Nothing like a fresh start to your day, week and year. For many, marijuana is increasing part of the making it a great day. Here are some reasons why
Science has proven cannabis has benefits and more research is being done to learn more. For over a thousand years, the plant has been valued as medicine and for its psychoactive properties for religious and recreational use. It has a longer history than pasta, beer and Hallmark movies. From medical help to anxiety relievers, it has a way of making life better. Here are 9 ways cannabis enhances your day.
Increased Energy Levels
While cannabis is usually associated with relaxing, many people use cannabis for energy. Some cannabis strains contain terpenes like limonene and pinene can boost your mood and energize your mind. Look for strains with specific terpenes found in Sativa-type strains to help give you extra boost to conquer your day.
Photo by Kirill Vasikev / EyeEm/Getty Images
Improved Appetite
If you aren’t eating enough food, you won’t have sufficient energy to make it through the day. If you struggle with low or loss of appetite, cannabis could be just the thing for you. Cannabis is highly effective at stimulating appetite, helping you enjoy all your favorite foods on a regular basis.
Ease Aches and Pains
Cannabis has been used to soothe pain for at least 5000 years. Both cannabis and CBD contain gentle pain-relieving properties, but a purposeful dose of either CBD or cannabis can relieve aches and pains.
Improved Social Experiences
Cannabis is the perfect substance to improve your social experiences because it helps you relax, boosts your mood, and makes you laugh. One of the most common ways to enhance your day with cannabis is to enjoy your favorite product with a friend.
Improved Sleep
The best way to enhance your day with cannabis is to get a great night of sleep. Studies show sleep deprivation and stress go hand and hand. Sleep deprivation can impact your endocannabinoid system making you feel more stressed out. And stress can negatively impact your sleep quality. Cannabis products help people sleep better and longer. One of the main reasons people use cannabis for sleep as it helps them fall asleep faster. Many people find products high in CBD, CBN, or THC are highly effective at improving their sleep. You can experiment with different products or cannabinoids (and record your experiences on the Jointly app) to find out which combination works best for you.
A cannabis-infused bath is a great way to combat daily stress. Your body will soak in the cannabinoids while your mind unwinds. As we discussed in cannabis ingestion methods, topical THC products won’t get you high. However, topical cannabinoids may help you relieve mild aches and pains, not to mention help you relax at the end of a stressful day.
Boost Creativity
In small amounts, cannabis can enhance your creativity due to its ability to alter blood flow to the brain. Specifically, cannabis consumption is associated with increased blood flow to the frontal lobes of the brain. The frontal lobes are thought to be the center for creativity and divergent thinking.
8. Improved Work Efficiency
With all the busyness of daily life, an efficient work stream may be one of your top priorities. While you may not associate cannabis with improved work efficiency, many people use cannabis for energy. Additionally, CBD products can help you smash your goals, keeping you energized and focused until everything is complete.
Meditating is a great way to clear our mind so we can be more present in our daily lives and with our loved ones. Meditation is also linked with other positive benefits like promoting concentration and elevating mood. Try meditating while high to supercharge your meditation sessions.
An honest review of 2023, featuring stand-out articles, practical worksheets, and a preview of the near future at The Emotion Machine.
Another year is coming to an end. It’s time for my annual recap and roundup of best articles.
To start, I’ll say this year was a good year for me overall. Not excellent, not bad – but “good.” It was more turbulent than past years and I certainly had low moments, but I adapted quickly and made a couple major habit changes that are going to payoff big in the future.
Despite the chaos, I was remarkably consistent in my output this year. After a decade working on this site, creating new content is almost automatic for me. There’s no reason to assume I’ll be slowing down anytime soon, as new ideas and new projects are constantly coming to mind.
Last year I pledged to make one new worksheet per month, so we already have a nice collection of 12 available going into the new year. These have received a lot of positive feedback so far and I’ll keep making new ones in 2024 (already have a long list of ideas).
I’ll share more on my goals for 2024 soon, but let’s first take a look at the best self-improvement content that was published at The Emotion Machine in 2023…
Best Articles/Worksheets of 2023
Here’s a list of my best articles and worksheets from 2023 by category.
I haven’t yet worked on my goals timeline, an annual tradition I do at the beginning of every year, but I’ll give you a quick peak at my main work goals in the near future:
Worksheets – As mentioned, I will definitely continue making one new worksheet each month. They are easy evergreen content and I’ve received compliments on them. The “Daily Routine” PDF will be coming out mid-January 2024.
Coaching – I’m bringing this back. Took most of the year off to focus on website but I think coaching is one of my better and more rewarding strengths. I already set up a calendar for easy scheduling and updated my coaching page.
Podcasting – I have too many thoughts per day that could be turned into valuable content but never materialize anywhere. “Everyone has great ideas, but not everyone acts on them.” Just pressing the record button and letting my mind riff is easy content that I think people will find interesting. I just need to suck it up and do it. I already have a Soundcloud (with a lot of old content) that I just need to reactivate.
Literary Agent – This is new territory for me. I’ve been working closely with an upcoming author friend and we’ve been making plans on finishing her first manuscript and sending pitches to publishers. She just finished the rough draft last week, but I’m going to be working with her more closely on editing, feedback, and reaching out to publishers once we have things tidied up. I still need to do more research but it could be a good avenue for me. It plays on multiple strengths: 1) Understanding the creative process, 2) Motivating people to actually finish their projects, 3) Finding people who have talent and potential, 4) Rooting for other people’s success. It feels like a natural outgrowth of a lot of my past work with creative people (at music venues, art galleries, and coaching various writers, artists, musicians, and filmmakers).
Articles – This isn’t changing. I’ll still be publishing at least one new or updated article every week. These make up the backbone of the website and I have no shortage of ideas and no reason to stop writing them anytime soon. If you want me to write about a specific topic, just use the contact page and let me know. I have many interests but it’s easier for me to cater to what you guys want. Feedback makes the site better.
All in all I’m excited about 2024, and the ideas above feel like a perfect balance between “sticking with what works” vs. “trying new things.”
Join Me In 2024
If you find this work valuable to your life and want more, join me and support me going into the new year.
My entire archive currently has over 850 articles covering a wide-range of subjects in psychology and self-improvement; and there’s plenty more to come in the future. I’m just getting started.
To be honest with you, some of my earlier articles may not have aged as well as others. When you consistently produce content over 14 years, you inevitably release some less-than-stellar pieces. It’s a part of the process – having both “winning streaks” and “losing streaks” is a universal theme in life.
Over the years, my beliefs, values, and interests have also shifted since I first started this site. There are things I wrote in the past that I don’t wholly agree with today. However, I choose to keep these old posts accessible because people often need different advice at various stages of their lives.
I bet that’s not the hottest sales pitch you’ve ever heard. At heart, I consider myself a teacher more than a salesman, and that means being sincere, honest, and truthful before everything else. If you’re looking for “one trick” to magically fix your life, you’re in the wrong place. I don’t have those – never found them.
All I can do is offer an array of tools, advice, and guidelines. You ultimately have to figure out what applies (or doesn’t) to your life. In truth, 80% of the content on this site may not interest you at all, but there’s that 20% that could be just what you need at this exact moment in your life.
What I can promise you is that I’m one of the most dedicated writers on self-improvement currently going. I’ve seen thousands of other “self help” sites rise and fall over the years, but I keep chugging away no matter what.
If you want to align with my commitment to happiness and well-being, then your first step is to join me.
Better yet, get a Yearly subscription, for two simple reasons: 1) You’re committing yourself to a year of self-improvement, and 2) It’s cheaper. I’m honestly saying this from a self-improvement perspective and not a sales one.
Let’s Go…
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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Each summer, I take a few weeks off as CEO of Jotform, travel to my family’s farm in Turkey, and do my best to truly check out. Instead of tending to my inbox, I tend to our olive groves and go for long nature walks with my kids. As this time off unfolds, I inevitably begin to feel refreshed and re-energized. Upon returning to the office, this form of life hack produces thinking that’s reliably sharper, and I’m increasingly convinced that much of this has to do with the absence of noise, both internal and external.
Their grounding in the principle that “…natural quiet has become an endangered species and needs to be protected” (as Condé Nast Traveler writer Sarah Allard phrases it in a 2023 article on vacation trends), “silent retreats” are on the rise. And though many of these literally encourage no talking, it seems that their effectiveness stems from a lack of informational/digital noise. A fascinating El Pais story by Silvia López Rivas includes a 2011 observation by then-Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who pointed out that until 2003, humans had produced an amount of information equivalent to five exabytes — the same quantity generated every two days in 2011. It has been estimated that by 2025, we’ll be creating 463 exabytes of information every single day. In short, the sound of information, already deafening, is poised to get much louder.
Meditation retreats, even when they’re not totally silent, have been shown to deliver multifold benefits. One comprehensive study published in a 2016 edition of the Journal of Psychosomatic Research found that meditation retreats reliably reduced symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression, in part because of their ability to foster mindfulness — being fully present and engaged in the moment. It is, after all, virtually impossible to focus on creative work when your mind is racing. Mindfulness, meanwhile, leads to clearer and more innovative thinking.
Many retreat participants additionally report that an extended experience of silence helped produce a better night’s sleep, and it’s no secret to anyone reading this that rest is fundamental to sharp cognition. A telling 2004 study from the University of Lübeck involved asking subjects to complete math problems that relied on algorithms, with shortcuts hidden deep within formulas. About 25% of the subjects discovered them at the outset, but given the chance to get eight hours of sleep, that figure rose to 59%.
It’s challenging to quit noise cold turkey. That’s why silent retreat organizers approach the process gradually. For example, they recommend that participants, especially first-timers, ease into the practice by refraining from checking phones for a few hours before arriving.
Even if you’re not jetting off to retreat in a 16th-century castle in France, there are ways to proceed gradually into encouraging quiet, say by carving out just 15 daily minutes away from devices, emails, meetings, social media and news notifications.
It’s tricky for me to commit to anything that isn’t scheduled, so I make regular appointments to have silent time. For me, mornings work best before the day has a chance to catch up. When the appointment pops up, I’m not deciding whether or not I’m in the mood to be silent; I just switch off devices and begin.
