This week, we’d like to share the incredible story of Catherine, a recent participant in Impact Arts’ Create Thrive Enterprise programme.

Catherine is a highly talented writer who is starting her own business and she was kind enough to write a guest post for us about her experience and journey with Impact Arts.

In this guest post, you’ll learn about:

• Catherine’s story and background
• Being a writer with a dream
• Discovering a new opportunity
• What Catherine learned during Create Thrive Enterprise
• Her favourite thing about the programme
• The benefits of mentorship
• Her exciting plans for the future
• And much more

Read and enjoy!

Catherine’s story

My name is Catherine, and I can now confidently say that I’m a writer.

Before I joined Impact Arts’ Create Thrive Enterprise programme, I wouldn’t have introduced myself this way.

I’ve been writing all my life, and I’ve spent many years lying awake at night, dreading the prospect of going to a job I hate the following morning, imagining what my life would look like if I could turn my hobby into a career. I went from job to job, never finding any sort of fulfilment, and struggled to keep going.

Eventually, I decided to take a break from regular employment to focus on caring for my gran, as well as making an attempt to turn my love of writing into something more.

Almost immediately, I realised this was going to be much easier said than done.

A writer with a dream

I come from a typical working-class family, in which my mum is the only person to have gone to university (which she did later in life whilst working full time).

At school, the idea of becoming a writer was never proposed as a viable career path. I didn’t know a single person who knew the first thing about the writing industry. My great-uncle John had written books many years ago, but having died of motor neurone disease when I was 12, he was no longer around to help me. In short, I had no idea where to begin, and no one I could turn to for guidance.

I began writing as often as I could, in a wide variety of forms.

• I wrote a few chapters of a fiction novel, but I found myself becoming disheartened with it because I had no idea if it was any good, having no one around me with any writing experience to read it.
• I started a blog, but I felt I was muddling along without knowing how to make it look good, or how to get people to actually read it.
• I wrote tons of poetry, some of which I submitted to competitions, but I didn’t get very far.
• I wrote articles that I would have liked to see in newspapers, but I didn’t know how to get them there. I hadn’t a clue how the world of publishing worked, let alone how to manage to get anything published.

I was beginning to feel like I was wasting my time. What use was all this writing if no one ever got to read it? How could I manage to turn this into a career when I didn’t know the first thing about this industry? Was it unrealistic to think I could ever make any money doing this?

It was approaching Christmas, and I decided to rethink my plans in the beginning of the new year. I felt so disappointed, but I couldn’t see how to make it work.

Discovering a new opportunity

During the Christmas holidays, I was reading my local newspaper, The Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser. In it was an article advertising a programme beginning at the start of January called Create Thrive Enterprise through an organisation called Impact Arts.

I had never heard of Impact Arts, but the article said the programme was for unemployed creatives from North Lanarkshire in the early stages of their career, and it mentioned being open to writers.

It gave details of what the course would entail including:

• training tailored to equip participants with the skills to work as a creative freelancer
• a mentoring programme
• an SCQF Level 4 qualification
• a grant to help set up a business
• and two weeks of paid work placement within the industry.

I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It felt as though this had been sent to solve the problems I was facing. With training, I could learn how to become a freelance writer. With a mentor, I could get the support and guidance I had been lacking. I could gain a qualification to boost my CV. A grant would allow me to take on some extra tuition I felt I needed to improve my practice and set myself up. And a work placement would allow me to meet people within the industry for the first time.

Part of me felt scared to try something so new. What if it wasn’t meant for people like me? What if they didn’t think I was good enough? What if everyone there knew what they were doing, but I didn’t? I thought about my great-uncle John. He had managed to have books published, and he had always had such faith in my abilities. I decided I had nothing to lose, and I sent my application.

Enter: Create Thrive Enterprise

As a writer, I’m not often lost for words, but I’ve found that I don’t have the words to express just how glad I am that I sent that application.

It is not an exaggeration to say that it has changed my life.

Upon arriving for our first meeting as a group, I felt really nervous. I had absolutely no idea what to expect, but I was relieved to find that the atmosphere was very relaxed and supportive.

