Where Passion meets Profit

Creative Entrepreneurship: Where Passion and Profit Meet 

 

Manila, Philippines – There is a common misconception that creative people do not have business sense. The founders of Writer’s Block Philippines disagree. When Ana P. Santos and Nikka Sarthou-Lainez started Writer’s Block Philippines (WBP) in 2010, their main focus was to conduct writing workshops that would help aspiring writers jumpstart their freelance writing career. They also wanted to help create a space where freelance writers could talk shop, build connections and share insights. Five years, dozens of writing workshops, and hundreds of participants later, they continue to do what we love and love what we do. “We have always believed that you can follow your passion, do what you love and make a decent living,” says Ana P. Santos, WBP co-founder. “Looking at the booming creative industry, it seems that others are following their passion as well. We have seen growth in graphic design studios and online brands such as OurAwesomePlanet.com, WhenInManila.com, to name a few,” says Nikka Sarthou-Lainez, also co-founder of WBP. The writing duo has seen this “creative boom” as an impetus to build a community of not just writers but also creative entrepreneurs. “It’s time to turn passion into a sustainable and profitable business,” say the two. They thought of bringing together successful creative entrepreneurs who are at the top of their game and are eager to give participants the needed fist pump to take the first leap (it’s never just a “baby step”) to starting their creative enterprise. Writer’s Block Philippines is hosting the first ever Creative Entrepreneurship Summit on 31 January 2015, Saturday,1-5pm, at the Top Shelf of Fully Booked, Bonifacio Global City. The event will gather aspiring creative entrepreneurs and creative professionals who believe that one does not have to starve (as in the case of the starving artist stereotype) to be an artist or work in the creative industry. They may have started their own creative business venture or have been dreaming about doing so, but just don’t know where to start. Guest speakers include Anton Diaz, founder of OurAwesomePlanet.com who has made a career about of being “a foodie”; Darlyn Ty whose need for the perfect planner pushed her to start Belle de Jour Power Planner; Vince Golangco, who started WhenInManila.com and made being a food and travel writer a profession; Mina V. Esguerra, book author and indie publisher; RJ Ledesma who juggles being an author, host and columnist, among others. Running a creative enterprise can be taught. But to think like a creative entrepreneur, one needs to learn how to create a balance between passion and profit from other creative entrepreneurs. – Rappler.com Writer’s Block Philippines is dedicated to empowering writers, communicators, and creative entrepreneurs. With the philosophy that writing is both art and craft, both creative and methodical, Writer’s Block Philippines offers a space for writers, communications, and creative to learn, connect, and grow. For media inquiries, please contact 0917.397.9927 or email writersblock.ph@gmail.com.

 

 

Pursue your passion 

 

Career planning in India is usually limited to a few fields. Despite a host of new fields and career options, there is not much awareness among either students or parents. With schools and colleges being shut due to the pandemic, this is a good time to look up and do some research on the courses that may gel with one’s interests. When planning one’s career, there are five main stages: 1. Where do you stand right now? Think about your strengths, what you love, what you consider essential. 2. Where you like yourself to be? Consider your goals for the short-term, medium and long-term (perhaps six months, a year, 3-5years) 3. How are you going to get there? What is the one thing that you should do to get closer to your goal? 4. What is your action plan? Break down the tasks to make quick progress. 5. Evaluate your progress on a timeline that works for you: whether annual, quarterly, or weekly. Imagine waking up every morning, ready to work. That happens when you are passionate about what you are doing, whether is a profession, a business or a hobby. So, how do you find your passion? Here are a few ideas: Experiment: Never be afraid to try new stuff. Get used to moving beyond your comfort zone, even if it is challenging. This may lead you to discover your passion and that might become your new profession. Make a choice: As you experiment and pursue different options, you will narrow it down to a single one that you find most interesting. From idea to profession: As your interest increases, you will begin to wonder if you can make an income from it. Now train to be an expert in the field: read, research, attend panel discussions, talk to people in the field, find a mentor…. Be inspired: If you have discovered your passion, you will be inspired. Once you make it your profession, you will never feel bad about going to work. Remember, it won’t always be a smooth ride. But as long as you do what you love, it will reflect positively on your attitude to life. The writer is Founder of Edviseme tech Venture LLP