Objectively observe your internal dialogue
Making time for yourself in this way is, on its own, an achievement that will deliver myriad benefits, but applying some actionable advice can help take the practice one step further.
During silent time at the office, I use some of the practices from Vipassana meditation — scanning my body from head to toe and paying attention to sensations. If my shoulders ache from a morning training session or my stomach grumbles after a skipped breakfast, I take note while tuning into what’s happening in my mind.
The key is to not react, just observe, as many have found that engaging in this discipline helps both body and mind better tolerate painful and unpleasant situations.
In our incredibly noisy world, sitting in silence can be jarring, and it’s not unusual to experience a knee-jerk need to escape from it. In a 2016 Guardian article, one journalist attending a silent retreat in New Zealand admitted to having the urge to run through the hall screaming. It’s perfectly natural to want to give up when you’re first engaging in this process, and that’s okay. The trick is to stop expecting perfection and learn to be with things as they are, which can reduce stress and anxiety and boost creativity and the need for productive connections with others.
In today’s highly competitive and fast-moving environment, personal branding is crucial for individuals seeking to establish themselves as leaders, experts, and influential personas in their respective fields. Personal branding entails the promotion of oneself and one’s professional trajectory as a distinct, valuable entity, creating a unique identity that showcases an individual’s expertise, principles, and ambitions.
Developing a robust personal brand distinguishes an individual from their peers, fosters credibility and trust, and draws opportunities that align with their professional objectives. By investing time and effort into honing one’s personal brand, professionals can effectively articulate their passions, values, and strengths, enabling them to build a network of supporters and influencers who can aid in their career advancement. Additionally, a well-established personal brand often leads to increased visibility and recognition in a chosen field, further solidifying an individual’s reputation, and opening doors for career growth and lucrative partnerships.
AI Technology and Its Impact on Personal Branding
AI technology has simplified the process of personal branding, providing numerous tools and resources to augment an individual’s online presence, refine their branding endeavors, and expand their scope. Moreover, AI-driven applications offer tailored recommendations for enhancing one’s personal brand, enabling users to connect with their target audience more effectively and maintain a consistent image across various platforms. This, in turn, not only increases the likelihood of being recognized and sought after by potential collaborators and employers but also paves the way for a loyal following and enduring professional success.
AI technology presents various possibilities for improving digital presence and impact. From content creation to social media management, AI tools can support individuals in constructing a cohesive and striking brand identity. Incorporating AI-driven algorithms allows for better targeting and personalization, ensuring that the right content reaches the appropriate audience for maximum engagement. Additionally, AI can analyze vast amounts of data in real-time, providing valuable insights and recommendations further to optimize an individual’s online presence and strategy.
AI-Powered Graphic Tools for Consistent Brand Representation
AI-enabled graphic tools can examine a brand’s character and industry context, providing personalized suggestions for design aspects. These tools guarantee a consistent representation of brand identity across different channels like websites, flyers, ads, social media profiles, and presentations. AI-powered design platforms can create visually appealing content that effectively resonates with consumers by analyzing the brand’s unique attributes and target audience. This cohesive visual branding strategy strengthens brand recognition and loyalty, ensuring the seamless integration of marketing efforts across all touchpoints.
AI-Powered Storytelling Tools for Engaging Narratives
Creating an engaging narrative is essential in developing a robust personal brand. AI-powered storytelling tools can aid individuals in crafting captivating content that connects with their target audience. These tools can produce blog posts, articles, social media descriptions, and email newsletters while maintaining a consistent and engaging brand voice across all platforms. By harnessing the power of AI, users can save time and effort, allowing them to focus on other essential aspects of their personal brand, such as networking and building relationships. Moreover, these AI-powered storytelling tools can offer valuable insights and analytics, enabling users to refine their content strategy over time and adapt to their audience’s evolving preferences.
AI-Powered Social Media Management for Audience Engagement
Social media platforms are vital avenues for engaging with an audience and developing a dedicated community. AI-powered social media management tools can assist individuals in scheduling posts, monitoring engagement metrics, and analyzing audience demographics, thereby enabling them to optimize their social media strategies and maximize their reach. In addition to these capabilities, AI-driven platforms also provide valuable insights on relevant trends and user behavior patterns, assisting users in crafting content that resonates with their target audience. By harnessing this technology, individuals can save time, allocate resources more effectively, and ultimately strengthen their connection with their community through tailored communication and meaningful interactions.
AI-Driven Enhancements in Content Management Systems
Similarly, AI-driven enhancements in content management systems can help produce visually appealing and engaging websites and landing pages that adhere to best practices in design, user interaction, and SEO. These AI-powered tools can analyze user behavior and preferences, allowing for continuous optimization and delivering a personalized user experience. Furthermore, by automating various design and development tasks, businesses can save time and resources, allowing them to focus on creating high-quality content that drives user engagement and conversions.
Authenticity and Sincere Connections in Personal Branding
While AI can significantly impact personal branding, it is essential to remember that authenticity and sincere connections remain vital elements. Some crucial factors for personal branding success include routinely updating one’s brand, staying active within the industry, interacting with their audience, and evaluating progress to adapt their strategy as needed. Incorporating AI in personal branding efforts can streamline certain tasks, such as automating social media posts or analyzing consumer behavior, which ultimately allows individuals to focus on fostering genuine relationships with their audience. Balancing the use of innovative technology with a human touch enables individuals to create a robust personal brand that showcases their unique skills and expertise while also being relatable and engaging to their target audience.
The Future of AI in Personal Branding
As technology progresses, AI and marketing automation will likely become more advanced in personal branding, offering even more opportunities for individuals to create and maintain their personal brands, paving the way for professional success. With this evolution, individuals will be able to craft genuine, engaging, and consistent digital personas, allowing them to build stronger connections with target audiences. Moreover, AI-driven marketing tools can assist in efficiently creating specialized and tailored content, providing a unique personal touch that appeals to consumers and enhances brand reputation.
In conclusion, AI technology has transformed personal branding by providing various tools and resources that allow individuals to enhance their digital presence, refine their branding efforts, and maximize their reach. By leveraging these AI-powered tools and maintaining an authentic and engaging brand, individuals can set themselves apart as leaders and experts in their fields.
Furthermore, the incorporation of AI technology in personal branding strategies not only streamlines the process of building and maintaining a strong online presence, but also enables individuals to stay up-to-date with current trends and continually evolve in a dynamic digital landscape. As AI continues to advance, we can anticipate an even more significant impact on personal branding, ultimately empowering individuals to forge stronger connections, establish their authority, and attract greater opportunities in their respective industries.
Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.
The holiday shopping season is upon us, and for any entrepreneurs with designers or visually inspired people in their lives, this is a deal really worth checking out. Through December 17 only, you can get this Nix Mini 2 Color-Matching Sensor on sale for just $59.97 (reg. $99). Make sure to order it by December 14 for on-time holiday delivery.
Designers and artists love this color sensor because when they see something they like in the world, they can use it to instantly scan and match that color to any of over 100,000 brand-name paint colors, as well as with sRGB HEX, CMYK, and LAB colors. It’s a lightweight tool that’s easy to carry around, and it has Bluetooth capabilities that make its reach even more impressive.
Rated 4.9/5 stars by verified purchasers, this color-matching sensor also comes with a solid and durable build, as well as free lifetime access to the Nix Paints and Nix Digital Android and iOS apps. In addition to being relied upon for accurate readings, you get lifetime access to these apps, which means that whoever is using the sensor can organize and save colors to use on projects at a later time — all while accessing a wealth of features to aid in creation and organization.
Don’t miss your chance to secure this attractive and unique gift during this holiday shopping season. This exclusive price will not last long.
Get this Nix Mini 2 Color-Matching Sensor on sale for just $59.97 (reg. $99) through December 17 only — and make sure to order it by December 14 to ensure delivery in time for the holidays.
Students don’t have to be video game fanatics to appreciate a gamified classroom lesson. When teachers turn a lesson or tough-to-teach concept into a motivational gamed or use a fun competition to teach new concepts, students become immersed in their learning and are often more engaged–meaning they’re more likely to retain information.
Still, there’s an art to gamifying a lesson and ensuring that students are actually learning instead of just playing a game for points.
Here’s how educators across the country are using tools–from Minecraft: Education Edition to Roblox and easy-to-access online resources–to gamify their lessons and help students engage with learning.
1. Carrie Rosenberg, a fourth grade teacher at Community Christian School, notes that gamification is one of the biggest education trends right now. According to ISTE, “gamification is about transforming the classroom environment and regular activities into a game.” Many students want more than just good grades from school–they want something physical or immediate. Rosenberg uses Gimkit, Kahoot!, and Prodigy to gamify her instruction and motivate students. Learn more about her instructional strategies.
2. Games are part of many people’s lives–so why not use them to benefit students when teaching? Abigail Beran, a fifth grade teacher enrolled in a masters program in education technology, knows that her students are more likely to engage in an educational activity when it is gamified–and that they’re even more likely to do so when the activity is gamified with technology. There are a variety of reading and math apps and websites that cater to gamification, and even provide the opportunity for differentiation. Beran uses tools including Raz Kids, Dreamscapes, Prodigy English, and IXL language arts for English/language arts gamification, and uses Prodigy Math, Math Playground, Pet Bingo, Sushi Monster, and IXL math for gamifying math. Discover how she integrates these gamified tools into her classroom.
3. As an educator for more 27 years and a digital learning specialist (social studies) for the past 7 years in Atlanta Public Schools, Felisa Ford has supported educators across the district and beyond as they purposefully integrate technology in the classroom to promote engagement and 21st century skill development. While there are many tools and resources available to educators to support their efforts to create dynamic digital learning environments, one of the most engaging is Minecraft Education Edition (M:EE). Popular among students (and teachers!), M:EE is a game-based learning platform that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in an immersive digital environment. Read about five ways Ford has helped the district’s teachers use M:EE into classroom instruction.
Laura Ascione is the Editorial Director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
In a world filled with conflict and hostility, one of the most important skills we can learn in life is conflict resolution and our ability to negotiate peacefully and effectively.
