When I decided to set up my own business in October 2020, I was scared. Scared I wouldn’t be good enough, scared I didn’t know enough, scared it would fail. I guess the same fears that everyone has when they start out on a new venture. But looking back, I’m so glad I took that leap, and decided to follow my dream of being an illustrator and being my own boss.

I’ve learnt so much along the way, so I thought I would take a look back at some of what I’ve learnt so far, and share my experiences with you in case it helps you in your next steps with your small business.

1. Find A Community

   When I decided to start running my business, I knew I would need to find some people in the same boat as me that I could bounce ideas off and also have someone that made me accountable.

   I was recommended the Indie Roller community by my sister who runs her own business - Hiccups and Juice - and I’m so glad I joined them at the beginning of my journey. Indie Roller is a membership group which offers small business training and mentoring, as well as various online events through the year, on top of being a brilliant and supportive group of people who offer advice and feedback via their Facebook Group.

   Signing up for the Indie Roller Christmas Markets in November was the push I needed to create my first small range of christmas cards - featuring pets being naughty! It was great to have a deadline to work to, as well as a community of other small businesses all encouraging each other and giving advice on how to promote ourselves for the market.

   I’ve also enjoyed being part of the Good Ship Illustration community having signed up for the ‘Fly Your Freak Flag’ course this summer, which is helping me get back into sketchbook work, and creating work far out of my comfort zone.

2. Set Up Your Newsletter

Something I’ve done from the early stages of my running my business is start writing my email newsletter and building up my audience for this. I’ve realised I actually really enjoy writing newsletters, and I look forward to creating new content every 2 weeks to update my subscribers on projects that I’ve been up to, as well as giving recommendations for other small businesses I follow, books I’ve enjoyed, or music I’m listening to.

I’ve found it’s also a great way to document what I’ve achieved each month. Even when I don’t think I have much to say, there’s always something I can chat about, whether it’s a competition I’ve entered, a Skillshare class I’m enjoying, or a product launch I’ve been working on.

An email audience is also so much more engaged than a social media audience, and if you were to suddenly lose your social media accounts (which sometimes does happen for no reason) you’ve still got your email audience.

I use Mailchimp to create my newsletters as it’s free for the first 1000 subscribers, and pretty easy to use.

I’m planning to write a blog post on how I create my newsletters, but my main piece of advice is just start! Even if you’re just sending it to your mum, just get started and practice writing something on a regular basis. Also - you only need to write about 3-4 things in each newsletter. Use lots of images, and keep it short. Although I love magazine style newsletters (like Emma Gannon and Zabby Allen), when you’re starting out - it’s best to keep it simple so you can keep your new readers attention.

3. Use All the Free Stuff, and Make Your Own

The great thing about the creative industry is that everyone is always thinking outside of the box. Something that always draws me in when learning about a new business is whether they are offering free resources. It’s a great way to learn new skills, but also a good way to understand how someone runs their business, and builds a community.

Some of the free resources I’ve found include:

• Sketch Design Repeat - Print Design Prompts

• Skillshare - Free Classes

• Pigeon Letters - Colour Palettes, Procreate Brushes, Design Tutorials and More

• The Wern - Media Toolkit, Press Release Templates, Product Pitch Templates

The clever thing about offering free resources, is that it builds your audience, and they will trust your brand. It means they will recommend you to others, and often go on to buy your products too. It’s also a great way to encourage people to sign up to your mailing list.

Have a look at your favourite small businesses and see what free resources they are offering. What freebies could you create to promote your brand?

Incidentally - I’ve created a Free Stuff section on my website too - such as free downloadable planners, colouring pages, and tips and tricks.