195: Looking for Inspiration for Your Creative Business
195: Looking for Inspiration for Your Creative Business
with Michele Williams
Today, we are going to just put it on the table. Burnout, frustration, lack of inspiration, need of support. Do these words and phrases resonate at all? If so, hang around as each of these elements are discussed on the podcast today.
Topics Mentioned:
Inspiration
Excitement
Color
Joy
Listen to the Episode
The world and business today are not the world and business that many of us started with. Between long lead times, backorders, slow boats from everywhere, and lack of raw materials – our choices feel more limited than ever.
Even in my area, companies that made it through 2020 and 2021 are now closing in 2022. Finding not only employees, but those that actively want to come to work is a challenge. Finding available stock for items to order is a challenge. Scams persist for those taking advantage of the times. It is easy to feel boxed in and running short on inspiration, fun and excitement in the workplace as well as in our designs. I am hearing some mention that design is losing its luster for them because they are having to use some of the same materials over and over because that is all that is available. The days of being wild and free in design to order from anywhere are over – at least for now.
How do we keep our excitement level high and our inspiration flowing when we feel like our hands are tied in more than one way? At the risk of sounding cliché, I am going to go back to my first rule of thumb. Reconnect with your WHY and the company WHY. This connection allows you to keep everything in perspective. Yes, as design professionals, we need to be inspired, but also inspiring.
We all go through times of feeling like we are working in and with the mundane. But often joy and inspiration can come in the smallest and quietest of moments. Inspiration doesn’t have to always be the big event, or the big new reveal.
My grandmother used to always say “necessity is the mother of invention.” Plato was the one that came up with this back in ancient Greek times. It is still true today. Yes, it can be easier to do a lot when we have a lot. But look at the skill that is honed when we are asked to do a lot with limited resources. My grandparents were born right before the Great Depression. I watched them both, as I grew up, make do with little. I also watched them live with joy. Because they found joy in other things.
Now, this might sound weird and difficult when our businesses depend on others spending their money on luxury items and us having a broad world to purchase from. Currently we are experiencing a narrowing of those options – from the grocery store and toilet paper to items for our home. If we are only inspired by more more more – we are going to struggle during lean times.
What if, and hear me out, what if we could be inspired by a single flower? What if we could be inspired to use a prior used item in a different way? What if we tried a new color palette? What if we found a way to make use of more with less?
What if we were inspired by spending time with our families? What if we were inspired by eating at home and sharing the table with friends instead of going out for all those types of meals? What if we were inspired by simplicity instead of the overabundance of an item?
None of these things is wrong – maximalist, minimalist, mid of the line. What matters is our attitude and mind.
Studies show that what we spend time telling ourselves is what we believe. If we consistently repeat to ourself that nothing new is on the market, or that everything is old and uninspiring – we will certainly look at it that way.
If we believe that inspiration can be found anywhere – and truly believe it, our eyes and our hearts will be open to seeing it. And those small glimpses will give us a shock of beauty where we might least expect it.
Years ago, when my youngest was about 2 years old we were working in our yard. My husband loves yard work. We had planted some beautiful purple flowers in our front bed. As my 2-year-old and I got out of the car one afternoon, I looked over at the flowers and all I saw were the weeds that had invaded our beds. My mind started trying to work out a plan to get outside while battling the frustration at the hard work of planting being overwrought by the invasive weeds. The more I thought about the additional work the angrier and more frustrated I became. My 2-year-old went running for the flowers as I was grabbing our bags and started calling to me to come over. I walked over to him, and he said, “Mommy see the pretty butterfly?” In that moment I caught myself. I was looking at all the bad. The weeds, the work. And yes, it was still there. But in my frustration, I missed the beauty before me. The beauty of the purple flower and the beauty of the visiting butterfly. As I looked over the entire bed, there were butterflies all over it. I have never forgotten that lesson from my young son. We talk about it in my family – when all goes bad – where are the butterflies?
My husband has spent many hours and lots of money on our current yard. Sod, landscaping, hardscaping, and weed control. Last week as we were going into the house from the driveway, I noticed a tiny purple flower protruding from a super small crack in the concrete and brick. There is no grass or ground for at least 5 feet in either direction – yet this small purple flower fought its way up through the crack. My husband reached down to pull it up and I asked him to stop. I told him that little flower fought hard to get to the sun and to bloom – and I wanted to let it live. Now I look for it when I go into the house.
Where are the tiny flowers and butterflies metaphorically hanging out in the challenges we are currently facing? Where can we find inspiration instead of frustration? Where can we connect with inspiring others instead of always needing to be inspired ourselves? What might a balance look like?
Inspiration is all around us. It is in a baby’s smile or giggle, sunrise, sunset, flowers blooming, rocks forming, water running. It is in our child’s art project, in best friends chatting on the back porch. It is in a soccer game or a movie. We just need to be open to looking for it and not expecting it to show up like it always has.
We will always find what we are looking for – so are we looking to be inspired or looking at all the ways we currently are not? The choice – and mindset – is ours.
Supporting business owners in the creative space is what inspires me. I love sharing new thoughts and ideas as well as strategizing to solve challenges. If you can use some business inspiration and want to see how to best use the resources you have, check out the work with me page at www.scarletthreadconsulting.com. Apply for a Discovery Call and let’s talk. The more you love what you do, the more profitable you will be. And profit doesn’t happen by accident.
Key Thoughts:
We all go through times of feeling like we are working in and with the mundane. But often joy and inspiration can come in the smallest and quietest of moments. Michele (3:00)
What if we could be inspired by a single flower? What if we could be inspired to use a prior used item in a different way? What if we tried a new color palette? What if we found a way to make use of more with less? Michele (4:34)
What matters is our attitude and mind. Michele (5:14)
Inspiration is all around us. It is in a baby’s smile or giggle, sunrise, sunset, flowers blooming, rocks forming, water running. It is in our child’s art project, in best friends chatting on the back porch. It is in a soccer game or a movie. We just need to be open to looking for it and not expecting it to show up like it always has. Michele (9:47)
Contact Michele:
Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting
Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL
Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com
LinkedIn: Michele Williams