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Officially, the dictionary definition of a “passion project” is an activity or enterprise that you decide to take on – usually in your spare time – in order to benefit or validate yourself in some way.
But, I like to think of it as a collection of steps we take towards filling a void in our life.
Life is too short to live with regrets. Or to ask yourself, “what could have been?”.
Each of us has the power to change our course.
Quiet your mind and picture what matters most to you… who or what inspires you.
And then commit to it.
That is where your passion project begins.
There are many benefits to starting a passion project. Among them are:
In this article, I will offer 15 passion project ideas that are meant to inspire you… and potentially change your life.
There’s something for everyone. So keep reading until you find the one that will set you on your way to unlocking your full potential and realizing your dreams!
But before we proceed, if you’re not up to doing a passion project and are simply looking for something to do to pass time, take a few minutes to watch this video:
1. Start a volunteer group, charity or nonprofit.
At one time or another, most people have suffered some kind of emotional or physical hardship in their life.
Perhaps it was a family member diagnosed with cancer.
Or a car accident that left you disabled and unable to continue working.
Maybe you grew up in a family where your parents needed to turn to a church or food pantry for help feeding you.
And if you were fortunate enough to escape challenges like these, maybe you are an avid reader and follow the news… sickened by the injustices going on in the world against people of different cultures, races, religions and genders.
There is a cause that speaks to every one of us… and charities that are doing their best to raise money and awareness. But there is also room for more.
Starting a volunteer group can be as easy as creating a page on social media.
A charity or nonprofit is a bit more involved, but is completely doable. You just need to do your research and devise a clear course of action.
Much like starting a business, you need to have a proposal of sorts. A plan.
Thirteen years ago, I formed a volunteer group. I posted on social media and community interest pages, which allowed me to gauge interest in the group.
My goal was to seek out all types of volunteer opportunities in our area and post them in one place, saving people the time of having to search multiple websites. We helped foster children, homeless, food banks and soup kitchens, planted gardens, held premature babies in the hospital.
In fact, I meant my husband at one of these events.
As we grew, we applied for nonprofit status. Registering your nonprofit for 501c3 status is a first step.
My advice… find what moves you and create a page. Then take it from there!
2. Train for a marathon.
Training for a marathon is as much about being mentally prepared, as it is physically.
Whether you’ve been running 5K’s for a while, or just starting out on your journey… there are mental barriers associated with 26.2 miles that can seem quite daunting.
But there is also a great feeling of accomplishment to gain, once you’ve achieved your goal.
If you want to make a marathon one of your passion projects, you should start by paying a visit to your primary doctor. Get checked out and make sure everything is good to go from that standpoint.
Next, try joining a local group or finding a running partner. Someone to make you accountable every step of the way. To help get you out the door when you feel like taking a day off.
Finally, you’ll need to engage support from family and friends. Start a social media campaign or blog and chronicle your journey from the beginning to race day.
If you’re running for a cause, share your fundraising page online.
A support system is so important… especially on days when your mind starts to doubt your body’s potential.
3. Write something.
It seems like anybody and everybody is an authority on something these days.
Whether they are grandstanding on their social media pages or commenting on blogs… most people have something to say. And everyone has an opinion.
But not everybody writes something worth reading.
If you are passionate about something, or feel you have great advice or wisdom to share with the world… consider writing as one of your passion projects.
There are many avenues to explore when trying to become a writer:
You can start your own blog about whatever interests you
Submit pitches to websites and magazines that are appropriate
Some opportunities may turn into a satisfying freelance career, to supplement your regular income.
Others could turn you into a best selling author or television and film sensation.
You may eventually land a full-time job writing for a major publication.
Or, at the very least, your voice may be heard by people who matter… and can put your words into action in government.
Yes, writing can be a wonderful passion project on so many levels… whether you want to make it your living or not.
Writing is cathartic and powerful.
4. Start taking pictures.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
And it’s true.
Chronicling your life through photos can be an extremely healing experience.
Your pictures can also touch others in ways they’d never imagine… as your photos speak to something within them they didn’t know was there.
Whether you’d like to turn photography into a career, or a lifelong hobby, taking pictures of what moves you will give you a glimpse inside yourself.
Start by getting yourself a good camera and maybe some books on the topic. You can also take an online course.
You should also research professional photographers and study the work of those you feel inspired by.
Next, start shooting.
Take pictures of nature, people, places, objects, moments. If you feel moved by something, photograph it.
Upload them to a cloud storage service… but also be sure to have a physical photo album (or two) on hand to print and showcase your best work.
Start a portfolio.
Even if you don’t become a world class photographer, you’ll have something to look back on later in life… and relive those experiences that helped mold you.
5. Complete a home renovation project.
Home renovations can be extremely costly.
You can also make good money doing them for others… which is why some people choose to be contractors, landscapers, painters and interior designers for a living.
Not all success is attached to a college degree. Sometimes it just takes hard work and a drive to succeed.
Undertaking a home renovation as your passion project could result in the start of a new career path… or simply turn into one of those great accomplishments in life you can tell your kids about.
You can start by renovating a room or two in your house. If it requires plumbing or electrical work, you may want to consult with a professional, family member or friend who’s knowledgeable on this… if you’re a true novice.
Making home renovation as your passion project could result in the start of a new career path.
Sure, you could watch a YouTube video… but electrical and plumbing mishaps are no joke if you’re not careful.
Painting, reupholstering furniture, laying tile or flooring… these are all good places to start when you want to try your hand at a DIY project.
Eventually, you may become quite the expert and realize your dream to purchase an old fixer upper… to either live in yourself or flip.
From there, the sky’s the limit!
6. Fix up an old car or motorcycle.
Remember those old movies with “greasers” under their hoods… changing oil and fixing carburetors? Those guys looked so cool.
And what about the motorcycle riders? Wind in their face… nothing but the open road and possibility ahead.
Buying and fixing up an old car or motorcycle is one of the coolest passion projects… and one you can even share with your child.
Talk about bonding!
Start by sifting through the classifieds or online ads and pick your dream car.
Then, study up on the basics by watching videos or reading books.
Talk to a mechanic at your local shop and clue them into what you’re working on… they may actually be interested in lending you a hand, or offering some guidance, in exchange for you buying some of the parts from them.
Most people innately want to help others, so never be afraid to ask for it. The worst they can say is “no”.
And, at the end of the day, your finished product won’t only be a blast to take out on the road… but something you can tell your kids about.
Improvement in brain stimulation and memory function
Better social skills
More job opportunities
Increased attention span
Provides greater multitasking skills
Enhances your creative thinking
Travel
Let’s face it. Most of the world speaks English, either as a first or second language.
Next is Mandarin Chinese, according to most research.
Hindi, Spanish and French round out the top 5 list… but English is the clear winner.
Regardless of what language you’re interested in learning, there are opportunities to be had.
Whether you want to change careers, boost your resume, travel to a foreign country, increase your cognitive function or simply become more interesting to other people… becoming fluent in a second language is a passion project worth embarking on.
You can try an online course or app. Or sign up for a class at a local language school or community college.
8. Launch a YouTube channel.
If you have kids over age 5… there is a good chance they are obsessed with YouTube. I know mine are.
They will spend hours watching other kids play Minecraft and Roblox.
I don’t get it.
But what I do get is that the demand is there.
There is a YouTube Channel for almost anything and everything… and you can subscribe to it.
Long gone is the notion of celebrities being made on television. Today, celebrities now take the shape of internet sensations.
Whether you’re looking to be famous, or just heard, launching a YouTube Channel may just get you there.
Before getting started, just remember that you need to have a clear vision for what you want to broadcast.
This may involve writing scripts and purchasing the proper camera and sound equipment.
This passion project is a reflection of you… so you don’t want it to be second rate.
9. Start a podcast.
Podcasters are this generation’s radio disk jockeys.
The big difference is you don’t need to be hired by a station, or resort to pirate radio, to be heard.
Anybody can start a podcast… and say almost anything they want. I’m also pretty sure they aren’t censored the same way public broadcast stations are because they aren’t governed by the FCC.
And while the FTC does have rules podcasters should abide by, certain things most definitely fall through the cracks. Most of the laws have to do with you disclosing your partnership with affiliates or advertisers.
The potential of starting a podcast by yourself is limitless and can give you a lot of opportunities.
But for the most part, anything goes with podcasts.
While there is some research you’ll need to do, the basics to getting going are these:
Identify your message, content and target audience
Decide on a format
Invest in the right sound equipment
Record and edit your first episode
Find a hosting site
Launch your podcast
If your podcast attracts a good number of followers, you can look into host services that allow you to solicit paid subscribers. Not all hosts, such as iTunes, allow you to charge listeners.
If you’re happy to offer your words free of charge, you may still attract enough fans to gain word of mouth with some of the “big guys” who may eventually hire you to broadcast on their behalf.
The potential is limitless.
So start by gaining a following on social media and go from there.
Wondering what podcasts are already out there? Check out our roundups:
10. Open an online or brick and mortar store.
Ever dream of being your own boss?
Or have an idea or vision worthy of being sold in your own store?
It doesn’t have to be all theoretical.
It can become reality if you commit to this passion project, which is easier than ever today with the ability to do it online.
Obviously, you need to start by doing some market research to make sure there is a need for your particular service or product.
Next, consult with your accountant on which type of business structure makes the most sense for you financially. Your business structure affects how much you pay in taxes, your ability to raise money, the paperwork you need to file, and your personal liability.
You’ll need to choose a business structure before you register your business with the state. Most businesses will also need to get a tax ID number and file for the appropriate licenses and permits.
Once you’ve done this, you can decide if you want to start out with an online business or physical location.
If online is the way you want to go, you’ll need to make sure you have a few things lined up before you can get started. Things like:
There is also the option of partnering with companies such as Amazon or WalMart to become an authorized seller.
A brick and mortar store requires rent or a mortgage to get yourself started; however, it may be worth the investment to have items that your customers can touch, see and feel.
It honestly depends on what it is you are selling.
And you’ll still need a website or social media page, at least.
