The Creativepreneur May Issue

The

Creativepreneur Volume 1, Issue 5

May 2013

The Crossroads of Business, Art, Life and Soul

Copyright Š 2013 by Blue Sun Studio, Inc.

The Creativepreneur Studio Volume 1, Issue 5 May, 2013 The Creativepreneur is published on the first Friday of every month.

Send submissions or contact us at: info@bluesunstudio-inc.com

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Blue Sun Studio, Inc. 4695 Marnell Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89121 Find us on the Web at: http://bluesunstudio-inc.com Copyright Š 2013 by Blue Sun Studio, Inc.

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The Creativepreneur, May 2013

In This Issue: From the Editors.......................................................................................... 4 Inspired Life: We Are the Human Spirit......................................................................... 6 Inspired Business: Take Your Own Unexpected Journey........................................................ 8 The Problem With Digging a Hole to China.............................................. 10 Inspired Design: Are DIY Websites Worth The Effort?........................................................ 12 Inspired Artist: Featured Artist: Richard Dorchak............................................................. 14 Inspired Soul: Soulful Quotes.......................................................................................... 18 Soulful Spotlight: Joy Resor...................................................................... 20 Little Inspirations: Jesse Lynn................................................................... 22

14 Richard Dorchak

22

20 Joy Resor

Jesse Lynn

Commitment

From the Editors

T

his edition has endured a bumpy ride in order to make it to your inboxes. Due to a blessing of abundance, referrals (Thank you!) and new clients, (Welcome to you all!) this magazine was in jeopardy of being pushed to the back burner.

Kind of ironic then, that the theme of the issue was commitment and perseverance, because there were several times that both of us said, “Maybe we should just forget about it this time and let this one go.”

Except that is isn’t in either of our natures to quit or give up. Commitment and perseverance are two words that we believe strongly in, both as individuals, as artists and as business partners.

We had the issue ready to put to bed a few weeks ago when the unthinkable happened in Boston and rocked us along with the rest of the country. Once again, we hesitated, deciding that the time for putting out the issue wasn’t right. We were all too sad, too much in shock and frankly...mad.

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What happened in the days and weeks since April 15th though, solidified our theme of commitment and perseverance in a way that we never could have done before. How the citizens of Boston, and the nation rallied together with strength, determination and love were the very essence and spirit of what we wanted this issue to portray. And so we began again. We scrapped our original cover and created a tribute cover to Boston. We included a letter, originally written as a post on Facebook, that captured the essence so beautifully. And we included an article written

by Wendi, one perhaps more angry, more determined and heartfelt than usual, but that exemplifies the human spirit behind commitment and perseverance.

If it is one thing we have been reminded this April it is this: When we bond together, when we join hands and put our collective hearts and souls in sync for a common goal, there is nothing that can stop us.

We will always persevere, because love always wins.

Love,

Wendi & Deb

Meet the Team Wendi Kelly

Wendi Kelly is the International business coach behind Creative Clarity Coaching, a division of Blue Sun Studio. Wendi is devoted to coaching creative entrepreneurs who are ready to take the leap into clarity, happiness and success in business and life.

Deb Dorchak

Deborah Dorchak has been a graphic designer for more than 28 years and an artist since she could hold a crayon. Deb got her start in Illustration, and her passion for telling stories through images hasn’t wavered yet. She is the designing force behind Blue Sun’s graphics department.

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See our submission guidelines here: Magazine Submission Guidelines. The deadline for the next issue is May 24th.

Commitment 5

Inspired Life

Wendi Kelly

I

used to be a runner.

Not much of a runner, but a runner, just the same. Due to a bad back and asthma, I was a plodder, happily keeping pace with the other five and six-hour runners as we crossed the marathon finish line with red faces and exhausted bodies, despite the warnings from well-intentioned friends who thought my back would be better off if I handed out orange slices and paper cups of water on the side lines like other sensible people.

I didn’t listen.

There is something life-affirming about creating a goal that seems impossible, chunking off those baby action steps, literally ONE STEP at a time, and working your way up

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until you have mastered the ability to do something you never DREAMED you were capable of doing.

When I crossed the finish line, held that cold hard medal in my hand, put that proof of my victory around my neck—I said to myself, out loud, “If I can run a marathon, I can do ANYTHING.” And I believed it too.

That conviction has carried me through many a difficult moment where the only thing that got me through was sheer grit and faith.

