ep. 016 • 3 Tips to Increase Your Confidence And Creativity as a Henna Artist

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Chelsea Stevenson: Welcome to the Hennapreneur podcast - the exclusive podcast of its kind, dedicated to giving you an honest look at the reality of making a living as a henna professional. I'm your host, Chelsea Stevenson, professional henna artist and business strategist. I teach budding henna artists and seasoned henna pros alike how to build vibrant, profitable businesses doing what they love. I went from being the girl who could barely piece together a fluid design to being owner of the most celebrated henna boutique in my city and with years of experience growing my own business and helping others to do the same, I'm here to spill all the tea on what it takes to be a bonafide hennapreneur. Our show starts in just under 60 seconds, but first, here's a quick shout out to my sponsors. This episode is brought to you by my new free, on-demand training “The 5 Mistakes New Henna Artists Make (And How YOU Can Avoid Them)!”

Are you an aspiring henna artist or a henna enthusiast who has really big dreams about working with henna? Maybe you're struggling with sourcing quality henna paste or preparing it yourself is really more challenging than you expected. Perhaps you're curious about what it takes to work as a henna artist professionally or you think you might be ready to start taking clients, but you're just not sure where to start. If so, this training is for you. Inside of this training, I'm teaching all of the foundational information you must know about henna before you ever take your first client. I also lay out the basics of what henna is and how it works so that you can get started confidently working with henna moving forward. I teach you some really insightful tips about how you can protect yourself and your budding business from the very beginning with a number of best practices, and I'll outline the five most common mistakes that I see new and aspiring henna artists make so that you can get started without all of the hassle and the headache of falling into those traps. To register for the training and to watch it instantly on demand, you can visit hennapreneur.com/biggestmistakes. All right, let's get to the show.

Hey, hey hennapreneurs. I am so excited to be back with you again here in the year 2020, like, I don't know about you but it feels like I sneezed and the year 2019 just blew by. And to be honest, there is so there's so much that I found myself doing, changing, growing, experiencing in 2019 and so while I am glad to have closed the doors on that year, looking back, I am really amazed by all of the progress that I've seen personally, professionally and likewise. And so I want to thank you guys for coming along with me on part of that journey here on the hennapreneur podcast. Now for this episode, I am super excited. If you guys have been following along with me on Instagram, I've been asking in the stories a lot of questions about your goals and the things that excite you about 2020 and where you're going and how I can support you in that process. And what I found is that a lot of hennapreneurs are reaching out to me in the DMS, which by the way, y'all, it all goes down in the DMS. So if you ever feel like you've got a question or there's something that you'd like to run by, or if you just want to connect and say hello, never feel shy, you're always welcome to send me a DM. I love it. Um, but I've had a lot of really great conversations with different hennapreneurs across the world about their experiences as they're coming into the year 2020 and what their goals are and what they feel like is kind of getting in the way. And so to that end, today I want to have some conversation with you guys about something that I'm finding to be a recurring trend. And, um, and it's enough that I feel like we need to address it together. So why not, right?

So in today's episode, I'm going to be sharing with you a couple of ways that you can increase your confidence and your creativity in 2020. Now you might be thinking, "Okay Chelsea, I hear you loud and clear on like the confidence, creativity thing, whatever. But what does this have to do with growing my business?" And I'll tell you exactly the answer to that question. This is the thing, before you're going to feel motivated and capable and confident about making decisions in your business, especially as it relates to marketing, especially as it relates to showing up in your business, especially as it relates to putting yourself out there. You also have to feel confident about what you're doing and how you're doing it. And the truth of the matter is, many times if you feel less than confident, if you feel less than secure in who you are and what you're doing and how you're doing it, and if you're good enough, right, can we, can we go there? If you're feeling questionable about, if you're good enough, that's also going to stunt your, um, your interest, your ability, your capacity to show up 100% and represent your business in the way that it deserves. And so what's interesting to me is that I've been asking lots of questions and I've been starting lots of conversations about where you plan to go and where hennapreneurs, in general, plan to go with their businesses in the year 2020, and then I've asked questions about what do you feel like is getting in your way? And a lot of the feedback that I've received from many hennapreneurs on Instagram and on Facebook is, "It's my confidence. I'm not sure that I'm good enough. I'm not sure that I'm ready. I don't know that, you know, I'm in enough of a space that people are going to like me enough that they're going to purchase my services, that they're going to choose to hire me."

