How I Overcame Fear Starting a Calligraphy Business: Build Confidence & Make Money with Calligraphy as a Calligrapher

A question that I get asked a lot is “Dina, how did you start your business and how did you get the confidence to do that?” Many of you say that you’re really scared and that you need more confidence.

In today’s blog, I wanted to share some parts of my journey from when I first started my business and 4 tips to help you gain more confidence to start your calligraphy or creative business.

You can also check out the YouTube video I made on this topic here:

1.  Join A Community That Will Inspire You

When I first started my business in August 2018, I was part of a community called League of Innovators. This is a Canadian charity that helps young entrepreneurs start businesses. At the time I started my business, I was already volunteering for League of Innovators for quite a while. I would help organize and run events for these entrepreneurs. 

Through this community, I met a lot of people who were younger than me running their businesses either part-time or full-time. I was very impressed and inspired by all these people I met. For the longest time, I believed that being an entrepreneur was something that other people outside my bubble did. 

This changed as I started meeting people who were running their own businesses and I began to believe, “If they could do it, then I could do it too!” This is how I got inspired to start my business. 

This community was also the first group of people that I told about my business! Even though I was super scared to tell them at first, I knew that they would be super supportive.

If you’re a calligrapher wanting to start on your calligraphy business, but don’t have a community around you, I'd recommend joining my Facebook group with over 600 members. We ask questions, help each other with problems, and support one another along the way!

2. Do Something Rather Than Nothing

The second tip I have for you is to do something rather than nothing. I know how it feels when you have a lot of ideas, but you don’t know where to start. Well, while there’s a lot of things you can get started on, my suggestion is to not get stuck or freeze up in overwhelm and not do anything. This is what actually ends up killing businesses. 

Something I’d encourage you to do is start an Instagram page for your calligraphy business. As you continue to practice your calligrapher, you can share about your journey with your friends and family. If you don’t like something you posted, you can always go back and delete the things you don’t like.

Check out this blog post I wrote about growing your Instagram following on your calligraphy business account.

If you want some ideas on some ways you can make money with calligraphy, I'd recommend that you watch this YouTube video:

3. Start Small

The next tip I have for you to be able to build confidence and overcome your fears is to start small. Whenever you are thinking about starting a big project, you can try to test out your idea in a small way.

When I wanted to start hosting workshops,  I quickly became overwhelmed and didn’t know if I could do it. Instead of going all out and booking a location, I actually just invited 2 friends to my house and taught them calligraphy. I bought two pens at the store and taught them the basic strokes and letters. 

Or, let’s say you want to become a wedding calligrapher. Something you can do is ask a friend who is getting married or is engaged if they want to have calligraphy at their bridal party or wedding. If this is the first project you’re doing, you can always do it for free. Get the feel of what it’s like to do wedding calligraphy for a client and see what the response is!

You can read this blog post I wrote if you're still struggling to attract clients to your business here.

4. Believe In Yourself and Know That It’s Possible To Achieve Anything You Want

Lastly, if you’re still unsure if you can do this or become successful, know this: You have to believe in yourself first, especially when you’re starting something new, like a business. If you tell people that you’re starting something new, their response might be really great or they might question why you’re doing this in the first place. 

That being said, you really need to believe in yourself first. I believe that you can do anything you want if you put in the effort, work smart, and if you have the right resources.

Have the possibility in your head that things can work out, try out these small steps, and get started.

If you’re looking for more guidance on how to start a calligraphy business, check out my 6,000+ word article How To Build a Calligraphy Business from Scratch, or my other blog post that outlines 6 Easy Ways to Start Making Money with Calligraphy.

If you found this helpful, you’re going to find a lot more resources in my free Facebook group for calligraphers, where I’ve done more than 15 trainings on topics related to growing a calligraphy business. Join today and get these 15 free in-depth trainings!

I’d love to hear what you thought about this blog post in the comments! Was it helpful? Do you have any questions?