I have gumption. I have Commitment. I have perseverance. When I put my mind to something…I Am UNSTOPPABLE. I have SPIRIT. I proved it to myself, and I have the medal to remind me when I forget. When those scary, dark voices try to whisper in my ear,

I tell them to shut up. Because if I can run a marathon, I can do ANYTHING. Then a few years ago, a bicycle injury mangled my ankle and took out not only my ability to run, but for a long while, my ability to walk without a limp and a hobble. I had to turn that focus not on running, but on walking. I’m fine now, but had never strapped on the running shoes again.

Until Boston happened this week.

Monday was my birthday. April 15th is a historically bad day to have a birthday to begin with. It’s not enough to share it with Tax Day, but it is also the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and the death of Abraham Lincoln. Now we will forever link it with this infamous Boston Marathon as well. There are not enough words to express both my sadness and anger at the kind of evil that would do such a thing. I won’t go into any political or conjectural debate about who could have done it, because in the end it comes down to the same core. Evil. Evil has tried to block out the light, has struck out against goodness and created loss, devastation and misery.

Tuesday morning when I woke up, my heavy heart had been replaced by anger and a sense of rising up to fight back and I thought, “Damn those asswipe Boston Bombers, they aren’t going to stop the human spirit. I’m going to run for Boston.”

Except here in the Midwest it has been raining— I think, but am not sure— for forty days and forty nights. To start running now, I would be running in lakes and rivers on the sidewalks.

Not to be deterred, my sister came over,

and for a birthday treat took me as a guest to her health club, which has an indoor cushioned track. I dusted off my running shoes, strapped on my heart rate monitor and gingerly…walked and ran…slowly….and walked some more, and then ran, the first time I have ran since my ankle accident….ONE MILE for Boston.

F-YOU Boston asswipe—Whoever you are. I ran for Boston because I can, and you can’t stop us. You will NEVER stop us.

“...as long as we believe in ourselves, we can do anything. Because we have SPIRIT.” It wasn’t much. It wasn’t anything really, not compared to the heroes and first-responders and countless generous people who gave blood and food and money and their homes and their hearts and everything they had in Boston and elsewhere to help in a time of crisis. But is was a message from my heart and my spirit to Boston, and to its people and to all of us, that as long as we believe in ourselves, we can do anything. Because we have SPIRIT. We will get back up, dust ourselves off, bond together, rise again as a nation, no matter how many times haters, terrorists, jerks and crazies try to blow us up, shoot us, or tear us apart. We will love, we will pull together, we will rebuild, we will HEAL. We will run if we have to. One step at a time if we have to. You can’t keep us down. We will run for those who have fallen, we will walk, we will crawl if we have to. Because we are resilient.

We are the Human Spirit.

Commitment 7

Inspired Business

Deb Dorchak

W

hy didn’t Gandalf just take the giant eagles from the Shire right to Mordor or The Misty Mountains? He could have, very easily. Being a wizard, he probably knew that all along. “Don’t worry Frodo, we’ll just hop on an eagle and do a fly by over Mount Doom and drop that nasty old Precious right into the volcano. Easy peasy.”

Ah, but Gandalf was wise, he knew there were lessons to be learned, adventures waiting, and important bonds that needed forging. Without the journey, healing the rifts between the worlds of Men, Dwarves and Elves never would have taken place…and it would have been a very short story.

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Our own adventures into the entrepreneurial business world are like that too.

Sure, we see lots of get rich quick schemes, plenty of “secret” short cuts to success that are so tempting we fool ourselves into believing we’ll be overnight millionaires.

The truth is, there is no such thing as an over night success. What you’re seeing is the end result and the rewards of many months or years of hard work. There is no magic bullet, no single method that shoots you to the top in an instant.

What worked for one person, may not work for you and there’s the real key.

Your Own Unexpected Journey Inspiration can strike at any time, it can come in quiet and polite like Gandalf knocking at your door, or it can come in a rush, like a clan of Dwarves fired up and ready to

go. And, like a Hobbit, you can try denying the wizard or shooing away the rowdy Dwarves (or inqusitive family, or pesky solicitors), but you may be missing out on a wonderful opportunity in disguise.

Bilbo’s own adventure teaches us many valuable lessons as entrepreneurs and reminds us exactly why we struck out on our own to begin with.

Leave the Comfort Zone.

