Book Teaser 6: THRIVING CREATIVES

Friends, I’ll share just one more teaser as I plan for upcoming exciting and beautiful content for you my creatives. Enjoy the read from my book THRIVING CREATIVES. This is an excerpt from the business chapter.

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Most creatives tend to be creatives first, then business people second. There are, of course, some that are just as business-driven right from the start but the majority that I have encountered are more concerned with creativity initially and then learn business skills along the way. I am no exception despite having an early exposure to trade. While in the third year of my secondary school, I developed a real love for Microsoft Power Point. It was one of the first computer programs I learnt and through experimenting with the different templates, I found out that I could make gift cards and bookmarks. My mum, who is super awesome, bought a laminating machine for me to make bookmarks. She officially became the first investor I would ever have through that action. She encouraged me to sell the bookmarks in my boarding school and I sold each at 3,000 Ugandan shillings. The first school term I did this, I sold out! That was the real beginning of my journey of being turned into a business person and not only a creative. From that moment on, it’s like something within me had been ignited.

This thing called business enabled me to make my own money and it felt super empowering. Thereafter, I made sure that I often had something to sell. When I got to university in 2008, paper bead jewellery had become rather trendy. I remember going to one of the craft markets in Uganda and buying necklaces and bracelets in bulk. I’d then take them with me to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania where I was studying and finally sell them there for 3 to 5 times the price of purchase. I sold all my jewellery to my fellow university students. The interesting thing is despite the ridiculous profit margins, they were cheap for the Tanzanians because of the difference in the currencies and standards of living in both countries. I also sold new clothes that I’d bought from the wholesale imports shops downtown in Kampala during my university years. The first person who introduced me to these clothes was my sister-in-law – Happiness. She opened up yet another world for me. I became thoroughly intrigued by fashion.

My desire to do business was insatiable. This did not mean I was suddenly great at business. Later, I learned so much more when I opened my first ever formal business. It was after opening up the House of KEA that it dawned on me that business was not just buying and selling or making and selling, for that matter. It was a whole new world with different rules. I realised that selling within the confines of school with such a ready market of hundreds or thousands of students was different from selling in the real world with numerous tastes and preferences. I quickly realised I had to grow as a business person or I wouldn’t survive in the market. Since then, I have become a perpetual learner of business.

Since 2015 when I started the House of KEA, I have subscribed to business magazines and websites such as smallstarter.com. I have also gone for different growth programs such as The Creative Enterprise Program by British Council and Nesta, YALI’s Regional Leadership Program under the Business and Entrepreneurship class, one-on-one business coaching and any business seminar I came across and was available for. I am eager to learn and soak in all the knowledge I can get because I know now that as a creative that wants to make really good money from my creativity, I must learn to think and act like a successful business person. That’s the only thing that turns a creative hustle into a creative business.

The things I share in this chapter therefore are lessons I have learnt and experienced through different avenues. They have proven useful to me and I know they will be useful to you too.

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That’s it for now folks, I hope you enjoyed the read. Again, the rest is in the book and it’s only 50,000 Ugandan shillings.

Love,

Keziah.

Book Teaser 5: Thriving Creatives

Hello again friends,

Yet another short teaser is here for you, from chapter 6 on the health of the creative.

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With a big vision comes the desire and need to live a long and healthy life. I can’t talk about this with good authority because this has been one of my weakest areas. I’m certain you’ve had some sleepless nights, seated at a computer doing some posters or videos if you are a graphic designer. Perhaps you have spent sleepless nights editing those photos if you are a photographer. Or, as a fashion designer, you know what it means to sew from sunset to sunrise and all the way back to sunset. These creatives and many more know what it means to work tirelessly with little to no break as you do your best to beat those deadlines. For some reason, the time never seems to be enough though still, you never say no to work because you need the money or because you feel you’ll ‘find a way’. Yet, that way somehow almost always involves sacrificing your health in some way.

If this is you, stop! You need to realise that as you labour to do one more project for one reason or another, the price you are paying may not be worth it. I can’t count the number of times I have personally slaved to complete deadlines and felt like a zombie right after completing the deadlines.

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Want to read more? It’s all in the book.

Love,

Keziah

A creative rooting for creatives.

Book Teaser 4: Thriving Creatives

Hello once again friends,

In this post, I will share a short excerpt from another chapter in my book – chapter 4, on good connections. In this excerpt, you will learn a few networking tips. For the rest of the tips, you need to buy the book.

