Side Hustle to Startup Creative
The future of business, according to Kaylene Langford
Kaylene Langford is a powerhouse of a woman! From growing her side hustle to being the founder of StartUp Creative, becoming an author with her book “How to Start a Side Hustle”, to now using this knowledge to educate the next generation of business owners through coaching and guest speaking, Kay has achieved some amazing things along the way.
We sat down with Kay to riff on all things life, business, AI and the future of where business is headed.
To anyone who is yet to know Startup Creative, what do you do and what inspired you to start?
I started StartUp Creative 11 years ago as my side hustle while I was working in a corporate job setting which at the time thought would be my dream career. About a year into the job I realised I wasn’t happy and it wasn’t what I expected. I started waking up with severe headaches each morning and after some scary doctors trips, brain scans and tests I got the all clear that I was fine but the experience was enough for me to take a step back and question what I was doing with my life. I knew that I had to make a change to my working life and that life was too short to waste away in a career that was making me miserable.
I hired a career coach to help me figure out my options. We worked on my skillsets, what I was good at, what inspired me and explored how that could look as a career. At the time I was reading a lot of self help books and biographies of inspiring entrepreneurs who were taking their ideas and making them a reality. Looking back on my career I knew that I had the ability to do the same and so I started StartUp Creative.
Today it is an online platform, podcast, workshops, events, business coaching, a book and a beautiful community that helps people to start and scale their passions into viable businesses.
Has your business, your vision or your mission shifted since you first started out? If so, how?
The format that I offer education, inspiration and my startup story has changed over the years but the core message was and still is today ‘your go to source for straight up business advice.’ It’s the tagline for our podcast and the guiding light to everything that I do. It reminds me when I’m writing, podcasting, coaching and giving talks to make sure we keep it real, relatable, creative and fun so that people leave inspired and educated to just start. There have been some failed ideas as to how we deliver this message along the way but it’s just taught me to go back to the core message and make sure it’s aligned to what we promised our community and keep showing up.
What’s been your biggest challenge in business so far, and how did you overcome it?
Like many I think the hardest thing about working for yourself is self motivation. It can be really hard working solo, trying to come up with ideas, manage all the platforms, details and bounce between content creation, offering services and pitching for collaborations. There have been many times when I questioned “why the hell am I doing this, it’s all too hard and it’s not working!” How I overcome it is always reaching out to friends, coaches, mentors or my fiance and asking for help and outside opinions. Often it’s worse in my head than it is in real life and by asking for fresh eyes on and bouncing solutions with someone less emotionally attached I can find a creative solution and new way forward, out of the funk. I’ve also learnt the hard way that sometimes trying to hustle through the mess isn’t the answer. Taking a break, going for a walk or to the beach, a gallery or a road trip is often the best remedy to creative blocks and limiting beliefs.
What is it that drives you to keep going when things get tough? What is your ‘fuel’?
Remembering why I started in the first place. I personally experienced the pain of the ‘untold story inside of me’ in Maya Angelou's words. The thought of going through life without giving it my all and following my desires is not something I’m willing to live with and I want others to feel confident in themselves to be able to chase their wildest dreams as well. If there’s anything I can do to support them in doing that and bringing their ideas to life then I want to be that person. I’m a massive extrovert and love hearing people's stories, it brings me to life and it’s even better when you can play a role in helping them to succeed in their own lives. Often when I feel stuck or uninspired I’ll write to be of service to others who might be feeling the same and or set up podcast interviews to remind myself what I’m good at and to share stories that matter.
What does success mean/look like to you? Has this changed since you first started out?
It’s definitely changed! When I started my goals were all about how much money I wanted to make, how many followers, likes, press features etc. Very self centered now that I look back on it. After a couple of years and nearly burning myself out chasing ever moving targets, I realised that the reason I started was to free myself from the so called ‘rat race’ of a 9-5. Success became about freedom for me. The freedom to take time off when I was sick or to see my family and be there for special occasions, to move quickly with inspired ideas, set my own prices, write what I wanted and change my mind if it wasn’t going to plan. It’s also about being happy and I’m very lucky to be in a beautiful loving relationship with the woman of my dreams who is a fellow hardworking creative, my biggest fan, support and life partner. Sometimes I joke that she’s not good for business because I feel like I have it all and there’s no need to strive for anything anymore haha
Is there one thing you’re most proud of in your journey so far?
