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Why Should You Care About Becoming More Creative?

Every person ever born has some creativity within them. Creativity is simply the drive to create and/or the act of doing so. It does not have to mean being a painter or an artist. Creating can be as simple as cooking dinner for your family. It can be writing a report, building a fence, forming a relationship, or a million other things that are not “art.”

Creativity is a natural part of being human. Some people have more inherent creativity than others, but everyone has some level. Furthermore, it’s possible to increase your natural levels if you wish. That’s right! You can become more creative if you want to. The decision is up to you.

But you might be asking, why should you? If you are a working creative, the answer is pretty obvious, but not so much if you’re not. And it is not like you don’t already have a lot to do, after all. Most of us have too many things on our to-do lists these days. And we don’t have them on the list, we’re dealing with the fact that they forget to get done, because well, we don’t have them on the list!

Creativity boosts productivity

As it happens, you can get a lot of tangible real-world benefits from becoming more creative. Increasing your creativity also boosts your productivity and your self-confidence. It helps you improve your problem-solving skills. All of these combine to make you better at your occupation and lead to more success in life. This is true whether you’re a writer, a painter, or a candlestick maker.

Creativity can lead to happiness (and health)

Creativity is closely tied to happiness. The more creative a person is, the happier they are. If that is not reason enough for you, higher levels of creativity also lead to longer lives. Being more creative also keeps the brain more active, reducing the chance of developing dementia in old age.

Even without any of these benefits, it would still be worth it for you to become more creative. Why? Because it helps with your personal development. It will make you more satisfied with your life and give you a sense of accomplishment.

Being Creative is just plain fun

Creating something, anything, also creates a feeling of joy in the creator. That alone makes the effort to become more creative worthwhile.

Becoming more creative is not difficult. Nor is it expensive. It can even be fun. You will improve your current skills as you do so. You can also learn new skills and make new friends along the way. The biggest investment you will need to make in the process is time.

 But don’t worry. I’ve got you. You can start slow. You can try one new habit at a time. And to that end, stay tuned for the launch of my next book, The Creativity Habit, hitting bookstores in October! It will take you step by step through various tiny habits that can boost your creativity and unleash your inner genius!

The Power of Doodling

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One of the simplest and easiest ways to make yourself more creative is also one of the oldest human “art” forms: doodling. It is not just a way to stay awake in yet another boring meeting!

Doodling is free drawing. This just means drawing without a plan to create anything in particular. You draw without paying much, if any, attention to the outcome. Doodling helps you to be more creative in multiple ways. And no, you do not need to be able to draw well to doodle.

It allows your conscious mind to “switch off”

Or at least to attend to other issues (like those boring meetings). Your conscious mind is not engaged at all in the process of doodling. It is your unconscious mind doing all the work. This means that it is free to process information, come up with new ideas, refine ideas you have already had, and form connections through free association.

Most creative ideas start in the subconscious and anything that allows it free rein helps this process along. Doodling is just one of the best ways to do that.

It uses different circuits in the Brain

Every action we take and every thought we have utilizes different sets of circuits in our brains. Some of these circuits are used repeatedly throughout every day, while others are only used occasionally.

MRIs have shown that doodling uses a seldom-used circuit that is related to creativity, comprehension, and problem-solving. This means that doodling improves your thinking ability and your creativity!

Doodling improves both your mood and your focus

Just spending a few minutes doodling has a powerful effect on your mood that is at least the equivalent of eating chocolate. It also improves your ability to focus for a few hours. (Hence why it is used so often by people in meetings.)

These two effects combine to temporarily improve your creative faculties. If you doodle on a regular basis, some of the effects can become permanent.

How do you doodle? Grab a pen or pencil and a blank sheet of paper and just draw. Do not think about it or try to draw well. Focus your attention elsewhere or just zone out. Play some music if you like. Draw whatever comes to mind.

Your doodles can be works of art if you are good at drawing or they might be unrecognizable. It does not matter. Squiggly lines and wiggly shapes are perfectly acceptable.

Put Your Office Management Skills to Work as a VA

If you currently – or in the past – have worked as an office manager in a physical location, you can quickly turn those skills into working remotely as a virtual assistant. A virtual assistant often performs secretarial work for business owners at a distance using technology. A VA can really work for almost any type of business owner if the tasks they do can be done virtually.

