During the first semester of this course, I have learned a lot about myself as a creative and what it will take to build a brand and business. When I first started, I felt like a fish out of water. I had no clue what to I was doing. Everything just seemed impossible but over the days and weeks everything began to sink in, and I began to understand what was being asked of me.  

​

We started out by doing industry research. I really enjoyed doing this and I was able to look at the makeup industry from different perspectives not just the creative side but the business side of things. By doing this I was able to do a SWOT analysis of the industry and from there look at what I want my overall goal to be as a creative entrepreneur. I know that I want to work as a freelance makeup artist doing wedding, fashion and editorial, the question is how am I going to get there?  

​

I am currently working with a graphic designer to create a brand logo/identity. We have been in conversation about colours and styles, and I am just waiting for her to get back to me with the final design. I have been posting on my social media, but not a lot. For a long time, I have felt a lack of passion when it comes to creating looks and posting them on social media. I think with me studying the subject for so long I just felt a bit jilted almost and needed a break. Starting 2024 though I have made more of an effort to post on a regular basis and get back to where I was with using social media. I have yet to create a LinkedIn profile, I wasn't aware it was a vital part of this class to show networking. For makeup artists, we are quite a close-knit community, everyone knows everyone type of thing. Using something like LinkedIn would be good if you're looking for a job with a brand and working on makeup counters. A lot of people within the makeup community see this sort of job as death to your creative freelance career. It is something that I am going to sign up for and work on and see if I can use it to my advantage and put myself out there to brands, photographers, magazines etc.  

​

We have done a lot of workshops with Bridge 2 Business where we have covered various subjects such as Branding, Social Media and Analytics, Confidence Building, Running a Business, Wellbeing, Pitching etc. I have done a separate page doing a reflection on each workshop. I have enjoyed them all and learning about the business side of things as before I just knew how to do makeup. Something that I have signed up for and will be starting on the 25th of January is the Female Boss program. It's aimed at women who want to develop and start their own business. I'm really looking forward to learning form people that have been in the same situation as me and then then learnt to become entrepreneurs that all have successful businesses.  

​

Over the next couple of months, I have 3 photoshoots in the work currently, working with other creatives in my class on various things. All have approached me to work with them and one is for my group project in another class. I am worried that I have not done enough work as a freelancer though. Up until the 6th of January I also worked a part time job as well as Uni full time, so this didn't give me a lot of free time and when I did have free time, I was working on my Uni work. I have since decided to leave that job though to focus on my career as a makeup artist and to focus on all my current projects. I'm hoping that now, that I have more free time I have the opportunity to work on my social media accounts to advertise my skills and knowledge. I will also have the chance to take on some clients. The issues that I will face is that I don't have set up somewhere that I can work on people. Some people have suggested that I set up a space at home and work from there, but this idea makes me uncomfortable. I want to be able to keep my home life and work life separate. I also have 2 cats at home so that would just not be the best place to do makeup with 2 cats running everywhere. So, for now I think I am just going to go to the clients and focus on my current projects and my social media as that all ties in with one of my other classes, where I am working on a business prototype. 

 

When we first started, we looked at mindset and Carol Dewick. After reading her book I felt like my perspective changed a lot. Before I was very closed off and not open to new thing. I was stuck in a box creatively and she really opened my mind to being open to all these new opportunities and just learning to go with the flow. 

​

Overall, I do think I am on track to complete this class to a good standard. I am happy with how everything is going so far. I know at some points, I will get stressed out and probably anxious but honestly, I think that is just part of a university students experience (not sure I can put lol but lol). If I stick to all my deadlines that I set for myself, I should be okay.