And to that end, I feel like, one, this is a very common thing. And so I— like, if you are a henna artist who has experienced that, maybe you're experiencing that now, or perhaps you've experienced it in the past, this is something that's very common. You know, as creatives, right? We are, as hennapreneurs, we are creatives and part of the challenge of our work is the perceived idea that in order to make a good living, in order to have a, you know, a successful business as a henna artist, in order to do all of the things, you have to be vetted by the public, right? You have to put yourself in the public arena and you have to give people the opportunity to judge you. And as artists, specifically, it's like we spend all the time creating art, creating beauty, creating these things, almost like birthing a baby, right? And then we put the baby up on Instagram and we say, "All right. World, tell me what you think about my baby." And that can be really scary. And if you lack the confidence to take that art, to take your skill, to take these things that you're creating and put them up and show up in these public spaces, to allow the public, yes, to judge you and yes, to decide if they'd like to do business with you, then you're not going to get business at all, right? I mean, if you never show up, if you, if you never are visible, then how will the people know that you're an option, right? So let's get down to the root of the problem because you guys know, for me, I don't mind taking on these challenges full, you know, full on. I think there are a number of ways that you can find yourself pushing through, pushing beyond, and ultimately moving beyond and overcoming the challenge of having low confidence in your work.

And so today I'm going to share three ways that I've found to be the most efficient for me in my experience. Now, I'll be honest with you, I've been doing henna now for a very long time. I started taking clients in 2011. And so, you know, going on a decade of working with henna professionally, there have definitely been times when I felt more confident than others. And when you get into that headspace where you do feel like, maybe I'm not good enough or when you start to compare yourself with other people's work or you know, whatever, that's where you start to also hide. And that's where you start to, you know, to choose not to go all the way in and to choose not to represent yourself and your business in the way that you and your art deserves. And so for me, there are a couple of different things that I have done over the years that have been very, very effective as it relates to breaking through that, that feeling of am I good enough? And also in terms of just increasing the confidence that I have as an artist, as an individual. And I'm sharing these things with you today. I hope that you'll find that in implementing them, they will also work for you. Now I'm going to be honest, these are techniques that I have mentioned in the past as well. And these are techniques that I teach my students. So if you work with me in any of my programs or if you work with me one-on-one, you're going to hear about these, about these techniques for sure at one point or another. So this is really me getting open and honest and vulnerable with you guys about my experience, but also about those things that might help you.

So the first thing that I'm going to say is, if you want to increase your confidence and increase your creativity as it relates to your working with henna as it relates to the technical aspects of, you know, design, creation, composition and so forth. The first thing that I'm going to recommend that you do, and people do not like it when I recommend this, but I don't care. The first thing that I'm going to recommend is that you go onto your Instagram, your Facebook, and wherever it is that you're hanging out on social media, and you immediately start to unfollow the accounts of people who make you feel less than. Why? Why do I recommend this? And why do I recommend this so adamantly? It's very simple. You have to protect your headspace, right?

And so when you go onto platforms like Instagram or Facebook, or if you're going into a henna group or whatever, right? And when you show up into those spaces and the only thing that you see are pictures of people's work or comments from other artists or conversations that make you feel like you are not good enough, if they don't inspire you, if instead they make you feel self conscious, then I strongly suggest hitting "unfollow". You have to protect your headspace. You have to protect the literal feelings that you have about yourself throughout the day. And so one of the things that has been very helpful for me was making that decision that, okay, I can be friends with a henna artist without following their business. Or I can, you know, I can have a relationship with a henna ar- you know, with other henna artists in my community without following along and seeing what they're doing. And honestly, for me, it's been incredibly impactful in a number of ways. The first being, of course, when you unfollow, you are inadvertently, of course, you're cleaning up, you're cleaning up your feed, right? You're cleaning up what's being placed in front of your, you know, your line of sight, if you will, as you interact and engage on social media. And in doing that, you'll only want to allow yourself, you're only going to want to allow yourself to be open to viewing things that make you feel good.

