Three Ways To Keep The Creative Spark Alive As A Professional Designer

Have you ever looked at your favorite creatives on social media and thought "HOW do they do that?" Ummmm.... #girlsame

When I started my creative business, I was super gung-ho about making pretty things for money for the rest of my life.

Until I wasn't.

A year after starting my business, I burned out. I just couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to cry every time I looked at my sewing machine. I found myself cleaning the house just to avoid responding to emails (who knew the cabinets were so filthy?). I was DONE.

I publicly burned my business to the ground. I mean using the f-bomb on Instagram type of meltdown. #awkward

What I couldn't see at the time was that I wasn't done with my business, I was just at a turning point.

For the first couple of years in a new business, you're still figuring out what works. You're copying other peoples' business models and experimenting to find out what your strengths and weaknesses are. And that's healthy! Unless you've previously built a successful business, you don't know what you will be good at and enjoy.

But once your business starts to grow, you realize you can't keep copying other people's business models. It isn't sustainable. You need to build a business that you love, and that loves you back (and by that I mean it pays your bills without draining your soul). Little did I know that what I thought was the end of my business was actually just the beginning of building the company that I want to run.

I went back to the drawing board and looked at what I was good at, what lit me up, and what my audience wanted. Turns out, the things that made me the happiest were the same things that my audience loved.

When you're doing what you love, people can feel your enthusiasm, and want to be part of it.

avoiding burnout as a professional creative: when you're doin what you love, people can feel your enthusiasm, and they want to be part of it. Amy Lollis

So I decided to rebuild my business from scratch (I don't recommend this. It would have been much easier just to pivot) and was much more intentional about how I produced content. I set up some guidelines that helped me to stay the course without burning out, and I want to give those guidelines to you!

1. Always Remember Your "WHY"

This was the first place I went wrong. I started a creative business because I believe in the magic that happens when you create things with your hands. When I started creating for profit, it turned into a survival habit (making money = paying bills = surviving) instead of an expression of my soul. I felt obligated to keep up with the direction the industry was headed, even though it wasn't authentic to me. I tried too hard to be a professional, and lost sight of the reason I started: to help other people find their magic.

2. Don't Take Brand Deals Just To Make Money

Again...whoops.

It's very flattering when a big company offers you money (or a free product) in exchange for content. But if you aren't genuinely in love with their product, your content will fall flat, your audience will see straight through your sales-y pitch, and they'll lose trust in you. I did this more than once in my first year in business, and lost sooooo many followers and subscribers.

The irony? When I was doing affiliate marketing for things I actually used and loved, people bought the items and it didn't feel icky. I made money, my subscribers bought cool things that they actually wanted, and it felt really authentic for everyone...because it was!

My rule for taking on sponsored work is this: I only work with new companies that I reach out to for sponsorship opportunities.

Here's the thing: if they reach out to me, then chances are I'm not already using their product. Which means that creating content for them is going to be a chore, because I have to devise ways to incorporate their product into my day.

And my audience is going to know that it isn't authentic. I have a terrible poker face. I can't pretend to love something that I know isn't a good fit for me. Remember: your enthusiasm is contagious, and your audience will WANT to get in on the fun if you're actually excited.

There's one caveat: if the company reaches out to me, and I already use and love their product, then it's an instant yes.

This is like the epitome of network marketing. It's the pinnacle. The creme de la creme. When you love something so much that you voluntarily buy it with your own dollars, then the company offers to pay you to use it, your content is going to be EPIC. That means that the recognition of value is mutual, and neither party is feeling obligatory energy around the partnership. Your audience will feel this double dose of enthusiasm!

3. Have a creative outlet that's not part of your business

I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to expand my business to include my obsession with culinary arts. I LOVE to cook. It's my therapy. It's an extension of my creative magic.

But...I don't ever want it to feel obligatory.

You know the feeling when your kids are starving and you've had a long day at work and you just want to go to bed, but you can't because you're the mom and you have to feed everyone? Yeah. I don't want that feeling in my kitchen.

And if I started a food blog, that's exactly the energy that would be going into my cooking: I'd have to come up with innovative new recipes to keep the algorithms happy. And that would suck the joy out of it.

Ya'll, my kitchen is my sacred space, and I don't make food content because I want the freedom to have a bad day, make mistakes, leave a mess in the sink, and nobody has to know.

That's kinda my litmus test for what to include in my content: do I want to do the work that's necessary to invite my audience into this part of my life?

Am I willing to keep my studio clean so I can film creative content? Yes.

Am I willing to keep my kitchen clean so I can film cooking content? Hell no. I want it to be the space where I can have my worst moments not broadcast to the whole world.

You shouldn't monetize your favorite creative outlet. Let that be yours. Monetize your second favorite creative outlet so that you can keep your favorite outlet just for you.

This has been a huge factor in keeping my creative spark alive. I know that I can create in the kitchen to my heart's content without having to turn it into a job. It can be the way I love on my family that's sacred to us.