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Networking Tips

A networking opportunity could find you anywhere. Some good places to network are social gatherings, at business and innovation hubs, your church, conferences, parties, and just about anywhere else where there is social interaction, whether it is offline in conventional physical settings or online in chatrooms etcetera. You are essentially building rapport so that you have a door open to build trust in the long term. That’s how you should look at networking. Here are some practical tips for you:

Carefully study the people in the place you are going to and the place itself then prepare appropriately. What kind of people are you going to meet? What’s the purpose for the meeting? What’s the social expectation by those people, if you know of any? How do people behave when there?
Get over yourself. You might think that it’s pretty strange that I offer this as a tip. What do I mean by this? I suggest that you let go of any superiority or inferiority complex, and any other fears that may be going through your mind. All people are valuable and the purpose for networking is so that you can form valuable relationships that could potentially add value to your life and your business. At my suggestion that you get over yourself, you may feel offended. If you do, ask yourself why and deal with that reason. Recognise that good networking will enhance your life and business in a significant way.
Be physically presentable and show up on time. The first impression counts and before you open your mouth to speak, people will judge you based on your appearance. Looking good also helps you feel good and, when you feel good, you’ll be more confident in your speech.

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That’s it folks.

Watch out for the next post.

Regards,

Keziah.

BOOK TEASER 3: THRIVING CREATIVES

Hello friends,

I would like to share an excerpt from the third chapter of my new book THRIVING CREATIVES. If you haven’t yet got yourself a copy, please do by sending me a WhatsApp message or email on keziah.kea@gmail.com.

Technical Skills – The Hand of the Matter

Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use – do the work you want to see done.

–Austin Kleon

How good is good enough and how can a creative get even better? Because creative work is initiated by talent, there is a tendency for some creatives to rely solely on the ability to create without focusing on perfecting their skills. In addition to that, I feel that sometimes there is a sense of attachment to a piece of creative work that blocks objectivity and positive criticism from the creative themselves and others. And yet, it is extremely important to keep growing and getting better at one’s craft instead of growing complacent; there is a need for continual and habitual improvement, especially technically.

It has been said that the only thing constant in the world is change. There are new trends, advancements and developments daily. Because of that, a creative entrepreneur shouldn’t sit back and assume that the way he or she did things when entering the market is the way to continue to carrying on business. In addition to general changes, new competition enters the market monthly, weekly and in some cases, daily. Somewhere within your context, someone is waking up to the realisation that they can be a great fashion designer/painter/blogger/videographer etcetera. Of these people, there is a portion of serious ones who are planning and creating strategies to break into the market in a stronger manner and, perhaps, with better resources than you. The only way to avoid being left behind by a mile while things are constantly changing is to make sure you, too, are constantly growing, intentionally.

Some of the avenues of technical growth are: formal and informal courses, books within different fields, events such as workshops, and apprenticeships with more established people in the required field.

Some creatives are fortunate enough to study formal courses pertaining to their craft and, in some cases, studying these courses is essential for you to actually enter the market credibly. However, learning and growth does not stop when one has entered the professional market. You must continue to grow and keep abreast with the changes. The need for intentional technical growth is intensified when one didn’t previously have any formal learning opportunities. It is also equally important when someone ventures into a territory different from what they studied. Many creatives actually get into the market based solely on their talent and passion. Whatever the case is and no matter how one got into the market, I believe that one has to continue to improve technically. A creative has to grab all growth opportunities available to them with both hands.

Some of these opportunities are free and if a person is interested in their technical growth, they will treasure these opportunities when they come around. Generally speaking, people don’t treasure free things as much as those they’ve paid for. However, if you cultivate a grateful heart and learn to appreciate the input others have in your life, you will be able to take the free opportunities with gratitude rather than entitlement.

Dear creative reading this, please don’t be the kind of person who disrespects free things simply because they are free. Usually, free opportunities have been paid for by someone else either through their time or money. Also, do not be the kind who always expects free things only. If someone has decided that their services or products will be paid for, do not try to lower their value by asking for pro bono or free services unless offered by the source themselves.

On that note, also seek out growth opportunities that add value to you for which a payment is required. In other words, invest financially in your growth. Treasure your mind and all the natural resources God has abundantly placed in you by investing in growing your skills in general. In ‘Secrets of a Millionaire Mind’, T. Harv Eker talks about having a growth account. The habit behind this is to set aside money in a particular account that you use for growth. Part of this can be invested in your technical growth in your field.

I got into the fashion industry because I had a passion for fashion and the desire to be engrossed in a field of even more creativity where the limits and boundaries were few. I had a slight advantage because I had studied design as an architect and could therefore think up concepts and ideas for clothes without much difficulty. I had been exposed to the principles of design such as balance and contrast, among others. In spite of this knowledge, the fashion industry was a whole new world. I had no room for complacency. Instead, I hungered and sought for knowledge diligently. I decided that I was going to grow. Therefore, I subjected myself to continuous growth by subscribing to certain fashion magazines like Business of Fashion. I started reading about fashion and fashion designers. I watched fashion TV stations such as Fashion TV and Spice TV. I attended fashion shows and made friends with fashion designers. I started learning the technical language of fashion designers to understand things such as seams, hems, darts, pleats, gathers as well as the names of the technical equipment I needed. I went the extra mile of actually buying the technical equipment or tools needed. I learnt how to sew and cut patterns. I bought fashion books and read them. This wasn’t the end of my learning. I also attended relevant events such as Swahili Fashion Week and Kampala Fashion Week. In 2017, I was selected for a fashion boot camp by Culture and Development East Africa which was a great experience that helped me grow even more, technically, because we were exposed to different skilled facilitators and given a practical project that crowned the boot camp. I continued to grow in my technical skills with intentionality.