So if you see anything that makes you feel less than good, if you see anything that makes you feel less than inspired or that makes you feel less than anything, just unfollow. Honestly, just, just, just let it go. It doesn't matter if someone, if a— you know, if someone's feelings are so hurt because you've unfollowed them, that they, you know, they feel a way or whatever and they have issue with you or they take issue with you, then that's on them. But for you, you have to make it a priority to take care of yourself. And so one of the very first things that I recommend doing is unfollowing accounts that make you feel less than.

Now, not only does that help you in terms of confidence because you're not going to be, you know, consistently feeding yourself these feelings of inadequacy. But also this will help you in terms of creativity because when you are looking at what others are doing, you allow yourself the opportunity to create more freely and without so much influence from those around you. And this is something that I really, really love. I have to be super honest. I saw an immediate change in my business and I saw an immediate change, not only, not only in my business from the financial perspective in that I was feeling more confident after unfollowing, you know, those accounts that made me feel badly. Um, and so I started to show up differently on social media. I started to show up more authentically. That in turn changed and converted into more sales in my henna business. But also I started to find that my own design style began to kind of birth more easily from me when I was picking up the cone because I was, I was no longer feeling like, oh, so-and-so did that thing. I should do that thing, or so-and-so did this thing. I should do this thing instead. When I sat down to henna, I was only, um, I was only able to create from what came inside of me. And that, um, it almost is like a catch-22 in that once you start to build, once your creativity is sparked and you start to build things that are unique to you, then your confidence again grows, right? So one thing feeds the other.

So that's my first tip, is that, go ahead, go— first things first, go to your Instagram, go to your Facebook, unfollow those accounts, unfollow those people that make you feel less than or that make you feel like your work isn't good enough because that is, it's, it's only, it is only a hindrance to you, to your business, but it doesn't have to be.

Is 2020 the year that you launch your own 5-star henna business? If so, I want to take just a second to talk to you about the Accelerator by Hennapreneur. The Accelerator is a 100-day online program for high-aspiring henna artists who want to build a profitable business doing what they love — creating with henna. Whether you hope to start your henna side hustle on the right foot, make henna your full time career or even take your existing henna business to the next level, the Accelerator can help you in so many ways. Inside of the program, you'll have the hands on guidance of a 5-star, seasoned henna professional, AKA yours truly, helping you and supporting you every step of the way as you do things like clarifying the direction you're going in your business, identifying and maximizing your competitive edge in the market, developing your brand's unique aesthetic and culture, communicating with your target market effectively and with authenticity, designing a website that converts browsers into bookings, pricing and positioning your services for maximum profitability, establishing really sustainable business practices, and introducing things like automation to protect your time and your professional boundaries. See, the Accelerator provides you with both the targeted guidance and the invaluable support that you need to successfully launch a henna business that's both profitable and sustainable the first time around. You can learn more about the program, check out some additional details, see if you're a right fit, and get on the program wait list by visiting hennapreneur.com/accelerator.