So many Hobbits are content staying within the boundaries of the Shire. The old adage of “nothing ventured, nothing gained” comes to mind. We can choose to stay in our cozy little Hobbit Holes, sitting by the fire sipping tea, or tending our gardens and being safe, but where’s the fun in that? Risk is hard, it’s scary, but when we succeed, we find what we feared wasn’t all that scary to begin with and the rewards are many.

Build Your Confidence Eclisiastes 1:9 says “There’s nothing new under the sun.” Others may have had the same idea you have, but it’s up to you to put your own unique spin on it. Not an easy task. Again, risk comes into play, that jumping out into the Great Unknown and believing in yourself. At the beginning of his journey, Bilbo didn’t have faith in himself, he wasn’t sure he could do what was expected of him. Not even the Dwarven leader, Thorin Oakenshield was convinced the Hobbit could do what Gandalf said he could. Only by taking action and facing each challenge did Bilbo build his confidence and that of his fellow travelers.

You Can’t Do It All Alone.

This is a reoccurring theme throughout all the Tolkien stories. Bilbo had support from the team Gandalf assembled for him, and Frodo had the Fellowship. The same goes for you.

Being an entrepreneur does not equate with being a Lone Ranger. That kind of mentality is a fast track to burn out. Ask for help, don’t bear the burden of The Ring all by yourself.

Jack of All Trades, Master of None When Wendi and I first started Blue Sun, we realized we had a multitude of skills right in our own hands. We had the capability of doing our own tech work and design, we knew how best to start and run a business. We had (and still have) a walk in closet FULL of hats.

We also discovered this leads to the Lone Ranger trap, even though we have a partnership. There comes a time when you realize you can’t be all things to all people, you need to focus on a specialty, and that means letting go and delegating some of your other tasks to others. Decide what your Genius Work is, what you do best above all other skills you have, then assemble a team of others whose genius work are the pieces eating up your time.

Open Minded Failure Face it, failure is inevitable. You will fail, and you will fail often. Remember though, failure is not defeat. Failure doesn’t mean you have to quit. When we fail, and give ourselves permission to fail, we learn. Each time we learn, Journey continued on page 26 Commitment 9

Inspired Business

Wendi Kelly

M

y first entrepreneurial partnership taught me critical lessons about business.

My business partner, Randy, was a charismatic, fearless, energetic young man, with giant ideas and the drive to achieve them. His art of persuasion and sales techniques were perfected at an early age and as he discussed his business proposition with me, I recall being completely taken in by his mesmerizing descriptions of how wonderful this would all turn out if we put our resources and energies together.

I was all in, no questions asked.

The business plan?

Dig a hole to China, climb down the hole, get all their gold and sil-

10 The Creativepreneur, May 2013

ver, bring it back up the hole and sell it to make kamillions.

We were six years old.

An onlooker might have thought we had pooled our pennies together and hired a motivational business coach to assure our success. After all, we were doing everything right.

We had a business plan. We had commitment. We had the proper tools. We had a clear intention. We TOOK ACTION! We dug that hole in the hot summer sun for several hours with my aunt’s best spoons, refusing to be deterred, even when those spoons bent from the force of rocks and debris in the hole. We had a timeline for success. Okay, perhaps an unrealistic one, as we expected to get to China in that very afternoon, but isn’t that also common

of entrepreneurs, expecting success to happen instantly? As far as I can tell, at six, we still weren’t that far off the mark of the average entrepreneur. So far, so good.

We had all of the proper mindsets as well.

We were not afraid of failure. In fact, FAILURE WAS NOT AN OPTION. We never considered it. Our positive-thinking, created-for-miracle minds had no concept of what failure was. It would be many years before that adult concept took root in our creative minds.

We had passion. We had persistence. We had vision, clarity and a goal. We were motivated! We were primed for success!

And yet, as you can safely guess, we never

the simple truth that there was no path to China under my Aunt Margie’s garden.

Period. Nothing, no creative energy, magic mojo, spiritual secret, prayer or rain dance, two thousand dollar seminar or better coach was going to magically help us dig a hole to China.

And it won’t help you build your business either if you built your business idea on a faulty foundation to begin with.

Do your research.

• Do the clients that you have identified as your ideal clients even want what you are selling? Do you know what price the

No matter how inspired, motivated, well- intentioned or purposeful we were with that business, we were doomed to fail because of the simple truth that there was no path to China under my Aunt Margie’s garden. made it to China with our bent spoons and best intentions.

