CFC as diving board/kick-in-the-pants

There is so much to tell about the 42 hours we all spent last week at the Creative Freelancer Conference, but one of the things that surprised me the most was the wide range of experience of the creative freelancers who made the trek to Chicago for the first-ever CFC.

Several creatives had been in business for more than 15 years and were there to take their business to the next level. Some had been in business as long as 20 years, one for over 30 years. She started right out of college and has never had a day job -- she received one of our fancy awards for "Longest Time Freelancing" at the end of the conference.

Many attendees were freelancers on the side, playing hooky from their day job. They wanted to see if they could/should take the leap from "in-house" to "independent." (For a lot of them, the answer seemed to be a resounding "YES!")

And when I asked some of them how long they'd been freelancing, more than a few said, "Three days." These newly-minted solopreneurs had essentially used the conference as a diving board to start their own business! We asked them all to stand up so we could recognize and congratulate them.

But no matter how long anyone had been in business, it was a motivating and inspiring kick in the pants for everyone, one that many creatives needed to take their business to the next level.

How do you get that kick in the pants we all need?

Comments

[Judy Dunn]

I don't make it to as many conferences as I'd like, and the Creative Freelancer Conference sounded very helpful, and fun!

The conferences that are most stimulating for me are the ones with a mix of "veterans" in the field and newbies. When I was in teaching,I used to love interacting with the interns and first-year teachers. They were excitable and passionate, always coming up with new ideas and new ways to do things. Somehow it stimulated my own creativity.

Now, with this online business, being in the office a lot, I get my "kicks" through nontraditional avenues: participating on forums, listening to new ideas on social networking sites.

And every year, even though it has nothing to do with writing for business, I attend the Whidbey Island Writer's Conference, where I get to play with my fiction ideas and get feedback on my memoir, which is three-fourths finished. I find that I am pumped when I return and somehow those creative business ideas seem to come to me quicker, too.

[Stacey King Gordon]

Hi Ilise and Peleg - Thank you for a fantastic CFC! I loved every minute and can't wait for next year. The conference was not only a kick in the pants, but a great way to gain some perspective (which I sometimes sorely lack working on my own).

I actually just blogged about my a-ha moments at the conference -- my first blog update in months! The CFC was my inspiration to stop bemoaning my crushing piles of work and start being proactive about things like marketing, thought leadership and creative discovery ...all areas I need to establish to keep building this little one-woman empire of mine. I feel empowered!

(Now, how to bottle this feeling and be able to sip from it when I'm feeling stressed out and discouraged again?)

[lidia varesco design]

The CFC was definitely an eye-opener (and kick in the pants) for me, a solopreneur of almost 8 years. I recognized areas of my business that I needed to change or redefine. In fact, we (myself and two friends who attended) have decided to meet once a month for lunch and brainstorming – to make sure we stay on track with our goals.

Every speaker prompted a new idea (and/or a-ha moment). Also, meeting new friends from across the globe has provided inspiration – as well as future travel plans!

Thank you Ilise and Peleg (and the folks at HOW) for an inspiring, valuable and fun conference! Looking forward to next year...

[Eve Lee]

I'm sorry I didn't get to attend this year--I found out about it a mere three weeks before the event itself--but the comments from those who did attend convince me more than anything that the CFC is a truly necessary event. Hurry up 2009!

[Jenn]

This was my fist HOW conference and also my first as a creative solopreneur.

I was freelancing full-time for a year and a half when an opportunity came by to work in-house that would add a significant piece to my portfolio and a new experience to my resume.

I took it.

Now I remember how easy it is to put part-time freelance work off. Eh, I'm still getting a paycheck, right?

No, no, no.

The conference was the rejuvenation and guidance I was lacking while on my own.

I became unmotivated and didn't know what I was supposed to do next. No one I could ask. No one I could complain to. No one who would understand what I was going through. Or so I thought.

In comes the CFC to sweep me off my feet!

I met many great creatives and learned some tools and strategies to get me where I want to go.

For now, I will stay at this "full-time" cubicle job, get my experience and finish the project I've committed to. Then I'm off on my own again. Never to look back.

I have a plan in place to make this happen and have already done many things to get me there like, giving myself a well-deserved raise, selected my focus and have already begun tapping my inside market network, and created my Vision Statement.

Thanks to everyone at the CFC for this "kick in the pants"!

I really needed it.

[Denise]

Before I resigned from my post as head of Brand and Strategy at Sony Electronics to start up my own business, I read a book called "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway." The book was only OK but the title stuck with me -- it made me realize that what I was considering doing was scary and that was OK. It's OK to be afraid of doing something but don't let that stop you from doing it. Confidence should not be a prerequisite to doing something -- it's a result of doing it!