…But Thinking Bigger Feels Better
There’s this thing that happens when you’ve been running a creative business for a while. You settle into what feels manageable. Reasonable goals. Steady growth. Playing it safe. But what if playing small isn’t actually protecting you from overwhelm? What if thinking bigger… in a way that’s deeply aligned with your strengths, could actually feel easier and more fulfilling?
Go Big or Go Home
I want to share something that happened in a conversation I had just a few days ago. Someone I supported through The Base Notes late last year, Jo, a nutrition coach, said something that really stuck with me.
She was explaining how she’d been approaching her business. Waiting for people to book £300 consultations. Hoping someone would say yes. Sort of whittling around, as she put it. And she said to her partner, “I could just keep doing this. Or I could go big.”
And she is going big. She recently contacted a beautiful organic farm venue and proposed a whole day retreat. A completely different scale of thinking. And they immediately said yes… this is exactly where we want our business to go.
That phrase keeps coming back to me. “Go big or go home.”
Not in the hustle culture way. Not in the work-all-hours, sacrifice-everything way. But in the “what if I stopped playing it safe and built something that really excites me” way.
What I Keep Noticing
I’ve been having a lot of conversations lately with creative entrepreneurs who are stuck in this pattern. They’re working really hard. They’re competent. They have clients. But there’s this feeling of… is this it? Is this all there is?
They’re thinking about adding another service. Maybe increasing their prices a bit. Perhaps expanding to one more location. All very sensible. All very manageable. All very… small.
And underneath it, there’s this quiet dream they’re not saying out loud. This bigger vision of what they’d really love to build. But it feels embarrassing to even think it, let alone say it.
I completely understand that feeling. Because I had it too.
The Dream I Didn’t Dare Share
When I started my flower business, I was delivering weekly bud vases to local rural pubs. And from those very first days, I had this secret, enormous vision of where I wanted to go.
I dreamt of working with the brands that inspired me. The luxury names that represented the absolute pinnacle of design and creativity. Vogue. Major fashion houses. Creating work that would be seen by millions of people.
It felt ridiculous to even think it. Who was I, working from my kitchen table in the countryside, to imagine competing with established London florists? Who was I to think global luxury brands would want to work with someone who’d taught herself floristry from a book?
But I held onto that vision. I just learned very quickly not to say it out loud.
Because when you share an impossible dream, people get uncomfortable. They want to protect you from disappointment. They’ll say things like “be realistic” or “maybe start smaller” or “that’s a really competitive field.”
All said with good intentions. All completely missing the point.
Why We Keep Our Dreams Small
So we learn to keep our ambitions manageable. We set goals that feel achievable. Maybe double our income this year. Which sounds big on the surface, but can actually still be quite limiting. Maybe add one new service. Perhaps expand where we work geographically.
These feel safe. Reasonable. Like responsible business planning.
But here’s what I’ve been thinking about. When you aim for 2x growth, you think in terms of doing more of the same, just slightly better. You optimise what already exists. You make incremental improvements. You stay safely within your current capacity.
When you think in terms of 10x—or in my case, going from local pub flowers to working with major global brands, everything changes. You can’t just do more of the same. You have to completely reimagine what’s possible.
What Sustains You Emotionally
I had another conversation recently that really brought this home. Marta, an interior designer in Mallorca, said something I think about constantly.
She’d been listening to another podcast where someone talked about how your business doesn’t just sustain you financially. It sustains you emotionally.
And she realised: if I don’t address this, if I don’t really make my business work, nothing else will ever feel happy for me in my life. Of course I have my family who’s very fulfilling, but nothing else will quench that thirst for leading your own creative business.
A successful business will not only sustain you financially, but also as a person emotionally.
That completely stopped me. Because that’s what we’re actually talking about here, isn’t it? Not just making more money. But that feeling in your stomach when you’re creating something that genuinely excites you. That sense of purpose. That visceral excitement about the impact you’re creating.
When Playing Small Stops Working
Because here’s what happens when you keep your dreams manageable.
You’re working hard, but you’re not feeling fulfilled. You have clients, but you’re not creating the impact you know you’re capable of. You’re making money, but you’re not building towards anything that truly excites you.
And you start to think maybe you need to add more services. Maybe you’re not charging enough. Maybe you need better marketing. Maybe you just need to work harder.
But actually, maybe you just need to let yourself want what you actually want.
What Changes When You Think Bigger
So let me share what actually happened with my impossible dream.
I didn’t tell people about it. But I held onto it. And it changed everything about how I approached even the smallest projects.
When I was dreaming of luxury brand work, I couldn’t justify cutting corners on quality or presentation, even for those early pub contracts. Every project became practice for the bigger vision.
When a client asked if I could do something more detailed than I’d done before, I said yes immediately. Not because I knew how to do it, but because it moved me closer to the work I envisioned.
I noticed different opportunities. I made different decisions. I developed faster. Big dreams forced me to grow into them.
And those bud vases I delivered to rural pubs? They were the very first step in learning to create something beautiful, understanding client needs, building the foundation for everything that came after.
Within a few years, I was creating installations for the V&A. Working with Dior and Chanel. Designing flowers for a royal wedding. Work that was viewed by billions of people worldwide.
Not because I was more talented than other florists. But because I allowed myself to envision something so compelling that it pulled me forward through every obstacle, rejection, and moment of doubt.
The Shift That Actually Helps
And here’s what’s important about this. This isn’t about hustling harder. It’s not about working all hours or sacrificing everything.
It’s about building something that’s deeply aligned with your strengths and genuinely fulfilling. Something that sustains you emotionally, not just financially.
Jo isn’t focusing on working all hours… she’s simply decided to think bigger. Instead of waiting for people to book individual consultations, she’s now planning a series of seasonal retreats. Big, meaningful events that allow her to create real impact and still have a life outside of work.
When you’re working towards something that truly fulfills you, the work often feels easier. Not because it requires less effort, but because you’re energised by it rather than drained by it.
What Aligned Ambition Actually Looks Like
This is the difference I keep seeing. Between creative entrepreneurs who are exhausted from pushing themselves harder and those who are energised by building towards something meaningful.
The exhausted ones are doing more of what they’ve always done. Adding services. Working longer hours. Optimising and tweaking. Playing it safe.
The energised ones have allowed themselves to want what they actually want. They’ve given themselves permission to think bigger. And they’re building towards that in a way that aligns with their strengths.
They’re not hustling. They’re not sacrificing everything. They’re just no longer pretending that playing small is protecting them from anything.
Because playing small doesn’t protect you from overwhelm. It often creates it. You’re working hard but not making progress towards anything meaningful. You’re busy but not fulfilled.
Your Impossible Dream
So maybe this week, instead of thinking about how to do slightly better what you’re already doing, take some time to think about what you’d actually love to build.
Not the sensible version. Not the manageable goal. The thing that feels embarrassing to even consider. The vision that makes you think “who am I to want that?”
Because your current work, no matter how small it seems right now, is the foundation for that impossible dream. But only if you allow yourself to dream it.
The difference between creative entrepreneurs who build extraordinary businesses and those who stay stuck isn’t talent, or luck, or connections. It’s the willingness to envision something so compelling that it pulls them forward through every obstacle.
Your business can sustain you financially. And it can sustain you emotionally. It can bring you purpose and excitement and that feeling in your stomach when you’re creating something you’re genuinely proud of.
But only if you stop pretending that playing small is keeping you safe.
Your impossible dream is waiting. It’s been waiting for you to believe it’s possible.
Comments +