What could have possibly gone wrong when we followed every single step that all of the coaches tell us to do?

Ah…but we did miss one. The same one that so many entrepreneurs miss, over and over and over again, in their excitement and burst of enthusiasm when a new Creative Idea floods into their brain like a crazy-making drug.

They forget to do their research. They forget to gather the correct information.

No matter how inspired, motivated, wellintentioned or purposeful we were with that business, we were doomed to fail because of

market will bear for that range of services, and have you identified the value you are giving, and if it is a value to them?

• Is your path in line with your destination?

As you can see, ours clearly wasn’t. We could have dug for the rest of our lives, and we were not going to hit our destination.

Does your business suffer from the same problem? It’s one thing to have a step-bystep plan. It’s another thing altogether to have done the research to check if it will get you where you plan to go.

• Is the market over saturated with this idea already? Are you really just now writing a book on Fifty Shades of How to… If China continued on page 26 Commitment 11

Inspired Design

Deb Dorchak

I

f you’re an entrepreneur, you probably have the kind of personality that screams independence. I know I do. I first got into web design fifteen years ago, when do it yourself (DIY) websites like GeoCities and programs like Microsoft’s Front Page were popular. I figured, I was an artist, I understood design, so I’d make my own.

Back then, compared to today’s standards, everyone had a site that looked like an amateur had done it.

They had busy background images, vertical navigation bars, narrow content areas, cluttered content, irritating flashing animated ads and hideous colors. And they were all constructed on HTML and required a

12 The Creativepreneur, May 2013

webmaster to make changes if you weren’t fluent in HTML code.

Since then, a lot has changed. Over the years many do it yourself website companies have cropped up. They offer sweet promises of easy set up, easy management and beautiful sites that will lure traffic like crazy. Ahhh…but remember when your mama told you if it looks too good to be true, it probably is?

There’s a very good reason why smart business owners hire professional designers to create their websites. In fact, I have seven reasons for you.

Free Is Never Free Many DIY accounts lure you in with the big FREE, but read the fine print. Can you only choose from a limited number of tem-

plates? How much of those templates can you modify? How much storage space do you get for files and images? Will you be able to connect and upload through FTP or a program like Dreamweaver, or all the files strictly stored on that company’s server? Do they charge extra for using your own domain name? What is their customer service and support like? Poke around and sniff out the fine print. Check out their “pro” packages. Their monthly cost may come out equal to or more than what it would cost for you to hire a designer and self host.

Beware the “All Inclusive” One of the major drawbacks to using a DIY site is they want to sell you everything. They want you to use their hosting, their servers, their URLs. You’re at the mercy of their software’s limitations, as well as all of it being up to date. You also won’t have a way to store and save your own theme and uploaded files.

Why is this important? Should you decide at a later date to self host, migrating the site and all the content is a major headache, leading you to feel like your content and files are being held hostage. At the very least, starting with a free site like WordPress.com or Blogger, you have the capability to export your content and move it over into a new installation elsewhere.

DIY Ends Up Looking Like DIY The customization limitations imposed by some DIY sites end up creating a site that looks amateur.

Shoddy Code What happens when the host doesn’t bother

upgrading their back end to comply with the current web standards? Things break. They don’t look the same across all browsers. In short, your potential clients can’t reach you.

Poor code also makes it very difficult for a designer to come in and customize your site for you. Working with industry standards like WordPress or Genesis, you’re bound to find a designer or developer who specializes in those platforms and themes. Using a DIY site, there’s a big learning curve for your designer when they have to go in and untangle the user interface and figure out how to customize your site for you.

Not Easily Customized This may sound repetitive, but it bears listing on its own. Not only do DIY sites make it difficult to customize the overall look, but adding functionality can be hard too. Not every DIY site has the plugin capabilities of WordPress. You may not be able to install a simple shopping cart, or optin form. You may not be able to add video or downloads easily.

You may also have to rely on HTML to make adjustments, which is counter productive, since you were trying to avoid that in the first place.

Unreliable Who do you call when the server goes down?

Better yet, how long will it take for their customer support to get back to you? If you’re trying to make a customization, will you be left on your own, with only so much as a “We don’t do that” for an answer? Working with Effort continued on page 27 Commitment 13

Inspired Artist Featured Artist

Featured Artist: Richard Dorchak Deb Dorchak

I

first met Richard back on July 6, 1965. I believe it was a Tuesday...at 5:30 am...in a hospital room...

