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    The Creative Entrepreneur #1: The Creative Entrepreneur, #1
    The Creative Entrepreneur #1: The Creative Entrepreneur, #1
    The Creative Entrepreneur #1: The Creative Entrepreneur, #1
    Ebook164 pages1 hour

    The Creative Entrepreneur #1: The Creative Entrepreneur, #1

    By Beth Ann Erickson

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    About this ebook

    What do successful creative entrepreneurs do? The answer may surprise you.  

    You may have read the books, attended seminars, studied the craft. But if your version of success is still eluding you, it's time for something different. Real different.

    Here you'll find nuts and bolts, how-to information, inner work exercises, and insider biz secrets. This unique book blows the lid off the deceptively simple recipe for freelance success. Examples:
    ~  You control only one thing in this biz. Find out what it is inside.
    ~  Discover a dominant trait most creative-types possess. Outsiders may find it irritating, but it's essential.
    ~  Ferret out behavior patterns that serve you, that hinder you, and how to harness their power.
    ~  Discover how the concept of “soaking” can improve your creativity.
    ~  Check out the “Tale of Two Writers.” Heed the message or suffer the consequences.
    ~  Earning the big bucks is great. But this is way better. (Plus, if you do this, the big bucks will follow.)
    ~  If you don't tend to this, you're sunk. It's not what you probably think. 
    ~  What's more powerful than competence? The answer's inside these pages.

       Beth Ann Erickson is a decades long freelancer (since 1995), publisher of Writing Etc., the free zine for Creative Entrepreneurs, copywriter, author, and Internet Marketing expert. You can connect with her at FilbertPublishing.com.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFilbert Publishing
    Release dateNov 10, 2016
    ISBN9781540138286
    The Creative Entrepreneur #1: The Creative Entrepreneur, #1

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      Book preview

      The Creative Entrepreneur #1 - Beth Ann Erickson

      The Creative Entrepreneur

      Insider Secrets to Effective Shoestring Marketing, Managing a Winning Mindset, and Thriving in Any Economy

      Volume 1

      Beth Ann Erickson

      Copyright 2010/2016 Beth Ann Erickson

      All Rights Reserved

      Published 2010/2016

      Published by Filbert Publishing, Kandiyohi, MN 56251, USA. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

      Manufactured in the United States of America.

      Table of Contents

      The Curse of What If???

      Ideas Flow Endless

      An Incredible Storehouse, Part Deux

      The Horror of Dreams Coming True

      Dark Shadows

      Mindset Marketing

      Igniting Magic

      Dissolving Blocks... Maybe :)

      I Owe You A Writing Block...

      Goodbye?

      About Beth Ann Erickson

      ––––––––

      Introduction to Volume 1

      My goodness how time flies.

      It seems like yesterday that I wrote these letters to members of the Creative Mindset Community. So much has happened since that little adventure.

      But first some background.

      I’ve been freelancing since 1995. It’s a solitary profession, some weeks I barely encounter a single human being (outside my family). So, it was with the desire to hang out with some of the most interesting people on the planet, fellow freelancers, that I got a wild burr under my saddle and decided to create a community where we could chat, collaborate, chill, and simply enjoy each others’ company. It was a blast.

      As a crown jewel to the Creative Mindset Experience was the monthly letter delivered to each participant, part nuts bolts, part inspiration, part fun.

      Freelancing is truly one of the best careers on this planet. In what other job can you influence opinion, allow your messages to time travel to readers anywhere on the globe, writers chronicle the events of the day, shape opinion, we’re the voice of reason, the song of insanity... you name it.

      I came to know every member of the Creative Mindset Community and remember the experience with extreme fondness. My hope is that you’ll take the information shared in these pages to heart, implement the nuts and bolts information designed to help you create a wildly successful (and profitable) freelance biz, guard your mindset as if it is gold (because it is), and that you’ll be able to inject a truly positive energy in every project you embark on.

      These letters were written for you, freelancers who not only aim to write, but whose goal it is to make a difference in this life, make the world a better place, help your readers open their minds and engage in the all-important task we call thinking.

      I hope you enjoy the adventure!

      Beth

      http://FilbertPublishing.com

      Letter #1

      The Curse of What If???

      FROM: BETH ANN ERICKSON

      Friday Harbor WA

      Whales swim by. Otters enjoy the sunshine. I'm in a dreamy state.

      Dear Friend and Subscriber,

      An Introduction

      Welcome to your first issue of the Creative Mindset Newsletter. Each month I'm planning to dig deep. I want to raise your hackles. I want you to get to thinking more.

