Turning Passion Into Business: How Morgan Started Open Hands Creative with Self-Employment Assistance
Meet Morgan: From Passion to Playful Art Workshops
Creativity and human connection are two important factors in the life of Morgan Schaafsma, and together they became the bedrock of her thriving business.
Today, Morgan runs Open Hands Creative, a business that hosts art workshops helping people from all walks of life stretch their creative muscles in a relaxed, supportive environment. While her business continues to blossom today, like many small business owners, Morgan needed support to turn her passion into a structured plan, and that’s where Business Foundations’ Self-Employment Assistance Program came in.
The Challenge: From Passion to Business
Every great business starts with an idea, and while many entrepreneurs of the past chose to immediately spring into action, Morgan instead opted to build the foundation first, planning everything she would need to take her passion to market.
“Someone told me and my business partner at the time that you need to go do this course (Business Foundations Self-Employment Assistance). It’s really great to get your head in the right space before you walk into business,” Morgan shared.
Business Foundations helped Morgan forge the tools to build a foundation for long-term success instead of rushing into business without a plan. In fact, at the time she sought out the SEA Program, Morgan hadn’t yet come up with a name for her business.
“Everyone’s like, you should just start a business and see how it goes, but we’re planners. We really wanted to make that business plan, know that we’re on the right track, and zone into our niche. Even the name, Open Hands Creative, we didn’t have that before we walked into Business Foundations.”
The Solution: Business Foundations’ Support
By taking advantage of Business Foundations’ 12 months of mentoring, tools, and training, Morgan was able to transform her ideas into an actionable plan. This plan allowed her to understand the market she would be entering, and build a roadmap for growth.
“You come in with the idea that you’ve had for a while, and you do all of the market research to see if you’re on the right track. Maybe your idea is so big you need to focus on one section of it, or maybe it’s so small that you need to expand it. That all changes throughout the course, as it does throughout business.”
Business Foundations’ Self-Employment Assistance covers all of the key points new business owners need to consider, whether that’s the enjoyable things or the nitty gritty.
“Learning finances was a great insight, getting into how to make a budget and organise your cashflow, but also, like, the fun side of things: the logo, the marketing, all of that was really helpful.”
The Results: Open Hands Creative Today
Open Hands Creative launched with the help of Business Foundations’ Self-Employment Assistance Program, first offering art workshops for adults with a focus on creativity and community connection. Since then, things have continued to grow.
