How I Structure my Creativity Coaching Business
As a creativity coach, I help creatives structure their creative work. You can structure creativity, but you can’t adopt how someone else is creative and copy their creating process. Because how you’re creative, is not how anyone else is creative. Or ever will be creative. Creativity is personal.
Creativity is a process
Because creativity is a working process, you can structure that process in a way that suits you and fits around your life.
The brilliant thing about the creative process is there is no right or wrong way to create. If anyone tells you that, run for the hills!
Your structure for how you create art will look different if you’re 20 and live alone than if you’re 33, and have 3 kids under 5. Of course, it will.
One of my pet peeves is when successful people with either no kids or have shared kids (meaning they have more time to themselves) shame us by saying we all have the same 24 hours as Beyoncé. It’s not a bloody productivity race, or shaming fest to see who gets most crammed into 24 hours. Yes, we all have the same 24 hours, but we don’t all have the same hours to work on our art in those 24 hours.
Let’s give each other permission to live our own lives, and not compare ourselves to anyone, let alone bloomin’ Beyonce!
How I structure creativity coaching business
I like loose structure and I’m always tweaking the way I work. My structure will depend on how many clients I have, and what’s going on in my kids’ life any given week. As a creative content creator, coach, businesswoman, mom, wife, friend, etc. I have many “jobs” and I’m a big believer in prioritizing self-kindness and my mental health. This means any plans I’ve made will go down the drain if something more important rises to the surface.
And I’m fine with that.
This is an empowering process. A process where I take control of what’s best for me, and where I’m not a slave to, my own or others’ expectations of, what is “the right” way to work.
I help my clients do the same.
How I actually do this is, I spend 10 minutes most Sundays plotting down jobs I have to do during the week, and then I adjust daily. Because…..life!
If I don’t write things down I forget to do them. I know this about myself, so I write things down. Simple.
Mornings are the time I’m most energetic and creative, so I try really hard to set time aside for writing projects. Mornings are also when I like to do yoga, and with a dog in the house, it’s getting tricky to fit everything in. This is why I like loose structure.
My slow morning ritual
While I enjoy the best cup of coffee of the day, I write in my journal. I LOVE my journal, it’s a top mental and emotional health priority to me.
I like to get quick jobs and “must-do” jobs done first. As early as possible. Then I have the rest of the day to myself. It’s not a principle I follow, I work how I feel is best every day.
“I believe how I work will reflect my outcome””
To plan or not to plan?
It’s not a fancy-pants planner that makes you organized. It’s how you use the planner you have. I’ve tried different planners, at the moment I’m using Mathilda Myres's page-a-day diary and it works just fine.
Some creatives shudder at the mention of adding structure to how they work. It brings up associations of someone strict and rigid telling us what to do, thinking they know what’s best for us. As rebels, anyone telling us what to do will cause a reaction.
Try different planners until you find a way that keeps your jobs in one place and that you can see every day. Maybe you prefer a digital planner, whatever works for you.
Jobs I do in my creativity coaching business
I put jobs into categories to make it a little easier to keep track.
My coaching clients: Top priority
Prepare for sessions
Sending follow-ups
Answering emails in between sessions
Connecting on social
Creating:
Writing my newsletter
Blog posts
Create graphics for Instagram and Pinterest
Writing another e-book.
Post to Pinterest and Tailwind (on and off)
On my business:
As of writing this, I’m still in the process of moving katjahunter.com over to this site.
Business development (product creation, collaborations, future projects)
Things I don’t do: I’m not a lover of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Tik Tok. I’m also not on Clubhouse. So I don’t worry about them.
My marketing efforts are on Google, Instagram, and Pinterest (I take a break now and then).
I try and put my focus on enjoying my process as a coach and creative entrepreneur. Otherwise, what’s the point? I’m also a slow creator, I look out the window a lot when I write, but that’s part of my process.
For me, it’s a balance between being free and loose in my creation and structured with the workload. My biggest challenge is staying focused on the same job long enough to finish it without distraction. Once I’ve cracked that one, I’ll let you know ;)
What I do as a creativity coach and business supporter
As a creativity coach, I help people with the process of doing creative work. The actual work of making art, or selling your art is not easy. Creativity takes courage, as Matisse said because it naturally exposes who you are. And there are few more scary things than letting people see who we really are underneath the walls, masks, and protective shields we use.
Starting a business is one of the most overwhelming jobs you can find. Having done all the training (walked the walk), I help creatives cut through the noise and overwhelm by getting the basic business steps in order and then picking what to focus on going forward. No one can do #allthethings by themselves. Knowing what to focus on to get the results you want, is priceless.
3 tips for structuring your own creativity
Make time for the work you enjoy the most.
Work how and when it suits your personality and life
Remember: you can get inspired by others, but ultimately, you have to create your own empowering process.
Want help with your creative process?
Hop on over to my contact page and let me know in the form what you need help with. I’d love to help you find your own personal process.
