Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kristy Black, creative director, and founder of Kristy Black Creative, located in Arvada, CO, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My work focuses on helping those with bright eyes and big whys transform their lives by cultivating more joy and ease. For the general public, this is achieved through supportive goal coaching and public speaking around the topics of joy and human-centered goals. For my entrepreneurial clients, it includes the aforementioned as well as strategic and joyful brand design.
Having had two near-death experiences, a handful of dreadful day jobs, and a long and winding path to entrepreneurship, I bring a fresh and entertaining perspective to the topics of joy, human-center habits and goals, and entrepreneurship.
Tell us about yourself
After a decade of doing branding work part-time while maintaining a full-time job, I made the proverbial leap into full-time entrepreneurship in January 2021. As someone with a Master's degree in Adult Education, creating approachable and accessible tools and processes to help my clients is always top of mind. This made the transition to expanding my services to include goal-coaching and public speaking a natural next step for sharing my experience and expertise with others.
As with most entrepreneurs, I did everything the hard way at first—I felt addicted to making things difficult. It wasn't until after repeatedly burning out that I discovered that a human-centered approach to goals and a prioritization of joy was the antidote to the hustle and burnout culture that I had mistakenly accepted as the norm. Things really can be easy and successful at the same time, and I get LIT UP about sharing that truth with others.
I also want to be radically transparent that my work is in direct opposition to toxic positivity and acknowledge that our identities, privileges, and lived experiences greatly influence the rate and success of attaining joy and ease. This is why everything I do is a collaborative effort and honors the sovereignty of the person I'm working with because, truly, they have all the answers within them. I'm just here to ask the right questions to get them started.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Prioritizing joy and rest. Laugh all you want, but trust me, this is not easy work. The noise and pressure in the entrepreneurial space to hustle and grind are palpable, and I am in stark opposition to that mentality. I've had enough dreadful day job experiences in my life to impose it on myself willingly. I give myself grace when things don't work out; I celebrate the small victories instead of holding happiness hostage until I reach some imaginary finish line. I spend quality time doing what I love with the ones I love. My business allows me to live this life, and there is no greater accomplishment than that.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Trusting your own intuition. In entrepreneurship, it often feels like everyone is trying to sell you their silver bullet solutions. However, just like that ill-fitting poncho hiding in the back of your closet, one-size-fits-all is rarely the best fit. Coming to terms with that when you're running a business can be really challenging, but the reality is that the greatest thing you can do for yourself is just to trust your gut.
Once you know what direction you're headed in, hire the help you need by finding people who take the time to understand you and your vision instead of trying to shoehorn you into their existing product suite.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Start today. As someone who sat on the fence for ten years before pursuing entrepreneurship full-time, trust me when I say that the notion that there will be a perfect time to start is a fallacy.
- Be yourself. I realize this feels like some cookie-cutter BS but resist the urge to follow the trends. In a world inundated by perfectly curated social media accounts, people crave authenticity. Show up as your whole human self. It's better for your mental health (and I've found it's better for business too).
- Prioritize joy. It is so easy to get caught up in the minutia of running a business. Creating intentional space to rest and do things you love will transform your life and improve the quality of the work you do tenfold.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
If you are seeking a more joy-filled life, I'd be honored and delighted to collaborate with you to make that a reality.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://kristyblackcreative.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristyblackcreative/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristyhblack/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.