Yes, Richard is my Dad. All of my talent, values and a lot of my inspiration have come from him.

Some of my fondest memories are of him in his art studio, where he would work on a landscape or barn painting while I sat nearby with a sketchbook of my own, learning how to draw from him and his collection of art books.

This week we highlight some of Richard’s work and he shares with us his method for staying on course and committed to his own projects.

Monument Valley 14 The Creativepreneur, May 2013

Old Iron Ass; Private Commission

Red Barn Commitment 15

Inspired Artist Featured Artist

Half Dome 16 The Creativepreneur, May 2013

Window of My Heart; Private Collection —Joe and Sharon Cruse “Many times a project is started with the underestimating assumption that it will be a “snap”. However, after getting into the works, you soon become aware that there are many underlying obstacles which may frustrate your commitment to your project. Such obstacles may be a lack of clarity or inability to visualize exactly what you wish to convey, or it may be just a lack of true familiarity with the subject at hand.

Whatever the obstacle may be, it nevertheless creates a blockage, hampering creative progress and questioning your further commitment to that project.

At this point you have to look at what has been accomplished and decide if it is worth saving or if it should be scrapped and started completely over.

This is a difficult decision and the merits of both sides weighed very carefully.

I find from personal experiences I have a tendency to add some new idea and walk away from it for awhile, letting it “marinate” over a period of time to see how it sets. This approach then tells me to keep what I have or to take another route. “ —Richard W. Dorchak, Sr. Commitment 17

Inspired Soul Soulful Quotes

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan press on has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.”

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—(John) Calvin Coolidge

Commitment 19

Inspired Soul Soulful Spotlight

Joy Resor

C

ommitment.

Crossing Over Mind and Matter, I Train My Energy Newly Today.

How does that sound?

This play with letters entered quickly, and it made lots of sense to me.

Crossing over mind and matter, I train my energy newly today (and every single day!)

Commitment is a daily practice, isn’t it?

20 The Creativepreneur, May 2013

Commitment and I have a rocky past with layered meanings.

Earlier on, I was committed to the idea of not belonging, of feeling like an outsider in my family and in life.

Stranger than fiction, my sister had nurtured this belief in me by telling me repeatedly that I didn’t belong, that our parents got the wrong baby back after returning me to the hospital.

In college, I committed to excelling in classes and extracurricular activities, so I’d gain employment upon graduation.

Married with children, I was committed to being there for my sons and husband in all the ways a good stay-at-home-mom performed her role.

In those days, I wasn’t so great at commitments to myself, living as a blocked perfectionist.

I pushed my body when my mind and body acted as separate entities.

Not honoring intuition, I ended up in a car accident that brought years of back and neck issues, plus a bonus - deep compassion for those suffering from illness, along with the desire to heal into integrated wholeness.

These days as I live into new life on so many levels, I’m committed to one day at a time,

developing new work and life habits that embrace imperfect action and focus, taking small steps towards larger goals.

Since my cells know how to fritter away time, muse until sundown, and flit from room to room dusting floorboards, the only way I can override automatic pilot is to stay awake and aware…committed today.

With conscious awareness, I’m committed to creating new roots of commitment: using time better and better, allowing me to accomplish lots, giving me confidence on this journey to believe in my gifts that add value for others, moving forward one day at a time.

Find Joy On The Web: Could you use a reminder here and there to lighten up? Do you find yourself feeling bogged down with life sometimes? Would you enjoy a few more reasons to smile?

Joy on Your Shoulders™ hopes to inspire a little bit or A LOT OF JOY IN YOUR LIFE and the lives of everyone you touch. Visit Joy On Your ShouldersTM today and learn more about Joy and join The Joy Movement on Facebook.

Commitment 21

Inspired Soul Little Inspirations

April 15, 2013 Jesse Lynn

M

y mother was the first “runner” that I knew, and one of only two women (my wife being the other, and it only happened once, on our first date, and I had ulterior motives) that has ever convinced me to run with them for “fun”... (My older sister has convinced me to run several times but it was always to avoid getting caught for whatever shenanigans we were up to, so... it was fundamentally different).

April 15th was my mother’s birthday, and I was already thinking about how wonderful she is, and how she’s such a huge part of who I am (the good parts anyway). But then I heard the news of the Boston marathon tragedy and it crystallized for me how tragic this must be for the families of the victims. I am very grateful that my mother was not in Boston running today.