Finally, you’ll need to figure out how much money you’ll need to get things going… and sustain your business until you start turning a profit. If you don’t have the means, you’ll need to seek investors or consider a small business loan.
Your accountant can likely help with this as well, if you aren’t financially savvy.
11. Film a documentary.
Whether you are looking to make a difference in the world, or are simply interested in something or someone, documentaries are a great way to share your message with others.
All you need to get started is a dSLR camera, editing software and subject matter.
You may want to consider taking an online course to walk you through the basics.
You’ll also need to check for any copyright issues and have people you’ll be shooting sign consent forms.
If you are planning to interview people, you’ll likely need to prepare some questions ahead of time.
And you’ll eventually need to write a script for any voiceover content after filming is done.
Documentary filmmaking can be an extremely rewarding experience… and is also a passion project that can be done in your spare time, like after work or on weekends.
12. Get certified to teach something.
Many people have considered teaching as a profession at one time or another in life.
Some types of teaching, however, don’t take place in a traditional classroom… and do not require a college degree.
Depending on the subject matter, getting certified to teach is a passion project that doesn’t have to be terribly time consuming or require going back to school.
Many times, it can be done online. Or within a certain number of hours in-person.
Getting certified to teach is a passion project that doesn’t have to be terribly time consuming or require going back to school.
For instance, if you enjoy yoga so much that you think you may like to teach others… you can find guidance for becoming certified online.
Start by assessing your hobbies and interests… and decide if teaching any of them would make you happy. If so, start researching!
It’s honestly that simple.
13. Take up art – sculpt, paint, draw.
Art is healing or the soul.
It’s a perfect form of self-expression and there is no “wrong” way to create it.
It’s subjective and will be viewed differently by everyone.
Including yourself.
If you’ve ever wondered if you could be, or are, an artist… why not give it a try?
Cue up some inspirational music and start doodling, sketching, exploring with paints and clay at home.
If you’re enjoying yourself, consider taking a class.
You can sign up for an art class at a local studio or take one online if you aren’t quite brave enough to express yourself around others just yet.
Some are free, some paid.
Either way it’s a small price to pay for a slice of happiness.
14. Run for local government.
“Be the change you wish to see in the world”.
It’s a pretty famous quote, interpreted from something Mahatma Gandhi said, designed to encourage people not to complain about what others are doing… but instead fight for what they believe in.
Fight to make a difference.
And making the decision to run for local government can be just the passion project to get things done!
Local government positions take many forms.
Offices are typically broken up into two tiers, counties (or boroughs) and municipalities (or townships). Within these tears are different positions.
Generally speaking, county positions require an election and include:
Mayor
City council members
Municipal positions include:
Parks and recreation
Police and fire department
Housing services
Emergency medical services
Municipal courts
Transportation
Public works (streets, sewers, snow removal, signage, etc…)
These are all good places to start if you’re considering a side gig, or possible career, in politics.
Even if that isn’t the case, running for local office is still a great way to speak up for those who can’t or won’t.
15. Become self-sustainable – garden, solar, wind.
History has taught us that nothing is forever, nor is it set in stone.
Inflation, deflation… crop and water shortages.
Power outages.
Cyber attacks.
These things are often out of our control, especially if we have to rely on others.
Learning to become self-sustainable is a passion project that can let you literally reap the rewards that you sew.
You can start small and go as big as you’d like!
Plant a garden.
Compost.
Get chickens for eggs or meat.
Invest in solar panels and wind turbines.
Learning to become more self-sustainable can be fun for the whole family… not to mention a way to teach your kids not to take everyday luxuries for granted, such as having food on the table.
Final Thoughts on Passion Projects that Can Inspire
Not all passion projects have to be big to be life changing.
We’ve covered a variety of ideas here… each designed to make your quality of life better in some way.
At the end of the day, being happy with where you are in life is really what living is all about.
If something no longer makes you feel content… change your situation.
It’s in your hands.
Now, if you feel like you need to do some more soul-searching before diving into passion projects, these articles might help:
Nicole Krause has been writing both personally and professionally for over 20 years. She holds a dual B.A. in English and Film Studies. Her work has appeared in some of the country’s top publications, major news outlets, online publications, and blogs. As a happily married (and extremely busy) mother of four… her articles primarily focus on parenting, marriage, family, finance, organization, and product reviews.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
In a world where digital interactions dominate, the symbiotic relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and branding is transforming the landscape. While AI can’t replicate the genuine human touch, it’s emerging as a powerful tool to forge authentic connections with consumers.
In the competitive business landscape, companies of all sizes are looking for opportunities to work smarter, faster and better than the competition. An increasing number of AI tools can assist with branding and reputation management, but the overwhelming number of options leaves many falling short.
The first and most important step is to understand AI as an assistive technology, not a replacement for human effort entirely. Secondly, it’s critical to be aware of the personalized, connected interactions that today’s consumers demand. Emotional connections create a resonance with potential customers, leaving them with confidence and trust in the brands they choose.
In today’s world, branding is all about making that connection with your audience. By nature, it’s a process that requires empathy, understanding and creativity. You’re trying to figure out:
How to present your brand as an authority within your industry.
How to use branding to build trust and connection with your audience.
What “branding” even means to today’s audiences.
How you can bring this all together to succeed in branding your business properly.
Understanding human interactions and behaviors can help you create more successful strategies in branding, marketing and beyond. When you add the power of AI, you can do even more.
AI as a catalyst for personalization
As we’ve learned from the use of various AI tools and machine learning models, vast amounts of data can be analyzed in a very short amount of time. For businesses looking to improve their personalization, this is a huge benefit. No longer do your employees have to spend hours sifting through and organizing customer data to deliver personalization. They can simply put the AI to work to gather insights on preferences and user expectations.
This will allow you to deliver an enhanced customer experience that includes everything from tailored recommendations for products and services to customized messaging in your marketing campaigns. And you can do it all without having to cull the data yourself when you enlist the help of AI.
In the past, the focus was mostly on market segmentation, or dividing audiences and defining customer personas based on certain demographics or other factors. Businesses were looking at this as a more targeted option than blanket marketing, and it became the norm. AI takes that one step further, refining the targeting process even more and allowing your brand to make connections with your customers on a deeper level.
The role of AI in storytelling and creating emotional connections
There are several AI tools that you’re probably already using to help you tell the right story with your content. Keyword research, topic generation tools, analytics reports (that are AI-generated) — the list is longer than you might think.
AI is a powerful element in storytelling because it can use the data provided to identify narratives that resonate with various audiences. Artificial intelligence and automated tools can help you optimize the delivery of your content, too, so that your stories find the right users at the right time.
This also helps brands identify the emotional triggers that drive consumer behavior, which makes it easier to create an emotional connection in the brand experience. Emotional AI is even becoming more popular, as tools that can identify emotions through words or facial recognition are being developed by many big players in the industry.
And those emotional connections are what will set your brand apart. Take, for example:
Brazil’s Yellow Line used AdMobilize emotional AI to measure face metrics and display ads based on people’s emotions.
MetLife implemented an emotional AI coaching tool to help agents better detect emotional states and provide real-time tips and assistance for agents. This increased their NPS score, Perfect Call scores, and issue resolution and decreased call handling time.
These are just a couple of examples of how many brands are starting to use AI to create emotional experiences that today’s audiences enjoy.
Enhancing brand consistency
Of course, we can’t talk about AI and automation without discussing the benefit of consistency. With AI, you can maintain brand consistency across all platforms and touchpoints without having to even think about it. AI can help you align messaging, tone and design to come up with a cohesive brand identity that you can share with the world.
AI can even help you identify areas where things aren’t consistent or instances of your brand that may need a second look. This helps you further ensure that you’re staying ahead of the competition and delivering the connected experience that people desire. AI can even go as far as to outline a strategy or process for you so that you can further refine it into manageable touchpoints and provide a consistent experience from start to finish.
AI cannot replace the authenticity of human creativity and conceptualization. However, it can enhance several areas of the human experience. In an era of AI-driven innovations, maintaining those authentic connections with your consumers remains a priority. While AI is a tool that can optimize data analysis, personalization, storytelling, and branding, the human element remains at the core of brand-consumer relationships.
By embracing AI as an augmentation to your human efforts, your brand will be able to forge a path toward meaningful, personalized interactions that resonate in today’s digital world. AI is poised to become a powerful tool for branding and marketing, amplifying the capabilities of your human employees and delivering data-driven insights that will help you create more effective branding strategies moving forward.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Innovation is the source of critical differentiation in competitive markets. Unfortunately, innovation has become a buzzword for something that looks more like creativity in practice — or worse, incremental improvements. This conflation has had an undeniable detrimental effect on companies and consumers alike.
Creativity is the generation of new ideas. While valuable, these concepts cannot always be marketed or commercialized. Instead of addressing true consumers’ met or unmet needs, they were generated based on technical know-how. Even when they can be commercialized, they don’t often drive revenue or profit growth as expected.
On the other hand, innovation is driven by consumer needs and demands, especially unmet needs. Ultimately, innovation is the differentiator influencing consumer behavior, creating new revenue and increasing profit — all the makings of a market leader. Innovation is about transformation: achieving more with less, finding new ways of doing things and identifying ways to create new consumer demand. Especially in uncertain times, how do you significantly alter the playing field to your benefit?
Two key types of innovation drive increased profits: new-to-the-world solutions and new-to-the-market solutions. For either method of innovation to be successful, executive leadership must build and foster a culture that relentlessly prioritizes listening to the targeted consumers it aims to serve. Innovation can happen only by harnessing the power of people — especially those with different ways of thinking.
New-to-the-world solutions are not existing products with incremental changes made; they are original in their approach to problem-solving and often create new categories that irrevocably change the market. New-to-the-world solutions require a deep understanding of consumers’ unmet needs and behaviors to accurately identify and address problems that consumers may not even realize they have. This means listening to what consumers don’t say and observing what they do. Based on this consumer understanding, technological know-how can make solutions.
Consider the classic example of how Netflix reinvented itself during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, surpassing Blockbuster to change the entire at-home entertainment landscape. The company saw consumer demand shrinking and found new ways to create more value for consumers via home delivery and streaming content directly to the consumers’ homes.
