Five creatives share their best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

Five creatives share their best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

If you’re anything like me (which I think you may be if you’re reading this post), you love learning about how an entrepreneur got their start.

It’s inspiring and encouraging to learn about an entrepreneur’s journey from how they came up with a business idea, to what steps they took to get started, and what they’ve learned along the way. That’s why with each interview we feature on the site, the goal is to take you through the entrepreneur’s journey and discover that each story is different and there’s no one way to become a business owner.

After getting to know these creatives and a little bit about their businesses, we end the conversation with this question: What is your best advice for those who want to start a business of their own? If you take away one thing from these conversations (but really, how could you not soak it all in?), it should be this honest advice from fellow creatives.

See what some of our interviewees had to share, below.

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Codie Kyle, CK Goods

First off, make sure this is something you are passionate about.  If you aren’t incredibly passionate about this thing or this idea, you will burn out. If this is truly what you are passionate about, go full speed at it! You are never going to have all green lights at once and, actually, it’s rare to have everything in order before starting your own business. Instead, take this thing that you LOVE and dive head first into it. If you’re passionate about it, you’ll figure everything else out as you go along!

Read Codie’s full interview here.

Nina Gordon, take heart

You can do it! People that open businesses don’t necessarily have a special gift or a lot of money. You have to be willing to take a chance and listen to your instincts. Be open to help and feedback from others. It will not be perfect (ever) but especially at the beginning and that is ok. Be patient, it takes time to grow.

Read Nina’s full interview here.

Sanetra Longno, Unravel Co

Just do it!! It’s okay if you don’t know what you’re doing because no one knows. We learn something new every day and continue to move forward while figuring things out along the way.

Don’t allow your fear to stop you before attempting. You never know the outcome unless you try. Ask around if you have questions. Reach out to those who are doing what you’re pursuing to learn from. Remember they started where you are and have learned different systems and processes on how to do things, so it’s perfect to pick their brains if they’re open to it. That’s what I’ve been doing.

Read Sanetra’s full interview here.

Zoë Comings, ZOË COMINGS Jewelry

Make sure you have some goals that are relatively achievable and some goals that keep you stretching and reaching. Have goals, otherwise you don’t know where you’re going.

Read Zoe’s full interview here.

Keri Anderson, Plant Party

Really trust in yourself. People say believe in yourself but I think it’s more about trust — like, ‘can I do this?’ Because you can believe all you want, but you’re the only person who’s going to take it completely seriously, so trust yourself.

Read Keri’s full interview here.