 

 

Five Tips For Finding Your Passion And Turning It Into A Career 

 

Ephraim Glick is a serial entrepreneur, host of The Ultimate Shift podcast and founder and CEO of Midsouth Commerical Roofing. Getty I remember that at 9 years old, I had goal I wanted to live out, but I had no way of making it happen at the time: I wanted to work for myself when I was grown and make my own decisions as much as possible. But when I was a child, I couldn’t even fathom, much less comprehend, what achieving that goal would take and all the failures I would have to go through along the way. You might have a dream of your own that seems to have a number of roadblocks in its way. Perhaps you have family, friends or financial challenges keeping you from going all in. There are many things that can prevent us from finding our own passions making them happen. Life gets in the way. But it doesn’t have to. It’s not that the desire isn’t there, but that the practical steps needed to achieve success have not been put into place. But as a serial entrepreneur who has been able to make that dream a reality, I want to share five steps you can take to find your passion and turn it into a career: 1. Find your passion. Let’s start with this question: What would you do if money were no object? In other words, what does your ideal life look like? If you had everything taken care of financially and all your needs were met, what would you do with your time? Would you start a business? Would you start a nonprofit? There is no right or wrong answer to this. When you answer these questions, you’ll gain a general idea of what you’d love to do with your future, and you can start taking steps toward achieving that goal. 2. Plan it out. At this point, you have an idea. You have an inkling of what the thing is that you would love to do. The next step is to plan how you’ll turn that idea into a reality. For example, perhaps you want to open up your own boutique shop. Think of a name first — something that stands out, will set you apart and is easy for people to remember. Next, look at the competition you will have. How will you compete, and what channels will you use to get the word out that you are new? How competitive is the industry? You’d also want to start considering the location of your store. How can you get people into your new shop? Planning details such as these can help you start making progress toward bringing your idea to fruition. 3. Figure out your finances. How much will it cost you to build your business? What about the lease, overhead, inventory, etc.? It’s important to write down a plan that establishes your budgets for all of these things, as you cannot run a business effectively without knowing your costs. In this plan, you will also need to figure out your personal expenses. What does it take for you (and perhaps even your family) to live, eat and survive? If you don’t have a grip on your finances, you are gambling with your money and simply hoping for a return. 4. Finance your vision. Finding funding is always the hardest part to break through when I am consulting startups. The popular solution is to borrow money, but this is not an easy task. I personally recommend trying to finance your vision yourself. From my perspective, when you are personally invested in your business, you’re driven to help it succeed and never give up. Why should someone else risk their money for your idea if you aren’t willing to go all-in yourself? This isn’t always easy to do; you might have to keep your current job to help fund your idea until you’re able to solely focus on your passion career. Look at all your costs, and figure out how much money you can save. Then, start setting money aside. Don’t switch to working full-time on your passion idea until it is making you the same amount of money that your current career is. To me, it’s worth sacrificing a few years in a job that might not be your ultimate dream if it means you will get to do what you love in the future without financial strain. Be smart, and don’t rush. 5. Do it differently. This is, by far, the most important step to turning your passion into a career. I started a self-funded business that was already crowded with competitors in the industry. So many people asked me why I would do this, but within 17 months, we made more than $1 million in sales. We saw this success because I believe we did things differently. It’s essential that you find what makes your offering unique to help you stand out from the competition. Look at what your competitors are doing, and find a way to do it better. If the industry has a bad reputation, for example, then give it a good one. Communicate with your employees and your customers. Always stick to your word. Honor everyone you work with, and be appreciative of your clients. I believe you will be surprised at how people will talk about you and your business. As you can see, it’s not impossible to turn your interests or passions into a business or career. By following these five steps, you can set yourself up for success and begin turning your dreams into reality. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?

 

 

https://heygurlzhey.com/

1 comment