Gone are the days of video cassettes, DVDs and Blu-ray disks — and better yet, consumers don’t need to drive to the stores to pick them up. While such a thing was unthinkable just 15 years ago, Netflix has since evolved into the streaming platform we all know and enjoy from our devices — a true innovative shift.
The rapid advancement of the internet also revolutionized traditional workplaces, including office supplies. As emails began to dominate modern professional communication, 3M’s Post-It notes were put in a somewhat sticky situation — and so 3M invented an innovative product that was even stickier. The Post-It Super Sticky notes could adhere to any vertical surface — including chairs, doors, computers, refrigerators, etc. This innovation addressed the needs of consumers who still preferred physical, visual reminders but found themselves using paper memos less frequently. The Post-it Super Sticky notes were made in vibrant colors, offering a convenient reminder that could be placed almost anywhere, ensuring that the product remained relevant and helpful even in the digital age.
By contrast, Google failed to understand the true unmet needs of its consumers when the company first launched its “moonshot” Google Glass in 2014. Despite the “smart” glasses’ cutting-edge technology, the product was discontinued after just one year. Despite its live map imaging and hands-free web navigation, Google botched its assessment of the product’s marketability — opting for a “clunky” shape, overcomplicated features, and an overwrought price tag ($1,500).
This is a classic example of a new-to-the-world product that myopically prioritized sleek, convenient bells and whistles over simplicity and accessibility. Google also failed to consider the desires and budgets of consumers properly. The product did not offer an authentic solution to make consumers’ lives easy and affordable.
New-to-the-market solutions deliver an already-existing product to a region or market where it was not previously familiar or available. This does not require a fundamental change to the product itself but rather an integration into a new demographic of consumers — but not all products that succeed in one region are destined to succeed in another. Therefore, it’s crucial to take note of the ethnographic differences between markets and to develop a deep understanding of the cultures being marketed to.
WD-40 is a prime example of a longtime staple of the American home that was popularized globally. Invented in San Diego in 1953, WD-40 was created for Convair to protect missiles from rust and corrosion and was later used more widely for its water-resistance and lubrication properties. The product was not introduced to Latin America until the 1960s, when it was presented as a valuable tool for people from all walks of life — including mechanics, cleaners, and individuals preparing for natural disasters.
In addition to sponsorships of sporting events and festivals, the company was careful to market WD-40 to the Latin American audience through localized campaigns tailored to regional needs and interests. Lastly, the company established partnerships with local retailers and distributors to ensure the product’s accessibility. WD-40 was known for its versatility and reliability, but its affordability and universality propelled its successful sales in over 170 countries worldwide.
Unlike WD-40, Bunnings — an Australian hardware and garden center chain — struck out in the UK market. While Bunnings was able to understand and cater to the needs of Australian homeowners, its leadership failed to consider the UK’s very different DIY habits, climate and competitive landscape.
After overpaying for the UK-based home store chain Homebase, Bunnings made drastic changes to its logo, layout, and product mix without raising awareness around Bunnings’ brand in the UK. Bunnings also failed to invest in its UK presence properly, alienating potential consumers familiar with Homebase. Thus, Bunnings and its products failed to catch on with UK consumers, and in 2018, the brand was forced to sell Homebase at a loss of 1.7 billion Sterling pounds.
The reality is that creativity alone will not create demand nor change consumer behavior. True innovation requires a combination of creativity, foresight and deep consumer understanding to deliver the right solutions for consumers’ unmet needs. Our current economy is actually primed for innovation — this troubled market is similar to what Netflix faced back in 2008, and company leaders would be wise to follow Netflix’s example.
Now is the time when generational entrepreneurs launch their world-changing businesses, and real innovative ideas are born. For existing companies, large and small, it’s a time to double down on the core of who you are and what can be best offered to consumers to drive new demand.
I met Matt Ragland while I was speaking at a ConvertKit conference. And, I was just struck by how present he was in the conversation. While we were chatting, he was focused on being interested as opposed to being interesting.
And when he finally did share more about what he’s up to, I was impressed with how he took a disciplined but creative approach to his work. For some reason, those two seem at odds but he was able to find an integration that led to him being extremely productive and a world-class content creator.
Matt is the Managing Director of Good People Digital. An agency that works with companies to create human-focused brands and web experiences that help them connect with their customers.
Outside of that, his work focuses on the intersection of productivity and the creator economy. So if you’re struggling with either of those, Matt’s here to help you out.
I’ll share a few of my key takeaways from our conversation below.
How to start creating content that connects
When it comes to creating newsletter content, just getting started is often the biggest hurdle. Matt said that there are a couple of ways you can jump-start your content creation – starting with analyzing what has already worked well on your social media. What is already getting engagement? What do you feel is important?
“The other two things that you can ask are number one: What is the thing that people often ask me about in regards to my work or specific area of interest? … And then the follow up to that is (whether it’s on social or through replies on your newsletter), if you’re new at this, ask for a reply at the end of each newsletter.”
This ensures that you’re creating content that serves the needs of your audience, because that was your starting place.
If you’re really starting from scratch
“That’s all well and good,” you might be saying, “But this assumes I’ve already created content. What do I do if I’ve never posted on social media?”
Matt suggests searching Reddit for questions to answer.
“I don’t often say that. But Reddit as research is great.” Matt said. “See what things people are asking that they’re not getting good answers to, and you can just answer that in your own content. You can also, on social media, find people that you follow that are in the same relative niche as you and see what topics they are talking about that you have a different opinion on. Talk about what they’re doing, not what that specific person is doing, but give that in your own opinion.”
How to have the most productive week ever
The most productive week ever is a big promise, I know. And Matt said that the key to the most productive week is actually counterintuitive: You should not overcommit.
“Mental over commitment to goals or projects, that leads to a lot of overwhelm, that can lead to a lot of context and task switching.”
Matt referenced The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, adding that he can’t pick one thing to focus on for the entire quarter — but he can do that for his days and weeks. Once he has that one big thing selected for the week, Matt moves forward with what he calls the GAP framework — Goals, Actions, and Protection.
“If I know what that goal is, then I’m going to analyze it, and I’m going to look at it and say, ‘Okay, what are the actions that I need to take that if I were to check off all of these to do items, all these action items, it will naturally lead to the completion or achievement of the goal?
And I’m going to look at this and say, like, okay, I have these four to five action items. How much time do I need to protect? Let’s just say two hours. Okay, I’m going to protect the time to do this for one hour on Monday morning and then one hour on Thursday morning.”
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
What is an artist? Ask an art purist, and they’ll tell you that art exists for its sake and for expression alone. Therefore, an artist exists to create art. This outdated definition feeds into that romantic idea of a “starving artist.” Someone who lives for their art, so much so that they’re willing to go hungry and penniless rather than “sell out” by making money for their work.
It’s 2023, though, and we need to update our definition of an artist. Artistic ability does not know gender, age or sexuality. And it doesn’t require you to give up your money, energy or goals to express it.
An artist is someone who values themselves and their work — and doesn’t shy away from building a successful livelihood around it. You can be an artist, but you can also be an entrepreneur. Or art-preneur.
As an “art-preneur,” you’re not just an artist, you’re a brand. You’re not just a painter or sculptor or filmmaker; you’re a CEO. A marketer. A strategist. Of course, it also means you’re a bookkeeper, salesperson and your own administrative assistant.
When blending art and business together, you become not only the sole creator of your product but also the CEO of your business. You are in charge of how your art business performs.
You make the decisions, you call the shots. And to be honest, you’re going to make mistakes on the CEO side of things. But that’s all part of the fun. It’s how you learn and improve as an art-preneur. But how can you, as an artist, embrace your entrepreneurial side so you can make a living from your art?
Here are 7 ways:
1. Learn how to market yourself
Paint one collection, and put it up for sale. If the collection doesn’t sell (or doesn’t sell as well as you hoped), what should you do? The first step is finding a new way to market yourself, your art brand and your collection.
There are many different ways to market products and services out there, so I’ll share a tip with you: Find a marketing style that feels right to you.
You’re an artist, so you have a creative mind already. Use it. You don’t have to use traditional marketing tactics or learn all the marketing jargon to do it successfully. Do what feels right to you. That might include teaching in-person workshops, hosting a Q&A on social media, dropping exclusive prints or working on commission for a limited time.
Try different strategies if you’re not sure how you’d prefer to market yourself. See what performs well and what feels authentic to you. The main thing to remember is to get your art and brand in front of people who want to buy.
2. Fill in your calendar
Hope is not a strategy. This is a tough love moment, but you need a solid business plan from the get-go — something more tangible than hope.
The best way to get past the pipe dream stage and into something actionable? Use a calendar. Digital calendar, pretty planner, old-school calendar you can nail to the wall: It’s up to you. Choose a goal, such as “sell X number of paintings,” and pick a deadline for your goal.
Then work backward and fill in your calendar. Fill in events like:
Collection drops
Art shows
Commission works
Courses or workshops
Any upcoming projects
Any upcoming events
With these events, how can you use them to reach your goal? Maybe you push commissions during your downtime. Or you hype up new collection drops earlier than you originally planned.
When you have your goal planted in your calendar and your events filled in, your strategy for reaching said goal will start to take shape.
3. Be present on social media
Social media gives you a direct connection to art lovers and your ideal collectors. That’s why it’s so important to keep your social media updated and to stay present.
Announce new collection launches and upcoming events. Promote last chances to buy products, or tease a new piece that’s dropping soon. Share anything and everything related to your business. Give your followers all the information they need to buy your art.
Art-preneurship is not just about focusing on your art. It’s about creating an art brand for your art business. To develop a brand that stands out just as much as your art, ask yourself:
What’s your “why?” Why do you make your art?
What sets you (as an artist) and your art (as your product) apart from others?
Who is your market? How can you best reach them?
Whether you’re showing up on Instagram or hosting your art in a gallery, remember that people are buying you as much as they’re buying your pieces. When you know your why, what and who, you’ll be able to show up in ways that are authentic and unique. At the end of the day, that helps your art get more reach (and more sales).
