What I Learned from Being on CreativeLive

Last week, I did something kinda crazy and outside my comfort zone.

I willingly subjected myself to being filmed live and while wearing a mic pack for a CreativeLive class, that’s broadcasted live and watched around the world.

Now, although I have a broadcasting degree and have been around TV studios and live broadcasts (I used to do studio camera for the news), I am way more comfortable behind the camera. You know what I mean?

I’m an introvert. Ok, there, I said it.

Part of me would have been more comfortable watching it online in the comfort of my home.

When I heard that April Bowles-Olin of Blacksburg Belle was teaching another CreativeLive course, I knew I had to be there! She is such a talented and gifted teacher when it comes to teaching creative entrepreneurs about business and marketing.

Despite being scared and not comfortable being in front of the camera (the studio audience is filmed), I went anyway…  to meet April in person and to connect with the other creative entrepreneurs in the audience, half of which I already knew from online.

Plus, the CreativeLive studio is in San Francisco and I live nearby and April encouraged me to apply to be in the audience. And I had childcare. I had no excuse, really.

I was super excited but nervous at the same time that I didn’t sleep the night before. But by the 3rd day, I felt at home in the studio.

It was a honor to learn from April in person and it was a privilege to be mic’d. There were only 5 mic packs and 15 audience members.

I was able to ask questions a lot easier while wearing a mic. And ask questions I did. You’ll see me asking a lot of questions throughout the course.

Although I thought I felt awkward at the time, being filmed. When I watch it now, I look fine. I was nervous about nothing.

On the first day, I nervously walked into the kitchen, a large cold room with lots of windows, natural light, TV screens, and two long wooden tables. It was full of people I had never met in person and everyone was engaged in conversation.

It was a little intimidating but as I approached, it seems like everyone already knew who I was. It was a surreal experience!

If you watch the workshop, our audience was relaxed and we had a lot of funny moments. There was a family atmosphere of love and camaraderie and it came across during filming.

All in all, I met some really good people from all over the country (and Canada), and learned SO much to improve my blog and business.

Being in the audience at CreativeLive was an amazing experience that I’ll never forget and would love to do again in the future.

What I Learned:

1. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.

I did. I went and did something scary but it ended up being the best experience ever.

2. Take care of those who already give you attention (your fans).

I have to focus more on you and what you need and not worry about not having enough followers/fans.

3. Know what kind of experience you want your customers to have and create it.

I want you to feel that I’m helping you, for real. So I will reach out more to find out what you need and how you can get on track with your finances.

4. You can be successful even if you don’t have a lot of fans/followers.

This is HUGE for me. I’ve felt a little inferior compared to other bloggers. Quality over quantity is more important.

5. You don’t have to be a graphic designer to design your ebook cover or create cute designs.

April showed us during the course how she designs her own cover art and layout for her ebooks using Illustrator and InDesign. I always shied away from Illustrator because I didn’t think I could design. I thought it was too complicated.

However, after watching April do it and she’s not a designer, I was inspired to try. And I did! I totally started designing patterns for my next product. OMG! Now I don’t have to use other people’s designs. The sky’s the limit.

I will be working on my new digital product, a topic that a lot of you have asked about – meal planning. Look out for it next year.

About CreativeLive

CreativeLive offers free online classes on money and life, photography, videography, music production, making money with art, and business. When you watch live, it’s free.

What makes them unique is that they get the best of the best people to teach these classes. Anne Geddes, the famous photographer, taught a course recently!

The two workshops I attended were Create Digital Products That Sell While You Sleep (watch me in segment 13!) and Make Your Brand Uniquely Irresistible.

I also want to thank them for mentioning me in their blog!