The maverick way of Business building: embracing the creative process
As a little girl I would watch other kids play the usual games kids play and not understand the fun in it. I was happy when I was creating – sewing, knitting, drawing, legos .. whatever. I was fascinated by bringing something into being, turning something into something else, something more beautiful, more useful. The feeling of flow I used to love then is still what makes me tick today.
When I moved to Spain and started my own sewing business people who knew me as a software developer would ask, “How can you just do something totally different?” It never felt all that different to me.
Developing software, building websites, designing and sewing dresses, building a business …
… the creative process is the same.
Hi, I'm Anke Herrmann
Business Coach for Creatives & Transformation Professionals
Originally from Germany, I moved to Australia, later the UK, before settling in the south of Spain in 2004. I sew flamenco dance costumes, I teach but mainly I coach creatives, authors, coaches and healers who want to turn their passion into a flourishing business. I guide them through the creative process in a systematic way, like an architect for those building a house, so they can make consistent progress, with a clear direction, focus and momentum, and won't ever have to give up on their dream. Find out more ..
the 5 phases of the creative process
Why it takes longer than most business building programs have you believe (but not half as long as chasing shortcuts does)
It's not a linear process
Creating anything and especially something as complex as a business isn't a 5 step linear process. It's a series of iterations through the 5 phases of the creative process. Each iteration is like an experiment. The thing is, when you create something new there is no set path you can follow blindly. You have to take risks, move forward based on assumptions and educated guesses. Sometimes you'll have guessed right, often you won't.
If you look at the process as a series of experiments it's not a question of success or failure, it's simply a matter of expected or unexpected results and deciding the next step from there, and that means less pressure and more fun.
The creative process is not a straight line, it's not a circle, it's a spiral.
Why it's hard even though it's simple
You don't have business problems, you have personal issues that show up in your business.
Yes, your inner stuff will come up. ALL of it.
Perfectionist? Not sure you're good enough? Worry what will people think? Hate conflict? Money blocks? Hate asking for help? Fear of failure? Fear of being judged?
Whatever your thing is, it WILL show up and cause trouble in your business. The key to most, if not all, business issues will be inside of you.
The journey of building a business will challenge you on every level. You won't be the same old you at the end of it! The good news? The personal transformation you go through will impact other areas of your life and you'll notice unexpected positive side effects in your personal life – better relationships, more confidence & resilience. Are you up for the adventure?
Phase 1 – Idea
In a word: Ignition
Do you remember the moment you had the idea to start your business?
I remember the evening at home after a day of software development work at a London (UK) bank, thinking about how much I'd love to move to beautiful Granada in the south of Spain. Contemplating what I'd do for a living while sewing myself a ruffly summer dress, all of a sudden the answer popped up, crystal clear – if I could do anything I wanted I'd have my own sewing studio. I'd work from home (so I could finally have a dog) and I'd create one of a kind, made to measure garments.
There it was – the spark, the inspiration that started my business building journey back in 2002.
Common pitfalls
- Not knowing whether an idea is worth persuing. In most cases you won't know until to take a step. Looking for certainty where there isn't any, overthinking and self doubts are the enemies of creation and will stop you from bringing your ideas to life.
- Having too many ideas. You have a fabulous idea and you're excited about it. But before you get around to exploring it further it inspires another idea that's more exciting etc. You live in “idea land” and never create anything.
Phase 2 – Exploration
In a word: Research
Do you suffer from shiny object syndrome? How many freebies have you downloaded in the last month? How many courses and programs have you signed up for and not finished? Do you feel you could and should have used your time more effectively?
What if that wasn't a waste of time but rather a normal, necessary part of the process, a way of finding your bearings in new and unknown territory?
Imagine you want to sew a dress (couldn't help myself, I'm a dressmaker 🙂 ) Before you do anything else it makes sense to check out the fabric shops, for two reasons:
- You get an idea of what's available and won't waste time designing something you won't find the material for.
- Something you see in the fabric shop may inspire ideas for your dress design.
What if you allowed yourself to indulge in and enjoy this phase, without the pressure of finding the perfect path or solution at this point?
Common pitfalls
- Most people hate uncertainty and try to cut this phase short, missing out on the gifts of the unknown territory (that's why everyone signs up for “proven 5 step formulas” )
- Staying stuck in the research phase. You love learning and you want to get it right. The trouble is, there is always something more to research and learn. If you never feel ready to leave this phase you won't make progress.
There is no point running if you're heading in the wrong direction
Phase 3 – Design
In a word: Decisions
After a period of research some clarity starts to emerge. By now you know what you don't want. You discard options, shortlist others. Your idea turns into a project.
Now is the time to close the books, to stop learning and to decide what exactly it is you want to achieve and map out your own path to get there.
It's the time to
- think through the implications of your choices,
- challenge your assumptions,
- break down your project into smaller steps until the logical next step becomes obvious.
As a dressmaker I'm known to create a garment from idea to finished garment in a very short time, with a minimum number of fittings.
The thing is, I'm not the fastest seamstress. I take my time to understand deeply what the client wants and needs, I take lots of measurements (you either measure or assume, and every assumption can be wrong) and prefer to experiment with the pattern rather than rushing to the sewing machine. It's easier and quicker to correct a mistake on paper than taking apart a half finished garment. By the time I cut the fabric I move ahead with confidence. Famous coach Rich Litvin calls it “Slow down to speed up” and I've seen it work for every creative project, including building a business.
