Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ceri Hand, a certified life and business coach based in Derby, Derbyshire, UK.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We help creatives overcome their fears, make an impact, and earn more money doing what they love. Our clients achieve incredible results through our tried and tested coaching and mentoring programmes, online courses, workshops, talks, and subscriber events.
Our ARTIST clients have gone on to win arts prizes, secure solo shows in dream galleries, generated double figures from art sales, sold work to major collections, and landed book deals.
Our CREATIVE PROFESSIONAL clients have landed top roles in internationally renowned arts institutions, charities, and government and won awards, pitches, funding, sponsorship, and press.
We’ve also established a generous community and network that fosters creative collaborations and shares knowledge, tools, contacts, and opportunities. We’re building on this and launching a pioneering CREATIVE COACHING COMMUNITY in 2023 with a roster of amazing arts industry players on board to help mid-career artists take their work to the next level.
Tell us about yourself
I’m lucky to have worked with some of the most inspiring and renowned creative people in the world. I’ve supported thousands of artists to take creative risks, produce amazing work, and generate press, prizes, and sales. I’ve curated hundreds of exhibitions, recruited and managed teams, and run artist-led spaces, commercial galleries, arts institutions, magazines, archives, residency programmes, and festivals. There’s not much about the creative process I haven’t experienced first-hand. I’m now a certified life and business coach, and I’ve coached and mentored hundreds of creatives from across the globe.
I know the challenges creatives must overcome to succeed, and I know that having great ideas is just the start of the creative journey. I established Ceri Hand to provide creatives with the knowledge, confidence, and support they need to make significant changes in their life and career. I’m motivated by the potential of people and what incredible things can happen when limiting beliefs don’t stand in our way.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
To have helped thousands of people make significant positive changes in their lives.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
The right mindset required to be a business owner and leader is fundamental, as it can be a rollercoaster of emotions, and resilience building is a continual process.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Get a coach! Seriously, I have one, and you need an objective, critical friend who can help you overcome the limitations of your own thoughts sometimes. It can save weeks of wasted energy!
- Expand your network to include people who are further down the line than you. You are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with, so it’s important to find your entrepreneurial inspiration and champions.
- Love your clients and customers. The more you get to know them, what their pain points are, and how you can address them, the more your business will grow. A small, engaged, committed audience or client base is gold dust, so start small and grow from an authentic place.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.cerihand.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cerihandltd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cerihand/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cerihand
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cerihand/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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