things bit by bit a and learn as we go and I did EXACTLY that. But I also wasted a lot of time and money. What I learned I wanted to talk to you about today and provide you with exactly the information you need to SET YOUR BUSINESS ON FIRE!

If you’re curious how to turn your creative hobby into a sustainable business from home and start RIGHT AWAY, this additional workbook will take you through all the steps to GROW and builds upon the free guide – including modules on defining your goals, business planning, equipment branding, finding your customer, photographing your work, resources, learning links and so much more. It is my honest complete guide of everything that I’ve learnt in the last four years growing my art business, which now MATCHES MY INCOME as a full-time architect!

How I Got Started – Does this sound familiar?

Almost four years ago, I decided to put in the hard work and pursue the creative arts professionally. I had always treated my love for painting as a hobby – I studied visual and fine art in university, and also took evening classes, weekend courses, watching videos and tutorials to improve my craft. It wasn’t until a move abroad pushed me to leave my full time job as an architect and welcome the idea of turning my hobby into a business. Or so I thought! I didn’t have much money so I wanted to start slowly and carefully. Unbeknownst to me, the truth was that I was still very much treating my work as a hobby, and it wasn’t until almost two years later that I realized I had been going about it all wrong. I had a great idea but I didn’t know how to execute it properly. The good news was that I was definitely not short of passion, but I was still missing a fundamental component – that of an entrepreneur, willing to reflect, learn, pivot and listen to my audience as a new business. Once I shifted my mindset and began to think critically, my creativity actually expanding, in turn propelling my small art career.

The Beginning

Whether you’re thinking about starting a creative business or have already started but are struggling to gain traction, balance, consistency or motivation, knowledge is key! There are a lot of courses, training workshops and information out to there that aim to help artists starting their business. Some are really expensive and are super generic and I wanted to do something different. I wanted to give you a guidebook that takes you through EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO START SELLING ART FROM HOME TODAY!

This guidebook covers not only the very specifics of running an online business such as photographing your work, using social media and the equipment you need in your studio but before all of this, it helps you define your business, your product, helps you find your customer and think like a brand designer, creating a brand strategy that attracts potential cilents, all of these things that work together in symbiotic unison.

Without having this nailed down, nothing you do in your business will matter because you’re not targeting the right person. My hope for this resource is that it will bring clarity to a endeavour that is equal parts freeing as it is disciplined. We all likely started or are starting out in the same place – we have a creative passion, talent and/or natural inclination for a certain craft, and so we start – either by selling to family, friends or perhaps have grown to craft shows and we find ourselves in love with what we’re doing, thinking of all the ways we can grow. We might be working full time and dedicating our spare time to this or perhaps we’re already fully invested with our time and working on our business full time. That initial excitement is so powerful. It fuels us to work all day, all night, all evenings after our day jobs, weekends, whatever it takes. I believe that spirit is needed to succeed. But there is so much more if we start to think about sustainability, scale and balance.

In the long run, eventually we start to wonder whether our time is well spent, whether it’s worth it, whether we’re paying ourselves anything close to what we should be, whether we can make a living in the art industry. And once we get to these questions, failure becomes a possibility if we’re not grounded. That spirit you started with starts to diminish, and the doubts take over. It happened to me. I hit a point where I had fallen so deeply in love with the creative process what I was doing that I refused to believe that it wasn’t actually working. At least not in the way I intended or needed it to. It was hard for me to pivot; to shift when something had failed, to learn from my mistakes and to make the necessary changes. It had become too personal.

I had considered deleting that last sentence so many times, because it yields to a sense that what we do shouldn’t be personal, and I don’t agree with that either. I will however admit that while it may start as personal, you need to be willing to look at things objectively, and the only way is to zoom in and out beyond what you might believe is the best way and absorb feedback.

The Outline

I wrote this guidebook in the sequence in which I learned and grew my business. It is a practical and honest recount of what worked and what didn’t in my business. It is all the things I wish I had known at the onset, and also a celebration of the process that it took – what I learned and who I learned from along the way. It is my business journal meant to be shared so that we can all grow together.

THE DECISION

Creating the Mindset. What does it mean to you to take your creative passion and turn it into a sustainable business? This chapter is all about that first initial decision – to take something you feel passionate about and turn it into your thing, your work, a business that grows, scales and gives you joy!

THE GOAL

How do you want this business to change and define your life? This chapter will challenge you to define your ultimate “WHY?”. How do you want to live your life and how will this business help you achieve it?

THE MINDSET

This is the part where we get honest – really honest with ourselves. Here is where we will outline our ultimate goal and . If you don’t have one yet, that’s ok. This chapter will help you get there. You’ll also create your business plan and reframe our thinking to that of an entrepreneur.

