5 Things I Wish I Could Tell My Creative Friends
Prefer to watch instead of read? You can find a very candid video version here.
1. Financial & digital literacy are not optional.
“Getting rich is a form of protest” —this is one of my favorite quotes from Tori Dunlap.
It is difficult to fight without freedom, and besides the blessing of great health, wealth is the thing to give you that freedom. Not an unrealistic amount, by the way, but a comfortable amount. An amount that makes you feel comfortable.
If you want to make more money, Financial and Digital Literacy can’t be treated like optional learning. They should be prioritized like reading and writing.
On a Financial note: I missed out on so much money because I convinced myself cash on hand was necessary, but I was operating out of fear. It wasn’t until I put idle cash into a High Yield Savings Account and earned interest that I realized things could be paid with just interest earned.
In the same way I lost money over the years on credit card interest, I could earn money on savings interest. Holy Jesus. Why did it take me so long to realize this.
Learn how to save money, what accounts are good for what (IRA, High Yield Savings, Brokerage, etc), and what tax structures make sense for you. Check this every year or two with an accountant.
On a Digital note: learn what a domain name is, what website hosting means, how to host your own Zoom room or Google meeting, how to properly prompt ChatGPT, schedule a LinkedIn post, and take a good screenshot. I hate to tell you this, but these skills are not going anywhere soon.
2. Your digital presence matters.
I know you wish it didn’t. I know you want LinkedIn to be plenty and who cares about owning your own domain name, but you’re wrong. A digital presence isn’t everything but it is so much more than you think. You know how you Google the people you are interviewing? Or want to hire? Or invest in? Or date? Yeah, everyone else is doing the same to you, friend.
3. Your life is happening now.
It’s not happening three years from now. It’s not happening tomorrow. It’s happening today. If you’re not happy, you’re the only person responsible for that. Take a tiny step in a new direction and trust yourself to figure it out. You are not helpless and you’re fucking getting older, so do things now.
4. Leaders share their opinion.
Sorry, I know it’s easier to hide behind the screen and stay quiet in the meeting and ignore all the opportunities to show up at any table of influence, but nobody is going to take you seriously if you don’t share what you think. It could be by presenting or posting or publishing––but it needs to happen if you want to be considered a leader. Of course, be thoughtful about what you say and know you might be wrong sometimes, but the benefits far outweigh the risk here. Leaders don’t just think; they share what they think.
5. Let them underestimate you.
When I owned my coffeeshop in 2014, I’d work behind the bar now and then. People would come in and ask me questions about the owner, never for an instant thinking that owner could be me: a twenty-something brown young woman. It was so amusing to just go along with it, and when they would inevitably see my picture on the Business Journal front page framed behind me, they’d stutter an apology. It’s okay if they underestimate you; let them. Their opinion doesn’t define you. Plus, it’s all the more fun when you prove them wrong.
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