5. Look to your community
Your audience is more than subscribers or followers — it’s all the people you have in your community and your network. Your relationships with people online and offline can help you find success as an art-preneur and increase your reach to new places.
Make a list of all the different groups you belong to, like art communities, churches or worship groups, business networks or masterminds, neighborhood groups and so on.
How can you leverage your connections in these communities in a way that feels mutually beneficial? Are there people you’re close to in your life who can spread the word about your art? People in your life can offer you valuable support that you can’t buy, but you’re richer for having.
6. Get comfortable with numbers
As artists, it might seem like we’re just not wired to manage the financial side of things. You might even hate doing it. But as an art-preneur, learning how to manage your finances is part of the job title.
Start small, and start with the basics. Keep track of what you’re spending and what you’re making. Know how your art is selling. From these basic numbers, you can get a sense of the health of your business and predict how it will do in the future.
As an artist, you’re already used to taking risks. Every time you put paint to the canvas or clay to the wheel, you’re taking a risk. As an art-preneur, the risk might seem even more substantial, but the alternative is staying where you are, feeling like you can’t make a living from your art.
It boils down to deciding which risk you’re willing to take: The risk of trying something new — or not trying anything at all.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Natural-born entrepreneurs are often bursting with creative ideas, new innovative thoughts and — more often than not — pretty enormous dreams. We can’t help it. For better or worse, it is how we are wired.
One of the first characteristics of an entrepreneur is our curious nature. Think about it: How often do you wake up at 2:45 a.m. with a new idea that you want to start immediately in the morning? I’ve been there hundreds of times — really, you should see my notes app on my phone! Entrepreneurs love ideas. We love building on our ideas over and over again, hoping to create something bigger than we can even imagine. We say things like, “I’m building for the future” or “I’m planting seeds for growth” every time we pile on some new project. It’s exhilarating — until it’s exhausting.
At some point, the go-go-go nature of our ideation patterns can begin to feel heavy or burdensome for some of us. So the question is, how much of this “planting of seeds” is really just the burying of ourselves in heaps of work that may be hindering our ability to actually grow and succeed?
Small business owners need to always be planning for the future — how else will their business grow? It’s an integral part of business ownership. Everyone wants to succeed. Planting seeds for growth, for example, spending on marketing or public relations, recruiting top-tier talent, attending networking events and so on, are extremely important. But how much time is being spent on planning for these activities versus the amount of time entrepreneurs spend on everything else necessary to run the show?
A recent study showed that 39% of business owners are already working over 60 hours per week. And you better believe those work weeks are packed with all the stress and pressure that every business owner struggles with, from employee concerns to client concerns and everyone’s favorite, “economic uncertainty.” Maybe cash flow is tighter. Maybe bills aren’t being paid as fast. It stinks. This, however, should not stop that creative, tired mind from coming up with fresh ideas.
But what if I miss out?
The conundrum is that we fear letting these good ideas go to waste. Or that if we don’t pursue the new ideas, we’re risking not achieving the success we’d surely have if we were to make it happen. As a fellow entrepreneur with high hopes and dreams, I refuse to enable dream-killing. It’s not in my DNA. I believe every and all dreams can come true. I also believe that nothing is possible if we aren’t well enough to take it all on.
My mother used to say to me, “You can’t fill a cup from an empty well.” It took me years to fully grasp what she meant. Then one day, while I was running my first business back in 2016, I had a complete meltdown. I hadn’t been sleeping much, I was under so much pressure having two children under two, and I had a list of things I wanted to do with the business. And I cracked under that pressure. I ended up in the ER, thinking I might’ve failed at everything — motherhood, marriage and entrepreneurship. It dawned on me then that I was DTM (doing too much) and I had not dedicated any time to filling up my own well so that I would be able to give from it.
Fast-forward to now. My current business is thriving. My children are the best of the best (I could go on, but this would end up being another 15 paragraphs!). My marriage is as strong as ever. But most importantly, I am full. I am full of energy, joy, ambition and yes, ideas. The difference between now and then is recognizing when to admit that I am full and to only take on what I can. We have to make an effort to discover new ways to manage our stress and emotional well-being, or it will rule —and ultimately ruin — our lives. However, managing that stress and sometimes realizing you can’t control everything isn’t easy for us. As entrepreneurs, we would rather play by our own rules. I still struggle with how to properly maintain that balance between spilling over with ideas and keeping myself well. It takes practice.
Earlier this year, I had huge plans to take the business to new heights. It was project after project. Except, this time, I had the strength to say, “One thing at a time.” I started keeping an organized list of ideas prioritized by importance, relevance and urgency. And I’ve allowed myself room to really focus on one seed in my garden of ideas.
This is the kind of advice you’ll often get when going to a therapist who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy. Focus on the things that matter today. The more we get caught up in the things that may affect us tomorrow (or six months from now) the more we lose sight of the moment in which we can make a real impact as an entrepreneur.
Don’t stop. Pace yourself.
You must continue planting seeds. I will fight for this, always. But before that, you must not bury yourselves in work for the sake of saying, “I did it.” Your loved ones won’t care what you did if it breaks you. We chose this path of entrepreneurship for various reasons, be it for financial freedom, flexibility or to make an impact on the world. We are in control of our destinies. And if we remember that fact and hold ourselves accountable, not only to our businesses but to our whole selves, we will always be capable of making the impossible extremely, undeniably and wildly possible.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
It can be hard to let go of control and let others take the reins. I get it.
As a graphic designer turned creative agency founder, I struggled with this myself in the earliest days of my company. I had started my career doing the same work I needed to eventually hand off to my team, so I could expand my focus. And it was hard. But I did it. I had to.
Now, for different but equally important reasons, I often tell our branding clients the same thing: You’ve got to let go.
When hiring a creative team for your branding and design, giving space to let others move is about more than just freeing your time for other areas of the business. It’s also about quality: If you apply too much control without having a strategically sound design background, the reality is you risk getting bland design. The more you try to direct the creative process, the more you risk losing all benefit of calling in expert, talented creatives in the first place. And you hired them for a reason.
Ideally, you hired a team with stellar experience, creative vision and style. Even better, you hired a team that also understands strategy. When you work with professionals like this — who possess vision, futuristic thinking and impressive design talent — it’s just a matter of setting the necessary parameters and then giving them space to play and innovate. The best campaigns are usually the result of creatives taking risks. So let them!
As a founder, you bring your own irreplaceable skill set to what you do, but unless you also have a creative background, your team probably has a different mode of genius. You don’t want to suffocate their creative process before it has a chance to really wow you.
Would you hire Andy Warhol and tell him that Campbell’s soup can would really be more striking in pastels? Would you bring in Monet and insist on choosing each individual flower he paints in a field?
I hope not.
While your business has specific needs, the truth remains that creatives need space to shine their brightest. Your input is essential, of course, and when all is said and done, you need to absolutely love the end result. But as the process unfolds, remember that your aim is to be a constructive collaborator — not a controller — and to trust the process. That means working with the team so they know what objectives you need accomplished and then letting them do what they’re great at.
This process comes down to a foundation of trust and hiring a team you can believe in.
Easier said than done? Here are a few tips to help you get there:
Hire a team with incredible vision, style, experience and strategic thinking that aligns with your objectives. When interviewing, ask thoughtful questions upfront about what means most to you, and look at their portfolio of work. But do nothire an agency because you want exactly what they did for another client. A good agency will steer you on a path that is unique to you and your objectives, not an echo of another look-alike brand.
Once you’ve hired a great team and let them know your needs and essential parameters, it’s time to give appropriate space. Set a firm intention to not overtly control the design, unless this is your background and a clearly communicated part of the process you’ll go through together — yet, then I beg the question of why you hired an outside team in the first place if only just to push them around. The best results happen when you communicate clearly at the outset, then sit back, trust the process, and try to see the proverbial forest through the trees.
When it is time to offer your opinion, do not design by jury or constantly ask outsiders not involved in the project for their opinions. This will only confuse things. An abundance of opinions often keeps you from really forming your own.
Lastly, if something isn’t working, don’t just keep ruminating on it quietly for fear of hurting feelings. Communication is a two-way street, and both sides need to be in lockstep. Share with the team what works for you and what doesn’t, then step aside again. Remember that even if you don’t love the first ideas you see, it’s still important to not lose trust and take control. The best creative processes are often messy and iterative. After you offer your feedback, let your creative team recalibrate and reach for something great that’s more aligned.
It can be hard to let go, but it’s so important. If you find yourself struggling to give enough space to your creative team, just remind yourself: With too tight of a grip, your creative work will be mediocre at best. I can guarantee it.
If you let go even just a little, the outcome will be 120% better than you envisioned. Lean into trust, and expect great things to follow.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
In the world of business, success is often measured by concrete metrics such as revenue, profit margins and market share. While these indicators certainly hold importance, there exists another dimension that can greatly influence the trajectory of an enterprise. It is the realm of intangibles, those elusive qualities that can make or break a company. Consider five such intangibles — enthusiasm, inspiration, creativity, connectivity and value — and how they hold the key to unlocking unparalleled business success.
Enthusiasm: Fueling the fire within
Enthusiasm is the driving force that propels entrepreneurs and their teams forward. It is the spark that ignites passion, fuels perseverance and cultivates an unwavering belief in one’s vision. When leaders exude enthusiasm, it becomes contagious, permeating throughout the organization. An enthusiastic workforce is one that goes above and beyond, consistently delivering exceptional results and surpassing expectations. It creates a positive work culture, attracts top talent and fosters customer loyalty.
The energy and excitement that stem from genuine enthusiasm are invaluable assets that can steer a business toward unprecedented heights. Moreover, people who are enthusiastic about what they do and who they work with and for are likely to stay with their job, decreasing turnover and greatly helping the continuity and bottom line of a company.
Inspiration lies at the heart of every successful venture. It is the driving force behind groundbreaking innovations, transformative ideas and visionary leadership. Inspired individuals possess a deep-rooted sense of purpose, which guides their decision-making and propels them to overcome obstacles. By fostering an environment that nurtures inspiration, businesses can tap into the boundless potential of their teams.
