My Mental Health Business Tools
What I’ve Learned in My First Year of Business
This month marked the first birthday for Your Friendly Kreative. As with everything else in life, this path of small business ownership has been a journey filled with obstacles and challenges. We know change and evolution come from the uncomfortable, and with that, I can confidently say I’ve learned so much this year. On a surface business/design level, I’ve learned some new tools and software, discovered new tricks, and started to strategize a business plan. But more importantly…
I think I’ve curated a collection of mental health tools that help me not just in my “real” life, but also are helping me find a life/work balance. This journey to find sustainability has been crucial as there are so many things I want to create, but I don’t want to burn out every other week in the process.
Boundary Setting
Boundary setting is probably the biggest tool I’ve added to my belt this first year. I was already starting down a path of boundary setting in my personal life, but small business ownership propelled those lessons and smacked me in the face with them. You HAVE to learn and set boundaries as a means of self-protection. As the saying goes, if you give them an inch, they’ll take a mile – and unfortunately, whether they mean to or not, clients are no exception.
Setting boundaries gives you the ability to carve space for yourself as you need. To quote another one of my favorite therapy phrases, you can’t pour from an empty cup. If you’re allowing others to take from your cup without refilling it, soon you have nothing left to give. Now these are not all the ways you can set boundaries, but these are some of the ones I’ve been utilizing in my life:
Keeping communication via email, phone calls, and zoom (unless an absolute emergency). By doing so, I’m not giving clients constant access to me or my energy. Just as they have working hours and need off time, so do I and so do you.
On a similar note, I also only respond to emails during working hours.
Not taking work under a certain price point. My time is valuable, and I deserve to be compensated as such. If you start down a path of doing work for dirt cheap, it’s hard to get clients to understand the value of the work you create. Not to mention sends you into a cycle of constant hustling as you need more projects to sustain an income (vs setting an appropriate price and giving yourself the ability to breathe and give 110% to each project)
The last big boundary I’ve set for myself is not feeling too pressured to take on every single project that slides into my inbox. I believe in fostering business relationships with those that share similar values and taking on projects that inspire you to be/do better. It’s really hard for me to want to be on/get excited to be a part of a project that I simply don’t align with. For example, only a few months after YFK launched, I was approached by a potential client who wanted to sell shoes they found on eBay for way more than they were worth for a quick profit. As I’m a person who believes in the services they provide and wants to do good, I couldn’t take a job where the sole purpose of the business was to make a profit (they didn’t even provide quality shoes). Instead of being miserable and uninspired, yet putting a few more bucks on the table, I’d rather not get compensated and keep my name separated from a project I couldn’t get behind.
Learning Your Value
I was a kid that was bullied pretty heavily throughout childhood. Honestly, there was a period where it felt like I never really had a break from it. As I’m sure you can imagine, when you grow up trying to fit in, only to be told over and over you’re not enough, it does a number on your self-worth. It’s really been in the last 2 years that I’ve started to learn my own value – or at least learn it deep in my core (if I’m being vulnerable, right now this is some of the stuff I’m working through, as I’m realizing in many areas of my life, I’ve only felt valuable if I was making/doing things for others. But now I’m learning I have value apart from the things I create or the things I do. That I have value just being a human…a concept, I know).
I use this as the second lesson because it’s only been through finding this value and worth in myself that I’ve been able to show up confidently and ask for what I’m worth. This doesn’t mean I’m showing up asking for outrageous numbers because I think I’m all that and a bag of chips, but rather I’m setting myself up for success by filling my own cup and making sure I’m taken care of and not working myself to the bone to make ends meet.
Learn your value. Know your worth. And charge for it appropriately (i.e. set that boundary!)
Passion for Your Craft
Something else I’ve now experienced, at least in the design world, is that there are serious ebbs and flows. Ebbs and flows in creativity. Ebbs and flows in the literal number of projects coming across your desk. Ebbs and flows in social engagement. You get the picture. It’s crucial you find ways to stay passionate about your craft. There will be times it feels like no one gives a shit about your work – which sucks because you know the time and effort you’ve been putting in (and it especially sucks when you’re proud of what you’re doing).
