Want to be your own boss, but not sure where to start? Have a side hustle, but want to turn it into something more? Living a creative life in work and play takes dedication, inspiration, and time. But making time to hone in on your craft can boost your happiness and make you feel more fulfilled, not to mention lead to bigger opportunities. We tapped Dani Dazey, one of the most colorful interior, fashion, and print designers, to share her creative life and help you build yours.
In this reel, Dani shares how she makes every move count in her design business by focusing on what she does best, and letting TurboTax experts help her manage her taxes. Check it out!Ready to take your creativity to the next level? Here are tips for building a dreamy creative life!
Find your niche. Be curious and explore hobbies that pique your interest, whether you want to become a pro at interior design, cooking, fashion, or some other field. Decide what makes you unique. “What's really cool about my brand being so focused on color, it seems niche, but it's actually a really broad spectrum. A lot of brands like to align themselves with color and joyfulness, and to me, color represents a happy disposition and a joyful living space,” says Dani.
Schedule creative time. If you have a 9 to 5, schedule time in the morning, after work or on weekends to explore your craft or run your business. Marking your calendar and making time to be creative will help you make sure you don’t let the chance slip by – the more you do, the more you discover your talents and build your expertise.
Don’t try to do it all. “When you're running your own business, you're essentially forced to wear all the hats,” says Dani. Being a small business owner can look like a one-woman show. Don’t try to do it all yourself. Instead, focus on what you love and let experts do the rest. Whether TurboTax experts prepare your tax return or you do it yourself, they guarantee their calculations are always 100% accurate, or they’ll pay any penalties.
Surround yourself with inspiration. Look for ways to build a creative community, visit exhibits and shops that resonate with you, go for a nature walk for inspiration – essentially become your own student and read books, take classes, and pull inspiration from everywhere. “What's so cool about interiors and fashion is there's such an overlap between inspiration,” says Dani, who’s inspired by vintage design and mixing different color schemes. Ask questions too – people with more experience are always happy to help and share with someone who has a similar passion.
Collaborate with others. Host a regular creative hang with friends, tap into a local creative community, find people online who you relate to who might want to collaborate on a project or promotion. This is a great way to get the word out about your unique offerings. Dani has turned her fashion business into an interior design and print business, collaborating with brands on wallpaper, shoe design, and more.
Don’t let failure stop you. Mistakes often lead to breakthroughs. Experiment with new ideas and techniques, and view setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow. You’ve got this! Don’t feel like you have to reach perfection before making the next move. Small business life is a journey of doing and learning. “I learned not to limit myself in what I think I can and can't do,” says Dani. “I always wanted to pursue interiors and I thought when I was younger that I had to pick a lane. But all these years later and letting go of those self-limiting thoughts, I ended up doing interiors and that took on a whole life of its own.”
Diversify your revenue streams. “A big part of being an entrepreneur is getting used to the ups and downs of running a small business, and the slow times,” says Dani. She soon learned to diversify streams of income and pursue other creative ventures, such as licensing her designs and renting out her spaces for photo shoots. “I would say really think about how you can capitalize on all the different things you're doing and get creative with that,” she adds.
Travel and explore. Have you ever traveled and not felt inspired? Not possible! See new perspectives and get out of your comfort zone and you’re sure to feel creative and inspired in the process. Travel means learning new things about yourself and what you want out of life. Tight on budget? Visit a new place in your area, have coffee with someone in your field, do something out of the norm to gain inspiration and try something new.
When you’re ready, make that big move. Dani spent six years doing apparel graphics for a corporation, until she gathered the courage to start her own clothing line. “That was probably my first really big move and I built that up on social media,” she says. She used social media to get the word out. “I used a lot of my spaces for photo shoots for my brand, so I would design really cool funky spaces and then people started to ask me if I did interiors,” she recalls.
Share your story. That brings us to having the confidence to share your work and your process. “When Instagram stories came out, I started to share my behind the scenes process,” says Dani. “And that was when people actually started to really connect with the brand. I realized that my superpower wasn't to make a fancy-looking brand and seem like it was already established. It was to embrace that I was this solopreneur at the time.”
Photos: Courtesy of Dani Dazey.
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