It's been a great first year: community and events

It's hard to believe that creativityfound.co.uk only officially launched in January of this year (2022). So much has been happening, and this part of the Creativity Found portfolio is now so ingrained in my everyday life, I can't image my life before it, or without it.

However, for those of you who aren't me(!), I'd love to share a precis of some of the highlights for the directory, our members, our community and with the podcast – which are all intrinsically linked. 

This blog is the first part of a little series of posts where I pat the backs of all of our members, and myself, in acknowledgement of all that has been achieved in 2022.

Community

I started a website to help those people who have been inspired by the stories told on the Creativity Found podcast – of how people just like them have broken through barriers in their adult life and gone on to find, love and benefit from a creative outlet in their life – to source practical ways to try creative activities for themselves.

What I created – happily – was more than simply a useful website, but a UK-wide community of people who have personally found a creative activity that benefits their own lives, and now want to share that with others too.

Not only does Creativity Found help creativity seekers find creative facilitators, but it also helps those creative businesses find each other.

We are all in the same boat, with the same experiences, aspirations, struggles and annoyances, and it is so good to get together and talk about them, learn from each other, give/receive advice, just have a good old moan or celebrate another's achievements.

Initially – and this is still the case – members could do that at monthly online meetups, but there's more. Members have got together to go to real-life events with each other, some have collaborated on business ventures, and we now have a Chat Group so members can post at any time and reach out to each other. 

Running a creative business can be lonely, and if you don't know people in the same boat you can feel especially isolated and perhaps believe that what you are doing is wrong, or that you are the only one going through a particular challenge.

With a creative community behind you you can speak with others who have been there/are there/want to avoid going there! The collective experience is helping small creative businesses to keep going and to grow.

Event highlights

Without a doubt my favourite part of the membership is our monthly online meetups. Sometimes these are simply a chance to get together, introduce ourselves and our businesses, and discuss any current struggles or future opportunities. At other times the meetups have a specific theme.

When members highlight particular topics they might like to explore further, I take that on board and actively seek out experts in those fields.

This year some of our targeted meetups have included the topics:

• What the Heck Do I Need Social Media for Anyway? with Erin Buck
• Traditional Publishing or Self-publishing, Which is Right for Me? with authors Julie C Dalton and Tetyana Denford
• Advice on Being Seen without Feeling 'Icky' with Jenny Kovacs
• Hosting Retreats Q and A with Lucy Claire Events

I am currently working on finding expert speakers to discuss:

• Setting Realistic Resolutions for a New Year
• Tactics for Getting my Offerings into Corporate Environments
• Practical Tips for Producing Promotional Videos from Home

Recordings of all past events are posted into the Resources section of the Members' Pack – an online private area of the website featuring business, mindfulness and creative worksheets, links and connections, as well as money-saving discount codes and special offers from members and third parties – so if you can't make the live event you can still benefit form the nuggets of value.

Next post

In my next post highlighting the best of 2022 at creativityfound.co.uk, you can find out how Creativity Found has helped promote the brilliant work of our members.

Subscribe to the Creativity Found mailing list to hear more about what this fabulous community is up to by clicking here. 

Creativity Found Collective

The Creativity Found Collective is a membership for artists and crafters who share their creative skills with grown-ups through workshops, online courses, products or subscriptions. It is also a membership for business-support enterprises who use their expertise to help those artists and crafters to grow their businesses.

We promote their offerings on the website and connect them with a network of like-minded business owners. 

All of this is backed up by the Creativity Found podcast, in which I chat with grown-ups who have found or re-found their creativity later in life.

You can find out more about the Creativity Found Collective membership here.

And don't forget, you can subscribe to the mailing list here.