🤓 Creator Club

October 17th

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Hi friend,

I hope you’re doing great. This week, I’m super excited because one of my favorite events of the year, DCBKK, is just around the corner!

It's an annual conference held right here in Bangkok, that attracts a crowd of renegade creators and entrepreneurs from all around the world.

We come from all walks of life, but we share one thing in common: we’re not into building huge, complex businesses with warehouses and offices full of people to manage.

Nope – we’re all about building small but mighty “lifestyle businesses,” that 👇

1. Give us the freedom to work from anywhere - whether that's our dream studio, a cozy cottage in the woods, or a bustling Asian metropolis
2. Allow us to earn good money while working fewer hours, so we can actually enjoy life
3. Let us us spend the majority of our time doing the creative work we love, instead of drowning in management tasks

Do these ideas resonate with you? 🤔

Maybe you’ve been dreaming of starting your own creative lifestyle business?

Well good news! Because…

Starting a lifestyle business has never been easier, especially for creative folks like us! 🥳

✅ We’ve got skills! Whether it’s illustration, design, photography, or any other creative talent, we’ve honed our craft.

✅ We can reach huge audiences of potential buyers without spending a dime, thanks to social media

✅ We can create digital products that don’t require dealing with factories or warehouses. Think brushes, templates, design resources, or even online courses!

Building a lifestyle business is your one-way ticket to a more fulfilling life. And though it might sound intimidating, it’s not as complex as you might think!

So in today’s email, I’m going to break down the four stages of building a lifestyle business...

The Four Stages of Building A Creative Lifestyle Business

Let’s dive in…

✍️ Stage #1: Develop A Skillset

The first step is all about acquiring some killer skillz (yes, with a z).

If you're reading this, you probably have a creative skillset like illustration, design, quilting, or even bookbinding. Whatever gets you excited, chances are high that there are other people equally as enthusiastic about it. These are the people you can serve through your business - aka. your tribe of customers.

The important thing is to pick one skillset, and stick with it for a long time. You may be into all of the above. That’s fine, and you can do them all in your spare time. But if you want to turn this into a business, you have to pick one niche to focus on professionally. In the early stages, all of your content should be focused around this one niche.

I won’t sugarcoat it - developing your skillset takes time and effort. You’ve got to practice, practice, and practice some more. But hey, that’s how you become a pro!

As you sharpen your skills, you can start earning some extra income through freelance work. These commissions allow you to get paid to practice your skills - win-win!

👪 Stage #2: Build Your Audience

While you’re mastering your craft, don’t hide behind closed doors. Build in public!

Show people what you’re up to. Share your wins, your failures, and your learnings. Do this on social media (I recommend most creatives start on Instagram), so the algorithm can push your work out to a new audience.

By showcasing your journey, you’ll attract people interested in what you do. Keep repeating this process. This is how you build your audience, your tribe.

Once you’ve built a sizable following on social media, start moving followers onto your email list. This is where you can connect on an even deeper level, and turn followers into hardcore fans. It’s from this email list that you can most easily sell your products later on.

💰 Stage #3: Sell A Product

Once you’ve built a solid audience, it’s time to move away from client work and focus on selling a product. This is where the money starts rolling in. Unlike freelance gigs, where you create something new for each job, products allow you to make more money in less time.

You may be drawn towards creating physical products. This is fine, and there are many examples of creatives doing this successfully, like Gingiber or my amazing coaching client Nikki Miles.

However, for the majority of you, I recommend starting with a digital product.

These are resources you build digitally, such as brush packs, presets, resources, or online courses. With a digital product, you don’t need to invest money upfront to get it manufactured. You also eliminate the need for packaging and shipping orders, saving time. And you can get up and running extremely fast - it can be as easy as creating a product and uploading it to Gumroad.

🤑 Stage #4: Build Your Empire

Now that you’ve tasted success, it’s time to expand your horizons. Start creating new products, one at a time, to diversify your income streams. This is how you build your empire. You’re not just a one-hit wonder; you’re a creative force to be reckoned with!

To see this in action, take a look at the product stack that me and Charly Clements have built over the last few years:

1. [2019] Launched first Skillshare class (Fun With Faces)
2. [2019-22] Launched many more Skillshare classes, one after the other (8 in total)
3. [2022] Launched a premium live workshop (Easy Peasy Portraits)
4. [2023] Launched first stand-alone signature class (Out Of This World Portraits)
5. [2023] Launched Procreate brush pack (Portrait Powerpack)
6. [Next up] Working on a group coaching program for artists ready to go pro (more infos coming soon!)

This is where things get really exciting, because each of your products keep compounding.

If your products are good, customers that consume one will be likely to want to consume more. With each new product you launch, you are building a new entry-point into your world. Create a great experience, and customers will want to binge on everything you have to offer - growing your income exponentially.

You’ll also find that this stage becomes a creative skillset in itself: figuring out what your audience needs help with, and how you can solve those problems for them.

Keep building, keep scaling your business, and watch it thrive. 🌱

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So, there you have it - the four stages of building a lifestyle business 😎

Not as complicated as it first seems, right?

I’m not saying that it’s easy. It will require lots of hard work and dedication. But it’s not complicated.

Just stick to this plan. Show up every day, and do the work. Keep going through the difficult times where you feel like giving up. And one day you, too, will wake up and realize that you’ve built the creative business of your dreams. Trust me, it's worth the hard work!

So, what are you waiting for? It's time to unleash your creativity and embark on your own journey. The world is waiting for your unique talents!

Stay rad,
Fabian

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P.S. Have you been to a conference you loved? Hit reply and let me know which one - one of my big goals for 2024 is to attend more conferences and I'd love to hear your recommendations!

P.P.S. Stuck on Stage 2 and not sure how to grow your audience? Stay tuned - me and my business partner Charly are actually working on a new program to help you with exactly this stage 😎