Building our Creator Habits!
A short introduction on why I'm launching Creator Habits...
Welcome to the first issue of Creator Habits! Here’s a little story of why I’m building this.
Why Creator Habits?
It’s a pretty well-worn saying that failure teaches us more than success, but even this well-worn and scientifically backed expression has a caveat: failure teaches us more than success if we actively, deliberately learn from that failure. I started Creator Habits not because I am a successful creator - but because there’s no better way to learn than to study & write in order to determine the strategies that have and haven’t worked.
Creator Habits delves into the science and psychology behind the challenges creators face (mindset), looks at opportunities and systems for growth (tactics), and shares the advice that up-and-comers are using to turn their hobbies/ thoughts/ output into a meaningful way of life (expertise).
About My Creator Journey
Three years ago, I had my first taste of being a podcast producer. I had been designing and launching products for a decade, but podcasting seemed to bring together skills and interests that I’d ignored since college. From storytelling and listening, to interviewing and writing, I started to remember what it felt like to have a voice that wasn’t hiding behind the product scenes (or screens for that matter). I became more and more convinced that being vocal and visible wasn’t just important for someone like me - a new entrepreneur - but was becoming table-stakes in our changing economy. On weekends, when advising small businesses, I couldn’t help but notice that the most successful business owners used their personal stories as a point of differentiation and as a means of building a loyal audience even when they couldn’t compete with newly emerging, VC-funded competitors.
But even as I noticed the power of visibility for others…I struggled to stay consistent for myself…I was used to hiding in a product building hole, and there was nothing harder or more cognitively taxing than taking the time to tell my own story. In the last 2 years, I’ve been experimenting with how to become a better entrepreneur by building in public, how to manage the fears, anxieties, questions that come up while creating and how to use science and creativity to guide my process. It hasn’t been a perfect or linear path, but it’s allowed me to dip my toes into writing regularly, into monetizing my knowledge, and into leading a community for new creators. I’ve found myself exploring and synthesizing psychology concepts that help people like me - people who want to be more visible - access more tools and systems.
Guiding Principles
This newsletter is an extension of this learning journey. It’s built on two core beliefs:
Everyone can be a creator because everyone has something valuable to share (though it takes time, practice and systems to cultivate that value), and:
Being a creator is a more egalitarian form of entrepreneurship. It is a path without traditional gatekeepers and one based on cultivating a community built on trust.
These two principles: how to encourage anyone to be a creator and how to navigate the emerging structures of monetization to build sustainable creator-led businesses, are core to this newsletter. They are the mindset and the tactics, and they are what I am hoping to explore in subsequent issues.
So stay tuned! Next week, I start with some of the building blocks that enable creators to stay consistent and iteratively improve. In the meantime, if you have any thoughts, questions, suggestions, or just good cheer, feel free to reply to this newsletter. I aim to read and respond to every one!
Finally, I’m so glad to have you on this journey with me. If you feel inclined and want to expand this circle, feel free to use this handy little tweet I crafted to spread the word.
Sending you my best,
Alina
Congrats on the launch, Alina!