Writing my book ‘How to Start a Side Hustle’ was pretty special. The opportunity came to me after 7 years of hustling and was a dream come true. I wasn’t expecting it but it came at the perfect time. I was looking for a file on my computer the other day and found the poorly organised folder with all the chapter drafts and outlines and WIP of the book and instantly as transported to the pain of being on a publishing deadline and the discipline and hard work that was required to write that book. I still don’t know how I did it but I think something just comes over you and you have no choice but to get to the end.
I’d also say that I built my first website on Squarespace 11 years ago on my broken 11 inch Macbook Air on the floor of my small apartment one Sunday evening. If you had told that younger version of me that one day Squarespace will ask you to run workshops for them I’m not sure she would have believed you. All the hustle she was doing and her willingness to never give up paid off in the end.
What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned that you wish you knew sooner?
Good things take time and there’s always a way. I was guilty of wanting the ‘overnight success’ and got impatient that things weren’t happening for me as quickly as others around me. But everything happens at the time that it’s meant to. You have to be in the game to get the opportunity and when you keep showing up and finding ways to stay in the game, inevitably the right doors open and your dreams do come true. Patience.
Where do you find inspiration for your ideas and creativity in business?
Everywhere. Funnily enough I often have some of the best ideas in the middle of the night. Years ago I stopped trying to force things or follow a certain path to success and instead started following my intuition and where I was inspired to go. Now I fill up on creativity and let the inspiration lead me when it’s ready. Books, galleries, live music, conversations, movies, songs, writing, bushwalking, road trips, being in the ocean, drag shows, delicious wine and cooking dinner while listening to a podcast.
What do you think are the most common thing/s brands tend to overlook when they’re starting out?
Clearly articulating their value and what problem they are solving or solution they are offering. It’s easy to come up with an idea you want to bring to life but if there isn’t an audience of people willing and able to invest in what you have to offer then it won’t be viable. Start with the customer in mind and think about how you can be of service to them.
How do you balance the demands of running a business with your own creativity, personal life/relationships and wellbeing?
I love a schedule. I always start my day with a morning routine, time for me to fill up my cup. It’s often exercise (tennis is my latest obsession), meditation, coffee, sunrises. Then I break my week up into time blocks. Tuesdays and Thursdays I work with my business coaching clients, Mondays and Fridays are for creativity and Wednesdays are often admin and meetings.
How do you feel about the whole ‘AI revolution’ that everyone’s talking about? Should we be concerned?
I’m cautious of it. I recently read the book ‘Careless People’ by Sarah Wynn-Williams who is a whistleblower from Meta. She spoke about some of the horrible things that happened behind the scenes during her time at Meta. It made me realise that as a society we so quickly jump on the latest thing and don’t stop to think about the implications of what we might be exchanging or letting go of to make way for that new technology and are we aware of the harms it may cause? I’m personally worried about the impact on the environment but think it also is an opportunity to be more human and lean into the beautiful emotions, relationships and connections that we get to have with each other.
What do you see as the biggest challenge right now for the small business owners in general? And how can we navigate it?
Perhaps burnout? I know for me I’m just getting over a subtle exhaustion post pandemic. So much changed so quickly and we had to ‘pivot’ in order to keep our businesses alive. I don’t think we’ve taken the time to process how hard and stressful that time was and how business has changed since, I know I haven’t at least. I think tapping out of the noise that keeps telling us what trends to follow, apps to download, content to consume can help create some calm and take back our power from the huge tech giants that need our attention. Life’s too short to have our heads stuck in screens consuming shallow content for hours at a time.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a business in 2025?
Just start! No better time than today. Do one small thing to take you in the direction of dreams. Hire a coach, build a website, tell a friend about your idea, anything that makes it real. Putting into the world gives it life and allows others to help you make it a reality. You don’t have to go it alone.
If you could be remembered for one thing in your business journey, what would it be?
People being inspired to believe in themselves and that anything is possible if they want it bad enough.
What are you most excited about in the future — either in life or business (or both)?
Getting married to the love of my life, one day becoming a parent and who knows, maybe even a second book - stay tuned.
Learn more about Kaylene and Startup Creative:
Website: https://www.startupcreative.com.au/
Instagram: @startupcreative