Inspirational leaders cultivate a shared vision, instill confidence and encourage creativity, empowering their employees to think outside the box and embrace bold ideas. A workforce inspired by a compelling purpose becomes a formidable force, capable of achieving greatness. Great businesses can and should encourage their employees to reach beyond their daily responsibilities and share ideas and suggestions. If you limit the roles and contributions of employees, you are stifling one of your greatest assets.
Creativity: Forging new frontiers
Creativity is the wellspring from which innovation flows. It is the ability to think differently, to break free from established norms and to pioneer new paths. In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, creativity is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity. Organizations that encourage and celebrate creativity create a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability. By harnessing the power of diverse perspectives and fostering an atmosphere that encourages risk-taking, businesses can unlock the untapped potential within their teams.
Creative problem-solving, product innovation and disruptive thinking become the norm, setting a company apart from its competitors and opening doors to uncharted possibilities. Business can and should encourage creative thinking at every level. They should create opportunities and pathways for anyone to share ideas and become more vested in the success of a company.
In an increasingly interconnected world, connectivity is a strategic advantage that cannot be underestimated. Building strong relationships and fostering meaningful connections is the cornerstone of business success. Networking with industry peers, engaging with customers and collaborating with partners creates a web of support and opportunity. By cultivating a robust network, businesses gain access to invaluable resources, knowledge and expertise. In the digital age, connectivity extends beyond traditional boundaries, with social media and online platforms providing avenues to connect with a global audience.
The power of connectivity lies in its ability to amplify reach, accelerate growth and forge strategic alliances that fuel progress. Connectivity can and should start with the interworking of your business. Every employee should know and appreciate the roles and responsibilities of the people with whom they work. They should have the opportunity to engage with one another. This type of connectivity fosters appreciation, trust and support — all critical intangibles.
Value: The currency of success
Value creation lies at the core of every successful business endeavor. It certainly includes the ability to provide products, services or solutions that meet the needs and desires of customers. Beyond mere transactions, value is about building long-term relationships, delivering exceptional experiences and exceeding expectations. When businesses consistently deliver value, they cultivate customer loyalty, generate positive word-of-mouth and foster a sustainable competitive advantage.
Value can manifest in various forms, whether it be quality, convenience, affordability or exceptional service. By focusing on creating value, businesses build a solid foundation for enduring success. However, value begins internally. When employees feel valued, they work harder and are more productive. When employees feel like what they do contributes value to the company and others, they feel more vested, a sense of pride and a sense of purpose. Though value is a bit intangible, it is quantifiable.
The intangibles of enthusiasm, inspiration, creativity, connectivity and value will not show up on a balance sheet. They will not be reported on at a shareholders’ meeting. And they are, at best, glossed over in business school. But nearly every area of a company’s business success (or failures) can be traced back to one or more of these vital components.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Innovation today is moving faster than ever. In the last two years, we collected 90 percent of the world’s data from various sources, like social media posts and online purchases to GPS tracking and health devices. In 2023, 91.6 percent of Fortune 1000 companies planned to invest in Big Data and AI to stay competitive. By 2026, experts predict the wearable AI market to be worth $69.51 billion, and by 2030, 50 billion devices will be connected to the Internet of Things.
But no matter the context of innovation, the key to generating value for a company or an individual is always the same: commoditize creativity fast. Here’s how:
Innovation requires creativity, which comes from two sources: 1) When people look to solve problems they encounter themselves, or 2) They set themselves against benchmark practices within the broader community, notice themselves falling behind and figure out what they need to fix before their competitors find a similar (or improved) solution. This is essentially the formula for a startup: Someone takes a creative idea and commoditizes it fast to reach as many clients as possible and generate more value.
The more people in a company come up with creative ideas, the better equipped it is to draw out continuous room for improvement and increased value. Each employee brings a unique perspective capable of creativity that others might never have considered. Leadership needs access to their creativity so they can act on good ideas quickly and start maximizing their value quickly.
A call center worker following their daily procedure could be the first person to notice and fix a bug that customers are encountering. Their creativity has value to the individual they serviced, but unless that worker can find the owner of the broken process, share their creative solution and commoditize that creativity with the rest of the team, that value is limited. More customers may call with the same bug, tying up workers who may not have a viable solution. The sooner creativity is commoditized, the greater the advantages for the company, which maximizes its value.
Commoditizing drives value
Any innovation that has value can be commoditized to amplify such value toward its possible maximum — a product, a process or just an idea for improvement — and such value is not necessarily limited to a monetary return. When I go online and find an article for a great home remedy for stomach problems, someone has already commoditized their creative idea by writing that article. They may have done so for money or because they experienced relief from stomach problems and enjoyed helping others share those benefits. They may also have valued establishing themselves as an authority on home remedies online, and by commoditizing their creativity, they reached a broader audience to maximize that value.
I could now take that article, improve on the remedy’s recipe and create a new idea, but unless I commoditize it by sharing it with others, that idea can only provide value to me. Depending on what I value — money, authority or sharing important information — I can create strategies to spread my creativity to the right people to maximize that value. By knowing what value I want to drive, I can maximize it more effectively.
Most for-profit companies value sustained profits and more impact on their client success, but even greater nuance in their value propositions may guide more targeted success. Leadership should identify and make clear what they value to everyone in the organization and encourage them to identify creative ideas to innovate their work in a way that drives that value. Anyone who identifies ways to improve their work and increase that profit or impact can take those ideas through the next phases of commoditization.
Duplicating an invention or an improvement so others beyond the original inventor can benefit from it increases its value, but to maximize that value, its inventor needs to scale up fast. Staying ahead of competitors, solving internal problems, creating more efficient and effective practices — all of these creative ideas are more valuable the faster they are implemented and scaled. Speed keeps innovators ahead of the competition, but it also saves the time, money and resources that not acting on an innovative solution would cost.
Take, for example, a tree planted in a parking lot alongside a highway that is constantly the cause of accidents. I may notice the species has drooping limbs that block the visibility of cars exiting the lot and realize that relocating the tree to a different area would be safer for everyone. The faster I report that creative idea to the parking lot owner, the more potential injuries and harm I can prevent, making my idea more valuable. The quicker I can get that news to other parking lot designers, the better equipped they are to reconsider dangerous landscaping at other locations, preventing more accidents and maximizing the value of my idea because of lives saved and costly damages avoided.
To bring new ideas to the right people when a creative idea strikes, leaders need to establish a commoditization process. “Whenever creativity happens, I act [in this way].” Everyone should know how to move creative ideas to the next steps for implementation: reporting to a supervisor or submitting to a peer or group review, who then passes the idea to the owner of the production line. There should also be a step in that process for deciding how much to push that idea to wider company use and commoditize that creativity in more ways to deliver more value with better efficiency.
Commoditizing creativity fast may eliminate some jobs, but the evolution of labor is inevitable and not necessarily bad. Agriculture underwent several transformations throughout history to become more productive with fewer workers, freeing up entire families living subsistence lifestyles to have more time to seek out new careers and ways to innovate. People in eliminated positions will likely adapt to survive, figuring out new ways to apply their skill sets to meet new demands and increase their personal value. From a tree to a call center and everything in between, the process of generating value is ubiquitous: The faster we identify and commoditize creativity, the more value we generate.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The demand for creative talent is perhaps stronger than ever. The World Economic Forum recently cited creative thinking as the second most important employee skill in 2023.
Likewise, a survey of business leaders conducted by Pew Research Center identified creativity as among the most frequently mentioned skills employees need to be successful.
Given such realities, many of today’s workers face unique pressures to standout from their peers and establish a name for themselves as the “creative” in their organization.
But such pressures are not unique to lower-level employees. Being seen as creative is also becoming increasingly associated with effective leadership. One IBM survey, which focused on 1,500 CEOs across 60 countries and 33 different industries, found that “creativity is now the most important leadership quality for success in business, outweighing even integrity and global thinking.”
In many ways, this makes intuitive sense. As business has become increasingly global and dynamic, members at all levels of the organizational hierarchy are expected to develop cutting-edge approaches to improving processes, procedures and practices they encounter in their role.
These trends, however, raise an important question: If employees are under pressure to be creative and creativity is becoming a key aspect of the leadership role, might managers feel threatened when their subordinates establish a reputation as creative?
Interested in this question, my coauthors and I conducted a study that was recently published in the Journal of Management. Here’s what we found.
Leaders are likely to envy their employees’ reputation for creativity
Within organizations, managers are often granted certain privileges (e.g., social influence, respect, control over resources and decision-making) not afforded to lower level employees. These privileges often become an expected part of the leadership role, which can be a problem when managers perceive that their subordinates suddenly have access to these same social advantages.
This explains why, in our study, we found that managers were indeed threatened by their creative employees. But not by their creative ability, per se, but rather the reputation they had for being creative.
Good ideas, especially those that are novel and practical, are statistically infrequent and highly sought after in today’s organizations. Those who are seen as being able to consistently develop creative ideas are therefore likely to have considerable social influence because they are seen as possessing (and thus having control over) a valuable resource that others desire.
They may possess an aura of authority and even become admired by others because they are seen as a source of knowledge and information that can help inform others’ decisions. This is one reason why employees who establish a reputation as creative will work hard to maintain such impressions. However, as our findings suggest, it is also why the managers we studied reported feeling envious of their employees’ creative reputations and, in some cases, attempted to thwart their advantages.
Some leaders experience and manage their envy more constructively than others
Despite its designation as one of the “seven deadly sins,” envy can also have a bright side. Envy is a social emotion that alerts us to when our position in the social hierarchy is threatened and motivates us to take action to catch up.
Research shows, however, that the motivational component of envy can be felt in two very different ways. On the one hand, we might feel the urge to thwart or discount the envied other’s advantages, hoping they eventually fall a few rungs down the social ladder. On the other hand, we might instead feel motivated or even inspired to better our own relative standing through greater effort and self-improvement.
In either case, we’re still experiencing the painful feelings of envy. Yet, the former reflects a malicious form of envy directed at diminishing the envied other while the latter reflects a benign form of envy directed at improving the envious self.
