The best and worst business/freelancer books I've read.

Over the years I've read many business books, trying to find ways to help me get clients and provide a great service. Some books just state the obvious while others offer some genuinely useful advice and ideas. Here are some I've read and my thoughts on them.  

Best for: People who are keen to be entrepreneurs and make alot of money doing it.
Review: While this book did have some good ideas about running a business, alot of it was about running a team and getting a loan. While this is great for many business, it didn't really offer alot for me as a freelancer. I did however learn some good techniques for assessing your process every 6 months.  
Score: 4/10

Best for: Anyone wanting to pursue a passion!

Review: This easy to read book is great for anyone who has a dream. Its not strictly aimed at business people but anyone who has goals. Its written well, directly and gets straight to the point. It doesn't go into alot of detail on how to achieve the goals as such but its a motivational booster!

Score: 5/10

Best for: Anyone who wants to get ahead in business. 
Review: I had seen the author Shawn Achor on a Ted talk about this very book, before reading it. I really enjoyed it and decided to give the book a go. The book talks through 7 main principles that help people get ahead in their work. Theres alot of information to take on board but all very interesting! Check out his ted talk below if your interested. 
Score: 7/10

Best for: Entrepreneurs and freelancers

Review: This is probably one of my favorite business books. Its easy to read, and gives you step by step tools on how to achieve things. One of the main things I've learnt from it, is that people buy YOU as the business owner/freelancer. If people like you, and you make them feel good, they're more likely to use your services than someone else!  I keep refering back to the book whenever I get stuck! 

Score: 9/10

Best for: Freelancers

Review: I read this book a while ago and I cant really remember much of it, so I don't think it really taught my anything new. Alot of the freelance books make the same points which can be quite obvious. 

Score: 2/10

For future reading:

• The 4-hour work week by Timothy Ferriss 
• No contacts? No problem. How to pitch and sell and freelance feature by Catherine Quinn
• Creative Inc. The ultimate guide to running a successful freelance business by cho IIasco
• Like a virgin by Richard Bandson 

The creative person's 'quit list'.

I came across a blog today called 'Cordelia calls it quits' written by a lady who gave up her day job to pursue her passion. Shes got tonnes of great articles to check out when you're lacking in motivation, Click here for her site. Anyway on her blog she makes a list of things that shes going to quit, for example things that don't benefit her life or help her to pursue her goals. This gave me the idea to write a list of things that we should probably quit as creative people to help us develop our practice. 

Lets get started...

We need to STOP..

1. Judging ourselves. Although seemly impossible to do, we have to practice being non judgemental of our work and just enjoying the process of making. After all thats why we started right?
2. Comparing work. Again we're all guilty of this and sometimes it can motivate us, but most of the time it just causes unnecessary worries about ourselves and our work. There is probably someone out there comparing their own work to yours and wondering why they can't be like you! 
3.  Being impatient. The best things in life take time, like great art work or a steady freelance business. I often get impatient, wondering why I'm not a full time photographer yet, hoping that it'll suddenly happen over time. But of course I know it doesn't work that way, and although its been a slow process, I've definitely come along way from when I started out, I just need to remember this. 
4. Feeling guilty. Just because you're not doing a 9-to-5 job and some days may be slow doesn't mean you need to feel guilty about doing something you love. If you enjoy it but work hard then what is there to be sorry about? 
5. Second-guessing pursuing your dream
6. Worrying about the future. Enjoy the now! (Learn some mindfulness techniques for this!)
7. Perfectionism. Sometimes I'm a super perfectionist with my work, and if I show it and I'm not 100% happy with it, I will always judge that photo. I need to get rid of this idea and just enjoy the process of creating it. 
8. Letting people take advantage. When you're starting out in a creative career path, you usually do things for cheap or even free! (God knows I did my fair share of freebies) This can become a little bit of habit, but you have to learn your worth! You need to remember that you are doing them a service, and you deserve the right pay for that. 
9. Saying YES to every job, even though its not worth it. Saying yes to a job even though, for whatever reason you are doubting it, don't do it, its often more trouble than its worth. 
10. Being fearful of showing our work.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading this. I'd love to hear any ideas you have for your creative quit list!

Many thanks to Cordelia's great blog for inspiration and motivation! 

http://www.cordeliacallsitquits.com/

11 ideas to supercharge your creativity

We all get days when we lack ideas and inspiration and creativity seems like a distant memory. Well never fear, here are some ways to supercharge your creativity and get productive! 

                                                                         Pinterest

This is one of my favorite sites for inspiration. The site lets you save ideas onto different boards (like mood boards) which is handy if you have a number of projects. You can search ideas, follow other pinners boards, and even have secret boards for things you don't want other to know about! 

Its also a great way to network, as it allows you to upload your own work, either from your computer, or your website.

If you have pinterest already, check my boards out here

Experiment. 

Try out new techniques, materials or styles. Explore different ways to get creative! Join a new group, research artists and their techniques, give it a go yourself. Even if you don't think you'll be any good, we all have to start from somewhere.

Keri Smith Books

These books are great fun, whether you're artistic or not. Last year I started 'Wreck my journal' and had such fun that when I finished it, I made my own journal, following the lines of Keri Smiths idea. Each page gives instruction on what to do to that page, for example, 'fill this page with circles'. The books urge you to get creative and use your imagination.

Example page from 'Wreck this journal' 

My decorated cover.

Allow randomness. 

Ever had a crazy random dream? Bet it was probably the most creative one you've ever had! Keep note of any random ideas or thoughts. Doesn't make it if doesn't make much sense, it could lead to some amazing work in the future. I carry a little note book with me whenever I travel just incase a great idea forms!

Give yourself a starting point or a set of guidelines. 

If someone said 'just draw anything', that could be a little overwhelming! So getting a starting point narrows your ideas down so that you can really focus on what to do. Starting points can include simple words, colours, sayings, objects or a theme. Another way of narrowing down your ideas is to give yourself some guidelines, for example not being able to use a paintbrush, or must use another body part other than hands.

Try not to think to much about a concept. 

Concepts are great but this is about getting those creative juices flowing! Sometimes we can just create something and then realise that it reflects how we're feeling, and we notice the concept after. But don't stress if you cant figure one out, art doesn't always need it, if you enjoy making it, then thats the main thing!

Go to an exhibition

As simple as it sounds, its not something we often remember to do. Even going to sit in a cafe and check out the art on their walls can bring inspiration. Don't forget the Brighton Fringe Festival this year for some great exhibitions, many of which are free!

Other ideas include:

• Watching a film that inspires you. (One of mine is 'the nightmare before christmas') 
• Going for a walk 
• Starting a blog! Start writing about something that you really enjoy or find interesting. My blog has really helped me research things that I wanted to share with my readers. 
• Do something you enjoyed as a kid. Eg Finger Painting, paper mache, Fimo!

PS I've hit 1000 views on my blog! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this, I hope you get something good out of it.

Becky x