The hidden cost for creative entrepreneurs...
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When we, as creative entrepreneurs, decide to start writing online. Building a one-person business with the hopes of living a life of freedom. A life where we have more choice on:
We pay a price… In 2025, all you need to start building something of your own is to create a social media account and start sharing your work. Whether that be words or videos. Both are an extension of you. And in most cases, both start with an idea that is shaped into words before it takes the form in another medium (like video) that your audience sees. Because, here's the thing: As long as you have access to the Internet and a device to create on. You're good. The barrier to entry for creative entrepreneurship is low. But, it isn’t free… So then what's the cost of creating your one-person business? Visibility. You have to learn to be comfortable with the discomfort of being seen. You know how this feels. You edit your words before you've given them space to breathe. To become. To mirror back to you parts of yourself that you've hidden away for years. For a while, I struggled with trying to “find” my online voice. I've always been in professional spaces in the real world with work. My partner always laughs at how extensive (and random) my work experience is. Recruitment. Office administration. Personal Assistant. Charity fundraiser (one of the worst jobs I've had). Retail (working at Build-A-Bear during university was the best). Most of my jobs have been people-facing. Helping others. And so, I felt that as a 36-year-old black man with a gold tooth, tattoos, piercings and locs, I had to show up in a similar “professional” way online as I did in those work environments. But, on social media... If you try to fit in. You'll never stand out. As I've navigated trying to "find" my online voice since I started writing publicly in 2023, here's what I've realised: Your voice won't be found in another free downloaded Google Doc that forces you to contort yourself into a neat box. Your voice emerges when you stop trying to fit in. When you say the things that are a bit uncomfortable to say. Those random thoughts you get in the shower? Those lived experiences that have a universal emotional resonance with others? Those conversations you have with your creative colleagues in Telegram chats, but you feel they're too "off-brand" to share publicly? That's where your voice lives. Buried underneath your self-censorship because you feel it isn't professional to share. Because here's the truth: Your words don't need to be perfect. Your words need to be potent. That's how your people feel you. That's how they're drawn to find out more about you, your world, and how you can help. That's how you're remembered in a sea of carbon copy creators singing from the same hymn sheet. You don't need to find your voice. You need to free it. And the best way to do that is to continue writing. Continue sharing your words publicly. The volume of your voice will increase. And as you continue, you'll start to remember what that voice sounds like... As always. Thank you for reading. Coach Mike |