15 BOOKS FOR CREATIVES
As creatives running our own businesses, it can be hard to wear All The Hats and be experts in every area. I find this is especially true for creatives because we usually start our businesses because we want to do what we love all day everyday - not because we're great at business plans, marketing or legal business issues.
To help you be the very best creativepreneur you can be, I've compiled a list of 15 books for creatives to help you keep learning and growing professionally!
This book will give you a swift kick in your creative ass. It lists practical ideas and questions to help you beat back fear, overcome your vulnerbility, validate your plans and launch ANYTHING.
We get so used to our own story, that sometimes we even forget that we're telling it. This book helps creatives explain their stories and re-launch your brand in a way that makes people want to you buy you.
This is a great book for the creative entrepreneur that is just starting out on their own. It can feel like a big leap and this book gives you all you need to get started including creating a portfolio of work, legal issues and the basics of building a business doing what you love.
I'm a big planner and so anything that gives me a concise way of organizing my creative content is a winner in my book.
This is such a great book for creatives who aren't formally trained in branding. Touching on all the elements that go into logo designa nd branding, the book touches on how to color to create an emotive connection; how patterns can create personality and how to carefully select typefaces that are intentional and well-integrated into your brand.
This book is a perfect blend of business plan meets art project, and as creatives, isn't that the best way to create a business plan?! Using "the four pillars" of every successful business (great name, great business setup, a legit legal structure, and a well thought out financial system), the book guides you through the steps to create a strong business foundation the right-brain way.
As someone who makes lists just to cross things off (shower...check!), I love this book! The weekly prompts allow you to open a space in your life to create goals and dream that you may have otherwise missed. While this is less likely to directly help you run your business, it will certainly get those creative juices flowing!
This books dives into why and how things become popular or even viral! It reveals the interesting science behind word-of-mouth and the social spread of information. It even breaks it down into six basic principles that you can compare your own business + marketing decisions.
For those of use who need a good kick in the ass for planning, and staying on top of our creative careers (and if you don't fall into this category at some point, please give me your secret powers!), this book gives you actionable advice for building a steady work routine, focusing your creative energy, beating back the never-ending emails, and generating new ideas.
This book is a breath of fresh air when it comes to setting goals and getting clear on what you want to achieve. Danielle LaPort suggests we first think about our "core desired feelings" and work backward from there to set a clear pathway to reaching those the accomplishments that will drive those feelings into existence.