We spent time getting to know each other, and I discovered that everyone else felt just as nervous as I did. Lily, our course coordinator, did a great job of putting us all at ease. Within the first week, we all felt comfortable enough to share our work with the rest of the group.

The feedback I got was such a boost to my confidence, and I discovered that I was embarking on this course alongside a bunch of incredibly talented creatives.

Although we varied widely in age and creative practice, we found we had plenty in common and, over the course of the programme, we came together to form a supportive and encouraging unit for each other.

This was an aspect of the course I don’t think I expected; I hoped to make friends, but I underestimated how beneficial it could be to have a group of people behind me on this journey, all with similar experiences to my own and each bringing their own knowledge and expertise to the table, ready to offer inspiration and help wherever possible.

What I learned during Create Thrive Enterprise

Each week, we gathered for two days of learning, covering a vast range of subjects including how to:

• handle finance
• file self-assessment tax returns as self employed creatives
• keep track of our incomes and outgoings
• manage business bank accounts
• create invoices
• set our pricing and much more.

We learned how to set up a website for our businesses, as well as how to market ourselves on social media. We also had training in evaluation, safeguarding and risk assessments. We learned all about community arts projects; how to set up and run workshops, prepare project briefs and write funding applications. We had workshops in confidence, mindset, wellbeing and overcoming imposter syndrome, which made a drastic difference to my belief in and my approach to my practice. We got to know so many experienced and talented professionals in these areas, and we were provided with invaluable materials that we are able to refer back to in future.

We also had a day of training in emergency first aid, gaining a certificate, as well as being supported and funded to gain current PVG certificates to allow us to work with vulnerable groups.

Aside from how good all of this will look on my CV in the future, I learned such a great deal from these training sessions.

Much of the content covered topics I had never had any introduction to before, and probably would never have been able to figure out on my own. I initially wondered if a few of the sessions would be relevant to me, but I quickly discovered that there was always something useful to take away from it.

The sessions were so varied, I found myself feeling excited about what we would be learning next. It gave me a much stronger understanding of what goes into the building of a business, as well as the day-to-day running of it, and how to market and diversify my skills.

I think I found the training in mindset, wellbeing and overcoming imposter syndrome the most beneficial though, as it allowed me to recognise the pattern I had previously been in of burning myself out, or giving up when things felt too difficult.

I realised everyone struggles with imposter syndrome to some degree, there are methods to overcome it, and it’s just as important to celebrate the effort you put into a project as it is to celebrate the outcome.

My favourite part of the programme

One of my favourite activities we took part in happened at the very beginning of the programme. We were all given a piece of seeded paper (wildflower seeds are contained within the paper itself) and told to write a letter to our future selves, explaining how we felt in that moment, what our dreams were for the future and what we hoped to gain in the following few months.

These letters were then posted back to us towards the end of the course, and I found it so moving to reflect back on how far I had come. I felt so much closer to achieving those dreams. The worries I had at the beginning had dissipated so quickly. And I was so proud of all I had achieved so far.

I plan to plant my little letter in my garden when the weather cheers up, so that I can watch the wildflowers blossom in time with my new business.

Benefits of the mentoring scheme

One aspect of the programme I found massively helpful was the mentoring scheme.

Each participant was matched with a mentor who had experience in something similar to their practice, with mine being the writer and director Sandy Thomson. I met with Sandy every week, and we chatted about everything from publishing, books and writing, to what shape I want my practice to have in the future, how to juggle working on a self employed basis with a busy personal life, and how to turn my business idea into a real career.

Not only was she a fount of knowledge on so many topics, she took the time to read some of my work and gave me fantastic advice, as well as instilling a confidence in my practice that I sorely needed. I felt she really understood me, and each week she sent me on my way with various questions to answer which were very helpful in figuring out what I wanted, what mattered to me and how to really make my career work.

I feel so lucky and grateful to have been given the opportunity to work so closely with someone as talented and successful as Sandy, and I know the things she taught me will stay with me for the duration of my creative career. I can honestly say that without Sandy, I wouldn’t have the belief that I now have in my ability to launch my business.

Getting a paid work placement

The final part of the programme involved each of us undertaking a two-week paid work placement within our chosen industry, which has been absolutely fantastic.

