A business mindset is essential for anyone looking to grow their ideas, make a career change, or improve their business strategies. For independent creatives, embracing a business mindset is key to achieving long-term success.
Many of us in creative fields are deeply passionate about our work and feel fortunate to be part of this industry. However, this passion can sometimes lead us to undervalue our work, undersell our skills, or even offer our time for free.
It’s important to remember that creativity is a valuable skill. You bring a unique perspective and should expect to profit from your work. Adopting a business mindset means recognizing your worth, creating a strategic plan, and making sure your skills and efforts are financially rewarded.
Four Essential Steps to Building Your Action Plan
Abraham Asefaw, a creative business consultant who has worked with major brands like Coca-Cola, Facebook, and Condé Nast, believes that with the right action plan, anyone can build a successful business. He also teaches at Domestika, where he shows creatives how to use a business mindset to create a detailed plan for long-term success.
1. Creating Value
Start by identifying what sets you apart from competitors. What unique value do you bring to the market? Try to define this clearly in a few sentences, making it easy to communicate to potential clients.
Consider the types of problems you solve, the audience you serve, and who else is offering similar solutions. Once you’ve identified your competitors, think about what differentiates you. This will help answer a client’s question: “What unique value will I get if I choose you over others?”
2. Delivering Value
Even the best ideas can fail without proper delivery. Abraham emphasizes taking a well-rounded approach by focusing on every stage of delivering your product—before, during, and after.
For example, pre-delivery could involve raising awareness about your product and simplifying the purchase process. Post-delivery includes supporting customers after they buy, maintaining a relationship, and integrating them into your brand’s strategy.
3. Capturing Value
Creating and delivering value are critical, but they’re only effective if you’re making a profit. Depending on your industry, setting a price for your service can be challenging. Market research and competitor pricing are common approaches, but Abraham also suggests a “reverse engineering strategy.” This method helps you determine your financial goals, set an annual revenue target, and calculate your service or product pricing based on these goals. Identifying where your income will come from and testing these price points with your target audience ensures you are meeting your revenue targets.
4. Evolving
The last step is to evolve. Change is constant, so evolving might mean adapting or even rethinking your business. Decide whether you want to improve your current offerings or expand to new audiences. Once you know your focus, research that area for inspiration and ideas. Select the most promising ideas, test a prototype, and decide if it’s worth implementing.
Following these four steps can help you make business-focused decisions and develop a plan that supports growth. Once your action plan is in place, it’s important to commit to it fully.