My family and I traveled to Pittsburgh a few years back to support my mother in her first big marathon.

It was not very different from today’s Boston race. You will never convince me that marathons are a good

22 The Creativepreneur, May 2013

spectator sport, but I remember prideful tears welling up in my eyes as my mother, who for my whole life suffered from a back she broke before I was born, and was told that she wouldn’t be able to run like that, crossed a finish line in Pittsburgh’s Heinz field with her exhausted arms held high.

She had raised me and my siblings to believe in ourselves, the power of hard work, setting goals, and having a positive attitude. She raised us strong. She of course reminded us of these things with her words, but more importantly, has shown us these principles for the over 35 years that she has been a mother.

She was a 15 year old “troubled” teenager who got pregnant and decided that nothing would stop her from creating a good life for her children. She dropped out of high school to work at a Dunkin Donuts, and once the child was born, carried the child in a baby backpack from Libertyville to Mundelein everyday so she could work.

Just a few years later, when most people would be struggling with the basic necessities of raising a child, she already had a steady job (she had earned her GED and had put herself through cosmetology April 15th continued on next page

Commitment 23

Inspired Soul Little Inspirations

school) and was a homeowner. She had already done more for herself and her family than many people would have been able to, but her ambitions kept her moving forward.

In the early years of my childhood, she worked full time, and took night classes at community college to get an associate’s degree. She had worked her way into management and despite a hectic schedule, had learned to cook and still made time to help with homework and keep the house clean. No matter how busy she was, I never felt neglected, ignored, or unloved.

That was only the start, after carpal tunnel syndrome started to rear its ugly head, she decided to take the risk of leaving the hair business behind and pursuing a Real Estate license, not surprisingly, she excelled at this, and was that years “Rookie of the Year’ for Baird & Warner Real Estate. She kept that business going for years, at one point employing two full time assistants to keep up with her rapidly growing company.

After the Real Estate Market crashed, she decided to try her hand at something else she’d always wanted to do, and wrote a book.

She didn’t start with a small, entry level child’s book, she co-wrote a 500+ page novel about a fictional world she and her business partner had created together. She’s written

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3 books now, and they are all far longer than my attention span would allow me to review, but the Amazon.com reviews are spectacular!

My mother is and has been a tremendous inspiration, not just for the things she’s been able to accomplish, but for the lessons she has taught me through cautious and patient parenting. In hindsight, it’s almost painful to admit how right she was about some of our biggest issues. She’s my definition of strength, perseverance, and personal evolution. Happy Birthday Wendi Kelly, I love you so much.

Whereas my mother has been an ultimate example of strength and courage for my whole life, Boston has been that example for the life of my country. This is the city that sparked the revolution that sparked the greatest world power of the modern era. The city of Tea Parties and Paul Revere’s ride. There hasn’t been a moment in American History where Boston did not stand together, and stand strong.

Now, as far as the tragedy in Boston goes, my heart is with the victims and families and my respect and gratitude is with the first responders and volunteers. No matter what horrible evils there are, I’ve learned this, there are always more people willing to help than hurt, at no point in our nation’s history has evil truly triumphed over good, some days are darker than others, but our country has a resilience of spirit that I believe in and am proud of. Boston, as much as anywhere else in the world, has taught us strength, courage, and camaraderie. It

was touching to hear of the many runners that kept running, past the finish line, to the nearest hospital to donate blood, so much so that the Red Cross started turning volunteers away, because they had more donations than they could use. There were heartwarming stories of area restaurants and hotels and local citizens taking in the stranded for free to make sure everyone had a safe place to stay

and something to eat. The footage of nearby citizens ripping away the barricades to get to the victims and using their own belts and purse straps and anything else to apply tourniquets and stop bleeding made me wish that I was able to help in some way. All in all, this was an awful act of horror, but all it proved is that today Boston had one or two maniacs, and thousands of heroes.

About Jesse Lynn: Jesse started in Radio Broadcasting in 2002 while he was in college. After seriously weighing the Pro’s and Con’s of a career in radio, he began working towards a career in Mobile DJing. Since then, he has entertained tens of thousands of people in hundreds of Venue’s in the Chicago area! His love for music and people has been a constant theme throughout his life, and it fuels his passion for his business. His professionalism, laid-back attitude, and ability to customize every event to his client’s needs has bolstered Kidron Music’s reputation as one of the best values in Chicago land entertainment!