We were supported in sourcing these placements, and I found the process of putting myself out there and creating industry contacts really beneficial. It’s given me the confidence to approach people and sell my skills, as well as introducing me to many different avenues I could go down in the future. I spent some time working in my local library, which taught me not only about literary events and groups in my community, but also about what makes creative fiction popular, as well as the very interesting inner workings of the library itself.

I’ve also had several meetings with some very talented journalists, with whom I’m now planning to do some work. I got to know the lovely staff at Glasgow Zine Library, learning all about how the organisation works, what events they have going on and how to self-publish my own work in a zine format in the future. They also gave me some fantastic tips for my writing going forward.

The final part of my work placement involves the writing of this blog post. That means, if you’re reading this, I’m so proud to say that something I’ve written has finally been published somewhere for people to read.

It has felt so good to have been supported in getting back into working, as well as being given the chance to work within the creative community. Without Create Thrive Enterprise, I know this wouldn’t have been possible for me.

My plans for the future

Thanks to Create Thrive Enterprise, I now have a well-rounded business idea, as well as the tools and knowledge to make it succeed. I plan to launch a business called ‘Cat’s Got Your Tongue’, through which I provide speech writing services for weddings and events.

Having got married last year, I know how much work goes into writing a wedding speech, and I believe that with my skills I can help people to turn those speeches into something truly special. I hope to do this alongside my creative writing, and I feel able to also undertake freelance writing projects now too. I feel like I have such a brilliant foundation of knowledge going into this venture, and I feel so much more confident and prepared for what the future brings.

End of programme reflections

At the start of this programme, I felt so nervous. I lacked confidence in my abilities, and I felt lost as to how to take my practice forward. I knew no one else who worked in the writing industry, and I didn’t know how to begin setting up a business.

The whole concept of the programme was completely outside of my comfort zone, but it’s taught me that you’re far more likely to regret the things you didn’t do than the ones you did.

John A. Shedd said, “A ship in harbour is always safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”  I feel like that wholly encapsulates the journey I’ve been on through this programme. It would have been much easier not to take a chance on something so new, but I would have missed out on an experience which will enable me to take my life in directions I never thought possible.

Sandy taught me that bravery often feels like fear, and I’ve truly learned that incredible things can come from taking a chance on something brand new.

Would you like to join Create Thrive Enterprise?

To anyone else considering enrolling in the Create Thrive Enterprise programme, I would say do it!

It won’t be half as scary as you think, and you will gain so, so much. Every single person has been lovely and helpful, and you’ll be supported every step of the way.

Our course coordinator Lily was on hand the whole time to help us however she could, and she did a fantastic job. This opportunity can enable you to do things you never thought you could, and it will help you grow as a human being. It really is open to everyone, and I can’t express just how much knowledge you will gain.

I am so incredibly grateful to everyone I’ve met who has helped me along the way, and I truly hope that every person who finds themselves unsure of how to turn their creative practice from a hobby into a career has the opportunity to take part in Create Thrive Enterprise.

Impact Arts are a phenomenal organisation that really are changing lives, and they absolutely deserve every penny donated to them. I can honestly say that each donation goes towards making such a huge difference, and it is all so greatly appreciated. I plan to pay it forward and donate to Impact Arts when my business takes off, which I have total confidence in thanks to Create Thrive Enterprise.

(If you believe in the power of art to change lives, make a donation to Impact Arts today.)

This time last year, I would have dreaded the inevitable question about what I do for a living when meeting new people. I was ashamed of telling people I was unemployed, and I lacked the confidence in my abilities to explain my dreams. Now, thanks to Impact Arts, I look forward to being asked this question. I feel I have so much to look forward to, and I’m so excited about what the future of my career will bring.

I can now, with confidence, say that my name is Catherine, and I am a writer.

Thank you so much to Catherine for sharing her moving and inspirational story! The whole team at Impact Arts is so thrilled that Catherine had such a great experience on this programme. Please follow Catherine on Instagram and support her work: @catsgotyourtonguescotland.

Find out more about Create Thrive Enterprise and how you can join