Now, the second tip that I'm going to give you is that you do take the time to create before you consume. Now, what does that mean exactly? For me, I found that the most efficient time, for me, when it comes to creating, and that can be creating social media content, that could be creating designs with henna, that could be creating promotions in my business, all of these things, anytime I'm creating something, I find that I create the most fluidly and the most seamlessly and with the most authenticity when I do it before consuming from others. So literally, when you, um, when you get up in the morning, right? When you're fresh and you have no, you've not yet been influenced by anyone else's thoughts or feelings or moods or opinions or any of that, that's the time that, for me, is the most effective when it comes to creating. And so even for yourself, as you start to consider how you can increase your confidence in your work and increase your creativity as it relates to your designing and so forth, I want to encourage you to create before you consume from other people. So, literally, take the time to design, take the time to practice, take the time to do those things within your business that you know, that you need to do before looking to see what someone else is doing before asking the question of someone else, what they think about this or that or before reading that blog or before coming and listening to the Hennapreneur podcast, even. Do the things first. Create first, consume second. And then what you'll find is that the ideas that you come up with the notions that you have, even just when it relates to design composition and so forth, the things that come out of you will be more uniquely you. They'll be more from your essence, if you will, than they'll be from the influence of someone else. And as that really is, you know, tying that back to your confidence, the more you find yourself being capable of coming up with great ideas, the more confident you're going to be in your work and in your ability to do well as a business owner, okay?

So before you, you know, before you jump into the Facebook groups and before you go on to Instagram, before you start looking at whatever it is that you're looking at, create first. Create first. I think that this is really important for us because as creatives we are so influenced by the world around us. We, and this is by nature, right? Like, we see things, they inspire us. Anything from, you know, seeing that bouquet through the florist shop's window to seeing that pattern on the carpet of the hotel that you're visiting. We look around us and we see inspiration in so many different ways. And that is the beauty of being an artist, right? We can look at anything and take inspiration and then be able to create something that's brand new and something that's very exciting and that brings beauty to the world around us. And for that we're very blessed. But because we are creatives, we're also so much more susceptible to being influenced by those things around us because we just have, we have an eye for it, right? We have an eye for it, an ear for it. We take things in in a different way, I think, than other people do. And because we are so easily influenced by those things that are going on around us, it can be very easy for us to make decisions that we think are unique to us when actually they may be influenced by something else, by something that perhaps we didn't even intend to be influenced by at all. And so when, at least for myself, when I want to sit down and I want to create, I try to do that with as much blocking between me and the world around me as possible.

So literally, especially, you know, especially when it comes to, um, you know, creating new designs or when it comes to creating a new system in my business for example, I like to really kind of block myself out from everything else that's going on in the world around me. I, that's normally when you'll find that I'll go on hiatus on social media, you'll see that, you know, that's— those are the times that I just kind of kind of go inward, right? And I just kind of turn into myself and then I create the things and then after I've brain dumped everything out. If I'm, you know, jotting down notes on paper or if I'm even just, you know, working through that practice cone and getting it and getting new designs down on the practice board, I'm doing that first without the— without, as much as possible, without the influence of the outside world. And then once I've created, once that feeling, that need to create, has kind of left me and I feel like I've done my job, right? I've, uh, I've reached a new place. I've filled my cup even, right, with the expression of art or with the expression of new ideas, then and only then will I open myself up to the opportunity to consume content from other places. And that can be anything. This is not only related to consuming content as it relates to your business or, um, to henna designing, but even creating con— or even consuming content, rather, that's coming from other places. Um, like, you know, television or the internet or even just the everyday scroll on social media. I find that I'm significantly more effective when it comes to creating when I do that without having immediately consumed content from some other place first.

So I would encourage you in this, you know, in this second tip, to take the time, for sure, to create before you consume. That way you can find that, you know, that these things that you're creating are coming more from you and less from the world around you. And that, again, that kind of builds your confidence because when you look back and you think, "Wow, I really did that, that came— that was me, you know, that was me," that feeds something in you. And I think that that's worth paying attention to and being mindful of. Now the final tip that I have, the third and final tip is that you remove expectations. And this one is one that tends to be the most challenging, but this one is also what I feel to be the most impactful as well. So as hennapreneurs, obviously we are working with henna, one, because we enjoy the art but also because we want to have a business. We are looking for a monetary return, right? This is not like a nonprofit. We are working to make money. And the thing about working with henna, working with any art, honestly in exchange for profit is that sometimes, sometimes, the love, the passion for the art gets watered down or kind of falls out of our line of sight because we begin to focus so much on the revenue that we're generating. And I'm not saying that that's a bad thing. We should definitely, as business owners, we should be aware of what's going on in our business. We should be aware of what we did well that week that made sales go up or what we could have improved upon because we can see that, you know, fewer clients came in at this time. This is something for us to definitely always have on our radar. That's a part of running a sustainable business, right?