To succeed as a VA for small businesses, you’ll want to create a package of services instead of offering yourself hourly because it’ll help you control your time better plus help you avoid scope creep. Any business that used to have a secretary or receptionist or needs one is a good place for you to consider offering your services.

For each of the ideas below, think about the things that they need completed that they don’t have time to do, and then create a package for the things you are skilled at doing. To get your first client, set up your website, social media platforms, and a system for capturing leads. Let everyone you know in on your secret so that they can tell the people they know. Then every single day demonstrate to the public via your own website and social platforms what you’re capable of doing for them.

Some specialties for virtual assistants to consider:

  • Real Estate VA (REVA) – Real estate agents need someone to help them list properties, promote them on social media, and other office-type work such as checking email, writing letters, and so forth. While you don’t need special licensing to become a real estate VA, you might want to consider getting your real estate license in order to be more competitive or investing in a REVA certification.
  • Legal or Paralegal VA – If you have legal secretary or paralegal experience, transitioning to a virtual assistant will not be hard. Most of the work you do here doesn’t need to be in the office or in a location, although you may need access to specific databases and other information via your clients to do this job properly.
  • Research VA – Many people, including scientists, doctors, lawyers, teachers, and others, need people to conduct research for them. If you are good at research, understand how to find scholarly works to back up ideas, this can really be a fun opportunity for you. You’d do it from your computer and just need a good internet connection.
  • Coach and Speaker VA – Many coaches and speakers need an assistant to help find speaking gigs, answer customer service emails, create their marketing materials, and keep them organized and ready for their clients and speaking gigs. Sometimes you might even get to travel if you work with speakers, if that’s something you want to do. It’s not required as you can do it fully, 100 percent, virtually.
  • Author Assistant VA – Many authors who work with publishing houses or on their own need help with all the things authors have to do today, from editing to marketing. If you have experience in publishing, you can help organize your authors with packages from websites, to social media, and more.
  • Local Small Business VA – Many small businesses in your area have plenty of administrative things that need to be done, but often they either don’t do them, or they burn the candle at both ends because they don’t realize they can hire a VA part-time to help them. You can work for daycare centers, restaurants, beauty shops, and more.

You get the idea. It’s a good idea to specialize so that you can command higher rates. Plus, when you specialize in what you do, you set the tasks that you will do for them, as well as the rates, so you automatically know what you’ll be doing for them each day throughout the year instead of waiting for them to tell you what to do.

Eight Things You Need to Become a Successful Content Creator

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8 Tips on becoming a successful content creator

As a content creator, there are certain things you need to do to be successful. While some people may think that success is all about talent. The truth regarding talent is that it takes more to succeed than being good at your job. In fact, hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. To make more money, you need to possess specific skills and characteristics, and put those skills to work.

Here are eight things you need to become a successful content creator:

A Strong Work Ethic

Creating quality content takes time and effort. If you’re unwilling to put in the time, you won’t be successful. A strong work ethic is important because it shows that you’re dedicated to your craft. Your work ethic makes a big impression on potential clients, who are more likely to hire someone they believe is committed to their work.

It also means you’re more likely to produce high-quality content. This is important because clients are often willing to pay more for well-written and informative content. Finally, a strong work ethic can help you build a reputation as a reliable content creator. Again, this is important because clients are more likely to recommend someone they know is reliable and trustworthy.

Marketing Skills

Great content is just a tiny part of the process – you also need to know how to market it. If people don’t know your content exists, they won’t be able to enjoy it. Do you talk about your content? Do you let people know you’re in the business?  Are you active on social media? Being great at creating content isn’t going to get you noticed. Being out there, in people’s faces and in people’s spaces, is what is going to get your content noticed, and land you clients or help you make a sale.

High-Quality Content

This one is self-explanatory. Creating content that people want to consume is part of what will make it feel like high-quality content to the consumer. It’s okay to create something fast and easy, once in a while. But quality content takes time dedicated to design, creativity, proofreading, revision, and finally, putting it out there. If you struggle to find ideas, this is a great area where done-for-you content, or PLR (private label rights) content can jumpstart your creativity. 

