Growth is good, right? Not always. In this energising Zoom Dive, award-winning business consultant and cultural strategist Yemisi Mokolo challenged the myth that scaling up is the only path to success. Her message to creative entrepreneurs: build better, not necessarily bigger.
Yemisi’s journey—from club promoter to founder of Hatch Ideas and UK CEO of the Year—has been anything but conventional. She’s worked with the British Council, the British Library, and the Bank of Industry Nigeria, and co-founded multiple cultural initiatives. But her real superpower? Helping creatives build resilient, sustainable businesses that don’t compromise their creativity.
This session was a masterclass in mindset, systems, and strategic clarity. Yemisi shared how creative entrepreneurs can design business models that support their goals, protect their energy, and leave room for Tuesday morning kitchen discos (yes, really). Her advice is practical, empowering, and refreshingly honest. Whether you’re just starting out or scaling up, this session will help you rethink what success looks like—and how to build a business that supports your creative life, not swallows it.
Listen to the recording and discover:
- Why “more staff, more platforms, more hustle” doesn’t always mean more success.
- How to define your business offer, target market, and delivery method with laser clarity.
- The power of systems to help you delegate, spot problems early, and seize opportunities.
- Why resilience starts with knowing your market—and how Yemisi used that knowledge to survive both the 2008 crash and COVID.
- How to balance creativity and commercialisation (hint: you only need to monetise 20% of your genius).
- Tips for solo entrepreneurs on managing delivery while building systems—and why a business buddy might just save your sanity.
- How to approach partnerships strategically, not just opportunistically.
- Why marketing burnout happens—and how to fix it with a sprint-based strategy tailored to your audience.
Yemisi’s Blueprint for Growth
Growth requires sure foundations. Here are the steps Yemisi shared to help creative entrepreneurs build and maintain a business system that supports sustainable success:
Building your foundation
1. Set your vision, mission and goals for the next five years.
2. Ask: where are you now and where do you want to be?
3. Define what you offer (products and services).
4. Identify who wants what you offer.
5. Understand what needs your offer meets for them.
6. Map out your internal and external delivery and management processes.
Maintaining your foundation
1. Measure regularly: What’s going well? What could be better? What can be improved?
2. Work with a mentor or business advisor.
3. Find a business buddy—someone to vent with, invent with, and share the journey.
Explore more from Yemisi Mokolo
Yemisi has written extensively on business systems, partnerships, and creative entrepreneurship. Do browse her blogs and join her mailing list for top tips and insights at www.hatchideas.co.uk. You can also book a consultation via her website if you’re interested in working together.
Zoom Dives are high-impact one-to-one discussions between our founder, Carolyn Dailey, and experts and founders from the creative industries. Each session delves into an important topic creative entrepreneurs need to know about to build, grow and scale their creative businesses. Browse our Events calendar for our upcoming Zoom Dives and book your free place.
Before you go, is your relationship with business fuelling your creative potential? Discover The Creative Entrepreneur: your guide to building a successful creative business, with expert insights from ten creative industry titans.