However, as artists, we also have to be cognizant of the fact that if we are detached from our art or if we lose the love for our art, then our creating becomes dry, right? And when we start to create it, it no longer feels rich. It no longer feels exciting. It no longer feels, you know, like, like a great experience. And our clients pick up on that. Like, we have to remember that also there is, and this sounds totally woo and I don't care. There is an energy exchange that takes place when we serve as our clients. This is an intimate art. We are in their space. We are touching their skin. We are having conversation. And so if you're only there and, and feeling very dry about the work that you're doing, your clients are going to pick up on that, for sure. And so one of the things that I have found it to really help me in terms of not only boosting confidence but also boosting creativity, is to remove the expectation of what my art can do for me, i.e., what income or what revenue my art is going to generate from me. And this can be challenging, especially if you are someone who's working with henna regularly.

Like for me, I work full time with henna and so I'm creating every day and I'm also creating with expectation every day, right? I'm creating with the expectation of being paid. I'm creating with the expectation of making sure that my clients enjoy their designs. I'm creating with the expectation that, you know, I'm offering a great customer service. All of these things, there's a lot of expectation now built around my art. So for me, in order to remove that expectation, I like to also be sure to make time, to dedicate time, not only to practice for the sake of practice, but to practicing for the sake of just reconnecting with my art. And I love to do this by removing the expectation of, these design have to be perfect. They have to, they have to sync up. The lines have to be, just so. You know, I don't even want, don't even want— when I sit in that sort of space, when I create from that space, I don't want there to be any expectation at all about what's going to come from me and end up on that practice board. It really is a matter of just letting my mind go free and create for the sake of creating.

You know, one of my favorite books is called Big Magic. It was written by Elizabeth Gilbert and inside of that book she describes how sometimes with creativity you can— having creativity, having a, having a passion, if you will, for your art, for your creative process, it can be like a love affair, right? Versus a marriage, right? A marriage over time, and this is so funny, like I— if my husband is listening, I got you, babe. But you know, with a marriage over time, you know, things kind of, you know, the relationship in ages. You go from having that puppy love to having a more mature relationship, a mature love. And when you get into that space, that's when people go, "Oh, but things were really starting to get boring." Right? That's a thing you guys. And then that's where you find that those partners will go off and they'll, they'll start to have their affair. And in that affair, why do people have an affair, in general? People have that affair because they're missing something. They're lacking something. They want that excitement, they want, they want. And that excitement will cause them to do stupid things. That excitement will cause them to make really rash decisions. But they do it for the thrill of that excitement. They do it for the thrill of that experience. And for us, our business is like our marriage, right? So when we first go in, we're very excited about our business and whatnot, but over the years that business starts to, it does, it becomes monotonous. You start to have the, you know, the regularity, if you will, of of the business operations of, okay, I'm going to see this client. I'm going to serve this client, I'm going to be paid for this, you know, by this client and then I'm going to move on to the next client. And it can begin to feel too mundane. It can begin to feel too routine and that's where you start to lose the love for your art. And what Elizabeth Gilbert goes on to say in her book Big Magic is that you have to protect your, um, your relationship with your creativity, your relationship with your art because it should be, it should be like having that affair, right?

