3 Tips For Creators and Founders
It can be difficult to go from idea to creation. Sometimes, the ideas in our heads sound crazy. We can talk ourselves out of building that app, business, or brand we're thinking about. Before you can stop yourself, here are three tips to get you started on taking that idea, from idea to reality. These tips come from my journey as a content creator and author.
1. Build in Public
I know some of you may say, are you crazy? There are people looking to put mal de ojo (evil eye) on your creations. I will say these are my opinions so you can choose whether or not to implement them in your life. Also, when you have God in clear focus, nothing can stop you from being that thing to life. With that being said, I believe building in public humanizes you. It makes you more relatable and allows people to connect with you. I remember when I first graduated, I used to record videos in my bedroom. I recorded videos surrounding the networking events I attended, the courses I took on my own time, and what I learned from them. At the time, I didn't know this would lead me to write my first book, Reroute, but it allowed people to build trust in me. They knew this project wasn't coming out of thin air. They knew I was credible and had already done the work for some time before writing my book.
Building in public also allows you to get input from others about things you may not have thought of. Sometimes it does suck to get unwarranted opinions, but make sure you only take advice from people you trust and respect. Building in public can allow you to conduct market research. You can see if there's a need for what you're building, whether it be a product, book, TikTok page, or anything in between. It allows you to see what resonates with your audience.
2. Market Early and Market Frequently
Marketing is CRUCIAL. I see sales and marketing as two skills anyone building anything should have. You will always need to sell and market yourself. Whether you are building a company, applying to a company, or building your products and services, these two things will help you succeed.
Keeping this in mind, I wish I had marketed my books sooner. There was a point along the process when I was so pen to paper that I zoned out and stopped posting the book writing process. If I could go back and change anything, I would document more of the journey. Also, the more you get your book or product in people's faces, the more acquainted they become with it. Research says, on average, it takes seven touchpoints to get a sale. Imagine your book launch being the first touchpoint, and then it ends up being a flop, and you wonder why. It's because you didn't market yourself early or frequently enough.
Creators and founders deserve to be celebrated for their work. Executing an idea over a long period is not easy, so we deserve to put our work out there and feel comfortable marketing ourselves as much as we want.
3. Build an audience
Building an audience is what allows you to keep growing your business. You will need an audience for anything you build. You'll want to create a community of loyal supporters because, trust me, there will come times when you will feel ready to give up. During those times, you will lean on your audience for support. In this case, when I mention the audience, I also mean community. Anyone can build an audience, but you'll want to create a supportive audience that looks forward to your posts and products and supports you throughout your journey.
I hope these tips are helpful and allow you to get out of your head more and share your creativity with the world.
