Went to the Creative Freelancer Conference in San Diego last week, and had an amazing time. It couldn’t have come at a better time for me personally, since I decided recently to go solo full-time and was feeling a little scared. I got to meet some awesome and fun people from around the country. And among the valuable business tips and terrific advice came this overarching feeling:
I really can do this.
It was refreshing to see so many creative folks at different stages of going solo. There were people who’d been doing this for 10, 15, 20, 25 years. There were people who just started. There were people who were in my exact boat — going solo because they had been laid off from another job.
It was so nice to look around the room and know that doing this solo venture was possible.
There was a wealth of information — I went to a pricing workshop and that was extremely eye-opening — but some of the great nuggets I heard were:
* Growth is not necessarily about growing your business, but to make it a sustainable practice. (Petrula Vronakis)
* You have to be more than interested, you have to be committed. (Peleg Top, Marketing Mentor)
* We understand our vocation is bigger than our occupation. (Todd Henry, the Accidental Creative)
And perhaps my favorite quote from the entire conference, also from Todd Henry during his talk about staying creative in a demanding profession:
“Cover bands don’t change the world.”
So pithy and so true.
I was thrilled about the conference. Now I feel like I can approach the business side of my business without freaking out. I feel like I have a strategy. And I also have a whole new network to connect with.
I’ll definitely be back next year!
Hi Jenn, nice to meet you at CFC. I loved Petrula’s thoughts on growing a business too. Thanks for sharing. Good luck with your biz! Nice blog, I will be back