A Strong Personal Brand

Your target audience will engage with content from someone they feel like they know and trust. So if you can build a strong personal brand, you’ll be more successful as a content creator. Strong brands are also about finding the right audiences. The Pink Briefcase is a pretty specific brand, aimed primarily at female owned entrepreneurs. It’s not that I don’t like men. I LOVE men! Particularly my husband. But I don’t think a woman should have to act or look like a man in order to get paid like one. So all my content is feminine themed, and uses feminine energy to make my points. What’s your brand?  And are you consistent across all your content?

A Willingness to Learn

The world of content creation is constantly changing. Therefore, you need to be willing to keep up with the latest trends and technologies if you want to succeed. I learned how to use Photoshop this past year and I absolutely LOVE IT!!!  Canva is great, and I continue to use Canva to deliver my done-for-your templates to people so they can edit and revise colors and graphics to find their personal brand.  But Photoshop is awesome at creating layered graphics and customizing fonts. 

Persistence

Becoming a money-making content creator is not a get-out-of-work-card; creating content takes time and effort. You won’t achieve overnight success – it takes hard work and dedication to make it in this field. Malcom Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours of work to be an overnight success. I personally have spent years learning how to be the best writer I can be, learning SEO, learning how marketing works, etc.  It’s not hard to learn. But it takes time. Keep going!

A Passion for What You Do

If you’re not passionate about the content you create, it will be difficult to find success. On the other hand, people can tell when someone is genuinely passionate about their work, and they’re more likely to engage with that content. It’s important to create content that is aligned with your mission, vision, and values. If not, you’re selling your soul short, and the customer is going to notice. Alignment is critical to business success, so find out what makes your heart sing and do more of that.

An Understanding of Your Audience

Knowing your target audience and what they want to see is essential to content creation. If you can understand what your audience wants, you’ll be more likely to create content that resonates with them. For example, the Pink Briefcase creates content mostly for female entrepreneurs and our audience knows that. It wouldn’t help to start posting content that talks about golf, fishing, cars, or football. Not that women can’t or don’t enjoy those things. It’s just not our primary focus when we’re working on our businesses. That’s why you’ll see articles about communication, work/life balance, unexplainable fatigue, goal setting using vision boards, etc. 

To recap, there are several things you need to become a successful content creator. While some are obvious, others are often overlooked. But, if you can focus on creating high-quality content and promoting it effectively, you’ll be well on your way to content creation success. Just remember achieving success means you must progress toward your goals by doing the work needed. There’s no shortcut to becoming an overnight sensation. But, put in the work, and you’ll eventually see the payoff.

Business Planning Is Fun Again!

When you think of a business plan, you probably think of pages of text and graphs and boring stats and numbers. You know, the kind of thing you’d nervously push across the desk to a bank officer in hopes of securing a loan.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of anything I like less than to have to piece together that kind of stiff, formal business plan. Luckily, I have better tools—and so do you!

The Business Plan That Isn’t

What if you could plan your business with fun, colorful photos and inspirational quotes and phrases instead? What would that do for your daily motivation?

Well that’s exactly what a vision board will do for you. By collecting images that represent your dreams and aspirations, you’ll have a constant reminder of where it is you’re going, and even why you started your business in the first place. Maybe you want to spend more time with your kids as they’re growing up, or have enough money to finally take that vacation to Europe. What about that house in the country you’ve always dreamed of owning, or the sporty little red car that’s been calling your name.

None of these things will find a place in a traditional business plan, but they’re perfect for your vision board. More importantly, they’re critical to your long-term success. Without your dreams, it’s nearly impossible to remain focused and on track when it comes to business growth, but with these reminders, it’s easy!

Why Vision Boards Work

Does all this feel pretty airy-fairy to you? You’re not alone. Lots of us were raised to believe that business had to be all about numbers and stats, and that there was no room for fun when it comes to making money.

I completely disagree!

In fact, some of the most successful people in the world routinely use vision boards to help clarify their dreams and keep their goals front of mind. And that’s precisely why vision boards work so well. They allow you to easily see exactly what it is you’re working toward, whether it’s a shiny new car or a big, beautiful home, or an exotic vacation.

By keeping visual reminders within sight, you’re constantly aware of your “why,” and that’s a powerful motivator, no matter what you’re working on.

Of course, no banker is going to accept your vision board as proof of viability and give you a loan based on it. But when it comes to clarifying your dreams, pinpointing your real goals, and getting excited about your business again, you just can’t beat a personal, colorful vision board. Give it a try. You might just surprise yourself!