Developing your creative brand

I had the privilege yesterday to meet Simon Gachui of the Creative Community Network.  I had a session with him to discuss how I can develop my creative potential.  For those who have read or not read a previous post http://potentash.com/?p=13 Simon gave each of the participants of the creatives forum a free one hour session to discuss any issues we may be having in developing our brand or our creative business.

I found the session to be very helpful.Sometimes we have blind spots which we can’t see but someone from the outside looking in can see and advice us accordingly.  Our blind spots could be a hindrance to us achieving our goals because if we don’t know its there it becomes hard to work around it because we will always feel as if something is blocking us but we cant see what it is.

A fresh perspective.  Simon was able to show me a fresh perspective of my talents and gifts.  Sometimes we don’t know in what new ways we can use what we have.  Simon was able to show me how to change my perspective and see how I can look at talents in a different way.

Sometimes we get discouraged because we don’t seem to be moving.  We have been trying different things and they are not working.  Sometimes I have felt like throwing up my hands and just saying its time to give up on these crazy ideas.  Simon was able to encourage me and show me it’s about changing perspective and seeing things in a different way and trying new ways.  Sometimes doing things in the same way and expecting different results is madness which is what Simon said.

We discussed my core skills and how I can use them to generate revenue for myself.  As a writer and blogger I needed to know how I can use my talents to make money.  Looking at my qualifications and skills we were able to map out ways I can use what I have to create business for myself.  A lot of this of course depends on how determined you are to make it and what you are going to put in.

Also some times you have ideas and you’re not sure if they can work or can be implemented.  I was able to discuss a few ideas with Simon and get feedback.  He was also able to challenge me on areas that I have neglected.

Also sometimes you need a push.  You may not believe that there are things you can do.  It’s like your swimming in the shallow end of the pool for years and you’re scared of going into the deep end.  Believe me the fear of drowning in the deep end is a big issue for many.  Fear can hold us back from achieving what we need to achieve.  Talking to Simon he was able to see in what areas I need to overcome the fear factor and plunge forward.  As I had said earlier it is easier for someone else to identify your blind spots and help you see how you can destroy them, work around them, or go through them.

At the end of the session we came up with a map or blueprint.  We looked at my talents, experience, and skills.  Looked at the different ways in which I can venture out.  Some of them seem so out there and I was like “can I do this?  The thing about putting things on paper is that you get clarity and perspective.  We actually plotted the different directions I can take on paper.  There are things that I can do now as short term goals, middle – long term goals and overall goals.  The thing is implementation depends on the individual.  Simon can only give advice on the different directions one can take.  What one does with the information will determine whether one will be a success or not.

Things I got from this session:

1. Look at things from a new perspective.
2. Believing in myself and dreams.
3. I need to look at ways to leverage my networks
4. Ways to turn my talents and skills into revenue skills.
5. Strategies to develop my brand in different ways.
6. New directions to take.
7. Action plans

Simon is holding a workshop Developing Your Business Strategy as a Creative on Tuesday 7^th August.  If you are interested you can register here  www.creativecommunitynetwork.org  or call  Simon Gachui +254 720 238 179.        

Here is a snippet of what the workshop will be about -

‘Developing Your Business Strategy as a Creative’ will enable you to map out your entire business and put you in firm control of your business and future.  At the end of this training you will define Your Business’ Strategic Objectives, Critical Success Factors, Unique Selling Point, Competitors, Products and/or services, Infrastructure needs, Market, Revenue Sources, Customers, among other essential business components.”

I encourage anybody who has not taken advantage of the one hour free session to do so.  It is very helpful, insightful and if you let it be, it can be life changing.  I would also encourage those who want to take their creative business to the next level to attend the workshop.