Everything you want is on the other side of fear - Front Porch Mercantile

Facing Fear In Your Creative Business

For all my creative business peeps…entrepreneurs and those wanting to be, I will be starting to post some creative business posts here and there…for those not in business, I promise we will get back to DIY, decor and painting inspiration next post hang tight. Today I am scared. Fear is real. As you read this…

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For all my creative business peeps…entrepreneurs and those wanting to be, I will be starting to post some creative business posts here and there…for those not in business, I promise we will get back to DIY, decor and painting inspiration next post hang tight.

Today I am scared. Fear is real.
As you read this I will be on a plane, heading out of town to attend a coaching conference that I am petrified to go to. I don’t know anyone that will be there (in real life). I’m new and super green to the course content and everyone going seems to be well versed on the topic and rocking it. I’m a complete newbie in their world. I’m usually fairly confident and brave. But sometimes……not so much!

It took every ounce of my bravery to push the “buy now”  button to book flights etc.

overcoming fear in your business - Front Porch Mercantile
I have always believed in and invested in my DIY, painting, coaching and mentoring skills over the years. I have my own coaches and mentors and taken endless courses (one of my mentors will be there, so I am excited to meet her in real life)
The last time I felt this scared I was going to Haven DIY Blog conference 4 years ago. I didn’t know a soul. Had 1 blog post up, my family was supportive but thought I was nuts and “humored” me and my weird creative ideas, it was the scariest thing I ever did. I survived. I met my DIY people. Conversations are what fueled me there. I met my tribe if you will. I was PETRIFIED to ask Miss Mustard Seed Marian to sign her book. But she was so gracious and that memory makes me laugh now as I consider her a great friend and have the privilege of working for her directly now on her small team for Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint. Crazy.

Everything you want is on the other side of fear even if you don’t know what you want! I sure didn’t.

Everything you want is on the other side of fear - Front Porch Mercantile

 

Everything you want is on the other side of fear even if you don’t know what you want! I sure didn’t.

That conference accelerated my business, more than that, there would be no Front Porch Mercantile franchise, no customers, I would not be working for Miss Mustard Seed, or any of my other lines, I would not be coaching and mentoring my peers or hosting DIY retreats or teaching workshops in a studio by the sea. I would be just painting in my basement, for myself (which was ok but I craved “something” more – I didn’t know what, to be honest)

Stepping into fear and meeting my “tribe” encouraged me to open our retail store  and that was what I was craving!

To inspire and serve creative people, customers, and fellow business people.

THAT was what and is what I was craving.

So, I am putting on my big girl panties, and getting on that airplane today and will be there for the week. Hopefully learning lots and meeting amazing people. If it’s all a crapshoot, well, at least I tried.

My goal this week is to learn how to serve my community of creatives better.

Face your fear - Front Porch Mercantile

There have been many failures along this journey of business, trial and errors, just FYI, so I am prepared for big changes or shoulder shrugging and moving on by the end of the week.  Either way, you need to take chances right? We’ve all tried things in our business journey and life that didn’t pan out, but we’ve also all been scared to try things and wow – cool things happened. Fear is normal and essential for growth.

Fear in your business - Front Porch Mercantile

I have had the privilege of coaching several creative entrepreneurs in the last few months and watching them grow and be brave is what is motivating me. It fills my happy bucket. I’m so happy and proud for them. The fear was worth it.

So tell me….What’s scaring you in your business?

Teaching a workshop? Pushing publish on your website? Quitting your day job? Telling people your dreams? Opening a store? Getting a tax ID number? Bigger? Smaller? There are millions of fearful things in business – we all feel them.

What’s ONE thing you have been scared to do that could move your business forward?
Small or large? What’s ONE thing you are fearful of?

Fear is real, Front Porch Mercantile

 

Total aside …. guess who is going to be at the conference and guess who was invited to a small meet and greet tonight that I may literally faint at? Hint….she said the quote above! Seriously!! Yup. Feel free to gasp if you follow her.

Be fearless - Front Porch Mercantile

Hey, if you are looking for a community that gets you, I have started a community for creative entrepreneurs, nothing fancy, not overwhelming, just a community of suppirt. I will be honest and I’m just starting out with my new community, I thought there would be a dozen or so people interested and have had such a trememndous response, I thought I would grow it with regular emails and a dedicated FB page. We’d love to welcome you there. If you would like to sign up for our weekly emails, you can do so here, if you would like to know more about my coaching just send me an email – [email protected] – I’d love to hear from you.

I hope you are all living fearlessly today and doing what makes you happy.

Drop me a line and let me know what you are fearful of, or what you are bravely doing to cope with your fears! I’d love to know!

Another total aside – ALL my clothing is full of paint on them, EVERTYTHING, shoes included. I had no time to shop. Hoping I at least have the paint out of my hair! lol (I’m a hot mess)

We will be back with DIY and paint fun next post – promise!

Thanks for popping in! You are such a rockstar. Remember you’ve GOT this!

Wendy

 

 

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3 Comments

  1. My biggest fear is never finding the balance between work and living! I am afraid to keep plugging on , always aiming for that time “off” and it never comes. Sure I take the occassional day to do someting non work related, but pay the price a few days ahead if the the non work day is planned or afterwards if it happens to be a spur of the moment thing. I describe my situation as someone threading water in the middle of a vast ocean, you only stay alive while you keep pushing water, stop and you go under, drown. I feel like I barely keep my head above water some days,I often feel very overwhelmed… then I focus and convince myself that I can “do” this! Being my own boss is great, but it is not a 9-5 job .There is a certain amount of freedom, but also some “jail time” in a sense. My work mind never shuts off .

  2. Hi there!
    Thanks for the post. My creative self is fearful of a lot of things; many of which you listed in this blog entry. Because I am in the earliest phases of my creative endeavor, my biggest fear is speaking my thoughts/plans/dreams aloud. Why I am so fearful of that, I’m not even sure. I have a wonderfully supportive immediate family and close circle of buds who would never balk at an idea I was seriously considering. I think perhaps that it’s because speaking it aloud would start actually making me accountable for DOING something, rather than just allowing me to think and dream indefinitely! I don’t know that I’m ready for that yet! ☺

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