Again, these are for sure not all the things you could be doing, nor will all of them work for you in the same way they have for me, but some of the things I’ve been doing are:
Diversified services. I think most importantly, and the one thing I will give myself a pat on the back for, is that I set my business up so that I’m not pigeon-holed into one type of creative service. I’ve diversified my business so that I’m able to do branding development, graphic design projects, and physical art. It’s been so nice to be able to mix up my day with these different types of projects. Some days I wake up and fall right into admin mode, other days I ease into my day slowly with drawing or digital art projects. It’s been nice to work in a more intuitive way that works for me.
Hobbies that inspire/get me out of my own head. Creative block is the absolute worst. When I find I’m stuck in the middle of a block, I stop what I’m doing and lean into a hobby that gets me out of my head/space and ignites inspiration. My husband and I are avid outdoors people – so hiking, biking - even long walks with our dog have made a difference. I also feel that moving my body (whether that’s dance or working out) gives me those endorphins to help get me out of a funk. Get out of your space, get out of your head.
Passion projects when the projects aren’t rolling in/you want to work on a skillset. I love a good passion project. Passion projects are fictitious projects that give you true creative freedom to hone in on your style and increase your skillset. There are a number of brief accounts and forums online that you can join at any time. I’ve loved getting to design for industries I don’t have current clients in and it’s also been so fun to connect with other designers within the community. A bonus is that these projects then serve as portfolio pieces, which could potentially attract clients who vibe with the things you want to make. I call it tangible manifesting.
A Strong Support System
As I noted in the prior section, there will be times you feel isolated, times you feel like people simply don’t care about your business or your work. It’s in these times that you need to call upon and rely on your support people. I’ve personally been struggling with this the most lately, as I feel I’m in a weird place of adulting where it’s hard to make new friends, but old friendships aren’t serving me as they have before. That in itself is weird and confusing to navigate, and on top of that, it’s still really hard for me to actually reach out to my loved ones when I’m in that place of isolation. But I think that’s why curating your group of 2-4 core support people is so important. Just having those few cheerleaders in my corner has turned sad days into ones of small victories and a little more confidence.
A bonus is finding others either in your industry or just other small business owners, in general, that you connect with. And I’m not saying go join a networking group today – because if I’m being honest, networking groups have not worked for me so far. But more so, if you cross paths with someone you connect with and you feel can add value to your life (even if that value is so that neither of you is alone in this) start up a rapport. Give them your contact info or follow their socials. Ask them questions, ask to grab a coffee. Having a buddy in a similar space can be so helpful and gives you a different perspective than that of your (sometimes) biased cheerleaders.
Self-Advocacy & Bringing Your Own Chair to the Table
The last, but maybe most important tool, is the knowledge that I can bring my own chair to the table and that I have the power to advocate for myself should I choose to use it. Now I want to start this by saying I know I’m privileged. I’m an educated white woman who grew up comfortably. I have contacts and access to contacts through family members and friends of the family that others simply don’t have. And while that is all true, I’ve also had to work really, really hard to start creating a name for myself. Starting the mural leg of the business for example – I know no one is just going to give me a mural project out of the blue. I want this/believe in myself enough I’m going to bring my own chair to the table and paint my own walls to prove I can. No, it won’t pay off instantly, but it’s better than not showing up at all. And I’m finding if you bring your own chair to enough tables, people will start to leave space for your chair to fit more comfortably. My goal is to already be sitting at the head of said table.
As they say, if you’re not going to fight for yourself, who else is going to?
Setting a Foundation for Future Success
These are just some of the mental health tools that have helped me along this journey. I believe that continuing to grow these tools and acquiring more will only set me up for success in the future. What tools do you use in both your personal and professional life? Have any made a huge difference for you? I love talking about all things therapy, mental health, and coping mechanisms – if you’re someone that aligns and would like to chat about it, send me a message and let’s connect. I’m always looking for new industry/business buddies!
I hope you take some time to refill your cup. Until next time friends!