Common pitfalls
- Skipping this phase altogether. It's common to spend some time researching, then deciding on a path and jumping into action, just to realize, after having spent time and money, that it wasn't the right path to take. It's like having an idea for a house and immediately getting out the shovel to build the garage, just to realize later that it's where the driveway should go. Now you either have to tear down the garage or divert the driveway. Either way you've wasted time and money and/or end up with a sub-optimal solution.
- Not stepping back far enough. Challenging assumptions, and I mean questioning everything, is the most important part of the design phase. Imagine someone comes to your for help building a shelf to store fabrics. So you go ahead and come up with the perfect shelf – material, size, design – and build it. The question is, is a shelf in fact the best way to store fabric?
- Over-complicating or over-simplifying the solution. “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.” is one of my favourite Albert Einstein quotes. Imagine you're planning a one-off weekend workshop. Spending thousands on a custom built website is unnecessary. On the other hand, sending people a Paypal link to sign up to “keep it simple” might be quick to implement but may cause confusion and stress on the day when you have no easy way of telling who of the people showing up at the venue has actually paid.
Phase 4 – Create
In a word: Action
After all the designing and planning it's time to implement – getting the tools and actually doing the work. It's satisfying to finally see tangible results, ideas take form in the “real world”.
Installing & configuring software, writing, recording audio or video content, creating products, marketing activities, posting on social media, building a website etc.
If you haven't skipped or rushed through the previous phases this part of the process is straight forward and clear, you know what to do and in what order. Until, of course, things don't work out quite as planned .. they hardly ever do. That's why it's important to test & review early and often (see below).
Common pitfalls
- Doing too much at once. Chances are you didn't consider everything in your plan or things simply don't work out as expected. That's normal and no indication of failure. The key to making fast progress is to keep this phase short and test & review often. The farther you head in the wrong direction the longer and more effort it takes to course correct.
- Perfectionism. If you're a perfectionist you run the risk of getting stuck in this phase. You'll never consider your work good enough to see the light of the day, i.e. the testing phase. You keep working without making real progress.
- Getting distracted. While you're working on one thing it's common to get an idea for something different. If you immediately drop what you're doing to jump back into exploration mode for the new idea chances are you find ourself running in circles without moving forward.
Phase 5 – Test & Review
In a word: Reflect
It's the moment of truth, the moment you get your work “out there” i.e. put it in front of real people and find out whether you're on the right path.
It's rare for everything to work perfectly as planned. The feedback of potential clients helps identify false assumptions, problems and bottlenecks. There are only two possible outcomes – either people react as expected and you keep going in that direction, or the result isn't what you hoped for and you take stock, analyse what went wrong and hop back to the beginning of the process to try again with a different approach.
Common pitfalls
- Getting it out there in a half hearted manner – most people fear being judged and avoid putting their work in front of potential clients. They rather keep working in the privacy of their own head or ask friends and family who most likely won't give honest feedback, and risk running too far in the wrong direction.
- Getting it in front of the wrong people – if you're not clear on who your potential clients are (who is it actually for => see phase 2) the feedback you get might be misleading – either too positive or too negative
- Getting it in front of too few people is another proven recipe for misleading results.
- Not knowing when to change tack – waiting too long or not long enough before making a change when things aren't working as expected. There is a lot to be said in favour of persistence and consistency but it is just as important to recognize when you're on the wrong path. Albert Einstein's definition of insanity jumps to mind .. to keep doing the same thing and expecting different results (I'm paraphrasing).
- Taking feedback personally => it's your idea, your creation, most of us are emotionally invested in our work and taking things personally is an easy trap to fall into. It leads to not honestly assessing the results, either being too hard on yourself or kidding yourself. Neither are helpful.
Iterating through 5 phases doesn't mean it takes long
None of the 5 phases have to take a lot of time – I can make a dress from scratch in a couple of hours and still go through the 5 phases at least twice.
Skipping or cutting short the exploration and design phases is what slows down progress because you might get stuck in “analysis paralysis” and not move forward at all, or run too far and too fast in the wrong direction. I happen to love the exploration phase, and the design phase is my genious zone, that's why I'm so passionate about helping you navigate it.
Break big projects down into smaller ones
Building a business is a marathon, not a sprint. The key to making consistent progress is to break the project down into smaller parts. For example, building your business may involve figuring out what to offer to whom, developing products, establishing an online presence – website, social media, an online course perhaps. The creation of each one of those elements in itself follows the same process.
Start with the fundamentals and expand, one iteration at a time.
Don't underestimate yourself!
If you've come to this point you might have the sense that there are way too many pitfalls to ever pull this off.
Yes, building a business is a lot of work. Yes, you will feel lost at times. Yes, on some days you'll wonder how on earth you ever thought starting your own business was a good idea 🙂
You're on unknown territory, it's normal to have days where you feel like you're flapping your wings but not lifting your butt off the ground.
The thing is, knowing how the natural creative process works and what to watch out for is like having a map. You have to do the walking but you know you won't get lost.
MAKES Sense?
If you get the feeling the help of an architect for your business, someone to
- guide you through the iterations of your creative process
- help you research options and consider the implications so you can make confident decisions
- help you avoid the pitfalls
- help you move forward with focus and momentum
could make all the difference and help you get traction with your business faster, click the button below and find out ..
Curious but got questions?
If this makes sense to you but you have questions ..
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