Disclaimer: Startup Hive does not provide legal advice, nor do we guarantee any return on investment.
Do you have multiple business ideas and don’t know what to focus on first? Then you may be a multipotentialite. A multipotentialite is someone who has many interests and can excel in many fields instead of just one. If you are a very creative person and also have many intellectual interests, then this is for you.
“A jack of all trades may be a master of none but is oftentimes better than a master of one trade” (this is the full quote). So use this gift as an advantage and develop it into a business (or more than one). Start by making an inventory of your hobbies (all the things that you enjoy doing in your free time).
Figure out your strengths and skills
You are a Creator and not a robot; so your business idea should excite you as much as it does the people you will be serving.
Once you’ve figured out what your hobbies are, begin to identify the skills and strengths that allow you to enjoy them. Some people have a natural ability for or interest in coding or playing music, for example. Others may be more drawn to writing and storytelling. Others still might find themselves drawn towards sports—no matter what path you choose towards entrepreneurship, it will take some introspection.
Asking yourself these questions can help:
- What are my strengths? What am I naturally good at doing?
- What experience have I accumulated throughout the past few years?
How can I use those strengths in conjunction with my current hobby activities? How could they make me money while also providing value to others? In other words: What do I do well enough that someone would pay me for it?
Create a portfolio website to show off your work
In this FREE Guide, you can learn about the importance of having a personal website even if you’re a freelancer or are still an employee because it’s the best way to display your resume in this digital age.
Be sure to also get a professional email associated with your domain. If you want to be able to build business credit in the future, you will need one anyways, so why not get one now? Even if you don’t know what to offer yet, own your domain name, then build a landing page, like this one, and post it to your social media profiles.
Be sure to include examples of your work so that people can get an idea of what they might expect when they hire you.
Make it easy for people to find you
Make a list of all the social media platforms that you are familiar with and choose approximately 3 of them to join. Make sure that the platform is where your target audience actually spends their time.
Make it easy for people to find you by having a profile handle that is easy to remember, which is also very closely associated with your domain name.
People will not seek you out. You need to make it easy for them to find you by creating content that is relatable to them and to the services that you provide. It would not hurt to learn some SEO techniques along the way.
Once you’ve got your portfolio website all set up, add it to all of your social media accounts so that someone can easily click through and get a sense of who you are, and what kind of work you do.
If you are able to, get listed in as many directories as possible. There’s always going to be some level of competition when it comes to listing yourself as an expert online; however, there isn’t any other multipotentialite creator as unique as you so no one else can take your spot as long as you believe in your potential.
Think like a project manager
As a multipotentialite, the best skill to develop is the ability to manage a project from its conception to its completion. In this particular case, you ARE the project. Start by managing yourself first by being organized about the various services that you can offer as a freelancer, and record all your processes; this will make it easy for you to hire in the future.
When you hire, you will then be responsible for making sure that your team completes the project on time and within budget.
- Plan your projects
- Manage the projects by delegating specific tasks
- Deliver on time (underpromise and overdeliver)
- Measure success
Get paid what you’re worth
When you’re building a business around your creative pursuits, or any other hobby or interest, it’s important to get paid what you’re worth. If you don’t know what your skills are worth—or if you haven’t had the confidence to demand that value from others—it can be easy to undersell yourself and eventually you’ll burn out.
Price your services and products well. If you price too low, potential clients and customers might assume that the quality is low; if you price too high, your target audience may not be able to afford it. So do your due diligence and find out what your competitors are charging.
In order to earn money from your creative pursuits, there are three things that must happen:
- You have to have something of value to offer (something customers are willing to and will pay for)
- Customers must believe that it is worth paying for it (and understand how much they should pay)
- You must be able to take their money in exchange for this valuable thing. So make it easy for them to pay you electronically.
Communicate clearly
Be very clear about what you want to do before you offer your services. If your goal is to just survive, you might as well stay in the gig economy. If your goal is to get wealthy, then think about the big picture so that you’re not a freelancer for too long.
This may seem obvious but many people often focus on their own benefits, instead of thinking about what other people want first. They’re so excited about their idea that all they can imagine is getting rich quickly without putting any effort into making sure that the idea itself has merit first. Start a company that will create value for customers by solving problems or improving their lives in some way. If you do it well, you’re bound to be successful.
With others:
Be clear about what you want from followers, clients, and customers, and also let them know, from the get-go, what to expect from you when working with you.
A lot goes into being able to deliver high-quality work consistently while also honoring deadlines; have a clear conversation before any commitments are made so that everyone knows where they stand. And when everything is clear, put it into a written agreement whenever you can, so that you can avoid trouble and miscommunication down the line.
We hope that this article gave you some clarity and insight into what your next business venture will be. If you are still a bit confused, we can help. Schedule a one-hour conversation with one of our consultants and get started on your business today!
To your success,
— The Startup Hive TEAM
At Startup Hive, we help creative entrepreneurs thrive beyond the gig economy by taking control of their financial life. If you consider yourself creative enough to get at least one of your ideas off the ground, we are here for it.
Schedule a Discovery Call and let us help you help people.