So, sometimes, for some people that means taking a pause from business entirely, right? Sometimes that means, I'm going to take, you know, a week off and I'm not going to serve clients. I'm just going to create for the sake of creating. And for other people that might just mean making sure that you set aside 15-20 minutes to create every day in practice or just for yourself. Whatever that looks like for you, just know that it's important. The excitement about that affair with your art is that there is no expectation. In a marriage, in your business, there is an expectation. There is— there's the expectation of that customer service, of maintaining the profit, of making sure that everything is going smoothly. It— at that point it's no longer fun, right? There's a piece— there's always that looming piece of, this is work. You are expecting something back from your art. And sometimes creativity just requires the passion. Sometimes creativity just requires the love and the excitement and the thrill of, let's create for the sake of creating. Let's create just so that we can, we can see what we can make here. And that's where you allow yourself to be free and be uninhibited and try new things and do, again, people do really funny, quirky, unexpected things during an affair and you should have that time with your art. You should have that time with your creativity. Be free. Be free of judgment. Be free of, of fear even, and allow yourself to create just, you know, with wild abandon. So, for me, I've found that by removing the expectation from my art regularly, I not only do I see a boost in my creativity, but also I do find that there's a boost in confidence because you are reminded that you can create and you can create from a space that no one else can create from. You can create designs, concepts, et cetera. You can create in a way that is so unique to you that no one else in the universe would have been able to create that thing in the same way that you did. And that only comes about when you remove the expectation and you allow yourself to just be free with your art. So to just kind of wrap it up, right?

To wrap it up, my three tips for you, if you are looking— if you're finding that, listen, you know that 2020 is a big year for you and for your business. I know that you know that because you're here, you're listening to hennapreneur, right? So I know that you know that there are big things ahead of you for your business in 2020 and beyond that. And so here is where I want to challenge you. If you know that big things are on the horizon, then you also have to know that you're going to have to show up and do the work in order to achieve those things. But if you're going to show up and do the work to achieve those things, you're also going to have to feel good about doing it in the process. Because if you don't, you're only going to show up halfway. And if you're only showing up halfway, you're only going to get halfway results at best, right? So before you do the showing up, we want to be sure that you're feeling confident in yourself, in your ability, and that you're feeling confident in your own capacity from a creative standpoint, not only as a henna artist, but also as a business owner.

So in order to do that, we've got our three tips. The first unfollow those accounts, those feeds, those things, those people, those places that make you feel less than because it doesn't benefit you at all. In fact, it does you a great disservice. Number two, create before you consume. Take the time to create. Take the time to give yourself space to birth something fresh and new. Before you take a look at what anyone else is doing. Allow yourself that opportunity to create from a blank slate versus one that's been influenced or impacted by the world around you as much as possible. And number three, remove expectations from your art. If you are feeling dry about creating, then you need to take the expectations off of the table and allow yourself to have the love affair with your art. Have the love affair with henna. Have the love affair with your creativity versus placing the burden of, you have to make me money, you have to make me popular, you have to get me likes, on your art. If you always lay those burdens on top of your art, you will always find that your creativity will be stifled. Don't do that. Don't do that to your creativity. Don't do that to yourself. Remove expectations and allow yourself to create more freely and with that wild abandon that you and your art deserve.

So, with those three tips, I want to invite you to come and join me inside of the Hennapreneur community. Listen, if you are unfamiliar, we have a great community over on Facebook. You're welcome to join. You can find us in the show notes. There's a link. And I would love to hear from you what, maybe, challenges you've been experiencing with your own confidence in your business or with your own creativity in your business. And does any of this resonate with you at all? If so, jump over into the Hennapreneur community. I'd love to hear about your experience and I'd love to chat about what's worked well for you to start to push through these sorts of obstacles as well. All right, until next time.

Hey babe! I wanted to give you a quick thank you for tuning into the show today. That was super cool of you to hang with me all the way until the end. Of course, I've got all the links that you might need from this episode inside of the show notes that you can find at hennapreneur.com/podcast.

If you enjoyed the show and want to stay in the loop with Hennapreneur, be sure to subscribe to the podcast too. You'll get all of the new episodes as soon as they come out. I'd be so grateful if you'd take the time to rate or leave a review on Apple Podcasts while you're there. That tells iTunes that, "Hey! Hennapreneur is about something good!" and it helps us to reach more artists who would love the show. All right, that's all for today. I'll be back soon with another episode but for now, let's get back to work, hennapreneurs!