THE BRAND

The strength of taking what you love and finding it’s target customer. What is your message? And who do you want to hear it? How do we align and root your business so that we are sending the RIGHT MESSAGE to the RIGHT PERSON? Let’s root and align your business so that the two align. It’s vital that you start with a wider audience and then narrow down your target market to potential buyers that are interesting in your artwork. You’ll also work on your art style with careful planning, an artist statement, different art business ideas, artistic style and much more, aligning yourself to the right person.

SUPPLIES, EQUIPMENT AND STUDIO SETUP

What do you really need to start? Hint: It’s not as much as you might think! Practical step by step tips to creating the home studio of your dreams and that is well organized, stocked and efficient for you to work in. All my favourite tools, equipment and links for everything!

PHOTOGRAPHY

How to photograph your work correctly, naturally and honestly so that your imagery reflects the quality and depth of your work. Think of it this way, how do you create captivating and authentic imagery so that a customer feels secure enough in purchasing artwork from you that they’ve never seen in person?

RESOURCES + LEARNING

Everything from what to read, listen to, buy and invest in if you can to help you learn.

FINDING YOUR NICHE + IMPOSTER SYNDROME

We’ve all been there, questioning if we’re good enough to sell something. We’re going to discuss this and find ways to use it as a superpower rather than a weakness in business.

HOW TO BALANCE WHAT YOU LOVE TO MAKE AND WHAT SELLS

Are you somewhere in between? If so, here are some great ways to ensure you’re happy while producing work that others want and need.

HOW TO BUILD A STUNNING WEBSITE WITH POWERFUL SEO (DON’T SKIP THIS PART!)

I’m not a web designer, but I knew the importance of creating a powerful well-designed website, a beautiful brand with a unique style. The website would have to have a powerful sales page, a great experience for my customers and a landing page that would draw interest, offer something useful and good and all be strategically designed for a target audience. For small business owners, the website is your storefront. One of the most incredible changes in my business in the past year has been redesigning a custom web design experience and learning how your website needs to function.

The very first place to start is to create a place that is yours – both in brand and in ownership that is the home to your artwork and business. If you are considering your own business, spending time to really design a brand, a narrative all strategically designed to attract your ideal audience is the most important decision you’ll make in beginning stages. I help artists and women entrepreneurs in various industries create dream websites that result in incredible business growth because their brand is aligned with their product and their customer.

Small businesses are beautiful things.

They have the power to change lives in a very direct and meaningful way. I’ve worked with entrepreneurs to create shopify websites (the platform I used for almost three years) and wordpress. I also help you design a email marketing strategy with templates and workflows to help you grow your mailing list.

Tackling Imposter Syndrome And Doubt

We’ve all asked ourselves the same questions – am I ready? Is my work good enough? Does anyone want what I make? But someone else does it better, I’m not good enough….

We all struggle with these doubts, regardless of how long we’re at it. It’s part of human nature and I think it can be a very healthy motivator and strength building tool if we learn to respond in a certain way. Feeling failure or inadequacies are empowering because they help us grow.

I’ve included a practice guide that I created for myself when I struggled making business decisions in a powerful and confident manner. My hope is that it will empower you in your own businesses to shift your mindset and make informed choices that lead to success and substance.

The Goal

Glad you’re still here!

This is the part where we get honest – really honest with ourselves.

If you don’t have one yet, that’s ok. We’ll work through it. For me, this was the hardest part of my business. It still is to be frank. Why? Because I’m an extremely passionate person. And as creative beings, this is very natural. I get wrapped up quickly in purpose and giving, and while I love these qualities about myself, when you’re an entrepreneur they can hinder your direction when all your decisions are emotionally driven. In defining these, we can better respond to the questions and identify when we’re being rational versus emotional. Let these qualities fuel us rather than blind us down the wrong path. Think of it this way:

My passion for X is why I have decided to pursue a business in Y. Now, I will apply logic and an entrepreneurial mindset to make this happen.

Having a goal, a big goal, your ultimate why is the fuel and the focus. It will help you minimize working on tasks that don’t help you and lead you towards your goal.

We will work through this together in the guidebook, so that you have your direction and guidance to stay on track. It’s vital in business to reduce the amount of time you spend spinning your wheels because in most cases at the beginning it’s just you, and you’re doing a million tasks at the same time and if they don’t serve you, you’ll be better at identifying them and letting them go. And as your business grows, the tasks get greater and staying focused will be the difference between profit and loss.

If you’re like all other artists, imposter syndrome is also a big factor in your decision making, but it should never stop you from pursuing your dreams! Read all about my 7 tips to dealing with imposter syndrome and how to use it to create a successful business here!

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Helpful Reads and Resources

GUIDES AND RESOURCES

• Curious to Learn How To Add Links To Your Site? Download our Free Internal Linking Checklist
• Download Our Free Pinterest Guide – How to Create, Schedule and Post Pins
• How To Index Your Website With Google

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