      I want you to wake up.

      Beware. I plan on offending you. I want to challenge everything you believe to be true. My grandest hope is that you'll thoroughly examine everything in your life through a new and clearer lens.

      Tall order?

      Yeah. I suppose so.

      But before we get too far, we need to get on the same page on what I mean by Mindset.

      In my definition, your mindset consists of the dance that takes place between your ears. This includes (but isn't limited to) all your inner conversations, your attitudes, your set of beliefs (along with how you formed them), input, output, companion choices (and the reasons behind it) and another myriad of conditions/choices you can make that affect the way you interpret our messy world.

      How's that for a mouth full?

      But your mindset also determines the way you view this world and how you interact with the strange inhabitants you encounter every time you exit your office.

      Yeah, the mindset you carry within you is a pretty big deal.

      So let's get cracking on this incredible subject, eh?

      I began my grand writing career with stars in my eyes and a song in my heart.

      It wasn't long before cold, hard reality started biting my butt.

      It's quite difficult to maintain that rosebud and rainbows attitude once rejections come flying in, checkbooks drain, and feelings of inadequacy flood over you.

      It's equally difficult to sell any writing when you're experiencing difficulties connecting with the person who receives your proposals.

      It's funny how creative ideas evaporate when terror washes through your veins.

      But those emotions can become part of the creative process.

      Copywriter, John Carlton, calls this type of writing Gun to the Head copywriting.

      This means that he takes the attitude that if his next project isn't a success, he'll starve. His bills won't get paid. His car will probably be repossessed.

      It also means that he recommends using tried and true formulas to get the job done. Chuck experimenting. Forget any intuitiveness.

      I take the opposite approach.

      Rather than continually pour undue pressure upon myself... rather than purchase something I probably don't need on credit... I'll go without until I have the cash in hand.

      I don't subscribe to the Gun to the Head method, nor do I recommend it.

      Yeah. I've got goals. I even cultivate a few dreams along the way as well.

      But I don't do well with the Gun to the Head writing style.

      I prefer a calm and enjoyable creative life. One that cultivates the creative process 24/7 rather than chokes my thoughts with fear.

      This means that if I don't have the cash in hand, I don't buy it. I won't purchase even one item if I feel that the item had

      I'm off track. Please allow me to start at the beginning.

      I began writing professionally in 1995. After just graduating Summa Cum Laude from St. Cloud State University, the world was my oyster.

      I awoke every morning, leaped out of bed, raced to my state of the art 386 Pentium and allowed words to flow from my vivid imagination onto the computer screen.

      Everything flowed according to plan until the time came to actually sell the manuscript.

      That's when hard reality started biting.

      First, came the complex query process. Then I was hit with the never ending rejection process. After that, I discovered that the text needed a major overhaul.

      Without notice, my dream life transformed into a daily drudge.

      But I persevered and somewhere around 2001, I finally landed a publisher.

      My troubles were over, right?

      Far from it.

      Nobody ever told me that novelists had to promote their own books.

      I don't have any idea who I figured would promote my book for me, but I didn't figure it would be me.

      Oprah didn't call out of the blue to interview me. Time magazine didn't seem remotely interested in my grand triumph. And People magazine? You guessed it, they didn't have the mental telepathy skills to know they needed to interview me concerning this huge accomplishment.

      Go figure.

      So after some severe soul searching (and a few months of absolutely zero sales), I decided I needed to develop a few sales skills.

      And here's about the time I got off track.

      For the next few years, copywriting and advertising dominated my thoughts.

      I was determined to earn the wage I believed every educated, hard working writer deserved.

      And I did very well, thank-you.

      Thing is, I felt hollow. I disliked the focus on selling, honing sales skills, and memorizing top secret internet sales strategies.

      Don't get me wrong. There's honor in getting paid what you're worth.

      However, when it dominates your raison d'etre, you've got a problem.

      That being said, I figure I remained basically off track for more years than I should have.

      Everything switched the cold December day when my husband suffered a big-time heart attack.

      And yeah. It was big. Bad. And quite eye opening.

      Having faced death square in the face really put things back into perspective for me.

      Realizing that this life can end in (literally) a heart beat was a real eye opener.

      That's the moment I decided to take back my muse, stop focusing on income, and reclaim my imagination.

      I also took hold of my mindset.

      At the time I really felt disconnected from my muse. After years of developing sales skills, memorizing formulas that would aid in the persuasion process, and spending far too much time with copywriters... I knew I had to make a change.

      But as I analyzed the situation, I realized that in my zest to earn a living wage, I'd allowed my

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