4 Places You Can Find Inspiration as a Solopreneur

The beginning of the year can be a weird time as a solopreneur, at least for me. 

In January it seems like all the girlies are enthusiastically jumping back into a routine, setting goals, and going full speed ahead on their ~ new year, new me ~ regimen. Meanwhile, I'm over here trying to find the motivation to string a single sentence together and write this newsletter.

During these sluggish months of winter I find that I have to dig deeper than normal in order to find inspiration for my work. I seek out different spaces to re-energize my creativity because I still have a job to do and bills to pay. 

If you’re in the same boat as me, I hope my methods will encourage you to discover your own or you can copy mine. Take what works, leave what doesn’t. 

Stand-up comedy. I’ve been a fan of stand-up since I had access to the World Wide Web. In high school I would watch Dane Cook bits on YouTube instead of doing my homework. The most talented comics (Jerry Seinfeld, for example) are the real pros when it comes to the art of storytelling. Listening to the rhythm of their tone and delivery helps inform how I try to approach my own writing. Watching a comedy special on Netflix is not unproductive, it's literally for work? My boss agrees. 

Walking. When I can’t find inspiration or hit a writing wall, going for a walk is the first thing I do to get unstuck. There’s just something about being away from my screens, seeing cute dogs, and experiencing other people being human out in the wild that refocuses my energy and sparks creative ideas. That whole thing about getting more Vitamin D really does work, alert the media.  

Practicing yoga. I know yoga isn’t for everyone and that’s okay, it works for me. The whole point of practicing yoga is staying present within your body, regulating your breathing, and paying attention to what the body needs. How does slow breath work help me write this newsletter, you might ask? It doesn’t. I practice yoga because it helps me refocus my energy when I’m stressed, anxious, or need a break away from staring at a computer for a living. It helps me make room to get work done because my mind and body are calm.

If that sounds too “woo-woo” for you, then I encourage you to try something that better fits your style like going for a run. Same concept, different method. 

Read a fiction book. Trust, I love a self-help read as much as the next millennial woman. But when I need inspiration for my writing I don’t want to think, I want to escape. Despite what you have been told, reading fiction books is not a waste of time and it’s not unproductive. In fact, it’s proven to spark creativity and imagination, which is why we read to young kids. The same is true for us. We don’t outgrow the need for escaping into an imaginative story as we become adults. Everything we do for marketing is a form of storytelling, and reading fiction makes you a better storyteller, a stronger writer, and a more empathetic person. That is literal science. 

As I started writing this I thought of all the other ways I turn away from my screen to inspire my work. I’m going to stop here because this is not a dissertation and I respect your time. Plus, I assume I lost most of you at slow breath work yoga anyways. 

If you made it down here, I encourage you to recognize what YOU need when you’re feeling unmotivated, tired, or uninspired. Give yourself grace. We don’t all need to be reinventing ourselves right now when nature is dark and cold.  

Like I said before, take what works for you and leave what doesn’t. I’m just a girl trying to find inspiration where I can, sue me.  

Xo, The Salesgirls