In our study, we found that these two forms of envy were crucial in determining whether managers would try to sabotage those employees known for their creativity or, conversely, try to learn from them. Specifically, we found that while managers’ feelings of malicious envy were associated with attempts to jeopardize their employee’s creative output by withholding needed information and resources from them, managers’ feelings of benign envy were associated with attempts to learn from the envied employee by asking them for advice and assistance when developing creative ideas.
The key is to build leaders’ confidence in their own creative abilities
While it might not always be possible to prevent managers from envying their creative employees, it is possible to help them channel those feelings in ways that are less hostile and more productive. Research suggests that people are more likely to experience the useful, benign form of envy when they believe they are capable of improving their relative standing in the first place.
The rationale is that if you believe devoting the necessary effort will enable you to catch up to the competition, you are more likely to focus on finding ways to better yourself; otherwise, you might feel the need to focus on ways to stifle the competition’s advantages.
This is precisely what we found distinguished those managers who focused on learning from their creative employees from those focused on preventing them from being successful. When managers felt confident in their own ability to develop creative ideas, they were more likely to channel their feelings of envy in productive ways by asking the employee for ideas and assistance.
Fortunately, building managers’ creative ability, as well as their confidence in their creative ability, can be trained. Some ways include teaching managers skills related to cognitive flexibility, divergent thinking and narrative cognition, ensuring that the connection between their creative efforts and successes are clear and recognized (or providing feedback so they understand how to improve).
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Running a company is a challenging and creative undertaking — there are no boundaries, and no one from whom to ask permission. That’s one of the most rewarding aspects, but also one of the most difficult: Richard Branson said in his book Stripped Bare, “Business is like painting. You start with a blank canvas. You can paint anything, and there, right there, is your first problem. For every good painting you might turn out, there are a zillion bad paintings just aching to drip off your brush.”
Many assume art and business have nothing in common, but in fact, they share many predictors of success — for instance, the ability to see things in the world that others miss; to communicate that vision to other people; to take an idea and make it a reality. Perhaps that is why so many business leaders have side gigs as musicians or painters: Paul Allen, Michael Dell and James Dolan all play in bands. Even Warren Buffett plays a mean ukulele.
I’ve played in a band for almost as long as I’ve run my company and can speak to this profound connection between artistic pursuits and professional growth.
Here are five ways an artistic outlet will make you better at your job:
Small companies require everyone to pull together toward a shared goal. A band is just the same: The difference between a great show and a loud mess comes down to collaboration. Everything from setting practice to choosing songs to scheduling shows requires each member to respect the wishes of the others. Even more important, they must be willing to put their own preferences behind those of the team. Our band has had to turn down shows for my kids’ birthdays, lacrosse games and prom pictures. My bandmates understand and accept these priorities, and they’re shared by the whole team.
The same applies at work: My colleagues are talented people with their own goals and responsibilities — some have to do with our work together, but many of them do not. Taking the time to understand and respect what your colleagues care about is one of the most effective ways to build and keep a talented team.
2. Make more meaningful connections
An artistic outlet keeps your empathetic “muscles” in peak condition and makes you a better boss and coworker. This is especially important in the Covid work-from-home era, where it’s easy to forget there’s a real person on the other end of that Zoom or email.
Art demands empathy: Your job is to make people feel something. For example, in a band, you have to make eye contact with the front row, shout out the bachelorette parties or notice which songs make people dance (and which ones clear the floor). Clive Gillinson, the executive director of Carnegie Hall, said in a Wall Street Journal interview, “Playing music requires you to be attuned to the emotions and perspectives of others. It’s a way to develop your capacity for empathy and see the world through different eyes.”
The total immersion of running a business tends to intertwine your identity with your work. When things are going well, you feel like the next Bill Gates. But when challenges arise, the pendulum can swing the other way into doubt, anxiety, imposter syndrome and other unhelpful things.
Playing for a crowd reminds me the world is a big place, full of other people with their own hopes and challenges, who don’t know or care what happened at my work that day. We’re all living in the moment — a skill that is often one of the first casualties of starting a company. When he wasn’t co-founding Microsoft, Paul Allen played guitar in a band called the Underthinkers. In his 2011 autobiography, he said, “Music [is] a form of therapy, a way to escape the pressures of work and the world. When I’m playing music, I’m in the moment, fully immersed in the sound and the feeling.”
4. Strengthen your creativity
Running a successful business requires you to see opportunities and solutions your competitors don’t. Art gives these creative skills a workout, so they’re ready to go when you need them. In 2019, Jack Dorsey said this about how his background as an artist influences his work: “I think [being an artist] helps me to approach problems in a unique way, and it helps me to see things that other people might not see. It’s about having a different perspective and being able to think creatively and abstractly. That’s really important in the technology industry, where you’re often dealing with complex problems that don’t have obvious solutions.”
I’ve found playing for 25 people far scarier than doing a conference presentation for several hundred. The reason is simple: In business, you are representing a company. But when you create art, the thing being judged is you. For a natural introvert like me, you have to gaze into an abyss of terrifying possibilities: What if I make a mistake? What if no one shows up? What if people come but no one likes it?
The truth is that most of these things do happen: I’ve played for two hours in an empty room, forgotten all the words to “Country Roads” and blown my guitar amp 15 minutes into a three-hour show. Each was as terrifying as I had pictured. But ultimately, they were liberating because when the worst happens, and the world keeps spinning anyway, you re-evaluate everything else that scares you. And that is hugely valuable when it comes time to make bold decisions about your business with a clear head.
If you already have an artistic outlet, it is crucial to prioritize it. Alternatively, if you don’t have one, I encourage you to explore and discover an artistic pursuit that resonates with you. They’re not a distraction from your work — on the contrary, you’ll acquire and refine many skills that maximize your chances of success in business.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Like most business owners, you probably wish there was more time in the day. Finding the balance between meeting necessary deadlines and keeping space to be creative can be tough. But creativity in business is essential, and losing it means losing out on innovation, efficiency and (ultimately) revenue.
So, it’s vital to free up some space in your business for creative endeavors — especially considering three-quarters of small business owners said that inflation affected their bottom line between July 2021 and July 2022, and 56% expect to feel the pinch through at least the summer of 2023. Creative solutions can mean the difference between financial success and failure.
From a survey of more than a thousand executives, Deloitte found that so-called “high-growth brands” are more likely to value creative ideas as part of long-term success. These brands — in contrast to brands with less measured growth — also are more likely to intentionally create an environment that fosters creative thinking and cross-collaboration. Creativity is a key factor in innovation, which ultimately determines a company’s growth over time.
One common reason business owners struggle to find creative time for themselves is that they’re hiring people but not delegating effectively. As an owner, you can’t handle everything on your own. Though it’s important to ensure quality, you must find a way to delegate tasks if you want to maintain balance, stability and creativity. Research from the Annual Review of Psychology shows that we need time for our brains to wander between tasks to fully realize our creative potential. However, it’s hard to find that time when you’re trying to do it all yourself.
The simple truth is that a business can’t grow when its owner is consumed with micro-managing every facet of the organization. Instead of spreading yourself thin, focus on the part of your role that adds the most value, prioritize it and let it grow. Delegate tasks and share authority where you’re able. The goal? A company that can function without your constant supervision, leaving you space to bring in new passion and creative ideas.
The qualities that make up an efficient system and leave room for creativity
As a leader, you must endeavor to build systems that help you find more creative space instead of more tasks for your list. Here’s where you should focus your efforts:
1. Processes
Regular processes enable you to oversee different aspects of the business and maintain quality without micro-managing every detail. Not only can poor or inefficient systems or strategies lead to chaos and capital loss, but having efficient processes also means spending more time doing what you’re good at, being creative and making better strategic decisions.
A great start would be to improve the day-to-day routines that keep your company running. Successful processes are clear, can be replicated and documented, have supporting tools and are easy to access.
Well-designed and well-implemented systems (including financial, technology, marketing, people and operations systems) create consistent experiences for customers and employees and make your business run more smoothly. Concrete processes, outline how things should be done and provide a way to improve them, saving you time and energy you can spend elsewhere.
A big challenge in creating more space for creativity is having well-defined tasks for everyone on the team. You must have a clear job description for every role in your organization. As your company grows, you’ll delegate tasks to many employees and having defined roles helps you manage payroll more effectively, set performance expectations and outline innovation opportunities.
Perfectly assigned roles are crucial for business because, according to LinkedIn, ineffective management can lead to low morale and budget overruns. This can manifest in poor planning or role definition or more personal things like failure to coach or innovate within roles. Buck this trend by clearly defining your team’s scope of work.
After you have determined your company’s roles, you can assign specific, necessary skills to each one. By clarifying which skills are valued and required in each role, you empower your employees to focus their time and efforts on the skills that will most help them grow in their role. By narrowing their focus, you free up more time and headspace for innovation and creativity.
Skill assignment also ensures you hire the best-qualified candidates and place them in the most productive roles for your organization. Skill testing should be an important part of hiring, too. McKinsey says that 87% of employers see current or potential skill gaps at their companies. Skill testing and clarification can help close those gaps.
The best way to create an effective organizational structure is to design it before you need it. As with systems optimization and role definition, providing organizational structure means employees spend less time confused and more time doing the important work you hired them for. Progress will stall if an employee has a question and doesn’t know where to ask for the answer. Provide structure and reduce confusion.
is a program that encompasses all of Toyota’s practices and philosophies, from sourcing materials to customer interactions. TPS was a key factor in the development of “lean manufacturing,” which focuses on efficiency in production. The right systems help you prioritize and manage your time so you have the freedom to work on developing your business with creative solutions rather than simply maintaining it.
One way to quickly simplify inefficiencies is to remove unnecessary steps in company procedures. An audit is one way to accomplish this, but automation is another modern solution. Automation can identify and solve company growth issues, reduce wasted resources in poorly designed systems and maximize profits.
As a business leader, your priorities should be achieving amazing customer outcomes, maintaining a healthy company culture and finding innovative opportunities for growth. By optimizing the systems, processes and roles in your company, you spend less time managing and more time doing what you do best.
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