4 minute read
Motivating Creativity By Dario Cotroneo
As we start 2022, I want to focus on what I love… motivating creativity.
As a hair creator, you probably know how satisfying it is to get a rush of unexpected inspiration, fuelling a productive streak. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen every day. If you waited around for the right mood to strike each time you might be waiting for a very long time!
Learning how to stay motivated is a valuable skill for any creative professional. From increased productivity and earnings to improved work quality, learning how to become motivated will pay off throughout your career.
Using techniques to help you get motivated and stay motivated will allow you to produce a more consistent flow of new work. That means adding to your social media content portfolio and landing more clients! Developing that healthy flow of clients, who pay you well, to do the creative work that you love, is the dream for many stylists.
To help you get there, here are 9 useful tips on how to feel motivated as an (hair)artist.
1. Schedule Short, Focused Self-Training Periods
Decide on an amount of time that you can commit to, and don’t stress too much about how long it is.
2. Seek Input from Others
If your creative practice is collaborative, such as hair cutting or colouring, you have the benefit of other people you can bounce ideas off to help you stay motivated.
If your independent, getting new opinions on your work can be helpful in finding motivation. Talking through your creative block with a close friend or fellow (trusted) stylists might be the thing that helps you get motivated and back to creative work.
3. Create Space in Your Schedule for Your Craft
Sometimes hairdressers get so busy they forget to be creative. Our brains are wired to learn through play, but, as adults, we do less and less of it. Giving yourself some creative time with your craft could be the thing to help you stay motivated.
4. Revisit Your Favourite Inspiration
For me its architecture. Every time I start thinking of something new, I always look at my favourite architect’s current works. It stimulates my creative thinking and flow. I look out for anything that can teach me about their design and process.
5. Share Your Creative Process
Make an effort to post your work on social media (online portfolio). My tip is only publish your best photos, using great models, to showcase your work at its best. There are occasions when seeing “real hair in the chair” can be relatable to your audience, but bear in mind, what you publish is what you will attract, so be honest with yourself about what you should and should not post.
6. Read Art Quotes Daily
There are tons of ways you can access inspirational positive quotes daily. These little regular reminders can be very helpful, particularly on those days when you need the extra push to get to work.
7. Increase You Earnings, With Your Art
Money can be strong motivator, especially when many years of work go into mastering your art. When people are willing to pay more for your talents, it helps you get motivated to create more and to work through any block or low period you may be having. Here are some things to keep in mind:
• Identify your niche - Cutting, Styling or Colouring.
• Brush up on your client relation skills. These are essential if you plan to make money with your art. Hence why I teach so much about consultations. It’s all about long lasting connections with your client on a deeper level.
8. Acknowledge How Much You Have Accomplished
Revisiting your past work can be a great tool for finding motivation. Take some time to review your past successes and see how far you’ve come. Seeing those projects from a few years ago and noticing how you really have improved your craft with time, can be very inspiring.
9. Challenge Yourself
If you’re feeling low on inspiration, it could be because your current clients aren’t challenging enough. Challenging yourself can be a powerful tool for finding motivation. A great method to challenging yourself is enrolling in a course or workshop.
Learning new techniques within your craft will push you to rethink what you are currently doing and allows you to see things in a different light. This will force you to work at a different pace than you’re accustomed to. It’s an awesome way to get motivated.
Now, aren’t you all fired up and ready to create something new?
You can do it!