To read more from Wendi or contact her for your own personal creative coaching, visit us today at Creative Clarity Coaching.

Commitment 25

Journey continued from page 9 we discover ways to improve. Sometimes those failures show us our true genius work isn’t what we thought it was. Go ahead, make a crappy design, write a book that’s total garbage. It’s okay. Bilbo found Sting and other treasures in a Troll’s garbage heap and you will do the same.

Get All Your Dwarves In A Row Before entering into any business or business relationship, whether it’s a partnership or gaining a new client, remember the legalities involved. Set up your business properly; incorporate, or become an LLC, or whichever suits your needs. Open a business account at the bank, hire an accountant, get a business license. This is not a hobby anymore. You’ll have to abide by the tax laws in your area, you’ll need contracts for your clients, you’ll need invoices and paper trails. Begin with a solid foundation of financial systems and you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle and headaches down the road.

Hold To Your Vision You started your business because you had a dream. You had a very clear “why”.

Every entrepreneur starts out with one of The Seven Entrepreneurial Freedoms in mind.

There will come periods when this vision gets pushed out by the lack mindset; you have bills to pay, the jobs aren’t coming in fast enough, etc. When this happens, take a step back, re-

26 The Creativepreneur, May 2013

member what your main why was back in the beginning. Focus on that and the lack mindset takes to the shadows again. You’ll free up your creative juices once that Lack Dragon is subdued and slain.

The Bonus Lesson: Calling Your Own Giant Eagle One of the main reasons we become entrepreneurs isn’t for the money, believe it or not.

It’s about helping others. As entrepreneurs, we see a need and we fill a gap. We provide services and products to help people. When you’re feeling stuck, ask yourself, “How may I help someone today?”. Listen closely for the answer and you’ll feel that subtle shift, the one that lights up the hidden message on the map and illuminates the way.

China continued from page 11 so, stop. Please stop. For the love of God come up with something new.

• Have you asked your existing clients what they want? One of the best tools you already have is the feedback from your existing clients. If you are listening carefully, they will tell you what they need.

Their new problems and challenges are where your new solutions and programs are. Your job is to be in the business of solving their challenges. Listen, be there for them, and make the connections when your company can be the one to offer a solution.

The Balance between Research and Creativity As a rule, creative entrepreneurs are not fond of taking the time to research and dig for facts. That doesn’t feel creative, fun, spiritual, or feed our souls. However, if we ever want to feed our bank accounts or have food with our meals, the second step after coming up with that brilliant idea is to stop, drop and do your research, before you go flying off to tell everyone about your exciting new adventure.

Only after you have built your idea and business plan on a foundation of solid research and understanding of truthful information, can you implement all of those other critically important tools. Then—and only then, can you motivate and set your intentions toward success all the way to the bank. ****** Have you ever been a victim of “Digging a Hole to China” business mentality? Share your AHA’s in the comments below. We want to hear from you! You never know when your comments, questions and insights will be just the thing to help someone else along the way!

Dare to care and share!

DIY continued from page 13 a professional designer or hosting service like In Motion Hosting (affiliate link), Blue Host or GoDaddy, you know you’ll get excellent support and answers to your questions in a timely manner.

your genius work. If you’ve never set up your own site before, you’re facing a HUGE learning curve. Do you really have the time to invest in that? A good designer will get your site set up within a week or two, depending on their schedule and how quickly you approve the final design. This is not something that should drag on for weeks and months. There’s no reason for it if there are project management systems in place.

While you may think DIY is a cheap way to get started, do your homework. Figure out how much of your valuable time you’ll have to spend on this. There’s nothing worse than investing a lot of time and money on a project only to discover it’s not working for you and you end up having to hire a professional to start all over for you. That scenario is downright heartbreaking, we don’t want to see you go through that experience.

And if you’d like some help? Call us. We’d love to talk to you.

The sun never says to the earth, ‘You owe me.’

Look what happens with a love like that.

It lights up the whole sky.”

- Hafiz, a Persian mystic and poet.

You Are Not A Designer Admit it. You are not a designer. This is not Commitment 27

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- Lynda Starbuck; Brewster, NY

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See how our unique approach to design will help your business.

Visit us today: http://bluesunstudio-inc.com 28 The Creativepreneur, May 2013

Blocked?

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No predictions or premonitions. Practical intuitive guidance.

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Inspiring peace and joy Offering beautiful wares.

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Commitment 29