Whatever creative venture you are in, make the time to grow your technical skills. The world is watching and, fortunately or not, it is also judging. Because of the few barriers to entry in the creative sector, you can be sure that there are a multitude of people you will be compared to. Because of that, you must grow. However, that does not mean you should be afraid of competition. Your focus should be on learning the required technical skills to help you exhibit the best version of your uniqueness. No matter how many creative ideas you have, you can’t execute them without any technical knowledge.

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That’s it for this post, look out for the next one for the next installment of an excerpt. Also, get the book :-).

Lots of love,

Keziah

BOOK TEASER 2: THRIVING CREATIVES

Just as promised, here is the second teaser of this epic booking coming out soon. You can email me to book a copy via keziah.kea@gmail.com. If you didn’t read the previous teaser, you really should!

Enjoy this second teaser excerpt from Chapter 14 titled “Romantic Relationships – The Spice of the Matter?”

“You may be wondering if this is even necessary in a book about thriving creatives. Well, I asked a few creatives through a questionnaire if they felt that this was indeed important. They all said yes. A Kenyan artist and personal friend, Emmanuel Mawero, shared how his wife being supportive really makes a difference in his creative work because sometimes he has to work long hours. Another friend and creative storyteller, Patricia Apio, shared that she often felt that the people she dated who were not creatives did not quite understand her. Her opinion is that perhaps creatives dating creatives would create a better match. These two opinions showed me that relationships are indeed worth a mention.

I must say that I have seen creatives date creatives and only crash and burn. Just think of all the actors in Hollywood that date each other and break up shortly after. On the other hand, I have also seen creatives date creatives and thrive. I’ve seen a number of these ‘creative couples’ in my church: Worship Harvest. The couples in this category tend to support each other and feed off of each other’s creative energies. I have also seen situations where creatives date non-creatives and have flourishing relationships and marriages. It might be an ‘opposites attract’ situation. If all these varied examples exist, then perhaps it’s not a matter of whether or not to marry a creative but, rather, a matter of what principles are necessary for a relationship to thrive whether or not a creative marries a creative. Remember that a creative is one who dedicates a portion of, or their whole life, to the creative industries. Again, I do not discount that everyone has natural God-given creativity.”

Again, the book will be out in a week, pre-order by sending me that email. As a creative, I feel this is a book I need too. You won’t regret it. Until next time, keep living your best life.

With love,

Keziah.

BOOK TEASER 1: THRIVING CREATIVES

I have a book coming out soon and I am besides myself with excitement. As the first in a series of teasers, I would like to share an excerpt from the preface of my book. Also, I worked with an extremely talented artist and company that brought my book cover dreams to life. A huge thank you to Moving Ads and Derrick ThaPriest. This cover has a special place in my heart.

Thank you for understanding my design brief and illustrating from scratch! This one, I believe, will go down in history. Without any further ado, here is the first teaser from THRIVING CREATIVES – A Creative Entrepreneur’s Guide:

” On a calm, drizzly afternoon, while writing the very first draft of this book, I decided to play a song I had just discovered by a Kenyan artist I’d never heard of named Mutoriah. The song – Tosheka – featured Bensoul, another Kenyan musician. Tosheka is a soulful love song that evokes nostalgia for a place you may or may not have been to in the physical realm. It is, however, a place you’ve certainly been to spiritually or emotionally at the very least. It’s a place of warmth, love and beauty, where everything in the world is great. The video was shot in a picturesque room and beautiful spaces always speak to my heart. It had a vintage look which I loved very much. However, more than all this, it was the smile on Mutoriah’s face that really gripped me. He looked happy and the joy could be seen in his eyes. It looked like he was living his best life – a purpose-filled life, and seemed to be drinking in the entire experience with child-like wonder. I was completely drawn in. That smile struck a chord in my heart because, for me, it represented a happy and fulfilled creative. It is for that smile that I am convinced God has called me to work with and facilitate the growth of creatives so that more of them can be happy and fulfilled in their work.”

You have to buy the book to read the rest but until the physical copies are released, watch out for the next teaser to give you the next juicy bit of suspense.

Be blessed.

With love,

Keziah.